"Friend, how about joining our team? It'll be faster if we kill monsters together."
Ye Rong saw someone coming towards him, so he turned around and took two steps back, creating some space between himself and the Rotten Tree Spirit, as well as those approaching him.
"Buddy, there are four of us, and it's difficult for you to fight monsters alone. But with us, it'll be different."
The sombre man noticed Ye Rong's indifference, which annoyed him, and his tone became more forceful.
"Haha, no need, I'm used to leveling up by myself."
As Ye Rong continued to unleash fireballs on the Rotten Tree Spirit, he glanced at the four of them out of the corner of his eye. Their entire monster-killing process had been observed by him, and he thought their arrogance in wanting to team up with him was ridiculous.
He wasn't a gaming newbie; joining this four-person team wouldn't speed up his leveling at all. In fact, it would at least halve his monster-killing efficiency. If all four had sustained long-range attack capabilities, Ye Rong would consider joining them to form a long-range firepower team.
But Ye Rong wasn't a fool and would never agree to such an obvious attempt to take advantage of him.
"Kid, our boss is giving you face. Just because you have some magic treasure, you think you're so great!"
Carrot Riding a Rabbit scoffed menacingly, his Green Steel Sword gesturing towards Ye Rong.
Among the four of them, the only female player was Carrot Riding a Rabbit's girlfriend, with a tall figure and sharp eyes and eyebrows.
Many men liked to show off in front of women, especially their girlfriends, so Carrot Riding a Rabbit was already jealous of Ye Rong's relaxed and fast leveling method. His mixed emotions made him relentless towards Ye Rong.
"We can take you down right now and let you experience the suffering of losing your life and dropping your equipment. How does that sound?"
Sombre Man furrowed his eyebrows. He came with the intention to talk things through with Ye Rong, because having him join their team would more than double their leveling efficiency. But with Carrot's confrontational words, he was sure they would drive Ye Rong away. That guy had no brains at all.
However, in front of outsiders, Sombre Man had to protect his subordinates and wouldn't reproach Carrot Riding a Rabbit.
"My friend, Carrot is a bit direct, but what he said is true. We don't need to kill you; we just need to corner you and not let you level up elsewhere. What would you do then?"
Sombre Man also coveted the treasure Ye Rong had, but they would have to kill him in hopes it would drop, and all four of them, since they were teamed up, would have their Merit Points deducted.
Carrot Riding a Rabbit, Carrot Eating Rabbit, Pig Flying Low, Murong Mountain- none of these four had chosen to hide their IDs. Ye Rong glanced at their IDs and memorized them.
Bang!
Ye Rong had been using the Rotten Tree Spirit as a shield, standing between himself and the four-person team. This last fireball took away the Tree Spirit's remaining life, causing it to drop a faintly glowing robe as it disintegrated.
Ye Rong swiftly grabbed the robe and retreated several steps before the four could surround him.
"What, you're showing your true colors before we even finish talking?"
Ye Rong scoffed coldly while quickly examining the robe in his hand—
A cotton robe, as light as gossamer with an earthy yellow color. Required equipment level: 5, defense: 50.
It was an outer robe, and Ye Rong immediately replaced his original robe (which had been given to him during his beginner's quest and had no additional attributes) with the cotton robe.
"Damn!"
Murong Mountain, the sombre man, cursed angrily. If he had known the Rotten Tree Spirit was going to drop equipment, he wouldn't have hesitated - he would have just killed Ye Rong right away. Even he himself was mostly wearing mere decorations for equipment.
"Lure the monster here and let the Rotten Tree Spirit kill him!"
"Boss, you're brilliant! This way, we can obtain equipment without losing Merit Points!"
Pig Flying Low immediately flattered Murong Mountain.
Ye Rong noticed their malicious intent, but he didn't leave immediately. He kept a close watch on them, anticipating their next moves. Rotten Tree Spirits could only be found in this area, and Ye Rong was reluctant to abandon such an excellent leveling spot.
Being forced away by such garbage would also be too humiliating.
"If they dare to attack me first, I'll use the Aquarius Spell to target Murong Mountain, followed by six Water Talismans and at most two Fireballs. That should be enough to kill him instantly!"
Ye Rong guessed that Murong Mountain's weapon must be better than the Green Steel Sword, judging from its unique appearance. Although he didn't know the exact attributes, he assumed that if it wasn't better, he wouldn't choose it over the Green Steel Sword. Plus, killing the leader of the opposing team would further demoralize them.
"What are these guys doing?"
Each of the four had two or three Rotten Tree Spirits trailing behind them, approaching Ye Rong from different directions. It appeared that they wanted to use them to kill Ye Rong.
However, Rotten Tree Spirits were not good monsters to lure, as they moved very slowly and often lost interest halfway through, ignoring the person trying to pull them. The person would have to stop and adjust the distance or risk getting attacked again.
Pig Flying Low, the chubby guy, was clearly not skilled at luring monsters. He lost half his life value after being attacked twice by the same Rotten Tree Spirit and panickedly ran away, only to discover that the creature was no longer following him. He had no choice but to pop a Blood-Supplementing Pill and risk getting attacked while luring the monster's aggression back to himself.
However, because of Pig Flying Low's many mistakes, there was a gap in the coordination between him and his teammates, and their perfect encirclement was momentarily compromised.
Ye Rong scanned the surroundings and instantly noticed the gap, then sprinted towards Pig Flying Low at full speed.
If he had waited for them to adjust, the combined attack power of more than ten Rotten Tree Spirits would be too terrifying. Even Ye Rong's decent equipment couldn't withstand that, and he would likely be killed instantly.
Ye Rong charged towards Pig Flying Low, eyes fixed on him fiercely, and swung the Peach-tree Sword in a hacking motion.
Pig Flying Low was already frantically luring the Tree Spirit when he saw Ye Rong's ferocious charge. He instinctively raised his Green Steel Sword to block Ye Rong's attack to stop him from escaping.
"Don't fight!"
Murong Mountain suddenly shouted, as if he had thought of an important issue, looking frantic and worried.