Next, it became much easier. As long as I wasn't stunned, the normal four bandits couldn't instantly kill Wu Shaochen. After going back and forth a few times, all the more than twenty bandits were finally cleared.
This battle only took about ten minutes, and a total of 146 bandits were eliminated, including the four gatekeepers. In total, 150 bandits were killed. This speed is definitely unimaginable for current players, considering these are level 20 monsters.
The 150 bandits brought Wu Shaochen a whopping 57,600 experience points, allowing him to level up quickly once again. The Silver Wolf, who had been standing in the distance without letting any bandits pass, also reached level 13.
The Undying Body gained 150 additional health, resulting in a total increase of 545 points. His health reached 2,976, which is close to three thousand points.
I opened my backpack and looked at the two equipment pieces that just dropped.
[Wooden Shield]Black Iron Grade: +200 Health, +20 Physical Defense, +10 Magical Defense, +2% Block. Additional Attribute: Constitution +21. Equipment Requirement: Shield Guard.
[Attack Speed Ring]Black Iron Grade: +60 Attack, +6% Attack Speed. Additional Attribute: Agility +22. Equipment Requirement: Archer, Assassin.
The attributes are quite good. The black iron equipment dropped by level 20 monsters already has attributes similar to bronze equipment at level 10. I replaced the White Plate equipment with the Attack Speed Ring. My health decreased by 20, but my attack increased by 52 points, attack speed increased by 5%, and agility increased by 22 points.
I directly put the remaining shield on auction in bidding mode for 30 minutes.
Then, Wu Shaochen cautiously walked towards the village. He didn't encounter any more bandits along the way. After entering the mountain stronghold, the layout inside was progressively arranged. The first group of buildings seemed rudimentary, probably where the lower-level lackeys lived. The middle layer of buildings was noticeably better, likely inhabited by those of higher rank. The largest building at the top should be where the leader resides.
It seemed like there was nobody on the bottom floor, as they had probably all gone out. Wu Shaochen carefully made his way towards the middle layer, where there were fewer buildings, but the monsters were likely stronger.
Upon reaching the middle layer, he quickly saw groups of bandits. What surprised Wu Shaochen was that all the monsters on the middle layer were mages. It seems that mages have a high status within this mountain stronghold. The ones who had just left should have also come down from here, as there are clearly no mages below.
I didn't pay attention to the mage's attributes earlier, so I'll use the Insight skill to check their attributes.
[Blackwind Stronghold Sorcerer]
Level: 20
Health: 36,000
Magic Attack: 480
Physical Defense: 120
Magical Defense: 180
Movement Speed: 68
Skill 1: Fireball: Releases a fireball, dealing 120% magical damage to the designated target. Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Skill 2: Frostbolt: Releases an ice cone, dealing 130% magical damage to the designated target and reducing their movement speed by 30% for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Indeed, two skills. Wu Shaochen looked from a distance; there were only five mages here. It wouldn't be difficult to kill them, but the concern was that more mages might appear after charging in, making it difficult to retreat.
"Oh, almost forgot, I don't have Eagle Eye." Wu Shaochen activated Stealth and approached slowly. The mages were unaware of the danger and casually chatting.
Wu Shaochen circled around nearby, noticing the presence of mages in several locations. Although they weren't far apart, it would take them three to four seconds to reach him. During that time, he could use Extreme Speed to poison three or four of them. After poisoning them, he would run away. If they couldn't catch up, he would activate Ethereal if the situation became dangerous.
Once he had a plan in mind, Wu Shaochen no longer hesitated. He silently approached the mages and activated Extreme Speed, delivering two quick strikes per second. His hand speed was lightning fast, and poisoning two layers was sufficient. After poisoning three of them, the mages finally reacted and started shouting while attempting to create distance.
Wu Shaochen closely followed, taking less than three seconds to poison the other two. Only one mage realized what was happening and cast a Fireball at him.
Wu Shaochen saw other mages rushing over from different directions, so he quickly turned and ran. Two Frostbolts and three Fireballs hit him, reducing his health by nearly two thousand points. However, it didn't matter. Before the other mages could catch up, Wu Shaochen had already escaped their attack range and ran towards a distant location.
The mages could only helplessly watch as their enemy disappeared, unable to catch up with his speed.
After a minute, Wu Shaochen returned. The five mages from earlier were already defeated, but there were now twenty-five mages standing there nervously, watching their surroundings.
"This is going to be tough," Wu Shaochen wryly smiled. Twenty-five mages focusing their attacks would be too much for the Silver Wolf to handle.
"Should I use the [Body Protection Scroll]?" Wu Shaochen was conflicted. The Body Protection Scroll was a life-saving item, and he was reluctant to use it now. However, without using it, he didn't know how to proceed with the battle.
"Should I go and level up before coming back to fight?" Wu Shaochen pondered, but quickly shook his head. If he went to level up, the bandits below would respawn, rendering his previous efforts in vain. Moreover, even if he leveled up a couple of times, it wouldn't make a significant difference in overall strength.
"Forget it, let's give it a try. If I can avoid using it, I will. But if things get really tough, I'll have to use it for survival," Wu Shaochen stopped hesitating. He checked that the skills were off cooldown, activated Stealth, and quietly approached the mages. Once close enough, Wu Shaochen immediately activated Extreme Speed and went on a frenzy of poisoning.
The sudden appearance of Wu Shaochen startled the group of mages, causing chaos for a moment. At close range, it was difficult for the mages to lock onto Wu Shaochen, who was swiftly moving within the crowd. Occasionally, a few Fireballs would hit him, but this situation only lasted for a few seconds. The mages quickly reacted and scattered.
"Well, they're quite clever!" The threat posed by the scattered mages was deadly enough, so Wu Shaochen chased after them, but even with his speed, he was just one person while the mages were dispersing. After poisoning four more mages, the number of Fireballs and Frostbolts hitting him increased significantly, causing his health to rapidly drop. Once the mages created distance, they began attacking.
Wu Shaochen quickly consumed a bottle of healing potion and a bottle of instant recovery potion to restore some health. He continued chasing after the remaining mages, but after poisoning only two of them, his health reached a critical level again. With Fireballs and Frostbolts raining down on him, Wu Shaochen reluctantly tore open the [Body Protection Scroll], and a faint golden light enveloped him, blocking all incoming attacks.
Not wanting to waste time, Wu Shaochen swiftly rushed towards the mages who hadn't been poisoned. He had only eight seconds left, and he needed at least two seconds to escape. The mages' attack range was around 10 meters, so he could barely get out of their reach in two seconds.
The mages were spread out, and even with Extreme Speed and a movement speed of over 300, Wu Shaochen could only poison seven mages in those eight seconds, approximately one per second. Adding the six he had poisoned earlier during the chaos, as well as the six he had chased and attacked, Wu Shaochen managed to poison a total of 19 mages, leaving six untouched.
But there was no other choice; time was running out. Wu Shaochen hurriedly ran away, with Fireballs and Frostbolts crashing onto the golden light behind him. However, before he could escape their attack range, the golden light disappeared. Seeing seven or eight Fireballs mixed with Frostbolts coming towards him, Wu Shaochen activated Ethereal to dodge them and successfully escaped.
"I should have reserved a little more than two seconds. Otherwise, with my current speed of five meters per second, I would have been able to escape their attack range," Wu Shaochen concluded.
Next was waiting for a minute to go back and collect the loot. There were only six remaining, posing no significant threat.