Chapter 128: Upgrade

The battle ended quickly.

A combat style gradually formed through extensive real combat, combined with highly adaptable combat techniques, gave Xia Nan superior mobility that ordinary Adventurers did not possess.

Maneuvering and supporting.

The "Gnoll Archer" hidden in the shadows of the jungle had its head chopped off by him right from the start.

Darting in and out of the battlefield, he helped Abi, who was in a desperate situation, extricate herself, then unleashed a combat technique and, together with Adeline, dealt with the most troublesome "Elite Monster" among the enemies.

As for the remaining two Gnolls, without their "Flesh Eater" leader, they were not like Green-skin Goblins who would completely lose their will to fight, but they were still far from being a cause for concern.

The balance of offense and defense shifted.

Individual strength far exceeded the opponent's, and they also held a numerical advantage.

Berg provided ranged support and damage output, while Xia Nan and Adeline engaged in close-quarters combat.

In just a few minutes, the entire battle reached its conclusion.

Whoosh—

An iron club, which in the eyes of ordinary people could only be seen as a blur, crashed down from above.

In Xia Nan's vision, however, it appeared exceptionally slow, allowing him to clearly track the trajectory of the club's descent.

His steps were light, and his body tilted sideways in an exceptionally agile posture.

The iron club that should have struck his head grazed the tip of his nose and smashed into the empty grass below.

He performed with abnormal ease, firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle.

Xia Nan stepped forward lightly, closed the distance, and gently thrust his longsword upward.

"Sss."

The sword tip instantly pierced the Gnoll's soft lower jaw, breaking through flesh and soft cartilage to reach the cranial cavity.

A slight resistance was transmitted through the sword hilt in his hand.

He twisted his wrist, just a single turn.

The Gnoll's foul-smelling body convulsed and fell to the ground, its life force rapidly draining away.

Nearby, the last Gnoll, with a bare arrow shaft stuck in its eye socket, knelt half on the ground, wailing miserably.

An iron hammer reflecting cold light whistled down, and with the crisp sound of bones cracking, the wailing stopped abruptly.

He withdrew his gaze.

Xia Nan pulled the Zhan Shou Chang Jian from the corpse beneath his feet, spun it lightly in a flourish, and flicked the stained fluids off the blade.

Standing in place, he lightly tapped the ground with both feet.

He felt his body, which was significantly lighter than before.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Tooth Hunt," according to the Barbarian Fugang earlier, originated from a distant Beijing, created by an ancient powerful figure based on the hunting postures and movements of Winter Wolves, combined with their own combat foundation.

It was absolutely not an ordinary combat technique commonly found among low-level Adventurers on the continent.

It had its reasoning.

According to Xia Nan's understanding, if combat techniques themselves, aside from level, also had quality distinctions like equipment and items.

"Tooth Hunt" was likely at least a blue "Rare," or even a purple "Epic."

Regarding this, he actually had some expectation in his heart after mastering it to the Beginner level.

After all... it was simply too useful!

"Tooth Hunt" was clearly just a displacement-type combat technique, yet it possessed an exaggerated flexibility.

It could dash forward, retreat, feint, pull, and even combine with other combat techniques.

Even when it was only level 1, it had already brought his actual combat ability to another level.

Yet despite this, he never expected to have underestimated the value of this combat technique.

From "level 2" to "level 3," it directly provided Xia Nan with a precious attribute point!

You see, even "Whirlwind Slash," which he had already trained to max level, only granted him an attribute bonus after reaching level 5.

Currently, the progress of "Tooth Hunt" had just passed the halfway mark, yet it had already achieved this improvement.

It was foreseeable that when Xia Nan raised it to level 5, the gains it brought would not be much less than the former.

As for why there was no extra reward when "Tooth Hunt" upgraded from level 1 to level 2.

Xia Nan actually had a rough guess in his heart.

Long ago, during the mission with the Ban Jingling Haian, he had already learned from the other party's mouth about the classification of combat technique proficiency on this continent.

Beginner, Proficient, Mastered.

And combining the other party's description of the characteristics of the three levels, mapping them to panel levels, it was:

lv1-2, lv3-4, lv5.

"Tooth Hunt" moving from "lv2" to "lv3," according to the terminology of this world, meant moving from "Beginner" to "Proficient."

It belonged to a qualitative change!

By this analogy, if Xia Nan's guess was correct.

When "Tooth Hunt" reached lv4, it should, like lv1-2, only be a normal increase in proficiency, without any additional improvement.

The next attribute point reward, and even the corresponding feat, should be when it reached lv5 "Mastered."

Of course, that was a matter for later.

For now, the specific performance of "Tooth Hunt" at lv3 in battle had already vaguely taken on the appearance of when Fugang demonstrated it for him earlier.

Not only did it achieve an all-around improvement in displacement speed, explosive power, and various other aspects, but even without attaching extra attacks, it inherently possessed a certain amount of damage.

Even in terms of "coolness," it had completed an evolution; besides the original wolf howl, a wolf-head phantom would condense in the surrounding air upon release.

Compared to before, the improvement was undeniable.

Then came the most crucial part: that single, precious point of Agility.

From "6" to "7," it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary, slight increase.

Yet in reality, reflected upon Xia Nan's body, it manifested as a massive boost in multiple abilities: "reaction speed," "balance," and "agility."

To put it without exaggeration, the battle was thoroughly over by now.

The discomfort brought by the sudden surge in physical attributes still made Xia Nan feel light-headed, as if a slight exertion would send his entire body flying into the sky.

It was like swimming in water for a long time, getting used to the resistance of the current, then returning to shore with legs feeling light.

"How is it? Are you injured?"

Beside him, Adeline, holding an iron hammer and breathing heavily, leaned in with concern.

It seemed that because Xia Nan was feeling the changes in his body and lightly stomping in place, she mistook it for him having sustained injuries during the fight, or perhaps having used some explosive combat technique with strong side effects.

Hearing this, Xia Nan waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.

Come to think of it, although this battle looked very intense and the enemies encountered were far stronger than the previous Goblins and "Huo Ya,"

the members of the Green Blood Squad were actually in decent condition.

He himself needed no mention; the time spent engaging each enemy was basically no more than seven seconds.

【Fang Hunt】 and 【Spinning Slash】 were used alternately and in combination.

Those Gnolls often didn't even get a chance to strike before he sliced off their heads.

Calculating it, the actual combat duration might not have even been as long as the time spent traversing the battlefield to get there.

There was no injury to speak of.

Abi did nothing but flee; the time he spent staring down the Gnolls was less than two seconds. The only thing strained on his entire body was the muscle in his right arm, due to his rash action at the very beginning.

Berg had sweated a bit.

He had used a combat technique with a self-buff speed effect to kite two Gnolls throughout the entire battle; his stamina was consumed quite a bit, but he had not a single wound.

In comparison, it was actually Adeline, the stronger one, who had taken some minor injuries requiring bandages. Before Xia Nan arrived to support, she had to single-handedly hold off two Gnolls, including the "Flesh Eater."

After the battle ended, naturally, it was time for the classic battlefield cleanup.

Unlike in games, where a light click of the mouse allows the character on screen to symbolically pat the enemy a couple of times and pull out all sorts of treasures; or where loot chests suddenly burst forth from the void.

In the real world, you truly have to crawl inch by inch over corpses covered in fresh blood and unknown filth, personally strip the armor and clothes off the enemies, carry them back to the city while enduring the stench and rotting flesh, and haggle for a long time with a stingy, penny-pinching general store owner.

Only then will the fragrant Gold Coins fall into your pocket.

It is not easy.

And perhaps because he felt he hadn't been of much use in the battle just now, and had even dragged the team back a bit,

Abi was acting very proactively.

Without anyone needing to remind him, he stepped forward voluntarily to do the dirty work of cleaning up the corpses.

It is worth mentioning that the enemies they had worried about appearing on the return journey finally showed up, along with the victory in battle.

This caused Berg, who had been somewhat uneasy for the past two days, to briefly return to his original, spirited state.

Afterwards, he would obviously gradually recover as the group left the Wuwu Forest and approached the safety of River Valley Town.

The harvest was average.

Gnoll tribes that wander the wasteland for long periods without settling in one place rarely have the habit of saving up.

The only things on their bodies worth any money were the second-hand equipment they had looted from other Adventurers.

However, these upright beasts had absolutely no concept of maintenance.

Poor usage methods and the harsh environment within the Wuwu Forest meant that these pieces of equipment had already begun to rot after just a few days.

Even if they brought them all back, they would probably only sell for a dozen or twenty Gold Coins in total, holding little value.

After searching the entire battlefield, the most valuable item turned out to be the head of that "Chailangren Shirouzhe."

— The Reward for it on the Association's quest board was as high as 120 Gold Coins.

This was exactly the opposite of the situation when they usually cleared out Goblins.

The loot harvest was ordinary, but the quest Reward had become the bulk of the income.

Of course, according to the Green Blood Squad's customary reward distribution.

Xia Nan, who had made extra contributions and played a huge role in the battle, would receive at least half or more of the Gold Coins upon returning to River Valley Town.

Although it still couldn't compare to his earnings from the previous few quests, it was still a decent income.

"Did these Gnolls fight against many Adventurer squads before we arrived? Why does every single one of them have injuries?"

Abi, diligently tidying up the scattered corpses on the ground, looked somewhat puzzled.

The injuries caused by the Green Blood Squad were easy to distinguish.

Ignoring himself, Adeline's were blunt force injuries from hammer strikes, Berg usually used a bow, and Xia Nan only cut off heads.

Apart from that, the other wounds on the Gnoll corpses were already there before the battle began and had nothing to do with them.

Hearing the other person mention this, Xia Nan also found it strange.

He had already noticed it just now.

These Gnolls basically all had significant areas of burns, as if they had been swept over by flames.

On a few of them, the fur on their backs was almost completely burned away, leaving only a patch of blackened scorch marks.

The injuries were not light.

They had clearly reduced the combat power of the Gnoll elite individual "Flesh Eater," which was originally on the same tier as a Bugbear, allowing Xia Nan, who had raised 【Fang Hunt】 to lv3, to take it down easily.

"Perhaps... it was left by the 'Iron Hand' Squad?"

Xia Nan felt even more certain of his previous guess in his heart.

After all, the other team's strength was good; setting aside himself who had joined temporarily, their overall power was far superior to the Green Blood Squad.

Even facing a Gnoll ambush, it would be impossible for them to have no means of counterattack.

Even Captain Qiaozhi was captured and tortured to death, which should have exacted a certain toll on the Gnolls.

As for the peculiar burn marks on the Gnolls' bodies...

Although it is unlikely they were left by a Spellcaster—their lowly Adventurer squad could not possibly possess a magic-wielding teammate.

But thrown items like "Fire Oil Bombs" are sold in the town's shops.

There are three of them in my pocket right now.

Nothing surprising.

"Hurry up, clean up the corpses. We need to move camp in the dark."

It is currently the deepest, most dangerous night in the forest, teeming with nocturnal monsters.

Gnolls have no concept of bathing; the stench they emit can be smelled from dozens of meters away, and combined with the current blood scent, it is highly likely to attract nearby predatory monsters.

For safety's sake, the Green Blood Squad naturally could not remain in the same spot.

Fortunately, Adeline's rich adventuring experience led her to consider this situation before setting up camp, and she had already memorized several backup locations.

The terrain is suitable.

Right now, the group only needs to slightly process the corpses, pack their luggage, and leave immediately without even extinguishing the campfire.

A journey of several dozen minutes, while still carrying the possibility of encountering danger, is obviously much safer than randomly finding a spot in the dense forest to camp.

Not a single second was wasted.

After the battle, Adeline merely bandaged a few wounds on her body that required urgent treatment, then immediately stepped forward to join the ranks of those cleaning the battlefield.

And only at this moment did she have the chance to carefully observe the few Gnoll corpses beneath her feet—creatures that moments ago could have left the entire squad in the forest, yet now lay motionless on the ground.

"Beheading, beheading, and more beheading..."

A steel-gray sword light flashed; it was Xia Nan nearby, plucking a strand of clinging minced meat from the surface of his blade.

Adeline couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Wondering if the other person had some strange fetish.

It was quite normal, though.

After all, the pressure in this line of work is immense; having stayed in River Valley Town for so many years, the Adventurers she knew all had some psychological issues, more or less.

Compared to alcoholism or gambling... being merely obsessed with "beheading" was hardly a flaw.

As she cleaned up, she saw the corpse of the "Flesh Eater," riddled with holes.

Her mind involuntarily recalled the illusory wolf shadow that had whistled past her just now, formed from air and grass clippings.

For the first time, Adeline felt her judgment might have been wrong.

Subconsciously, she raised her head and glanced again in Xia Nan's direction.

Her gaze scrutinized him.

"This kid..."

"Really hasn't obtained a Professional Level yet?"

(End of Chapter)