Chapter 270: [Iron Stomach Flail] and Ruined Church

Already accustomed.

The fishy smell of blood like rust permeated quietly in the fog.

The gauze stained with some bloodstains swept gently across the black-brown wooden sword surface, and the fingertips could still feel the residual warmth of the sword body.

Wiping away the last trace of blood.

Xia Nan sheathed his sword.

Stepping, the gray-white leg armor stepped over the headless corpse of the Half-Orc.

The pitch-black eyes only had coldness, containing not a trace of emotional fluctuation.

Don't know since when, he seemed to have become accustomed to this feeling of plundering life.

Clearly, he was just an ordinary office worker struggling in the workplace a year ago, hadn't even killed a chicken, but right now he could ignore the passing of life.

Was it because of those green-skinned Goblins he used to vent his suppressed emotions, or the power he gradually became strong with the adventure journey?

Or... was his nature originally like this, just covered up by the comfortable life of his past life?

Right now was not the time to analyze his heart.

Compared to this, what was more important was the timely maintenance of the wooden sword.

After all, coming from an exotic secret realm, there was probably no material related to it on the Aifala Continent, even if the body was sturdy, if there was damage over time, he wouldn't even know where to go to repair it.

If there was this opportunity, he should take care of it as carefully as possible at ordinary times to extend the usage time of this weapon.

And for this green-skinned Half-Orc on the ground who had already become a headless corpse, just the bad impression he left on him in Gray Valley Village was enough to become the reason for the other party's death.

Xia Nan had always felt disgusted by these hybrids who relied on having a bit of strength to wantonly bully and humiliate ordinary civilians.

Not claiming to be any "partner of justice," nor thinking he was a kind-hearted good person.

Just purely out of the instinctive repulsion under the influence of his values.

Looking forward, Xia Nan gazed at the small square in front where there were no living creatures and corpses were scattered.

His gaze swept across the few headless corpses and the bloated knight who had also lost his head nearby.

Sensitive perception ability, even though he was further away from the adventurer squad and had the interference of the strange thick fog in the air, Xia Nan discovered the strangeness on the square earlier than them.

Naturally, he also discovered the decaying knight in the center of the field who looked like an elite monster and was in a state of slumber.

He naturally wouldn't let the few guys who were specially left to explore the way and step on mines for him pass through smoothly.

Make the best use of everything.

Xia Nan needed to know the actual combat power of these monsters, and some places that might need attention and vigilance.

If it was too dangerous, it would also be convenient for him, who had not yet been exposed, to retreat in time and wait until later to come over to explore.

Thus, using his own 【Gravity Control】 ability, he, who was lurking in the depths of the thick fog, sent some small "surprises" to these few adventurers.

No need to use much force, nor worry about the possibility of his own exposure.

Gravity was invisible and colorless, just needing to slightly lighten or increase at an appropriate moment and a subtle position.

It was enough to achieve his goal.

Even without using the backup plan, Xia Nan successfully made that tall human ranger make enough movement.

An encounter battle thus broke out.

Although there was no actual confrontation with the elite monster on the field, it was not difficult to judge the approximate strength just by their short battle process with those few dry corpses nearby.

It was not much different from the conjecture in his heart, the professional level should be between Lv1-3, and there was no existence that was obviously super

Their professional conduct was also within expectations.

At the cost of a teammate's life, they tacitly exchanged for an opportunity for the entire squad to advance safely.

Xia Nan observed very clearly from the sidelines that after the Orc received the captain's order and charged out, the remaining few did not even speak directly, completing their communication through mere eye contact.

With an eerie tacit understanding—breaking through, retreating, and leaving the Orc alone on the field.

It was unclear whether this big guy's positioning in the squad was meant to be this way, or if the other three had already made private plans beforehand.

Furthermore, through the battle between the Orc and the obese Knight, even if it was only for a few simple rounds, he had roughly grasped this elite monster's combat style and its strengths and weaknesses.

The massive, obese body, along with the fat and the metal armor on the surface of its skin, granted the opponent exaggerated physical strength and instantaneous explosive power, while also providing it with considerable defensive capabilities.

Even as a Barbarian, the naturally gifted Orc was far inferior to the opponent in terms of wrestling, and could not even break through its defense.

All of the Orc's strengths were perfectly countered by the Knight, and the actual combat power of the professional level was not even half-utilized.

But for Xia Nan, it was quite easy to deal with.

Setting aside the few trump cards he had, his combat style—which combined explosive power and mobility with swiftness and sharpness—perfectly countered this kind of clumsy big guy.

Moreover, the damage bonus took effect, and the wooden sword 【Pine-Green】 with its added Sunburst effect made the opponent's defensive capabilities plummet.

The fat that had easily blocked the Orc's blunt attacks like a sandbag had no resistance at all against the cutting of the blade flickering with flame light, splitting open as smoothly as if melting.

Even the layers of fat piled up around the opponent's neck pushed up the metal neck guard originally meant to protect its vitals, as if it had actively cleared a path for Xia Nan's attack.

With just a slight aim, 【Pine-Green】's Sunburst damage bonus combined with the max-level 【Circle Slash】—following the folds piled up between that fat, he gripped the hilt and swung hard, and a round head rolled smoothly off the shoulders.

The movement was swift and fierce; before the obese Knight could even retaliate, it had already turned into a headless corpse.

Subconsciously recalling the feeling of smoothness when swinging the sword, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

The performance of 【Pine-Green】 during the battle just now had far exceeded the "15%" damage bonus on its attribute panel.

The cheat definitely wouldn't be wrong; after thinking about it, he could only guess that perhaps these corpses in the mist possessed extremely high physical resistance, having significant defensive bonuses against the slashing and stabbing of ordinary adventurers.

But they had no defensive effect against the wooden sword's Sunburst damage, which even belonged to a type of weakness against special attacks.

With such a subtraction and addition, combined with his own strong combat ability, countered combat style, appropriate timing, and a little bit of luck.

Only then could he resolve the opponent so easily.

Otherwise, if any regular Lv2 or Lv3 Warrior-class professional were swapped in, they might really not be a match for the obese Knight.

Meeting Xia Nan right now could be considered a coincidence.

Without dwelling on it, after the battle ended, it was naturally time to loot the battlefield.

After all, he still needed to keep up with the adventurer squad ahead; Xia Nan's time was not abundant, and he had no time for a careful inspection.

Fortunately, the only things on the field that might contain loot were the two corpses of the Orc and the Knight, so searching them wasn't troublesome.

Of course, the harvest was relatively average.

A dozen gold coins from the Orc's pouch, and the weapons of both:

Iron-inlaid wood club—completely worthless, the attributes on the information panel were almost blank, it was impossible to sell for a good price, and even if sent to the grocery store with the best reputation in River Valley Town, it would probably only be worth ten or twenty gold.

It was heavy and cumbersome, and carrying it around was even more inconvenient.

Xia Nan didn't have any space storage items on him, so he chose to give it up without hesitation, leaving the wood club where it was.

The flail in the obese Knight's hand, however, should barely be worth some money:

【Iron Stomach Flail】