Chapter 263: Mist

【1. Leave it to us! (Accept the mayor's request.)】 【2. What does this have to do with me? (Coldly refuse.)】 What happens if I choose 2 at this moment?

Yun Mu was a little curious.

However, considering that this was not the Video Game she played in her daily life, where she could reload a save even if she failed, she chose option 1 after a brief moment of consideration.

【You choose to accept the mayor's request. Led by several guards, you arrive at a street on the outskirts of the small town. Here, you see the blood-stained old Knight, Tangjiked, being surrounded by several guards wearing leather armor.

"Hey, pull yourself together!"

A guard looks at his companion lying against the wall, his abdomen stained with blood, his eyes turning blood-red.

Seeing that the guards are about to be routed, you decide—】 【1. Stand back, leave this to me!】 【2. Why not observe for a bit?】 At a time like this, it is better to observe first.

Looking at the game options popping up in her mind, Yun Mu hesitated for a moment before making up her mind.

【This is the Painted World. The so-called guards and the town residents are nothing more than fake NPCs. You temporarily suppress the urge to intervene and decide to observe the situation on the scene first.

What you find somewhat strange is that the mayor, who was very anxious before, has now become calm. Seeing that you did not strike immediately, he does not even seem to have any intention of urging you. "Incarnation of Evil, I must eliminate you all!"】

The words of the old Knight Tangjiked interrupt your thoughts. You see him holding a slightly dilapidated iron sword, charging toward the guards with all his might.

"Quick, stop him!"

The squad leader among the guards immediately commands.

"Urgh!"

Two guards holding square wooden shields scream. Under the old Knight's heavy, powerful sword strike, the square wooden shields are actually split open, and the immense force even breaks the wrists of the guards holding the shields!

It is hard to imagine that this is the power an old man can erupt with.

"The guards are about to reach their limit, please help us." Seeing this, the mayor, whose face was originally calm, immediately shows a look of surprise. He turns to look at you and your Partner, asking for help.

To this, you decide—】 【1. It is time to strike.】 【2. Let the mayor wait a little longer, you still need to continue observing.】 "This Game Panel..."

It actually wrote out the thoughts in her heart. Although only she could see it, this feeling... how should she put it, it was quite marvelous.

As for these two options, it is really hard to choose when no special options appear.

Choosing to strike now might mean missing some clues that could be obtained from the observation option, but if one chooses to continue observing, no one knows what might happen.

After some hesitation, Yun Mu still decides to strike now and see.

Anyway, with her stats, she shouldn't encounter any trouble clearing a Dungeon of this level.

No matter what kind of enemy she encounters, it doesn't matter; she just needs to defeat them! 【"Stand back, let me handle this!"】

You take the initiative to step forward with your Partner, blocking in front of the guards.

However, at the very moment you intend to strike, the old Knight standing opposite you takes the initiative to sheath the long sword in his hand.

"I remember you, outsider. The matters here have nothing to do with you; leave early." The old man says in a low voice.】 【1. "What do you mean?"】 【2. "No, I want to protect the residents here!"】 【3. "You... you aren't crazy?"】 "Huh, what is this?"

Yun Mu raises her eyebrows in surprise. Looking at the three language options in front of her, she decides to follow her true thoughts after a brief moment of reflection and chooses option 3.

"... Is that so? Is that what the mayor told you?" The old Knight, Tangjiked, freezes slightly after hearing her words, then, as if thinking of something, he shakes his head.

"I have always firmly believed in the Knight Spirit in my heart. As long as my conviction has not decayed, even if my body becomes old, it will not waver in the slightest."

"Clear the path, young one."

"I am going to... eradicate Evil!"

【Battle Start!】

【You have encountered an enemy—【Tangjiked lv25 (Elite)】

Max HP: 80 Race:??? Attack: 35, Spell Strength: 20, Defense: 38, Resilience: 8, Dodge: 30, Speed: 21, Precision Correction: 36, Crit: 12% Traits: Undead Unarmed (Enters second phase transformation when HP is below 30), Knight Spirit (When HP is below 5, or after receiving a fatal attack, HP recovers by 35; can only be triggered once per battle) Skills: Charge, Continuous Strike, Fierce Counterattack, Sword Throw.】 【Current Turn: 1】

【Player Yun Mu acts first!】

"A Dungeon of the Painting Path, Tangjiked... is it related to that Legendary painter?"

She had long associated the possibility of the two, just never had the time to think it through.

If the Paintings in this Dungeon are all related to that Legendary painter, perhaps the old Knight in front of her is the one who is correct? The town's mayor and the townspeople are the ones with the problem?

No, perhaps it is just Tangjiked's bad taste, letting himself appear as the villain in the background of the Painting.

That is not impossible... After all, any form of creator, as long as they have a whim, can come up with any plot.

For now, she should still find a way to defeat the Knight in front of her.

"Heh heh, 80 HP is not enough to look at in front of me." Yun Mu hums softly and snaps her fingers.

【Mental Shock!】

【-134!】

"Hmph!"

The old Knight grunts, immediately kneeling on the ground. He holds the hilt of the iron sword with one hand, supporting his body so he does not fall.

The next moment, Yun Mu's vision goes dark, and a cutscene appears in her mind.

Wait, a cutscene? Before Yun Mu could react.

"Clang!"

The iron sword in the old Knight's hand is shattered, and the immense force even knocks him to the ground.

"I cannot... end here yet!"

Supporting his injured body with both hands, he stands up, his fists covered by gauntlets slowly clenching.

【Undead Unarmed!】

【Attack +15 / Defense +12 / Dodge +10 / Speed +2 / Precision Correction +4, Crit +8%】

【The skills of Tangjiked lv25 (Elite) have changed!】 【Knight Spirit!】

【HP +35!】

【Target Tangjiked begins to act!】

"... Eradicate Evil!"

"Haa!"

【Power Up!】

【Skill damage +25%, effect lasts for one turn.】

【Super Armor (Cannot be controlled during power up, and damage taken is reduced by 15%)】

A silver-gray radiance enveloped the old Knight's body; whether it was an illusion or not, Yun Mu always felt that even his armor had become much brighter.

【Lucy begins her turn!】

"Hmm."

It was Lucy's turn to act, but Yun Mu did not let her launch an attack immediately.

This was mainly because the various buffs brought about by the old Knight's second phase and his power-up skill, displayed below his health bar, were somewhat frightening.

Coupled with 【Fierce Counterattack】 in his skill bar, she always had an ominous premonition.

The constant alarms in her heart made her brow twitch subconsciously.

"Lucy, use the active skill of the equipment, Immoral Notebook, on the Scarlet Knight," she thought for a moment and ordered.

【Immoral Pleasure!】

【Damage modifier +10% / Critical hit +5%】

【Goblin Brave begins his turn!】

"Goblin Brave, use skill, Command Lock!" "Awoo!"

The Goblin Brave roared in a low voice, raised his finger, and pointed it at the old Knight, Tangjiked.

【Marked!】

【Scarlet Knight begins his turn!】

"Scarlet Knight, use skill, Lance Throw!"

"As you command."

The Scarlet Knight responded in a low voice, then lifted the giant lance hanging behind him.

This was a skill he could only use once per battle, and after releasing the skill, he would be unable to use the Charge skill that followed Call Mount.

Besides that, there was also a two-turn debuff.

【Lance Throw!】

【-11!】

"Tsk, does it have to be this exaggerated?"

Looking at the number jumping above Tangjiked's head, Yun Mu couldn't help but click her tongue.

Lance Throw was the Scarlet Knight's highest-damage skill; not only was its damage modifier 15% higher than Thrust, but it also carried 6 points of armor penetration and 8% critical hit rate.

Counting the 5 points of attack power from Path of Desire, the 10% damage increase from Immoral Notebook, and the 5% vulnerability from the Command Lock mark, it could only deal 11 points of damage?

"Defense +12, and the 15% damage reduction effect from Super Armor, huh."

【Exhausted (2 turns)】

【Attack -10 / Defense -5 / Tenacity -2 / Precision Correction -4 / Critical hit -3%】

The Scarlet Knight, having thrown his lance, let his shoulders hang powerlessly.

Clearly, for a normal human, wearing such heavy plate armor and still having to throw a lance was asking a bit too much.

And while the Scarlet Knight was in a debuff state due to his skill, Tangjiked, who had been attacked by him earlier, moved!

【Fierce Counterattack!】

With a bright silver radiance flashing on his body, the old Knight clenched his fists and lunged forward in one stride to the front of the Scarlet Knight.

"Ha!"

The iron fist covered by a gauntlet struck the Scarlet Knight's face fiercely.

"Bang!!"

【-45!】

A bright red damage number jumped out from the top of the Scarlet Knight's head, and his previously healthy health bar instantly became precarious.

【20/65】

Fortunately, I didn't let Lucy attack him just now! Yun Mu thought with a sense of relief upon seeing this.

After entering the Exhausted state, the Scarlet Knight's defense was 33 points.

That is to say, the damage of that punch from the opponent was 78 points... My goodness, Lucy's health is only 52 points, and counting the defense bonus from equipment, it's only 20 points.

It belongs to the kind of damage that could hit Lucy to a Near Death state in just one punch; it really is terrifying.

【Goblin Brave begins his turn!】

The battle prompt on the Game Panel interrupted her thoughts.

"What a pity, it would have been great if the additional attack effect had triggered just now."

Looking at the mark pattern on the old Knight's head, Yun Mu shook her head with some regret.

With an initial probability of twenty percent, perhaps not triggering it is the normal state of affairs.

Come to think of it... to bring out the best effect of this skill, shouldn't the Goblin Brave be the first to act in every battle? After all, if you apply Command Lock first, and then three teammates each attack once, not only can you enjoy the 5% damage increase from the mark, but if the first two people fail to trigger the additional attack, the probability of triggering the effect when it's the last teammate's turn is 80%! "The idea is quite good, but unfortunately there is no way to adjust the speed."

Actively reducing her speed might end up benefiting enemies with higher speed attributes.

Besides, she isn't lacking that bit of output, so forcing a speed adjustment using equipment would be putting the cart before the horse.

"Hmm... Goblin Brave, use skill, Continuous Slash, on Tangjiked."

Yun Mu had already seen the effect of the old Knight Tangjiked's skill, Fierce Counterattack, when he had just used it.

It is a counterattack skill that can only be triggered once per turn.

The damage modifier under normal circumstances is +30%.

That is to say, at least within this turn, she no longer needs to worry about being hit by the opponent's skill counterattack.

"Roar, roar!"

The Goblin Brave picked up the giant cleaver at his waist, rushed in front of Tangjiked, and swung it around blindly twice.

【-0】

【-0】

Unsurprisingly, it did not cause any damage.

It was just that Yun Mu noticed, above Tangjiked's head, on the mark brought about by the skill Command Lock.

The probability of triggering an additional attack had actually increased to 60%.

In other words, the Goblin Brave's own attacks also had a probability of triggering an additional attack? She hadn't thought of this point; it could be considered a half-unexpected joy.

It was just unclear whether this could trigger the effect of the equipment Courage Medal, after all, the original text of the equipment stated that it would only trigger the special effect when acting during a turn that did not belong to oneself.

After the attack ended, triggering the additional attack effect, did this count as acting during a turn that did not belong to oneself? Yun Mu did not know.

If there is a chance in the future, she would find another monster to test it out. Sigh, why couldn't the Game Panel release a Dungeon similar to a Xunlianchang? Could it be that she, as the game designer, never even thought about such things when designing the game?

No, no, no, no matter how one thinks about it, this matter couldn't be blamed on her.

After all, this game itself was a semi-finished product; if she had been allowed to develop it for a while longer, she surely would have thought of the Xunlianchang, probably.

【Current Turn Number: 2】

【Player Yun Mu begins to act.】

"."

"With this, it is over."

Shaking her head, Yun Mu stopped letting her thoughts run wild.

She used her final Mental Shock to empty the old Knight's health bar, and soon, the battle settlement notification refreshed before her.

At the same time, a sudden thick fog shrouded the entire small town.

Before Yun Mu could even check the spoils of war obtained from this victory, she felt her wrist being gripped by someone, pulling her to run toward an unknown direction.

Just as she wanted to break free from the other person's palm, she heard Tangjiked's voice coming from in front of her.

"The small town is about to reveal its true appearance; let's leave here quickly while this thick fog lasts!"

"Wait, wait, did you cause this fog?" Hearing this, Yun Mu immediately stopped her Struggle and asked with some confusion.

". It is not me, it is just a coincidence." After a brief silence, the other person shook their head and said.

Although in the fog, Yun Mu could not see the other person's head-shaking motion at all.

(End of this chapter)