Chapter 361: Great Harvest After Clearing, the Royal Family's Friendship

Jiang Chen chased the Thunder Eagle, sparks flaring behind, lightning dancing.

The Thunder Eagle's speed was extremely fast, its massive body carving a long line of fire across the sky.

Though the Thunder Eagle flew swiftly, Jiang Chen was even more rapid, and the gap between them gradually narrowed.

Jiang Chen saw the Thunder Eagle's destination: a high mountain shrouded in lightning, Thunder Eagle Mountain.

Whether Nightmare Difficulty or Hell Difficulty, the Instance's mechanics are largely the same.

In Nightmare Difficulty, the BOSS Thunder Eagle, after taking heavy damage, retreats to Thunder Eagle Mountain, where it quickly recovers and becomes stronger.

Thunder Eagle Mountain was near, and the Thunder Eagle plunged rapidly to the summit.

The mountain was filled with terrifying thunder; massive bolts struck the Thunder Eagle, its aura surged, and its wounds healed swiftly.

Jiang Chen followed closely; the Thunder Eagle let out a sharp roar.

In an instant, Thunder Eagle Mountain erupted.

A full thirty slightly smaller Thunder Eagles burst out of the mountain simultaneously, accompanied by a flood of lightning charging toward Jiang Chen.

"It's different from Nightmare Difficulty," Jiang Chen thought silently.

In Nightmare Difficulty, when the BOSS returns to Thunder Eagle Mountain, no small Thunder Eagles appear.

In Hell Difficulty, the situation is clearly more challenging.

Besides dealing with the BOSS, one must also face these small Thunder Eagles.

For a Hell‑clearing team of only twelve, the thirty small Thunder Eagles before them, plus the BOSS about to join the fight, make the Difficulty rise dramatically.

They need to eliminate all thirty small Thunder Eagles before the BOSS comes back.

This places a high demand on the team's strength.

But for Jiang Chen, quantity is not only meaningless, the more the better.

Jiang Chen wore Lightning Wings, soaring rapidly through the air.

The small Thunder Eagles chased Jiang Chen from behind, yet could never catch up.

He was waiting, waiting for the Thunder Eagle BOSS to return.

The Lightning Wings last only one minute; now 40 seconds remain.

After 30 seconds, a high‑pitched Scream sounded from the summit of Thunder Eagle Mountain, and the BOSS Thunder Eagle re‑entered the battlefield.

Its aura was stronger than before, its level had risen by one, and all attributes increased.

"35 seconds..."

Jiang Chen noted the time; the objective had been achieved.

With the time secured, there was no need to linger.

The Lightning Wings trembled, Jiang Chen's speed surged, he turned sharply and landed directly onto a small Thunder Eagle.

The small Thunder Eagle was slightly smaller than the BOSS, but still three meters wide, with a wingspan of ten meters—enough to accommodate several people.

Five Skeleton Berserkers appeared beside Jiang Chen.

Red Light flashed, Skill: Aging Curse!

The world of the Thunder Eagle instantly changed.

Damage amplified 15‑fold, speed reduced 100‑fold.

Even the speed‑focused Thunder Eagle was now completely slowed.

The five Skeleton Berserkers simultaneously unleashed their Skill; Red Light surged on their axes before cleaving down.

With a bang, this small Thunder Eagle let out a wail and was instantly killed.

At the moment it died, Jiang Chen tapped a finger.

Skill: Corpse Explosion!

After Second Transcendence, the Corpse Explosion skill's level remained unchanged.

But Perfect Amplification rose from 40‑fold to 50‑fold.

The Divine Power Level 6 Corpse Explosion's radius expanded from 240 m to 300 m.

Damage increased from 14‑times the corpse's HP to 17.5‑times.

Plus the Curse's 10‑fold damage boost.

An Explosion roared, terrifying energy swept the sky.

All small Thunder Eagles were collectively annihilated, and even the BOSS suffered heavy damage again.

At this point, Jiang Chen's Lightning Wings had only 5 seconds left.

Jiang Chen stood at the explosion's center, his wings spread like a demon god.

He continuously fired arrows left and right.

Three Skills per second—that is Jiang Chen's current maximum skill‑casting speed.

However, when he was trialing in Shenlong Tower, he learned a technique from an Assassin‑class practitioner.

It allows simultaneous left‑right Skill use, with about 0.1 second interval front‑to‑back.

This can greatly accelerate Skill casting speed.

In this state, five Skills can be released each second.

Before the small Thunder Eagle corpses fell, Jiang Chen had already triggered over ten consecutive explosions.

Amid the rumble, Thunder Mountain shook, and the lightning was blasted away.

The BOSS Thunder Eagle crashed down with a mournful howl; this time it did not rise again.

"Kill Thunder Eagle, Experience +4,900,000"

"Obtained Lightning Long Sword."

"Obtained Lightning Armor."

"Obtained Lightning Crystal Fragment ×4"

"Lightning Long Sword: Platinum Grade Weapon, All Attributes +1200, Swordsman-type Skills Amplify 60%, Skill: Lightning Slash."

"Lightning Slash: Deals damage equal to 100% of the user's Strength to the enemy, while also inflicting Electric Element damage equal to 100% of the user's Strength. Has a chance to paralyze the enemy for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute."

"Lightning Armor: Platinum Grade Armor, All Attributes +800, Electric Element damage reduced by 20%."

The Lightning Long Sword's stats were average, barely scraping the bottom among Platinum Grade weapons.

However, the skill it came with was decent and should be worth some money.

The Lightning Armor was very ordinary, with nothing remarkable about it.

It was the number of Lightning Crystal Fragments that caught Jiang Chen slightly off guard.

Dropping four at once wasn't a small amount.

Adding the one he'd obtained earlier from the Thunder Marsh Lightning Ape, he could just combine them into a single Lightning Crystal.

This Instance run had yielded quite a harvest.

Not only had he unexpectedly acquired the Lightning Wings skill, but he had also witnessed something extremely secretive and learned the cause of the Lightning God's death.

The Wild Beast King—a terrifying monster capable of killing even the Lightning God.

Jiang Chen couldn't help but compare the Wild Beast King to the one in the Ancient Battlefield, but found he couldn't reach a conclusion.

Both were far too strong, beyond the scope of his understanding.

After scanning the Thunder Mountain once more to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Jiang Chen exited the Instance.

Outside the Instance, the elders of the royal family had already left.

Only Si Tu Yu and Si Tu Liang remained.

Jiang Chen recognized Si Tu Liang as the sovereign.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Jiang Chen took the initiative to address Si Tu Liang.

Si Tu Liang smiled. "Divine General Jiang is truly young. I've been hearing legends about Divine General Jiang lately—truly, the younger generation inspires awe."

Jiang Chen gave a slight smile. "Your Majesty flatters me."

Si Tu Liang said, "Regarding the earlier matter with Si Tu Shun, I apologize to Divine General Jiang on behalf of the royal family. If Divine General Jiang needs anything, you may speak directly to Yu'er."

"If it is within the royal family's power, we will certainly grant it."

This was a promise. Si Tu Liang was not only the sovereign but also a Divine-level Strongman.

Jiang Chen understood the weight of his promise.

Jiang Chen hadn't taken Si Tu Shun's matter to heart, and besides, he still owed Situ Li a favor.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. If there is anything Your Majesty needs that I can help with, please feel free to ask."

Si Tu Liang laughed heartily. "Good, good, good. The royal family will be Divine General Jiang's best friend."

"You young people chat. This old man won't be an eyesore here."

Si Tu Liang had gotten the answer he wanted. Though it was just a single sentence, it was enough.

He had investigated and understood Jiang Chen, knowing that with Jiang Chen's way of doing things, any word he spoke would surely be kept.

As long as he could maintain a good relationship with Jiang Chen, that was the best outcome.

After Si Tu Liang left, Si Tu Yu immediately became lively.

Her eyes sparkled slightly, and her red lips parted as she eagerly asked about the Instance.

Mainly, she asked about the changes in Hell Difficulty.

Jiang Chen described the changes after the upgrade, and Si Tu Yu recorded them one by one.

When the royal family's team went to tackle the Instance, it would go much more smoothly.

Si Tu Yu said, "Then after you've had your fill of farming, we'll organize a team to go in."

Jiang Chen said, "You can go in now. Don't worry about me."

Huh?

Si Tu Yu was taken aback. Why had he suddenly changed his mind?

She had thought Jiang Chen would be farming for a while.

Hearing him say this now, she wondered if his earlier words had just been a test.

Simply a way to gauge her sincerity.

Or perhaps, Jiang Chen truly remembered the favor he owed Situ Li.

Regardless, since Jiang Chen had said so now, she could organize the personnel.

The royal family's Instance-clearing team had been on standby, needing only her command to enter the Instance.

Jiang Chen had already obtained what he needed, so naturally, he wouldn't impose any further restrictions.

Si Tu Yu asked again, "So we really can go farm the Instance now?"

Jiang Chen gave a grunt of affirmation. "You can."

With that, he took out the Cooldown Talisman, reset the Instance cooldown, and entered the Instance again.

Si Tu Yu's eyes darted around, and she immediately issued a new command through her Communicator.

Soon, a team of twelve people came running over.

After reviewing the Instance notes Si Tu Yu had recorded, they teleported into the Instance.

Then a second team, and a third team, all arrived in quick succession.

The royal family's strength was evident for all to see...