Chapter 256: Bumpy Journey

Several times, those dwarves almost got attacked by the giant scorpions.

I have to say, the highest level among the party is Su Sheng at only 42; Su Ba and Su Wenhao are still level 40, and the other three girls are only level 41. In this situation, fighting those level‑55 small monsters is still rather hard.

We also have to thank that Su Sheng's team's attributes are sufficiently "abnormal"; otherwise just this place could have stuck them dead.

This time it took about an hour and a half to get through the entire training spot of the corrupted giant scorpions.

"These monsters here have such high levels, Su Sheng, are you sure we can get through this mission?" Lin Huan said, glancing back at the corrupted giant scorpions with lingering fear.

Indeed, they're exhausting, these monsters.

The others also had some worries; they all knew the mission was aimed at the Divine Artifact, so a bit of difficulty is understandable.

But the little monsters we're facing now are a bit over‑leveled.

Su Sheng hesitated for a moment, wondering whether undertaking this mission at this stage was perhaps too hasty.

At this point, Su Sheng turned his head and glanced at Tie Chui Airen.

Tie Chui Airen was just pressing on, saying nothing.

The NPCs in this game have high intelligence; if one's level is too low and there's no hope of succeeding, Tie Chui Airen would never assign such a mission.

Otherwise, those dwarves would be courting death themselves.

But sometimes an over‑leveled mission is normal; Su Sheng recalled the Demon Suppression three‑task in Wutong before.

Back then I was only a few levels, yet I was sent to kill the demon general Kaker.

Although later a mishap prematurely triggered the demon general's siege, in the end it was only by the combined effort of all the players in Wutong Town that we managed to kill the demon general Kaker.

"Iron Hammer Master, is the Demon Race's strength in Chi Yan City really that great? Can our strength adequately guard you?" Su Sheng couldn't help but ask.

After all, these NPCs' intelligence is almost indistinguishable from real people.

"Don't worry, the road may be a bit rough, but Chi Yan City was originally just a small town. I remember it clearly because I was in charge of the sealing work on that mine tunnel back then."

"Back then, after passing through that mine tunnel, I even came to Zhuque City."

"This mountain range originally wasn't like this; it used to be clear mountains and beautiful scenery. There were some beasts, but it wasn't nearly this dangerous at all."

Tie Chui Airen looked over the surrounding mountains with a hint of nostalgia, but now the mountains had become the terrain of the Demon Race.

"In fact, this mountain range became this way ultimately because of our fault."

"The Dwarf Kingdom has completely fallen; the Demon Race opened several Demon Race sky‑wells within the kingdom, and endless Demon Energy spreading from the sky‑wells has completely altered the kingdom's appearance."

"Among them is Chi Yan City; the mine tunnel in this mountain range has been sealed, but it remains connected. The sealing wasn't flawless, so Demon Energy still seeps through the tunnel into the mountains."

"Ultimately, that caused this mountain range to become like this," Tie Chui Airen said with a tone of guilt.

Su Sheng fell silent; the game's overarching background is the Demon Race invasion theme, and Su Sheng cannot change the game's background.

"Chi Yan City itself doesn't have any high‑value assets; it's just a small town. The Demon Spawn there are probably only slightly stronger than the trolls that once occupied our homeland," Tie Chui Airen added.

Hearing that, Su Sheng felt a slight relief; in that case there is still a chance.

"Su Sheng! The next wave of monsters!" Lin Huan called out.

Su Sheng looked up, his brow slightly raised; it was a group of level‑60 wild monsters.

Level 60, can we get through?

"We're almost there; if nothing goes wrong, passing through them will get us there," Tie Chui Airen said, looking at the surroundings.

Su Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

Then Su Sheng's party escorted the dwarf squad forward.

But upon contacting these level‑60 monsters, Su Sheng discovered a problem.

Can't block!

It's not that we can't defeat them, but we can't hit them quickly!

If it's just to tank, Su Sheng can still hold, especially with the Fireworks Blessing Shield from the suan ni and Huang Mingxin's healing.

But Block failed; the level and attribute gap is too large, and every skill Block by Su Sheng is judged to fail, so damage mitigation doesn't activate.

Only Defensive Stance can mitigate some damage, but while in Defensive Stance, if Su Sheng interrupts a skill it goes on cooldown, so he can't activate Defensive Stance at any moment.

If it weren't for the suan ni Xiao Jia Huo's shield, Su Sheng might not have held up.

Although we survived, the output is slow; these are rock monsters with no known weak points, and their magic and physical resistances are high. Even the ever‑successful Li Wenwan, facing a 20‑level attribute gap, is struggling.

As the dwarves advanced, more and more level‑60 rock monsters were attracted; at this rate, Su Sheng and his squad could probably retreat.

But the dwarves led by Tiechui would definitely be smashed into mush by these rock monsters.

Seeing more rock monsters draw near, Su Sheng looked at their bulky forms and suddenly got an idea.

These rock monsters, though their dual resistances are exaggerated and their attacks heavy, have agility as their weakness.

Su Sheng and the others' goal isn't to kill these monsters; they only need to escort the dwarves through.

At this moment, the dwarf squad clearly knows the rock monsters are fierce and has already started running.

"Dad, Binding Talisman!"

"Everyone else, cease attack!"

Su Sheng shouted outright.

Snap~

Binding Talisman!

The rock monster in front of Su Sheng was instantly bound; despite its high level, it wasn't a boss template, and obediently remained bound for two seconds.

Lion Hunt!

Hunting Stance!

Su Sheng also took the opportunity to dash out; he must draw all the monster's aggro onto himself, so the others must cease attacking. Against such monsters, Su Sheng may not be able to hold 100% aggro.

Taunt~

Lion's Claw!

Swish-swish~

In a few quick moves, Su Sheng directly pulled the hatred of these nearby rock monsters over to himself, and at this point the one initially put under Stasis also started moving.

Relying on his own speed and the monsters' Hate Value! Su Sheng gathered these rock monsters together.

「Yin-Yang Force Field！！」

Su Sheng shouted loudly.

Fortunately, Dad was more than capable.

A black-and-white dual-colored seal exploded, and these rock monsters were all enveloped within the Yin-Yang Fish.

They were already slow, and this further reduced their speed by fifty percent.

They directly became turtle-speed…

Then Su Sheng escorted the Dwarves and went away proudly…