Chapter 379: Sometimes an Adult

However, even though the kind and friendly allies chose to strike down mercilessly, the Cold Iron cultists present were not all slain by them.

It wasn't because they suddenly showed great mercy and laid down their slaughter knives, nor because there were too many cultists running too fast to finish off in time, but because…

Ah!

Accompanied by a desperate scream, a blood‑splattered figure staggered into view at the corner of the nearby intersection.

He leaned forward, clutching his broken arm, about to sprint recklessly, when he saw the various forces gathered here.

Startled, his face showed a textbook‑worthy expression change, and he extended his intact hand, shouting with surprise.

Save me! I beg you, hurry and save me!

Save…

Not save?

Just kill me then?

In a flash, everyone imagined countless answers, but the next moment, fate chose for them.

Um…

Suddenly, the fleeing Guardian Taoist seemed struck from behind by an unknown force, silencing his wail and slamming his body heavily to the ground.

The mystery was revealed: it was a hammer that had become lodged in a broken spine.

A nail‑hammer favored by Cold Iron cultists, almost every hand wielding one!

With that obstacle gone, amid flickering fireworks, two tall, muscular figures appeared at the end of the corridor.

One of them, likely the ruthless one who just killed the Cold Iron priest, twisted wildly, his snarling claws dripping blood.

The other flicked his hand, pulled a freshly seized nail‑hammer from his cloth pouch, and grinned.

Hey, even though it feels clumsy when swung, it's pretty handy to toss.

…

No one recognized the werewolf on the left, but the guy on the right, who raised his arm toward us and politely shouted "Hello, everyone," was very familiar to them.

Wolf! Everyone run!

No delay, whoosh!

Hey, you…

Watching the experience merit bag flee like a school‑day kid, and the hammer they couldn't throw because they insisted on showing off.

Knock the horse, don't run!

Cang Lang snarled instantly, drew another and chased after.

Cloi, a beat slower, first glanced at her blood‑stained body, then couldn't resist using a Holy Light cleansing spell.

She thought, weren't we supposed to be a mount? Why rush into someone's house to kill, and make everything pixelated?

In fact, the previous two hours had been calm; she and Cang Lang waited outside, awaiting a signal from Ji Ming.

But Cang Lang is a man of few words, and after only minutes Fei Ying messaged him, saying he had a tough spot needing remote professional command, leaving Cang Lang so busy he couldn't even lift his head.

Cloi… due to various reasons, is now introverted, seldom speaks, and as a free‑time person she browses the Player Forum, having a strong impression of the notorious "Desert Cang Lang."

Thus, on a moonless night, the two of them: one sitting cross‑legged on a large stone nearby, the other standing under a big tree beside the thieves' den.

Anyone who saw would think they'd encountered a hidden boss that spawns in the wild, and just by their stance it looked like a max‑difficulty living dungeon.

In fact, one was buzzing a transparent box no one else could see, the other was sneaking around the fan‑fiction section of the Player Forum.

After a long hustle, Cang Lang glanced at the time and saw a full hour had passed.

He wondered if Wai Shu had already been taken, but a look at the friend list showed the vital signs were fine.

Cloi, on her side, had no worries at all; after all, Great Deity, if you can catch me, I'll still be watching the fireworks show.

And ten minutes earlier, the long‑lost Ji Ming finally sent word, and the message was simple.

【No big monster, come in, unrivaled grass‑cutting】

Then there was nothing more to say; the two jumped into the thieves' den one after another and launched the underground maze instance.

The clueless Guardian Taoists, upon seeing the pair, looked utterly amazed, as if they'd spotted a Komodo dragon in their own bathtub.

Cang Lang wasn't idle either; he brandished a Winchester, announcing his arrival with a gunshot like a crowned assassin.

But ammunition is pricey, so after the bang he switched back to melee, seized the enemy's hammer and began a slaughter.

If he were alone, even the guards from all factions, no matter how fearful, would still dare to gamble with him.

After all, a hero can't match four hands; we all shoulder a head together. We believe in the evil god—if you have the skill, take us all!

But when a werewolf crackling with thunder and lightning surged onto the battlefield, the fight instantly lost its purpose.

Because the priests' prized divine arts on it were like a bubble bath; elemental, physical, psychic, or plain malicious curses—all were ineffective.

No, this can't be!

Even the High Priest of the Blood‑Eater Church sacrificed his entire blood, a life‑risking full‑force strike, all in vain.

Not only did it fail to deal the expected horror damage, it turned into a massive buff, making the werewolf's fur shinier.

The High Priest, seeing this, wanted to tear his eyes apart, but already powerless, could only become a desiccated corpse amid his anguish.

Followers: "What the hell, cheating!"

After that slap, they instantly became clear‑headed, thinking that since all their skills were just a scrape, why bother playing.

Better to quit early than be cannon fodder for others!

Thus the two were surprised to find that the monsters ahead didn't grow stronger; their quality dropped, and their numbers dwindled.

Just this? Or were they all killed by Wai Shu?

At that moment, the panicked Cold Iron priest ran over, babbling.

Before he could shout "Cold Iron Sect, retreat!" he collided head‑on with the dodging Cloi, who used him as a shield.

Ahhh! Another death!

Ahhh… wait, the one who got smacked away looks like our priest ahhh!

Cloi: "What? What did I do?"

Now the Cold Iron Followers' last bit of courage is gone, and they all joined this true—run for life.

Moreover, whether to survive or not, they righteously chose to scatter and flee, rather than be shameless bastards who screw over teammates.

But by sheer coincidence, following the spirit of striking while the enemy is down, the two demon gods' target happened to be that injured one, and thus they discovered a bunch of true shameless bastards.

So shameless that the enemy clearly hadn't launched a single decent attack, yet their morale collapsed and they all fled.

"Wait… wait a minute! Something's not right!"

Only after the frightened troops had darted off several dozen meters in succession did the Earl of Yan Shan, caught up in them, finally get a chance to catch his breath.

Although Cang Lang is fierce, because he focuses on opposing evil gods, he hasn't fought much against nobles; at least Yan Shan holds no psychological grudge against him.

Thus, after regaining his footing, the resentful Earl's first words were.

"Yan Shan Knight Order, assemble for attack!"

If money is a person's gall, then violence is the backbone of nobles.

Unless they are true prodigals or truly unable to make ends meet, nobles would never mistreat their soldiers—especially a smart great noble like Yan Shan.

"Received!"

Therefore, these dozens of loyal knights hesitated not at all, instantly forming an attack stance under the leadership of Knight Commander Boge.

As everyone knows, people tend to follow the crowd and act irrationally.

Upon seeing someone stop, and moreover it was our side's strongest noble knight order that stopped, the others immediately fell into hesitation.

And once people hesitate, they often choose the most reckless path, so…

Why not give it a try?

Thus, as more and more people stopped, turned back, and chose to rejoin the battle, they eventually formed a human wall before the attackers.

"Damn!"

Cang Lang chased Cloi like two sheepdogs, tight and slow, actually aiming to use rapid pursuit to prevent the enemy from thinking normally, thus unable to stop resistance, until they completely lost the ability to resist.

Who would have thought the other side also had talent; a moment's inattention and a few words steadied their formation again.

Moreover, he habitually checked the enemies' levels, finding the others fine, but one big tin can turned out to be 【???】.

Three question marks mean the level gap is at least five; the opponent is an absolute strong enemy, such that in a one‑on‑one our chance of victory is nearly zero.

But players fear nothing more than death; as long as they dare show their health bar, not to mention three question marks, even if their whole body were covered in question marks, they'd still dare wade through muddy water.

So Cang Lang showed no fear, instead taking out three grenades to let them experience the greatness of human technology, so they'd never mess with traditional infantry formations again.

"Wait, stop!"

However, upon seeing this, Cloi's not just her ears—her whole body's fur stood on end.

You gotta realize we're underground; carrying out large‑scale explosions… are you impatient because the ceiling's too solid to collapse?

"Ah… this…"

Cang Lang, who had almost pulled the pin and thrown the grenade, reacted and could only put the grenades away.

Moreover, no matter how strong one is, there are limits; he had no confidence he could defeat a forty‑level led hundred‑person squad by himself alone.

But.

"Oh well, let's just rely on our own abilities—consider it crisis‑response training."

The naturally big‑hearted Cang Lang put away the bag of weapons he'd picked up and took out his true armament.

Only a flash of golden light, and a high concentration of true qi condensed on his fists, forming a thick spiked carapace.

This is precisely a variation of the first transformation of the True Qi Nurturing Body Technique—Qian Heaven Blade—and embodies Cang Lang's hard‑won combat experience from relentless training.

However, Boge knew he had some skill, so he didn't let him engage our front line.

Instead, he took the initiative, picking up a sturdy war hammer and advancing into the roaring flames.

"Ha!"

Accompanied by a furious shout, the two masters held nothing back, going all out as fist and hammer smashed together.

But it lasted only an instant, for the immense mutual force and the martial artists' habitual self‑protection sent both flying backward, landing back where they started.

"How is it?"

Cloi and the Count spoke at the same time, and the response was that the other party simultaneously shook their heads.

"I'm afraid it's not that great……"

Cang Lang was startled, for since the Huaxia cultivation method was successfully reproduced in the game, countries around the world have never stopped searching far and wide for extraordinary people and strange occurrences.

So a month passed, and even though the threshold to enter the game is quite high, there are still many talented individuals appearing in the game, and they have displayed their unique specialties in various fields.

Although no Superman- or sentinel-level mountain tigers capable of turning the tide have appeared, there have also emerged figures like the Hellish Neuroses Constance, a monkey king capable of overwhelming a region.

However, whether considering potential, usability, or versatility, nothing can compare to the "True Qi Nourishing Body Technique," which anyone can cultivate, yet only humans can cultivate it.

Thus, someone on the internet has proposed a rather chilling theory,

—If the Wu clan had not chosen to make their technique public, perhaps the fuse of S3 would have been it!

And yet, despite being so powerful, integrating offense and defense, worthy of being called a second profession's technique, I have clearly trained it to the peak among players as much as possible, yet I can still be repelled by a single blow from the opponent.

Hiss…

Wai Shu, is this the "no big monster" you were talking about, damn it?

And on the other side, Boge was also startled; the reason here doesn't need much explanation.

A level forty versus a level thirty-three, which should be an easy one-hit KO with good luck, or at worst a three-hit KO in a noob-bashing match, yet I ended up with a 50-50 start, embarrassing myself big time!

Hiss…

Even the tiger's mouth feels a bit numb.

But the insects each have their own filth, yet heroes all share the same courage.

Despite their anxiety, the two still summoned a stubborn, unwilling-to-lose ferocity.

Fight!

With a shake of his body, the True Qi Fist Emperor immediately clashed with the Blazing Hammer Venerable.

Anyway, it's the True Qi Fist Gauntlets and the Mithril Hammer that will hurt—I just need to go all out and it'll be over!

And Cloi was a qualified onlooker; besides serving as background, seeing Cang Lang fiercely contend with high-level professionals amidst dragon-soaring tiger-leaping, she couldn't help but feel admiration.

"How enviable…… Wait, speaking of which, I've been blessed by the True God—can I also cultivate some True Qi?"

But her willingness to hide in the back and watch the show doesn't mean others will be willing.

The count, whose mind was full of scheming, pondered a bit, glancing around his teammates like a gambler checking his cards.

After estimating, feeling the plan feasible, he reached out and pointed at the werewolf's greasy big nose.

"Don't forget it, that dirty ugly werewolf! It just killed our cold-iron brothers! We don't need to hold back—let's all go and kill it together!"

Ugly werewolf???

Although Cloi had grown accustomed to her giant wolf form, being eyed by several werewolves on the daytime road still made her regain a bit of the pride she once had as the village belle.

Hearing that, she even dubiously looked behind herself, wondering if there might be another wolf around.

Several seconds passed before she realized the old man was referring to herself.

Her natural smile's corners slowly sank, and then…

Crack!

Sometimes, an adult's emotional defense shatters in an instant.