Cold wind blew. Fighting through the howling wind and dense snow, I quickly cleared out all nearby Snow Wolves. I looked in the direction of Hundred Flower Valley and said, "Let's go, we can enter the quest map now!”

"Mn!"

Everyone walked carefully. If even the monsters on the perimeter were Level 80, we could not imagine what level the monsters inside were, but one thing was certain—there would be many powerful elites!

……

Our robes fluttered in the wind. I stepped into the Hundred Flower Valley, scenery around me suddenly changing. I seemed to enter another world. The wind and snow vanished. The flowers bloomed in the warmth. This was completely different from the outside, as though there was some kind of boundary separating the two worlds!

"Wow..."

The girls followed in. Beiming Xue said, "The scenery here is so beautiful! No wonder it’s called Hundred Flower Valley, so beautiful..."

Lin Yixin nodded. "Yes, it’s very beautiful. Icy plains outside, but eternal spring here. What could that mean?"

I said gravely, "This means that Hundred Flower Valley is not safe, and even has hidden dangers."

"Why so?" He Yi asked.

I smiled. "The Aranya Temple of A Chinese Ghost Story was desolate, but there were pavilions and towers with many beauties. What does that mean? Something so uncharacteristic can only mean something is wrong. This place is not simple. The monsters inside might be much stronger than the ones outside!"

"Yes!"

Lin Yixin nodded cautiously and said, "Everyone, be careful. We traveled far to get here. Don't get killed instantly."

"Yes, move out!"

I walked at the front, along the path, entering through the valley entrance. The moment I formally stepped into the valley, the system bell rang—

Ding~!

System Notice: You have entered a mysterious region—Hundred Flower Valley!

……

Damn, a mysterious region?

I was speechless and opened the small map. I found that the structure of Hundred Flower Valley was like a sheep's intestine, extremely twisted and winding. The destination had snow-capped mountain ranges on both sides. The difficulty was one that present players could not handle. In a sense, it was an insurmountable zone but because we needed the Frost Snowball, we had to fight our way through it!

Seeing the map’s layout, Lin Yixin was excited, her eyes wide. She smiled. "Haha, it seems like there may be high-rank herbs here!"

“Good luck!" I said.

Then me and my Dark Wasp proceeded forward. After about ten meters, I saw no monsters and was curious. I turned back to look and said, "Why aren't you summoning your pets?"

He Yi laughed softly. "My Wasp is almost Level 70 but only has 400 attack power. If we encounter Level 70 or 80 monsters, they won't be able to defend, why even let them out..."

Lin Yixin nodded. "Yes, my Fire Blade can’t keep up with the demand. I’m too lazy to summon it. Its attack power is not even 700, it can only deal a dozen damage each time. It’s just too embarrassing to show in public..."

Murong Mingyue smiled. "Only Lu Chen's Dark Wasp is likely useful. A boss-tier pet like that can break through the mobs’ Defense..."

I looked at the Dark Wasp and almost cried. "In reality, the Dark Wasp is much more useless. It can kill normal monsters, but it can’t pierce through the Defense of bosses. In the end, it only diverts attacks..."

Beiming Xue laughed softly. "At this time, as the elite monsters become more common, players’ levels can’t keep up anymore. If I’m correct, the super cities will be opened soon. With them, new pets with new tiers should be introduced too."

"That’s right!"

I agreed wholeheartedly and continued forward.

Suddenly, He Yi darted forward and grabbed my shoulder, exclaiming, "Careful, something’s coming!"

"Oh?"

I followed in the direction of He Yi's finger and heard rustling from the grasses. Something was quickly coming through the grass. As expected, something appeared!

"Let me!"

I swung the Purgatory Sword and activated Charge. I did not lock onto the target, but judged the direction and speed of the target's movements to target the location it would reach in 0.5 seconds. Otherwise, if I locked onto it for Charge, the possibility of a MISS would be much higher. It was strategy. Sometimes, fights were won with brains, not brawn. Without brains, some players would be at a disadvantage.

Whoosh!

I turned into an afterimage and separated the grass. With a bang, I locked onto the target and swung my sword down!

Crack!

2209!

Wow, my basic attack only created this much damage. The monster's Defense is high. Much stronger than most of the current metal armor players!

After the attack, I took two steps back, and tried to use Pardon!

At this time, the monster suddenly jumped up and caused the girls to pale—

This was an enormous spider, as big as a roulette wheel, about a meter or so in diameter. It was completely black, had eight legs, and was covered in disgusting hair. Its head was small with two blue eyes that stared directly at me. Its mouth was open, and it seemed to be moving its tongue.

Even though I had been prepared, this disgusting monster gave me a fright, to say nothing of the girls. We had seen spider monsters before, but never such a disgusting and terrifying one!

There was no doubt that our team's combat power was greatly decreased against this monster. He Yi and Lin Yixin were not willing to fight at the front. Only Beiming Xue would suppress her disgust and use long-range attacks to help me. It was my fate to shoulder most of the responsibility.

I looked, and the spider's stats appeared to our party. As expected, a high-level monster!

Mountain Spider (Elite)

Level: 87

Attack: 850~1050

Defense: 700

HP: 15500

Skills: Venom, Spiderweb

Introduction: Mountain Spider. These mysterious webweavers have existed on the continent for tens of thousands of years. They are extremely vicious and hostile to all living beings. Their venom and web are extraordinarily powerful. The human empires tried countless times to send knights to exterminate the spiders, but never achieved any satisfying results.

……

I gaped. Damn, a Level 87 elite had over a thousand Attack. Was there any reason in the world? As I had expected, the monsters in Hundred Flower Valley were different and much stronger than the ones from outside!

Lin Yixin stared at the mountain spider and suddenly said, "Hm, this Hundred Flower Valley never appeared on Floating Ice City's world map. Is this a warning sign that the super cities are about to open? Maybe, that Hundred Flower Valley can be considered a part of the map of the super main cities?"

My thoughts shifted and I struck away the Mountain Spider, nodding. "Possible. This Hundred Flower Valley is within the snow region. Logically, this map is so far away that it’s beyond the regions of Floating Ice City!"

Murong Mingyue raised a hand to give me a healing spell and said with a smile, "Alright, then we can experience the power of the super map monsters first. Lu Chen, take care of this Mountain Spider faster. One elite monster is delaying you for so long. How can you call yourself the strongest of Floating Ice City?"

I grimaced inside. "Damn, who said I am the strongest of Floating Ice City? I don’t need to be the strongest, other people can be if they want to..."

The tallest tree would be the one first chopped down. When one’s power didn’t reach the apex, it was better to stay inconspicuous and wait for the best time to attack when dealing with a powerful opponent. That was the correct path!

Clang clang clang!

The Purgatory Sword slashed the hard carapace of the spider like it hit steel. Sparks even flew. This thing's Defense is too strong!

However, even then it could not stop the sharp Purgatory Sword. The 3-star Outstanding Dark Gold–grade weapon was not a fake. Just the attack power alone was boosted by 17% with it equipped, and I had a hidden class with amazing Strength scaling in which I put 5 points every level. In terms of attack power, no one was a match for me.

In reality, undead beings all had talent bonuses. Other than undead energy, undead beings and players dealt 5% piercing damage. In other words, undead players could ignore 5% of the opponent’s Defense. It was a racial trait all other classes envied!

High Strength scaling, unique talents, and skill advantage. These factors sealed my fate as a high-Attack warrior. Otherwise I would be just wasting Undead Swordsman’s potential!

Clang!

More sparks flew. The first Mountain Spider finally gave an ear-piercing wail and fell down, dropping many things!

I walked forward and grabbed my spoils. This was a 98 Quality Phantasmal Magic Stone. I hadn't expected an elite monster to drop one. It was pretty valuable. Even the smallest of such stones was worth several gold and in real world currency, it alone was enough to eat a good breakfast.

The Mountain Spider also dropped a glittering blood-red jewel. When we saw the stats, we were given a fright—

Mountain Spider Blood Sac: A high-rank medicinal ingredient. Increases the effect of Health Potions by 20%!

……

Increases the effect of Health Potions by 20%?

My eyes went wide. It was the same as my profession’s carrots. Very good. 20% was a lot. Rank 8 Health Potion could restore 2500 HP, make it 3000 if that item were to be added to the mix. At this stage of the game, it might as well be some kind of divine medicine!

Lin Yixin walked forward and whispered, "Uh... how about you give me this Mountain Spider Blood Sac? I need it..."

I nodded. The other girls had no objections. Our workshop didn’t have any alchemists, so there was no use in keeping this. We could sell it back at the city, but since Lin Yixin spoke, I would definitely give it to her.

Handing the Mountain Spider Blood Sac to Lin Yixin, I said, "Let's fight quickly. There will be many Mountain Spiders ahead. Yiyi, help kill, and don't just tread along looking pretty!"

"Mn!"