CHAPTER 29: GO TO COLDFLOWER VALLEY

Wilderness outside Yunhuang City, in a dense forest.

zzz... zzz...

Tiny crackles of lightning rang out in succession.

-721!

-363!

-361!

A flurry of damage numbers floated in the air.

At this moment, dozens of monsters stood before Jiang Chen, but not a single one could even touch the hem of his clothes.

As he retreated, his Wind Spirit Longbow stayed busy. Arrows crackling with purple-white lightning struck their targets one after another, and the purple electricity ricocheted rapidly through the monster horde, dealing massive area damage.

The corners of Jiang Chen's mouth lifted in a smile. With the addition of the [Thunder Infusion] skill, his farming speed had skyrocketed, improving several fold.

Once Thunder Infusion was activated, every attack of his could damage up to 11 wild monsters. Coupled with his high attack speed, in just a dozen seconds, dozens of monsters were all lying on the ground.

"Ding! Congratulations on killing a Jungle Wild Bull. Gained 150 EXP!" "Ding!..."

"Ding!..."

This grinding speed was simply outrageous.

With a satisfied grin, Jiang Chen looted all the corpses of the Jungle Wild Bulls.

His total haul: 47 Wild Bull Horns, one silver skill book, and one bronze equipment item. 

The drop rate was still pitiful. Nearly 50 monsters and this was all he got a meager handful. And that's with the bonus from [Hundredfold Reward]. Without it, he'd only be getting white gear and basic skill books-pathetic.

Jiang Chen was currently en route to Coldflower Valley to complete a quest, farming some experience along the way.

At present, most players' levels were already quite high. Among the elite players who first entered the main city, the lowest were already LV14. Meanwhile, Jiang Chen was only LVII, completely off the rankings.

According to the system's evaluation: You have surpassed 72% of players!

Out of 10 billion, 28% is still an astronomical number...

[Yunhuang City Level Leaderboard]

1. Han Gongque - LV15, Holy Spirit Mage

2. Qingfeng Beiqi - LV14, Phantom Blade (Assassin)

3. Liulizhan - LV14, Shield Guardian

4. Huaxia Junhun - LV14, Dragonblood Swordsman

5. Fenghuo Xizhu Hou - LV14, Lava Warrior

6. Xiaofeng Canmeng - LV14, Frost Mage

7. Ling Yun'er - LV14, Flame Conjurer

8. Jinyi Yexing - LV14, Seasonal Spellcaster

9. Wo Xiang Jingjing - LV14, Beast Spirit Summoner

10. Zai Shui Yifang – LV14, True Word Mage

Looking at the current leaderboard, the mages were clearly beginning to dominate after class advancement.

With their area-of-effect skills, mages had far superior farming speed compared to most warriors and archers. During this stage, the leaderboard would inevitably be ruled by mages-class advantage. Currently, 5 of the top 10 players were mage classes. The rest, if not for rare hidden-class advantages, wouldn't even make it to the list.

Although hidden classes were difficult to obtain in Hope World, with billions of players in China, it wasn't surprising that a few lucky ones got them.

Jiang Chen smirked-It wouldn't be long before the leaderboard's top spot changed hands.

In front of his Divine class, both hidden and ordinary classes were meaningless-just taller among dwarfs.

"Ding! Congratulations on killing a Jungle Wild Bull. Gained 150 EXP!"

“Ding!...”

"Ding!..."

While checking the leaderboard, Jiang Chen had again slain a large number of monsters, and his EXP was growing rapidly.

Half an hour later, Jiang Chen reached LV12, and also arrived at Coldflower Valley's map area.

He opened the map-Han Yunmeng's location was deep within the valley. He couldn't help but wonder why she didn't just stay in the main city. Why run off to such a desolate place?

From what the archer instructor Jona had said, Han Yunmeng could brew resurrection potions-undoubtedly a potion master.

Following the map, Jiang Chen ventured deeper into the valley. He hadn't I gone far when he heard sounds of battle nearby. He immediately crept toward the source.

A hillside.

Several grotesque man-eating monsters had surrounded a young NPC girl.

These Ogres were level 20 monsters, possessing sharp teeth and powerful bodies.

Their stats were extremely high-not something current players could handle.

Miss!

Miss!

The hulking monsters swung their stone weapons, but the girl barely dodged each attack. Yet under this relentless siege, her stamina was obviously nearing depletion. Her movements grew visibly sluggish.

“Damn it, this human girl's too slippery. My axe can't land a hit!" complained one ogre, swinging his stone axe.

"Idiot! You're swinging too hard! If you hit her, you'll smash her into pulp. There goes our meal!" another shouted.

"Exactly, dumbass. Use less force! We need to capture this girl alive. Human women taste the best!"

The axe-wielding ogre retorted, “Bullshit! That woman deep in the valley always captures our kind. Human women aren't edible! She'll bite out your guts with her teeth, claw open your belly, and leave your intestines spilling!"

The Al of monsters outside the main city was clearly much more advanced. These ogres actually understood how to exhaust the girl's stamina for a live capture-something beginner zone mobs could never do.

At this point, the NPC girl was panting heavily, nearly spent. Her hooded cloak was torn in several places, and she looked utterly disheveled...

Her eyes were filled with utter despair.

She couldn't match these ogres.

At this rate, she'd surely be captured alive...

"Am I really going to become ogre food? I don't want to! Master, where are you...?"

Tears welled in her eyes, full of longing.

"Hahaha! She's out of energy! I'll capture her alive!"

One ogre lunged forward, its thick leathery hand reaching out.

The girl was completely out of strength, unable to dodge-She could only shut her eyes in despair, waiting for death.

Whoosh!

At that instant, a white arrow streaked through the air, landing precisely in the ogre's head.

Jiang Chen had finally made his move.

He unleashed a [Concussive Arrow], and the hit critically struck, instantly dealing nearly 3,000 damage.