Chapter 144

Liu Hau sighed in response . He couldn’t refute what Cheng Yang said even if he was concerned about his friend’s safety . After all, the world they lived in was filled with danger, so if he wanted Phoenix Village to remain powerful and safe, everyone would need to keep taking risks .

“Who said this tiger doesn’t look strong? What idiot would call it weak!” Liu Hau vented his pent up emotions to erase the helpless feeling in his heart .

While they were talking, civilians brought over a dish of roast meat with rice gruel . In the past, meat was seen as luxurious, but now everyone was sick of it . Although no one complained in front of him, Cheng Yang knew the people missed eating grains, so he released some from storage the day before . So far, Cheng Yang had managed to avoid buying any food from the Grocery, which lightened the burden on the territory’s finances .

Unfortunately, there was a limit to how long scavenged food would last . For the tens of thousands of citizens in Cheng Yang’s villages, their current food stores would last them at most four months . And the only reason it would last until then was because Yu Kai stumbled onto the remains of a granary . Now Cheng Yang could only wait for the gods to create the Farmer Profession, but even after they did, it would be months before the first harvest .

“My Lord, are you sure you want to clear the Nightmare Difficulty? We won’t have the Imperial Guard to help us . ” Liu Hau said after they finished eating .

“We won’t die, but there’s only an eighty percent chance we’ll clear the instance . ” Cheng Yang said, “That will be much higher if we got a Standard-Grade Priest . ”

“There’s a couple in the village, and out best can heal seventy points of damage thanks to his equipment . ” Liu Hau responded .

“Seventy points? It’s not as high as I would like, but that should be enough . ”

“You’ve got such high standards, my Lord . ” Liu Hau complained, “Where are you going to find someone better at healing than that?”

“No one else knows yet, but my Liu Wei leveled up today and is now a High-Grade Priest . With her power, it’s not a problem to heal a hundred and twenty points of damage . ” Cheng Yang said while laughing .

“So she became a Governor as well?” Liu Hau clicked his tongue . “She was already an overpowered glitch, but now she’s probably unstoppable . ”

Liu Hau summoned the Priest he was talking about, a man named Zong Qiu . He was one of the first people to become a Priest, so he was very experienced, and his Healing Light skill was nearly at the High-Grade level . In that regard, he was a better healer than Liu Wei .

“My Lord, are you sure it will be enough with just the four of us?” Liu Hau asked after they arrived at the entrance to the instance dungeon .

“No one else is necessary . Aside from the Boss, no one can threaten us, and, apart from its Health, the Boss is at most as powerful as Enlai . As long as we keep Zong Qiu alive, we’ll be fine . ”

After that, the team directly entered the Abandoned Citadel .

The first three floors of the instance dungeon were cleared in a bloody whirlwind . With Enlai’s strength, no one else was necessary so they could enjoy the scenery while the white tiger worked .

Once they reached the roof, Cheng Yang ordered Enlai to attack the Boss immediately . Unlike the other monsters, the gnome Boss wasn’t unilaterally crushed . Both sides fought tooth and nail, but Enali gained an advantage thanks to his Vorpal attacks .

Cheng Yang wasn’t idle during this time . While Enlai kept the Boss restrained, Cheng Yang pelted it with Icicle Blasts . Although the gnome had an absurd amount of Health, it wouldn’t last long under the combined assault .

Chunks of flesh were continuously ripped from the gnome’s body by Enali’s powerful attacks . Of course, the Boss wasn’t a punching bag . Enlai never managed to land a fatal blow and took several severe injuries himself . Fortunately, Zong Qiu was there to reverse all of the Boss’s efforts .

If this were a fight with a human, they would undoubtedly try to kill Zong Qiu at all costs . However, since the gnome was nothing but a monster, it’s attention was held by Enlai, who it viewed as the biggest threat .

Once the Boss dropped below half Health, it shrieked and fired its bow into the ground . At that time, black clouds billowed out from where the arrow struck, blinding everyone on the roof .

Cheng Yang was the last to hit the Boss, so it rushed him while Enlai was unable to stop it .

Unable to hit the monster or try to dodge, Cheng Yang felt his Ice Aegis shatter . Then, he felt an arrow rip through his stomach, carried him backward, and nailed him to the parapet .

Luckily, Zong Qui had an astounding combat intuition . As soon as he saw the black clouds, he focused on Cheng Yang’s location . When he heard the sound of shattering ice, he cast Healing Light despite the blindness effect, healing all the damage Cheng Yang took . Despite that, Cheng Yang remained pinned since the arrow was stuck in his stomach .

Cheng Yang wanted to attack the Boss, but, as the black clouds cleared, he saw an arrow heading straight towards his forehead .

He didn’t dare to waste to take the attack head-on . If the Boss had a unique attack property, he might die there and then .

Using all of his strength, he kicked off the ground . The arrow pinning him to the parapet snapped and further lacerated his organs . The pain was unbearable . However, it paled in comparison to the pain of having an arrow pierce through his lower mouth into his neck . The force dislocated his jaw and would have torn it off entirely if it wasn’t embedded in the parapet .

Once more, Zong Qiu cast Healing Light . This time, his stomach healed completely as the broken arrow was forced out .

Three more attacks hit Cheng Yang in rapid succession, outpacing Zong Qiu’s treatment . The situation was torture for Cheng Yang . Every time he was injured, he was healed . He was forced to hang onto his life even if he wanted to collapse .

At this point, the gnome’s aggro switched back to Enlai, who had been attacking it since the black clouds dissipated .

Liu Hau helped Cheng Yang pull out the Boss’s arrows, then, the Boss was one-sidedly attacked once more .

As the Boss’s Health neared ten percent, Cheng Yang grew increasingly nervous . He was worried that the gnome had another trick up its sleeve . Thankfully, it didn’t . The Boss obediently died a few seconds later .

The Nightmare Difficulty was cleared, and all Cheng Yang had left to do was collect his rewards .

In addition to a piece of Red Gold and four pieces of Purple Silver equipment, Cheng Yang obtained a Ranger Statue Lifting Stone . Of that equipment, the only useful one was a Purple Silver necklace that increased his damage .

After that, the group left the instance dungeon .

Cheng Yang’s original plan was to wait until midnight before clearing the Abandoned Citadel again, but it was only nine-thirty . So, he decided to visit Cloud City .

Since he had the chance, he wanted to obtain the first clear reward for the Hard Difficulty of The Forgotten Grave . With Liu Hau, Yu Kai, and a few capable Priest, it was definitely possible . Since he had the ability, there was no need to wait .

It was definitely something related to his subclass . He didn’t know what it was, but there was no way it wasn’t valuable .