"Petrified Skin!"

A dull yellow glow wound around Luo Yan, snugly fitting his skin with an armor impenetrable by blade or spear.

"This must be a spell that boosts defense!"

Dragon Roaming Wanli stared intently at Lord Demon King, the flame flickering in his skeletal eye sockets barely shining through.

It was the intuition of a warrior.

If she could add this layer of defense, she was 90% confident she could withstand the onslaught of five Earth Cave Spiders.

But it wasn't over yet!

The chanting of spells continued, and Luo Yan's hands kept waving his magic wand.

This time, a cyan light congregated at the tip of his wand, transforming into a pair of transparent wings in the dark space that crashed onto his shoulders like waves breaking on the shore.

"Swift as the Wind!"

In an instant, Luo Yan felt light as a feather, as if he was standing on the shoulders of a griffin.

"I get it! This must be an agility buff!" Hu Wan watched without blinking, a clever gleam in his skeletal eyes, but his mind was still foggy.

What's a mage doing with an agility buff?

Clearly, it wasn't just him who couldn't read the Demon King's mind; none of the players present could make sense of it, but they didn't take it to heart either.

After all, those dazzling auras were sprouting one after another, overwhelming to keep up with.

"Mana Amplification!"

"Bone Enhancement!"

"Ice Splash!"

"Tree Bark Armor!"

"Thorny Shield!"

"Wind Barrier!"

"Shadow of Dust!"

"Nether Armor!"

"..."

Luo Yan recited twelve spells in one breath, stacking up all the buffs he could.

No kidding, his attributes were now off the charts, and he even dared to take on Egger in a fight.

Why Egger, you ask?

Because he, of course, would not fight back.

Although these spells were mere basics, the little players from Earth obviously didn't know that.

This impressive display had the surrounding players staring dumbfounded, utterly bamboozled.

Baili swallowed hard, uttering his first words since entering the maze.

"Damn... Isn't our Lord Demon King being a bit too cautious?"

Different from his previously carefree demeanor, Dragon Roaming Wanli's face revealed a look of great interest as he stroked his chin, studying the "battle tactics" of Lord Demon King seriously.

"Interesting... Maybe in the game world settings, this is how masters fight each other."

As they say, strategize and then move, act appropriately without fail, if you don't strike, remain steady, but when you do, it's a deadly blow!

Brilliant!

Truly brilliant!

Qianli did the same, stroking his chin and musing.

"I see... so this means that in actuality, this is a demonstration by the development team?"

Hu Wan: "Brilliant... There's indeed a deeper implication here."

Worthy of a major guild.

He felt like a fake professional player compared to these folks.

A pair of eyes unanimously turned to Yiye Zhiqu, who couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

"Why are you all staring at me? I can't cast spells..."

Wanli said with a hearty laugh.

"I know you can't cast spells. I'm just curious about what you think of this."

"How am I supposed to think about it? He and I aren't even in the same league... Anyway, let's just keep watching. I'm quite curious how battles are fought by those at the top of this world's power scale," Yiye Zhiqu said with a wry smile.

Now that the buffs were done, it was surely time to start killing monsters, right?

However, just as Yiye Zhiqu was thinking this, he saw Lord Demon King somehow produce a small blue potion bottle from nowhere, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

There was nothing to complain about there.

After all, he had used a lot of magic power, so it made sense to replenish.

But what confounded Yiye Zhiqu was that that familiar spell reached his ears once more.

Good grief—

Again?!

The dazzling auras flickered once more, this time gathered atop the head of a zombie swinging a great sword nearby.

The creature's presence was so negligible that despite standing there for quite a while, the players hadn't noticed its existence.

The typically composed Hu Wan couldn't help but want to spit blood this time.

"Damn it! Isn't this over yet?!"

No sooner had his words fallen than that majestic gaze turned over to his side.

He quickly shut his mouth, but alas, the revered Lord Demon King had already fixed his eyes on him.

Just as Hu Wan was pondering what this fellow was up to, the latter reached into his chest, pulled out a test tube corked with a rubber stopper, and handed it to him.

"Drink this."

Drink this???

Bro, I'm a skeleton!

Hu Wan stared blankly at the magic potion in his hand, pointed at himself, saw Lord Demon King nod in approval, and finally steeled himself, pulled out the stopper, and poured it towards his chin.

The thick ointment slid down his backbone to his pelvis like jelly.

As expected, it was tasteless.

After all, he didn't even have an esophagus; whatever he drank just spilled out.

However, even though the magic potion he drank spilled out entirely, the Demon King's face was one of complete satisfaction, as if this was the effect he desired.

"Very good."

The distinguished one nodded in approval and waved his magic wand, bestowing the Swift as the Wind buff on his forehead.

"Go."

"Don't wander from my sight and try to draw those Earth Cave Spiders' attention as much as possible."

"Leave the rest to me."

As the words fell, Hu Wan saw the Demon King reach out and gently push him forward.

Lure the monsters?

This was indeed his forte.

However, he and Yiye Zhiqu had already tested the waters: the spiders here were all satiated and simply ignored a bony skeleton like him—

Just as Hu Wan thought this, a chill crawled over his entire body, and a hissing sound approached from the side.

He suddenly twisted his body to look to the side, only to see that the previously indifferent Earth Cave Spider was now staring at him with its dense cluster of red eyes, as if it had taken some drug.

What's going on?!

He didn't have time to think before the Earth Cave Spider suddenly contracted its abdomen.

This motion meant it was spinning a web!

From the previous series of battles, he had already become familiar with the habits of these spiders.

So, the moment he spotted that familiar preparatory motion, his body almost instinctively moved, ducking low in a quick step and dodging the incoming spit.

"So fast!!" Qianli exclaimed in surprise, her gaze almost failing to keep up with his movements.

Not just her—

Even Hu Wan himself, along with the other 5 players present, showed surprised expressions on their faces.

"So light!"

Glancing at the status bar with the buff named "Swift as the Wind," Hu Wan turned to look at the spider beside him, feeling his fighting spirit gradually boiling.

If it was at this speed—

He was 100% confident that he could kite these spiders until they dropped!

However, just as he was thinking this, tens of thousands of crimson gazes emerged faintly from the darkness.

Those gazes were filled with longing... or rather, a starving hunger.

Just by meeting those gazes, Hu Wan felt as if his heart had stopped.

Even though the him standing here had no heart.

Whoosh—!

The sound of something tearing through the air passed by him, and a bone-white spear pierced through the spider that had tried to shoot silk at him, nailing it harshly against the wall.

Hu Wan abruptly woke from his stupor.

At the same time, he heard the roar of the Demon King.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot, run! Fast!"

"Damn—"

Facing the surging "spider tide," Hu Wan didn't even have time to curse and could only rush headlong towards the front.

The whooshing sounds of objects cutting through the air whisked past him!

Among them were not only the "spit" shot by the spiders but also bone spears cast by Lord Demon King with his magic wand.

Although at first, Hu Wan was simply running for his life, zigzagging around pillars, he quickly found the knack.

Just as brother Yiye had said, these spiders had poor close-range vision!

Keeping distance would be more dangerous; it was better to maintain a distance of 5 to 10 steps and move around!

The Earth Cave Spiders were not united among themselves; accustomed to solitary living, they were suddenly squeezed together, and now that they fixed their sights on the same prey, they began to fight with one another.

Then there were the NPCs, or rather, Lord Demon King!

The trajectory of the spears Lord Demon King launched seemed erratic, but in reality, they cleared a path for him.

Combining these clues, he had already figured out the optimal solution for clearing the level—

That was to run where there were more spiders!

Run following the trajectory of the bone spear shots!

Stay within 5 to 10 steps of the nearest spider while running!

It would work!!!

"Ahhhh! I'm going all out with you guys!!!"

Accompanied by an angry creaking roar, Hu Wan, who had regained his confidence, no longer retreated, and his fighting spirit, which had dimmed due to the rapid drop in SAN value, was reignited!

His positioning became more and more steady!

The spiders gathering within the great hall were becoming more numerous, like a mudslide rolling through the labyrinth!

The sight sent shivers down the players' spines as they silently prayed for Hu Wan.

Only those who had faced a creature several times their size could understand what it felt like to be in the gaze of such a beast.

And if the number of these creatures were multiplied by n, even the most mentally resilient might involuntarily break down.

The thought that if Hu Wan couldn't hold on, they would be next in line made everyone suddenly regret accepting this mission.

"This guy... is a strong one," Qianli sincerely admired.

"Indeed, whether it's awareness or skill, he's top-notch, plus his ability to adapt on the fly. Talent like that can't be taught," Wanli nodded in agreement, giving a fair assessment before sighing in regret, "It's a pity this guy already has a guild, or I wouldn't hesitate to recruit him."

Baili didn't speak, his eyes intensely focused on the rhythm of the guy's movements, trying to copy the technique.

Yiye Zhiqu was the same, staring unblinkingly at the silhouette of his good brother, his forefinger rubbing his chin in thought.

After a long while.

He suddenly spoke.

"So that's it..."

Hearing his murmur, Wanli immediately turned his head to look at him, asking with a smile.

"Did you discover something?"

Yiye Zhiqu nodded.

"Pheromones."

Wanli was startled.

"Pher... Pheromones?"

"That's what Hu Wan drank! And to be precise... it should be sex pheromones!"

Watching the black sea of spiders, Yiye Zhiqu's skeletal eyes burned with excitement.

"Comfort breeds desire... I can't believe I didn't think of it!"

Wanli: "...?"

Qianli: "..."

Baili: "!"

On the other side, Luo Yan, who used a bone spear to cover the players' movements through the sea of spiders, sensed that the time was just about ripe, and after throwing the last bone spear, he smoothly transitioned into a different chant.

Seeing the bone spear land not far away, Hu Wan initially thought the Lord Demon King had missed, but then he heard his comrade's urgent shout.

"The rhythm of the spell has changed! Quickly, to the position of that bone spear!"

There was no time for hesitation.

Without doubting the judgment of his brother Yiye, Hu Wan took a running leap towards it.

Almost the moment he embraced the spear, a storm-like howl wiped away his hearing.

For an instant, he felt as if an attack plane had swept over his head.

"Stone Rain!"

The hurling stones cascaded like rain, indiscriminately covering every inch of space around him!

The webs were effortlessly torn, and dark red blood plasma splattered!

Where the stones passed, the ground was littered with spiders belly-up and pulverized remains!

Even the "front armor," seen by the players as impregnable, was effortlessly ripped apart by the overwhelming force, as if it were made of paper.

In Yiye Zhiqu's pupils flickered an excited flame, watching the silhouette of the Lord Demon King, he clenched his fists uncontrollably.

That was the power he yearned for!

In the blink of an eye, several hundred Earth Cave Spiders had become dust and ashes!

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