Chapter 14

Originally, the spider was about to pull Cheng Yang with its web, but the magic missile Cheng Yang shot disrupted its rhythm. Without the instant elasticity of the web, the spider's own strength was not enough to pull Cheng Yang into the air.

"Attack..." Cheng Yang lightly commanded, and another magic missile shot out.

At the same time, the other seven ranged attackers also focused their fire on the spider. In just a moment, the spider was overwhelmed by their attacks and died instantly, its body falling from the tree.

Cheng Yang said cautiously, "This Spotted Hair Spider, although a first-stage early magic creature, is very troublesome in the forest. It is one of the few first-stage creatures with ranged attack capabilities, hiding in the dark to ambush, making it hard to guard against. Its strength is enough to suspend an adult in the air, so be very careful."

Actually, they knew to be careful even without Cheng Yang's instructions. After all, such a large spider was intimidating, and no one wanted to become its prey.

Cheng Yang had already launched four attacks, and the other ranged attackers had used their skills twice. To avoid unexpected situations, they all sat down to rest for nearly twenty seconds, waiting for their mana to fully recover before continuing forward.

After walking about forty meters, Cheng Yang's ears twitched, and his expression changed. "Be careful! Monsters are charging over. Focus your fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, twelve green-skinned monkeys rushed out from the roadside forest. They were probably startled by the sound of their earlier battle.

Cheng Yang moved the fastest, shooting a magic missile that knocked the leading green-skinned monkey to the ground. The others, now experienced, focused their fire on the target Cheng Yang attacked, instantly killing it. Of course, this required all attacks to hit; otherwise, it wouldn't have the same effect.

Now, with the green-skinned monkeys charging from the forest, they were only about ten meters away from Cheng Yang and the others, making it easy to hit them all. The first green-skinned monkey was killed as soon as it appeared.

Cheng Yang continued his attack, while Li Wanshan and the other four warriors braced themselves to withstand the impact of the green-skinned monkeys. The four summoned creatures rushed out first, their task being to delay the green-skinned monkeys.

Although summoners gain attributes when they level up, these attributes are added to their summoned creatures. Their magic attacks are the attack power of their summoned creatures, while their own physical attacks are pitiful and cannot even break through the defenses of magic creatures.

This is also the strongest point of summoners; their combat power is entirely reflected in their summoned creatures. The summoned creatures are not afraid of death and can be summoned again once they die.

Now, the dozen green-skinned monkeys were momentarily halted by the four spectral wolves, then they charged directly toward the spectral wolves, their weapons flashing as they continuously attacked the wolves.

How could Cheng Yang and the others let such an opportunity pass? Various attacks were continuously launched, and the green-skinned monkeys were picked off one by one. Soon, five green-skinned monkeys were dead.

However, at this point, the four spectral wolves were all dead, and the remaining six green-skinned monkeys charged toward Cheng Yang and the others again.

"Quick! Summon!" Cheng Yang quickly gave the order.

The four summoner apprentices instantly used their summoning skills, and the four spectral wolves reappeared, blocking the green-skinned monkeys. However, by this time, the green-skinned monkeys had already engaged the four warriors in close combat, and two of the warriors who were attacked from both sides were immediately knocked away.

The four spectral wolves stepped up again, stabilizing the situation. In one-on-one combat, the green-skinned monkeys could not quickly kill the humans.

After about ten seconds, all the green-skinned monkeys were dead, contributing 12 points of spirit energy to Cheng Yang and the others.

Since no one had chosen a life profession yet, these magic creatures did not drop any equipment, so there was no need to clean up the battlefield.

Cheng Yang estimated that all the ranged attackers' mana was almost depleted, while the warriors still had some mana left, but their health had decreased by about ten points. If not for the spectral wolves, there would have been casualties in the previous battle.

"You all saw the battle just now. If there were three or four more monsters, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold them off. Even if we won in the end, there would have been deaths, and such a victory is not what we need," Cheng Yang said calmly.

The others naturally understood the danger. Without mana, all the ranged attackers would be waiting to die. Even the warriors, without mana, could not kill magic creatures of the same stage.

"Now, everyone rest and recover your mana and health," Cheng Yang quickly said, then sat down to meditate.

After about two minutes, all the ranged attackers and summoners stood up. They had only lost mana, which recovered quickly. As for the injured warriors, they needed two minutes to recover one point of health while meditating, so it would take at least twenty minutes to fully recover the ten points they had lost.

This was not a safe base, and monsters could appear at any time, so Cheng Yang did not dare to move far away. He could only patiently stand by.

During this time, another dozen monsters appeared and were quickly eliminated by Cheng Yang and the others. After confirming that there were no large groups of monsters nearby, Yang Tian alone patrolled within a hundred meters, killing another seven or eight lone monsters.

Li Wanshan and the others finally fully recovered. They were still shaken by the previous battle. The other ranged attackers only enjoyed the thrill of killing, but the warriors had a different experience, feeling as if they were facing death.

Li Wanshan asked, "Cheng Yang, should we continue forward?"

Cheng Yang looked at the direction the road extended. It was already around seven o'clock, and it was getting dark. However, it was the fourteenth day of the lunar month, almost a full moon, so they didn't have to worry about complete darkness at night.

Cheng Yang did not directly answer Li Wanshan's question but said, "The further we are from the base and the longer we stay, the greater the chance of encountering large groups of monsters. At our current speed, we will likely encounter more than twenty magic creatures halfway through our journey. If we stay in this area and quickly clear out the groups of magic creatures, there won't be much danger. Even if more magic creatures appear later, they will be alone or in groups of three or four, posing no threat to us."

Seeing the slight relaxation in everyone's expressions, he knew they were wary of the upcoming dangers and said, "Actually, we won't stay here for long. Once we have enough strength, we can quickly return to Xiangcheng City. Right now, even if we return to Xiangcheng City, our impact would be minimal. Not to mention finding our loved ones in the chaos, even if we find them, we might not be able to protect their safety."

Li Wanshan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! I'll stay. I'll wait until I'm stronger to return to Xiangcheng City. ... I hope my wife and children are waiting for me! Damn this apocalypse."

With Li Wanshan's statement, the others also expressed their willingness to stay and get stronger before returning. They agreed with Cheng Yang's words; Xiangcheng City was so large, how could they find people? If they weren't strong enough, they might die on the way.

Next, under Cheng Yang's lead, everyone entered the forest.

Occasionally, magic creatures would rush out from the bushes, but they were all killed by Cheng Yang and the others. Although the darkness affected Cheng Yang and the others' vision, not all magic creatures had night vision, and the moonlight helped reduce their disadvantage at night.

Of course, the biggest reason was that after the world became game-like, they would not be in danger unless they were killed by a much stronger magic creature. Even if they were suddenly attacked, they would only lose a few points of health.

For the next three to four hours, Cheng Yang and the others roamed within a one-kilometer radius of the base's walls, killing more than four hundred magic creatures. This was because they spent a lot of time letting the warriors recover their health; otherwise, their efficiency would have been even higher.

Cheng Yang was relieved that they did not encounter any mid-stage first-stage monsters during these four hours, otherwise, there might have been casualties among them. This was normal, as it was only the first day of the game-like world, and they had been staying near the base, making it unlikely to encounter mid-stage first-stage monsters. The two mid-stage first-stage green-skinned monkeys that appeared around the base earlier were only for the base's occupation test.

Four hours of intense fighting also made everyone feel mentally exhausted. Although Cheng Yang was unaffected, for the safety of the others, he decided to return to the base.

Upon returning to the base, Cheng Yang found that those who stayed had four people patrolling the walls, while the rest were practicing near the altar. This gave him a bit of hope; it seemed these people's adaptability was stronger than he had expected, at least they hadn't completely broken down in the face of the apocalypse.

Actually, this was largely due to Cheng Yang himself. Without his guidance and help, these people would have already died to the monsters.

Although the earthquake in the evening did not cause many casualties, the subsequent monster attacks reduced Xiangcheng City's population by one-fifth. If the monsters hadn't temporarily lost their appetite after eating, the death toll would have been even higher.

At this moment, those who were practicing also woke up, including Yu Kai and others. Seeing Cheng Yang return, they immediately gathered around. They were eager to know the situation outside.

"Yangzi, how was your trip?" Yu Kai immediately asked.

Cheng Yang said, "There are too many monsters outside, and we didn't dare to explore too far, only killing monsters nearby. We need to wait a few more days before returning to Xiangcheng City. ... By the way, how is your practice going?"

Yu Kai immediately said, "I have 11 points of spirit energy, which I used up just now. My practice progress has reached 2.4%. If I have enough spirit energy, I should be able to advance to the mid-stage warrior apprentice in about twenty days."

The others also mentioned their situations, which were not much different from Yu Kai's. The evening battle gave everyone 10 to 20 points of spirit energy, and although 10 points were repaid to the base, most people still had more than 10 points left. They all chose to practice at double speed without exception.