Chapter 17

"Remote workers spread out, warriors take charge of protection." Cheng Yang quickly shouted, preparing to continue the battle tactics used when guarding Luofeng Village, directly kite the Lesser Demon Leader.

Cheng Yang led the Lesser Demon, which was at the mid-stage of the first tier, running around, while Yu Kai shot at it with all his might from behind. As for Liu Hao and Li Wanshan, they could only play a minor role, as their speed was far from keeping up with the Lesser Demon's pace. The spectral wolves summoned by the ox soldier met the same fate.

After several rounds of attacks, this Lesser Demon, which had almost made everyone feel hopeless, was killed on the spot. Before the group could cheer, a faint light screen appeared, enveloping the Lesser Demon's corpse.

Two seconds later, the light screen dissipated, and the Lesser Demon's corpse disappeared. In its place, a wooden staff appeared.

Yu Hao and the others looked at each other, wondering what was happening. The wooden staff seemed somewhat similar to the one Cheng Yang held.

Liu Hao, the game-loving fatty, reacted the fastest and exclaimed, "Is this dropped equipment? Yangzi, didn't you say these mutated creatures wouldn't drop equipment directly?"

Cheng Yang replied very calmly, "I only said that the mutated creatures outside wouldn't drop equipment. This is a dungeon, so it's different. Moreover, based on the situation just now, even in the dungeon, only the more powerful monsters have a chance to drop equipment."

The group didn't continue to argue about this issue, as the fact that monsters could drop equipment was a great piece of news for them.

"Yangzi, you have good luck; this seems to be a magic staff you can use." Niu Bing took a few steps forward and picked up the wooden staff.

Cheng Yang naturally knew it was a magic staff. In fact, before the Lesser Demon was killed, he had already guessed it to be about 90% certain. According to the rules summarized from the future, in a dungeon, the one who contributes the most is more likely to get equipment related to their profession. Without a doubt, in the battle just now, Cheng Yang's contribution was the greatest, making it the most likely for the magic staff to drop.

Cheng Yang immediately took the magic staff from Niu Bing, and its attributes instantly appeared in his mind.

Wilted Wood Staff: Ordinary one-handed weapon, increases magic attack by 1, can be equipped by mages of apprentice level or higher. Durability: 50/50.

It was indeed the lowest-level equipment, which was often criticized in the future, only increasing magic attack by 1. However, for now, this Wilted Wood Staff had an incomparable advantage for Cheng Yang, equivalent to increasing his attack power by 10%. This wasn't the most important part; after increasing his magic attack by 1, he could now kill these early-stage first-tier mutated beasts with three magic missiles instead of four.

Cheng Yang immediately replaced his previous magic staff without hesitation, and his magic attack power became 11.

With the taste of this equipment, Yu Kai and the others were also highly motivated and continued to surge into the courtyard.

The subsequent battles were not in doubt. After another mid-stage first-tier Lesser Demon was killed by Cheng Yang and the others, they had to face the most powerful monster in the Blood Church.

However, after this Lesser Demon died, it contributed another piece of equipment to Cheng Yang and the others.

Deer Skin Wristguard: Black Iron-level armor, increases arm physical defense by 1, increases attack speed by 2, can be equipped by warriors of apprentice level or higher. Durability: 60/60.

Seeing this equipment, Cheng Yang was overjoyed. This was a Black Iron-level piece of equipment! In a normal difficulty dungeon, only ordinary equipment usually appeared, and the chance of dropping Black Iron-level equipment was very small.

It seemed his luck was indeed good, and this might also be related to being the first to explore the dungeon. After all, they were the first team to enter the Blood Church dungeon, so having some extra advantages was reasonable.

Regarding the increase in attack speed by 2, others might be confused or think it was incredibly powerful, but Cheng Yang knew that this increase in attack speed wasn't as significant as people imagined.

For example, if Cheng Yang's previous attack speed was 2, it didn't mean his attack speed was twice that of someone with an attack speed of 1. On the contrary, the difference was very slight, with an increase of 1 in attack speed equivalent to a 1% increase. Now, with the Deer Skin Wristguard increasing attack speed by 2, it only added 2% to the original speed.

This 2% increase might not seem very powerful, but at the most critical moment, this extra speed could play a decisive role. Cheng Yang had experienced this benefit more than once in his previous life.

Another advantage of this equipment was that it had no profession restrictions, meaning that the Deer Skin Wristguard could be used by both mages and warriors.

After reviewing the attributes of this equipment, Cheng Yang threw it to Liu Hao and said, "Haozi, this is more suitable for you. Increasing arm physical defense can enhance your ability to withstand attacks, which is more beneficial for you when using a shield to resist monster attacks."

Liu Hao replied, "Yangzi, you should keep this. You are our pillar of support. The stronger you are, the safer we will be, right?"

Cheng Yang countered, "Your thinking is wrong. This damned apocalypse is incredibly cruel. Individual strength is negligible in the apocalypse. Even if I were incredibly strong, I would still be dead if trapped by a dozen monsters. So, the most important thing now is cooperation. Your and Old Li's responsibility is to protect our safety. Only when you are safe can we focus on killing monsters."

Liu Hao thought about it and accepted it, immediately putting the Deer Skin Wristguard on his right arm.

Cheng Yang looked at the group and said, "You don't need to participate in the next battle. Facing a late-stage first-tier mutated creature, you are still too fragile."

"How can this be?" Yu Kai immediately said, "We entered the dungeon together, so we should face it together. How can we run away when there's danger?"

Niu Bing also said, "Yangzi, I agree with what Old Yu said. Either we face it together, or if the final boss is indeed too powerful, we can retreat. We can't let you take the risk alone."

Cheng Yang smiled bitterly and said, "Don't be so pessimistic. I said I would go alone because I have confidence. Otherwise, with my abilities, facing a late-stage first-tier mutated beast would only lead to death."

A late-stage first-tier mutated beast had an attack power of around 20, which could instantly kill a beginner mage without considering defense. Even Cheng Yang could only withstand two attacks. Moreover, a late-stage first-tier mutated beast's speed was more than twice that of Cheng Yang. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

The others also understood this, and they agreed with Cheng Yang's request. They believed that Cheng Yang wasn't foolish and wouldn't do something that would lead to his death.

Next, Yu Kai and the others stayed outside the courtyard as arranged by Cheng Yang, while Cheng Yang entered the courtyard alone.

This was the central courtyard of the Blood Church, the largest one. In the center of the courtyard was a huge tree, with a smooth and straight trunk over ten meters long, making it impossible to climb. Its branches covered the entire courtyard.

This courtyard was different from other places. Besides a spacious courtyard, there were no corridors or other buildings. Of course, there was a large gate at the front of the courtyard, leading to the most important building in the church, the Prayer Hall.

The mutated creature Cheng Yang was looking for was in this Prayer Hall.

This was also a Lesser Demon, but unlike the previous Lesser Demons, it had a prominent name: Lesser Demon Leader. Normally, the highest level a Lesser Demon could reach was the peak of the first tier. As a peak first-tier Lesser Demon, it was the Lesser Demon Leader. A late-stage first-tier Lesser Demon was naturally a leader-level.

Cheng Yang first checked the surroundings, which were no different from his memory, putting his mind at ease.

After preparing, Cheng Yang leaped with both legs and rushed directly toward the Prayer Hall. At the entrance, he saw a blurry figure and, without hesitation, threw a magic missile. Then he ran toward the left side of the courtyard wall.

The distance to the wall was only a few meters. With his speed, he reached the wall in the blink of an eye. There was a stone bench right there, and Cheng Yang used it to jump onto the wall.

Following a branch extending over the wall, Cheng Yang climbed up the tree.

At this moment, a large monster rushed out of the Prayer Hall. It looked like a Lesser Demon but was nearly a meter taller than an ordinary Lesser Demon, which was quite shocking.

As soon as it stepped out of the gate, it spotted Cheng Yang climbing the tree and immediately charged over, roaring.

Cheng Yang was now on a large branch of the tree, about 15 to 16 meters above the ground, the lowest branch of the tree.

Seeing the Lesser Demon Leader jumping up wildly below, Cheng Yang smiled. Although the world was gamified, it was still reality. In a game world, if there were scenes where monsters could be kited, the game company would remove them. However, in this real game world, what existed was reasonable. Who could blame the Lesser Demon for its lack of intelligence?

A few minutes later, the Lesser Demon Leader, with a life strength of 120, was worn down to death by Cheng Yang. It never found a way to climb the tree.

After the monster died, Cheng Yang climbed down the tree along the branch and jumped off the wall, eager to check his loot.

On the ground was an item, a black-gray robe, which was the equipment dropped by the Lesser Demon Leader. Cheng Yang was extremely excited to see its attributes.

Magic Robe: Black Iron-level armor, increases body magic defense by 1, increases mana by 10, can be equipped by magic attack classes of apprentice level or higher. Durability: 60/60.