Chapter 28

After these people left, Cheng Yang came to the entrance of the Blood Church dungeon's teleportation gate, chose the Hard difficulty, and was instantly teleported inside.

Cheng Yang was very familiar with the Blood Church dungeon. Its difficulty was divided into four levels: Normal, Hard, Nightmare, and Hell.

The Blood Church dungeon was easily distinguishable at different difficulty levels. Each increase in difficulty would raise the strength of the monsters inside by a small rank, whether they were minor monsters or the final BOSS. Cheng Yang remembered very clearly that before his death in the previous life, the Regional difficulty of this dungeon had not been cleared. At this difficulty, the final BOSS would be a mid-rank Second Stage entity. At that time, the strongest human was only a beginner First Rank, and although there was a large tree at the center of the Blood Church, by the mid-rank Second Stage, the height of the tree was no longer a divine punishment.

Fortunately, the methods he used to clear the Normal difficulty dungeon could still be used for both Hard and Nightmare difficulties. The only trouble was the elite monsters in the first two stages. After all, there were no tricks to be used in those areas; the only way was to fight these two demonized creatures head-on.

Therefore, when Cheng Yang was still a mid-rank Magic Apprentice, he did not dare to touch the Hard difficulty Blood Church. Now that he had reached the high-rank, he could confidently enter.

Cheng Yang's magic power had increased significantly, and his endurance had greatly improved. He could perform 28 attacks before needing to sit and recover his magic power. With his current attack power, he only needed three magic missiles to kill a mid-rank First Stage demonized beast. Therefore, as long as the number of demonized beasts was less than ten, Cheng Yang could easily wipe them out in one wave.

Of course, many places in the Blood Church could not be cleared in one wave, as some courtyards contained more than ten demonized beasts. If these demonized beasts got close to Cheng Yang, it would be very troublesome. Fortunately, there were rooms in the church that could be utilized.

Since there were rooms, there were doors. As long as the doors were closed, the demonized beasts could not enter. In the previous Normal difficulty dungeon, Cheng Yang did not use this technique, as he wanted to train Liu Hao and Li Wanshan's defensive skills.

The subsequent battles went very smoothly. The mid-rank First Stage lesser demons had no resistance against Cheng Yang's attacks and were quickly defeated. Even when encountering a courtyard with a large group of lesser demons, after Cheng Yang killed a few, he would close the door to recover his magic power. Once he was at his best, he would open the door, rush out, and circle around these lesser demons, quickly killing them.

Killing the two late-rank First Stage mini-BOSSes was also very easy. After all, Cheng Yang's speed was much faster than that of a regular late-rank First Stage demonized beast, and he was a ranged attacker. The lesser demon BOSS was naturally kite-killed quickly.

When the final peak-rank First Stage lesser demon died miserably under the tree, Cheng Yang successfully completed the first Hard difficulty run.

Cheng Yang picked up a ring that dropped on the ground, not even bothering to check its attributes, and rushed into the Prayer Hall. This was the first Hard difficulty run, and it wouldn't be right without some extra rewards.

On the table at the back of the Prayer Hall, a crystal-clear small sphere was placed. Although he had not seen this item in his previous life, he had heard of it.

Skill Inheritance Pearl (Angel's Encouragement): After the death of an ancient warrior, their strongest skill is sealed within a spirit pearl, allowing it to be passed down through generations. Integrating the Skill Inheritance Pearl into the corresponding profession statue allows the profession warrior to learn this skill.

"Ha ha... Angel's Encouragement!" Cheng Yang could not contain his excitement. He never thought he would obtain this powerful priest skill so quickly, which was simply the rhythm of creating a super priest team.

Cheng Yang remembered that in his previous life, the Americans were the first to obtain the Angel's Encouragement skill. This might mean that the Americans were the first to clear the Hard difficulty of the Blood Church in his previous life.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yang's face showed a mischievous smile. Let those Americans cry their eyes out.

Since the first Hard difficulty run of the Blood Church yielded the Skill Inheritance Pearl for Angel's Encouragement, what would the Nightmare difficulty yield? Cheng Yang did not know, as no one in his previous life had revealed the benefits of the first Hard and Nightmare difficulty runs.

The attributes of Angel's Encouragement were very powerful, significantly enhancing the value of priests.

Angel's Encouragement (Level 1): Condense the power of angels and attach it to other warriors, increasing their attack power by 5% for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 20 magic points. Learning requirement: Beginner Priest Apprentice, 200 spirit points.

In the early stages, 200 spirit points to learn a skill was undoubtedly very expensive. After all, Pang Shan and the other priests could earn at most 50-60 spirit points per day, and even without double training, it would take four to five days to accumulate enough.

For Cheng Yang, 200 spirit points were not so much, as he now earned nearly 700 spirit points per day. With his current high-rank Magic Apprentice status, he would earn even more spirit points. Just the Blood Church dungeon he had just cleared contributed over 400 spirit points.

Of course, Cheng Yang's consumption was also significant. He needed 480 spirit points just for his nightly training. For others, this number would be daunting.

At this moment, Cheng Yang finally had time to check the three pieces of equipment he had obtained.

As a Hard difficulty dungeon, there was a high chance of dropping Black Iron equipment and a smaller chance of dropping Bronze equipment. For the first run, the chance of obtaining better equipment was naturally higher.

Lightfoot Boots: Black Iron armor, increases movement speed by 1, increases leg defense by 2. Can be equipped by apprentices or higher. Durability: 60/60.

Black Magic Helmet: Bronze armor, increases magic points by 20, increases head magic defense by 1. Can be equipped by apprentices or higher. Durability: 60/60.

Ancient Wood Ring: Bronze jewelry, increases magic attack by 3. Can be equipped by apprentices or higher. Durability: 60/60.

After seeing the attributes of these three pieces of equipment, Cheng Yang was overjoyed. Although he had guessed that the equipment dropped this time had a high chance of being related to him, when he saw that two of the Bronze equipment were suitable for him, his joy was indescribable.

With the Black Magic Helmet and Ancient Wood Ring, Cheng Yang's combat power would be greatly enhanced. Defense was not a big issue for him; he didn't plan to tank monsters. However, the increase in magic points and attack power was substantial.

For the Lightfoot Boots, Cheng Yang did not plan to use them himself. It wasn't that they were bad, but they were just an added bonus for him and did not substantially increase his combat power. If he gave them to Liu Hao, their value would be greater.

After equipping the Black Magic Helmet and Ancient Wood Ring, Cheng Yang's magic points reached 157, and his attack power reached 27. The high data was due to the base attributes of the equipment being enhanced by percentage increases. Now, when Cheng Yang used a magic missile, ignoring defense, the damage would reach 29. If he could obtain another piece of equipment like the Ancient Wood Ring, he could completely one-shot early-rank First Stage demonized creatures.

There were not many types of equipment that could increase attack power, only weapons, rings, and necklaces. The drop rate of jewelry was much lower than that of other equipment. Cheng Yang was fortunate to obtain the Ancient Wood Ring. As for weapons, there was still hope. If he could obtain a Bronze weapon, the increase in attack power would be much greater than that of a piece of jewelry of the same quality.

...

At this moment, Xiangcheng City was experiencing the most intense battle.

The military, after a night's rest in the city and learning about the light curtain in the city center from the rescued refugees, saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Everyone in the military had heard the voice from the sky when the apocalypse began. They were initially confused, but after learning about the light curtain, they felt that hope might lie within it.

However, at least ten thousand various demonized beasts had gathered around the light curtain. The light curtain covered several square kilometers, and it seemed to have an infinite attraction to demonized beasts, drawing them from distances of one or two kilometers. In just two and a half days, a large number of demonized beasts had gathered around the light curtain.

When the military team arrived about one kilometer from the light curtain, they were also terrified by the large groups of demonized beasts. No one knew the terror of demonized beasts better than they did. Even a direct hit from a rocket could not guarantee a one-shot kill. With so many monsters gathered, it would likely cost them nearly half of their ammunition to eliminate them all.

However, there was no retreat. They had to fight.

At the command of the military commander, Yuan Jianze, the sound of gunfire and artillery echoed throughout Xiangcheng City. Even Cheng Yang, nearly thirty kilometers away, could faintly hear the sounds. This was partly due to Cheng Yang's keen senses, but it also indicated the intensity of the battle in Xiangcheng City.

The army, armed with firearms, initially had the upper hand. The demonized beasts, after being hit, quickly launched a group charge. Under the barrage of gunfire, the demonized beasts fell like wheat being cut.

However, under the cover of the front-line demonized beasts, the ones behind got closer to the humans. Unlike untrained humans, the demonized beasts could continue charging even after being hit by two or three bullets.

...