Chapter 82

### Chapter 82: The Gate of Tristram

Before I left, I handed the plain leather armor dropped by the Elite to Linya. Actually, the Elite had a part in this. After I flicked her forehead for the third time and showed her the super-strong leather armor I was wearing, she blushed and finally accepted it. However, seeing her carefully place the armor in her inventory, I knew she probably wanted to save it for the Paladin in our team. Well, it’s fine, anyway. The more powerful her teammates are, the safer she will be.

In addition, I gave her over a hundred health potions and dozens of mana potions. I had plenty of these anyway.

The closer I got to the six stone pillars, the more intense my shock became. The six massive pillars, each hundreds of meters tall, soared into the sky, with faint clouds swirling at their tops, reminding me of the Five-Finger Mountain in *Journey to the West*. It must be something like that.

As I gradually approached the pillars, I encountered no other monsters except for the Blade Fiends, not even any Blade Mages. It seemed that Rakani-Shu and the Blade Mages were truly at odds.

The saying "Mountains are easier to reach than to climb" is quite accurate. Even though the pillars were right in front of me, it still took me over three hours to reach the first one. At the base of the pillar, there were hundreds of Blade Fiends lingering, but Rakani-Shu was not among them. After taking in the situation, I didn’t hesitate. Without the Blade Mages, even a thousand Blade Fiends wouldn’t be a problem for me.

I quickly cleared out the Blade Fiend camp. Following Cain’s advice, I carefully examined the pillar and found a barely noticeable groove at its base, just large enough to fit a gem. Hmm? This pillar should be embedded with a sapphire, 55~ It really hurts to part with it.

Next, I went to the other four pillars, clearing out the Blade Fiends and embedding the corresponding gems. It felt a bit like an RPG game.

The five pillars to be embedded formed a pentagram. When I embedded the last gem, I smiled to myself, looking at the final target—the sixth pillar, which stood apart from the others. The guards were taken care of, so the boss battle must be next.

Sure enough, the number of Blade Fiends at the base of the sixth pillar had increased dramatically, numbering in the thousands. Among them, a deep blue Blade Fiend stood out, with the special attributes of Extra Fast and Lightning Enchantment. Damn, it has two? That’s cheating! If it weren’t for Xiao Xue’s evolution, I wouldn’t dare to provoke it.

After a while, I formulated a simple and effective strategy—Xiao Xue and I, with our higher resistances, would focus on the boss. The Venomous Flower Vines wouldn’t be able to handle the Lightning, so they would deal with the regular Blade Fiends.

The battle began as soon as the strategy was set. With Ice Armor and in Werewolf form, I charged at Rakani-Shu with Xiao Xue, while the other pets drew the attention of the regular Blade Fiends.

A boss is a boss. As soon as we charged out, Rakani-Shu noticed us. It raised its scimitar and shouted, "Rakani-Shu, Rakani-Shu!" Heh, that’s probably where its name comes from.

Following Rakani-Shu’s command, a large group of Blade Fiends blocked our path. As for Rakani-Shu, it ran back several hundred meters and then turned to watch with interest. I bet it would be even happier with a recliner and some popcorn.

Heh, want to watch a show? No way! You’re the main character today!

I laughed sinisterly, and Xiao Xue’s Intimidate skill activated. There were about a hundred Blade Fiends in front of us, so the effect wasn’t great, but it was enough. Taking advantage of their momentary hesitation, Xiao Xue carried me forward, and a few unlucky Blade Fiends were even knocked away. A human, no, a werewolf tank, is that powerful!

Rakani-Shu couldn’t watch the show anymore and immediately raised its scimitar, probably cursing its subordinates for being useless. It thought its Lightning was a secret, but we knew about it. Seeing us attack, it didn’t dodge and instead made a strange face, probably imagining us being electrocuted and convulsing.

"Zzz..."

Xiao Xue’s claws left deep blood marks on Rakani-Shu, and I had already timed my jump. As soon as Xiao Xue’s claws struck, I leaped off its back, pouncing from the air. Our coordination was flawless.

"Zzz..."

I slapped Rakani-Shu, and the innate fear of electricity made me gasp. My hand felt hot and numb, and I lost several health points. I had 53 Lightning Resistance.

Xiao Xue, with even lower Lightning Resistance, must have felt even worse. But seeing it act as if nothing happened, it immediately turned around and charged again. I was also filled with pride—Xiao Xue was so brave, I couldn’t let it outdo me too much.

Seeing its Lightning was ineffective, Rakani-Shu panicked and tried to play a guerrilla war with us. As it ran and taunted us, both Xiao Xue and I felt a bit amused. Although Rakani-Shu had two special attributes, God is fair. Its Extra Fast was far inferior to the Tree Fist, and its Lightning Enchantment was only slightly better than that of Elite monsters. Xiao Xue’s speed was on par with the Tree Fist, and even in Werewolf form, I could keep up. It was like showing off a big sword in front of Guan Yu—completely unaware of its own limitations.

When Rakani-Shu saw the distance between us closing rapidly, its face turned ashen. Its strongest Lightning was ineffective, and its speed was no longer an advantage. It must have felt like a tiger with its teeth and claws pulled out.

Having lost all its advantages, Rakani-Shu finally stopped resisting and suddenly showed a reckless spirit, raising its scimitar to engage us in close combat. Unfortunately, in terms of melee, it was only slightly stronger than an Elite and was no match for either Xiao Xue or me. It had a lot of health, but the battle was one-sided and lasted quite a while.

After Rakani-Shu died, I collected its drops and immediately rushed to the Venomous Flower Vines. Although they were strong, being chased by thousands of Blade Fiends must have been tough. Ants can kill an elephant.

Against these cowardly Blade Fiends, magic was the best tool. I used a Firestorm and a Lava Rock, killing dozens of Blade Fiends. The others, seeing the enemy was too strong and their leader was dead, scattered instantly.

Rakani-Shu’s drops were decent, with two blue items. One was a blue throwing knife, 110 in number, +10 Accuracy, +1 Maximum Damage, 2-4 One-Handed Damage, 4-10 Throwing Damage. Throwing knives are great for sneak attacks, better than javelins in terms of stealth. A sudden throw can be hard for even agile Assassins to dodge, making them perfect for dirty tactics.

The other blue item was a large battle axe with +3 Minimum Damage and 4-27 Attack. Wow, such a powerful attack, but the Strength requirement was also high, at 40 points. Even in Bear form, I couldn’t equip it, so I decided to keep it for now.

At the base of the last pillar, I took a deep breath, took out the identified Anyefus Scroll from Cain, and slowly opened it. A brilliant light suddenly shot out from the scroll, and the pillar in front of me responded, emitting a blinding white light. The white light seemed to flow with mysterious runes. As the resonance grew stronger, the light intensified, visible for miles, forcing me to retreat several hundred meters to avoid eye damage.

As the white light spread, the other five pillars also began to emit colorful lights, corresponding to the five gems I had embedded.

Soon, a strong and violent tremor shook the entire world. The colorful lights grew even hotter, and dark clouds filled the sky, with lightning striking the six pillars, creating a scene of apocalyptic proportions.

After a long time, when I opened my eyes, the light had dissipated, and the sky was clear, as if it had all been a nightmare. The only evidence of the terrifying scene was the mysterious red portal in the center of the five pillars, confirming that it was not a dream.

I was stunned for a moment before I came to my senses. According to Cain, the power of the five gems could only keep the portal open for one hour. If I didn’t return within an hour, the portal would disappear, and I would have to walk back to the Rogue Encampment from Tristram, which would take over a year.

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*End of Chapter 82*