Chapter 86: The Haunted Ancient Castle

As the Blood Eagles kept surging in, I put away my scepter and casually drew a dagger with a durability recovery attribute, waiting quietly for the Blood Eagles to come closer.

The Blood Eagles were now within reach, and without hesitation, I cast a Firestorm. With the 20% increased casting speed, the Firestorm was almost instantaneous. A fierce flame erupted from the ground, spreading in a crooked line due to the crevice, extending all the way to the cave entrance before dissipating. In its path, the Blood Eagles, which were not much stronger than Fallen Ones, turned to ashes. A rough estimate showed that this Firestorm had killed over a hundred Blood Eagles!

I was overjoyed, swinging the dagger wildly to slaughter the Blood Eagles that squeezed in. Once the skill was off cooldown, I cast another Firestorm, clearing the area in front of me. Seeing the Blood Eagles continue to rush in fearlessly, I knew that at this rate, I would soon be able to wipe them out.

Why not use Lava Rock? Sweat... This place was sturdy, but if the Lava Rock exploded, the entire crevice would collapse, and I would be the one to suffer. As for Arctic Storm, everyone knows the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. I was afraid the rocks couldn't withstand the shock and would collapse!

With the book from Cain and the bonus from the gold belt, my mana was now over a hundred points. Although it still couldn't match that of a mage of the same level, it was enough to make other classes envious. However, the number of Blood Eagles was much greater than I had imagined. When my mana was down to a quarter, the influx of Blood Eagles gradually decreased. When it was almost depleted, only a few remained.

"Ha..."

I stepped out of the crevice, looking at the blue sky and taking a deep breath. The air inside the crevice was stifling, and the strange smell from the Blood Eagles made it unbearable. I felt like I was suffocating.

A few stray Blood Eagles still rushed over. After being cooped up for so long, my little snow wolf let out a roar and charged forward. The few Blood Eagles immediately became its punching bags, torn to pieces. It seemed unsatisfied, gnawing on the corpses and shaking them violently, a true butcher. It was clear how frustrated it had been.

In both my vague memories and Cain's book, it was mentioned that these Blood Eagles were born from a creature called the Blood Eagle Nest. The relationship between the Blood Eagle Nest and the Blood Eagles was similar to that between a queen bee and her bees. The Blood Eagle Nest had no other abilities besides producing Blood Eagles, while the Blood Eagles protected it and provided food.

When I returned to where the Blood Eagles had gathered, I indeed found a massive Blood Eagle Nest, over three meters tall, firmly rooted in the ground. Its blood-red body, like a living organ, writhed disgustingly. On its side was a hideous large mouth, occasionally spitting out a newborn Blood Eagle covered in mucus.

Upon closer inspection, this Blood Eagle Nest was actually an elite monster! Generally, a Blood Eagle Nest could produce no more than two thousand Blood Eagles. Any more, and they would run away and become uncontrollable. If not for this limit, the entire Black Wasteland would have been overrun.

The Blood Eagle group I had just killed numbered at least two thousand, possibly three or four thousand. I was puzzled, but seeing this elite Blood Eagle Nest, I understood. Elites were indeed different. I wondered how many Blood Eagles a mini-boss Blood Eagle Nest could produce. Just thinking about it made me shudder. That would be an even more monstrous and invincible existence than the Ice Plains' overlord, Be'Suth!

As for the special rapid attribute, I was initially puzzled. The Blood Eagle Nest couldn't move, so what was the use of this attribute? But when I saw it spitting out a Blood Eagle every ten seconds or so, I understood. Sweat, it was indeed a unique manifestation. Nature truly has no limits.

The Blood Eagle Nest itself had no attack power and couldn't move. Without the Blood Eagles to protect it, it was just a sitting duck. Even so, it took me quite a while to kill it. Its health was almost on par with a mini-boss.

While clearing the battlefield, the elite Blood Eagle Nest gave me a pleasant surprise—it dropped a ring.

Cyan Greed Ring

+10% Cold Resistance

30% Extra Gold from Monsters

Not bad attributes, much better than the bronze ring with +11 accuracy I was wearing. With an empty slot on my ring, this completed my full set of gear.

The thousands of Blood Eagles also dropped a lot of gold and potions, densely covering the crevice like a treasure trove, shining with a golden glow. Unfortunately, there was no equipment.

Tasting the sweetness of success, I immediately began searching for the next Blood Eagle group. Unfortunately, although the Black Wasteland was vast, I couldn't find another one. Many adventurers had the same idea, and with so many people competing for limited resources, finding the first Blood Eagle group was already a stroke of luck.

Although I didn't find another Blood Eagle group, I killed many monsters along the way. I also encountered several groups of adventurers. Since we were strangers, we just greeted each other, exchanged a few words, and shared some information. However, from their surprised looks, I knew that the name of the lone druid Wu Fan would become even more famous when they returned.

On the fifth day, after turning a Blade Demon camp to ashes, a flash of light enveloped me, and I leveled up to 14. I checked my status, including the bonuses from my equipment. It was as follows:

Strength: 23

Dexterity: 25

Vitality: 65

Energy: 38

Remaining Points: 18

Health: 240

Mana: 111

Fire Resistance: 25

Cold Resistance: 10

Lightning Resistance: 53

Poison Resistance: 36

Sweat, my Energy was far higher than my Strength and Dexterity. I was probably the only one with such an unusual attribute distribution. After careful consideration, I allocated the remaining 18 points: 5 to Dexterity and the rest to Strength. This way, when I transformed into a Werebear, my Strength would reach 58, comparable to a Barbarian of the same level. Even as a Werewolf, my Strength would be 42, and my Dexterity would rise to 35.

The last time I killed Rakani, he dropped a powerful greatsword requiring 40 Strength with 4-27 damage. After transforming, I could now use it. When transformed into a Werebear, I would become a super tank with high damage, defense, and health. As a Werewolf, I would be more like a fast and agile assassin, but with much higher health and defense.

On the way, I tried transforming into a Werebear and wielding the greatsword. My damage output skyrocketed. The strongest of the Black Wasteland, the Night Clan, could be taken down with 4-10 attacks. Even a Barbarian several levels higher than me couldn't match my ordinary attacks.

A few days later, I finally arrived at the most legendary place in the Black Wasteland—the castle mentioned in Cain's book. The castle sat atop a large mountain, surrounded by steep cliffs, with only a narrow path leading to its gate. From a distance, it seemed to stand tall in the sky, majestic and imposing. But up close, the broken walls were about to collapse, the rusted iron gate swayed in the wind, and the once-elegant stone path was overgrown with withered grass. The trees around, eroded by hellish forces, were long dead. The castle, with its ghostly appearance, the occasional glimpse of white bones in the decaying soil, and the cold evening breeze, gave me the feeling of a vampire castle from a TV show, except for...

The Lazy Crow seemed to sense my thoughts, flapping its wings and landing on a dead tree branch, cawing a few times, then proudly preening its feathers.

"Uh..."

The sudden caw nearly made me stumble. A chill ran down my spine, as if the ghosts around were about to rise from the ground. After a while, I glared at the damned crow, wishing I could throw a stone and stew it for dinner. Damn crow, didn't you see your master was trembling? How dare you play such a prank?

Stepping into the castle gate, I walked along the stone path, almost completely covered by wild grass. The central tower of the castle stood tall and prominent, as if calling out to all who approached—The Lady is inside.

However, my current goal was not the tower. After carefully observing the surroundings, I headed towards a tall stone building on the right side of the castle.

The monsters inside the castle were one level higher than those in the Black Wasteland. The Night Clan had evolved into the Blood Clan, still with the appearance of a human body and a sheep's head, wielding greatswords, but with a more sinister look. Their blood-red bodies exuded a bloodthirsty cruelty, and a foul smell of blood could be detected from a distance. There were also Black Archers, elite archers who excelled in hiding in dark corners or high windows, using their precise archery to ambush, much like snipers in a counter-terrorist game. Hiding in dark corners was manageable, but those in the windows were a different story. I couldn't possibly climb a trap-filled tower just for one monster! In the dark world, there were no rules protecting public facilities (ruins), so if they pushed me too far, I would bring the entire building down. If you want to play counter-terrorist, I'll give you a real terrorist attack to enjoy.