Chapter 27

"Trap!" The gnome illusionist realized the situation was bad and immediately became alert. At that moment, the sound of dry branches breaking came from behind an old tree beside him, as if someone was approaching.

Adhering to the principle of striking first to avoid being struck, the gnome turned sideways, raised his hand, and cast the "Burning Hand" spell. The fan-shaped flames illuminated the forest, and the dry leaves and moss on the ground also began to burn. Unexpectedly, beneath the moss and dry leaves was not soil but another layer of dry leaves, indicating that the slippery ground he had just stepped on was deliberately arranged.

What was the reason for this? The gnome couldn't figure it out immediately. Just then, another "snap" came from behind him, similar to the previous one. The gnome quickly turned around, and the incantation for the Sleep spell slipped out of his mouth, but it completely missed. It was too late for him to understand the sequence of events. When he looked up...

Zhao Mai, wearing only a white underpants, jumped down from the tree branch, his face as calm as a statue of a thinker, except he held a woodcutting axe. The light from the campfire reflected on the axe, casting a blood-red glow. But perhaps it was his own blood from his forehead that made it red; the gnome couldn't be sure.

Zhao Mai swung the axe and split the gnome's forehead, then fell to the ground with a thud, covering himself in dry leaves, moss, and mud, and accidentally biting his tongue. But Zhao Mai couldn't afford to care about that. He scrambled to his feet and hurriedly pounced on the gnome, pulling out the axe and chopping down again.

Unlike his previous elaborate plans, his mind was now completely blank. The continuous chopping motion was purely mechanical, devoid of any emotion. After countless swings, the gnome's head was no longer a viable target, and Zhao Mai slowly stood up, breathing heavily, and surveyed the scene he had set up.

This was a simple ambush, with no traps, only suitable for newbies. Zhao Mai lacked actual adventure experience, but he had experienced countless adventures in his mind, thanks to the scenarios and scripts provided and published by specialized writers from around the world. Through this, he had accumulated a wealth of experience.

Any creature that cannot fly and does not live in a cave is a two-dimensional being. When entering a new environment, they first pay attention to the ground: checking if they can stand and if it will cause a fall. Then they look in the four directions: worrying about being attacked by other mobile creatures. Two-dimensional beings usually pay attention to the sky last, and many often ignore it entirely.

Experienced adventurers try to change this habit, constantly forcing themselves to look up first to avoid being caught off guard by enemies above. Zhao Mai had assessed the gnome and concluded that he didn't seem like an experienced adventurer. Therefore, he decided on a high-altitude ambush tactic.

He pretended to be sleeping in the camp, using a looped cell phone music to attract the gnome's attention. These were easy to understand, but how to counter invisibility was a challenge. Gnomes are the most likely to become illusionists, and the most commonly used illusion spell is invisibility. Zhao Mai had no magical abilities, so even if he hid, he wouldn't be able to see the gnome's position, which would still give him little chance of winning. Therefore, he deliberately found slippery moss and loose leaves and laid a thick layer on the already sticky ground, causing a side slip when stepped on.

He couldn't monitor the entire 360-degree camp, so he had to modify the environment. Using the positions of the tent, shield, and surrounding trees to create obstructions, he left an unobstructed fan-shaped area. From this fan-shaped area, one could see the entire campfire site without hindering the casting of spells. Just like a path pressed into the grass that rabbits would take to save effort, Zhao Mai deliberately left the fan-shaped area to provide the gnome with a better attack direction.

So remember, any path left by the enemy that looks easy to walk is not a good path.

Then, he found some vines and pretended to set up a tripwire. He actually didn't know how to set traps; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble in the forest. A simple tripwire wouldn't trip anyone; it was just to make the gnome lift his legs and increase his movements.

Zhao Mai hid high up, using the campfire's light to keep an eye on the ground around the tripwire. When the loose leaves moved on the slippery moss, he knew the gnome was there.

Next, he threw short branches to attract the gnome's attention, then gathered his courage and leaped down from a height of nearly three stories. In a daze, there were no battle cries, only the continuous chopping sound of the axe.

After a while, Zhao Mai finally came to his senses, looked down at the messy stains on his body, and began to be grateful that he had taken off his clothes beforehand. Then he shook his head, as if trying to shake the terrifying thought of "I killed someone" out of his mind. But this only increased his dizziness and was of no use.

Lifting the shield, Zhao Mai squatted down and released the reserve food, which was tied up with its mouth and hands. A Liang looked at Zhao Mai with a very innocent and pitiful expression, lightly bit his finger, and then quickly licked it. Zhao Mai patted its head and said apologetically, "You're still too young. I didn't dare let you make a sound, for fear of ruining the ambush plan. When you grow up, we can practice more and fight together. I know you're very strong, right?"

"Woof!" The reserve food wagged its tail rapidly in agreement.

He found some leaves and vigorously wiped his body, stretching his limbs. Squatting on the tree branch for a long time was not an easy task. Zhao Mai felt all the pressure concentrated in his lower body, and most of the time, he was in a state of numbness and pain. The excitement of battle was a natural painkiller, but once he relaxed, the pain intensified.

The only thing that could make him forget this pain was to check the spoils. Thinking of this, Zhao Mai's back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and he could squat for another five hours without any problem. All the gnome's wounds were above the neck, and all his possessions were below the neck. This was perfect.

Some might ask why Zhao Mai didn't vomit at the sight of the corpse. The smell of blood was strong, but the battle had just ended, and it hadn't yet turned foul, so the smell wasn't as intense. As for the visual impact... well, as a shut-in who had fought zombies in video games for thousands of hours, what scene hadn't he seen? Game designers had gone to great lengths, using a professional attitude that surpassed the norms of nature, to strengthen and make the nerves more resilient and indestructible. Zhao Mai looked at the gnome, feeling a bit nauseous and queasy, but not to the point of losing composure.

"Hey, what's this necklace? The gemstones embedded in it are so beautiful!" It didn't take long for Zhao Mai to find the dazzling gemstone pendant. At that moment, the reserve food suddenly barked and jumped around, pointing toward the forest.