Chapter 343 - 17: Conflict (3)

Chapter 343: Chapter 17: Conflict (3)

The shield flickered a few times, and all the cactus needles fell to the ground.

Xu Qi checked the stats on her Spiritual Shield. This wave of cactus needles, though it looked ferocious, had actually depleted less than 1% of its value. In the next moment, the shield’s value fully recovered.

"Hahaha~~~"

Xu Qi couldn’t help but clutch her stomach and laugh. "A-a-are these things supposed to be a joke?"

The others also saw the information displayed in their helmets, and their tense mood relaxed.

The surrounding cactus needles continued their assault, but the members of the Thunder Squad under attack simply deactivated their invisibility and walked through the forest with calm composure.

Lei Zhou also retracted his order to retreat. Just as he had expected, the forest had traps, but it made no difference to them whether these traps existed or not.

The cactus needles were fast and the attacks were dense, like a downpour of rain.

As for the damage they dealt to the Thunder Squad? Not a drop.

From his treehouse in the distance, Lin Yu noticed the situation. He clearly realized that these people who had entered the forest were no ordinary Extraordinary Beings.

These were ordinary, un-upgraded, and un-evolved cacti. Although the needles they fired only had 30 points of attack power, no amount of health or shield value could withstand such a dense barrage.

Therefore, besides just blocking damage, their shields must also have a damage reduction capability of 30 points or more. That was the only reason the cactus needles had failed to do anything.

’This is tricky!’ If he wanted to defeat this Extraordinary Squad by himself, he would have to resort to some unconventional methods. But doing so would expose his own position, and he might end up receiving the same treatment Li Hua had before.

So, Lin Yu thought for a moment and decided to take a cleverer approach.

"Li Hua, we’ve got company. They’re all Extraordinary Beings, and they’re pretty strong. I need you to go all out."

"Alright. But if I’m going to engage them, what are you going to do?"

"Me? I’ll be protecting your sister for you, of course!"

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Li Hua’s eyes went wide.

Lin Yu laughed. "Just kidding! You really have no sense of humor. Weren’t you the one entrusting your family to my care just before?"

"I’m a Summoner-class. When have you ever seen a Summoner jump straight onto the battlefield? I’m in charge of supporting you and summoning some minions to help you fight."

"Here, take these three potions first."

Lin Yu took out three transparent bottles filled with water and handed them to Li Hua. Li Hua glanced at the label on the bottle—"Three Fists Purified Water"—and couldn’t help but blurt out, "Holy crap, you want me to drink Purified Water during a fight?"

"Hehehe, this stuff is the real deal. You’ll know once you take a sip."

Dubiously, Li Hua took a sip. The water melted the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a warm current that spread throughout his body. He felt his spirits lift, and the Spiritual Energy he had consumed earlier while destroying the highway was instantly replenished.

He threw a punch and felt that his physical attributes had been slightly enhanced as well.

"Good stuff. Where’d you get it?"

"Heh, a specialty of the territory!"

This bottled water was actually water from the Spring of Life, diluted by Lin Yu. It could rapidly restore a user’s Spiritual Energy, stamina, and spirit, heal the body, and provide a small, temporary boost to their attributes.

Moreover, this diluted spring water would continuously lose its Spiritual Energy, life essence, and World Tree aura. In less than a day, it would become actual Purified Water, so there was no need to worry about anyone analyzing it.

"Tsk tsk, you have so much good stuff. How about you sell me some when we get back?"

"Only if you sell me a few secret manuals!"

"Then forget it!"

Li Hua pouted. "Stingy! Can’t even spare a few bottles of water!"

He wasn’t about to trade his secret manuals for a few potions.

"Wait, let me give you a few buffs."

Seeing Li Hua was about to head into battle, Lin Yu stopped him and cast several buffs on him: [Vigor], [Rejuvenation Technique], [Wild Blessing], [Regeneration]—he applied every buff he knew.

Health regeneration, mana recovery, stamina restoration, attribute boosts, added shields—all sorts of effects. Although it couldn’t compare to a professional healing Druid’s powerful effects, it still gave Li Hua’s combat power a small boost.

"You’re all powered up now. Go, Pikachu!!"

"What? What did you just call me?"

"Pikachu. It’s a term from my hometown for a brave and fearless Warrior."

"Alright. See you in a bit!"

"Oh, right. If you can break through their Spiritual Shields, prioritize destroying their helmets. The fight should be over quickly if you do."

"Got it!"

Li Hua responded, threw his sword into the air, leaped onto it, and glided away toward the forest.

...

Back in the forest, the Thunder Squad gathered around one of the cacti that had been relentlessly firing needles at them. They easily pulled it out of the ground and studied it, but found nothing remarkable.

It was just a mutated cactus. Judging by the power of the needles it fired, it posed a significant threat to ordinary creatures and was likely a carnivorous plant, but it was no threat to them.

Tossing the cactus fragments in his hand to the ground, Lei Zhou led his squad members onward toward the intersection.

Since they had already been discovered, there was no longer a need to be stealthy. They would just go in directly, defeat the guards, clear the intersection, and rendezvous with the "Eye of the Celestial God" faction mentioned in their mission. Then, their task would be complete.

Just then, Wang Wei felt a strong wave of hostility coming from the sky.

"Watch out!"

Having been comrades for so long, the others didn’t know what was happening, but they still instinctively channeled all their Spiritual Energy into their Spiritual Shields.

"BAM~"

A flash of light shot past as three massive beams of sword energy crashed into the squad.