Chapter 699: Grinding Dungeons All Night, Damn, Do You Eastern Continentals Always Train This Hard?

Chapter Seven Hundred and Eight

By this time, Trix had already enveloped Nalan Hongwu in a Power Word: Shield.

The ogre’s massive hammer crashed down once more, but Nalan Hongwu, bracing his shield, pushed forward in strict accordance with their newfound strategy.

Silently, without even the echo of an impact, the strike was perfectly absorbed and neutralized by the simultaneous ward of the sacred shield and the warrior's stalwart defense.

Even the tremendous kinetic force vanished into nothingness, leaving Nalan Hongwu rooted firmly to the spot.

The moment the shield shattered, a beam of holy light descended, followed shortly by the manifestation of yet another shimmering barrier.

Witnessing this, the eyes of everyone present lit up with newfound hope.

The difficulty of the encounter had shifted entirely; it was no longer even comparable to their previous trials.

If their earlier attempts could be described as an infernal nightmare, it had now been rendered effortlessly simple.

Now, only Nalan Hongwu needed to track the boss's movements, preventing it from charging into the backline while maintaining his defensive posture. The others, meanwhile...

"I am literally just dealing mindless damage here!" Mo Xian shouted in exhilaration.

Supported by such a formidable main tank, every time the ogre attempted to bypass Nalan Hongwu to assault the backline, the old warrior would intercept it at the critical juncture. And when it chose to strike him instead, it found itself biting down on an unbreakable piece of iron.

The rear guard faced absolutely no pressure.

In this moment, they truly felt the overwhelming power of the tactical system they had pioneered, and simultaneously, the sheer significance of a powerful main tank.

Between them and the boss, it felt as though an impregnable wall of bronze and iron had been erected.

"I feel like we are invincible this time!" Mo Xian shouted, continuing her relentless assault.

"Pour on the damage!"

Spells of every description along with a flurry of blade-light and sword-shadows rained down upon the boss, a cathartic and unrestrained torrent of might.

Their current composition had successfully mirrored the classic trinity of Warrior, Mage, and Priest—a strategy that had dominated entire gaming eras before Fang Qi’s transmigration.

"It is down!"

An ecstatic shout echoed through the chamber.

At this precise moment, an indescribable wave of excitement washed over them all. It was the pure joy of success, achieved after enduring countless hardships to conquer a seemingly impossible challenge.

"Wahahahaha!" Mo Xian was so delighted she nearly leaped into the air, taking off her virtual reality headset and spinning in circles beside her seat. She felt as though their group had discovered a legendary triumvirate system, a sensation akin to ushering in a brand-new era.

Nalan Hongwu also let out a long, slow breath as he removed his headset. On the livestream channel, the screen was already completely flooded with praises.

Watching the powerful foe collapse before them, the other members were equally thrilled, including Ji Yu and Liang Heihu, who had participated in the initial progression but had voluntarily stepped aside to make room for this new strategy and composition.

This was the fruit of collective wisdom, and they shared in the glory of the achievement.

Feeling exceptionally smug, Mo Xian casually took a screenshot and sent it directly to Boss Fang: "Boss, are we amazing or what? Are you surprised? Is this unexpected?! We successfully conquered the Deadmines boss all on our own! We even discovered a super powerful synergy system between Warriors, Mages, and Priests!"

"Are you jealous?! (Shiba Inu smirk emoji)"

Boss Fang was currently preoccupied with matters regarding the official novel when he suddenly noticed the message on his communication device.

Opening it, he let out a sharp intake of breath.

"(Boss Fang clapping emoji) Impressive, truly impressive," Boss Fang said, taking a deep drag from his cigarette. "However... did you use the shortcut key to take that screenshot? Are you not paying attention to the game?"

"Yeah... is there a problem?" Mo Xian replied triumphantly. "We cleared out all the monsters nearby, so there is nothing to worry about!"

"Wiped," Boss Fang replied.

"What do you mean wiped?"

"Look at the game. It is a total party wipe."

"How is that possible! You are just jealous that this celestial maiden has pioneered a new..." As she spoke, Mo Xian instinctively switched her gaze back to the game. "...e... ra...?"

Her voice grew fainter and fainter until she suddenly froze in sheer disbelief.

The screen was completely gray.

Only the Paladin, Evan, remained buried beneath a mountain of monsters, swinging his sword while crying out in bitter grief and indignation: "Ah! Where did you all go?! Why did everyone go away from keyboard?!"

A total party wipe!

"The layout inside the Deadmines is interconnected chain by chain. Fighting outside easily alerts the sentries patrolling inside the doors, commonly known as patrols. If you lower your guard just because the boss is dead, a total wipe is inevitable." Only now did Boss Fang’s follow-up message appear.

"!!!"

"Why did you not say so earlier!" It was an incredibly frustrating turn of events.

...

After a grueling corpse run to re-enter the Deadmines and clearing out the patrols, they defeated the gatekeeper. Stepping deeper into the instance, they realized that the interior of the Deadmines was an unimaginably vast and expansive space.

It resembled a massive underground kingdom.

Following the mine shafts inward, they encountered a massive lumber mill. Sneed, piloting his colossal shredder, was meticulously processing logs. The gigantic machine served both as a logging tool and a terrifyingly powerful suit of mechanical armor.

Descending further down a wide, spiraling pathway, they discovered a grand forge center. Taskmaster Gug'gok and a team of engineers were mining various raw ores, developing an assortment of machinery and cannons on-site.

"Watch your positioning! Do not pull the patrols!"

"Pull it back, pull it back a bit!"

"Heal me, give me a heal!"

"It dropped!" Although they still suffered occasional party wipes, their familiarity with the trinity system made the progression noticeably smoother.

"Lavishly Jeweled Ring?!" A ring with its name highlighted in blue quickly appeared before everyone.

"Blue quality?!"

"A ring?!"

One had to understand that despite playing for so long, they had never encountered a single piece of jewelry. Furthermore, everyone was currently equipped only with white common and green uncommon gear.

World of Warcraft offered three loot distribution modes: Need before Greed, Free-for-All, and Master Looter.

Naturally, they had chosen the rolling system, which was fair and just.

"Give me a hundred!" Mo Xian cried out excitedly; the very first boss had actually yielded a treasure.

The dice rolled a thirty.

"..."

"Let this old man give it a try?" Nalan Hongwu also rolled for the item.

Twenty-eight.

"..."

"It is mine, it is mine!" To a mage in the real world, these magical ornaments were incredibly valuable. Even though it was a virtual item, Trix felt exceptionally thrilled, casting doubt on whether she had come to this mystic realm to cultivate or simply to have fun.

She hastily clicked the need button.

Ninety!

"Ahahahaha!"

Your teammate, Fairy Liu, has received the item: Lavishly Jeweled Ring.

A perfect score of one hundred!

"Ah-yah-yah-yah-yah!" Trix looked as though she were about to spit blood.

"Wait... this ring, or whatever it is, can only be used inside this mystic realm, right? What is so great about it?" A crowd of mages, watching Trix’s magical projection, looked utterly bewildered.

Are you even here to cultivate in a mystic realm?!

Why does it feel like you came here just to play some sort of "online game"?!

By this point, their time limit was already fast approaching.

"Should we..."

"Overdraft our time?" Liu Ningyun suggested.

"Fight, fight, fight! I'll heal you guys!" Trix felt as though it was remarkably easy to get good loot here, and the combat was thrilling and exhilarating to the absolute extreme. Her face beamed with excitement. "I can still overdraft ten hours!"

Nalan Hongwu said, "This old man does not mind."

"...We have to return to our sect later..." Liu Ningyun said. "Let us overdraft two hours first. At our current speed, as long as we are careful with the remaining bosses, it should be about enough..."

"I have training tomorrow..." Commander Evan said, his face masked in deep melancholy.

"What is there to fear! Three or four hours at most. Let's go, go, go!" Mo Xian guaranteed confidently.

"Fine, fine, fine. Three or four hours to finish up, and then we log off!"

"Sir! Add three hours for us first!"

"Three hours later..."

"Don't pull the monsters, for heaven's sake!"

"Clear out the lesser minions ahead, clear them out!"

"Don't pull the patrol! They're coming this way!"

A chorus of roaring filled the air.

Entering the deepest recesses of the mine, a massive warship bristling with cannons manifested before the players, docked upon the vast surface of an underground lake.

Before entering, no one could have imagined that such a formidable weapon lay hidden beneath this mine.

This vessel was the Juggernaut, the ultimate weapon forged by the Defias Brotherhood to destroy Stormwind City. If Stormwind City had consumed all the blood and sweat of these genius craftsmen in the first half of their lives, then this Juggernaut had consumed the entirety of their remaining years.

Yet its sole purpose was merely to demolish the grand masterpiece of their youth.

"Just... just add five more hours! I feel like we're almost done!"

"!!??" The group of mages watching Trix’s magical projection nearly wet their pants in sheer shock upon hearing those words.

"They're still fighting?!"

After storming the warship, there were a total of four bosses: First Mate Mr. Smite, Captain Greenskin, Cookie the Murloc, and the leader, Edwin VanCleef.

"Holy crap, keep the heals up, keep the heals up!"

"It's coming for the backline! Shield the backline!"

"Hold the aggro! Warrior, hold the aggro!"

"Ah—! It's dead!"

Trix, Mo Xian, and the others, each sporting heavy dark circles under their eyes, cheered, "Ah-hahaha, let's see what gear dropped!"

"???" Several mages watching the Eastern Continentals carry Trix through the dungeon suddenly stared out at the sky in dumbfounded amazement. "How is the sky already brightening?!"

Good grief, do you Eastern Continentals always cultivate with this much fanatical intensity?!

.

.

Postscript: Business hours have now increased; the shop only closes for four hours a day.

.