Volume 1, Chapter 9: Total Annihilation, Seeking the Blood-Veined Wolf King!

Seeing this, Lin Yi remained exceptionally calm, showing not a hint of nervousness. With their rear support gone, these three men were, in his eyes, no different from lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Delay!"

At his command, a grayish-white halo rippled outward. The fastest among them, a youth in purple, found himself restrained as if by invisible shackles, his eyes filled with astonishment. A heavy pressure descended upon him, making every step a monumental struggle. Another warrior gritted his teeth and charged forward with all his might, while the assassin silently dissolved into the air, attempting to launch a sneak attack from behind.

"Bang!"

Lin Yi flicked his staff, and a scorching fireball erupted. The warrior was instantly engulfed in intense heat; the moisture in his skin evaporated, leaving him looking like a desiccated mummy.

-3117!

One less in the party!

The youth in purple saw his pupils contract; the mage before him was unimaginably powerful. In the blink of an eye, four of his companions had been slain. Suddenly, the invisible assassin closed in on Lin Yi's back. He raised his dark dagger high and thrust it forward with a fierce strike.

Seeing this, Bai Jia cried out in alarm, "Watch out!"

The battle had moved so quickly that she had only just cast a +5 Spirit buff on Lin Yi before witnessing the ambush. The assassin curled his lips into a sneer and snarled, "Die!"

"Backstab!"

But all of this was within Lin Yi's expectations. This was merely a strategy to bait the enemy into revealing themselves.

"Hum!"

A thick layer of white light armor encased Lin Yi. The assassin's blade became entangled in the radiance, unable to move a muscle.

Lin Yi sneered, "Now you're not going anywhere!"

The assassin was terrified, watching as an ice crystal arrow began to materialize. The cold air it radiated sent shivers down his spine.

"Whoosh!"

The ice arrow tore through the air, piercing the assassin’s eyeball and striking deep into his skull. The eye ruptured instantly, and before the blood could even spray, it froze into jagged shards of ice.

-3795!

The staggering damage burst forth, and the assassin didn't even have time to scream before he dropped dead on the spot.

Now, only the youth in purple remained. He felt Lin Yi’s gaze shift toward him and his body could not help but tremble.

"Run!"

The youth in purple turned and scrambled away as fast as he could. But how could Lin Yi let him off so easily?

"Zzzzt!"

A surge of electricity struck him, the paralysis effect turning his movements stiff. At the same time, it dealt significant damage.

-1679!

His health dropped by half in an instant.

"Delay!"

The grayish-white halo descended once more, and the youth in purple fell into total despair. He knew that under such a slowing effect, escape was impossible.

"Spare me..."

Before the plea could leave his lips, a roaring fireball slammed into him.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the exploding flames silenced him forever.

-2973!

The youth’s limbs were blown away, his remains scattered. Bai Jia watched in shock, rubbing her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing. Just like that, their entire group had been wiped out. From start to finish, she had only cast one spirit enhancement and hadn't even had the chance to use a healing spell.

"Is... is he really a mage?" she wondered, staring at Lin Yi’s back, her heart full of doubt. Without a doubt, Lin Yi had completely overturned her traditional understanding of mages. "This guy is too strong!"

Lin Yi paid little attention to Bai Jia's shock and admiration. He had saved her mostly due to her casual act of kindness outside the town earlier. Now, his face filled with excitement, he began to scavenge the corpses. Soon, a pile of various equipment lay before him: twelve Black Iron grade items and eighteen novice items.

[Lord’s Cloak]
Grade: Black Iron
Attributes: Agility +5, Movement Speed +1

[Magic Ring]
Grade: Black Iron
Attributes: Casting time reduced by 0.2 seconds

Among them, two pieces of Black Iron gear were exactly what Lin Yi needed. The most pleasant surprise was the Magic Ring. For other mages, a 0.2-second reduction in casting time might be negligible—at most, making their spells slightly faster. But Lin Yi was different; his base casting time was already less than a second. This 0.2-second reduction was significant! Once equipped, his casting speed would become nearly instantaneous, skyrocketing his combat effectiveness.

Lin Yi chuckled to himself—killing enemies and looting their gear really was the most profitable endeavor. He began packing the gear into his bag. Aside from the two Black Iron items he would keep, the rest could be sold for at least two million!

Wait, deep in the valley, there was still a Blood-Veined Wolf King! With that thought, he turned toward Bai Jia.

Seeing Lin Yi gathering the loot, Bai Jia was filled with envy. This haul was worth more than what others could earn in a year or even several years of grinding. Seeing him turn his gaze toward her, she flashed a smile through the bloodstains on her face.

"My name is Bai Jia. Thank you so much for saving me." She finished with a shy, budding sentiment in her heart.

"You're welcome," Lin Yi replied with a smile. "I’m Lin Yi. Can you tell me exactly where the Blood-Veined Wolf King is?"

Although he knew it was hidden deep in the valley, the area was so vast that searching on his own would take too much time.

Bai Jia replied immediately, "It's in a cave. We tagged it with tracking powder earlier; I can take you there." Originally, the Wolf King had been guarding the valley entrance, but due to the conflict between her party and the purple-clad group, it had fled deeper into the valley during the chaos.

However, Bai Jia hesitated slightly. "Are we going just the two of us? Shouldn't we head back to Wulong Town and find a few more teammates?" It wasn't that she didn't believe in Lin Yi—the combat power he had just displayed was truly stunning—but he was a mage, and she feared he might struggle to tank damage. Normally, a team required warriors to hold the front line and a priest to heal, with ranged classes providing support from the back. Even then, accidents were common because Lord-class monsters were far too powerful for ordinary people.

Lin Yi shook his head decisively. "No need, the two of us are enough!"

Are you kidding? Going back to recruit people would not only waste time but also force him to split the loot. Lin Yi wouldn't do that. He was full of confidence in his own strength; soloing a Lord-class monster was well within his capabilities.

Without further ado, Bai Jia led Lin Yi deeper into the valley. The valley was quiet, dotted with sparse trees. Occasionally, a breeze would blow, carrying the fresh, crisp air unique to the marshlands. Once they entered the cave, Bai Jia lowered her voice. "The Blood-Veined Wolf King is elusive and loves to hunt lone adventurers."

Lin Yi sighed; without Bai Jia, he likely would have struggled to find the monster's lair.

"Snap!"

A spark of fire sprang from Lin Yi’s palm, illuminating the dark tunnel. Soon, they reached the deepest part of the cave. Lin Yi’s eyes lit up; a massive wolf beast covered in blood-red veins was resting there. Its fangs glinted with a bloodthirsty light. It was clearly no easy foe.

[Blood-Veined Wolf King]
[Level: LV10 Lord Monster]
[Health: 39175]
[Skills: Bloodthirst, Rapid Assault, Summoning...]

Bai Jia marveled, "That health pool is truly thick!" Even though this wasn't her first time seeing the Wolf King, she was still awestruck. She felt a bit uneasy—could the two of them really do this?

Lin Yi, however, felt no fear, only intense excitement. The stronger the Lord monster, the more precious the gear it would drop!

Lin Yi gestured with his eyes, and Bai Jia understood, silently reciting her incantation.

"Spirit Enhancement!"

A pale blue light enveloped Lin Yi, adding +10 to his Spirit. Lin Yi smiled; having a priest by his side was indeed useful. With this, his Spirit reached 120, and his damage output took another step up!

"Stand back and keep yourself safe," Lin Yi whispered. Looking at the sleeping Wolf King, a flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes.

"Ice Arrow!"

A freezing arrow materialized instantly. With the bonus from the Magic Ring, his casting speed was so fast that Bai Jia was left wide-eyed and speechless.

"Whoosh!"

A faint sound of air being pierced rang out as the ice arrow crossed dozens of meters in an instant, embedding itself deep into the Wolf King’s abdomen.

-4379!

The arrow exploded against the wolf's torso, tearing a finger-wide, bone-deep wound. The massive damage made Bai Jia's eyes sparkle. She could hardly believe such a powerful attack had come from a novice class player.

"Awoo!"

Struck by the heavy blow, the Blood-Veined Wolf King woke from its dream. It glared at the duo, its wolf eyes turning a blood-red, filled with uncontrollable rage!