<h4>Chapter 73: Deal In the Dark</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the dark cave, more than ten yers marched out in a neat formation from a passage, which was approximately five meters. Several Ironback Centipedes that were lying closest to the passage lifted their heads before they turned and looked at the passage tunnel. They responded very quickly—twisting and wriggling their bodies in a terrifying manner while they quietly swam up towards the passage.


    “Beastblood Berserkers! Charge!”


    A sonorous voice was heard echoing across the cave.


    Four Beastblood Berserkers who were equipped with shields put their shields right in front of them as they engaged in battle with several Ironback Centipedes, which had crawled over from the tunnel below them. The Tier 4 Beastblood Berserkers did not even need to activate Berserk when they engaged the Level 40 Ironback Centipedes, because they were supported by Radiant Priests from the rear of the formation.


    In the next moment, more and more Elementalists as well as Bowmasters marched out of the passage in a neat formation and they stood behind the four Beastblood Berserkers.


    “Elementalists! AoE Assault!”


    “Bowmasters! Lock on your targets and attack at will!”


    The moment themanding voice was heard, waves of magic fluctuated frequently both inside and outside of the passage. Looking like arge number of operating silos, beams of magic energy and Spell Arrows were sted out from the mouth of the passage along with blinding shes of light! Once they were a little closer, the Ironback Centipedes that were nearest to the passage were instantly flipped over across the ground. Their bodies curled up and they fell from the edge of the passage. The other giant centipedes down below were so shocked that they went into hiding.


    Qin Ruo felt all sorts of feelings gathering in his mind as he looked at the situation. Those yers were truly part of a remarkable n party. It was a professional when it came to battling bosses. It took less than fifteen minutes for them to kill the Skeleton King and push so deep into the cavern. Qin Ruo even wondered if there were actually shortcuts lying around the tunnels...


    Furthermore, they seemed to be very familiar with the environment there. They did not push on from the passage they came out from. They merely remained on guard at the passage as they were waiting for the giant centipedes below to charge at them and die.


    With just a little effort and over a brief moment of time, half of the centipedes in the cave had been annihted. All of them curled up into the shape of a sphere as they fell to the ground and died a horrible death.


    The moment the number of centipedes reduced, two bizarre, green light dots were suddenlyunched from the passage on the opposite side. Two beautiful curving beams of lights were seen moving across the air in the dark; one headed left and the other headed right, down towards the cave below.


    After he heard some gentle tinkling sounds, the two masses of light suddenly expanded. They appeared to be two high-grade Illuminating Crystals. They instantly dispelled much of the darkness in the oldir of centipedes. At the same time, the specific location of the Stygianlock Centiking was also revealed.


    However, the situation made Qin Ruo confused. He was unsure if he shouldugh or cry as the gigantic Stygianlock Centiking, which was approximately eight meters long did not seem to ept the party’s challenge. It continued toy quietly on the ground without making a single move, and its eyes were shut. Only the two ck fireballs were gently moving along with its two antennae. It seemed as if it had yet to awaken from its hibernation.


    Having his sight turned the other way, Qin Ruo suddenly recalled a very important thing. He could not help but feel a tremendous throbbing in his heart. He was eager to do something.


    The centipedes down below had been wiped out clean. In the ordinary course of events, there would not be any more centipedes guarding the ck Dragonfly Herbs and Earth Essence at the four corners of the area for over a brief period from now.


    After he swiftly scanned the surrounding environment in the cave, Qin Ruo suddenly felt strongly for the first time about how advantageous it was for him to rely on Elemental Perception: Water in Centipede Cavern!


    Not only was he fully aware of the situation and activities of the centipedes below him, but the specific locations of the ck Dragonfly Herbs and Earth Essences were also within his sight. Even the range of the two Illuminating Crystals, the dark corners of the area, and the locations of the four Bandits who were sent by the party on the opposite side were all under his own control.


    Once he analyzed his own situation, Qin Ruo quickly made a very bold move...


    He walked along the snake-like passage, which led him down to the cave. With the darkness as his cover, he sneaked down to the ground without a single sound.


    In order to avoid being targeted by the Stygianlock Centiking, Qin Ruo purposely went down to the corner farthest from the intersections of the tunnels.


    There was a total of four ck Dragonfly Herbs and two pieces of Earth Essences in the corner. There were dozens of Ironback Centipedes and Chromatic Centipedes guarding the Herbs earlier on. Now that those centipedes were no longer there to guard them, they naturally became targets that Qin Ruo wanted to obtain.


    Although Qin Ruo had no idea if the four Bandits were sent forward to attract the attention of the Stygianlock Centiking or gather the Herbs, he still did not dare show even the tiniest bit of negligence. He seized whatever time he had left as he immediately gathered the ck Dragonfly Herbs, which were easier to collect—the Earth Essence would require seven to eight seconds to gather while the ck Dragonfly Herbs only required four to five seconds to gather. It was safer for him to start collecting the ones that were easier to gather.


    While he was gathering the Herbs, it was naturally impossible for him to remain in his Aquamorph state.


    The moment he deactivated his Aquamorph, Qin Ruo instantly became a blind man standing in the middle of darkness. Other than sensing the two sources of light in the distance and the terrifying presence of the Stygianlock Centiking, he could not feel anything else at all. He could not even keep track of the party at the passage, which was hundreds of meters away from him.


    The extreme change caused Qin Ruo to feel very ufortable at first. He also felt like he was in terrible danger. He felt vulnerable all of a sudden.


    However, Qin Ruo was able to endure it. He did not hesitate as he activated his Gathering as he had done some calctions while he was on his way there. That side was the farthest area from the whereabouts of the n Party. The centipedes that were being ughtered were also thest batch. It was likely that he had enough time to gather the several bunches of Herbs. As for the Stygianlock Centiking... even though Qin Ruo knew that he was within the Boss’ field of vision, with its level of wisdom, the Stygianlock Centiking would definitely not give up on guarding the high-grade nt. It would not do anything else like turn itself around just to guard ordinary Potion materials.


    Last but not least, he needed to consider the four Bandits. They were notpletely clear about the current situation below the cavern, so they would not dare make too big of a movement to attract attention to themselves. Because of that, it would take them a little more time to arrive at the site.


    So, all in all, Qin Ruo had the thought that he was in a very safe situation for the moment. He then cast out a faint, purplish light as he cautiously started to cut into the stem of the ck Dragonfly Herb. He was also using his body as a cover to prevent the light on his hands from shining out into the surroundings.


    After he managed to gather two bunches of ck Dragonfly Herbs in a row, Qin Ruo felt slightly relieved. He had finally recovered his losses that day.


    After he deactivated his Gathering, Qin Ruo was moved by a thought in his mind. He quietly entered into the Aquamorph state. Next, he used Elemental Perception: Water to look at the situation around the n Party and also the respawn status of the surrounding centipedes.


    Fortunately for him, there were no centipedes appearing in the area about a hundred meters around him just yet.


    The four Bandits were still busy gathering Potion materials in the other corner far away on the opposite side. <i>What the f*ck... The four of them don’t need to band together in a heist for money, right? </i>It hurt Qin Ruo to see that and he despised them quietly in his heart.


    It was worth noting that the party that destroyed the Skeleton King was already halfway into the passage not far from the Stygianlock Centiking. They had sent two Summoners forward to a spot near the Stygianlock Centiking. The two Summoners kept making all sorts of movement to taunt the Boss. It seemed that they were attempting to lure it to a location right beneath the party’s feet...


    Compared to their high spirits when they were dealing with the Skeleton King, these yers in the party seemed to be acting more cautiously in the face of the Stygianlock Centiking. Their movements even gave others a feeling that their legs and hands were tied, like they could not stretch their limbs.


    The Stygianlock Centiking had also taken the countermeasure of not responding to the disturbance caused by the party—their trick was unfortunately too outdated and old-fashioned for the Boss to fall for.


    Qin Ruo was thrilled as he told himself quietly, ‘ <i>Keep stalling, you guys.’ </i>He swiftly deactivated his Aquamorph, turned his body and faced some Earth Essences that were bulging out the mountain wall...


    After putting two pieces of Earth Essences into his backpack, Qin Ruo no longer dared to do anything else. It was almost time for the centipedes to respawn. If he was discovered by the centipedes, he would definitely get himself shredded into countless pieces, would he not?


    Just as he retreated to the corner and activated his Elemental Perception: Water to sense the party’s progress, a giant centipede radiating cold light from its entire body instantly respawned right next to Qin Ruo. It swung its tail over at Qin Ruo, scaring him out of his wits.