Chapter 127 : Insignia
Insignia
After walking about one or two minutes deeper into the Mutant Jungle, until he turned around and could no longer see the figures on the clearing behind him, Chen Zixuan finally stopped, summoning the Darkwing Demon Bat he had previously recalled into his backpack.
After two days of leveling up, the Darkwing Demon Bat had reached level 5 and was no longer the tiny creature that had once perched in the girl's palm.
Unfurling its pitch-black wings, its body had grown to roughly the size of a shield. The dark wing membranes were now tough and its claws were extremely sharp. Its features had begun maturing towards its adult form—eyes glowing with crimson light, long fangs protruding from its lips, making it look even more ferocious and terrifying.
At this rate, Chen Zixuan estimated that if it gained a few more levels—once it reached level 10—its size would probably be sufficient to serve as a mount.
Having a flying mount would undoubtedly save him a lot of trouble. But it was still too early to think about these things. Shaking his head slightly, Chen Zixuan activated the connection and controlled the Darkwing Demon Bat to fly toward the treetop canopies high above the forest.
Ten meters... twenty meters... forty meters... fifty meters—the height gradually approached its limit.
Now! Ultrasound burst!
The red gleam in his left eye suddenly lit up. Dozens of meters above the girl, an invisible sound wave rippled outward like water.
Two seconds later, the wave returned, and the layout of all terrain within a kilometer around him presented itself with exceptional clarity in Chen Zixuan's mind.
In a world of gray and white, two bright red dots were especially striking.
They were situated in the southwest, and the distance... was only twenty meters!
A sharp sense of alert surged inside him. The map in his head had barely vanished when a hoarse roar echoed suddenly from his side. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a massive gray shadow lunging at him. Reacting instinctively, almost without any extra motion, the girl dodged automatically.
As she sidestepped about half a meter to the left, the huge gray-white shadow brushed right past Chen Zixuan. The creature's razor-sharp foreclaws sliced open the girl's tender arm. It was so close that Chen Zixuan could even smell the beast's distinct rotting stench.
First, he felt sharp pain in his arm; then, red damage numbers floated up above Chen Zixuan's head.
-49!
Pathetic! Pathetic!
Compared to the heavy blows from the Sawtooth Crocodile, this minor wound was barely worth mentioning.
【Wound Tear】!
His jet-black weapon glowed as the silver-haired girl raised her dagger and spun decisively to give chase. Without hesitation, she slashed viciously at the snake-like, twisting vine-shaped tail!
-106! (Physical)
-135! (Magic)
The single slash inflicted two types of damage, and the monster that had ambushed them entered a Bleeding state for 30 seconds.
But the fight was not over. Its tail severely injured, the enormous Wolf King slammed to a halt, its four claws gouging deep ruts into the ground as it turned and lunged at the girl once more.
Its aura was so intense it seemed to say directly to Chen Zixuan, "If you don't kill me today, you're not getting away!"
The girl's face flashed with surprise before growing cold.
Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish.
The battle music in his ears swelled to a climax. "Blood Drain!"
The silver hair fluttered slightly. The girl raised her right hand and recited the words coldly. With a flash of red light, the corrupted Wolf King's vine-like tail was severed in two, exploding into a huge cloud of dark green, sap-like liquid.
-598!
Blue magical critical damage burst forth, causing the giant wolf's health to drop below half in an instant. There was no need for calculations—he knew this hit was sufficient. To avoid being splattered by the disgusting fluid, Chen Zixuan chose not to chase after it for a finishing blow. Instead, he used 【Silverflash Pierce】 to slay the level 8 elite monster.
He didn't have time to gather his loot before another howl sounded. Another giant wolf figure appeared among the trees not far away—it seemed they were a male and female pair of Wolf Kings.
Free experience was something Chen Zixuan could never refuse. With a flourish of his dagger, he decided to strike first, accelerating to maximum speed and charging at the other Wolf King like a shadow.
Less than two minutes later, the second corrupted forest Wolf King was easily dealt with. Although it was an elite monster, it was only level 8—compared to the foes Chen Zixuan had faced lately, it was still rather weak.
"That's the end of that. Let's see if there's anything good here."
Hurrying to the corpses on the ground, Chen Zixuan stuck to his usual habit of looting.
To his surprise, even though both gray-furred hounds' health bars had been depleted, they still hadn't died completely—perhaps due to being parasitized by plants, which gave them formidable vitality. Their green blood had formed a small river, yet their chests still rose and fell faintly.
Are plants really so tenacious? Watching this scene, Chen Zixuan couldn't help but recall a TV program he had seen years ago.
Some plants, even if blown into endless desert with no water or soil, could survive in a dormant state for years, waiting until they encountered suitable land again before taking root and sprouting anew.
Considering these were monsters affected by Angel's dark magic, such things weren't impossible.
Just in case, gritting his teeth, Chen Zixuan raised his dagger again and ruthlessly cut off the heads of both giant wolves. Only after confirming that they were truly dead did he let out a slow breath and return the dagger to its sheath at his waist.
With the danger removed, he could finally begin gathering.
"System notice: You have obtained 5 [Contaminated Monster Blood]!"
"System notice: You have obtained 2 [Broken Fangs]!"
......
"System notice: You have obtained [Carrera's Badge]!"
At the sudden flash of light before his eyes, Chen Zixuan was startled for a moment, then hurriedly opened his backpack—and sure enough, he found an item resembling a badge.
He examined the badge in the palm of his hand. It was ancient iron-grey in color, about four centimeters in diameter, with dim golden engravings on its surface, as if it had been battered by wind and rain for ages.
At the very center, it bore a carving of an orthodox Loren Empire royal knight: the knight in black armor holding a shield in his left hand and raising a spear high in his right, with a grey tower behind his head and an endless abyss before him. According to official game data, this was the insignia of the Black Knights.
After a brief hesitation, Chen Zixuan opened the item details panel.
This was a quest item—players couldn't use, equip, or trade it, but could submit it at the Black Knight Corps Headquarters in the royal city in exchange for generous rewards.
....................
Tried on a wig today and spent time with my girlfriend, took a day off. The crossdressing outfit shipped yesterday and should arrive in a couple of days. I've posted some wig trial photos on Pineapple Circle, check them out if you're interested ORZ