Cataclysm King

Chapter 460: The Bandits of Black Crow Castle

After the college instructor finished speaking, everyone entered the Tower of Babel one after another.

The surrounding environment changed, and Ji Xun and the other six people appeared near a small wooden cabin that looked like a logging site.

Enlightenment also appeared immediately.

"You have entered the Arel Royal Academy Trial Field "The Bandits of Black Crow Castle""

"Mortality rate in this space: None"

"Current story difficulty level: D"

"Space exploration progress: 0%"

「Keywords: team, exploration, adventure」

"Mission: A group of bandits from nowhere are entrenched in the old abandoned castle. They are harassing and looting the surrounding villages. The sheriff of Lord Silver Fir has issued a bounty order. You and your teammates are bounty hunters who have rushed here after hearing the news. Your current mission is to kill at least one bandit each. Killing the plot target will earn you points. Completing the mission will earn you rewards from the plot-related mission prop card pool. Explore the plot and discover the surprises hidden in history."

"Clue: It is a haunted castle that has been abandoned for a hundred years. It is said that a villager once saw the castle was brightly lit, as if an obscene dance was being held;"

As soon as he entered the space, Ji Xun habitually glanced over the content of the enlightenment.

Experience has shown that these seemingly simple task prompts often contain the key to the entire trial space plot.

For example:
With just one glance, Ji Xun had already deduced the general plot of this space.

The D-level plot is just an introduction, and killing a bandit is extremely easy; and following the line of the castle can trigger more difficult C~B-level plots; and the last "haunted castle" is most likely a hidden plot, and the difficulty should be A-level.

As for the S-level plot, it is usually not explicitly hinted at in the enlightenment.

However, because he understood the difficulty of the plot at a glance, Ji Xun immediately muttered in his heart: "Is the difficulty so low?"

Maybe it was because he had dealt with too many difficult plot spaces, so now when he watched "Bandits of Black Crow Castle", he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

But he changed his mind and thought: "That's right, after all, it's just the college trial space that is under the control of the college, so the difficulty won't be too outrageous."

In just a moment, most of the interest was lost.

All that was left in his mind was thinking about how to trigger as many advanced plots as possible and get more credits.

The only thing that surprised him in the entire space enlightenment was the "0%" exploration level.

I have participated in virtual explorations of different dimensional spaces of varying difficulty, but this is the first time I have encountered one.

This means that this is a space that no one has ever explored.

For some reason, when he saw this, he always had an indescribable feeling in his heart.

"It's strange, why do I always feel like there's something wrong?"

Although Ji Xun's clone is only at the first level.

However, the soul's mysterious perception ability comes from the entity.

In other words, he sensed some premonitions that he shouldn't have been able to sense at his level.

It's not necessarily dangerous.

It was more like something hidden in the logical reasoning was overlooked, which made him feel that there might be variables in the deduction.

But in the academy trials, the cause and effect are clear, so where do the variables come from?

A team of six entered the space.

Ji Xun finished reading the enlightenment content in an instant, and at this moment, he heard the exclamations of his teammates.

"Wow, this is amazing. Is this the trial space? I've heard adventurers say that the other-dimensional space is the same as the real world. So it's really like this."

"That's true. But the elements in this space are too barren."

"Hahaha, never mind. We won't stay here forever anyway. Did you see the mission? It's about suppressing bandits. I like this. As long as we kill enough, we'll definitely get a high evaluation for completing the mission!"

"Yes. This is a medium-sized trial scenario with 500 people. The number of bandits is limited, so we have to hurry up, otherwise if they are killed by others, we will have fewer points."

"Hey, hey, hey, didn't you see that this is 'exploration mode'? It's not as simple as just killing."

"."

Although their team is very strong, apart from Ji Xun, only David, who used to be a mercenary, has entered the other dimension.

Entering the space for the first time, everyone couldn't help but feel excited.

After hearing about Gang Duoduo and the others' round, David, who had experienced the dangers of the other-dimensional space, couldn't help but remind them: "Everyone should be careful. It's only level D difficulty now. Once it's level B or above, even we will have a chance of death."

He paused, and then reminded, "Although the number of kills does affect the clearance evaluation, in the actual 'exploration mode', usually high-difficulty story missions or hidden missions are triggered to obtain high settlement rewards."

"David is right!"

After hearing this, the excitement in the eyes of the other teammates subsided a lot.

They also realized that David was the only one in the team who had experienced the other dimension.

Since they were all teammates, there was nothing to be shy about. The dwarves didn't want to use their brains, so Gang Duoduo couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "David, how do we trigger a high-difficulty mission?"

David shrugged. "I don't know either. From the looks of it, it should be related to the Black Crow Castle."

Upon hearing this, Gang Duoduo patted his thick armor and suggested eagerly: "How about we go directly to the castle? I think we have to complete at least the A-level tasks this time to have a chance to enter the top 30 of the trial assessment. If we want to be in the top 10, we may have to complete more tasks."

They are the star team of the academy and have the strength, so of course they are going for the list rewards.

My teammates all think so.

Even Ji Xun is the same.

And there is nothing wrong with Gang Duoduo’s idea.

Any normal person would think, when seeing the plot hints, that the difficult plot must be in Black Crow Castle.

If I go too late, I'm afraid someone else will get there first.

However, this is not the case.

Ji Xun was also interested in going directly to the castle to take a look and seize the opportunity.

But he knew very well that the exploration mode was not a simple killing mission, but a test of the adventurer's wisdom.

You need to dig deep for clues to trigger some difficult hidden plots.

Ji Xun of course knew everything, but he didn't say anything.

As long as the general direction of this trial was not problematic, he had no intention of standing out too much.

David’s experience was enough for this kind of trial. He suggested, “I think we should go to the nearby human territory first to confirm the situation of the bandits before taking action. This way, we can dig up as many side plots as possible. And I always feel that if the local sheriff is helpless, the bandits may not be that simple.”

After hearing this, Serri also said, "Yeah. I also think it's better to be safe. After all, if it's an A-level difficulty story, the mortality rate will be very high."

Zhuosha and Gail also nodded in agreement.

D-level difficulty is an entry-level task that can be completed casually, and the difficulty is usually lower than the adventurer's strength level;
C-level tasks are tasks with a difficulty similar to one's own strength;
B-level tasks require the trial-taker's wisdom and tactical planning to be tested, and the trial-taker has a high probability of death;
The mortality rate of A-level difficulty is extremely high, and it is likely that a task can only be completed normally by a higher level;
S-level means that you are in danger of death, with only a glimmer of hope. According to the rank, it is basically two levels higher in difficulty.

These contents have been taught by instructors in the academy’s adventure classes.

But only when you have truly experienced a difficult plot, can you deeply understand the feeling of death following you like a shadow.

No one knows better than Ji Xun.

Because even David has only completed a B-level difficulty level.

Ji Xun was at a logging site outside the village, and a bonfire could be seen several kilometers away with the naked eye.

However, just as they were about to set off, brilliant magical fireworks exploded in the sky not far away, transforming into a giant purple dragon.

"It's the family's rallying signal!"

"Yes. And it was the signal sent by the young master."

"."

There were more than 500 students in total who entered the "Bandits of Black Crow Castle", which means nearly 100 teams.

There are also several branches of the Langdon family in the college.

Everyone is randomly assigned to the trial space, so it is normal to encounter them.

Before coming in, Young Master Sak had made arrangements that if any teams met in the space, they would cooperate with each other and try to get higher assessment ratings.

Ji Xun and the other six did not expect that, by such a coincidence, they would actually run into the team that Young Master Sak was in.

Sending signals in the wild means that you are in danger.

The signal still points to Young Master Sak.

The six of them did not dare to delay and rushed towards the direction of the fireworks.

On the hillside where everyone is, there is a fir forest that shines like silver. The plot suggests that this is the "Silver Fir Logging Site."

I thought I might have encountered a monster.

However, when Ji Xun and the other six rushed over, they saw something "whooshing" past from the dense treetops above their heads.

It was so fast that it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The "UFO" was moving too fast, and Ji Xun and his six companions couldn't catch up with it, so they didn't try to chase it.

Instead, he rushed to the place where the signal was sent as soon as possible.

At this glance, Master Sak had transformed into a half-dragon, and was looking at the body of the guard on the ground with a grim face.

Ji Xun glanced at the corpse and thought of something inexplicably, and his pupils shrank slightly.

Six people arrived and immediately changed into a defensive formation.

Serri looked at the body on the ground, frowned, and asked, "Master, what happened?"

The five people following Sack were all knights of the Langdon family. Although their individual strength might be weaker than Ji Xun's team, this team was considered first-rate in the academy in terms of equipment and team tacit understanding since childhood.

But now, someone died just after entering the space?

Ji Xun also guessed that the murderer might be the black shadow that just flew away from overhead.

Sack said nothing with a serious look in his eyes. A guard explained, "We were ambushed by a monster just now."

Ji Xun and his companions certainly knew that they were attacked by a monster.

But what kind of attack could cause such a first-rate team to lose people in such a short period of time?

When Sack and his men join forces, they can kill not only first-level monsters but also second-level monsters.

Is this an A-level plot?
It shouldn't be so difficult to get in. The guard knew what Ji Xun and the others were wondering, but he himself didn't seem to understand it either. He said uncertainly, "We just appeared here and found a guy who was sneaking around and seemed to be investigating something. We thought it was a character in the plot, so we wanted to catch him and ask him about it. We didn't expect that the monster was very strong, so we started fighting."

Seeing that the other party had stopped here again, Seri frowned and asked, "Is it the second level?"

The guard looked troubled, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "No. It should be the first level."

"???"

As soon as these words were spoken, Gang Duoduo and the others all looked at each other with confusion.

How could a first-level enemy cause Master Sack's elite team to suffer?

But Ji Xun seemed to understand something. The guard was talking about both "character" and "monster".

The existence that launched the sneak attack is probably very special.

Thinking of this, the guard could not hide his regret and said, "We killed that guy right away. But he died and resurrected, and killed Anthony who came forward to check, and then flew away. Plot hint: that guy is the bandit's scout captain "Sting" Taylor."

After saying this, Ji Xun and the others were also inspired: "Trigger the team's shared B-level hidden plot and investigate the secret of the resurrection of Black Crow Castle's scout captain "Sting" Taylor."

Now everyone understood.

As soon as Sack's team came in, they discovered a suspicious bandit.

Then he killed the bandits.

Unexpectedly, "he" was resurrected again.

Due to carelessness, a knight was lost.

The monster wasn't too strong. I was ambushed because of my carelessness.

When the resurrected monster saw that it could not defeat Sack and his men, it flew away.

That was when Ji Xun and the others came over, they saw the black shadow flying away rapidly in the tree canopy.

Listening to this outrageous plot, Serri and Sack and his companions all frowned.

But Ji Xun had already understood everything, and he came to a conclusion that surprised him: "Vampire!"

Ji Xun and his companions were listening to the guard explaining what had just happened.

Sister Zhuosha, who was the team's nurse, was helping to rescue the fallen knight. At this moment, the knight suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Ji Xun raised his eyebrows as he looked at it, this scene was not unfamiliar to him.

I thought this guy was going to become a vampire.

Unexpectedly, another pharmacist said excitedly: "Anthony is alive!"

Zhuo Sha also took out a dispel spell card and confirmed that the wounded had come over while casting it: "There is a strong dark power remaining in Anthony's wound. I have dispelled it and he will recover soon."

As she spoke, she thought of something and added, "It could be some kind of evil creature, or a monster from the abyss. If it's not dispelled, the wound may be contaminated and deformed. Everyone should be more careful."

The people were saved, and this dispelled the shadow of reduction in the team.

Young Master Sak's expression improved. He looked at Zhuo Sha and praised her, "Well done!"

Zhuo Sha returned a knight's salute: "This is what a subordinate should do."

Seeing this scene, everyone from the two teams looked at her with amazement and joy in their eyes.

With such a powerful nurse in the team, safety is greatly guaranteed.

Only his teammates knew what was going on. Gang Duoduo muttered, "Zhuo Sha's magic secret technique, 'Resurrection Sacrifice', has been mastered."

It is very difficult to get started with the secret techniques of the devil. Even with the secret formulas, it is still not easy to get started.

"Yeah. I just figured out a little bit of the trick a while ago."

Zhuo Sha listened and nodded slightly, but glanced at Ji Xun in the team.

She had obtained it before but had not been able to get started. Later, she asked "Su Lun" for advice and read some targeted classics, and then she got started.

I didn't expect this to come in handy.

Immortal, able to fly, and pollute.

completely satisfied.

Ji Xun has already confirmed that the guy before was a vampire.

Dragonborn are not easily contaminated, and with the help of the "Resurrection Sacrifice", this knight named Anthony was lucky enough not to die.

But what Ji Xun was curious about was why vampires appeared in this trial space?
The information currently known is very limited, and Ji Xun can’t figure it out.

If you want to solve the mystery, you must dig deeper into the plot.

There were no casualties, and the haze over the two teams dissipated immediately.

They were just careless before, they are fully capable of handling this kind of plot.

Moreover, hidden plots in adventure mode usually mean more rewards.

Resources are secondary, face is more important.

Now that the Langdon family has established a country in the Old World, they need to demonstrate their family strength and recruit more talents.

The Royal Academy Trial Ranking List is a great opportunity to expand influence.

Young Master Sak looked at Team 16, which he had high hopes for, and asked, "Seri, how did your team plan this trial mission?"

Lizard Mage Serri was the captain of Team 16. He replied, "Master. We had planned to go to a nearby village to find a plot character to learn about the bandit's situation."

As he spoke, he recounted what the others had discussed before.

When Sack heard this, he frowned for a moment and nodded: "Yes. Let's go together."

Originally, his plan was the same as Gang Duoduo's. He wanted to go directly to the Black Crow Castle where the bandits were entrenched to see the situation.

After all, there is only one bandit lair, and whoever breaks it first will gain the upper hand.

It’s not that Sack is arrogant.

It’s not like he didn’t know the risks of the trial.

But their team is one of the very few teams qualified to use such reckless tactics in this trial!

The Langdon family finally had a pure-blooded dragon descendant, so of course all resources were devoted to him as much as possible.

As a result, several people in Young Master Sack's guard team are equipped with extremely luxurious equipment.

When they were apprentices, a few guards could survive the hands of second-level assassins thanks to their equipment.

Now that I have advanced to become a formal card master, let alone a low-level different-dimensional space.

Even if we just throw money at it, there is no reason why we can't solve the A-level difficulty of this space.

However, after experiencing the "undead monster", Sack also realized that there was something wrong with his plan.

Now I don’t know how to kill the monster. If I rush into the castle recklessly, I might get into big trouble.

From this perspective, the attack just now was actually a blessing rather than a curse.

The two strongest teams of the Duke of Langdon's Mansion merged together. Everyone in the team was full of confidence and became more confident in this trial.

Ji Xun in the team did not interrupt and continued to act as his own nobody.

However, before they entered the village, they suddenly saw a beam of red dragon flames rising into the sky in the dark mountain valley in the distance.

When everyone saw it, someone immediately spoke up: "It's the Red Dragon Royal Family gathering fireworks!"

Ji Xun looked over and saw that the location of the fireworks was very remote, and it was probably not in any village.

But in the wild.

This means that it might be the same situation as before for Young Master Sak and the others. They were in danger, so they lit the rallying fireworks?
Moreover, the gathering fireworks are like the noble coat of arms. The one in the hands of the nobles and the one in the hands of the knights are different.

Seeing the pattern of the fireworks, Sack immediately realized something and asked in surprise, "Princess Sophia of the Red Dragon Royal Family is also in this different dimension?"

In the trial, there is competition between teams.

Seeing their powerful opponents sending out rallying fireworks, the players of the two teams from the Duke of Langdon's Mansion were actually a little gloating.

It turns out they weren't the only ones who suffered.

The same goes for the royal team.

Especially the guards who were almost killed when they came in before, their expressions were much more relaxed.

Seli also analyzed: "Looking at this distance, if the people of the Red Dragon Royal Family are not coming in and are already there, it is very likely that they are heading for the Black Crow Castle."

The result that Ji Xun deduced in his mind was roughly the same.

The royal team has the best strength and equipment, so there is no reason not to try some aggressive tactics.

But what Ji Xun is thinking about now is not whether the Red Dragon Royal Family is in the Black Crow Castle.

He was curious about why it was such a coincidence that several strong teams came into this different dimension at the same time?
It may be a coincidence in the eyes of others, but in the cause and effect reasoning of "I am the world", there must be logic to follow.

Although they are all broken clues, no analysis can produce any results.

But it immediately aroused Ji Xun's strong interest.

If he had met Young Master Sack, he would have thought it might have been a coincidence; but now he had met the main force of the Red Dragon Royal Princess, which was very interesting.

Ji Xun smelled a familiar scent.

The familiar feeling that made his blood surge came back.

In his eyes, this trial space suddenly became interesting from this moment on.

vampire?
Any plot involving the Seven Lords of Calamity will never be simple.

Moreover, Ji Xun did not forget that there was a "traitor" inside the Royal Academy in the previous assassination incident of Sack.

Now that several strong teams appeared in the same trial space at the same time, he couldn't help but suspect that someone did it on purpose.

But Ji Xun didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

Instead, I was looking forward to it strongly.

Before, he thought that exploring the plot world step by step was a bit boring;

Now assuming that my speculation is correct, if there really is such a "person behind the scenes", then it means that the plot of this space is even more worthy of further exploration.

(End of this chapter)