Chapter 39: Skyrocketing Points, Leading the Group Forward!

These red lizards were massive, their scales shimmering with a crimson glow as they scurried rapidly across the cavern walls. One of them approached a deposit of fire copper, opened its jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth, and bit off a large chunk, chewing slowly with an expression that appeared almost blissful. Seeing this, the other red lizards began searching for fire copper as well.

Ye Chuyun watched the group intensely. These were his targets for this expedition.

[Name]: Fire Lizard
[Level]: 6
[Combat Power Assessment]: 2000
[Traits]: Swift, Fire-Eater, Guardian
[Skill]: Fire Breath
[Talent]: None
[Drop Rate]: 1.8%

Their combat power was even higher than that of the Iron Turtle Beasts! Ye Chuyun felt a surge of excitement. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be so many fire lizards here. However, because Novice Village 118 had won two resource challenges, the number of fierce beasts had quadrupled, and consequently, so had the population of fire lizards. There were eight of them just in the outer perimeter of the cave. With so many branching tunnels deeper inside, who knew how many more lurked within? Added to that were the mutated fire lizards, lizard leaders, and fire lizard kings. Ye Chuyun could already see massive amounts of energy points and ranking points beckoning to him! While others struggled to scour the land for beasts, this cave alone might house hundreds. He wouldn't have to go out of his way to find them. This was the source of his confidence in winning the faction war.

Ye Chuyun surveyed the area. With only these few lizards currently in the outer cave, it was time to strike. Without a moment's hesitation, he launched his attack while the lizards were distracted by their meal. His blade flashed, and with a single stroke, he severed the head of the nearest fire lizard!

[Killed Level 6 Fire Lizard, gained double energy points +600.]

The other lizards were instantly alarmed. Seeing their companion slain by a human, they let out a hiss and unleashed torrents of flame from their mouths, aiming directly at Ye Chuyun. He didn't dodge at all, raising his Storm Blade to cleave through the incoming fire. Any flames that managed to touch him were absorbed by his Iron Turtle set, leaving him without a single scratch. Realizing their fire could not harm this human, the lizards immediately sought to flee, but Ye Chuyun gave them no chance.

*Slash! Slash!*

He moved so fast he became a blur, decapitating the lizards one after another.

[Killed Level 6 Fire Lizard, gained double energy points +600.]
[Killed Level 6 Fire Lizard, gained double energy points +600.]
...

In less than three minutes, he had slaughtered all eight fire lizards. He also obtained various essences, divine coins, and fire spirit orb fragments.

[Fire Lizard Essence: Consuming increases Strength +5, Constitution +5, Spirit +2] x8
[Fire Spirit Orb Fragment: Quest item. 10 can synthesize 1 Fire Spirit Orb, 30% success rate] x8
[Points +32]

Not bad at all! A single Level 6 beast was worth 4 points. By killing eight at once, he had earned 32 points. Checking the individual ranking board, he instantly surged to second place.

*Rustle, rustle!*

Another scuttling sound echoed from one of the tunnels. A massive fire lizard, its entire body wreathed in flames, emerged leading five ordinary fire lizards. They had clearly been drawn by the commotion. Ye Chuyun, aided by his map, was well aware of their arrival. His focus shifted to the flaming lizard.

[Name]: Fire Lizard (Mutated)
[Level]: 6
[Combat Power Assessment]: 2800
[Traits]: Swift, Fire-Eater, Berserk, Guardian
[Skill]: Fire Breath
[Talent]: Fire Sense (F-Rank)
[Drop Rate]: 2%

As expected, a mutated fire lizard! Ye Chuyun smiled, raised his blade, and charged into the fray.

Five minutes later, the outer cave was littered with the corpses of fire lizards. They were no match for him, and with his fire-resistance gear, he had effectively neutralized their only advantage. Within a few exchanges, they were wiped out. His points and energy values skyrocketed.

With no fire lizards left in the outer perimeter, Ye Chuyun looked at the labyrinth of tunnels and decided to explore every single one. He wouldn't let a single lizard escape! He also pulled out his treasure chest detector, hoping for some luck—after all, a cave this large surely couldn't be devoid of loot. Following his map, he randomly chose the leftmost tunnel and ventured inside.

***

Meanwhile, the members of the Village 118 chat channel had noticed something strange.

Cai Kun: "Holy crap, how did Ye Shen's individual points jump so high? Suddenly at 44 points, he's surpassed Big Brother Wang Gang and hit first place!"
Wang Gang: "Isn't it normal for him to surpass me? That's just Ye Shen's basic routine, everyone stay calm."
Huang Li: "Something big is happening! Go check the individual ranking board, Ye Shen's points are skyrocketing!"
Feng Yu: "What the? Is Ye Shen hacking again?"
Zhuang Liang: "What the? Is Ye Shen hacking again?"
Wang Yun: "What the? Is Ye Shen hacking again?"

Everyone rushed to check the Novice Village 118 individual point board and were left dumbfounded.

1st: Ye Chuyun, 60 points
2nd: Wang Gang, 40 points
3rd: Zhuang Liang, 28 points
4th: Lei Chen, 25 points
...
Total Score: 168 points.

At this moment, everyone was in awe.

Liu Xuan: "As expected of Ye Shen. He was just at 44 points a second ago, and it's already gone up."
Cai Kun: "My god, in the time it took you to post that, Ye Shen's points went up by another 4."
Wang Gang: "Is Ye Shen hunting Level 6 beasts? A single Level 6 beast gives 4 points."
Zhuang Liang: "Good heavens, Ye Shen must have stumbled into a beast nest! We might actually have a chance to win this faction war now!"
Liu Qian: "My god, look! Ye Shen's points have broken a hundred!"
Huang Li: "My mother! Our Red Faction's total score has passed 400, and the Blue Faction hasn't even hit 500 yet. At this rate, we'll overtake them soon!"
Liu Daqiang: "Damn, if we win, we all get a 60-point stat boost, won't we be taking off?"
Wang Gang: "Quick, quick, we can't fall behind! Go out and hunt!"
Cai Kun: "Let's go, let's move!"
Lei Chen: "I'm filled with power right now, let's kill them all!!!"

Inspired by the explosive growth of Ye Chuyun's score, everyone's confidence soared, and they began hunting fierce beasts with reckless abandon.