Chapter 121: Corpses Strewn Across the Land

The four mages near Lin Jia were also prompted to act, and they began casting Lightning, but where could they even begin to target the sea of monsters? Their spells were utterly useless against such chaotic circumstances. Two Taoist players and one warrior—likely of a lower level—had already fallen, their health dropping too quickly to replenish as they were swarmed with no room to escape. "Ah!" they cried out as they perished.

Lin Jia swiftly cast a few Fire Walls in front of the human wall, then unleashed Fire Burst, frantically covering the narrow, T-shaped space in flames. By doing so, he drew the attention of all the monsters toward himself, then shouted at Brother: "Brother! Mass Invisibility! Help me tell the other mages to use Fire Wall and Fire Burst!" As his hands were occupied with the mouse and keyboard, Lin Jia had no time to type, leaving it to Brother to relay the instructions.

Brother and the fourth player were quick to respond. As soon as the monsters respawned, Brother cast two Mass Invisibility spells over the human wall, concealing all the mages and skeletons, then began casting it repeatedly on the players caught in the swarm. The fourth player, accustomed to coordinating with Lin Jia and Brother, stood his ground immediately upon being surrounded. He opened his inventory, stripped off his Heavy Armor to stand there in his undergarments, and shouted: "Brother! I'm in front of you! Invisibility and heal me!" Among the warriors clad in heavy armor, a naked character was naturally conspicuous, and Brother immediately prioritized his friend—the benefit of playing together and being able to speak directly to those beside you.

While Lin Jia had been shouting for Brother to relay his message, he had heard several more screams. The T-shaped space was simply too small to hold more than thirty players. Many impatient ones had rushed deeper ahead, and the sudden respawn not only blocked their retreat but trapped them in an even more dangerous encirclement than the one within the T-shaped area.

For players in their twenties, this area was far too dangerous. Whether Taoist or warrior, few could withstand the onslaught of the Woma-type monsters. Lin Jia’s Fire Walls and Fire Bursts effectively stalled the monsters. Although it was difficult to lure them all to the front of the human wall due to the overcrowding in the T-shaped space, the monsters distracted by his spells would briefly stop attacking the nearby players, attempting instead to push toward Lin Jia. This gave the trapped players a moment to breathe and recover some health with potions.

"Mages, use Fire Burst and Fire Wall! Mages, use Fire Burst and Fire Wall!"

Brother's command only drew a response from one other mage, who merely used Fire Burst to help Lin Jia draw aggro; the rest continued to use Lightning, as if they hadn't heard a word.

"Damn it! A bunch of idiots!" Lin Jia was nearly furious. Were these mages truly that dim-witted? However, thanks to the Fire Bursts from Lin Jia and the one other mage, the players finally regained their footing and hacked away at the monsters, soon clearing the T-shaped space. Yet, at the entrance, monsters continued to pour in endlessly. The players trapped outside were likely already dead.

"Block them! Block them!" The survivors rushed forward to form a human wall, blocking the monsters being drawn in. Only then did one of the mages standing next to Lin Jia find the time to speak: "I haven't learned Fire Burst or Fire Wall yet!!!"

"Me neither! I only know Lightning! I can't find the skill books! Damn it! I can't even buy them!"

"Heh! Lucky I learned Fire Burst!"

Lin Jia rolled his eyes. Was it really possible that out of five mages, only he had mastered all the skills up to level 24?

"Fall back! Fall back! Regroup!" Little Shrimp shouted. He ran out of the human wall and headed back to the second floor, and the surviving players followed in a swarm. Once they took stock, eleven out of the thirty-plus players were missing, most having died after pushing too far and getting surrounded because the T-shaped space couldn't hold them all, and they hadn't anticipated such a rapid respawn rate on the third floor.

"Wait before charging again! Mages, form a wall in the corner. Taoists, use your skeletons to build the wall—you are responsible for protecting the mages and healing the warriors! Warriors, follow me to clear the monsters! Don't spread out too much! We'll clear our way in bit by bit!" Little Shrimp organized them once more.

When they were regrouped, Little Shrimp said to Lin Jia: "Crazy! You know Fire Wall. We'll escort you to the front to build the wall and burn them! That way the clearing will be faster!" Lin Jia replied: "Sure! Who can give me some mana potions later? My carry weight is low, I can't hold many." Little Shrimp quickly assigned a warrior to follow Lin Jia and carry his MP potions.

When they charged back into the third floor of the Woma Temple, the T-shaped space was occupied by only two Dark Warriors, hopping around like grasshoppers and firing spikes from a distance. The last run had been incredibly unlucky; they had hit a "major respawn."

With over twenty warriors leading the way and Taoists shielding the five mages in the center, they slowly reached the bottleneck of the T-shaped space and moved deeper. Due to the limited illumination of the candles, they hadn't been able to see the surroundings before. Now, moving in a tight group, the light revealed the true environment: beyond the T-shaped space lay a vast, rectangular hall with an altar-like platform in the center.

Lin Jia had seen large mobs before, but never anything as terrifying as the third floor of the Woma Temple. As soon as they squeezed out of the bottleneck, they were jammed into the narrow passage. Looking out into the hall, it was a sea of dense, layered monsters—there was barely a gap to squeeze into! This was a true ocean of monsters.

There was no need to lure them here, as the area beyond the human wall was a swarm that stretched beyond the screen; it was impossible to count them. The twenty-plus players, trapped in the bottleneck, formed a human wall at both ends, squeezing tightly together to prevent monsters from respawning in their midst. This had one benefit: the surface area under attack was reduced, allowing just five or six people to hold each end while those in the middle remained safe.

The Taoist players in the back took advantage of the lack of respawns to summon their skeletons, creating a "fence" to protect their rear and assigning one Lightning-only mage to clear any new spawns so the skeletons wouldn't be destroyed. The front had to be held by warrior players, as the Taoist skeletons were immediately drawn away by monsters if summoned at the front.

Once the defensive formation was solid, Brother and the other Taoists with Mass Invisibility kept the front-line warriors hidden and healed. Lin Jia took his position behind the tanks and began his work as an arsonist, casting Fire Wall everywhere he could see.

Once the Fire Walls were up, nothing could stand in their way!

The sky was filled with flames and countless monsters. It was the most satisfying moment Lin Jia had ever experienced with Fire Wall. Because it was an area-of-effect damage-over-time spell, the more monsters there were, the more effective it became. Countless Woma Guardians, Woma Generals, Woma Warriors, and Flame Womas struggled and shrieked in the inferno.

The only regret was that Lin Jia’s Fire Wall skill level was still low. A level 0 Fire Wall lasted only a few seconds, and its power wasn't particularly overwhelming. However, Lin Jia’s high magic attribute compensated slightly. He had to constantly re-cast the spell to cover gaps. With only about 400 MP, his mana depleted rapidly due to the constant casting. He simply consumed three magic potions at a time, burning through 450 MP worth of potions before the gauge could even refill.

After burning for a while, the first monster died. Immediately, the players in Lin Jia's group noticed their chat boxes filling with experience notifications like a scrolling screen. Though the experience for one monster was split among eleven people—giving each player only a few dozen points for a 280-experience Woma—the sheer quantity made up for the lack of individual quality. Some players shouted, "So good!"

By the time the wave of monsters was cleared, leaving only a few stray Dark Warriors and a handful of low-health Flame Womas near the human wall, the ground was covered in corpses and a mountain of loot. Flame Womas had the highest magic resistance among the Woma-type monsters, so it was no surprise they were the last ones standing.

These stragglers were quickly finished off by the three bored mages. Lin Jia realized he had lost nearly half his HP and was startled. He wondered how he had taken damage while standing behind the wall in an invisible state. He realized it must have been the spikes from the long-range Dark Warriors. He turned to Brother and told her to keep an eye on his health, lest he be killed by the low-damage archers.

The monsters further away hadn't discovered the intruders, so someone had to lure them. Little Shrimp directed two Taoists to carefully sneak out, using Invisibility to pick up the loot. They agreed to split it all later. Upon returning, the two Taoists remarked: "Damn! The corpses are piled up! It’s a true field of death! Mages are so overpowered!"