Chapter 122: The Woma Sightseeing Tour Group

"I'm out of potions!" After his recent frenzy of burning, Lin Jia’s already limited supply of Super Magic Potions was nearly exhausted. Due to his low carrying capacity, he usually only carried exactly what he needed, relying on Boss and Number Four to carry his blue potions. However, today they had a dedicated mobile supply depot with them; as soon as Lin Jia called out, someone immediately came over to trade him more potions.

Once Lin Jia was prepared, the two Taoists ran a quick loop outside. They hadn't gone far before they came sprinting back, pursued by a literal tsunami of monsters that flooded the area. One of the Taoists was struck by a Dark Warrior's venomous stinger; he stumbled backward, failed to regain his footing in time, and was instantly swallowed by the monster horde, dropping a pile of items upon death. The other Taoist, who had narrowly escaped, said breathlessly, "Damn! It’s huge in there, and pitch black! All I could see were monsters. There are too many Dark Warriors; it’s impossible to pull them without getting stunned. What does the Boss even look like? There were so many mobs I couldn't tell which one it was. Clearing this place is absolutely impossible, Boss! They respawn faster than we can kill them—unless we had several mages burning them all at once! Rest in peace, brother! We’ll miss you!" The last sentence was clearly directed at the heroically fallen Taoist lying on the ground.

The dead player didn't log off or respawn; he just lay there watching the show, typing out a string of "55555" to express his sorrow.

"We’ll have to inch our way in. Every time we clear the entrance, we’ll move a bit deeper. We’ll just have to clear and search as we go! I know having multiple mages would be faster, but Crazy is the only one who has Fire Wall," Xiaoxiaomi said, sounding frustrated.

It was no wonder no one had managed to obtain the Guild Horn after all these days; this place was simply insane. Not only was the number of monsters absurd and their respawn rate rapid, but the hall was also massive. Clearing it was an impossible task. The dung beetles mixed into the horde seemed to have a paralyzing effect similar to that of the wedge moths, the Dark Warriors had ranged attacks, the standard Woma-type monsters were quite strong, and the Flame Womas had high magic resistance. This was definitely not a place for a single player or a small group of a single class; mages feared the sheer number of mobs, Taoists feared the dung beetles, and warriors couldn't withstand the onslaught.

Repeating this process, Lin Jia’s Fire Wall skill experience increased by several hundred points. They finally cleared a significant area near the "凸"-shaped exit. During this time, the monsters respawned two or three times, but they didn't encounter the massive, abnormal respawns. Instead, the mobs became sparser. Lin Jia and the others knew this wasn't a sign of a massive respawn, as there was a limit to the number of monsters a map could hold. Each small respawn simply replaced the ones killed by players, and these new mobs didn't necessarily spawn in their original positions. Unless all monsters were killed simultaneously in a short window, they would never concentrate enough to trigger a massive wave.

After each small respawn, the monsters would slowly move until they were evenly distributed across the map. If a large number were killed at that point, a massive, dense respawn would occur.

Taking advantage of the relative sparsity, Xiaoxiaomi gave the command. The entire group huddled together and moved toward the bottom right corner of the exit. Whenever they encountered a respawn or alerted surrounding monsters, they would immediately form a "human wall" against the wall. A few Taoists capable of Group Invisibility would cast the spell, and the mages with Fire Wall—Crazy and Lin Jia—would clear the path, inching forward bit by bit.

Just as they finally reached the bottom right corner of the rectangular hall, an unexpected event occurred!

The entrance to the Woma Church Master Hall lit up again, and the chat box was flooded with chaotic messages:

"Ah! People are already inside!?"
"What does the Boss look like?"
"Charge, everyone!"

Roars, the sound of lightning, the shouts of warriors, the healing light of Taoists, screams, and the occasional flicker of fireballs and Soul Fire Talismans tore through the darkness as a massive, disorganized crowd of players surged in. Someone was even using yellow text to command: "Charge inside! The Boss is in there! Kill the boss for loot! Whoever grabs it keeps it!"

It was unclear which organization had rallied such a massive group. They probably intended to use a "human wave" tactic to overwhelm the monsters in the Woma Hall, but they lacked coordination and their strength was uneven. There were very few high-level veteran players; the vast majority were novices in light or medium armor! The light from countless small fireballs, lightning bolts, and fire talismans turned the Woma Hall into a bizarre, chaotic scene of dancing demons.

Many low-level players were overwhelmed by the mob riot triggered by their own chaotic entry before they even had a chance to see their surroundings. A small mage, likely around level 15, panicked and ran near the human wall formed by Lin Jia’s group, only to be struck by a Dark Warrior’s stinger. With a scream, he fell, dropping a small bracelet and a glass ring. He lay on the ground, cursing, "Damn it! I ran all the way in here to see the Woma Church Master, and I didn't even see a hair of it! This place is fucking insane! So many monsters!"

Lin Jia and the others stood in the corner, dumbfounded. What were these people here for? A Woma sightseeing tour? They weren't here for the horn? They had actually charged in just to visit the Woma Church Master. One wondered what the old boss would think if it knew people had gone to such great lengths to come visit it.

There must have been over a hundred players who charged in, but within five minutes, they had been wiped out by the hundreds of Woma monsters. The ground was littered with gear and potions. A few realized the situation and used Teleportation Scrolls to escape; others turned and fled back to the second floor. Most, however, just lay on the ground, happily saying, "Damn! That was an experience! So this is what the Woma Church Master Hall looks like? Awesome! So many monsters! If only we could level up here!"

Level up here? The thought was nice, but you at least had to stay alive to do it.

After a while, the disorganized players were all dead or gone. Aside from Xiaoxiaomi, Lin Jia, and their group, who had stayed huddled in the corner, the hall was once again filled only with the roars of monsters. The riot caused by the newcomers hadn't helped them find the Boss, but it had stirred up every monster in the hall. It was unclear if the person who instigated this suicide mission did it out of malice or a failed attempt to use them as cannon fodder. Perhaps they hadn't expected so many monsters, or the organizer simply lacked the ability to lead, resulting in the group running around aimlessly and getting wiped out.

Lin Jia and his team, who had remained under the cover of invisibility, waited for things to settle down before resuming their fire-burning strategy. The biggest fear when hunting a boss is interference; one small mistake could lead to the entire team's collapse. Lin Jia and his comrades didn't want to finally penetrate the enemy's heart only to be wiped out by a group of newbies.

Having worked with the other mage who knew Fire Burst for so long, they had developed a rhythm. Lin Jia focused on casting Fire Walls, while the other mage lured the surrounding monsters into the flames with Fire Burst. Engulfed in the searing fire, more Woma monsters than ever before struggled and shrieked. But before they could finish burning the current wave, the mage beside Lin Jia suddenly screamed and died. Lin Jia was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what happened: the mage had faced the same problem as before. His Fire Burst had drawn all the aggro from the surrounding Dark Warriors, and the simultaneous stings from a large group of them had instantly killed the unsuspecting mage!

Lin Jia’s Fire Walls were only burning part of the ground outside their human wall. Aside from the Dark Warriors that automatically walked into the flames, those that preferred to attack from afar didn't target him. Relatively speaking, Lin Jia took less damage. Seeing his HP bar drop to half in an instant, he shouted in terror, "Help!" Boss, who was already prepared, immediately cast Healing on him. However, the healing speed of one person couldn't keep up with the damage from multiple Dark Warriors, and Lin Jia’s health continued to fall.

Lin Jia had to stop casting Fire Wall and typed a long string of "+++++" into the chat box to signal for healing. Seeing their mage die, Xiaoxiaomi panicked and shouted, "Quick, heal Crazy!" Lin Jia was now their key to obtaining the horn; they couldn't afford to lose him. All the mages were vital for the upcoming boss fight and were treated like precious cargo. Perhaps after this battle, Xiaoxiaomi’s group would finally realize the importance of mages.

At Xiaoxiaomi’s command, over a dozen Taoists cast Healing simultaneously on Lin Jia. His half-empty health bar was instantly refilled—more satisfying than chugging Sun Potions. With no time to type, Lin Jia operated his keyboard and mouse with both hands, resuming the Fire Walls. He shouted to Boss, "Tell them not to stop healing!" and began throwing Fire Burst into the surrounding area again.

Lin Jia’s semi-circular HP gauge flickered under the assault of the Dark Warriors and the healing light of his teammates—dropping, then instantly refilled, then dropping again. It was truly a case of "painful yet happy." With his safety guaranteed, Lin Jia fearlessly tanked the Dark Warriors' stings while burning the mobs, leaving the annoying Dark Warriors for the remaining three mages to handle.

As they burned through the horde, a player nearby suddenly yelled, "Look! The Boss!"