Chapter 123: The Woma Guardian and the Woma Cult Leader

Lin Jia was startled, even ceasing his firewall spell. As the experience prompts rolled rapidly in the chat box, the number of Woma monsters amidst the flames dwindled. Yet, a robust figure remained, pushing and shoving its way through the remnants of the pack.

The Woma Cult Leader!?

Lin Jia stared at the bull-headed monster that stood only one warrior away from him. It was roaring ferociously, brandishing two giant swords. Its blood-red muscles were knotted and corded, radiating explosive power. A pair of curved horns and a massive golden ring in its nose gave it a savage aura. Despite its bovine appearance, it stood upright, pacing restlessly, its heavy hooves trampling the ground with a rhythmic thud.

Lin Jia quickly hovered his mouse over it to display its name, only to realize this was not the Woma Cult Leader, but the Woma Guardian—a mini-boss second only to the Cult Leader himself! It was said that the Dragon Ring worn by Little Shrimp had dropped from one of these.

"There's another one over there!!!" another player shrieked, drawing everyone's attention. "Oh my god! Woma Guardians are incredibly rare on the second floor of the Woma Temple; how did two of them spawn here at once!?"

"Mages, use Lightning!" Little Shrimp urged urgently. The four mages, including Lin Jia, unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts, while Lin Jia had to occasionally drop fire walls to incinerate the scattered Woma monsters drawn to their position.

Though formidable, the Woma Guardians were no match for the combined power of four mages safely shielded behind a wall of players. Roaring in helpless rage, they finally collapsed, their deaths gruesome. Their two giant swords were thrown far away, and the loot from both Guardians instantly blanketed every inch of the corner where the group was hiding. A single Woma Guardian was known for its massive 8x8 loot explosion; one could only imagine the bounty from two. Amidst the shimmering gold, everyone felt a greedy urge to rush out and scavenge, but cowed by the surrounding sea of monsters, none of Little Shrimp's men dared to move. They knew that if they drew the monsters in now, they would undoubtedly face a total wipe.

Their hesitation did not mean that Lin Jia and his two brothers weren't tempted. The items on the ground were boss drops—there might even be hidden equipment not listed on the official website! But the three brothers were currently hemmed in by the crowd. The only way out was for Lin Jia to change his attack mode, use the "Repulsion Field" spell to push away the human shield blocking him, and dash out to grab the loot.

Lin Jia struggled with the thought for a long time before giving up. He felt it would be unprincipled to burn bridges like that; they were acquaintances, after all, and he couldn't bring himself to betray them for the sake of gear. He could only scan the ground with his mouse, hoping to identify what had dropped. Most of the items were potions and low-level gear jumbled together, some even overlapping. With so many items, he finally spotted two names he hadn't seen before: "Hurricane Necklace" and "Ruby Ring."

"Ah! A Dragon Ring dropped! A Dragon Ring dropped!" one of the outer-ring warrior tanks suddenly shouted as everyone frantically searched the loot with their cursors.

"Where!? Where is it?" The shout ignited the players' excitement, and they began to stir restlessly.

"In the top corner! By the pillar!!! Quick, quick, quick! Taoist, go pick it up!!!" the tank urged excitedly.

"Everyone, stay still! Don't panic! Don't draw the monsters over!" Little Shrimp commanded. Judging by his typing speed, he was likely just as excited. The Dragon Ring, with its 0-5 attack stat, was the strongest warrior ring known to date and one of the hidden items not documented on the official Legend website. Little Shrimp had organized a raid on the Woma Temple's second floor previously and had scored one; naturally, he was thrilled to see another.

"Everyone, don't move! Don't grab anything! We'll split the loot after we're done! Let Guai-Guai pick it all up first, and we'll divide it later! Guai-Guai, go pick it up, but be careful not to draw the monsters! We're moving inward immediately! Damn it! What does the Cult Leader even look like? We've been circling for so long and haven't seen him! Don't tell me another guild organized a kill squad to take him out?" Little Shrimp tried to soothe his team while grumbling about the missing boss.

Perhaps because these people were close friends from the same internet cafe, they were obedient. A female Taoist named "Ba-La-Ba-La Guai-Guai" ran out, collected all the gear dropped by the two Guardians, and traded it to Little Shrimp for processing, while other Taoists scurried out to collect the potions to replenish their supplies.

Seeing that Hurricane Necklace made Lin Jia itch with curiosity. Although he didn't know its stats, he had once found a Hurricane Ring on the fourth floor of the Pig Cave. Based on the name, it might be part of a set. If there were rings and necklaces, perhaps there were Hurricane Bracelets too? Maybe a full set would grant special bonuses!

For a time, Lin Jia had been obsessed with the game *Diablo*. In *Diablo*, all set items provided additional bonuses. Pieces that were weak individually, like the Hurricane Ring, could reveal unexpected special effects or stats when combined into a set. Could *Legend* have similar mechanics? Otherwise, why would the Hurricane set be so low-level, with such abysmal stats, yet be rarer than high-level gear? The official website had no mention of this set, and the design was exceptionally intricate—it was highly unusual for gear that could be worn at level ten-plus.

After Little Shrimp received the gear from Ba-La-Ba-La Guai-Guai, he squeezed over to Lin Jia and opened the trade window, offering the Ruby Ring and a Coral Ring. Lin Jia saw the Ruby Ring had a Magic stat of 0-4. Little Shrimp said, "Madman! You did the most work this time; if not for your fire walls, we couldn't have handled the monsters. This Ruby Ring is for you mages, so it's yours! The Dragon Ring is something I can use, so I'll claim it! It'll make a pair, haha! I noticed your warrior brother is wearing a Coral Ring; I'll give him this spare one so he can have a pair too! It seems he's the only one on the server with a Coral Ring, and I think I'm the only one with a pair of Dragon Rings! They must be worth a fortune!"

Lin Jia didn't refuse. After clicking confirm, he told Little Shrimp, "Thanks, buddy!" Little Shrimp chuckled, "These should've been yours anyway! What are you thanking me for!? I'm counting on you to help me kill the Cult Leader later! It's a shame those two Woma Guardians didn't drop gear for the Taoist girls. Don't worry, we might get better stuff from the Cult Leader! If something drops for the Taoists, it's yours, deal? We just want the Woma Horn!" Little Shrimp said to the elder brother standing nearby.

Lin Jia thought for a moment and brazenly asked, "Shrimp! I saw a Hurricane Necklace earlier; I've never seen one before! What are the stats? Did you pick it up?"

Little Shrimp was silent for a moment, likely checking his inventory. After a few seconds, he replied, "Ah! I do have one! But it's trash; the attack is only 0-1! Take it if you want!" He then traded the necklace over.

Lin Jia was overjoyed. He had been wondering how to ask for it, and here it was, gifted to him. He quickly confirmed the trade and checked his inventory. Sure enough, the Hurricane Necklace also carried the "Attack Speed" bonus—+2, just like the ring. Imagine wearing a Hurricane Necklace, two Hurricane Rings, and perhaps a pair of Hurricane Bracelets—the attack speed could reach +6 or higher!

He immediately equipped the Ruby Ring, replacing his old Gold Ring (Magic Def 0-3, Attack 1-1, Magic 1-3, Taoism 1-3), which his brother had been coveting. He traded the Coral Ring, the Hurricane Necklace, and the Gold Ring to his younger and elder brothers respectively. Although the younger brother had been wearing a bronze ring with 0-4 attack, a pair of Coral Rings held a different value—they were super-gear, the only pair on the entire server! Even if they weren't as good as Little Shrimp's Dragon Rings, they were a status symbol.

The three brothers were delighted. The elder brother even volunteered to lure monsters, excited by their new gear. Ruby Rings and Coral Rings were undoubtedly top-tier equipment in *Legend* at the moment—the "hidden gear" players whispered about.

The elder brother’s luring technique had been perfected through his coordination with Lin Jia. Weaving through the monster pack, he rarely took hits or suffered knockback, making him significantly safer and more efficient than the two Taoist players who had been luring before.

Having unexpectedly acquired a Ruby Ring, Lin Jia felt his fire walls had become more potent. Though it was only an extra point of magic, the excitement of getting good gear made him cast fire walls in rapid succession.

The group struggled from the bottom-left corner of the rectangular hall all the way to the bottom-right, sticking to the walls as they moved. They gained plenty of experience and loot—Lin Jia even leveled up from 24 to 25—but the mysterious Woma Cult Leader remained elusive. Little Shrimp wondered suspiciously, "Could that 'Kamikaze Squad' have rushed in and lured the Cult Leader somewhere else? If they dragged him to the entrance, I'll be furious!"

When those low-level players had rushed in to their deaths, some had fled back to the second floor through the entrance because of the sheer number of monsters. But their retreat had drawn a massive swarm into the small T-shaped space, completely blocking the path—which was why so many couldn't escape and died. For low-level players, the Woma horde was lethal, and the Cult Leader's hall prevented the use of "Random Teleport Scrolls." Once a mage was surrounded, they were insta-killed. Only a few Taoists and warriors could survive long enough to use a Dungeon Escape or Town Portal scroll; the rest were doomed.

"Should we Taoists split up and search the hall? We can lure monsters at the same time," suggested Ba-La-Ba-La Guai-Guai, the female Taoist.

Clearing the way wasn't working; the monsters respawned too quickly and in massive numbers. By the time they reached the bottom-right corner, most players had consumed half their potions. If they kept going like this, they’d run out of supplies before ever finding the Woma Cult Leader.

It was the only option. Five or six Taoists helped Lin Jia’s team set up a skeletal barrier before scattering into the monster horde to hunt for the elusive leader. They hadn't gone far when one Taoist came sprinting back, shouting, "There's another passage entrance a bit further up! The Cult Leader is right there!" Only half of the other Taoists who had gone out with him returned. This player had been lucky; assigned to search the wall corner where they were hiding, he had stumbled upon a passage entrance teeming with monsters. His cursor had accidentally swept over the name of one: the Woma Cult Leader. But because there were so many monsters, he hadn't even caught a glimpse of what the boss looked like before rushing back to report. The others, having ventured too deep, were surrounded and had died heroically.

Since entering the hall, Little Shrimp’s team had lost half its members. The remaining dozen or so huddled together. Clearing a path was too difficult, so Little Shrimp dispatched two warriors as a suicide squad. They weren't expected to return; they only needed to lure the monsters away to clear space for the boss fight. Meanwhile, two Taoists would coordinate to sneak up to the passage entrance near the bottom-right corner and use invisibility to slowly lure the boss out.

Judging by the location, the Cult Leader must have spawned inside that passage. The riot caused by the "tourist group" of newbies had drawn him and his guards out; otherwise, Lin Jia and the others wouldn't have found him for another half hour. The monster respawn rate in the hall was simply too high. With their current supplies, clearing the hall was unrealistic. This sacrifice was necessary: lose a few to save the many. As long as they lured the boss over, the four mages would be enough to take down this wretched mini-boss.

Watching the two warriors rush out to their deaths, circling to draw the monsters away, the two Taoists used a combination of Soul Fire Talismans and Poisoning to hook the Cult Leader and guide him toward the bottom-right corner!