NOVEL NEXT Chapter 298 Escaped Yet Hazardous
Chapter 298 Escaped Yet Hazardous
Tyler was still too naive.
He thought the goblin soldiers would block the entrance to the secret passage, but in reality, since the entrance was open (and Tyler didn't know how to close it), the goblins had already flooded into the passage to capture the intruder.
When Tyler heard the approaching footsteps, he knew there was no way back.
Despite the taboo of using fire and explosion-related skills in confined spaces, he had no choice but to act.
(Help me once more, Hell Knightblade!)
(Flame Steed Rush!)
The brilliant blue flames instantly illuminated the secret passage, and the galloping azure steed charged forward, followed by a chorus of screams from nearby.
According to the skill description of "Flame Steed Rush," its maximum damage could reach "the user's wisdom x5 + 1000," which, in Tyler's case, amounted to 4895 points.
However, even without accounting for the enemy's resistance, this damage was insufficient to instantly kill a third-tier monster, as evidenced by the absence of kill confirmation text in Tyler's field of vision.
So, after the ten-second cooldown, Tyler unleashed "Flame Steed Rush" once more. This time, the kill notifications for "Goblin Elite Spearman" and "Goblin Elite Sword and Shield Warrior" appeared in succession, giving Tyler the confidence to continue his rapid advance.
But reckless actions always come at a price.
After running just a few steps, Tyler found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and the passage's structure, weakened by the intense heat, became unstable.
The scarce oxygen and the imminent collapse of the passage were like sharp blades pressing against Tyler's neck.
Tyler struggled to step over the charred bodies of the goblins and continued forward. Gritting his teeth, he advanced another forty or fifty meters before finally seeing the light at the exit!
.
The light at the exit could indeed ignite hope in one's heart, but the shouts of goblins outside could just as easily extinguish it.
In addition to facing a large number of third and fourth-tier goblins, Tyler's weakened state was also a disadvantage. At this moment, his mind began to race.
Seeking solutions to crises through cunning rather than brute force, that's always his style.
Within seconds, Tyler devised a plan. He threw two smoke bombs at the exit, then summoned two shadow duplicates, directing them to charge out of the exit and flee in opposite directions.
Once the shadow duplicates had left, Tyler quietly crawled out of the passage, only to be discovered by a group of goblin soldiers.
.
Rewinding time to ten minutes ago.
Upon hearing the alarm, the remaining twenty or so soldiers in the goblin fortress rushed to the entrance of the secret passage.
Unaware of the existence of the passage, they were drawn to it by the alarm.
Upon discovering the mysterious passage, seven or eight brave soldiers charged in, while the rest stayed outside to guard.
Minutes later, a blue light flashed within the passage, followed by eerie blue flames spewing from the entrance. This unnerved the remaining soldiers, who dared not enter. They waited silently, hoping for a higher-ranking officer to instruct them on what to do.
However, at that moment, white smoke billowed from the entrance, obscuring their view.
The goblins instinctively tightened their encirclement, and a dark figure emerged from the white smoke.
Seeing this, a group of goblins immediately gave chase. After several seconds, another dark figure appeared, drawing away a few more goblin soldiers.
As the remaining eight or nine goblin soldiers hesitated between pursuing the figure or continuing to guard the entrance, another figure appeared, and they decisively surrounded it!
However, just as they closed in, the figure vanished into thin air. They searched the area but could not find the last figure's whereabouts.
The goblins could not know that the figure had already teleported into their shadows while they were facing it, then teleported again into the shadows of a distant building.
.
After escaping from the entrance of the secret passage, Tyler found a relatively safe hiding spot in the shadows and lay low for a while.
The number of goblin soldiers attracted by the alarm was much smaller than he had anticipated, likely due to the ongoing battle at the fortress gate involving the "divine monsters."
What surprised Tyler even more was that the entrance to the secret passage had originally been hidden within a building in the fortress. However, when he emerged from the entrance again, he found himself in an open-air environment?!
Upon closer inspection, he realized that not only had the tallest building in the fortress been destroyed, but almost the entire fortress, including the walls and stone towers, had been reduced to rubble. Only a few remnants of walls and debris remained as evidence of the once-magnificent fortress.
In the direction of the fortress gate, Tyler occasionally heard massive explosions, indicating that the terrifying monsters were still fighting. The sky above the labyrinth alternated between being engulfed in flames and shrouded in darkness, making it difficult to see even one's own hand.
Despite acquiring powerful new equipment, Tyler remained acutely self-aware. He didn't even entertain the idea of sneaking closer to identify the faces of the monsters using his detection ability.
Instead, he focused on resting briefly before making his escape.
.
During his brief respite, Tyler equipped the three new items he had obtained from the treasure vault.
First, he put on the Dragon Pupil Crystal Necklace · Goblin Greed, then covered it with his clothes to keep it hidden.
Next, he equipped the other two items he had stolen with the help of his shadow duplicate: the "Obsidian Ring · Shadow Dweller" and the "Gold Bracelet · Goblin Cunning."
Both the ring and the bracelet met Tyler's requirements for lightweight equipment, causing him no burden when worn. Additionally, both items had impressive effects.
The primary effect of the "Black Obsidian Ring · Shadow Dweller" was that when the wearer was in the shadows and remained quiet, they would not be detected by entities up to one tier higher than themselves.
The main effect of the "Radiant Gold Bracelet · Goblin Cunning" was that as long as the wearer inflicted any damage on a target, the target would be unable to use any active skills for the next five seconds (though this did not restrict already activated skills, passive skills, or equipment skills). This effect could be triggered once every thirty seconds.
With these two items, Tyler finally resembled an assassin.
However, now was not the time to practice his assassination skills in the labyrinth. He needed to quickly escape the ruins of the goblin fortress and head to the location of the fourth red light pillar to confirm whether the person there was Viviana.
Tyler knew that the Scarlet Family's entire hope for this mission rested on Viviana.