With just one strike, the massive executor's staff in Cordova's hand directly splattered the Armored Dragon Beast with blood. Although the latter was not in good condition at the moment, this still couldn't hide this mighty man's almost off-the-charts combat power. The instant the attack landed, everyone present heard a deafening explosion, and even the gravel on the ground bounced up.
"Oh my god..." Mo Tan, who had just struggled to his feet, was startled, looking at Cordova with a horrified expression: "Is he even human?"
The Azure Dragon next to him, panting like he had asthma, rolled his eyes: "Strictly speaking, not really~ But that kid is at best only half-formed... er..."
Feimigeer seemed to realize he had said a bit too much, stopping mid-sentence and immediately shutting up, then rolling his eyes and fainting directly.
This wasn't entirely an act... he was genuinely exhausted...
However, Mo Tan didn't pay much attention. His previous surprise wasn't directed at Cordova's inherent strength; he just felt that it was truly impressive for this big brother, who had only been playing for a little over a day, to possess such combat power. Of course, after a brief thought about a certain person's previous luck, Mo Tan found that he couldn't feel even a trace of envy.
After all, this was 'exchanged with his life'...
The Armored Dragon Beast, suddenly struck, was already on the verge of collapse. This naturally ferocious but not very intelligent or capable sub-dragon instinctively felt that he might die here today, so he began to use all his strength, wanting to go all out against the smug-faced guy in front of him.
"Yo, are you planning to give me some stale breath?" Cordova shrugged, standing there without dodging, allowing the Dragon Beast in front of him to open its mouth towards him.
Pale yellow flames surged. Although the breath of sub-dragons couldn't compare to their ancestors who made mistakes back then, it still possessed extremely fierce lethality, especially in a desperate fight like this, without regard for consumption...
"Roar!!!"
Accompanied by a roar, the turbid yellow flame, already brewed and accumulated to its peak, swept out from the Armored Dragon Beast's mouth. This breath not only had an extremely scorching temperature but also mixed with a large amount of impure earth elemental power, its frontal lethality far exceeding pure flames!
This was absolutely not an attack that could be endured in the conventional sense!
But...
"It's just so-so." Cordova glanced at his health, which had dropped by less than one-tenth, feeling the simulated heat and stinging sensation around him, and said casually. Then, in a stance ready for a home run, he gripped the end of the long staff with both hands and said with a chuckle: "Compared to what I've experienced before, this level isn't even a fart in a storm!"
With a terrifying Physique of up to 60, and simultaneously possessing the passive effects of Rune Steel and Rune Exorcism, Cordova, currently enveloped in a blue glow, possessed an infuriating resistance to damage. Even the sub-dragon's breath, which combined both physical and magical damage, had little effect...
Next, chest out, head held high, and a twist of his butt, Cordova let out a soft shout, and the staff in his hand, like a battering ram, swung out fiercely with a shrill whistling sound!
A normal attack!
A normal attack with the user's Strength attribute as high as 120 (Rune Might's passive strength doubling effect)!
The heavy and sharpened executor's staff shattered the tough shield, cracked the solid carapace, and penetrated the dense thick hide, fiercely sending this sub-dragon species tumbling almost three and a half times into the air.
And just as this giant beast took its last breath without a sound, Huo Yan Yang also heard the system sound in his ear:
【Side Quest: Dragon's Tempering, Completed, Completion: 60%, Reward: 300 War Priest Experience, Additional Reward: None】
Looking at his still bleeding left arm, and thinking of the Hero Song he had to sing earlier, Huo Yan Yang suddenly felt like cursing.
That Armored Dragon Beast was already pretty much done for...
The equipment reward he could have gotten for 80% or more completion was gone...
He had used the Blood Battle Mad Song, which he swore never to use after learning it, and also sang the Hero Song...
The other guy just came up, hit it a couple of times, and it was over.
However, Huo Yan Yang still walked up to Cordova with a wide smile, greeting him very kindly: "Hello, master, you are so strong. Thank you so much just now~"
There was no other way. Even if such a brave NPC snatched your monster, what could you do? Moreover, this master, whose race was unknown, might even be a Dragon Knight, a Dragon Knight!
So, getting close was the real goal...
Meanwhile, Mo Tan, seeing that the fight was over, quickly walked to his temporary companion's side, and nodded in greeting to Huo Yan Yang and the High Priest.
He didn't know why, but he always felt that this Red-haired Orc Handsome Guy looked a bit familiar.
"No problem, no problem!" Cordova was full of vigor at this moment, and happily extended his hand to Huo Yan Yang: "My name is Cordova."
Huo Yan Yang also reached out and shook his hand: "My name is Huo Yan Yang."
【What did you say?!】
Mo Tan was stunned for a moment, and his gradually clearer memories immediately resurfaced. Looking at the person he had met not long ago, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that this world was truly small...
What he didn't expect was that Cordova was also stunned.
"Huo Yan Yang?" Cordova reacted for a moment, then looked at the other person with a surprised expression, exclaiming in a low voice: "You are Wan Yang?!"
Huo Yan Yang's eyes widened: "Who are you?"
"I'm your Yu Ge!" Cordova laughed, instantly shocking the two people next to him: "This world is really small!"
【Yes, yes, this world is so small.】
Mo Tan's whole person turned pale. He finally understood why Cui Xiaoyu was in such a bad mood that day—it turned out he was frustrated from playing the game...
"Yu Ge?" Huo Yan Yang reacted for a long time before suddenly slapping his head: "Holy crap, it's you! Cui Xiaoyu!?"
Cordova put an arm around Huo Yan Yang: "That's right, that's right, it's me!"
"Get lost!" The latter elbowed him away, angrily shouting: "Your so-called quitting the game means you gave up fighting your own monsters and started snatching other people's monsters, didn't you!"
Now that he knew it was someone he knew in real life, Huo Yan Yang naturally stopped being polite. The suppressed frustration instantly rushed to his head at 200 kilometers per hour, and he felt terrible.
"I'm here to help you guys fight monsters, okay?" Cordova also glared: "I'm here to support you! Support, do you understand!"
Huo Yan Yang: "Bah! Where do you look like a support!"
"I'm a Priest." Cordova puffed out his chest and held his staff, which weighed at least a hundred pounds, by his side, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"Priest my ass!" Huo Yan Yang shivered from the shock, his face turning red with anger: "Even a War Priest wouldn't play like this, would they? If you carried that thing around, people would believe it was for demolition!"
"This is a staff!" Cordova snorted: "You don't know anything!"
Huo Yan Yang pointed at the executor's staff and sneered: "Is your staff sharpened?"
"I don't care!" Steam started coming out of Cordova's neck: "Anyway, I'm a support! An excellent support!"
"Don't disgrace supports! Have you ever seen a Priest carrying that thing and rushing up to crack people's skulls?!"
"Isn't a support's job to protect their teammates and ensure everyone's safety?"
"What does that have to do with you?"
"If I kill all the enemies, aren't the teammates safe?"
...
Huo Yan Yang was truly stumped by Cordova. He felt his mind was a bit chaotic...
Support = protecting one's teammates, cracking enemies' skulls = ensuring teammates' safety, therefore, cracking enemies' skulls = an excellent support?
He always felt like something was wrong!
"Hmph! I'll tell you what a support is!" Huo Yan Yang, who was also a support himself, pondered for a long time before snorting lightly and waving to Mo Tan: "Brother Half-Dragon, come, let me give you a BUFF?"
Because he didn't have Cordova's abnormal physique, Mo Tan had already been thrown down to about ten percent of his health when he fell from the sky. Hearing that Huo Yan Yang planned to give him a BUFF, he felt quite relieved.
After all, Cordova, who claimed to be a 'Priest', didn't seem to have any intention of healing him.
And then...
Bang!
Huo Yan Yang pulled out a whip from who-knows-where and directly whipped Mo Tan to the ground!
【Enthusiastic Whip】
Active Skill
Requirements: War Priest Level 3
Cost/Restriction: 1 Stamina, requires special equipment: Bloodthorn Whip in inventory
Effect: Whips your ally, dealing 5% of their maximum health as damage to the target. If the target does not die, their damage is increased by 40% for 20 seconds. The bonus damage gradually decays at a rate of 2% per second. Cooldown: 1 minute. Repeatedly whipping the same target within a short period will also cause this skill's effect to decay.
【Note: Get to work! You lovely little rascals!】
Mo Tan, who was whipped to the ground, felt a warm current surge through his body, and then found that his strength seemed to have increased significantly. Immediately after, he spat out a mouthful of old blood...
Cordova looked at the Red-haired Orc next to him with disdain: "Your so-called support is beating your own people half to death?"
"Stop babbling!" Huo Yan Yang glared at him, then squatted beside Mo Tan and asked with a tilted head: "How is it, buddy! Do you feel stronger?"
Mo Tan struggled to roll over and said with a wry smile: "I feel... I need to be rescued as soon as possible!"
Honestly speaking, Huo Yan Yang's skill was really good. In normal circumstances, it would definitely be a very powerful support skill. Five percent of maximum health in exchange for twenty seconds of damage amplification was not a loss, and if combined with some powerful skills, the effect would be even more significant, but there was a prerequisite...
At least the person being buffed should have some health left. Mo Tan's health, which was already fluctuating around ten percent, was almost instantly wiped out by that whip.
"Yan Yang, don't be naughty." At this moment, the High Priest, who had slowly ambled over with difficulty, gently reprimanded Huo Yan Yang, then leaned down and whispered to Mo Tan: "The spirits of the ancestors are deceiving you..."
Then Mo Tan felt a warmth spread through his body, which had been extremely fatigued. He opened his panel to check carefully and found that his health was rapidly recovering at a rate of about ten percent per second, and was completely full in just a moment.
"I feel much better." Mo Tan turned over and got up from the ground, expressing his gratitude to this unfathomably powerful High Priest: "Thank you for your healing~"
No wonder he could just raise his hand and knock down an adult dragon. It seemed that besides Feimigeer being extremely exhausted, this elderly Orc High Priest indeed had some skills.
Mundo shook his head at Mo Tan, indicating that it was his duty, then instructed Huo Yan Yang: "I'm going to check on our Dragon friend now. Yan Yang, you stay with these two for a while, and remember not to bring shame to our ancestors."
With that, he turned and walked towards Feimigeer, who was already a crumpled mess not far away.
"I'm sorry~" Huo Yan Yang apologized to Mo Tan: "I got a little excited just now. I thought you were like this guy. Uh, are you two friends?"
Mo Tan shrugged at him: "I'm also a player. I traveled with Cordova for a while for certain reasons."
"He's a good person." Cordova casually said from the side, then said to the two: "Let's add each other as friends."
Mo Tan and Huo Yan Yang readily agreed. Well, at least Mo Tan readily agreed. Anyway, the character 'Mo' in their eyes couldn't possibly be linked to his real self, so he naturally didn't feel anything inappropriate. He also had to thank the Half-Dragon male's racial characteristics, otherwise, it was very possible for his identity to be exposed due to his appearance.
"I'm going offline first."
After adding each other as friends, Mo Tan saw that nothing else should happen in a short time, so he immediately greeted the two and prepared to log off. He knew that he hadn't suddenly switched personalities and disconnected for half the day today. According to past patterns, every second from now on could pose a problem at any time!
"Okay." Cordova nodded, then looked at the giant dragon receiving treatment from the High Priest not far away, and spread his hands: "Feimigeer should be recovering here for a few more days. I think he overexerted himself a bit too much. Remember to say hello to me when you log on."
Huo Yan Yang also laughed: "My mentor will probably look after that giant dragon until he recovers, so we should also be staying here for a while, although... it's a bit annoying."
When he said the last part, he glared at Cordova in annoyance.
"Oh, right~ There's one more thing I hope you two can help with." Mo Tan suddenly said with a wry smile: "If you find two very... very unique NPCs when I'm not around, I hope you can take care of them a little. One is a Half-Orc girl and the other is an older human mage, if you happen to meet them."
Cordova patted his chest: "No problem!"
"That would be great, but there's one thing to note." Mo Tan's expression suddenly became serious: "Please be sure to pay attention to sa..."
【You have been disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.】
...
Two minutes later
【Your mental connection has been detected. Personal information is being synchronized...】
【Connection complete. Character information is being read.】
【Welcome back, chaotic neutral Tan Mo. Innocent World will now load. Good night.】
Chapter 51: End