Chapter 42 A mere level seventy

Underground Labyrinth, Floor 49.

Once again in this familiar place, Elena successfully found the target of her first subjugation mission—two Twin Frost Wolves.

By setting a clever trap, Elena successfully severely wounded them.

Just as she was about to deliver the killing blow, these two Twin Frost Wolves suddenly leveled up.

They soared from Rank 50 to Rank 60 in an instant!

They even eerily recovered to a 'full health state,' with all previous injuries vanishing as if they had been casually erased by some deity.

This situation gave Elena a massive headache.

The strength of these two monsters when working in tandem was already far superior to other monsters.

Their control-type frost magic was also incredibly frustrating to deal with.

Once caught, besides the bone-chilling frost damage, one's movements would become extremely sluggish.

Such a negative buff would even last for quite a while.

It severely impacted one's combat effectiveness, and even a slight slip-up could cost you your life.

Fortunately, Elena had also reached Rank 50 on the journey here.

Facing two Rank 60 monsters, it wasn't as if she was completely without the power to fight.

But to her utter disbelief...

Just as she was about to slay them again, having paid the price of trading injury for injury and giving it her all...

The levels of the two Twin Frost Wolves underwent another Breakthrough.

They surged from Rank 60 to Rank 70!

Another jump of a full ten Ranks!

Their state was restored to how it was before!

Flawless coordination, breaking through and leveling up while near death, getting stronger the longer they fight, infinite stamina...

This... is just too broken!

How on earth are you supposed to win against this?

Facing the two monsters closing in, Elena couldn't help but feel despair.

She propped herself up with her rapier and stood up unsteadily.

Her thumb trembled as it grazed her thin lips, and she tried hard to wipe away the blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, cursing inwardly.

"Damn it! I knew those guys in the Council of Elders wouldn't issue a task that was particularly easy to complete!"

At this point, she had no possibility of continuing the fight.

Her entire body ached incessantly, as if her bones had been shattered, and even opening her eyelids felt like a struggle.

Given the situation, Elena knew deep down that she would only have one outcome.

And that was death!

Unless... he could come?

The words that man said when they parted ways inexplicably surfaced in Elena's mind.

"Perhaps when you encounter life-threatening danger, if you shout my name, I might just appear immediately to save you."

She didn't know if those words were true or false.

But as things stood, this seemed to be her final choice.

"Mu An!"

The young girl's thin lips parted slightly, and she couldn't help but call out that name.

The next second.

It was as if a 'deity' had responded to her expectations.

A white light suddenly appeared before her eyes.

It was gentle and not blinding, yet so reassuring.

Along with it came the man's familiar voice.

"Oi, beauty, who made you look so disheveled?"

Mu An stepped out, his [Enemy Detection Radar], which was always active, instantly locking onto the enemies present.

Several high-Rank Undead Creatures emerged simultaneously.

Under the man's command, they didn't hesitate at all and directly released their Aura.

First, they intimidated all the surrounding monsters, making them unable to move easily.

Seeing Mu An's arrival, Elena quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The tense string in her heart snapped, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Her delicate body could no longer hold up, and she collapsed into Mu An's arms.

"Sister Elena, are you okay? Who hurt you so badly?"

Renée exclaimed in surprise.

She hurriedly and clumsily pulled out a bottle of healing potion and had Elena drink it.

At the same time, the young girl began to murmur in a special Elven Race language.

In the blink of an eye, a verdant green light representing healing magic appeared in her hands and was quickly transferred to Elena's body.

After reaching Rank 62, Renée's healing ability had also undergone a qualitative leap.

In just a short while, a healthy flush appeared on Elena's face.

But this did not mean she had been healed.

After all, she had gone through a crazy, bloody battle; Elena's injuries all over her body were extremely severe, and she would need to rest for some time before fully recovering.

"Damn monsters, how dare you hurt Sister Elena so badly!"

Renée furrowed her brows and glared at the two Twin Frost Wolves through gritted teeth.

At this moment, forced by the level pressure of the Undead Creatures around Mu An, they lowered their bodies and were cautiously retreating.

Although they couldn't compare to Rank 90, their strength at Rank 70 was not weak.

This was also why they weren't directly suppressed and immobilized by the Aura like the other low-Rank monsters.

"Cough, cough, don't let your guard down!"

"They have leveled up twice in a row; once from Rank 50 to Rank 60, and once from Rank 60 to Rank 70."

"It's very eerie! If it's really too much, should we temporarily retreat?"

Fearing that Mu An and his group might suffer from a lack of information, Elena, whose condition had improved significantly, hurriedly explained the basic situation.

Thinking back on it now, she was impressed by her own courage.

Facing an enemy whose strength limit she didn't know, she actually had the courage to raise her rapier against them.

Of course, even if she knew the opponent would level up into a Rank 70 or even stronger monster, Elena wouldn't have backed down.

Because she was a proud warrior of the Elven Race.

She would only die on the battlefield; the word 'retreat' did not exist in her life creed!

"Rank 70, huh?"

"If it were just us, it might really be hard to deal with, but you have to know that we have several 'star enforcers' by our side!"

Mu An rubbed his chin and casually glanced at the basic information of the two monsters.

Twin Frost Wolves

Rank: 70

Basic Information: Manipulated Puppet.

Their Souls have long died, with only their Physical Bodies still clinging to life.

The two complement each other, and their freezing control magic is definitely a nightmare for countless adventurers.

——————

The man raised an eyebrow.

Manipulated Puppet?

This information is quite intriguing!

What kind of existence could manipulate Rank 70 monsters?

And where is the other party hiding now?

Meanwhile, Elena was also confused for a moment.

"Star enforcers? What are star enforcers?"

She had been too severely injured earlier, and even her consciousness had become somewhat blurred.

She had no idea that other 'guys' had followed Mu An and the other two here.

Suddenly, she seemed to become alert to something and hurriedly turned her head to look behind her.

As a result, she was almost scared silly by the scene before her.

Several Undead Creatures with Ranks exceeding 90 were standing quietly and neatly behind the group.

They looked awe-inspiring, and combined with their terrifying 'exposed-bone' appearance.

They were absolutely the kind of existence that could make children stop crying immediately!

If Mu An were to describe it, it would definitely be 'standing at attention' in a disciplined manner.

"Rank 90+ Undead Creatures?!"

Alarm bells rang instantly in Elena's heart.

Her pupils constricted, and her fair hand had already quietly tightened its grip on her rapier, ready to fight for her life at any moment.

She couldn't understand at all why such evil creatures would appear here!

Or rather.

Compared to the two Rank 70 Twin Frost Wolves, these terrifying Undead Creatures were clearly more troublesome!

On the side.

Seeing that Elena seemed to have misunderstood something, Renée hurriedly explained.

"Sister Elena, they are allies."

"They were... summoned by that stinky... Boss!"

Just like Nina at the beginning, Renée was still not very used to the strange title of 'Boss'.

But she couldn't resist Mu An's strong demands, so she had to temporarily choose to submit.

After all.

She had eaten his food, and she had also been saved by him...

"Allies? Boss? You're talking about Lord Hero, right?"

Elena was slightly stunned, but she quickly reacted.

Thinking back carefully.

She had indeed seen the few Little Skeletons following Mu An, and they were indeed Undead Creatures.

But who could tell her why, after not seeing them for just a few days.

Those few weak Little Skeletons had 'evolved into' these Rank 90+ Undead Creatures?

"Relax, it's just a small scene."

Mu An waved his hand in a very humble-bragging manner.

Little did he know.

Undead Creatures of this Rank were enough to sweep through any force below the fiftieth floor of the labyrinth.

Even the major Empires outside the labyrinth would be completely unable to compete!

Among the Human Race, those who could reach Rank 90 were already 'rare items' among 'rare items.'

They were extremely few in number, and most of them were elderly people in their twilight years.

Moreover, under the same Rank, monsters had higher growth attributes and were generally stronger than humans!

"Come to think of it, is your target this time to kill these two monsters?"

The man's gaze fell on the two Twin Frost Wolves again.

To him, they were completely nothing to worry about.

Mu An was already thinking about what skills could be dropped after devouring their corpses.

"Um... stinky Boss, I wonder if you could leave them to me?"

"Daring to hurt my dear Sister Elena, I will definitely make them pay in blood!!"

Renée was eager to try, flames of anger flashing in her eyes.

The fairy bow at her side was already primed and ready.

Just waiting for Mu An's order, she would rush out and let the two monsters experience...

What it means to 'give as good as you get'!

What the wrath of an Elven Race princess is!

"Just you alone?"

Mu An expressed doubt.

Renée was only Rank 62 now; could she really beat two Rank 70 monsters on her own?

If she accidentally wasted one of his precious resurrection coins later, it would really not be worth the loss!

Beside them, Nina also weakly raised her small hand.

"Boss, I can cooperate with Sister Renée."

"That way it will be two-on-two, and it shouldn't be too difficult for us to work together to take down these two monsters."

Mu An pondered for a moment.

He nodded amidst the hopeful gazes of the two girls.

"Then take care, and prioritize your own safety."

On one hand, he didn't want to dampen Renée and Nina's enthusiasm.

On the other hand, the Rank of these two monsters wasn't too much higher than theirs, and it wasn't as if there was no hope of winning at all.

If they coordinated well, they could serve as a perfect whetstone to further improve the two girls' actual combat abilities.

Mu An had always firmly believed.

A person cannot be a flower in a greenhouse; to grow healthily, one must experience storms.

Taking a step back.

If the two girls really couldn't win...

There were still several Rank 90+ Undead Creatures on the scene to hold the fort, weren't there!

Mere two Rank 70 monsters couldn't turn the tables!

"Thank you, Boss!"

Nina cheered.

Even Renée rarely said 'thank you', though her voice was a bit small.

Presumably, with her tsundere personality, this was the limit of what she could do for now.

Elena listened to the conversation between Mu An and the three of them, completely dumbfounded.

By the time she wanted to object, the two girls had already charged towards the two Twin Frost Wolves.

"Lord Hero, this... isn't appropriate, is it?"

Elena had tried to be as tactful as possible.

In her understanding, her own Elven Race princess was only around Rank 30 or 40.

And as for Nina, when they met last time, she was probably less than Rank 30.

Although they had powerful Undead Creatures as backup, wasn't it too much of a stretch to win against a stronger opponent with 'weakness against strength'?

"What's inappropriate about it?"

"Fighting Rank 70s at Rank 60+ is indeed stressful, but it's not like it's impossible to fight."

Mu An said casually.

And it was these words that instantly stunned Elena.

What did 'fighting Rank 70s at Rank 60+' mean?

She knew those two monsters were Rank 70.

And the 'Rank 60+' in this man's mouth represented...

Elena cast her gaze towards the two girls who were fighting.

After seeing their current Ranks clearly through [Appraisal], a skill most mages knew, she was instantly astonished.

Nina was Rank 63, and Renée had also reached Rank 62!

Why had the two girls' Ranks suddenly risen so high?

If her memory served her right, it had been less than three days since she last parted ways with Mu An and the others, right?

Could it be that she had entered some special time-dilation Domain?

So she personally felt only three days had passed, but in reality, thirty days or even longer had passed outside?

Otherwise, it was really hard to explain why the two girls' Ranks had suddenly skyrocketed!

And this was far beyond the understanding of ordinary people!

"Lord Hero, how are their Ranks...?"

Elena looked at Mu An again, wanting to speak but hesitating.

And the [Appraisal] skill that hadn't been turned off accidentally scanned this man.

"[Se... Seventy Rank?!]"

The young girl was dumbfounded, unable to help but widen her beautiful eyes.

She had thought that Renée and Nina were already extremely Heaven-Defying Geniuses.

She hadn't expected there to be an existence even more of a Prodigy than them!

Could it really be true what those words said?

Geniuses are just the threshold to see me?

Or, is it that geniuses all call me a Genius?

Elena looked at the Ranks of Mu An and the others again, then looked at her own 'weak' Rank.

For a moment, her thoughts were in turmoil.

She felt like she had spent the last few hundred years living as a 'Slime'!

"Ranks? You want to ask why their Ranks can rise so fast, right?"

"That's very simple! You just need to join my employee team!"

"Of course, the entry fee isn't cheap, starting at a few hundred gold coins."

"In exchange, you can get an extremely fast leveling speed!"

Mu An grinned.

Elena was once again dumbfounded.

Subsequently, she asked about some specific details.

Upon learning that she had to be by Mu An's side at all times, she felt torn in her heart.

On one hand, it was 'losing freedom' in exchange for extremely fast leveling speed.

On the other hand, it was the Elven Race punishment mission that she still needed to complete in a timely manner.

In the end.

Although she was very tempted, after careful consideration, Elena shook her head and refused.

As a warrior of the Elven Race, she didn't have the habit of 'evading.'

If she made a mistake, she had to admit it and bear the corresponding consequences.

She also didn't want to drag Mu An and the others into an unpredictable or even invincible vortex of danger someday in the future because of her own personal reasons.

It should be said.

This time, having Mu An and the others risk their lives to come and support her had already made her feel very guilty inside.

Regarding this, Mu An did not force her.

After all.

Everyone's choices and persistence are different.

All he could do was maintain respect.

...