Chapter 50: The Vengeance of the Dragon Soul, Heaven-Defying Dragon Soul!

Although Lu Ming had already obtained a set of soul armor from Qin Churan, it required reaching level 20 to equip.

Moreover, he needed to get a soul armor set for Lin Youwei from the black market as well. Only by teaming up with Lin Youwei to grind through the Phantom Demon Tower could they maximize their gains!

Therefore, the immediate priority was to level up to 20.

Lu Ming sent Lin Youwei a message on WeChat: "The groceries are bought. Head to Captain Karo of the North City Soldiers to receive the quest, then proceed toward the Wasteland."

Worried about a repeat of last night’s kidnapping incident, Lu Ming waited near Starshine City for Lin Youwei instead of going ahead alone.

At that moment, Lin Youwei replied on WeChat:

"Brother Phantom, I got shrimp and two jin of pork."

"And eggs, tomatoes, celery, bean sprouts! Auntie Ding, the vegetable vendor on the second floor of the market, even threw in some green onions!"

"I’m making shrimp, celery fried with pork, stir-fried bean sprouts, and tomato and egg drop soup for lunch! Brother Phantom, is there anything else you want?"

What was initially just an excuse to send Lin Youwei away and avoid her being mistakenly attacked by those three assassins suddenly became a genuine shopping endeavor!

In his previous life, Lu Ming would faithfully buy groceries and cook for Ye Ling’er every day, often forgetting to ask the vegetable vendor for green onions and having to buy them separately afterward.

Lin Youwei clearly knew how to manage daily life well!

Lu Ming casually replied, "That’s enough. Just these."

"Okay, I’ll log in right away after I get back!"

About ten minutes later, Lin Youwei logged in and met Lu Ming halfway.

They headed toward the Wasteland together.

Lin Youwei looked around curiously and asked, "Brother Phantom, where are the three people you were supposed to lead on the quest?"

"Probably figured I couldn’t carry them, so they left," Lu Ming said offhandedly.

Lin Youwei believed him wholeheartedly and even felt a bit indignant on his behalf. "They don’t know how powerful you are, Brother Phantom! Not trusting your strength— they’ll definitely regret it later!"

"Yeah, they probably already do."

As they spoke, they arrived at the Wasteland.

True to its name, it was a desolate, empty mountainous area full of bleakness.

Throughout the vast wasteland scurried enormous brown venomous scorpions.

Compared to the level 25 man-eating ants they had faced previously, Lu Ming’s target this time was raised by a full five levels!

To be cautious, before the battle started, Lu Ming cast a scouting spell to check the attributes of the venomous scorpion—

[Venomous Scorpion] (Physical Type · Normal Monster)
[Level: 30]
[Physical Attack: 1580]
[Armor: 920]
[Magic Resistance: 810]
[Speed: 665]
[Health: 21600]
[Skills: Fatal Sting (F Rank), Venom Penetration (F Rank)]
[Description: A mutated scorpion containing a large amount of venom. Once it bites you, the poison will slowly consume your life…]

A level 30 monster—its strength was visibly high!

But for Lu Ming, it was just more of a challenge!

He locked his gaze on one venomous scorpion ahead.

Drawing his sword—

Whoosh!

The sword’s shadow flashed, and crimson damage numbers leapt above the scorpion’s head:

-6113!

An E-rank sword draw, strengthened twentyfold, instantly took away one-third of the venomous scorpion’s health!

[Ding~ Sword Draw effect triggered, attack power +200%, lasts 200 seconds!]

As the battle notification popped up, the attacked scorpion charged at Lu Ming.

Lu Ming summoned his Death Legion Commander.

At the same time, he planted his longsword in the ground, releasing the dual formations of War Stomp and Life Fortress.

"Kill."

With a thought from Lu Ming, ten nearby Death Legion Commanders simultaneously unleashed [Soul Shatter].

Slash slash slash slash...

-2831!
-2831!
-2831!
...

[Ding~ Killed level 30 Venomous Scorpion, gained 680 experience!]

Still not very difficult.

But the best scenario was when the Death Legion Commanders could easily solo monsters.

If it took multiple, even ten, Death Legion Commanders simultaneously to kill one monster, it would drastically reduce overall efficiency.

Regardless, the experience from a level 30 monster was significantly higher than the 100-plus experience from a level 20 undead in the Phantom Demon Tower’s second dimension!

Following Lu Ming’s command, each squad of five Death Legion Commanders formed a team. The 340 Death Legion Commanders were divided into 68 teams, spreading out across the Wasteland to hunt.

Five Soul Shatters weren’t enough to instantly kill a venomous scorpion, giving it a chance to counterattack.

Splat!

A fatal sting struck one Death Legion Commander, dealing over 2400 damage, while the venomous scorpion itself suffered nearly 4000 points of massive recoil damage!

Each attack from the venomous scorpion triggered even higher reflected damage on itself.

Lu Ming couldn’t help but marvel, "This corrosive counterattack effect is really powerful!"

The Bronze Artifact [Man-Eating Ant Hat] had an added skill: Corrosive Recoil—when the wearer is attacked, it reflects 8% damage. When the Formation Master releases formations, this skill can be shared with teammates.

Combined with the twentyfold overall amplification, the counterattack damage was boosted to 160%!

This recoil effect was even higher than the Death Legion Commanders’ own attack damage!

While Lu Ming commanded his Death Legion to massacre monsters, Lin Youwei was also busy.

With Lu Ming’s formation bonuses, she grabbed her bronze staff and resumed her copper coin farming business!

Meanwhile, on the other side—

South of Starshine City.

Level 36-37 Wild Zone, Barbarian Tribe.

Splat!

With a lance strike from the level 35 Ice Armor Knight Dragon Soul Tianyi, a level 36 wild man was pierced through, ending the fight.

Ding ding—

He received a WeChat message.

"Boss Tianyi, the assassination mission failed. The three people we sent were killed by Phantom in a counterattack!"

Seeing this message, Dragon Soul Tianyi flew into a rage, "Useless! A few level 30s can’t even handle a Formation Master barely at level ten!"

At that moment, a friend named "Brother Guan" called him via WeChat voice.

As Dragon Soul Tianyi answered, a deep and steady middle-aged man’s voice questioned him: "I heard seven of our Dragon Soul were killed two nights ago. You went after them to settle the score but got taught a lesson instead? What happened?"

"Brother Guan!" Dragon Soul Tianyi was clearly intimidated by “Brother Guan,” fearing his blame. He hurriedly promised, "Don’t worry, Brother Guan! I will definitely avenge the seven fallen brothers. I won’t spare anyone who harmed them!"

Brother Guan then said, "Do you need me to come down and help?"

"No need, Brother Guan!" Dragon Soul Tianyi swore confidently, "Trust me, I can handle this!"

Just as he finished speaking—

"Ah!!"

A sudden scream came from behind.

Dragon Soul Tianyi turned around in shock and saw a shadow flash past like lightning.

The next moment, his mage teammate, [Dragon Soul Taboo], collapsed to the ground.