Chapter 249 - 171: A Madman Needs No Password
’Huh? I... how did I get in?!’
After venting his fury, Brother Mangzi had unexpectedly smashed right through the wall of the Divine Hall Ruins and found himself inside.
He was stunned for a moment, then grew excited.
’Holy crap, this building can actually be destroyed?’
’To be honest, I was just blowing off steam. I never thought it would actually work.’
But the wall behind him was already starting to rapidly repair itself, and the light seeping in from outside grew dimmer and dimmer.
HISS... HISS...
The sound of snakes hissing their tongues echoed from the darkness, one after another.
Seeing this, Brother Mangzi didn’t have time to overthink things. He had calmed down considerably.
’Since I’ve stumbled into the Divine Hall Ruins by accident, I might as well find the Milestone Spirit Candle first. Then I can find a chance to tell the other players about this.’
A vicious battle was about to begin...
...
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the wall shattered, sending stone fragments flying.
Forgotten Dao stared at the massive chasm behind him, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Without a doubt, this terrifying commotion was caused by the King’s Guardian Shadow Wings, the guardian of the Snake’s Nest.
In the time he had been here, Forgotten Dao had already died at its hands dozens of times.
This gave Forgotten Dao a major headache. The opponent was simply too powerful. The main problem was some kind of echo attack that was devastatingly effective against his Sacrificial Living Corpses.
So, Forgotten Dao decided to change his strategy.
’If I can’t beat it, I’ll just find a way around it, right?’
So, he gave up on trying to defeat the King’s Guardian Shadow Wings and instead started using his Sacrificial Living Corpses to scout out a path to another area.
It seemed that because he had disturbed the boss, it now remained fixated on the Snake’s Nest, attacking him the moment he set foot inside.
Fortunately, after some trial and error, he successfully found a path leading to other parts of the Divine Hall Ruins.
’Thank goodness the devs didn’t put in any Fog Gates or "cannot be opened from this side" nonsense.’
*Phew...*
Sitting down in front of the Milestone Spirit Candle at the corner of the stairs, Forgotten Dao let out a sigh of relief.
’These bosses are getting harder and harder to deal with.’
’Looks like I’ll have to find a way to strengthen my Sacrificial Living Corpses when I get back...’
As he mulled this over, Forgotten Dao sent out another corpse and resumed his exploration.
After leaving the Snake’s Nest and reaching the level above, Forgotten Dao found himself in a wide corridor of the Divine Hall, which seemed to lead toward the main chamber.
The pressure on him lessened considerably along this path.
Though he would occasionally encounter lesser mobs and Elite Monsters like [Snake Soldiers] or [Poison Fang Serpents], they posed little threat to Forgotten Dao overall.
The drops were rare and mostly useless.
This gave him a chance to observe the interior of the Divine Hall Ruins.
Perhaps due to the nature of the snakes, the Divine Hall Ruins were pitch-black inside. There were no Campfires or braziers, so Forgotten Dao could only rely on his own illuminating Candlefire to navigate.
The interior of the Divine Hall Ruins was built from moss-and-vine-covered stone bricks. The craftsmanship was crude, creating a cold, gloomy atmosphere.
Strange marks occasionally appeared on the walls, seemingly left by some viscous liquid that had since dried. The floor also bore the distinct trails left by slithering snakes...
As Forgotten Dao observed his surroundings, he also made sure to leave markers.
He had purchased some Returning Candle Wax Drips during a previous Teleportation back, but since he was exploring, it was still best to leave a trail to make backtracking easier.
As he was lost in thought, a door suddenly appeared before him, obscured by vines and plants growing from cracks in the wall.
Forgotten Dao was about to reach out and push the foliage aside but recoiled in alarm.
For on the door, aside from the vines and plants, were two snakes whose colors made them almost perfectly camouflaged!
They were clearly not normal snakes, but "Mechanical Serpents" similar to the Mire Copper Serpent.
HISS. HISS.
"Password."
The two snakes hanging upside down on the door craned their heads around, their eyes, carved from ore, staring intently at Forgotten Dao.
"Password?"
Seeing the translation provided by the Spirit Candle, Forgotten Dao let out a cynical laugh. He then shot his hands out and seized the two Mechanical Serpents by their throats.
"Madmen don’t need passwords!"
A savage grin spread across Forgotten Dao’s face. He activated the Banner wrapped around his hand, and the illusory, scorching Warfire instantly erupted into a massive inferno, enveloping the two Mechanical Serpents.
The two snakes thrashed violently, and the door to which their lower bodies were attached began to emit more hissing sounds, which echoed from beyond the door.
It was as if they had awakened a slumbering nest of snakes.
An overlapping cacophony of hisses erupted.
BANG!
Forgotten Dao slammed the shattered remains of the Mechanical Serpents onto the ground, then strode forward, parting the vines to enter.
By the dim light of his Candlefire, he saw a dozen or so [Snake Soldiers] and [Snake Leaders] with bladed tails and armored necks swarming toward him.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
On the structures farther back, there were even Remote mobs, such as [Snake Pitchers].
And leading the charge was a Molten Slag Level giant python: the [Giant Tooth Commander].
This was undoubtedly a great hall, a gathering place for the Snake Race.
Forgotten Dao’s actions had, without a doubt, stirred up a Snake Nest.
But he wasn’t panicked, nor did he regret his actions.
’After all... how the hell was I supposed to know a snake password?’
Faced with the menacing swarm of snakes,
Forgotten Dao was completely unfazed. He raised his hand, waving the Human Skin Banner. One after another, Sacrificial Living Corpses appeared before him. He even summoned the Resentment Ghost Giant Monster from before.
The battle was joined in an instant!
...
「Some time later.」
Forgotten Dao popped a Recovery Wax Block into his mouth. Behind him, the body of the Giant Tooth Commander slowly dissipated.