After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

"That little girl is not a problem," Hulus said teasingly, "but you seem to be a Poison Series Mage? Poison magic against Murderous Crab carapaces, hehehe... to put it bluntly, isn't that just tickling over the boots?"

Poison magic was indeed restrained by the Murderous Crab, but in Lin Da's Space Ring, there lay the Azure Sword, specifically designed against Aquatic Demons.

Yet, this was not something he would share with Hulus.

With a faint smile, Lin Da said, "Mr. Hulus, you've remembered one thing wrong. I'm not any kind of Poison Series Mage."

He shrugged his shoulders, with an expression of helplessness, "My true profession is a Healing Mage, a healing support profession."

"Healing Mage?"

Hulus seemed to recall the verdant Light Shield from the Phoenix Tail Flower strategy broadcast, his complexion subtly changing.

Capable of dealing damage as well as supporting, and strong in both aspects.

As he grew, he could become a formidable competitor.

"Hehehe, then you have to be careful about your safety; support professions are quite frail. Don't let the Murderous Crabs hurt you," Hulus's gloomy face squeezed out a trace of insincere concern.

"Thanks for the reminder."

Lin Da's face was expressionless, but he was secretly on alert.

In White Dove City, adventurers were clearly divided into two camps, and once reaching or nearing rock level, one would be roped in, and even compelled to take sides, by those in power.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Phoenix Tail Flower was already leaning towards the White Dove Adventure Group.

The sale of the Metal Destroyer Potion to Gale was further proof of this, naturally drawing the hostility of the Specter Adventure Group.

Lin Da disliked taking sides; he did not wish for his team to be constrained by anyone.

But faced with a veteran force like the Specter Adventure Group, the Phoenix Tail Flower could only seek shade under the big tree that was the White Dove Adventure Group.

Fortunately for him, his impression of Gale and Jite was positive.

The public opinion regarding Mind's Eye Abner was also reassuring.

At least it was some comfort.

Standing with the White Dove Adventure Group was not a bad deal.

Before long, the territorial distribution for the campaign was completed.

Lin Da handed over command to Mayor Adel. This included various data on Murderous Crabs he had calculated these past few days, now printed into handbooks, distributed to every Rock-level Squad Captain.

There was no time to delay.

Mounted on war horses, everyone hurried to the depths of the Monster Tide.

"Don't die."

On the street, a double-winged black horse raced past Lin Da like a bolt of lightning.

Sitting atop it was a girl with a single red ponytail fluttering in the wind.

After saying that coldly, the girl on the double-winged black horse vanished ahead.

"You either."

Lin Da responded.

The battle against the Monster Tide was exceptionally perilous; a great number of adventurers would die.

He had a selfish wish: he hoped everyone he knew would survive.

But on the battlefield, where countless changes could happen, no one could say for certain what would occur.

All Lin Da could do was protect the teammates around him.

Kafni's war horse ran beside him.

Behind him, Monica rode the same horse with him.

This socially awkward Big Lolita was on the battlefield for the first time. With so many adventurers around her like a sea, her face turned white with tension, and she was unable to speak.

A pair of small hands tightly hugged Lin Da's waist from behind, her entire body pressed up against his.

Once out of the city,

The bumpy ride of the war horse made Lin Da feel the intense oddness coming from behind.

That trembling... it showed just how scared Monica was!

"The captain will protect you, Monica. Unleash your magic freely and take down those damned beasts!"

With his left hand holding the reins and his right hand caressing the delicate little hand from behind, Lin Da's voice was steady and powerful.

"Monica... will try her best!" The girl mustered her courage, peeking her little head from behind Lin Da's back to look forward at the endless black tide.

Targeting ahead with her magic wand, she whispered softly, "Earth Bombardment!"

A thick brown column of light soared into the sky.

In just a breath's time, the bodies of over a dozen Murderous Crabs were pierced by the column of light, left with bucket-sized holes!

The members of the Rock-level Squads on the horses ahead all cast surprised glances back.

Many mages of higher levels than this Monica were unable to kill so many Murderous Crabs in one go.

The offensive capability of an Earth Mage was indeed formidable.

"Leader, didn't I tell you? Phoenix Tail Flower has the potential to reach Steel Level!"

At the very front, Gale boasted with a triumphant smile, speaking to the blue ponytail Swordsman.

"The potential is decent," replied Abner, White Dove City's strongest adventurer, as he nodded slightly.

Then, he drew his sword.

The white light of death flickered.

A whole square area of Murderous Crabs, about three hundred in number, was turned into a bloody mire on the spot!

With the Steel Level Adventure Group as the sword's edge and Rock Level as the blade, this fierce dagger plunged deep into the depths of the Monster Tide!

...

...

In the midst of the Monster Tide's middle zone,

Swordsman Finch faced the Murderous Crabs, each over two meters in length, with deadly pincers nearly reaching three meters, and he couldn't help but turn pale, his body going limp.

The hand holding his One-Handed Sword was also shaking violently, and the only thought in his mind was: It's over, I'm going to die in this cursed place.

This Finch was the same disheveled adventurer Lin Da had encountered previously at the entrance of the Chilang Commerce.

At this moment, Finch looked around - everywhere were dark masses of giant crabs and blood-soaked adventurers fighting for their lives.

Driven by the supervising Imperial Knights, before he knew it, he had ventured into the middle zone of the Monster Tide.

The battle had not gone on for twenty minutes before Finch was drenched in red.

Luckily or unluckily, not a single drop of that blood was his - his fellow adventurers, like blood bags, were cracked open by the Murderous Crabs, their crimson liquid spraying over his face!

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Finch screamed in despair as he swung his sword with all his might, chopping down on the Murderous Crab's head.

However, aside from numbing his hand and leaving a faint white mark on the Murderous Crab, it did nothing significant.

"Hiss, hiss."

The Murderous Crab's eyes peeked out from its carapace, looking disdainfully at Finch with an almost human-like scorn.

Its huge pincers clacked in the air, making a creepy, bone-chilling sound.

A blow from those pincers would mean certain death or crippling injury.

This vast battlefield resembled an execution ground for beheading, with the halves of adventurers' bodies strewn everywhere!

"I, I want to go back to the city."

"I can no longer fight!"

Finch, who had lost his will to fight, looked utterly defeated as his one-handed sword fell from his palm to the ground.

Chop, but could not cut through.

Get hit, and at the very least it'd be severe injury.

How could one possibly defeat such a monster?

Finch thought to flee, but behind him stood Imperial Knights in shining armor, supervising the battle.

The knights surveyed each adventurer with cold, emotionless eyes.

There was a cruel law in the empire: when Magical Creatures attacked, adventurers were obligated to fight.

Those who avoided battle would have their city residency revoked, becoming undocumented, and under the empire's control, they would never be allowed near the World Tree again.

Continue your journey with empire

Those who fled the battlefield could be executed on the spot!

So even if Finch lost the will to fight and couldn't even hold onto his sword, he was forced to face the terrifying tide of Magical Creatures.

"Jiji, jiji."

The eerie laugh-like chirping of the Murderous Crab echoed as it raised its massive pincers, attacking the stunned Finch who had already given up any resistance and was just standing there.

"Verdant Shield."

Just as disaster was about to strike, a burst of emerald light fell upon Finch, forming a circular light shield around him.

The Murderous Crab's pincers, which should have cleaved Finch in two, seemed to hit a steel wall, and the recoil was so strong that the Magical Creature stumbled backward, its carapace cracking slightly.

"What?" Finch stared dazedly at the light shield before him, finding it vaguely familiar.

At that moment, a warhorse thundered past him.

The rider was carrying a petite girl.

The knight threw a purple whip, and with a sharp crack, the Murderous Crab's gigantic pincer was dented, causing it to shriek in pain.

Then the knight leaped from the horse.

He drew a dusty long sword from his waist and chopped at the Murderous Crab.

The carapace, thick as armor and upon which Finch had chopped several times, leaving at most a faint white mark,

Was effortlessly sliced open by the knight who had just jumped from his horse.

Finch watched, wide-eyed, as the Murderous Crab was cleaved in half like a piece of rag!

Not even cutting through butter would be this smooth, would it?

Like a chef in a high-end restaurant, the knight performed a series of Triple Slashes with his long sword, sectioning the massive Murderous Crab into pieces.

The tough carapace seemed to have been treated with some magic, becoming softer than tofu.

It gave Finch the impression that while to him it was a 'Murderous Crab', to the knight, the two-meter-long creature was nothing more than oversized seafood!

"Hiss, hiss!"

The three nearby Murderous Crabs noticed the knight and charged towards him, hissing.

Their massive bodies and flailing claws rushed at him from three directions, nearly blocking out the sunlight.

"Be careful!"

Finch yelled out nervously, warning the knight!

But the next moment, Finch only saw streaks of sword light, imbued with the power of the Water Series, passing through the Murderous Crabs.

This delicate energy, upon meeting the solid carapaces of the Murderous Crabs, became exceptionally sharp.

A cross-shaped cut appeared behind each Murderous Crab.

Immediately, with a snap,

The Murderous Crabs were diced into chunks of flesh, raining down like droplets!

This power ... could it be a high-leveled swordsman?

Finch was dumbfounded.

Using no skills, the young man simply wielded his sword in ordinary slashes.

A mere two or three slashes and a level 15 Murderous Crab was downed.

As Finch was distracted, two huge Murderous Crabs approached him from both sides.

The petite mage on the horse noticed what was happening and waved her magic wand.

An Earth Spear Spell was cast.

Pur, pur!

Meter-long earth spears pierced through the Murderous Crabs' heads, and the creatures fell to the ground with a thud.

Finch belatedly realized he had narrowly escaped a brush with death at Hell's Gate once more.

He numbly watched the two Murderous Crabs with earth spears deeply embedded in their skulls, his mind in disarray: were Murderous Crabs this weak, easily killed at will?

Yet why could his forceful sword strike only leave a white mark,

While the mage and the knight could slice through Murderous Crabs like chopping vegetables, effortlessly taking them down?

Sometimes the matter of levels was just so unfair.

If skills weren't used, a top-level swordsman's attacks wouldn't look much more spectacular than an ordinary swordsman's.

But high Attribute Points brought the power to cut through everything.

The battle prowess of this squad deeply shocked Finch.

Yet Finch didn't become disheartened because of this.

It was as if he saw a light awaiting him at the end of this dark tunnel.

Finch regained the courage to wield his sword again, hoping that one day he too could become such a powerful adventurer!