Chapter 108: Counting or Not

“Ahhh… Adela? The legendary Scarlet Spider Queen?” The stout man, Pang Ding, gave Luo Yong a peculiar look and asked, “Why are you asking about her?”

“How much do you know about her various forms?” Luo Yong inquired.

“Forms?” Pang Ding squinted his shrewd little eyes, prodding his own chin with his finger, pondering for a while. Given his unique physique, his arms were oddly shaped; even stretching out his fingers, he could barely reach his chin.

“How does he usually eat?” Aelia, standing beside Wendy, whispered discreetly.

“Eat?” Pang Ding’s sharp ears caught Aelia’s hushed words without effort. Without hesitation, he waved his hand, and a glint of cold light flashed!

From his wrist, a slender sword shot out, resembling an ancient knight’s rapier. Not only was the sword thin, but also long. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the slender blade extended about three meters, piercing a roasted piece of pork nearby.

Then, with a few swift motions, he sliced off a large chunk, the sword quickly retracting to his mouth.

“Ah-woo!”

He bit into it heartily, eating as if no one else was around.

“Hmm, his cooking skills are just average—barely enough to fill the stomach…”

“Women, especially female heroes, aren’t just about great combat strength; they must also master the culinary arts. That’s how they truly bind a man to their side…”

As Pang Ding munched, he spoke with a touch of nostalgia, tears welling in his eyes.

“Still so fat and yet eats so much…” Aelia couldn’t help but tease, utterly unimpressed by his talk of cooking skills.

But whether she cared or not, someone else did.

“Pah! You call this fat? I’m… plump! Yes, that’s it…” Pang Ding said, glancing at another stout man in the crowd, making Ger shudder.

“I used to be slimmer than him, a standard handsome man, way more attractive than your captain, Luo Yong!”

“It’s just… for Belinda, I won’t let any other woman see my charming looks!”

At that, he swallowed a large bite in one gulp, casually wiped the grease off his sword, and retracted it.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Luo Yong wasn’t about to waste time on what the self-deprecating fat man looked like before. He pressed on, “Do you know anything or not?”

“What question? What question?” Pang Ding squinted at Luo Yong, thinking for a moment before saying, “Oh, the various forms of the Scarlet Spider Queen Adela? I don’t know much—just that her primary form is a colossal spider, mountain-sized. There’s a half-spider, half-human form, also enormous enough to devour dragons. Then there’s the fully human form, supposedly with overwhelming power, said to have sunk an entire continent… But after that, she mysteriously disappeared. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curious,” Luo Yong replied indifferently.

“Boring,” Pang Ding said emotionlessly, waving his hand dismissively. “But don’t think you can chase me off so easily. From now on, I’m sticking with you. Wherever you go, I go, until you resurrect Belinda for me!”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll just…” Luo Yong gestured vaguely. Though the others didn’t understand, Pang Ding did.

“Not afraid,” Pang Ding shook his head, bobbing it like he was completely at ease. “I’ve already had a sorcerer cast a curse on me. If I don’t fulfill my wish, even if I die, I’ll haunt you until it’s done. Death won’t set me free!”

“Cough, that’s ruthless!” Luo Yong didn’t expect to meet someone willing to throw away their life so casually.

It also revealed the depth of his obsession.

“Belinda must have been a great cook!” Luo Yong said.

“Of course! Not to brag, but no one in this world can cook better than her!” Pang Ding smiled proudly, almost intoxicated by the memory. “You have no idea the kinds of delicious things I’ve tasted!”

At that, seemingly driven by hunger or just the thought of good food, the fat man stuffed another large chunk of roasted meat into his mouth.

“Hmm, your roast here is just enough to survive—far from good!” He ate while complaining, giving off a slightly irritating vibe.

“This is troublesome…” Luo Yong sighed, exchanging a glance with Wendy before shaking his head.

This Pang Ding was too high-level. Without a level 20 Reaper Dragonfly item here, there was truly no way to handle him.

Even now, if he wished to lash out, no one could stop him.

And he had already made his intentions clear…

Luo Yong wasn’t unwilling to help, but until he completed the task the elven lady had entrusted him with, he couldn’t recklessly use resurrection magic. Past experiences had taught him harsh lessons.

He was determined not to let history repeat itself.

Moreover, for now, Luo Yong preferred not to use high-level magic prematurely. Unless farming monsters, he wouldn’t even equip rune gems.

“Alright, everyone, have you all eaten enough?” Luo Yong looked around and saw his teammates nodding, then opened the gate to the secret realm.

“Huh? An intermediate secret realm?” Pang Ding looked somewhat surprised, then suddenly realized, “No wonder... If there’s an intermediate secret realm, the lower-level ones are useless. Selling them off makes sense.”

Luo Yong frowned silently, unwilling to comment further.

That embarrassing past of being fooled probably would never fade…

“Let’s go.”

Without further ado, Luo Yong stepped inside.

“Luo Yong!”

Wendy quickly followed, whispering nervously, “What about that fat guy… Pang Ding? Are we taking him into the secret realm too?”

“Let him hang in the sky. He’s so fat; he won’t starve anytime soon,” Aelia said unkindly as she passed by Luo Yong.

She had zero fondness for the blabbermouth and wasn’t moved by his story.

Everyone has stories these days!

The question is, do you have the drinks to go with them?

“He’s crazy. Better not anger him for now,” Luo Yong pondered. He decided not to give him too much hope, but also not to make him feel utterly hopeless.

In short, after some time, when his team’s levels rose, there’d be no need to fear him.

The Sky Brigade? The Fearless Squad? All to be crushed!

“Witness the Gale!” Luo Yong murmured and waved his hand. Everyone, along with twenty or so Reaper Dragonflies, entered the Forest Secret Realm. Pang Ding was brought in too.

“Wendy, lead the team ahead. I’ll take this guy another way,” Luo Yong said, handing her the secret realm key.

“Huh? You’re not coming with us?” Wendy looked worried, gripping Luo Yong’s hand tightly.

“No problem. I need to talk to him. We’ll communicate via Reaper Dragonflies and regroup later.” Luo Yong pointed to Pang Ding, still tightly controlled by the dragonflies.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

“All right, be careful,” Wendy nodded, hugging Luo Yong firmly before leading the team forward.

The journey was far from peaceful.

With a dozen Reaper Dragonflies clearing the way, they advanced swiftly and effortlessly.

Two of the luckier new members occasionally looted good items—scrolls or gems.

Meanwhile, Luo Yong, accompanied by a dozen or so Reaper Dragonflies and tactical scrolls, launched a relentless assault within the secret realm.

“Although your combat power isn’t impressive, your farming speed isn’t bad!” Pang Ding, carried by the dragonflies without needing to walk, watched and commented like a seasoned expert feeling lonely.

“I’m capped at this level. Otherwise, I’d be stronger,” Luo Yong replied casually. “Even if I were a true necromancer, I’d need to reach level 20 to use resurrection. But being capped, there’s no way…”

“Eh?!” Pang Ding’s eyes widened as he rapidly processed Luo Yong’s words, assessing their truth.

“Unless I find and kill the legendary Adela… but that’s harder than reaching the heavens,” Luo Yong sighed.

“Reaching the heavens isn’t hard…” Pang Ding murmured, moving his short legs, then performing a sort of void step.

“….”

Luo Yong shot him a glare. “Get the idea! Not everyone can float! Even if reaching the heavens is easy, what about Adela? Is she easy?”

“Uh… that’s pretty difficult!” Pang Ding admitted.

“The only remaining option is—” Luo Yong pointed forward just as a Reaper Dragonfly landed a kill, felling a tree-stump-like monster that dropped a scroll.

“See if you’re lucky enough to get a [Necromancy] scroll, then you can do a job change!” Luo Yong waved his hand, letting the dragonfly put him down.

“Wow!” Pang Ding exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Once his feet touched the ground, he glided forward, performing a low flight. How he managed it was a mystery—just like another fat man who always appeared beside Wendy at critical moments.

“Is the drop rate in this realm really this high?” Pang Ding moved so fast he blurred, chasing after every scroll that dropped.

Though none were the two he wanted, that didn’t stop him from collecting them all.

He was shameless.

Swish!

After a while, growing impatient, he activated a tactical scroll, casting fireballs one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions echoed as Pang Ding rampaged like a demon, clearing vast areas in no time.

But—

As he searched everywhere, he found no dropped scrolls.

No gems, no gold…

Nothing at all.

“Why?! Why don’t I see any scrolls?” Pang Ding shouted at Luo Yong, who was leisurely flying atop a Reaper Dragonfly.

“Are you still asking why? You African, don’t you have the slightest clue about your own loot drops?” Luo Yong snapped.

This idiot had just gone berserk, recklessly bombing everything.

Several Reaper Dragonflies had already been destroyed by his explosions.

In just a short while, Luo Yong’s remaining dozen or so had dwindled to eight.