Chapter 126: The Name of Boja

Buzz...

The Holy Light Guardian’s magic was fading, and the Domain of Holy Light began to shrink.

There was no helping it. This Demonic Secret Realm was unlike any other he had encountered before; it was far too malevolent. Luo Yong had no choice but to activate the Secret Realm Gate, intending to leave and reassess the situation from the outside.

Just then, a light-and-shadow figure wreathed in black mist darted rapidly toward him from the distance.

"Huh?"

Luo Yong sensed it carefully and realized it was his miserly spider. He had been so busy grinding monsters and leveling up that he had completely forgotten about it. He never expected that even in this Demonic Secret Realm—a place where Luo Yong himself couldn't easily venture deep—the creature would still be its old self, stripping everything clean and refusing to leave a single thing behind.

It seemed that it had scavenged quite a bit of loot from the battlefield, which was why it was coated in such thick, dark miasma.

*Sizzle!*

As it entered the Domain of Holy Light, it released a massive burst of black mist, instantly engulfing Luo Yong. The Domain of Holy Light nearly collapsed on the spot!

*Whoosh!*

Sensing the intense malice within that black mist, the Holy Light Guardian immediately unleashed a bolt of holy light, striking the miserly spider while causing the Domain of Holy Light to flare with brilliant radiance. Because the area had shrunk, the power was more concentrated, rapidly dispersing the dark miasma.

A moment later, Luo Yong stepped out through the Secret Realm Gate and appeared at the Stonehenge. The protective barrier of the Stonehenge was already flickering. He had opened the gate, which triggered the protective barrier, but the incident with the miserly spider had delayed him. Consequently, the duration of the barrier was up, and it was about to dissipate.

"Oh? This guy is all alone?"

A small squad of thirteen or fourteen people stood guard outside the Stonehenge, all turning their eyes toward Luo Yong.

"Could it be... that he wiped out his own teammates to get his hands on something?!"

"What kind of thing could be worth that?"

"Not necessarily. While crazed people exist, they are rare; you might not meet one in a lifetime."

"Maybe he owns a secret realm all to himself!"

The group chatted, not bothering to lower their voices, relying on their numbers as if they were speaking deliberately for Luo Yong to hear.

"One person... owning a secret realm?! How unfair is that!" Some of them muttered gloomily at the thought.

"Yeah, many squads don't even have a single secret realm of their own. If someone could possess one exclusively, it would truly be a travesty of justice!"

"A travesty of justice? And if it is, so what?"

Several of them saw that the Secret Realm Gate within the Stonehenge had closed, and no one else was coming out. Only a lone human hero dressed as a mercenary stood there. As the protective barrier began to fade, they couldn't help but feel tempted to act.

"Why..."

Luo Yong looked at them and sighed helplessly. He had just escaped a place filled with malice and hadn't even gone far before he encountered malice from strangers once again.

"Oh? It seems you’ve already figured it out."

A human hero dressed like a pirate stepped forward, shaking his head and chin held high. "No reason. We just happened to run into you. Consider it our luck and your misfortune. Hand over the secret realm key, and we might let you go."

"Luck has always been on my side," Luo Yong said emotionlessly.

Given his drop rates when killing monsters and the sheer luck he had when spending money, Pang Ding would be the first to disagree if anyone claimed he lacked luck—even if Pang Ding wasn't here right now.

"Is that so?"

Another hero—a bald man, his class unclear, wearing an eyepatch and carrying a curved blade on his back—stepped forward as well. "Even if you had some luck in the past, managing to get a secret realm key that others couldn't obtain in a lifetime, from the moment you met us, that good luck will no longer favor you!"

"Everything is now in the past tense!"

"You'd better be obedient, or we won't be so polite."

"Even if you are a mercenary who might have seen some battle and has some tricks to save your life, you could never be our match!"

By this time, having confirmed no one was there to back him up and that Luo Yong was truly alone, the people behind him showed their true colors. One after another, they spoke up: "Besides what was just said, you must gouge out your own eyes and cut off your tongue to ensure you can't talk about what happened here. Only then might you have a chance to live a miserable life afterward!"

"Oh! My god! Another tragic story! Hahahaha! I love this feeling!" The group talked among themselves.

"Though you all look quite ugly, you sure have beautiful imaginations!" Luo Yong observed them carefully. Their levels seemed to be between 14 and 17, though there might be a margin of error of a level or two. After all, judging levels based solely on magical fluctuations was prone to mistakes; not everyone had the appraisal ability of someone like Ger.

"Don't think about resisting, or you'll die a miserable death!" the first one to step out warned.

"..."

Luo Yong pondered how he should respond. There were over a dozen of them; if he tried to cut his way through alone, he would be at a significant disadvantage. He couldn't help but think of Pang Ding—if it were him, a single charge would likely have left them all dead. But Luo Yong was still in his early stages, and he was in a hurry to level up, lacking the process of strengthening his combat power, solidifying his foundation, and honing his skills.

Using a tactical scroll to steamroll them with basic attacks would be letting them off too easy. These villains didn't deserve a comfortable death!

"Sigh! I won't be able to learn the Spear-Shaking Technique until level 20!"

Luo Yong sighed and raised the key to the Demonic Secret Realm in his hand...

In truth, for a fleeting moment, Luo Yong had considered luring them into that evil secret realm. He could just turn around, open the gate, and rush in. Once they followed, they would be met with endless monsters and the constant corrosive force of the realm. But then, Luo Yong reconsidered; he was suddenly very curious about how the Empress's Petrification skill would affect human heroes.

Creating a collection of stone statues around the Stonehenge...

That idea was so creative he could practically sell tickets!

*Cough.*

For some reason, Luo Yong had been thinking a lot about selling tickets lately, wanting to sit back and earn money without doing any work.

"Alright, show them! Stone them all!"

Luo Yong held up the Empress figurine and aimed it at the group opposite him.

Then...

A breeze blew by.

Leaves scattered.

The world seemed somewhat bleak.

The two sides stared at each other, and during that time, it was as if something had happened, yet also as if nothing had happened at all...

The word "awkward" was written clearly across Luo Yong's face.

"Hey, give me a little face here!"

Luo Yong reached out and poked it, trying to manually activate the magical combat doll.

"Is this guy trying to put on a monkey show?!" the bald man asked.

"Hmph, he must be playing dumb to deceive us!" someone next to him said.

"Not only is he an idiot himself, he thinks we're idiots too!"

"How dare he look down on us? Unforgivable!"

The group began to clamor, and a few of the more aggressive ones started walking toward Luo Yong.

"Hmph!"

A sound of cold fury rang out, sharp as metal striking stone.

A tall woman with an exceptionally striking appearance appeared before them. She stood with her back to Luo Yong, casting a sidelong glance at the group opposite before turning her head away, seemingly angry.

"Wow!"

"A great beauty!"

"How can such a beautiful woman exist in this world!"

"Oh! My god, I’m in love!"

"Too beautiful!"

"Stay calm!" The bald man stepped out from the crowd, reaching out to stop his companions who were about to pounce. "Something is fishy. Be careful, don't let us capsize in the gutter!"

"Cough."

Luo Yong didn't know what was going on. Had he offended the Empress somewhere? Was she unhappy with him? He had just been killing monsters in the secret realm a moment ago; there was nothing wrong with that!

Wait!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck his mind, and Luo Yong seemed to understand.

"Help me take care of them, use your Petrification skill, and I’ll definitely come up with a nice name for you!"

"Hmph!"

The Empress turned her head away haughtily and said, "I don't want a common and childish name like Dodo!"

"Then..."

Luo Yong leaned in behind the Empress and whispered in a low voice, "Boa... how does that name sound?"

*Whoosh!*

The Empress’s body trembled suddenly, as if she had been struck by something.

"I... I have never heard such a beautiful name!"

She clutched her face in excitement, looking as if she had been moved by herself. However, noticing the rough-looking men opposite her staring at her with predatory eyes—eyes that were naked, unmasked, and filled with desire—her expression hardened.

"Hmph! Foolish creatures, you don't deserve to live in this world!"

Empress Boa said coldly, as if passing judgment. She reached her hands out, forming a large heart shape. Then, she gave the pink heart a sharp squeeze—

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Several pink arrows shot out!

"Danger! Dodge!"

"No! It's the arrow of love! Those who are struck by it..."

Faced with the Empress's Petrification skill, the dozen or so people reacted in different ways: some raised their shields in defense; some opened their arms to embrace the arrows; some had drooling, lecherous expressions; others swung their swords to block.

However, no one took the pink arrows seriously, and consequently, no one was able to escape the attack.

"Strictly speaking, Petrification should count as a type of curse, right?"

Luo Yong strolled over to the group of stone figures, observing them at close range. He couldn't help but wonder to himself, why didn't the Cursed Witch, Alia, have this kind of ability?

*Tsk, tsk.*

That woman was always obsessed with money, money, money, and poison, poison, poison...