Chapter 137: Level 17

Fiona refused to be outdone and pounced at the first opportunity, yet no matter how precise her predictions were, the result always fell just a little bit short. The two girls began to bicker and scramble about, creating quite a chaotic and noisy scene.

However, neither Luo Yong nor Pang Ding was moved. One was as calm as still water, the other as steady as an old dog; neither blinked an eyelid.

A moment later, Luo Yong swapped out the cannon-wielding lady, and his lineup shifted to the magical girls. Ice, fire, lightning—a barrage of explosive magical spells rained down. At this stage, such a spectacle, with this kind of legion-style combat, was extremely rare.

This was especially true for the two young women. They stopped chasing each other and watched quietly as the magical girls, who wielded staves and danced while they fought, filled their eyes with envy.

"So amazing..." Fiona had always wanted to become a mage like that, but in the end, she had become a Holy Sword Knight, a fact that still left her with some regret.

"How long are you going to keep fighting like this?" Suzie asked.

"Until there are no more monsters rushing at me," Luo Yong said, devoid of emotion.

"..."

Suzie and Fiona exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes. This mercenary uncle must be a man with a story! Otherwise, why would he be so obsessed with grinding monsters?

"What's the point of fighting monsters? Better to use the time to do something productive!" Suzie glanced toward the only tunnel from which no monsters were emerging.

In fact, besides Luo Yong, Pang Ding was also feeling restless. Although he wanted Luo Yong to level up quickly so he could resurrect his beloved, that didn't stop him from doing other things in the meantime, such as finding relics left behind by ancient wizards. It was said to be a considerable fortune; whoever obtained it wouldn't necessarily become the wealthiest in the world, but they would certainly be able to dominate in Nazdak. And Pang Ding still felt a lingering grudge over his luck with the Ancient Devourer's lottery. He had gone so many times and spent almost all his wealth, only to end up with a Chef Lion...

"Old Luo!" Pang Ding suddenly tugged at Luo Yong. He had changed how he addressed him, as he couldn't always remember to call him "Zorro." If he slipped up and revealed Luo Yong's true identity, it would cause unnecessary trouble. Thus, he settled for a middle-ground nickname: "Old Luo."

"Grass..." Luo Yong thought of a plant, turned his head to look at Pang Ding, and asked with some confusion, "What is it?"

"Give me back the three items you took from me last time!" Pang Ding said solemnly.

"Huh?" Luo Yong was even more confused, wondering if someone had swapped this fat man out, or if he had a hidden personality that had just awakened. Still, judging by his expression, he seemed to be serious.

"Fine, fine, take them." Luo Yong took out three golden orbs and handed them to him, not wanting to bicker with a madman.

"This..." Pang Ding stared at the three golden orbs in his hands.

"This..." Suzie stared at the three golden orbs in Pang Ding’s hands.

"This..." Fiona stared at the three golden orbs in Pang Ding’s hands.

"These aren't my three!" Pang Ding said, clearly unhappy.

"Eh?" Fiona leaned in close, cautiously saying, "If you don't want them, could you transfer them to me? I can pay for them, or trade something for them."

"Don't give them to her!" Suzie said.

"What?" Fiona looked at her strangely. "Nobody is giving them to you. What are you talking about?!"

"I mean..." Suzie blushed, glared at her, then looked at Pang Ding and said huffily, "If you don't want them, give them to me..."

"Tsk!" Fiona flipped her the middle finger.

"The three items you drew were one gold, one silver, and one bronze. I couldn't be bothered to look for them, so I just gave you three gold ones to make do!" Luo Yong said dismissively.

"But I still want my three because those were the ones I drew myself, even if it was just one gold, one silver, and one bronze," Pang Ding said expressionlessly, displaying a bit of a "flex" before quickly stashing the three orbs away.

"Uh... Uncle!" Suzie leaned in from the other side. "Aren't you going to check what these three items are? Let us see and broaden our horizons!"

"Not in the mood," Pang Ding said coldly, waving a hand to keep her at a distance. "These things are basically just the categories you've already seen. The Magic Battle Puppet using the Holy Light Domain right in front of us is already extremely rare!"

"Eh?!"

Suddenly, Luo Yong froze. He realized that it was precisely because of these limitations that his time in the Demon Secret Realm was restricted. Otherwise... if there were more of these Magic Battle Puppets that could release a Holy Light Domain, couldn't he just keep grinding forever?!

Thinking of this, he began rummaging through his storage space for golden orbs, hoping to see what items might be inside. But after looking for a long time, he couldn't tell. Only after forming a contract could he know exactly what they were.

"So... many..." Fiona’s eyes went wide. She drifted over involuntarily, stood next to Luo Yong, and whispered, "Captain, how exactly can one obtain these magic items?"

"Oho..." On the other side, Suzie also leaned in, pricking up her ears to listen carefully.

"Don't bother me. When I reach level 17, I'll give one to each of you," Luo Yong said emotionlessly.

"..."

Both girls shut their mouths, neither saying another word. The atmosphere turned quiet. The two girls stood beside Luo Yong, waiting for him to fulfill his promise.

Meanwhile, Pang Ding took advantage of the lack of attention to slip into the shadows, moving silently toward the empty tunnel. A moment later, he returned just as silently, now carrying an object emitting a blue glow.

"Awooo!"

At that moment, all the monsters let out a simultaneous roar. The sound was so massive that the entire dungeon seemed to tremble. Strange magic power began to boil. The monsters pouring from the tunnels all seemed to have been blessed with a Bloodlust Aura, receiving a significant boost. They nearly broke through the defensive line established by the magical girls!

"Ah! Oh no!" Fiona cried out in alarm.

"Ah!!!" Suzie followed with a soul-piercing scream, which only made the monsters even more ferocious.

"Light of Annihilation!"

The magical girls chanted in unison, unleashing their ultimate ability. A dazzling light illuminated the hall and every tunnel leading toward it.

Whoosh...

In an instant, the intense magical fluctuations and powerful light-element magic wiped out all the oncoming monsters!

Luo Yong turned and glanced toward where Pang Ding had been. Even with his combat power—capable of pushing through level 20 opponents without a struggle—he couldn't help but close those selfish little eyes of his, eyes that could see others while others could not see him.

Amidst the blinding light, Luo Yong saw two spots on Pang Ding emitting a blue glow.

"That treacherous guy..."

Luo Yong looked at the tunnel that had originally been empty, now also covered by the Light of Annihilation. He realized that the guy hadn't been honest at all; he had indeed been eyeing the legendary treasure left by the wizard. It was precisely because all four items had been taken that the guardians of this place had all entered a bloodthirsty, berserk state.

"I might as well summon the Gatling lady and the Cannon lady again!"

Luo Yong sighed and changed his lineup. The sounds of gunfire once again echoed through the hall, carrying far into the dungeon. However, for the time being, no other party was capable of penetrating this deep into the region to witness such a scene. Influenced by this, monsters in other areas also surged out in large numbers, causing great trouble for the parties exploring the dungeon.

But... they should have been fully prepared for everything, otherwise, they wouldn't have risked entering the dungeon.

"Phew! That was close! So strong! Amazing! So..." After the light faded and she saw the scene before her, Fiona couldn't help but exclaim, her excitement beyond description.

"The combat power of this one person is equivalent to a whole brigade of mages in minutes!" Suzie sighed.

"Quiet," Luo Yong waved his hand, signaling them not to disturb his formation and monster-grinding.

"So cool and handsome! As expected of the Captain!" Fiona's eyes were filled with little hearts as she looked at Luo Yong.

"Hmph! Fangirl!" Suzie critiqued her mercilessly, then looked at Luo Yong, a strange gleam appearing in her own eyes as well. But soon, that gleam dimmed.

Pang Ding was also slightly surprised by the situation, though he didn't care much. No matter how dangerous this dungeon was, it couldn't be more dangerous than facing the Scarlet Spider Queen, Adela. Besides, he considered himself someone who could both fight and escape.

*Rat-tat-tat! Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The sound of the machine cannons continued for about three full days.

Finally—

"Leveled up."

Luo Yong let out a long sigh and checked his status; he had reached level 17. His secret medicine had been reinforced to level 12.

"Oh yeah!" Fiona jumped for joy. She had been bored to death during this time. Although the spectacle of the legion-style combat had been shocking at first, it became tedious after a while. Now that Luo Yong had finally leveled up, he could fulfill his previous promise...

"Uncle, um, you know, what we agreed on before..." Suzie tugged at Luo Yong's cloak, looking at him with eager, pleading eyes.

"Here."

Luo Yong took out two golden orbs and handed them over.

"Contract!"

After receiving the orb, Fiona immediately initiated the contract. A flash of light appeared...