My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 35: Even If I Can Only Be a Three-Minute Hero
"Brave man, Master Huang is not here, and the people you’re looking for aren’t here either. I really don’t know where they are."
The steward of the Huang Mansion was hanging from the beam, his face swollen and bruised, with dark circles around his eyes.
Li Rui was displeased because he hadn’t found He Chengli and Zhang Xiaoguang yet.
"I’m asking you, where is the little girl? The one you captured yesterday."
"Wh-what little girl?"
The steward was startled, not understanding why this troublemaker started attacking as soon as he entered. The household staff were no pushovers, some were skilled hands hired from the martial world, and some were former bandits.
He initially planned to find a few people to tie up this reckless brat and throw him into the dungeon, to be dealt with later with the old and weak ones.
However, to his surprise, one wave after another of people were dealt with, and in the end, that guy fought his way into the inner hall.
Beside the steward was a skilled hand, who had trained in a mountain sect but was expelled for dastardly deeds. Apparently, he was evading old enemies here in Gu Xuan Town, and was recruited by the Huang Mansion. The steward had seen him kill three people with a chopstick without even blinking.
Such a tough guy didn’t even last two moves against the young man; a sweep of the longsword, and his head was gone.
The steward already knew how formidable the young man was but didn’t understand how he was so certain they had captured someone.
Li Rui paced back and forth in front of the steward with a crude blade stolen from a guard on his shoulder: "Looks like you don’t plan to tell the truth."
He sneered: "I was being polite just now with a slap, but since you’re not talking, I guess I have to get serious."
The steward was puzzled: Polite? You call a longsword sweep polite?
He quickly stopped thinking about that, for he saw the tip of the blade heading directly for his privates.
"No, no, no!! I’ll tell you!! Won’t that do?!"
Swing—
The blade halted an inch from his vital parts; had Li Rui’s physique been a bit less precise, it wouldn’t have been so accurate.
The steward was drenched in sweat, only lamenting that he couldn’t draw in his privates for safety.
"I think they brought back a kid yesterday, in the cellar of the side courtyard. All the newly captured are there; the others were taken outside the town, but I really don’t know exactly where. I only know it seems to be some farmhouse, a watermelon farm."
Li Rui narrowed his eyes: Watermelon?
He subdued everyone inside the Huang Mansion and moved on after completing some side quests, intending to ignore the crying woman at the entrance. But her wailing was too pitiful, and he couldn’t bear it.
"Uh, ma’am, I’ve found clues about your daughter. Wait a little; I’ll bring her back soon, don’t worry."
The girl was actually in the mansion’s cellar, but Li Rui couldn’t complete the task now; he could only reassure her for the moment.
Upon hearing this, the woman finally stopped crying and expressed her gratitude incessantly, whether it was true or not.
Though she didn’t know what had happened in the mansion, she had witnessed Li Rui’s skills subduing the guards at the entrance and chose to trust him.
Li Rui looked up at the sky: "It’s really going to rain, huh."
He sighed, unsure if his previous failed attempts to find He Chengli were due to bad luck or not choosing the right main questline.
Looking on the bright side, he confirmed that that guy was definitely born in Yujiang Ghost Garden; he just didn’t know if he had already failed and exited the game.
Better hurry over there.
...
He Chengli hadn’t failed yet.
With rare-quality equipment, he fought and retreated, with Zhang Xiaoguang helping to buy time using traps, just barely managing to run circles around the Corpse Demons in the ghost garden.
Though a rich second-generation, he didn’t have much of the playboy behavior. He was quite loyal and, knowing the other three were not as strong, chose to cover the rear himself.
Despite this, he was still in a sorry state, with his clothing torn in many places, and a light wound from corpse poison on his face, along with a damage reduction debuff.
"Hold on! I’m almost done!"
Zhang Xiaoguang quickly activated a skill, creating a blade trap using sections of Corpse Dog fangs on the ground, "Hurry over!"
He Chengli naturally turned back immediately; the two had developed some tacit teamwork through their battles.
As he circumvented the trap, Zhang Xiaoguang formed a seal with both hands, completing the second phase of the skill, making the trap invisible. The charging Corpse Demons collided with it, and several were pierced through.
"That’s amazing!" Wu Xing’s impression of this trap master greatly improved.
"But we have to figure out how to deal with that thing! Otherwise, we won’t be able to escape for long!"
He Chengli was referring to the level 10 Elite Monster among the Corpse Demons, the stitched corpse demon.
Among the horde of demons, it was the tallest, composed of withered corpse parts stitched together, with its right claw holding a fine iron chain that dragged on the ground, jingling.
He Chengli had seen it before. Where it struck, sparks flew, and soil and rocks were sent flying; if hit directly in the head, you’d die on the spot.
The originally independent random events and diverse demon groups became organized and disciplined once this guy appeared, significantly raising their threat level. So, targeting this leader was the right idea.
"What should we do?" Zhang Xiaoguang asked.
The two girls used the terrain to topple fake mountains and block the door to buy time, but they had no skills and could only do similar tasks.
Seeing this, He Chengli’s eyes lit up: "Quick, use this time, Zhang Xiaoguang, make a slowing trap. I noticed the Elite Monster is immune to slow effects; the other Corpse Demons will be outpaced, and Wu Xing and Mei Meng, find some stuff to block the door and hold off the slowed Corpse Demons, then we’ll try to quickly surround and kill it in the courtyard!"
The other three had no strong opinions, so they agreed.
Zhang Xiaoguang felt his Spiritual Power was already half depleted, but he could still make a slowing trap. He Chengli exchanged a minor wound for a short time to activate the trap, and events unfolded as planned. The Corpse Demon horde charged into the slowed area and was immediately trapped, while the stitched corpse demon stood out, coming forward.
He Chengli served as bait, leading it into the spacious courtyard. The two girls quickly moved the prepared broken pillars and collapsed bricks to block the door.
Though the Corpse Demons were minor foes, they were still powerful. Even with the door blocked, they could break through quickly, exploiting their lower intelligence.
In short, the time left for the four of them to slay the Corpse Demon was running out.
He Chengli was quite brave; seeing the plan succeed, he charged towards the Corpse Demon with his sword. All he could rely on was his equipment, as his family couldn’t provide him with attributes, skills, or talents. Even when he reached level 9, he, like most people, could only rely on physical strength for hard combat.
"Hah—"
The longsword in his hand emitted a burst of blue light, indicating a passive piercing ability.
Slash!
The sword struck true, piercing the chest cavity of the Corpse Demon.
He Chengli was greatly invigorated and was just about to deliver the finishing blow when he heard a clanging sound; chains had entangled his ankle.
The Corpse Demon, stitched together from many Corpse Monsters, had no heart or lungs. The chest cavity was not its vital spot; instead, it seized the moment when He Chengli was airborne to bind him.
Splurt!
Blood splattered everywhere as He Chengli screamed in agony, falling to the ground, his left lower leg completely vanished.
Wu Xing and Zhang Xiaoguang were somewhat startled, but it was the shy Mei Meng who charged forward wielding a broken stone column.
Boom!
The intricately carved column shattered to pieces, causing the Corpse Demon to stagger. This girl had evidently invested heavily in physical strength.
At this point, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wu Xing snapped out of it, each grabbing a weapon and rushing in to attack the Corpse Demon from different directions.
No matter what, they had to be quick. Once the Corpse Monsters blocked outside the door broke through, they would all die on the spot.
Bam!
Yet another heavy chain blow, and Zhang Xiaoguang was knocked back, somersaulting across the ground several times before coming to a stop.
The monstrous excuse for a mouth of the Corpse Demon let out a roar as it turned to settle the next target, only to find its legs suddenly entangled by something.
Looking down, it saw a light-forged rope from a snare trap tightly binding it.
In fact, Zhang Xiaoguang hadn’t been scared; he was using his skills to set up a trap. He hadn’t expected He Chengli to fall instantly. Once the trap was ready, he pretended to rush up and slash while quietly setting the trap at the Corpse Demon’s feet.
"Hit him!"
With a shout, Mei Meng and Wu Xing charged forward, unleashing their level 7 and 8 physical strength on the monster.
Chunks of the Corpse Demon’s flesh fell away, visibly weakening it, yet it managed to break free from the binding trap.
Bam Bam!
The two girls were also swept away by the chains, their mouths trickling with blood.
At that moment, with a piercing sound, the Corpse Demon’s chest was once again stabbed through by a sword. Despite the pain, He Chengli leapt up on one leg, clinging to the Corpse Demon and relentlessly thrusting the longsword back and forth into its body.
The Corpse Demon howled and struggled, twisting madly, but only caused the rare-quality longsword’s blade to keep slicing its flesh from within.
At this point, Zhang Xiaoguang, dragging his injured body, rushed in again, wielding a scavenged weapon to continue his assault.
Finally, with an unwilling roar, the Corpse Demon collapsed to the ground.
"Quick, go, more Corpse Monsters are coming."
The four didn’t have time to rejoice; the cost of killing this Elite Monster was too high.
Yet, at that moment, with a loud boom, the blocked courtyard door burst open, revealing a horde of Corpse Monsters at the entrance.
"Run!"
Zhang Xiaoguang shouted, urging everyone to retreat together.
Wu Xing and Mei Meng obeyed, immediately running for their lives despite their injuries.
However, when they turned their heads, they saw a lone figure moving in the opposite direction.
He Chengli leaned on his sword, limping towards the horde of Corpse Monsters.
"I’ll hold them off. Anyway, I can’t run anymore. You guys go."
His voice trembled with fear, for the inevitable end of staying behind alone was to be torn apart by the swarm.
But his faltering steps remained resolute.
Ever since he was young, he dreamed of becoming a hero, someone who could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and earn the reverence of countless people at critical moments.
He felt that at least now he had the chance.
Even if he could only be a hero for three minutes, even if the audience was only three people.
As he passed the two girls, he forced a smile, pretending to be relaxed, but it looked quite awful.
Zhang Xiaoguang wanted badly to go back and help or carry He Chengli on his back and run together, but fear rooted his legs in place.
All three were torn; they were young and not cold-hearted, having fought alongside each other all this way. Calling it friendship might be a stretch, but they simply didn’t want to abandon their teammate.
However, at that moment, new notifications struck their hearts like a bolt from the blue.
[Random Event Triggered: Corpse Demon Resurrection]
[Mission Objective: Run! Shake it off!]
[Mission Reward: Experience Points +1100, Attribute Points +2, One Piece of Exceptional Quality Equipment.]
Good news: No more dilemmas.
Bad news: Everyone’s doomed.
