Chapter 265 - 180: Luo Di and Intelligence

Mission funds? This much?

Seeing how generous the Candlekeeper was, the Storyteller couldn’t help but rub his hands together in excitement.

’Our Candlekeeper is so generous. That guide NPC, Le Ti, was so stingy he only gave me the worst Spiritual Material. There’s just no comparison.’

"Alright, Candlekeeper!"

After taking the reward, the Storyteller left excitedly, preparing to head to the Shadow Cave again.

Watching the Storyteller leave in excitement,

Luo Ge, however, frowned slightly.

The Spirit Candle had just sent him another piece of feedback.

Since the latest version update, more players had encountered Firewood Thieves.

It seemed that as the war drew nearer, these vanguard-like Firewood Thieves were appearing with increasing frequency.

...

"Damn it, this Pot Head is here to cause trouble again!"

"This damn thing is a pain to fight, and it doesn’t even drop any Wax Oil when you kill it. The Combat Skills and Prayers it drops are useless, and the death penalty is super severe. It’s a total loss..."

"Should we just bail?"

Watching the silent Pot Head approach in its boat, the three players immediately began to complain in annoyance.

Firewood Thieves had actually been appearing quite often recently, but because most top players were focused on the Skeleton Forest and Gael’s Depression maps, they weren’t discussed as much.

But that didn’t mean players were ignoring the Firewood Thieves.

As the Firewood Thieves appeared more frequently, the players had more contact with them and learned more about them.

After all, no matter how terrifying a monster is, once you’ve died to it dozens or even hundreds of times, it’s hard to be afraid when you meet it again.

Thus, the Firewood Thieves gradually lost their sense of mystery and intimidation.

Many players discovered that the Firewood Thieves’ attack methods were actually nothing special.

Hitting you on the head, gutting you, summoning mobs, and some not-so-strong minor Prayers.

The main reason they put so much pressure on most players was their high Tier and Level, plus their high Blood Volume.

This was why most players had almost no way to fight back.

Furthermore, as time went on, players also discovered that these Firewood Thieves’ Tiers and Levels weren’t as high as before.

Some Firewood Thieves even had Levels lower than the players’.

...It was hard to say if this was good news or bad news...

"Let’s go... Let’s bail, let’s bail..."

After another round of complaints, the players decided to beat a hasty retreat.

After all, fighting a Firewood Thief was generally a strenuous and thankless job.

But just as the three players were about to turn around, they suddenly seemed to see something, then looked at each other in unison.

[You have encountered a Firewood Thief.]

[Attention: Damage dealt to or kills of Firewood Thief forces before the start of this major war will also be counted toward your War Contribution.]

It counts toward War Contribution!

’Well, now you’re talking!’

Although they didn’t know what War Contribution could be used for yet, based on their gaming experience, there was no doubt that the more of this stuff, the better!

After the war, they could probably exchange it for some amazing treasures!

At this thought,

the three players, who had just been looking gloomy, suddenly grew excited. They stared at the approaching Firewood Thief as if it were a giant, moving gold bar.

"So... are we still running?"

one player asked, hesitating slightly.

"Run? Hell no!"

"You get War Contribution and you still want to run? Even damage counts!"

"This guy is only Molten Slag Ash Tier!"

"But we’re only Molten Slag..."

"I don’t care! I’m getting that War Contribution anyway. As long as we store our Wax Oil and important gear, it won’t be a total loss. Even landing one hit is a win. Let’s get him!"

The three players, howling with excitement, immediately rowed their small boat toward the Firewood Thief...

In their battles, the players had also gained a lot of experience fighting Firewood Thieves, and one combat method was particularly effective.

Crowd control.

That’s right. These Firewood Thieves, who were adept at crowd control themselves, were also afraid of it.

Most of the Prayers they used required physical movements as a medium. As long as they were interrupted during this process, the Prayer couldn’t be cast successfully.

And since Firewood Thieves weren’t good at close combat, a successful interruption would nullify most of the threat.

It had to be said, the Firewood Thieves’ methods were indeed very intimidating, making it look like they could slaughter players as easily as chickens.

But this was only effective for a first-encounter kill.

After all, although the players were squishy with low Basic Attributes, their greatest advantage was that they weren’t afraid of death and had Resurrection.

Every death only made them stronger.

And so, after sacrificing one of their own, the three players successfully took down this Molten Slag Burning Point Firewood Thief.

[You have killed a Firewood Thief]

[War Contribution +7]

...

Even though it was daytime,

due to the version update, the number of online players was still high. However, since Sea Zone One wasn’t very popular with mainstream players, not many people went there.

However, after the three players’ recent messages in the world channel, the players who were bored being Prison Guards or grinding mobs suddenly got excited.

"You can get War Contribution even before the team battles start?"

"What’s War Contribution for?"

"No idea, but based on my experience, it’s definitely not useless. Just gotta hoard it."

"Sea Zone One, right? I’m fucking coming!"

"They’re appearing near Seaside Town, too."

"Didn’t someone say they ran into one in Gael’s Depression before?"

"These Firewood Thieves are getting more and more numerous."

"It must be because the Firewood Thieves are about to invade in the dynamic storyline. ’Yup, makes sense... perfect sense.’"

"Holy shit, does that mean solo dungeons will be truly solo now? The difficulty is going to skyrocket."