After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

"Damn it, this is my item!"

No. 009 flew into a rage, tearing off his mask to reveal a head of spiky blonde hair.

Someone recognized his identity, Gana the "Hedgehog" from South Rock City, a Star-ranked adventurer!

Gana, who wielded Water-based Fighting Spirit, was determined to obtain the Azure Sword, and just as it was within his grasp, the Doomsday Sect had to meddle, how could he not be furious?

The Water-based Fighting Spirit enveloped him in a pale blue radiance as cold murderous intent flashed in Gana's eyes, he charged toward the sect member,

At that moment, a figure in a black robe with a blue Oni Horn Mask chuckled and stepped forward, blocking Gana with a great sword.

Their fighting spirits collided, exploding with a boom and forcing them apart.

Both retreated a few steps, evenly matched.

Clearly, this sect member was also a Star-ranked adventurer!

"Monkey, don't steal it, I had already reserved that weapon!"

The man turned back frantically, looking at the sect member who had grabbed the Azure Sword.

"First come, first served!" the monkey boasted while brandishing his twin blades, his eyes behind the mask gleaming with a bloody light, "Wonder whose soul shall I sacrifice to our Demon God..."

"Doomsday Sect rats, daring to show up in White Dove City!?"

A VIP wearing a leopard mask burst out of her robe and mask, revealing a head of brown hair and an explosive figure.

Powerful Battle Qi gushed from the woman as she gripped her clawed weapon. She vanished with a swoosh and landed a punch on the Star-ranked sect member's head!

In Lin Da's view, a blood-red "-9999" appeared,

The Life Barrier on the latter's head was pierced, unable to dodge in time, he was smashed directly in the skull by the clawed woman, shattering his head.

A fatal strike, instant death!

The crowd suddenly became spirited.

"It's Wild Panther Gite!"

"With so many Star-ranked adventurers here, have the Doomsday Sect's brains been caught in a door, attacking the auction?"

"Everyone, the situation is urgent, let's join forces first!"

The adventurers quickly united.

Because of the Doomsday Sect's raid, several had met their untimely death.

The target of these cultists was the treasure of the auction, which ironically placed Lin Da, seated at the back row, in a relatively safe position.

"Group Healing."

As his voice fell, he cast a large green Array above the heads of the crowd.

The warm healing light descended, dispersing the chill in the hall.

"A Grand Healer? Thanks!"

The Elf Swordsman with tag number 231 happily touched the wound on her arm, which had stopped bleeding.

Lin Da's healing output was far above that of a regular Healer, leading those who were treated to believe he was a Grand Healer who had reached level 20 and advanced.

Lin Da did not explain but nodded, "Anyone injured, call for aid immediately, and I will provide healing as quickly as possible!"

The crowd arranged their formation, with non-frontline professions retreating to the rear while Swordsmen and Heavy Armored Warriors took the forefront.

At that moment, the most intense fighting was happening in the front row, where magic and Battle Qi were going off wildly, leaving no opportunity for adventurers under level 30 to intervene.

Gite was caught in a hard fight, with many Star-ranked members among the Doomsday Sect.

The leader, a woman wearing a Flower Cat mask, known to the other cult members as 'Lady Bai Mian.'

This Lady Bai Mian had deep magic power, seemingly at a higher level than Gite, her weapon a black dagger imbued with malevolent corrupting power that seemed to threaten life with the slightest touch.

Gite fought with difficulty, restrained, unable to exert her full strength.

"Is this person their leader?"

Confusion marred Lin Da's features as he grew even more puzzled about the reason the other party had warned him to leave.

The goal of the Doomsday Sect was to kill all adventurers, paving the way for the Demon King's arrival. And Lin Da was clearly one of these adventurers, so why would Lady Bai Mian show him leniency?

Recalling the familiar aura from that person, Lin Da felt a sense of déjà vu mixed with much strangeness, unable to pinpoint where he had encountered it before.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as thirty to forty Doomsday Sect members launched an attack,

The horns on their ghost masks were all green.

According to the game settings, green Oni Horns corresponded to level 20, while blue denoted the Star Rank of level 30.

Among the attacking sect members was the twin-bladed monkey.

Lin Da's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he raised his hand to throw a Venom Magic Sphere!

Someone was even faster than him and had also set sights on the monkey.

It was the Joker-masked No. 311.

"Evildoer, die!"

311, wielding an ordinary sword of blue quality, had Flames Sword Qi swirling around it, launching a vicious slash at the monkey.

The monkey, however, let out a weird laugh, blocking 311's attack, and his other blade aimed at 311's head,

At that moment, the Venom Magic Sphere arrived. Sensing the threat within, the monkey had to withdraw his attack, and his long blade merely grazed the mask on 311's face.

Crack!

311's mask fell off and the hood on her head tumbled aside.

Vibrant red hair cascaded down, dancing in the fierce wind.

Lin Da found her somewhat familiar, such a hair color was quite rare in White Dove City.

However, the person he knew had waist-length hair, whereas this one had tied it into a small ponytail.

311 drew in a deep breath, her gaze fierce and focused on the twin-bladed monkey.

Thinking to herself, none of these cultist scum from the evil sect shall be spared!

But on her own, she would struggle to kill that ape which was at least level 28. She hesitated for a moment and, taking advantage of a pause for breath, she turned to look at number 412.

She knew who was beneath that mask. She yelled, "Help me, I'm going to kill that bastard!"

When the girl's face came into his view, Lin Da was slightly taken aback.

The face filled with stubbornness and rage belonged to none other than the leader of the Snow Goose team, Lia!

She didn't issue a capricious order but instead made a request.

Having not seen her for several days, Lia seemed to have undergone some kind of change.

"This is something I also want to do."

"Verdant Shield!"

With a formidable enemy before him, Lin Da didn't hesitate and raised his hand to release his skill.

The Light Shield that had once appeared on the screen now enveloped him, and Lia couldn't help but feel incredibly complex emotions.

She could roughly feel how terrifying the thickness of this shield was; blocking a level 20 Swordsman's strike wouldn't be an issue.

But Lin Da's Level Aura... was only around 16.

Lia put aside the slight envy in her heart and applied the 'Energy Charging' skill, then with the Light Shield, she darted toward the ape like a bullet!

"The young mistress of the Mandala family?" The ape recognized Lia's identity and became even more excited, charging at her without dodging, "Rock-Smashing Strike!"

"Flame Slash!"

Blades clashed and the ripples from the colliding Battle Qi swept across the surroundings.

Lin Da narrowed his eyes towards the front where a red -1800 appeared above the ape's head, while Lia only had the outer layer of her Verdant Shield broken.

Frustrated curses erupted beneath the ape's mask, as one hand reached towards its back for the 'Azure Sword'.

This weapon possessed the Water Series trait, which could suppress the Fire Fighting Qi effectively.

"Don't even think about it!"

Lia's eyebrows shot up as she launched an attack with her long sword like a fierce storm.

Forced to fight, the ape's dual blades slashed toward her shoulders.

But at that moment, a second Emerald Light Shield descended!

With the Verdant Shield powered by Lin Da's 5200 Hit Points maximum, the thickness reached 1560, almost able to withstand all attacks excluding Ultimate Skills.

This resulted in the ape being unable to reduce Lia's Hit Points, while Lia's sword could chop half of the ape's life away with each strike.

Lia internally whooped in delight.

With this uninterrupted Light Shield, she could completely forsake defense and focus purely on output!

Whenever Doomsday Sect members from other directions attacked her, Lin Da would use a simplified version of his unique terminology to alert her.

Three years earlier, Lia had been made by Lin Da to memorize this set of terminology by rote.

Therefore, in battle, she didn't have to think at all; she could leave everything to Lin Da and maximize her combat effectiveness to the fullest.

The long-missed feeling of exhilaration returned to Lia; in the fight for her life against members of the Doomsday Sect, she became more and more excited as if she were playing the 'obstacle carriage' game, facing the sprint straightaway that served as a bonus round with not a single obstacle in sight.

She didn't have to wait for Phyllis's nagging and always late-in-coming commands. The steady voice behind her could always predict the enemy's movements.

As long as Lia followed Lin Da's instructions, she became like a Witch who had learned foresight, easily dodging all of the enemy's attacks!

For a moment, she even felt the illusion that the two of them were 'comrades'.

Her body was willing to be controlled by the person behind her!

"Explosive Flame Slash."

Lin Da shouted out.

"Ohhhh!"

Lia screamed out, like the protagonist in a hot-blooded novel, raising her long sword high above her head.

The Flames burned ferociously, turning into a massive three-meter-long Sword of Light, the level 20 Ultimate Skill – Explosive Flame Slash!

"Fuck!"

The ape turned white with fear.

It couldn't understand how this woman, after taking commands from number 412, had risen several levels in combat effectiveness, leaving no flaws in her movements!

"Charge!"

At that moment, Lin Da was like a Pokémon trainer, his right hand pointing at the ape as he issued the attack order.

Lia transformed into a fiery beast, as the Explosive Flame Slash ruthlessly struck the ape!

"Waaaahhh!"

The ape let out a long, drawn-out shriek, as if a baseball had been hit and flew, crashing through the ceiling to expose the bright night sky above.

It turned into a falling star, vanishing into the heavens.

Just shy of saying 'I'll be back!'

Defeating this terrorist from the Doomsday Sect was certainly satisfying, but Lin Da did not forget that the Azure Sword was on the body of the ape.

Without a second thought, he sprung up with a 'hey' and followed through the hole in the ceiling to the outside, looking for where the ape had landed.

"Haha, I won!"

Lia wiped the sweat from her forehead with her little hand, her face beaming with a radiant smile as she turned to look at Lin Da.

That green Light Shield had piqued Lia's interest.

If someone in her team could master this move, she was confident they could surpass the White Dove Adventure Group and ascend to even higher floors within a year!

The Energy Charging's biggest concern for Lia was being interrupted, but with the Emerald Light Shield, she could maximize the power of every move.

Having personally experienced the thickness of the Light Shield, even if Lia was reluctant, she had to admit in her heart: Lin Da was no longer a hindrance to her.

…

(ps: Added character cards, folks, go ahead and give it a red heart!)