Freedom Nation.
After recruiting two Spartan Warriors, Mark felt like a tiger with wings.
After several days of training, they were already able to handle the zombies on the road and travel normally.
Besides the Spartans, there was more good news: by clearing the Lich tower, they had successfully crafted a long-coveted item.
A Magic Map!
Just as Galen Yu had defeated the fifth boss and was entering the late game, nearing completion.
They had finally managed to craft a beginner item that should have been made right upon entering the Twilight Forest!
The audience was extremely excited.
"Nine Provinces knows how, and so do we!"
"It's just a map, how hard could it be? They talk as if no one else could make it!"
"Now we can clearly see the surroundings; even the bosses are marked!"
"Go Mark! Galen Yu can only be counted as someone who scouted the path for us to avoid pitfalls!"
"Yeah, without him, how would we know that the Minoshroom and Phantom Knight aren't that strong?"
"Just pay a little more attention to the Hydra; these monsters are too simple!"
This caused many Nine Provinces viewers to sneer.
It was just a map, yet they acted as if they had dug up a stack of diamonds after finally making it.
They couldn't understand what there was to be happy about!
If it were the Great God Galen Yu—oh right, wearing a full set of netherite armor, even a stack of diamonds wouldn't stir any emotion in him, would it?
Without the bullet chat, Mark could still analyze the situation.
'A few days ago during the Blood Moon, Galen Yu had already progressed to the Hydra. He might have found the map's crafting recipe early.'
O
'But regardless, jumping past the Minoshroom so quickly proves one thing.'
The third boss, the Minoshroom, isn't very strong!
Without letting his guard down, Mark led Jett and the two Spartan Warriors into the Labyrinth.
Just after climbing down the vines, they could see many Minotaurs present.
With the body of a man and the head of a bull, wielding battle-axes, they immediately ignited the Spartan Warriors' fighting spirit.
"Charge! Crush them!"
One Spartan held a shield and an iron spear, while the other carried a quiver and a regular bow for long-range support.
The spear had a range advantage, allowing it to strike the Minotaur from one block away, with the arrow following immediately after.
Once the first Minotaur was dealt with, the same fighting spirit spread to Mark.
"Let's go too!"
Coordinating with Jett, he took out an Ironwood Sword and chose a random direction to head in.
A huge Pinch Beetle appeared.
Its two massive pincers were very distinctive. As Mark lunged with his sword, the Pinch Beetle found its target and swung its huge pincers.
Snap!
Unwaveringly, it locked onto Mark.
"It hurts! This damn thing!"
A sudden immense force came from his waist; if not for his Naga Scale Armor, Mark felt like he would have been snapped in half!
Enduring the pain, he swung his sword to kill the Pinch Beetle, but as soon as he managed to kill one, a second one appeared.
Knowing this thing was hard to deal with, he wanted to avoid its edge, but the Pinch Beetle began to lower its pincers.
Whoosh!
After charging for a second or two, it lunged at Mark with even greater speed.
Getting pinched again, Mark's face contorted in pain.
"Jett, where are you? Come quickly and deal with this disgusting creature!"
Jett was nearby and intended to help, but before he could fire a few arrows...
Boom, boom, boom!
Intense heat emanated from his side, and fire from nowhere engulfed Jett.
"What? It's so hot!"
It was like the scorching sun piercing his heart as he bathed in a sea of flames.
Suffering from the burning pain, Jett chose to flee first, rolling on the ground once he reached safety to extinguish the flames.
These various developments were completely unexpected by the Freedom Nation audience.
"What's going on? Didn't they say the Minoshroom was the easiest boss to deal with?"
"I don't know about the boss, but how can Mark not even handle the mobs on the way?"
"It's not that the Pinch Beetle does no damage—Galen Yu could sit on it and play!"
"Fire Beetles aren't even enemies to Galen Yu, so where did this power come from?"
"He hasn't even seen the boss yet, and he's about to die?"
"Why is our Labyrinth different from Galen Yu's!"
It wasn't over yet.
Once the Spartan Warriors finished their fight, they came to resolve the battle for the two of them.
Taking a breath, Mark felt relieved.
"I'm glad I chose you!"
Without the two Spartan Warriors, he really wouldn't have known how to deal with the Pinch Beetles.
The feeling of being snapped in half was truly too painful, making it difficult to even lift a weapon!
After recovering, they continued forward. With the four of them working together, they were finally able to defeat the beetles and Minotaurs on the path.
Soon, after clearing out the monsters, Jett discovered a chest surrounded by iron bars.
"There's a treasure chest!"
After killing so many monsters along the way, they were finally being rewarded!
The Spartan Warrior with the bow, being the closest, went over first.
Breaking through the two layers of iron bars, he shouted happily.
"Look, my Sovereign! There are iron ingots and delicious mil—"
"
Before "milk" could leave his mouth—Click!
It was as if something had been touched; a tripwire was triggered.
"Run!"
Hearing a familiar hissing sound, Mark realized something, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Rumble! Rumble!
The TNT exploded, destroying the entire room and the treasure chest.
Along with the Spartan Warrior, everything vanished in the explosion.
"No!"
Mark and Jett's eyes widened, their hearts feeling as if they were being ruthlessly twisted.
For just a few iron ingots and some milk...
His Spartan Warrior!
The servant he had fought so hard for all night, risking his life.
Just gone like that?
The Freedom Nation audience was even more bewildered.
"No one told me there was TNT in the Labyrinth!"
"How did it blow up? Why was there a TNT explosion!"
"I watched the whole time Galen Yu was killing the Minoshroom; why was he never blown up?"
"A trap? These damn Minotaurs actually know how to use TNT traps!"
"Why didn't Galen Yu trigger it? Does his Labyrinth not have traps?"
"This is preferential treatment! The Block World is targeting our Freedom Nation!"
In reality, every Minotaur Labyrinth has traps and TNT.
Galen Yu didn't trigger them because he already knew and wouldn't touch treasure chests that were of little value and full of danger.
Mark's triggering of it was purely due to his own recklessness.
"Do not trust any treasure chest" is also a lesson that must be learned in the game.
After a long pause, a notification sound interrupted their grief.
[DAY 10, TRIGGERING THE FIRST CRISIS.]
"What? The zombies have become stronger again?"
Amidst their astonishment, a prompt board followed.
The general content stated that, according to the unanimous consensus of experts worldwide, the Crisis Zombies would only grow stronger, and they must prepare early to protect their chunks.
Then came the content regarding the Twilight Forest.
[THE MINOSHROOM IS NOT STRONG. THE HYDRA REQUIRES CAUTION AS ITS MELEE BITE CAN INSTA-KILL. THE PHANTOM KNIGHT IS VERY WEAK; GALEN YU CAN KILL IT EVEN WITHOUT WEAPONS.]
Casting aside their grief, the two looked at each other and stood up.
"The zombies are getting stronger. To survive, we have no time for grief!"
It was as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps to the remaining Spartan Warrior.
The Spartan Warrior did not fear death and answered loudly.
"Battle is honor! Death is the destination of every Spartan!"
He tightened his grip on his weapon again.
Mark adjusted his mindset and looked into the distance.
"It seems my deduction was correct. Galen Yu passed the Minoshroom very easily. We can ignore the Hydra for now."
"Since he could do it alone, why can't the three of us?"
"It's a matter of dignity. After killing the Minoshroom, we'll kill the Phantom Knight next—without weapons, purely with our bare hands!"
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