Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Defending the Tribe, Slaying Slimes!
The eight major tribes of the Seventh Realm are all named after their leaders.
Following the guide, Zhang Yue arrived at the central area of the Ottiman Tribe and found the tribal leader [Ottiman].
Ottiman, leaning on an ancient staff, gazed into the distance and muttered to himself,"They're back."
"The village of old… it has returned."
Zhang Yue approached to trigger a dialogue.
"Leader, are you troubled by the Slime Army invading the territory?"
Ottiman turned around, glanced at Zhang Yue, and sighed deeply:
"You don't understand. I've dreamed of returning to the days when there were no damn slimes, when we lived in peace and freedom."
"Recently, the attacks of the Slime Army have become fiercer. If us humans don't act soon, our tribe will be devoured by those slimes. But alas, I'm old and no longer the fierce warrior I once was…"
Saying this, Ottiman finally extended his "claws" toward Zhang Yue:"Warrior, can you protect our tribe and slay the slimes outside?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a system prompt appeared.
[Ding~ Would you like to accept the quest [Defend the Tribe]]
Zhang Yue enthusiastically accepted Ottiman's Tribe:"No problem, leave it to me."
[Ding~ You have accepted the quest [Defend the Tribe]. Please complete it within the allotted time]
After receiving the quest, Zhang Yue visited the potion shop.
Although he had an impressive 7,900 mana points, higher than most advanced professionals' health in this phase, and his Reaper Set reduced skill costs by 50%, his S-rank skills all consumed over 300+ MP, while his unique SSS-rank skill Heavenless: God Slaying Curse consumed a staggering 480 MP.
This massive and frequent consumption made his mana demands extremely high. Even with 7,900 mana points, sustaining long battles was still a challenge.
At 3 silver coins per bottle, Zhang Yue purchased 20 sets (10 bottles per set) of Instant Mana Potions.
[Instant Mana Potion]: Restores 30% mana instantly. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Required Level: 40+
Most people couldn't afford such luxury.
After all, even top-level 45th-tier monsters in the Second Realm only dropped about 40 copper coins.
But for Zhang Yue, who had completed the unique hidden quest [Phantom's Prophecy] in the morning and received 1,000 gold coins, his current total of 1,718 gold coins made the 6-gold cost of 20 sets of potions trivial.
Striving for peak performance meant having the best supplies in all aspects.
As for health potions? Unnecessary.
The 15% lifesteal effect of the Reaper Set was far superior to any Health Potions.
After restocking, Zhang Yue headed out of the Ottiman Tribe while checking his quest log.
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[Defend the Tribe] (Normal Quest)
[Difficulty Rating: 1,280]
[Description]: The Slime Army is about to invade the Ottiman Tribe. Seek out Silver Slimes outside the tribe and slay them to defend the Ottiman Tribe…
[Progress]: 0/200 (Killing Gold-tier or above Slimes grants bonus progress)
[Rewards]: 4 million EXP, 20 gold coins, 800k Energy Points, Random Level-45 Star Equipment ×1 (Minimum 5-star, low chance for 6-star, very low chance for 7-star)
[Time Limit]: 2 days
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Although the quest seemed generous with its 2-day time frame, the historical completion rate was only 0.1%, meaning only 1 in 1,000 players ever succeeded.
Its rewards, however, were unmatched in the Seventh Realm.
Getting a 6-star piece of gear could lead to massive profits, and a 7-star item could mean overnight wealth.
But Zhang Yue's main focus was the EXP reward.
Killing 200 Silver Slimes, combined with the 4 million EXP reward, would easily take him from level 43 to level 45.
At level 45, he could equip the 7-star Void Set.
With a full 7-star Void Set, who would still care about scattered 6- or 7-star items?
The quest didn't specify a location, but Zhang Yue chose one for efficiency: [Level-48 Secret Realm: Slime Forest]
Following the map's guidance, Zhang Yue made his way south of the Ottiman Tribe.
As he stepped out of the tribe, somewhere deep in the Slime Empire's dark mountains, a pair of deep, glowing eyes suddenly opened.
"So familiar… such a familiar scent…"
"After a whole year, you've finally returned."
ROAR—
A deafening roar echoed, sending every slime in the mountain forest scattering in fear.
Meanwhile, after about 10 minutes of walking, Zhang Yue arrived at the entrance of the [Slime Forest] Secret Realm.
At the entrance stood a native wielding a spear, wearing grass-woven shorts, guarding the shimmering gateway.
This was yet another upgradeable hidden realm.
It could be entered as a regular secret realm with moderate rewards. Alternatively, by obtaining a Secret Order from the gatekeeper (the native), it could be upgraded to a Golden Secret Order, temporarily transforming the realm into a hidden realm with far greater rewards.
According to the guide: Once upgraded, all Black Iron and Bronze Slimes in the forest would become Silver or even Gold Slimes.
One single Gold Slime could instantly grant 50% quest progress for Zhang Yue's [Defend the Tribe] quest.
So, Zhang Yue obtained a Secret Order from the native, [Wally].
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Regular Secret Order] (Lv48 Slime Forest Exclusive)
[Description]: Collecting Slime Medals grants refinement chances. 1 Black Iron Medal grants 3 refinements, 1 Bronze Medal grants 6 refinements, 1 Silver Medal grants 9 refinements, and so on…
[Note]: Each refinement consumes 1,000 Energy Points, with a chance to upgrade the Secret Order to a Golden Secret Order.
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In the Seventh Realm, slaying slimes could drop a special item: Slime Medals.
Thus, upgrading the order relied on hunting slimes.
Zhang Yue was ready to start grinding nearby slimes.
In the distance, he noticed a figure crouching in the woods but chose to ignore it with a faint smile.
Surveying the surroundings, he saw Black Iron Slimes scattered around. These were roughly the size of toilet bowls, pitch black, and resembled sticky rice balls.
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[Black Iron Slime] (Lv46 Physical Monster · Normal)
[Physical Attack]: 3,350
[Physical Defense]: 2,100
[Magic Defense]: 2,000
[Health]: 81,000
[Skills]: Slime Secretion (B-rank), Bounce (B-rank)
[Description]: The weakest underlings of the Slime King, they resemble charcoal and seem easy to bully. But beware—they'll jump on your face and splatter slime all over you.
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Instead of attacking, Zhang Yue summoned his Twenty-Four Winged Extinction Black Dragon.
Previously, Zhang Yue had solo-killed the Sixth Realm's boss, Death Oveord, due to his overwhelming strength, leaving his Extinction Black Dragon and Skeleton King unused. Even after the dragon evolved from epic to legendary, its exact power level remained unknown.
This was a perfect chance to test it out.
ROAR—
With a thunderous roar, the massive Apocalypse Black Dragon flew over Zhang Yue, its immense body blotting out the sky.
Unleashing its Dark Set Skill [Slaughter Domain] (+15% damage for all allies in range, lasting 10 seconds), the dragon spewed a torrent of S-rank [Apocalypse Dragonfire].
BOOM!
The fiery breath engulfed several slimes ahead, each taking 15,000 damage.
As the dragon's passive [Annihilation] (25% damage bonus per kill, stacks up to 5) activated, its damage output remained modest but still about 30% stronger than before its legendary evolution.
With the slimes' aggro drawn, Zhang Yue raised his staff, casting [Infernal Judgment] and [Necro Storm].
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Two rare S-rank AoE skills dealt over 30,000 damage each, cutting the slimes' health bars in half.
Finishing them off with single-target bursts like Heavenfire, Frozen Abyss, and Thunderstrike, Zhang Yue whittled the slimes down.
Finally, the Apocalypse Black Dragon's Apocalypse Dragonfire obliterated the five Black Iron Slimes in one fell swoop.
Killing the slimes maxed out the dragon's [Annihilation] stacks at Level 4: a whopping 125% damage boost.
Zhang Yue grinned. Now, the Twenty-Four Winged Extinction Black Dragon could unleash its full potential.
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