Volume One: The Lord’s World of Hell Difficulty Chapter 66: Probing the Enemy’s Situation

Having discovered the enemy, Chen Guo felt no tension; instead, his expression brimmed with excitement.

Death Knights.

A high-tier unit among the undead. Not only were they formidable in level, but their numbers were considerable. If he could slay them, it would prove he possessed the strength to contend with the undead.

With this notion in mind, Chen Guo’s gaze toward his own forces changed. Yet he failed to notice his own problematic mindset—a mere handful of troops, and yet he dared to plot against a death knight regiment three hundred strong. Such audacity could only be called bold. But, upon reflection, Chen Guo had ventured into a hell-level lord’s domain with nothing at all; compared to that, the present situation seemed trivial.

Now, with the intention of striking at the undead knights, Chen Guo began to devise his approach. Charging blindly with his troops was obviously futile. Yet to plan without any intelligence was equally pointless.

“One Fire Spirit Crow, attack. Use ten fire sparks as bait to blast a death knight.”

After ordering all the Fire Spirit Crows to retreat, Chen Guo decisively issued the command. His vine-drawn carriage did not stop as he spoke—Holy Helm Valley lay ahead, and halting now would be courting disaster.

As one Fire Spirit Crow soared forth, the others hovered at a higher altitude, observing the death knights’ reactions. Unable to directly access their attributes, Chen Guo could only judge the knights’ vitality and combat strength through such means.

After his order, the Fire Spirit Crows all flew to the rear. Chen Guo then climbed atop his carriage, watching the wolf pack following behind. He noticed the Bloodshadow Wolves were still teleporting intermittently, not far from the carriage. But the hungry wolves, though they moved slowly, managed to keep pace, prompting Chen Guo to scrutinize them further. Perhaps these wolves possessed latent combat power—previously, they fought independently, never fully unleashing their strength.

While pondering this, an explosion sounded from roughly ten li behind. “So close?”

Chen Guo’s heart tightened. Earlier, the Fire Spirit Crows had reported death knights following them, but he hadn’t expected them to be so near. For swift units, ten li was barely ten minutes’ march. At the speed of his vine carriage, the enemy could catch up at any moment.

“Keep moving. Even upon reaching Holy Helm Valley, don’t stop to look around. Just glance to see if the undead have occupied it. If so, head south to the next city.”

Once he confirmed the enemy’s position, Chen Guo quickly made his decision.

At that moment, the Fire Spirit Crows returned. Seeing them all intact, Chen Guo was puzzled—could they have slain a death knight? With doubts in mind, he placed his hand on one of the crows, and witnessed the scene as it unfolded.

It turned out the death knights they encountered were not the main force of the Black Mercury Knights, but advance scouts sent ahead to search for Chen Guo. Three per group, ten groups in total, led by an undead hero. The rest of the regiment lingered behind, not rushing forward.

This trio of death knights was searching for traces left by Chen Guo—the tracks of his vine carriage were quite obvious, and Chen Guo had made no effort to conceal them. They searched without dismounting. When the Fire Spirit Crow approached, they paid it little mind; ravens were common in the undead world, and they’d seen many along the way. Aside from the few sparks on the Fire Spirit Crow, nothing seemed unusual. So, as usual, they merely glanced up at the bird and resumed their task.

At that moment, the designated Fire Spirit Crow swooped in, its sparks converging into a single blaze and striking one death knight directly. The instant the light touched the knight, it erupted in a violent explosion.

The Fire Spirit Crow’s spark magic was potent—normally, only three sparks sufficed to produce the explosive effect of a fireball spell. But here, ten sparks were concentrated, tripling the power.

The chosen death knight had no time to react; he had only just looked up when the blast hurled him from his mount. In the same instant, the other two rushed to his side and helped him up.

The Fire Spirit Crows saw everything clearly. Despite being blasted away by a strike thrice as powerful as a fireball, the death knight did not perish—his frontal armor was cracked, and copious mercury leaked from within. Remounting, their gazes toward the crows changed, but with no ranged attacks, they could only glare.

Having observed the battle through the Fire Spirit Crow, Chen Guo understood: the death knights pursuing him had been enhanced, their vitality at least three hundred points. Otherwise, a direct hit from triple fireball strength would have sapped at least a hundred points of life, surely more than just cracking armor.

The mercury leaking from the knights’ bodies was also noteworthy. It seemed they had targeted him at the previous city, which housed numerous mercury refineries. These death knights must have been specially empowered there.

With this in mind, Chen Guo saw possibilities for dealing with them. Mercury was heavier than most substances, and his vine carriage could tunnel underground. If he could lead them into desert, quicksand, or marshland, these death knights would be doomed. Moreover, with their high speed, if they charged ahead and he summoned vines from underground, he could trip them—one fall, and the others would trample over, potentially killing many in the process.

With these observations, several strategies for combating the death knights sprang to Chen Guo’s mind. Yet he knew these were mere tricks; he could ambush one or two, but not defeat them head-on. That was not the outcome he sought.

After pondering, Chen Guo stood atop his carriage and pointed to the ground. “Venomous Bee Grass!”

At his command, masses of vines swiftly sprouted behind the carriage, and a giant carnivorous flower waved its tendrils, blocking the path where Chen Guo had passed. Then, he cast a spell on a nearby tree, setting a trap—awaiting the death knights’ pursuit.