Chapter 21: This Is a Sword Saint? Old Mo, Give Me My Money Back!
"This is the place!"
Su Mu tapped his finger sharply on the electronic map, instantly marking his first target for conquest: the Socrates Basin.
...
The night was pitch-black and windy, the perfect time for dark creatures to emerge. Su Mu, accompanied by the Little Divine Dragon and Blade-Slash, set out on his journey once again.
As for his City Lord's Mansion, he had no concerns; it was guarded by two Divine Trees of War. Unless an exceptionally powerful dark creature appeared, it would be impossible to breach their defensive line. Moreover, one must not forget that the mansion also housed a terrifying existence: the Sword Saint of the Jungle. When necessary, he would certainly handle any formidable enemies for Su Mu.
[Successfully killed 600 Bronze Zombie Bears, EXP +1500!]
[Successfully killed 400 Level 5 Silver Zombie Leopards, EXP +2000!]
[Successfully killed 300 Level 7 Zombie Tigers, EXP +4500!]
[Successfully killed 600 Level 7 Silver Flame Lizards, EXP +5500!]
[Successfully killed 400 Level 8 Silver Rock Leopards, EXP +7000!]
[Successfully killed 300 Level 7 Silver Sapling Demons, EXP +7500!]
The slaughter began anew!
The familiar system notifications rang in Su Mu’s ears. He had grown accustomed to these sounds; he felt no aversion to them, and in fact, he had come to enjoy them. In the dark world, the winner takes all. This was a game for the strong. Su Mu had become somewhat addicted to this game. Reflecting on his past life in the city, he felt he was far better suited for the life of the dark world.
[Blade-Slash killed 100 Silver Level 3 Flame Lizards, EXP +1000!]
[Little Divine Dragon killed 60 Silver Level 3 Zombie Monsters, EXP +800!]
Little Divine Dragon and Blade-Slash led the way, clearing a path.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
The blade light from Blade-Slash illuminated the night sky, while the flames of the Little Divine Dragon shone as brilliantly as fireworks.
[Host killed 200 Silver Level 3 Flame Lizards, EXP +1600!]
Su Mu himself joined the fray, wielding a firewood chopper and slaying every monster in his path. With the Holy Guardian Shield and the strength of a Platinum Rank 4, these silver-tier minions were no match for him. Cutting them down was as easy as slicing through vegetables.
At this moment, the trio was like a pair of gods of slaughter walking the earth, shattering every monster and demon that dared to stand in their way. Their team grew stronger with every kill, and then stronger still!
Soon, the group arrived at their destination: the Socrates Basin.
"Holographic Eye."
Su Mu summoned the Holographic Eye to survey the balance of power between his forces and the enemy.
[Location: Gathering place of Dark Rock Monsters.]
[Quantity: 3600]
[Level: Silver 7]
[Skills: Full-body stone skin, immense strength. Dark Rock Monsters above Silver 6 can petrify opponents with their gaze.]
"Not too difficult to handle. Blade-Slash, wipe them out!"
Su Mu shouted, leaping from the high ridge and landing with a heavy *thud* on the floor of the basin.
There, a campfire was burning, and several rock monsters sat around it, chatting while keeping guard. They had grey-blue skin and human-like bodies, but the heads of beasts. These monsters clutched stone and bronze tools; clearly, they possessed a rudimentary level of intelligence. Seeing an intruder in their territory, they shrieked and charged at Su Mu.
"Kill!"
Su Mu had come with the intention of seizing this territory, so he felt no mercy. With a single swing, he hacked the six rock monsters into stone rubble.
[Host killed 6 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +1800!]
The system sound rang out, but Su Mu remained unmoved, staring intently at the ground. To his astonishment, the stone rubble began to aggregate, reforming into the monsters, which continued their charge.
"Typical of the Dark World—you never know what kind of monster you’ll run into. It seems that even among monsters of the same silver rank, their innate talents vary."
Su Mu muttered to himself, wielding his chopper again and charging forward. *Bang, bang, bang!* He smashed the monsters to pieces once more. Yet, they resurrected again.
"What the hell? Do they have infinite resurrection like the Divine Trees of War? Is this going to be a tough battle after all?"
Su Mu was startled, but he fought fiercely, hacking the damned creatures into dust repeatedly. Fortunately, after being killed three times, the group of rock monsters finally lost the ability to resurrect.
"Nothing special," Su Mu said with a disdainful smile, turning to join the rest of the battle.
By now, the fighting had intensified where Little Divine Dragon and Blade-Slash were positioned. Countless rock monsters poured out of their burrows like a tidal wave, surrounding the group in the basin. But for Su Mu and his team, these monsters were nothing more than experience points.
[Blade-Slash killed 300 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +4000!]
[Little Divine Dragon killed 300 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +4000!]
[Host killed 200 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +6000!]
The system notifications rang incessantly. Su Mu grew more energized with every kill; his blade became a blur of shadows. Having attained Platinum-level combat power, his stamina was dozens of times greater than an ordinary person's.
[Blade-Slash killed 500 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +8000!]
[Little Divine Dragon killed 600 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +9000!]
[Host killed 500 Silver Level 3 Rock Monsters, EXP +8000!]
The sounds of slaughter continued as Su Mu entered a state of pure exhilaration. Slaying monsters and earning EXP—this was his only job now.
The monsters thinned out. After an unknown amount of time, there were no standing monsters left. Only the scattered fragments of rock monsters remained, and the black dragon flames continued to crackle and burn.
[Congratulations to the Host for successfully conquering the Socrates Basin. A total of 3600 silver-tier dark creatures have been killed. System reward: 3000 EXP.]
The hollow voice of the system echoed in Su Mu's ears.
*Hoo.*
Su Mu let out a long breath. The battle had finally concluded.
"Panel!"
Su Mu immediately checked the personal status panels for himself, Blade-Slash, and the Little Divine Dragon. After such a battle, he needed to see how much his experience had grown.
[Host: Su Mu]
[Level: LV1]
[Combat Power: 56,000]
...
[Warrior: Skeleton Warrior (Blade-Slash)]
[Level: LV1]
[Combat Power: 78,000]
...
[Warrior: Little Divine Dragon]
[Level: LV1]
[Combat Power: 62,000]
Blue light curtains appeared before him.
"Not bad." Su Mu nodded in satisfaction.
Although each of them only gained a little over 10,000 in combat power, every little bit counts. Over time, these gains would accumulate into a terrifying figure. Furthermore, this was the Dark World—a place where dark creatures were in abundance. His team would only grow stronger with every battle.
"Start searching. There is an iron ore vein here with a massive reserve; that is the primary objective of our trip."
Having wiped out the minions, Su Mu turned his attention to his main goal: the rock iron ore. The rock monsters had built their nests like ant colonies, filled with messy tunnels that were quite troublesome to search.
Fifteen minutes later, the three met up in a wide underground plain. The plain was deep beneath the surface, spanning roughly forty or fifty *li*, and had a deep red hue. Based on Su Mu’s experience, the iron ore must be located right here. The soil had turned deep red precisely because it had been ironized.