Chapter 41: Sindar Thieves

  In his previous life, the brotherhood guild he founded was also quite famous. If it weren't for being torn apart by the Heavenly Alliance, when Li Yan's parents fell ill, he could have sold the entire guild and gotten at least 10 million, which might not have been enough to cure their illness but would have stabilized their condition. Then, selling his equipment would have made up for some of the difference, and it shouldn't be too far off.

  However, about two months before Li Yan's parents fell ill, the Tiandao Alliance made a move against his brotherhood alliance because they were unwilling to submit to each other.

  The Tian Dao Alliance first used a large sum of money to disintegrate the upper echelons of the Brotherly Union, and then continuously utilized their numerical superiority to attack the leveling teams of the Holy Way. With such a disparity in strength, it didn't take long - less than a month - for his Brotherly Union to disperse like smoke, leaving him to hide everywhere like a drowned dog... until he met Jian Mang and joined the Holy Alliance, after which things started to look up.

  He had always suspected that the reason why Tiandao Alliance would take action against a small sect like theirs was likely because Tiandao Lin had taken a liking to Li Yan.

  "Tian Dao Alliance, just you wait and see..." Ding Qiang clenched his fists tightly and muttered to himself.

  Merchants seek profit, and it is inevitable that the Tian Dao Alliance will re-enter the game and control half of Shen Ji's territory, earning huge profits. Therefore, unless Ding Qiang withdraws from the Shen Ji game, the two sides will eventually have another battle.

  Only it's unknown whether this time accompanying him by his side are still those sworn brothers who can entrust their lives to each other...

  ……

  After the transaction was completed, Ding Qiang immediately set off and rushed towards the outside of Holy Light City.

  He now finds himself too busy.

  No choice, with the emergence of this set of defensive officials, many tasks that were temporarily unable to be completed before are now all possible, time is money, time is experience, time... is everything.

  Ding Qiang, level 20, wore a full set of blue attire, carrying a slaughter electric saw on his back. He looked like a master, so along the way, he received many team-up invitations from various teams.

  After ignoring the team application, after rushing for more than half an hour, a dense forest appeared in front of him, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

  ……

  A lush forest with dense foliage, towering trees that stretch into the clouds, and a vast expanse of dark woods - this is Sindar Forest.

  Syndras Forest, a death zone for newbies and a leveling paradise for experts, this remained unchanged until much later when the game version was updated and the attack method of Syndras thieves was weakened.

  After entering the Sindas Forest, even Ding Qiang, who was wearing the Guardian's uniform, involuntarily slowed down his pace. Although there was no one in sight, he knew that at this moment, in those woods, countless figures were lurking around.

  He walked a few steps and suddenly felt a chill wind coming from behind. He quickly turned around, raised the weapon in his hand and went to meet it.

  Clang!

  The sparks generated by the collision of weapons momentarily illuminated the face of the attacker.

  Tattered leather armor, sharp daggers, grayish-black skin, gaunt faces, and wooden expressions - these are the specialties of Sindras Forest, and also the reason why it is called the "Newbie Death Forbidden Zone" - the Sindras Thieves.

  Born with the stealth skill, Sindras thieves can perfectly blend their body shape into the environment. This skill is also the signature skill of the thief profession - Stealth.

  This blow was extremely powerful. Although Ding Qiang managed to block the attack in time, it still dealt nearly three hundred points of damage to him...

  After a sneak attack that took away nearly three hundred points of Ding Qiang's life, the figure of Sindas the thief flashed and disappeared strangely on the spot.

  However, Ding Qiang seemed to have anticipated this and swiftly turned his body, slashing the chainsaw in his hand towards the empty air on his back.

  Pfft!

  Among the splashing blood flowers, the figure of Sindas thief slowly emerged in the air...

  It was purely a conditioned reflex, and in the next instant after hitting Sindas thief, Ding Qiang's weapon in his hand pulled horizontally and slashed diagonally, making a "z" shape attack that was completed instantly.

  A flash of white light burst out, and Sindas the thief let out a miserable cry before instantly falling.

  "System Prompt: You dealt 398 damage to Sindras the Thief, Sindras the Thief has died. You gained 3000 experience points."

  Syndras thief, the lowest-level monster in Syndras Forest, has a default defense of zero, but its attack is quite terrifying. One hit can knock off over 300 points of life from Ding Qiang's defensive stance, and if it were another player, they would likely be killed instantly. Moreover, if the first hit doesn't kill the opponent, this Syndras thief will immediately use forced stealth to disappear on the spot and then launch a second attack...

  In short, new players who come here will probably die without even knowing what hit them.

  But here is where the rich experience of top players comes into play.

  A lowest-level Sindragosa thief has 3,000 experience points. Inside, the Sindragosa captain and Sindragosa elite have experience that can almost be compared to a boss...

  Although the monster was resolved, Ding Qiang was not very satisfied with his performance just now. In his previous life, he could dodge attacks from behind, but this time, after realizing there was an attack from behind, he only managed to block it and didn't have time to dodge.

  "If I can dodge the sneak attack from behind, then I can greatly increase my leveling speed. Within three days, I will definitely surpass the level of the first place in the ranking." Ding Qiang thought to himself.

  Currently, the first place in the ranking list is still occupied by Nangong Xiaoyue at level 23, while the rankings behind her are not far apart, with a fierce chase.

  Before, he didn't have the Guardian suit, even if he blocked the opponent's attack, Sindas thieves could still kill him in one hit, so he didn't dare to come here for solo training, but after having the Guardian suit, he can now level up here...

  Soon, from the outskirts of the forest, the miserable cries of Sindas thieves' deaths began to come continuously...

  As the time spent here grew longer, the keen senses of his previous life also gradually returned to Ding Qiang's body. By the afternoon of the second day, he was basically able to dodge most of the Sindas thieves' sneak attacks, and as long as he dodged the first strike of the Sindas thieves, he was probably not far from the legendary injury-free level.

  After repeated cycles of evasion, attack, evasion, and attack, when he noticed his level again, it had already reached 23, only one level away from the first-ranked Nan Gong Xiao Yue.

  "Put in more effort, strive to reach level 25 tonight." Ding Qiang thought to himself during lunch.

  When the level reaches 25, players can learn a new skill from the career instructor - Tread Step Slash.

  Tread of Destruction: Move one step and deal massive damage to targets in front.

  This skill is one of the few dual-handed force combat skills that can freely switch positions, and if used well, it can be used to dodge the opponent's attack with a step, and then use the subsequent slash to cause damage, making it a skill that can be called a divine technique when mastered.

  ……

  After finishing dinner, Ding Qiang went online again. About an hour later, he dodged Sindas' sneak attack once more. Taking advantage of the momentary stiffness after its missed strike, Ding Qiang turned around and easily took care of it. The white light on his body flashed by in an instant.

  "System Prompt: Congratulations, you have leveled up! Your current level is 25."

  "System Prompt: Your current level has surpassed the first place in the rankings, would you like to make your name public?"

  "No." Ding Qiang flatly denied it, now was not the time to be high-profile, he still had many things that hadn't been done or hadn't had time to do, and exposing himself prematurely would only bring countless troubles.

  Reached level 25, with an average level of 23, Sindas' thief experience has been reduced, and the deeper Sindas captain's attack power is higher, stealth is more hidden. According to his current equipment and blood volume, he does not have the confidence to dodge the opponent's stealth, and if he can't dodge, he will be killed in seconds. So he can only hold back the temptation of nearly 50,000 experience points and return to the city on the spot.

  It's been a few days since I returned, and Holy Light City is still bustling with activity. In the world outside of the game, the Divine Realm game has already begun to show signs of sweeping the globe. The online numbers of other network games have repeatedly hit new lows, and major game manufacturers are either making their last struggles or preparing to shut down their servers.

  Arriving at Holy Light City, he rushed to the Occupation Hall and stood in front of the Warrior Instructor. After the instructor's gaze returned from staring at the Archer MM's thighs, Ding Strong explained his intentions.

  "Brave adventurer, your growth rate is truly astonishing." The Warrior Mentor gazed at Ding Qiang in surprise: "In that case, I shall impart the ultimate secret of the Warrior - Footstep Slash to you. I hope you can make the most of this profession and bring it glory."

  "System Prompt: You have learned Footwork Slash."

  "Hmm..." Ding Qiang let out a sigh of relief, just as he was about to leave and take a look at the current state of the auction house. Suddenly, two girls who walked in from outside the professional hall caught his attention...

  "Alright, alright, don't be depressed." Cha Cha said as she walked along, trying to comfort the girl beside her. As a result, she was so focused on comforting the girl that she didn't notice the other people who suddenly appeared in front of her.

  It wasn't until they crashed into each other with a loud bang that they came back to their senses.

  "Towards... huh? Ding Qiang, where have you been running off to lately?" Chacha asked with some excitement, looking at the Ding Qiang in front of her.

  "Hehe, I'm going to find a place to level up." Ding Qiang replied, recently he hadn't been in contact with Lin Yi and Cha Cha because of his closed-door leveling.

  "What's wrong?" Ding Qiang asked, looking at the girl who was a bit down beside him.