novelbin Chapter 823 - 510: Five People (2)
Chapter 823 - 510: Five People (2)
"Found it! We must be in this faded, obscure spot! The main burial chamber is just ahead!"
With his words, everyone except the white-clothed middle-aged woman, Mr. Zhao, and the bald man next to her gathered around the young man in western clothes, scrutinizing the silk cloth in his hand and discussing the subsequent route.
What none of them knew was that within the underground palace hall, an invisible figure that had followed them for a long time was also inching closer, silently observing them from behind.
This person was undoubtedly Wang Zhifan, who had been following them all along, effortlessly blending into the darkness with the ability of the Deceitful Shadow Shoes. Now he wore the Wind Concealing Conical Hat to remain hidden as he approached the torch-bearers.
It must be said that this group had come all the way here seemingly unperturbed, encountering neither trap mechanisms nor attacks from specters, which almost made Wang Zhifan give up the pursuit.
Yet the items they held made him decide to persist, rather than dealing with the tomb master zombie first, whose location he had already confirmed with his acute perception.
[Royal Sword (Exceptional)]
[This Eight-sided Han Sword is a masterpiece personally supervised by the royal family, not only incredibly tough, slicing through iron like clay, but also restraining various malevolent beings. It’s truly a rare and powerful weapon.]
[Strong Edge: Items not higher-ranked than this sword will be destroyed by it, but this sword might be damaged in the process.]
[Bane of Evil: Whether ghost or zombie, hit by this sword will have its defenses broken, and suffer continuous gold flame burning. Gold flame burning is gold attribute damage, immune to fire attribute effects.]
Wang Zhifan stared for a second at the royal sword held by the robust middle-aged man in Zhongshan suit, and relevant information appeared before him, indicating this was an exceptional-grade weapon.
To him, exceptional-grade weapons weren’t particularly valuable at the moment, but he was still somewhat interested in things he didn’t possess, even if he was a swordsman, not a sword user, so wielding it wasn’t very fitting.
His gaze then fell on the green army-clad man’s waist where a seemingly ordinary silver pistol also turned out to be of exceptional-grade level.
[Silver Announcement (Exceptional)]
[Most firearms are made to kill, but this pistol is different. It’s quite average for killing humans but is particularly adept at eliminating evil beings.]
[Silver Bullet: This gun’s magazine is special, producing a bespoke silver bullet only upon use, generating at most three bullets per second.]
[Silver Power: When silver bullets hit evil beings, in addition to full physical damage, they cause widespread mithril attribute damage.]
Mithril attribute damage suppresses most evil beings, swiftly leading them to destruction. Even if undead, their combat power will significantly reduce.
Mithril attribute damage can be stacked short-term, causing up to threefold effect.]
"Similar to my Endless Sniper Rifle, it’s a gun with infinite bullets but specialized for vanquishing evil targets. Judging by the silver bullet’s description, it might be capable of significantly injuring the zombie, with maximized damage and debuff effects."
Wang Zhifan also had some interest in the weapon worn by the army-clad man, though he wasn’t a gunman player, his marksmanship was decent, and he lacked a gun specifically for fighting evil. If he could obtain it, it would be a notable enhancement.
Apart from these two exceptional weapons, Wang Zhifan also noticed the jar held by the white-clothed woman on the other side was exceptional-grade, and quite uniquely effective.
[Jar of Shadows (Exceptional)]
[All malevolent things can be collected within this jar to nourish them, slowly enhancing their power over time.]
Up to three malevolent things can be stored simultaneously.
Entities collected will remain loyal to the jar’s holder, who can freely command them.
Be cautious not to damage the jar; otherwise, at worst, it could lead to malevolent energy leaks causing harm, and at worst, the jar’s malevolent contents might break free and retaliate against the holder.]
"There’s a reason this woman is called Mr. Zhao by the others. The jar she holds likely contains three powerful specters, and the bald man beside her isn’t alive either, their combined strength quite formidable. But is she a ghost hunter or a corpse refiner? Or perhaps she has both identities?"
Wang Zhifan’s interest in the jar held by the middle-aged woman in white was minimal, as he disliked using malevolent entities for combat, but he was intrigued by the woman’s identity.
From his observations, he could infer the identities and roles of the current six or rather five NPCs.
The robust middle-aged man in Zhongshan suit was likely a martial artist specializing in slaying zombies.
The army-clad man probably had good marksmanship, providing crucial ranged support during the zombie battle.
Given she’s addressed as Mr. Zhao, the white-clothed woman’s strength must be formidable, likely the main combat force, but whether she was a corpse refiner or ghost hunter was uncertain.
The small man in black, judging by the Luoyang Shovel at his waist, was undoubtedly an experienced tomb raider, primarily guiding the way.
The seemingly ordinary young man in the western suit held the treasure map and maintained close relations with the others, perhaps he was the team leader, organizing personnel for this tomb exploration.
"Now there’s a critical question remaining: why have these people come to a place fraught with the danger of a powerful zombie? Though they’re said to have a treasure map, they’ve not seemed to gather any antique treasures along the way. Do the good treasures reside in the zombie’s coffin?
My exploration indicated that there was only a terrifying zombie slumbering in the coffin, no special treasures."
The reason Wang Zhifan hasn’t seized the opportunity to annihilate the tomb master zombie and seize grave treasures is simply because he’s discovered no treasures within the tomb master’s coffin, not even a speck of gold or other common valuables.
Hence, his main objective now isn’t to eliminate the tomb master zombie but to procure the fine equipment these people possess, exploiting the tomb master zombie’s power to his advantage.
This implies he believes this group working together would struggle to resolve the tomb master zombie, likely ending in mutual destruction, despite their not-so-common gear, formidable members, and thorough preparations.
This judgment stems from his perception and exploration of the tomb master still lying dormant in the coffin. He knows well that the zombie’s malevolent aura was unimaginably deep; earlier bits leaking to the surface were negligible scraps compared to it, possibly the legendary Zombie King.
Even he isn’t assured to defeat this powerful Zombie King instantly, reckoning it would take several strikes to vanquish it, so letting both sides battle while he gains is the optimal strategy.
"I’ve remained hidden beside these people for so long without detection, indicating their strength isn’t very high. Even with restraining equipment, they might not surpass the Zombie King. I’ll need to be attentive to wrapping things up at the end."
Wang Zhifan planned to claim the NPC’s treasures and he certainly wouldn’t miss out on the Zombie King’s head, which was indeed his primary motive for coming here, with hopes of uncovering something epic or legendary.
With Wang Zhifan’s secretive observation, a total of five humans and one non-human rested briefly before starting their advance towards the main burial chamber.
Guided by the treasure map, they quickly determined the shortest path to their destination, breaking through a few mechanisms and obstacles, reaching the main burial chamber.
The main burial chamber was completely sealed by a heavy stone gate; physical destruction was required to enter, which would undoubtedly disturb the dormant zombie inside, triggering an all-out battle.
Therefore, the NPCs were on high alert before breaking through.
The white-clothed woman holding the jar had her bald zombie at the forefront, while the man in Zhongshan suit and army-clad man fell slightly behind, prepared to engage. At the very rear, Mr. Zhang the black-clad tomb raider held glutinous rice in one hand and a black donkey hoof in the other, seemingly intending to use these for protection.
The young man in western clothes undoubtedly hid at the very back, even positioned behind the white-clothed woman, seeking protection from Mr. Zhao.