Chapter 48: A Strategic Infiltration

Just as he was preparing to flash over and deliver two swift strikes, a sudden realization struck him with significant force.

“Hiss… As a long-range ability user, why have I been engaging in close quarters combat this entire time?”

He rubbed his brow, acknowledging how deeply his past combat experience had influenced him. Previously, he had no other option; as a bow-type class, he was frequently rushed by enemies.

To protect himself, he had cultivated powerful close-combat skills, and a significant portion of his skill tree was dedicated to melee abilities. However, that was out of necessity.

Things were different now. He could easily take an enemy’s head from an extreme distance, so why bother closing in?

With this newfound clarity, Zhang Luan felt his path ahead suddenly broaden. He retracted his daggers, then rubbed his fingers together, manifesting two distinct orbs.

One orb pulsed with the power of the Starflame, the other with the Power of Creation.

As he merged the two, Zhang Luan suddenly reflected on how underdeveloped his mastery of the Power of Creation truly was. To this day, his most frequently used abilities were still Flash and Spacetime Ripple.

Yet, this was unavoidable. Some of the Power of Creation’s derivative skills, such as Hyperspace Shockwave, were still beyond his current capacity to wield. Simply mastering Flash and Spacetime Ripple was already a remarkable feat.

The powers of space and flame intertwined, feeding off each other. He slowly elongated this fused mass of energy.

After sensing the location of the two bandits, he propelled this concentrated power into the narrow crevice.

Silently, the two bandits merely felt a sudden warmth spread through their bodies. Then, to the horror-struck gazes of their companions, they spontaneously combusted.

They didn’t even have time to scream before they were reduced to ash, scattering upon the ground. The flames came and went with such speed that, if not for the lingering ashes, the other bandits might have believed they had merely imagined it.

Unfortunately, it was all too real.

Overwhelmed by fear, they fled towards the camp, terrified that they might have contracted some invisible affliction that would cause them to spontaneously ignite as well.

Sensing their departure, Zhang Luan offered a faint smile. He used Flash to appear behind a large rock within the mountain’s interior. This spot offered an excellent vantage point yet remained difficult to detect.

In his previous life, the players who discovered this place had used it to gather intelligence.

At this moment, the camp was filled with terrified shouts. All eyes were fixed on the victims of the strange phenomenon.

Upon learning that spontaneous combustion had occurred, everyone scrambled to find a water barrel or a damp spot to hide.

The incident quickly reached the black jade mountain fortress at the center of the camp. Zhang Luan watched the fortress gate, observing several bandits rush inside.

After a short while, they emerged with a large group of men and women dressed in peculiar attire.

These were the elite among the bandits, the raiding captains dispatched by the Nanpai City Lord, and their strength was not to be underestimated.

Zhang Luan counted them: twelve in total. Including the two he had already eliminated, that made fourteen.

There should have been fifteen of these high-ranking members. The missing one was precisely the supervisor sent by the Nanpai City Lord to oversee the raiding operations here. He was likely still inside the mountain fortress, awaiting news.

Zhang Luan hesitated. If possible, he truly wished to wait until everyone had left before entering the fortress himself.

However, he couldn’t. Since that individual hadn’t come out this time, it would be pointless to eliminate more bandits in this main camp.

There was no other way. Opportunities were fleeting, and he had to enter the mountain fortress, for it was the key to eradicating this place. If he couldn’t get inside, his visit today would have been utterly in vain.

Confirming his coordinates, Zhang Luan leaped down. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he activated Flash, reappearing inside the mountain fortress.

Observing the empty interior of the fortress, Zhang Luan conjured two orbs of Starflame in his palms, ready to eliminate any bandit who discovered him. However, his precautions proved unnecessary.

The bandits’ vigilance was shockingly poor; the most crucial area of their main base had few guards, and those present were not even properly watching, instead huddled together playing cards.

The only time he was nearly discovered was by a bandit responsible for sweeping, but he skillfully evaded detection using his Hermit skill to turn invisible.

Thus, he quickly located his destination: a staircase within the mountain fortress leading to a basement.

This area, in contrast to the others, felt considerably more serious. At the very least, the guarding bandits weren’t playing cards; they were merely chatting and drinking, indicating a much higher level of responsibility.

Seeing their dedication, Zhang Luan did not disappoint them. He activated his invisibility and boldly descended the stairs.

The moment he stepped onto the first stair, waves of chilling cold assailed him. He slowed his pace; both sides of the staircase were shrouded in darkness, and a strange odor hung in the air.

Listening closely, he could faintly discern someone muttering below, their voice a low murmur. However, the distance was too great, and their voice too soft for Zhang Luan to make out clearly.

He continued his slow descent, condensing the Starflame in his hand into a small sword, ready to enter combat at any moment.

But as he reached the final step, a piercing sound suddenly erupted. He frowned, enduring the discomfort, and looked towards the source of the noise.

He saw an elderly man standing before a black, humanoid statue. Beside him, a cluster of magical speakers blared with immense volume.

The man was seated in a swivel chair behind the statue. As the chair slowly turned, the old man’s appearance came into Zhang Luan’s view.

Indeed, the old man was the elite bandit who had not ventured outside. Moreover, this fellow was somewhat infamous. Zhang Luan glanced at the humanoid statue, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and conjured a small, wispy orb of Starflame, lightly tossing it towards it.

The old man coughed twice, sighing weakly, his body somewhat frail. He reached for the cane that supported him, intending to stand. Just then, the humanoid statue suddenly emitted a dazzling red light.

The old man furrowed his brow, hastily approached the statue, and after a moment of hesitation, rotated its head. Immediately, a secret room within the basement was revealed.

“The energy center is malfunctioning again? That shouldn’t be…”

Filled with questions, the old man stepped inside. What he didn’t realize, however, was that neither the main energy source nor the humanoid statue had any actual issues.

The true instigator of all this mischief was Zhang Luan.

He knew there was another secret room in this basement, and he also knew that it housed the central energy hub for the entire bandit stronghold.

The humanoid statue served as the mechanism to open the secret room, and if it detected any issues with the energy center, it would emit a red light, just as it had done moments ago.

However, its mechanism was quite simple; in essence, it was a temperature sensor. In that precise moment, Zhang Luan had used the Starflame to briefly scorch its base with the minimal possible heat, thereby triggering its function.

As the caretaker of this place, the old man naturally wouldn’t ignore it; he would surely go inside.

This was exactly what Zhang Luan wanted.

With only a few seconds left on his invisibility, Zhang Luan leaped, directly tackling the old man. In the old man’s disbelieving gaze, Zhang Luan grabbed his head and plunged with him into the secret room.