The fisherman druid is in another world

Chapter 773

Without further ado, since it had been decided that the vehicle would be dismantled and transported away, Black Rob began work in front of the shaft.

At first, Elsa was worried that Lota's methods were reckless and would cause serious damage.

After all, who doesn't have some prejudices? In Elsa's mind, the Grey Orcs had nothing to do with being skillful or clever.

But when Black Rob started doing the job, she realized that there was an exception today.

Judging from Black Robb's performance, even if he hasn't reached the level of a master butcher, he is definitely an expert and very skilled.

It gave her the feeling that Black Rob was a professional in this field. His movements were fluid and continuous, yet there were no superfluous or useless attacks. Every move clearly showed its effectiveness, but it did not trigger any taboos of the magic array or cause any backlash.

It's important to know that some magic arrays, once formed, can be more dangerous than activated landmines in certain ways.

Furthermore, not only is the structure complex, but it also involves unique craftsmanship. Whether it's for theft prevention or enhancing efficiency, it's best for anyone who isn't the one setting up the formation to avoid it. Otherwise, at best they'll be left looking disheveled, and at worst they'll suffer some mysterious and ruthless treatment.

Elsa's decision to accept Black Rob's proposal was largely due to her awareness of the dire situation and the lack of a better solution.

I never expected Black Robb to be so clever.

Based on this performance, it is highly likely that the vehicle was quickly repaired after leaving the dangerous area.

This relieved her greatly.

After all, the living environment in the underground world is generally more challenging than on the surface, and other people's attitudes towards you basically depend on how useful you are.

Without this special vehicle, her abilities would be reduced by at least half, and she wouldn't be in a position to negotiate with Igor and others.

Moreover, it involves not only her relationship with Igor, but also her interactions with other people, her career, and even her own safety. It's almost impossible for someone who has climbed to his level not to have many rivals and enemies who want her dead.

After disassembly, the next step is transportation.

Transportation also requires methods, and Black Rob chose the one that would put Elsa at ease, rather than the one that was most efficient.

The first step is to move the vehicle into the underground area relative to the dome.

Although this underground area also suffers from a severe lack of exploration, it is still a distinct area from the dome, making it easily identifiable.

The existence of the vertical shaft makes one instinctively feel that since it is inconvenient for oneself to go up and down, and one has to rely on Black Robo to use the special 'sand surge' elevator mode, then the threat from the dome is also difficult to come down. Without some skill, it is easy to fall and break bones.

Black Rob even sharpened his axe before chopping wood, cutting and widening the shaft passage in time for dismantling the vehicle, and making good use of the cut soil and rocks to screen the load-bearing materials of the subsequent sand-filled elevator.

In this way, he also sent the two dire wolves underground.

In a sense, these are Elsa's two large dogs, trained to be bodyguards.

With the vehicle disintegrating and Elsa's defensive capabilities almost completely gone, the presence of these two dire wolves greatly enhances her sense of security.

In fact, things were not peaceful during this period; on the contrary, the sense of crisis showed a clear increasing trend.

The earth is shaking more and more frequently, and it's practically accelerating.

This situation not only brought about an environmental crisis, but also alarmed the creatures and evil beings that inhabited this area.

Their thinking was similar to Elsa's. They were all rather pessimistic, believing that if they just endured it, the crisis might pass.

After all, there had already been one such incident before, the one that caused the road Elsa was on to collapse.

Although there were fluctuations afterward, they could be interpreted as the lingering effects of the initial surge.

As it turns out, the previous outburst was more like a prelude to the main event, while the current situation is just a clearing of the throat. The real volcanic eruption is yet to come.

This caused almost all the creatures that called this area their home to be unable to hold on and flee in droves.

The chaotic and desperate escapes of refugees are well-documented, and driven by the will to survive, most were reckless. The weak could charge through anything, while the strong were even more inclined to believe, "Anyone who gets in my way will die!"

Regardless of the type, encountering it could potentially evolve into a threat.

In this situation, it was actually Black Rob who appeared more calm and composed, arranging everything in a clear and organized manner, displaying a remarkable composure under pressure.

This involves a specific transportation process: segmented transportation.

The main principle is to differentiate between light and heavy tasks and to act according to one's ability.

For example, when Black Robb came, he chose to take a straight route as much as possible, and for this purpose, he opened up some short tunnels.

These tunnels are no problem for one person to pass through. But for a dire wolf as strong as an ox, it would be very difficult.

Therefore, Black Robb needs to rebuild the passage.

Black Robb wasn't unwilling to repair it. Since the dire wolf had already been put down, he was willing to keep it whole, from beginning to end, if possible.

But from the very beginning, he had already pointed out the priorities: first, protect the people; then the important parts of the chariot; and finally, the dire wolves.

And now, it's a classic race against the speed at which the impact of a major earthquake is spreading.

Therefore, Blackroboron temporarily set up nodes station by station.

First, escort the people away. As for the most important extraordinary supplies, the two of them should carry them on their backs and rush them as fast as they can.

The term "gan" refers to using mud and sand like ocean waves as a mobile transport vehicle, placing goods on it, which is similar to pulling a sled or sled.

However, the tunnel is narrow, and Lota's magical carrying capacity is limited, so it is impossible to transport all the transformed vehicles in one go.

After all, the distance had to be considered, the need to expand the tunnel to allow the dire wolves to pass, and the need to reserve some resources to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

In short, this is the safest and most sincere strategy at present.

Elsa also felt that this Grey Orc had done his best, and even though it cost a lot of money, it was still commendable that he had such high moral character.

Therefore, she cooperated well and followed the arrangements.

Then came a boss battle with a rather ironic twist: "If you don't go to the mountain, the mountain will come to you."

At that time, Black Robb was driving the sand, carrying large objects such as wheel covers, while leading his dire wolf forward, when he received the urgent distress call that he had given to Elsa beforehand.

Specifically, they were originally a pair of crystal bracelets; if one emitted light and heat, the other would do the same. This is achieved by resonating with the earth element's laws through elemental resonance, enabling a long-distance, instantaneous response.

He hurriedly dropped everything and rushed to meet Elsa.

Fortunately, he arrived just in time; the boss had just arrived when he arrived as well.

Then Elsa was pinned to the corner with sand, becoming a spectator like a swallow in its nest. The arena was cleared for him to fight the Boss.

This boss is a Frankenstein's monster-like creature, mainly composed of slimes and rats.

It should be called a giant rat.

Its size has exceeded the upper limit that can be achieved by ordinary mutations.

In Black Rob's understanding, the limit for a normal rat to mutate into a large dog is that it represents a leap in life level.

After all, this is not simply an amplification, but a series of complex systemic changes.

If every life form has its potential, then the potential of a mouse does not support its direct transformation into a large creature like a cow or horse.

It is necessary to make another leap forward only after completing the initial leap.

Even if you have this opportunity, you must first complete the re-accumulation and sedimentation of your foundation, otherwise you will likely collapse and become an indescribable lump of useless flesh. At first glance, it seems like Cthulhu, but upon closer inspection, it is just garbage with too many shortcomings.

The Boss in front of him clearly did not fit this concept, so Black Rob believed that its foundation was a giant rat.

This giant rat was no ordinary creature, but it was ultimately devoured by the slime monster.

This slime monster is also extraordinary. After devouring the giant rat, it seemed to fuse with it, thus creating a monstrous boss that combines the strengths of both.

It was the size of a calf, agile and nimble, without fur. The translucent gel of the slime served as a substitute for its muscles and tendons, tightly attached to its obviously mutated, broad skeleton.

At first glance, it looks like a necromancer construct, but upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a living creature with lively and expressive eyes that even liches lack.

Although this evil giant rat also uses pouncing and biting as its regular method, it is much more agile than the evil giant wolf.

Its wagging tail and bobbing movements can be quite deceptive, making it hard to predict whether it will pounce, spit, or make a strange yet smooth 180-degree turn to whip you with its tail.

Unfortunately, it ran into Black Robo.

Although armored mechs are not allowed here, and sheer size and strength are not a disadvantage, Black Rob's fighting skills have reached a state of perfection. Even though Giant Rat's three-hit axe is also honed through countless trials, with timing, accuracy, and power all being top-notch, it is still not enough to defeat Black Rob.

Tactically, Black Rob is better at setting traps and unleashing combos. Once you fall into his trap, you've already lost a move or two; he unleashes a barrage of attacks. He doesn't greedily attack; after three or four hits, he retreats to the next round.

This tactical ability to set traps for oneself and to lead the opponent's attack into a trap demonstrates a breadth and depth of thinking that the giant rat cannot match.

It only when the situation became unbearable that it relied on its keen animal instincts to minimize the damage it suffered.

After all, Black Robo isn't greedy for attacks. Even if it wanted to take damage and counterattack, pulling Black Robo into a track where its health bar is thicker, it wouldn't have the chance.

They might even be exploited by Black Robo.

After all, Lota, the Grey Orc, is compatible with earth elements, making him not only strong but also incredibly strong.

Therefore, when Black Rob discovered that the giant rat wanted to compete with him to see who was more resilient, he decided to play along. He would occasionally take some damage himself to lure the giant rat into thinking that this approach worked and that if he failed this round, it was a problem with his skills or luck, not a problem with his strategy, and that he would definitely succeed next time.

It's about taking advantage of the other person's low intelligence; it works every time, even after more than ten times.

Black Rob is also looking forward to seeing what powerful moves this giant rat might have up its sleeve.

But aside from summoning fel rats, which seems to be a traditional skill resulting from fel corruption, only fel infiltration can be considered a decent alternative. At least against him, neither of these two moves is very effective.

As for the small fry, their sheer number doesn't matter much. After all, five thousand years ago, he was already so skilled that he could teach a young girl like Annika to dominate in complex environments.

He admitted that the corruption of evil energy was a little insidious. The ground that had been corroded by the giant rats' spit would automatically become a trap. Stepping on it would trigger an upward energy surge. If it was not broken, more and more places would become uninhabitable, until there was nowhere left to stand.

This move, when combined with summoning evil rats, can complement each other. The energy impact can temporarily strengthen the evil rats and make them more frenzied and bloodthirsty. When such evil rats die, they will also cause pollution. Although they will no longer trigger energy impacts, they will explode, which is even more troublesome.

Given the already limited space in the arena, the giant rat's two moves should have been advantageous to him, as the longer the battle dragged on.

But Black Robo easily broke through with a simple trick: mixing in sand.

It means mixing sand in a natural way, just like the ground is covered with excrement, but as long as I have enough usable sand, I can cover it up instead of simply stepping on the excrement.

Of course, it's easier said than done. Only when Black Rob's spiritual power is strong enough can he have enough mental strength to maintain precise control and flip the polluted land and polluted things to a deeper underground in a near-downward chain of flippers.

As for mana, or rather, earth elemental power, if you really want to solve this, you can prepare more spare stock, whether it's 'blue potions' or alchemical vitality potions.

In short, problems that can be solved with money are not real problems.

Only those of lower caliber lack skills, equipment, and auxiliary items. For truly high-level superhumans, the main limitation to their combat power is insufficient mental strength.

If I had to add one more thing, it would be that their thinking and awareness are inadequate.

The reason why consciousness is ranked after mental strength is mainly because, through the summaries of countless peers, there is a vaguely established pattern.

For example, the minimum combat power of a Master-level or Exemplary (title) level, and the maximum upper limit of a non-special existence, can be estimated. There won't be the dramatic difference where you think it's a thermobaric bomb but it turns out to be a mushroom bomb.

If it really happens, then it's highly likely that the intelligence work was inadequate, and special beings such as those who possess divine artifacts or divine bloodlines were mistaken for ordinary beings.

There's nothing to say about making this kind of mistake. It's outside the scope of regular discussion.

Since the upper and lower limits can be estimated, the boost that intelligence can provide is actually limited. As long as the performance is consistent and the player demonstrates the skill expected of a master or exemplar, the outcome will be quite uncertain.

Especially among high-level extraordinary individuals, their intelligence levels are generally not too different. Except in special circumstances, one cannot become a high-level individual simply by luck.

While being more intelligent is a strength, it's not the only deciding factor. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying, "Too clever by half, and one's own cleverness will backfire."

The quantity and strength of mental strength respectively relate to the margin for error and the degree of effectiveness.

With more mental energy, one can cast more spells. Even if the opponent outmaneuvers you or you misjudge the situation and the spells fail to achieve their effect, or even if they are cast in vain, you still have the confidence to organize a series of attacks.

Strong mental strength means higher resistance to various interferences, higher control over spells, and easier to exceed expectations, unleashing 120% or even higher power or effect.

This aligns with the basic logic of 'using orthodox methods to engage and unorthodox methods to win.'

When the frontal battle is unstable, with the odds fluctuating, trying to win through cunning is a classic case of taking unnecessary risks and being too clever for one's own good.

Therefore, mental strength comes before mental consciousness. In high-level matches, you can't win by being clever.

Black Robor outmaneuvered the giant rat, not only because of his superior strength in a direct confrontation but also because of his superior intelligence, which allowed him to neutralize the giant rat's advantage and slowly wear it down without any major incident.

Black Rob could certainly fight more fiercely and aggressively, but that would be risky to some extent, because even with the cheat of a powerful soul, he would still have to consider Lota's mana recovery efficiency and his body's endurance.

Excessive consumption will not only lead to a period of near-exhaustion of mana, but will also cause problems such as an energy throughput efficiency that is too low, similar to a tap with too small a diameter, which cannot meet the demand per unit time and has to burst.

If you unleash your full power but your opponent doesn't die, then it's your turn to cry. Even if your opponent is down to their last breath, it'll still be a serious problem.

Because Black Robo's 'stability' was very good, from Elsa's perspective, this battle wasn't as exciting as a high-level match. Or rather, it was, but the viewing threshold was a bit high, and it wasn't very friendly to those who focused on audio-visual effects and visual impact.

There were neither thrilling moments of fierce battle nor glorious displays of superhuman power. It was simply a case of one rat constantly unleashing attacks while the other wielded its staff to counter them. As the giant rat suffered repeated setbacks and minor losses, it gradually dwindled to a sliver of health before finally being taken down by Black Robo's explosive attack.

During this time, the evil rats that occasionally appeared were basically invisible and would be easily killed by Black Robo within a few seconds.

Elsa, however, clearly remembered that when she entered the dome where the ruins of Rolling Stone City were located, she also encountered several evil rats, which were very troublesome and took several bottles of various alchemical potions to deal with.

Therefore, it is said that a skilled warrior does not achieve great feats. Although the underworld does not have such a profound maxim, the meaning is similar.

Only true masters can make battles as easy as drinking water or eating.

Then wouldn't someone who can make high-level battles seem mundane be a true master?

"A Grandmaster (a general term for a title-level expert) has actually emerged from among the Grey Orcs. It seems that this underground world is indeed about to undergo a dramatic change!" Elsa thought to herself.

Intense warfare breeds powerful weapons, and based on this understanding, the subterranean tribes are generally more superstitious than surface humans.

They also believed that the emergence of extraordinary geniuses was more of a curse than a blessing.

Like the Grey Orcs, they possess psionic abilities, a significant difference from the surface Orcs of the past, who were almost entirely devoid of psionic power.

But this is closely related to environmental pressures.

The radiation from supernatural forces underground is far more severe than on the surface, and it is also on the dark side, making it extremely unfriendly to life.

It can be said that if they cannot adapt, then extinction is the future of that species.

It's not just the underground environment; other races can also exert pressure, making it doubly satisfying.

As for why pressure is applied, it's simple: the flesh and blood of creatures that haven't adapted to the dark, highly radioactive environment of the underground are called "clean meat." As long as meat is an option in your diet, clean meat is equivalent to being non-toxic and without side effects, and it doesn't require any special processing.

The various tribes underground do not eat meat.

To put it simply, if one cannot master the ability to digest and utilize protein, then one would need several times the amount of material, or draw upon rare and special extraordinary power, in order to have a strong physique.

The former is represented by Losmon (from the perspective of subterranean creatures), but in reality, Losmon's favorite food is cave moss, which grows most vigorously in high-radiation areas.

Furthermore, in addition to lichens and mosses, the Loss Beast can feed on almost all subterranean creatures, making its diet more varied than that of a pig.

The latter is represented by dark elves. In fact, dark elves can eat meat, but they can obtain the sustenance they need by absorbing certain supernatural powers. Coupled with the arrogance that elves are known for, they have developed a cultural custom of not eating meat and consider it elegant and high-class to be able to survive by absorbing more precious and rare supernatural powers (which is actually just showing off their wealth).

The concept of "clean meat" was first proposed by the dark elves. They were also the first subterranean race to hunt on the surface and then enjoy their prey at banquets. Therefore, they cannibalize humans, and of course, they also eat elves. Most surface animals are on their menu. However, eating clean meat and blood food is more about demonstrating their power than about whether such food is more nutritious or tastes better.

In short, the reason why the Grey Orcs are called Grey Orcs is because after the orcs went underground, through several generations of mutations, they finally adapted completely to the underground environment.

While paying the price of physical mutation, they also gained psychic powers.

However, the Grey Orcs' psionic energy is of a very low level, giving people the feeling that 'their potential in this area was originally limited, and they were forced to develop it, but the relevant foundation has been completely exhausted, so this is the best they can do.'

Specifically, they engage in rather primitive shamanic voodoo practices, but their skill level is far inferior to that of the Wastelanders.

In this context, the emergence of someone like Lota is not merely a genius, but a prodigy.

The intelligent beings of the underground world generally believe that the birth of this unparalleled existence is the last act of resistance by the 'soul of the species' in the face of extinction.

The underlying principles are even comparable to the birth of the god of nature.

With the world's origin extracted, the Heavenly Dao of this world could no longer hold on. As a result, the primordial spirits became increasingly arrogant, refusing to leave, determined to exploit and plunder until they were utterly destroyed. Thus, the God of Nature was born. In effect, the Heavenly Dao was left with a health bar depleted, foreshadowing the profound distortion of the world's legal system that would follow.

In short, the underground tribes, with their conflicting histories of dubious authenticity, are superstitious about this system. Elsa, too, inherited this cultural dregs.

Seeing that Lota was not only powerful but also possessed such counterintuitive qualities, she felt that Lota was the chosen one of the Grey Beastmen race.

He also realized, through the racial crisis of the Grey Orcs, that a dramatic change was about to occur in the underground world.

After all, the Grey Orcs are both prolific and formidable fighters, already a major race in the underground world. For the Grey Orcs to face a crisis of extinction, how serious must the matter be, and how widespread must the consequences be?

(End of this chapter)