Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

Upon hearing this, Liu Nian glanced at him without changing his expression, then glanced at Balo.

really.

Barlow paused, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. The dwarf was tempted.

The human mage chimed in, "Exactly! The two groups are fighting like this, they must be fighting over something. Maybe it's treasure, or a treasure chest? If we don't go check it out, we'll feel like we've missed out on a fortune!"

The dwarf with the big hammer scratched his head: "But what about the quest..."

"How much does a quest only pay?" the human mage interrupted him. "Secret realms can make you rich in one go! If we're lucky, we'll strike it rich!"

The orc warrior remained silent, but his eyes clearly showed some interest.

"What do you think, Balor?" the human mage asked.

A hint of hesitation appeared on Barlow's face.

Barlow stood there, his expression changing repeatedly.

Two little voices were arguing fiercely inside him—

One said: "The mission is urgent! They're pressing us in Ironforge Town. If we don't get there soon, your brother will get angry!"

Another said: What if you're incredibly lucky and stumble upon some treasure? It won't take much time to go check it out, and besides, why did you choose to walk? Wasn't it to find treasure...?

He gritted his teeth, about to speak—

The night elf suddenly spoke.

"Okay, you guys wait here. I'm quick, I'll just go take a look and come right back."

Without waiting for Ballow's agreement, he vanished into the depths of the woods in a flash.

Everyone looked at each other.

Barlow opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Fortunately, the dark elf returned a moment later, excitedly exclaiming, "It's the entrance to a secret realm!!"

The crowd erupted in uproar.

"What?!"

"A secret realm?!"

"Really?!"

The human mage was the first to jump up: "What are we waiting for?! Let's go! Quests are nothing, the dungeon is what really matters!"

The dwarf with the big hammer couldn't sit still any longer and jumped up: "I'm going too!"

The orc warrior gripped his weapon tightly; though he didn't speak, his eyes conveyed his attitude.

Barlow took a deep breath, then another.

Then he waved his hand.

"Walk!"

The night elf led the group through a dense thicket of thorns, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

A pile of rubble appeared before them.

Overgrown with weeds, desolate and dilapidated, it seemed unremarkable at first glance. But upon closer inspection, one could discern faint traces of human intervention on the stones—though ancient and severely eroded by wind, the regular ridges and engravings were still visible.

Everyone looked around, but found nothing.

There was no door, no opening, nothing that resembled an "entrance".

Liu Nian looked for a long time but couldn't find anything that resembled the entrance to the secret realm.

"Where is the entrance?" the orc warrior asked anxiously.

The night elf didn't speak, but simply pointed to a dead old tree at the edge of the pile of rocks.

The tree trunk was pitch black, and the branches were bare; it had been dead for who knows how many years.

"The entrance to the secret realm is right there." The night elf's voice was calm, but his eyes gleamed with an eerie light.

Having said that, he strode towards the withered tree, stepped on the knots in the trunk, climbed up in a few strides, and then—

With a leap, he jumped into the tree hole.

The figure vanished into the darkness in an instant.

The group exchanged glances.

Barlow gritted his teeth and followed.

Then came the dwarven hammer, the orc warrior, and the human mage.

Liu Nian was the last to walk to the withered tree.

He looked down at the dark tree hole.

Bottomless.

Like an open mouth.

He was silent for two seconds.

Then he smiled.

Things are starting to get interesting.

He leaped and disappeared into the darkness.

The tree is completely hollow inside.

From the tree hollow, there is a broken stone staircase leading down to a stone chamber underground.

Liu Nian was the last to enter the stone chamber.

The stone chamber was small, with rough walls, and everyone who entered was immediately drawn to a door on the opposite wall.

It was a door that was entirely black and covered with intricate runes.

The door is three meters high and two meters wide, made of some unknown black stone with a smooth, mirror-like surface. Countless runes, seemingly alive, flow slowly across the door, sometimes gathering and sometimes dispersing, as if they possessed their own life.

There were no handles or keyholes on the door, only those ceaseless runes.

"A password door." The human mage's expression turned serious after just one glance. "This kind of door doesn't have a key; you can only decipher the rune sequence on it. And if you fail, it will most likely trigger a trap—poison gas, a rain of arrows, a teleportation trap, anything is possible."

Everyone took turns trying it.

The orc Tuka walked to the door, stared at the runes for a long time, and scratched his head: "I don't understand."

The dwarf's hammer is more direct; he simply swings his great axe to chop—

"No!" the human mage stopped him abruptly. "If you destroy it, it will be impossible to open again!"

The dwarf sheepishly put his axe away.

Liu Nian also stepped forward.

He raised his hand, the Mechagon's precision hydraulic claws gleaming metallically. Max level lockpicking skill, activated—

[Target detected as a magic combination lock; current skill cannot crack it.]

A system notification sounded.

Liu Nian retracted the hydraulic claw and shook his head.

All eyes finally fell on Balo.

Barlow stood at the door, frowning, staring intently at the flowing runes. His previous playful expression was gone, replaced by a rare focus.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up; he noticed several missing parts on the door that seemed to be—

"what?"

He took a small bag off his waist and reached inside to rummage around.

First, there was a stone slab covered with runes.

"I got this thing when I failed my first mission..."

He pressed the stone slab onto the stone door.

With a "click," the runes on the stone slab lit up, perfectly matching the rune patterns on the door, as if they were originally one.

Barlow paused for a moment, then continued taking things out.

A rhomboid crystal gleaming with a faint light.

He inserted the crystal into an inconspicuous little hole in the door.

Then there's a gear the size of a palm.

The last crystal ball, about the size of a fist.

He placed the crystal ball in the recess in the center of the stone gate—it had been empty before, but the crystal ball fit perfectly into the recess.

"Buzz—"

The stone gate shook.

The runes on it began to light up one by one, from left to right, from bottom to top, like a giant beast being awakened. The runes that were originally flowing slowly suddenly accelerated their rotation, emitting a low buzzing sound.

Barlow leaned forward, his chubby fingers tapping the rotating symbols dozens of times—quickly, accurately, and steadily, as if he already knew where to press.

Then he took a step back, turned around, and looked smug.

"How about that? I told you I was lucky!"

The orc Tuka's eyes widened: "This works?"

The dwarf with the big hammer clapped enthusiastically: "Awesome! Awesome!"

The human mage smiled and nodded: "Indeed impressive."

The night elf laughed, a smile that looked somewhat eerie in the dim light: "Brother Balo, your luck is truly enviable."

Liu Nian stood at the back, observing coldly.

Seeing this, he immediately understood that Ballow had clearly been set up in a rather clumsy trap!