When the soulfire of the last Centurion was extinguished under the tip of Lin Feng's spear, the clamor on the battlefield finally gradually subsided.

That level eleven elite skeleton crashed down, its tattered bronze armor making a dull thud as it hit the ground.

Lin Feng withdrew the Wildfire Spear, flicked away the soulfire embers remaining on the tip, and swept his gaze ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) across the surroundings.

Five hundred Skeleton Soldiers, completely wiped out.

Five Centurions, completely wiped out.

One level fifteen Commander of Five Hundred died under Shadow Snake's blade.

The wilderness outside the West Gate was now covered in a thick layer of grayish-white crushed bone.

Necrotic energy was slowly dissipating, and those shattered bones shimmered with a faint, cold light under the moonlight, like an eerie sea of bone.

Zero casualties.

Lin Feng exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling the power still surging within his body, as a slight curve slowly formed at the corners of his mouth.

"Lord!"

Zhao Hu's voice came from behind to the side; he strode over with his bone-crushing greatsword, which was covered in bone fragments, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Damn it! I've never had such a satisfying slaughter in my life!"

"Five hundred Skeleton Soldiers, five Centurions, and one Commander of Five Hundred—all wiped out! Not a single one of us died!"

Tie Dun ran over with heavy thuds. A few more scars had been added to his ironwall greatshield, but he was completely oblivious, grinning as he said:

"Lord, those moves of yours just now were so cool! Charging alone into the center of an army of five hundred skeletons, burning over a hundred of them, and killing several Centurions along the way! I, Tie Dun, have truly had my eyes opened!"

Wang Wu and Arrow Eye also came down from the watchtower. Though both were exhausted, their eyes were filled with smiles.

Wang Wu remarked with emotion, "I've been around the Nightmare World for so many years, but I've never seen such a fighting style. Lord, you are truly daring."

Shadow Snake slowly stepped out from the shadows.

There was a new wound on her left shoulder, sliced by the bone blade of a dying skeleton when she finally sheathed her blade. Blood soaked her leather armor, but there was no expression of pain on her face.

The deep blue fang had been returned to her waist, the edge still stained with the embers from when the Commander of Five Hundred's soulfire was extinguished.

Lin Feng looked at her and nodded slightly.

Shadow Snake met his gaze.

"The Commander of Five Hundred has been dealt with."

Her voice was still cold, but it held a trace more warmth than usual. "The Lord's frontal distraction was well-executed."

Lin Feng smiled and said nothing more, turning to look toward the West Gate.

The drawbridge had been lowered, and Zhang Ping was hurrying over with a large group of people.

Some were responsible for collecting loot, some carried stretchers and medicine, and others pushed wooden carts ready to transport supplies.

Uncle Wu and Pharmacist Chen walked at the very front, both carrying medicine chests. They ran quickly to the combatants and began checking their injuries.

"Quick! Everyone sit down! Let me see your wounds!"

Uncle Wu's voice drifted in the night wind. He first ran to Shadow Snake's side, and seeing the wound on her left shoulder, his brow furrowed. "Miss Shadow Snake, this wound must be treated immediately!"

Shadow Snake shook her head gently. "It's no matter."

"What do you mean 'no matter'! If this wound were any deeper, I could see the bone!"

Uncle Wu held her down without allowing any argument and began cleaning the wound, applying medicine, and bandaging it.

Pharmacist Chen, leading several apprentices, checked the others for injuries. Fortunately, most were just superficial wounds that only required simple treatment.

Zhang Ping, leading over fifty young men, had already begun collecting loot on the battlefield.

Carrying sacks and pushing wooden carts, they searched carefully through the piles of crushed bone. Every energy crystal precipitated from the skeletal remains, and every piece of weapon or armor that wasn't completely destroyed, was carefully picked up, categorized, and loaded onto the carts.

"Move fast! But don't miss anything!"

Zhang Ping's voice echoed in the night. "Pack all the gray crystals into that large sack! Put the white crystals separately! Pile the weapons and armor together over there; we'll do a careful count later!"

Lin Feng stood to the side, watching everything proceed in an orderly fashion, a sense of indescribable stability welling up in his heart.

This was his territory.

There were those who could fight, those who could heal, and those who could manage.

Each performed their duties, and everything was in order.

About half an hour later, the battlefield was basically cleared.

Zhang Ping led his men, pushing several wooden carts filled with supplies, and followed behind Lin Feng, crossing the drawbridge and entering the West Gate.

Council Hall.

The candlelight was lit again, dispelling the gloom within the hall.

Lin Feng sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.

Zhao Hu, Tie Dun, Wang Wu, Arrow Eye, Su Yurou, Shadow Snake, as well as Scarface Liu and A Wang, stood in two rows on either side, everyone's face filled with irrepressible excitement.

Zhang Ping and several Honorary Residents carried several sacks of loot into the hall and piled them in the open space in the center.

Lin Feng looked at the pile of loot and nodded slightly. "Tally them first."

Everyone immediately got to work, opening the sacks, taking out the items one by one, categorizing them, and counting them.

Zhao Hu counted while Zhang Ping recorded on the side. Although the handwriting lacked calligraphic elegance, it was straight and clear, with every stroke of the numbers as neat as abacus beads.

"Gray energy crystalss... one, two, three... three hundred and twelve!"

Zhao Hu called out the first number, his voice carrying irrepressible pleasant surprise.

Tie Dun's eyes lit up. "Over three hundred! We're rich!"

"white energy crystals... seventeen," Zhao Hu continued to report. "green war halberds dropped by the five Centurions... five pieces."

Zhao Hu lined up the five war halberds. "They're all of green quality with similar attributes—around +25 Attack, with some Armor Piercing effect."

"Five Centurions and they only dropped five pieces of green gear?"

Tie Dun scratched his head. "I thought elite monsters would drop more good stuff."

Zhao Hu sneered, "What do you know, kid? Being able to get drops from all five is already considered good luck."

He paused, looked at Lin Feng, and explained, "Lord, the drop rate in this Nightmare World is related to the level difference."

"Killing monsters at a higher level will significantly increase the drop rate; but if you kill monsters at a lower level than yourself, the drop rate will drop sharply."

Lin Feng's brow quirked slightly. "The drop rate increases when killing higher-level monsters?"

"Correct," Wang Wu chimed in. "I've been around for years and heard the old-timers talk about this rule. For example, if you're level ten and kill a level fifteen monster, the drop rate might double or even go higher;"

"But if you're level twenty and go back to kill level ten mobs, you'd be lucky to get some gray or white crystals; you can basically forget about equipment."

Realization dawned on Lin Feng.

So that's how it is.

He recalled the battle at Bone Eagle Cliff. He was level thirteen and killed the level seventeen Bone Eagle King, which dropped two pieces of purple equipment and one piece of blue equipment.

At the time, he thought he was just incredibly lucky. Thinking back now, dropping two purple items was likely largely due to killing a monster four levels higher.

"How rare are purple items?" Lin Feng asked.

Zhao Hu and Wang Wu exchanged a look, both revealing bitter smiles.

Wang Wu said, "Lord, purple items... let's put it this way: when I was in Qingshi County, that level twenty-something county-level lord had nearly ten thousand people under him and about fifty class-holders, yet he himself only had one purple weapon."

"Even that one piece was treated like a family heirloom; he wouldn't easily take it out to use."