She wandered around the Nether Fortress for a while longer, killing wave after wave of monsters, looting three treasure chests, accumulating over twenty Blaze Rods, and collecting two Wither Skeleton skulls.
Time passed, minute by minute.
Although there was no day or night in the Nether, Lux estimated she had been there for several hours.
“That’s enough.
I’ll go to a Bastion Remnant to find a netherite upgrade template and netherite, then this exploration will be a complete success.”
She turned and walked towards the portal.
The passages of the Nether Fortress were intricate, and it took her several turns to find the way she came.
In the distance, she could already see the purple light of the portal, exceptionally conspicuous against the dark red skyline.
Just then—
“Waaah—”
A baby-like cry came from above.
Lux’s ears perked up sharply, her pupils contracting into vertical slits.
She had heard that sound.
Countless times in the game.
A Ghast.
She instinctively looked up.
A giant white jellyfish-like creature floated in the air, its tentacles dangling, its body semi-transparent, with flickering flames vaguely visible inside.
Its red eyes stared directly at her.
Its mouth opened.
A fireball shot from its mouth, trailing an orange-red tail flame, flying towards Lux.
Lux had no time to dodge, instinctively raising her sword—
“Clang!”
The fireball was struck by the blade, changed direction, and bounced back.
But the Ghast drifted slightly, dodging the deflected fireball.
The fireball exploded behind it, unleashing a wave of heat, and rubble rattled down from above.
Before Lux could even breathe a sigh of relief, a sound came from behind her.
“Clack clack clack clack clack—”
The sound of bones colliding.
The dense, incessant sound of bones colliding.
Lux turned her head.
At the other end of the passage, four or five Wither Skeletons had appeared at some point, lined up in a row, blue flames flickering in their eye sockets.
Behind them floated two Blazes, fire particles falling from their bodies like dust, tracing faint light trails in the air.
In front was a Ghast, behind were Wither Skeletons and Blazes.
And she was trapped in the middle of the passage.
“What’s going on?”
Lux was bewildered.
These monsters have intelligence?
They even know how to set an ambush?
“So you’re the axemen, huh? Visit g.com for the full chapter.
But none of you smashed a cup as a signal?”
No one responded to her sarcastic remark.
The Wither Skeletons raised their stone swords and marched towards her in unison, their footsteps making a dull “clack clack” sound on the Nether bricks, like the rhythm of death.
The Blazes raised their arms, and the flames on their bodies suddenly flared—three fireballs shot out simultaneously, flying towards Lux in a fan shape.
The Ghast in the sky spat out another fireball, plummeting down from above.
Besieged on all sides.
Lux gritted her teeth and raised her shield.
Fireballs continuously exploded against the shield with a “boom,” the impact pushing her back two steps.
The shield’s durability visibly dropped a segment.
The Ghast’s fireball descended from the sky.
Lux rolled to dodge, and the fireball slammed into where she had just stood, blasting a one-block-deep pit.
The Wither Skeletons were already upon her.
A slash landed on the shield, “crunch”—the shield shattered completely, pixel particles dissipating into the air.
Lux gripped her sword with both hands, parrying the second slash.
Stone sword and iron sword clashed, sparks flying.
She gritted her teeth, her arms trembling.
A third slash came from the side.
She couldn’t dodge and took the hit squarely.
It didn’t hurt, but her health bar dropped sharply, from ten hearts directly to six hearts.
“No, I can’t fight them head-on.”
Lux pulled out a few stones from her inventory, quickly built a low wall in front of her, then ran back a few steps and built another.
She tried to use blocks to create distance and give herself room to breathe.
But the Wither Skeletons directly climbed over the first wall, not at all like the unintelligent creatures in the game; they behaved like real living beings.
Although not highly intelligent, they could handle basic obstacles.
The second wall was also climbed over; though their movements were clumsy, their numbers made up for it.
Lux built another wall, this time making it three blocks high, taller than a person.
The Skeletons were blocked, circling with “clack clack” sounds on the other side of the wall.
Lux took a breath, quickly munched on steak to restore her hunger and health.
The Blazes flew over the wall.
They were not restricted by terrain, floating in the air, bypassing the stone wall Lux had built.
Three Blazes floated side by side, rotating their bodies, fire particles raining down.
Three fireballs shot out simultaneously.
Lux dodged left and right, avoiding two, but the third was unavoidable.
The fireball exploded on her arm, not only knocking off two hearts of health but also setting Lux on fire.
“This can’t go on…”
She peeked over the wall—the Wither Skeletons were still circling on the other side, but they had already started trying to stack up to climb over the wall.
Two Skeletons were stacked, and the topmost one had already reached the top of the wall.
Lux gritted her teeth, boosted herself up, wanting to jump directly over the encirclement.
But as soon as she jumped forward, the Ghast in the sky hit her with a fireball, knocking her down right into the middle of the Wither Skeletons.
The Ghast let out a baby-like sound, as if mocking Lux’s naivety. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Lux couldn’t be bothered with it.
In the game, she would have just jumped twice to fly up and show the Ghast what a ‘dark hand’ was.
But now she only had one thought—run.
Run to the portal, run back, survive.
A Wither Skeleton lunged from the side.
Lux dodged sideways, then countered with a sword slash to its neck bone, knocking it back, but two other Skeletons had already blocked her path forward.
Two Blazes were behind her, already charging up fireballs again.
The Ghast in the sky spat out another fireball.
Wolves in front, tigers behind, and a bomber overhead.
Lux glanced at her health—two hearts.
She gritted her teeth and charged forward.
She decided to take a hit, using the impact to break through the encirclement.
Her Totem of Undying was still in her inventory; if she really was hit to death, it would automatically activate.
Though it would be a waste, it was better than dying here.
A Wither Skeleton blocked her path, its stone sword raised high, slashing down at her.
Lux didn’t dodge.
She rushed to the Wither Skeleton’s side, intending to use the knockback from its attack to escape the encirclement.
She didn’t believe these monsters could catch her if she wasn’t surrounded.
The stone sword fell.
“Clang—!”
The anticipated impact didn’t come.
Nor did the anticipated Totem of Undying activation.
A crisp metallic clash exploded in her ears, louder than a normal sword clash, carrying a peculiar resonance.
Lux instinctively looked.
Before her eyes was a silver gleam.
A stone sword extended from her side, firmly parrying the Wither Skeleton’s blade.
The two stone swords crossed into an X-shape, gleaming coldly under the dark red light.
Lux was stunned.
She followed the stone sword upwards—
A fair hand, with long, slender fingers, gripping the stone sword.
Silver-white long hair cascaded to her waist, shimmering with a cold light in the dark red Nether.
A young girl stood beside her.
She wore a blue short jacket, open, revealing a black top underneath.
Her lower body was clad in matching blue shorts, from which a pair of long, slender legs extended, glowing white, with faint marks from the edge of the shorts on her inner thighs.
Her midriff was exposed, flat and toned, without an ounce of excess fat.
Her navel was small and round, her waistline very narrow, and the skin below her collarbones was so fair it was almost translucent.
Her face was small, with a pointed chin, and her features were as delicate as if painted.
At this moment, she wore an excited and curious expression, like a child who had found a new toy.
Lux’s mind buzzed.
Who is this?