After Maxing out all Classes - Chapter 987:

Gorda had deployed his Shield Wall, blocking the Pyroblast with a solid thud. The fierce heat wave had filled the narrow passage of the cave, and the hot wind caused by the magical explosion had made everyone’s hair blow backward.

Gorda had exclaimed, “Xuelu, this goblin magician’s proficiency in fire magic is higher than yours! You can’t even cast Pyroblast, yet it can. Could it be you’re not as smart as a goblin?”

Xuelu had shouted back, “Don’t put it so bluntly; we can still be friends.”

“Fight back!”

Jike, usually a man of few words, had drawn his bow and released an arrow. It had struck the goblin magician squarely, causing it to let out a painful cry before collapsing. But suddenly, another goblin holding a wooden staff had emerged from behind, chanting a spell. With a wave of his hand, a golden light had enveloped the injured mage, who then had jumped up as if rejuvenated, his arrow wound having healed.

The trio of adventurers had looked on in disbelief. “Are you kidding? This goblin knows healing magic?”

“This cave is suspicious.”

“Don’t get surrounded by these goblins; they’re not ordinary.”

“Quickly, start moving, engage in hit-and-run tactics. Outsmart them, disrupt their formation in high-speed movement, then take them down.”

“To the wall!”

Gorda, Jike, and Xuelu had begun to run, planning to employ various tactics to deal with the goblins. After all, goblins weren’t known for their intelligence, and their team combat abilities were inferior to humans; adventurers often toyed with them.

The three had dashed into a pitch-black corridor, intending to engage the goblins in mobile combat. However, they soon realized something was amiss. The goblins weren’t hastily pursuing them and breaking their formation. The front-line goblin warriors, with shields in hand, were advancing cautiously, while the rear mages and priests maintained their distance. Their coordinated movements resembled less of a mere goblin troop and more of a disciplined human knight squadron.

“Damn it!” Gorda had exclaimed, “I thought I was battling knights of the Kingdom of Norma.”

Xuelu had also voiced her surprise, “How could such a regimented goblin troop exist?”

Before further discussion, Xuelu had said, “Enough talk, what do we do now? Look over there, there’s a passage. Perhaps we can jump directly to the next level. Let’s not get hung up with these damn goblins.”

The adventurers, feeling elated, had decided to avoid a difficult fight and head straight to the next level. They entered the passage, winding through various twists and turns, and had indeed reached the second level.

Upon their arrival, they spotted a beautiful treasure chest. Jike had utilized his lock-picking skills, and upon opening the chest, Xuelu, after just one glance, had exclaimed with joy, “Wow! A box full of high-quality gemstones! The monsters in this cave may be strong, but the treasures are amazing!”

Gorda had said, “It seems, no matter how dangerous, it had been worth delving deeper; we might have discovered a treasure that would shake the heavens.”

Jike had remarked, “There’s a room here, and I have a feeling there’s a very powerful monster inside.”

“A strong monster signifies a substantial loot,” Xuelu had noted. “Don’t be afraid; open the door, and let’s engage.”

The three had exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and then, working together, they had pushed open the large room door.

Upon entering, they had seen a Minotaur seated on a stone chair, staring at them with a stern gaze: “How dare you come here? Such audacity! You won’t be leaving alive.”

Gorda had exclaimed, “What the hell?”

Xuelu had speculated, “Perhaps it’s a Minotaur as formidable as those goblins we encountered earlier.”

Gorda had responded, “Right, we should be cautious.”

Gorda, holding his sword and shield, had advanced forward, while Xuelu and Jike had taken positions on his left and right, forming a strategic triangle.

The Minotaur had roared, “Die!” and charged fiercely at Gorda.

Gorda had shouted, “Shield Wall!”

As the Minotaur was about to collide with Gorda, it had suddenly leapt, executing a “Heroic Leap”, soaring over Gorda’s head and landing in front of Jike.

Jike hadn’t even had time to draw his bow when the Minotaur had knocked him, Gorda, and Xuelu to the ground with one powerful sweep.

“What kind of Minotaur is this?”

“Something’s off!”

As the Minotaur turned to charge at Xuelu, Gorda had rushed forward to shield her. Suddenly, he had felt something underfoot. With a snapping sound, an ice trap had been activated, instantly encasing Gorda in a large block of ice.

Startled, Xuelu had quickly cast a fireball towards the Minotaur. However, the Minotaur, seemingly out of nowhere, had produced a shield and deflected the fireball with a clang.

As Xuelu had continued her assault, she had suddenly felt a presence behind her. A shadowy figure had leapt out, striking her on the head with a club.

It was the thieves and assassins’ skill: “Blackjack!”

Xuelu’s world had spun, and she had collapsed to the ground.

The Minotaur had hefted the unconscious Jike and the frozen Gorda onto his shoulders. Removing his goblin disguise, a determined face had been revealed: it was Chris from the Adventurer’s Guild.

The shadowy figure, who had knocked out Xuelu, had also removed his goblin disguise, revealing a dark face. It had been the assassin leader of the Desert Kingdom who, years ago, had been captured for assassinating Robb and later joined the forces of Westwind City. He had chuckled, “We have captured Princess Xuelu.”

Chris had laughed, “You take Xuelu to Godafather. I’ll take care of Gorda and Jike.”

“Alright!” The assassin leader had shouldered Xuelu and, with a swift motion, had vanished into the shadows.

After an unknown duration, Xuelu had slowly regained consciousness. The instant she had woken up, she had realized that both her hands and feet had been shackled, spread-eagled on a soft bed. Apart from the bed, there were no other furnishings, just the pitch-black walls of a cave.

“Damn it, what’s going on?” Xuelu had thought to herself with a sense of dread.

At that moment, a shadowy figure, cloaked in black, had stepped to the foot of the bed. The cloak had concealed their face, rendering it unidentifiable. *cliched lines*

Although Xuelu had felt a pang of fear, she had defiantly responded: “Such clichéd lines?”

The cloaked figure had whispered, “You might have the courage to mouth off now, but soon, you’ll be nothing but a tool for procreation, devoid of self-awareness.”

This statement had terrified Xuelu. Truly terrified. She had pieced together the figure’s intentions, feeling panic deep within. However, on the surface, she had maintained her composure. If she had let her fear show, escape would have been impossible. She had defiantly said, “That sounds terrifying, I’m so scared.”

The cloaked figure had chuckled coldly, “You may seem proud, but do you really think you can turn the tables given your situation?”

Feigning bravery, Xuelu had countered, “Do you dare to release me?”

With arrogant laughter, the cloaked figure had responded, “So, after falling into despair, you resort to provocation? Ha! Hoping I’d free one of your hands to use a magic tool? Planning to catch me off guard and kill me? Ha! Let’s see what you can do with just one hand.”

With a wave of his hand, the shackle on Xuelu’s right hand had come off.

The moment her hand had been freed, Xuelu had quickly aimed a finger at the cloaked figure, casting, “Fireball Spell!”

A fireball had instantly shot out, targeting the figure’s face. However, with a mere wave, the cloaked figure had diverted the fireball elsewhere.

Xuelu had cast another spell, “Fire Wall!”

A towering wall of flames had risen between her and the cloaked figure.

She had hoped that this would buy her some time, believing that it would at least take the figure some effort to cross the blazing barrier. In that brief moment, she had quickly pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed Robb’s number.

“Come on, pick up the phone!” Xuelu had thought, “As long as this call connects, I’ll be saved.”

Just then, a distinct ringtone had chimed.

“Sonic Hedgehog’s QQ group, a flock of pigeons flying by, come on, let’s count, two, four, six, eight…”

The source of this ringtone had, surprisingly, been the cloaked figure.

The atmosphere had instantly turned awkward.

In this world, there was only one person who had used that particular ringtone: Robb. No one else would have understood the meaning behind that tune.

“For the love of…!” Xuelu had thrown her crystal orb at the cloaked figure, exclaiming, “Are you kidding me?”

The cloaked figure had reluctantly lifted the cloak to reveal his identity. It had been Robb.

With mixed feelings of amusement and annoyance, Xuelu had glanced at the large bed she had been on and said irritably, “So you had set up this entire underground dungeon and summoned a horde of ferocious goblins and minotaurs just to capture me?”

Robb had chuckled mischievously, “Life needs some spice, don’t you think this is quite thrilling?”

Xuelu had shot him a sidelong glance, to which Robb had said, “Don’t like it? Alright, alright, I’ll just release you.”

“Hehe…” Xuelu had suddenly begun to chuckle wickedly, “On second thought, it does seem quite thrilling. Quickly, shackle my right hand again and let’s continue our game.”

“Wha- really?”

The scene had faded to black, and soon, dawn had broken.

Early the next morning, Xuelu had gently lifted the covers and jumped out of bed. She had quietly put on her magician robe, grabbed her staff, left a bright red lipstick mark on the slumbering Robb’s face, and then exited the underground dungeon.

Outside, the sunlight had been perfect. She had greeted Gorda and Jike, who had been waiting for her, and laughed, “Let’s go! On to our next adventure.”

Gorda had joked, “Aren’t you staying a few more days with Godfather?”

Xuelu had shaken her head with a smile, “He has his life, and I have mine. The occasional overlap is enough.”

The trio of adventurers had once again embarked on their journey. With never-ending adventures and ceaseless vitality, a soul that cherished freedom would pause briefly for love but would never be constrained by it.

—

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