Farming Games are All About Grinding
Chapter 209 - 201: One Hit KO!

Chapter 209: Chapter 201: One Hit KO!

After arriving at the first level of the mining cave, an excited Han Qiwu didn’t even pick up the coal. He hurriedly took the cable car directly to level 50 of the cave.

"If only I could unlock cable car access to specific cave levels later," Han Qiwu thought as he walked out of the cable car, heading straight to the stairs.

[You have arrived at level 51 of the mining cave]

As soon as he landed, Han Qiwu heard the familiar "plop plop" sound nearby.

Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw a group of about ten Frost Slimes hopping toward him in formation.

If this had been the Han Qiwu before obtaining the Flame Ring and Ice Stick, he would have turned around, created some distance, and used the Mysterious Light Crossbow to pick them off one by one.

But now, with his new equipment, he decided to test it out.

Of course, he couldn’t abandon his range advantage entirely; Han Qiwu pulled out the Mysterious Light Crossbow and fired one Fishbone Arrow and one Mysterious Crossbow Arrow.

After two shots, the group of Frost Slimes was already bouncing over.

"Tututututu..."

The Frost Slimes suddenly transformed into sharpshooters, spitting a barrage of diamond-shaped ice rain at Han Qiwu.

Prepared in advance, Han Qiwu pulled out the Paralyzing Thorn and used it as a shield in front of him.

After blocking the wave of icy attacks, taking advantage of the Frost Slimes still charging up their next strike, Han Qiwu leaped from behind the Paralyzing Thorn. In three steps, he jumped atop a Frost Slime, instantly drawing out the Ice Stick.

With both hands gripping the blade’s hilt, he aimed at the densest cluster of Frost Slimes and slammed the stick down with all his might.

"Take this, Old Han’s mighty strike!"

"Boom Boom Boom!"

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Six damage numbers floated up in two bursts from the heads of three Frost Slimes struck by the Ice Stick. The first three came from the stick’s impact damage, while the latter three were the result of the Frost Slimes recoiling from the icy energy rebound force caused by the stick’s knockback effect.

"This stick hits hard!" Han Qiwu began developing a liking for the Ice Stick. Not only did it have a large attack range, but the exhilaration of slamming down from above was simply addictive for him.

He also discovered another use for the knockback effect: the upward knockback not only inflicted a second instance of recoil damage but also prevented enemies from being flung too far away.

Two birds with one stone.

But it wasn’t over yet. The three Frost Slimes hit by Han Qiwu struggled to their feet, attempting to pursue him. However, the slow effect lingering on their bodies rendered them unable to catch up.

Of course, the Ice Stick also had its obvious downsides. After equipping the stick, Han Qiwu’s attack and movement speed were noticeably reduced. He made a mental note to find ways to mitigate these drawbacks, such as swapping to other weapons when kiting or chasing enemies.

After some initial experimentation with the Ice Stick, Han Qiwu gripped it tightly with both hands and began hammering away at the ten or so Frost Slimes with reckless abandon.

During the battle, Han Qiwu discovered two hidden traits of the Ice Stick.

The first was that using the tip of the Ice Stick to stab could interrupt spellcasting.

Several times, Frost Slimes with diamond-shaped ice blocks forming at their mouths were forced to swallow them back when Han Qiwu jabbed them with the stick mid-charge.

They couldn’t spit them out!

The second trait was that the Ice Stick seemed capable of blocking projectile attacks. Just moments earlier, during the chaotic melee, he had reflexively blocked four or five flying ice shards with it.

It felt pretty fun—like batting a baseball.

In conclusion, while the Ice Stick’s damage could be inconsistent, its average damage was remarkably high. Plus, with its various traits, he could hammer a Frost Slime to death with just five or six hits on average.

The Ice Stick truly lived up to its name!

After defeating the first Frost Slime, Han Qiwu bent down to pick up its loot.

[Slime Mud]×1

[Snow Lotus Fruit]×1

[Blessing of Loot Character: Extra pickup: Emerald ×1]

"Did the loot blessing activate so easily?" Han Qiwu was pleasantly surprised.

That one emerald was worth 300 gold coins!

Truly, treasures abound within these pages.

Over time, the blessings of the loot characters were worth a fortune!

Fortunately, I managed to copy it down successfully last night.

The blessing book expires today; it would’ve been such a waste if I hadn’t preserved it in time.

Keep going!

As he kept battling, Han Qiwu noticed something strange.

Why did the Frost Slimes seem to increase the more he fought them?

Could they clone themselves?

Glancing into the distance, Han Qiwu finally realized the issue.

The noise from his Ice Stick’s attacks was so loud it attracted Frost Slimes from several nearby corridors.

"Bring it on!" Han Qiwu shouted, whacking a few Frost Slimes back toward their point of origin with a series of swings.

Pushing them all back five or six meters, he raised his right hand, charged for three seconds, then hurled a massive, orange-red fireball at the Frost Slimes. After tossing the fireball, Han Qiwu leapt toward a side corridor.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The explosions echoed for ten seconds before gradually subsiding.

When Han Qiwu returned to the scene, he noticed that most of the Frost Slimes were injured but not dead.

"Looks like I threw it a bit too far this time."

After gleaning some experience, Han Qiwu once again charged into the fray with his Ice Stick to engage in close combat.

His willingness to do so stemmed from Xiao Lai’s exceptional crowd-control capabilities, which had proven invaluable in this large-scale skirmish.

Xiao Lai’s combat instincts were exceptional. Using its slow and defense-reducing toxins, it kept the Frost Slimes at bay, allowing Han Qiwu to face no more than three slimes at a time during combat.

Perfect!

Fifteen minutes later, a satisfied Han Qiwu gathered the loot scattered across the ground: [Slime Mud]×26, [Snow Lotus Fruit]×18, [Ice and Snow Essence]×9, [Emerald]×11.

"Well done! This will be the new strategy going forward—remember the key: divide and drag." In high spirits, Han Qiwu placed Xiao Lai on his shoulder and fed it two emeralds.

After a quick snack, Han Qiwu cheerfully picked up his Copper Mother Crosspick and started mining.

"Clang!"

[Iron Ore]×2.

Today seemed like a lucky day—the Copper Mother Crosspick’s special effect triggered as well.

Hopefully, the same luck would apply when fighting the Snowman Captain later.

"I’m just a little miner, digging is my skill."

An hour and ten minutes later.

Han Qiwu successfully reached level 54 of the mining cave, where he spotted the Snowman Captain and its four Snowman Elite underlings twenty meters ahead.

"The pace of reaching this level has sped up. A new weapon really changes the game." Han Qiwu took a deep breath and switched to the Mysterious Light Crossbow. "Time to settle the score! Snow Armor, here I come!"

Drawing on previous experience, Han Qiwu easily picked off the Snowman Elites near the Snowman Captain one by one, netting him four [Enhanced Snowman Essence].

Watching its underlings fall brutally under the stick, the Snowman Captain flew into a rage and hurled "old ice" straight at Han Qiwu.

"Take this!"

Han Qiwu took a deep breath, gripped the Ice Stick tightly with both hands, and swung it like he was playing baseball, delivering a less-than-perfect home run.

"Whoosh!"

The "old ice," struck by the heavy blow, flew back toward the Snowman Captain even faster than before.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Qiwu sheathed his weapon, sprinted toward the Snowman Captain, leapt into the air, and once again brandished the Ice Stick.

"Die already!"

At that moment, the flame engraving on the Flame Ring on his right hand emitted a bright glow.

Instantly, a white flame erupted from the Ice Stick. Through the flickering blaze, Han Qiwu could clearly see that the blade within the stick seemed slightly wider than before. With the fire enhancing it, the Ice Stick’s temperature rose rapidly, yet it showed no signs of melting.

"Bam!"

The Ice Stick, burning with white flames, smashed heavily onto the Snowman Captain’s head, instantly flattening it. The residual force melted more than half of its body in one blow.

Before Han Qiwu could finish it off, the Snowman Captain turned into a beam of white light and dissipated.

One-hit kill!