Mark had been busy killing Witches these past few days.
The scene in Galen Yu's room had dealt him a heavy blow, but after killing Witches for two consecutive days...
...he finally recovered some of his spirit.
"Disgusting things, just die!"
With a swing of his greatsword, Mark ended the life of the last Witch.
Experience points and magic potions dropped upon death, all of which were collected into his inventory.
Thanks to his adventurous killing spree, he had accumulated many potions and resources like iron, gold, and food.
However, there was no sign of diamonds.
"Mark, still no diamonds?"
Back at the chunk, Jett was studying obsidian.
"Yeah, I really don't know how the Samurai Nation found any!"
When the Twilight Forest permissions were unlocked, the materials required—flowers, water, and diamonds—were mentioned.
Based on the hint, Jett guessed they should be arranged in the shape of a portal, similar to a Nether Portal.
They had the flowers and water, but they only lacked diamonds.
"Since they aren't in the resource area, why don't we go look in the Nether?"
While they didn't have diamond gear, there was a chance for obsidian to spawn in chests.
While Mark was hunting Witches, Jett had only been opening chests and found fourteen pieces of obsidian.
Long ago, when Ronan Mountwell opened the Nether Portal, the announcement provided hints about diamond equipment and how to reach the Nether.
With the obsidian in hand, they could head to the Nether at any time.
"Good!"
Resources in the Nether were more abundant; it was indeed a better place to find diamonds.
The flint and steel struck, and the Nether Portal leading to the underworld opened.
Stepping inside, the two of them were quite lucky.
There were no Ghasts or Endermen near the spawn point, making it very safe.
First, they used stone to surround the obsidian portal, ensuring the entrance wouldn't disappear.
Only then did the two of them see a dark red structure not far away.
"We're really lucky to find such a large fortress as soon as we arrived in the Nether!"
Even though he had never seen a Nether Fortress, Mark knew that the larger the place, the more things there were.
Walking straight ahead, several Blazes rose up and appeared.
"New monsters?"
Surprise flashed for a moment, replaced by eyes full of fighting spirit.
They weren't as incompetent as Ronan Mountwell!
With bows in hand, even before the Blazes could lock on for an attack, they fired first.
Infused with warrior bloodline, a faint red light flickered on the arrow—whoosh!
[—14!]
A full draw triggered a critical hit, and one arrow took out more than half of a Blaze's health!
Jett's arrow followed closely behind; before it could even attack, the Blaze was taken down by their coordination.
"So brave, just keep defeating them like this!"
"Once they feel our strength, even Ghasts won't dare come near!"
"What's a Blaze? Instant kill!"
"Much stronger than that trash Ronan Mountwell!"
"The Nether is nothing special!"
Compared to the Samurai Nation, their coordination was a spectacle to behold, drawing cheers from the audience.
The Blazes were quickly cleared out, and the spawner was dug up.
Not knowing what Blaze Rods were used for, Mark collected them for now, while Jett went over to a treasure chest.
"Wow, there really are diamonds!"
Looking at the azure gems in the chest, Jett knew he had come to the right place.
The Nether really did have diamonds!
After the excitement, Mark turned his gaze to the other side of the fortress.
Clearly, such a large place had more than just Blazes.
"Black skeletons? And they can't even do ranged attacks?"
Aren't these easy pickings!
Having gained confidence from fighting Blazes, Mark didn't even think twice and didn't use his bow.
He charged forward with a golden sword.
[—7]
[—4]
One was the damage Mark dealt to the Wither Skeleton, the other was the damage the Wither Skeleton dealt to Mark.
Nearly a twofold difference!
"Look at these skeletons; without bows, they can't do any damage at all!"
There were three in total, and he finished them all with a few swings.
Then, Mark realized something was wrong.
The monsters were all dead, so why was he still losing health?
He lost half a heart every five seconds, as if something was rampaging inside his body, and he was powerless against it!
He could only feel his life slipping away, making him increasingly terrified!
"No, Jett, what's going on? I'm about to die!"
No matter whether he ate potatoes or carrots, no food could slow down the effect.
Mark watched helplessly as he stepped into the abyss!
"It's because of those skeletons, are they poisonous?"
Feeling Mark's vital signs getting weaker, Jett knew something was wrong and immediately stopped exploring.
"Back to the chunk! Yes, maybe it'll disappear if we go back!"
He hurriedly gulped down several Health Potions and dragged Mark back to their chunk.
He thought things would get better, but to everyone's surprise...
It was useless!
Mark was still under the Wither effect; his health dropped slowly, and food couldn't replenish it!
"Even Ghasts and Iron Golems are no match for me, am I really going to die at the hands of a tiny skeleton?"
Lying on a grass block, Mark sighed toward the sky.
Fortunately, he had killed many Witches beforehand and managed to endure by relying on Health Potions.
Not until he had almost exhausted his potions did the Wither effect finally end.
"God bless, Mark, you survived!"
"Oh my God!"
His vital signs gradually stabilized, and he restored his health with food.
Mark could hardly believe he had successfully survived.
"That place isn't the Nether; it's simply Hell! A living hell!"
"To hell with diamonds and all that, whoever wants to go back to that ghost of a place can go!"
"I swear, I'd rather mine for a whole day with someone whipping me from behind than ever go back to that godforsaken place!"
The Wither effect was more terrifying than death!
At least death is just a moment of pain; under the Wither effect, he had to experience the sensation of dying slowly!
Too terrifying!
If not for the Health Potions, he couldn't imagine how he would have survived!
The Nether, true to its name!
Even looking at the obsidian portal now made Mark feel apprehensive.
He used a golden pickaxe to forcibly break the obsidian, making the portal disappear.
Although he wasted a piece of obsidian and some durability for nothing, he was able to let out a long sigh of relief.
"It's good to be alive!"
On the other side of the Nether.
Compared to Mark's psychological trauma, Galen Yu was much more relaxed.
They couldn't hit him through the blocks, but he could kill the Wither Skeletons through the gaps.
"And there are diamonds?"
He opened a fortress chest and saw its contents.
Soul sand, Nether Wart, and diamonds—it was all very harmonious and beautiful.
Similar to Blaze Rods, Nether Wart was also a basic material for various magic potions; only with it could potions be mass-produced.
It only grew in the Nether, so he gathered all the Nether Wart he saw.
A black figure quietly appeared nearby.
Slap!
[—0.5]
An empty-handed Wither Skeleton appeared and hit Galen Yu.
With his alloy set on, it couldn't deal much damage at all; to Galen Yu, it was no different from a tickle.
He finished it in two swings and continued searching for chests as if nothing had happened.
Ronan Mountwell, hiding in the shadows, started to laugh.
"He fell for it!"
Having an alloy set indeed provided strong defense and could reduce the damage from many creatures.
The Wither Skeleton was empty-handed, so it truly couldn't deal much damage.
But Ronan Mountwell knew very well that the most important thing about a Wither Skeleton was the Wither!
He blocked the attack, but could he block the negative debuff?
"Where did this Wither Skeleton come from!"
"Oh no, he's been caught by the Wither effect!"
"Automatic health drain—I'd call it the most disgusting debuff, bar none!"
"Even an alloy set can't block the Wither, and Great God Galen Yu isn't carrying any Health Potions!"
"The effect lasts for a long time, could it be...?"
Having just come from Mark's perspective, the viewers all knew how terrifying the Wither was.
Now, this terror had come for Galen Yu!
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