In his past life's early stages, players had used sheer numbers to grind it to death, with countless casualties.
What made it even harder was that this volcanic node didn't just have the Infernal Beetle boss, but also numerous minion monsters protecting it.
Hundreds of Flame Beetles (Mental 10, max attribute 6),
Thousands of Fire Bugs (Mental 7, max attribute 4).
They blocked the necessary path. To reach the Infernal Beetle, you had to eliminate them all.
With humanity's current strength in the Withered Lands, there was no hope of breaking through this node.
Fortunately, Carlos's Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards far exceeded this region's power limit.
Though the node was extremely difficult to clear, once completed, the rewards were incredibly rich. Especially the fantasy equipment dropped by the boss—those were treasures players fought crazily over.
"The monsters in nodes are very special—once cleared, they don't respawn."
"There are 3 dark mist nodes total in the Withered Plains—they're the dark mist's reserve expansion forces."
Carlos recalled information about dark mist nodes.
In his past life, because one dark mist node wasn't cleared by players, the Withered Lands eventually expanded again.
Countless dark mist monsters poured into the outside world. Humans fought desperately but still suffered heavy losses!
In this life, with no players to stop it, Carlos felt the weight of responsibility just thinking about it.
In the world of "The Dark Era," the dark mist as the invading force would launch expansions whenever a region's nodes had stored enough energy.
Originally, the dark mist only controlled a tiny area, but humans initially didn't take it seriously, or rather, didn't discover it.
This led to the dark mist's power continuously growing and expanding, step by step compressing living beings' survival space.
Today, humanity's situation was precarious.
How to eliminate the dark mist and restore human glory to the land was an eternal topic.
Human leadership continuously researched and paid heavy, painful prices, but so far had no results. They could only watch helplessly as the dark mist gradually devoured everything.
"There is a way to make the dark mist recede, but humanity's current strength is nowhere near enough!"
In his past life's virtual world, players took on the role of saviors, clearing dark mist node after node, constantly penetrating deeper into dark mist territories.
The official setting revealed was that clearing all dark mist nodes and covering the land with holy fire again would surely dispel the darkness.
Never mind where the legendary holy fire might be—just clearing all the dark mist nodes wasn't something humanity could currently accomplish.
Pulling back his wandering thoughts to the volcanic node,
Carlos slowly stepped down from his iron palanquin, his gaze falling on the bottomless volcanic crater.
"To be safe, let the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards scout first."
Despite having detailed strategies for dark mist volcanic nodes in his memory, caution was still paramount.
Carlos picked up a random stone and dropped it through a small gap in the crater rim.
Several seconds later, a crisp collision sound rang out. Carlos confirmed the landing point in his mind.
He then commanded the 4th Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard to jump down through that small gap while holding a glow stone he'd prepared in advance.
A few seconds later came a dull thud of landing, followed by 'creaking' sounds.
Moments later, a bright light shot upward, illuminating the crater interior.
Carlos looked down, understanding flashing in his eyes.
Inside the crater, Number 4 stood on a protruding stone block on the wall, the glow stone in its hand blazing with light.
Near the first protruding stone block were many more blocks of various sizes—quite a lot of them.
This was exactly the first challenge of this volcanic node: 'Wall-Walking'!
Among the numerous protruding stone blocks on the crater's inner wall was actually hidden a 'passage' leading to the entrance of the Infernal Beetle's nest.
"The nest entrance is somewhere on the volcanic inner wall."
The location was extremely tricky. Without prior knowledge, no one would guess it.
Carlos didn't rush down but observed carefully.
"Same as I remember."
Confirming there were no changes, Carlos first recalled the three Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards beside him, then jumped down to land on the first protruding rock and meet up with Number 4.
"Jump to the third rock below."
Carlos directed Number 4 to follow the route in his memory, constantly jumping to new protruding rocks.
With Number 4's 'bodily exploration,' Carlos felt much more confident and followed closely behind.
"Thud!"
Suddenly, Number 4 knocked off a small piece of stone.
This stone fell into the bottomless crater with no echo returning for a long time.
"Really deep!"
Absolutely can't fall down there!
Carlos's heart tightened, and his movements became even more careful.
Below his feet was truly bottomless in every sense.
Unless you could fly, if you accidentally fell, probably only activating a teleportation scroll could save you.
"I remember there's an opportunity in the Sadisson Ruins that lets skeleton summoning include a flying skeleton variant."
Unfortunately, those ruins were in a dark mist region that couldn't be reached right now.
...
In the pitch-black crater, only the glow stone illuminated the surrounding area. Time passed unknowingly.
"One thousand and one... one thousand and six..."
When Carlos mentally counted to the one thousand and eighth stone block, he suddenly commanded:
"Attack the wall!"
"Boom!"
Number 4 swung its greatsword in a fierce chop. With a thunderous crash, the wall crumbled—it was only a thin layer after all.
Carlos nodded knowingly and continued directing Number 4 to swing several more times until they'd carved out a doorway large enough to pass through.
"Go in!"
Number 4 ventured inside, continuing deeper...
After waiting several minutes and sensing that the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard hadn't encountered any danger, Carlos finally entered with peace of mind.
Upon entering, under the glow stone's illumination, he could see the place clearly.
This was exactly the boss nest cave entrance he'd been looking for.
With a thought, he re-summoned the other 3 Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards.
Carlos didn't rush forward but first arranged their formation.
Number 1 scouted ahead, Number 2 watched the rear for sneak attacks, and Numbers 3 and 4 guarded at his sides.
"Forward!"
"Step step!"
"Creak creak!"
In the silent cave, only footsteps continuously echoed...
This cave started with narrow passages that could barely fit two people side by side, gradually becoming more spacious...
Suddenly, Carlos signaled a stop, lay on the ground, put his ear close, and listened intently.
There was a faint rustling sound coming from underground.
Carlos's eyes flashed with joy.
"Finally almost there."
He then stood up and continued forward, his steps noticeably more energetic...
Soon, a 'cliff' appeared ahead, with clear rustling sounds constantly coming from below the 'cliff.'
Carlos again took out a cylindrical glow stone, activated it with Psionic Energy, and a bright beam shot out, illuminating a small portion of the area at the cliff's bottom.
"Rustle!"
"Rustle!"
At the bottom of the cliff, dozens of reddish-brown large 'hemispheres' awakened under the strong light's stimulation.
Each was about 6 feet tall, with sharp scythe-like appendages at the front end, and six thick insect legs with barbs gleaming metallically, radiating chilling coldness.
These were one type of monster from this dark mist node: Fire Bugs!
Mental 7, max attribute 4, with thousands of them down there.
Carlos didn't immediately send the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards down to grind monsters, but cautiously took out a tent he'd prepared in advance.