Universe Infinite Canteen

The Cucumber Skull Crusher in front of them was even bigger than the one Ma Lu had encountered in the abandoned warehouse, with its height nearly reaching one Yao, and the cucumbers on the vines as thick as a small arm.

Both its Attack Power and HP had been enhanced, with Attack Power increasing by 1 point, reaching 12 points, and HP increasing by quite a bit, jumping from 29 to 52, almost doubling.

It was the kind of opponent with decent strength, but the challenge level wasn't too high, making it perfect for testing out new skills.

Ma Lu activated the newly acquired Weather Forecast and circled a 12×12 grid area on the Chessboard Map, upon which three options immediately popped up on the circular screen.

They were thick fog, torrential rain, and hail.

However, there were no further explanations behind the options, which left Ma Lu somewhat in the dark about the specific effects of each weather condition.

He could only make judgments based on common sense; since his team of four was also within the range of the skill, Ma Lu first excluded the extreme weather condition of hail.

That left thick fog and torrential rain. With Ma Lu's years of experience as a tactical board game player, the former was likely to provide visibility or stealth-related buffs, more suitable for when facing superior numbers or in a disadvantaged position.

But with only one enemy, this option was clearly not much suited.

Therefore, Ma Lu eventually chose torrential rain.

And at the moment he clicked on the option, the previously clear sky suddenly turned overcast, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.

Then a downpour fell without warning, pitter-pattering on Ma Lu's armor densely.

Yun Que and the two Hellhounds were instantly drenched like drowned rats.

Ma Lu didn't expect the weather change to occur so quickly; he hadn't even had time to warn the three Witches under his command.

The Bliss Bird, unconcerned about the raindrops falling on him, quickly took out a waterproof bag and put the Resurrection Book inside it.

Yun Que, covering her head, looked around for a place to take shelter from the rain, only to be surprised to find that not even a single drop of rain was falling on the grassland less than ten meters away from them, where the sunlight was still shining; she was awestruck.

Among the group, the Hellhound was the most relaxed; even though the torrential rain had drenched her through, her mood wasn't affected at all, as she continued to stand carelessly in her spot, hands in her jacket pockets, whistling in the rain.

As Ma Lu was not familiar with the musical works of this plane, he didn't recognize the tune she was whistling—it was a cheerful melody, yet somehow it carried an inexplicable hint of sadness.

Yun Que ran a couple of steps toward the grass behind her and stopped when she realized no one was following her, puzzled she said, "Aren't you going to take shelter from the rain?"

"We're already soaked through," Bliss Bird replied indifferently.

Yun Que looked down at her clothing and indeed, within just a few seconds, she was completely drenched from head to toe; the rain slid down her skin, chillingly cold.

At this moment, Ma Lu was busy studying the weather icons that had just appeared on the Chessboard Map.

Torrential rain—movement reduced by 30%, firing accuracy reduced by 20%, Water attribute attackers' Attack Power increased by 50%, Electric attribute attackers' Attack Power increased by 30%, Fire attribute attackers' Attack Power reduced by 50%.

Note: The above effects apply to both enemies and allies.

The Hellhound, looking down at the Cucumber Skull Crusher at the foot of the hill, eagerly said, "It's my turn to take action this time, right?"

"No, you should wait till next time," Ma Lu replied after reading the explanation.

"Ha, why?!" The purple-haired girl became upset, exclaiming, "You couldn't have forgotten who dealt with that big cucumber in the warehouse last time, right?"

"I know, but this time it's different."

Facing the Cucumber Skull Crusher, the Hellhound was no longer at a disadvantage, but under the torrential rain, fire attribute attackers saw their attack power decrease by 50%. In other words, the Hellhound's 12 points of attack power were now only 6.

Conversely, Yun Que's Chameleon Double-Barrel Shotgun could switch to an electric attribute, receiving a 30% bonus. This was one of the advantages of this weapon: with a shortage of team members, Yun Que effectively filled the role of two different attribute attackers.

So Ma Lu turned to the original mascot, "Get ready for battle, use electric attribute for attacking."

"Eh? In such terrible weather?" Yun Que's face changed slightly.

"Battles can happen at any time, so naturally, you must always be prepared for battle."

"It seems... you're right." Yun Que tilted her head in thought, and then had a sudden realization.

She obediently knelt on one knee and set up her shotgun.

However, this time, due to the greater distance and the impact of the heavy rain, her first two shots missed.

It was not until the third bullet that she hit her target. The Cucumber Skull Crusher had only 2 points of defense, and Yun Que's attack reached 10 points with the rain's bonus.

Thus, this shot dealt 8 points of damage, and the Cucumber Skull Crusher noticed the enemy in the distance and started to claw its way over aggressively.

But its original speed was not as fast as a Mad Rush Radish, and the heavy rain further slowed it down by 30%, making its movements appear sluggish.

Yun Que was clearly nervous too, the downpour blurring her vision. She had to constantly wipe the rain off her face and accidentally dropped the bullets on the ground.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Fortunately, she quickly picked them up, and by the time she had reloaded, the Cucumber Skull Crusher had only moved 7 and a half squares.

Yun Que raised her gun once again, and because the distance between them had closed somewhat, she didn't miss this time and was also lucky to trigger a bleeding effect.

The Cucumber Skull Crusher lost 16 points of health and continued to lose more.

By the time Yun Que fired the third shot, there were only two squares between them, but the Cucumber Skull Crusher had only 18 points of HP left, and it was still decreasing.

However, Yun Que didn't have time to fire the fourth shot; Ma Lu ordered everyone to retreat, to move out of the range of the torrential rain.

By the time the Cucumber Skull Crusher caught up, the Hellhound had regained its attack power. Together with the Bliss Bird, each delivered a blow—just right to deplete the Cucumber Skull Crusher's remaining 13 points of health, bringing an end to the battle.

After the fight, Ma Lu gained a total of 16 experience points, 3000 Holy Silver Coins, and 21 Atonement Points, while also gaining a clearer understanding of one type of weather effect.

Without a doubt, stormy weather was more favorable for team members with water and electric attribute attacks, and it could effectively counteract Energized Plants like the Flaming Chili Pepper that had fire attribute attacks.

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All in all, utilizing different weather conditions could make battles much easier.

After the battle, the four of them returned to the square with the Recovery Banner to rest, and the Bliss Bird also started a campfire.

As soon as the flames rose, Yun Que moved closer, shaking her head from side to side, as if trying to shake off all the droplets from her hair.

Bliss Bird, on the other hand, first took off her shoes and socks to wring them out and then found a forked branch to dry them over the fire.

But the most boisterous was the Hellhound; she simply stripped off her soaked clothes.