Chu Tian feigned a stretch, his peripheral vision scanning the depths of the adjacent forest.
A humanoid creature, its color identical to the tree bark, stalked, crouching on a branch.
If Chu Tian's level hadn't reached 31, exceeding the level of the minor monsters in this instance by six, he wouldn't have spotted this creature.
It was a demon hunter, but Chu Tian paid it no mind, pretending not to see it.
Ahead, four rogues were continuously clearing the path.
Because the entire path was extremely long and narrow, if they were to spread out and advance, it would surely be impossible.
To pass, they had to march forward in a single file line.
But this formation was easily wiped out by unexpected events within the instance.
So, the four rogues were clearing the branches to their sides and the vines underfoot.
They were clearing them reluctantly, because they knew from their previous easy-level runs that there were no dangers on this path, and it was fine to advance in a straight line.
However, since the boss had arranged it, they could only do the work.
At this pace, and wanting to rush for the first kill? Was that even possible?
"Damn things," one of the rogues kicked a vine lying across the path.
But as it turned out, the vine, like a serpent striking from its hole, instantly coiled around his ankle, hoisting him into the air.
"Ah… help!" This rogue, named 'Pain Behind Promise', let out a sharp scream.
Chu Tian had seen this rogue's name in the team.
Watching him, Chu Tian shook his head. The moment the vine coiled around him, he had at least three ways to dodge it.
"It's a Vine Demon. Lost, Eternal, step up." These were the other two tanks in the team, one a shield warrior, the other a guardian knight.
"Melee, block the position. Mages, all use instant fire spells on the vines it releases. Don't worry about the damage," Chu Tian commanded calmly.
Everyone followed Chu Tian's instructions. The mages unleashed their fire spells, and the vines released by the Vine Demon retracted upon contact.
The rogue suspended in the air was also rescued.
In fact, Chu Tian had discovered this camouflaged, stationary Vine Demon much earlier. He had stopped here and let the four rogues scout the path precisely to observe their adaptability.
However, he was very disappointed. 'Pain Behind Promise', the rogue, had triggered the Vine Demon's trap, and the other three rogues, upon seeing it, had directly fled back.
"What about me?" Jian Zhi Cang Tian asked.
"You wait on standby!" Chu Tian replied.
The melee classes surrounded the Vine Demon, blocking its position. The fire spells from the mages in the rear effectively prevented the Vine Demon from releasing vines.
The other ranged players began their attacks. Dozens of arrows, bullets, and spells traced arcs in the air, bombarding the Vine Demon with "bang bang bang" sounds.
Within two minutes, the Vine Demon let out a piercing shriek and disintegrated into a pile of dust, falling to the ground.
This Vine Demon was merely a common monster, unable to withstand such concentrated attacks.
"Did it drop anything?"
"Five copper coins!"
What good items could a minor monster drop?
"Careful! Jian Zhi, watch out…" Chu Tian suddenly shouted from behind.
But the melee fighters, having finished with the tree demon, had already relaxed their vigilance, scattering and moving about casually.
Two of them stepped into a hollow on the ground.
*Bang…*
Another vine rose, striking directly at their bodies.
It sent the two flying back. One face-planted, tasting dirt.
This single blow took away half their health.
Hearing Chu Tian's warning, Jian Zhi Cang Tian charged forward, intercepting one.
The other two tanks blocked the other.
But the problem arose: there were only four mages in the team, and facing two Vine Demons, they clearly couldn't manage all the vines.
Numerous melee players were repeatedly flung away by the Vine Demon's strikes.
Fortunately, the healers' constant healing stabilized the situation.
Only then did everyone understand why the guild leader had sent people out to scout.
This path, on the surface, was identical to the normal-level one.
But countless camouflaged Vine Demons and tree monsters disguised themselves as ordinary plants, waiting for you to step into their traps.
If a large group were to advance in a single file and be attacked simultaneously, triggering the traps would indeed be troublesome.
These monsters feared fire. With only four mages in their team, dealing with two Vine Demons was already insufficient.
If three or five came at once, it would surely lead to a wipe.
After defeating these two Vine Demons, Chu Tian had no choice but to personally step forward to scout. In reality, the Vine Demons and tree monsters on this path could have been bypassed entirely.
The main task was to disarm their traps to pass safely.
The four rogues earlier had just been milling about, unable to find the traps.
And in front of them, they even kicked at a trap.
Chu Tian was speechless, but as a rogue, he lacked trap detection skills. He could only rely on his past life's experience to point out the locations one by one.
Then, he instructed the rogues to detect and disarm the traps.
After the incident, with his guidance, the four rogues diligently detected and disarmed the traps.
The path was soon cleared, without triggering any more Vine Demons or tree monsters.
Those who had privately criticized Chu Tian in their hearts no longer harbored any doubts. It seemed the guild leader did have some skill.
They reached the first boss without any casualties. Only when fighting the giant turtle did Luo Luo die once due to excessive threat generation.
This instance was considered an initial instance in Tiandao, not overly difficult. It primarily depended on the tanks' resilience and the damage dealers' strength.
As for healers, if the tanks were tough enough, the healing pressure wouldn't be significant.
The first boss was defeated in a single attempt. With Luo Luo's damage output, there was no concern about insufficient damage.
Instead, they needed to worry about whether she should stop attacking and deal less damage.
However, Jian Zhi Cang Tian's equipment was not bad either; at least his weapon was reinforced to level thirty.
Therefore, his threat generation was relatively stable. If other tanks were in charge, Luo Luo would likely disrupt the threat after just one hit.
Under Chu Tian's leadership, they cleared all the minor monsters in the instance, whether they were blocking the path or not.
During this time, they even triggered two hidden monsters and completed a protection quest.
They helped an NPC dig a hole and had to withstand attacks from eighteen waves of monsters.
Finally, the NPC dug through the cave and escaped, completing the quest.
By seven in the morning, they finally arrived at the fork in the road before the final boss.
By this point in the instance, everyone had developed a sense of conviction towards Chu Tian.
"Boss, a friend of mine sent me a message. He said the team hired by Slaughter had wiped here 13 times. Each time, they wiped at 5% health.
At 5%, the boss would fly up, becoming immune to all damage.
Then, it would release a poison rain covering the entire instance.
There was no way to dodge it. Even taking antidote potions and anti-toxicity agents wouldn't work.
Because once it flew up, it wouldn't come down. Only when all players died would it descend.
Currently, there's no known method to pass the poison rain phase."
A player said in the team.
"All players started discussing after hearing this."
"Don't worry. As long as we can reach that stage, we've essentially passed! Just because they couldn't do it doesn't mean we can't," Chu Tian said with a smile.
However, his expression then turned serious: "But, the strategy for today's instance must not be leaked by anyone. At the very least, not for the next few days."