âPadaâ¦â¦â
I stepped firmly past the edge of the floating mountains with my divine battle boots and ran forward a few steps in case I fell back over the ledge. I looked up and saw an enormous scarlet lizard directly ahead of me. It rushed at me with its rapidly moving four legs and blood red tongue sticking out, before finally opening its gigantic mouth fiercely. From this action I could tell he wanted to swallow me whole.
âKeng!â
I unsheathed my Cold Iron Sword and forcefully thrusted it downwards. âPuchiâ My sharp longsword had nailed the lower jaw of the lizard directly to the stratum. The Emperor Qinâs Sword in my right hand carried out a [Combo] causing the enormous lizard, a Lv 79 Phantom Tier monster, to howl in pain. My Flaming Tiger God then roared and slashed at the lizardâs head continuously with its sharp claws. It was settled in just a few strikes.
âHualaâ¦â¦â
14 silver coins plus a blood-red cardââ
[Scarlet Lizard Card]: Increase the userâs attack strength by 10% and attack speed by 5%. Level Requirement: 70. Duration: 120 minutes
â¦â¦
Itâs a good card. With a wave of my hand, I used it and continued advancing!ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
While slaughtering lizards on the way, I glanced over at the plants in the mountain range twice. I could see Lv 7 and Lv 8 herbs, but I just couldnât find any Lv 9 herbs . Peering out into the distance, I noticed a red-colored mountain range that was more majestic than the rest. Yeah, if Iâm not mistaken, the Spirit Recovering Grass must be there.
I continued clearing the path and heard the howls of monsters along the sides so I went out of the jungle to take a look. On the mountain ridge, a small three man training team was diligently battling. A Lv 68 Archer, a Lv 70 Knight and a Lv 67 Healer named âLove Mangoesâ, âLove Duriansâ and âLove Grapes.â They mustâve all been in the same family. The one named Love Durians was a Knight around 25 years old, while Love Mangoes and Love Grapes were two plain-looking female players.
âLittle Sis, target the monster before you use [Scatter Shot]. Donât go too far away, otherwise skills like [Scatter Shot] will lose its accuracy. Second Sis, just focus on healing me!â
Love Durians swung his longsword and saying, âIn Fan Shu City, the price of a Spirit Recovering Grass has gone up to as high as 10G. If weâre able to gather 100 Spirit Recovering Grass, then it would be enough for the game fees and electric bills for the next few months. Hehe, now itâs really time for profit!â
Love Grapes chuckled, âBrother, donât be so idealistic. Whether there is Spirit Recovering Grass here or not is still unknown. Plus, we might not even make it up there. I saw corpses of Scarlet Lizards on the ground just now, so I suspect that weâre not the only ones here. Besides, brother, your level absolutely must not drop, otherwise all those the nights spent on training would be wasted.â
âRest assured. Your brother is very strong!â Love Durian said as he confidently waved his shield and laughed out loud.
â¦â¦
I glanced over at them but remained silent and carried on clearing my path along the other side of the mountain. Those three didnât pose a threat towards me, and they looked like good people. People who work assiduously for the game fees and electric bills were primarily good-natured. If there was no greed, there wouldnât be invasion or slaughter either.
I continued advancing along the shady side of the mountain. About an hour later, I finally arrived at the main peak. The rocks here exhibited a deep red color like they had been soaked in blood. However, various kinds of unusual plants flourished in the crevices of the rocks. There were plants that could be harvested while at the same time there were those that couldnât.
âEh?â
I gasped in surprise at the sight of a familiar herb in the crevice of the rock right ahead of me. That was the Spirit Recovering Grass I had been searching for!
In extreme excitement, I hurriedly rushed forward to gather all of it!
I gathered a herb and received three Spirit Recovering Grasses. I was delirious. Filled with motivation, I begun dauntlessly slaughtering my way towards the next patch of grass and begun collecting more. In the blink of an eye, I had gathered several tens of Spirit Recovering Grass. I was bursting with joy. This was all thanks to the precious information Wan Er provided me with. Otherwise, I would have had to wait at least a week before I could gather Spirit Recovering Grass at Ba Huang City. If that happened, I wouldnât be able to get the reward given to the first person who reached Lv 10 Alchemy.
As I walked forward and drew closer to the summit, I could finally see that it had was strangely crown-shaped. There were also a few small monsters wandering around the vicinity. In addition, densely packed tufts of Spirit Recovering Grass could be seen from a distance, growing abundantly between rocks at the peak. Suddenly, I swung myself onto a ledge. Oh my, there were over a thousand tufts of Spirit Recovering Grass! What a big temptation! Among the three big main cities, Hills of Desperation definitely had the most Spirit Recovering Grass!
Feeling a sense of excitement, I was about to make a detour towards the summit. Yet, the clashing sound of swords and knives filled my ears. I hastily stood up and weaved through the high grass; a roundabout route to get to the pathway leading to the peak. From here, there was no way to get up to the summit as it was floating in midair.
â¦â¦
Crawling out of the bushes, the scene in the distance astonished me. The Fruit Loving Trio had been completely annihilated. Love Durian was kneeling under a pine, his shield had already dropped. Love Mango and Love Grapes were also kneeling not too far away, their potions scattered all over the ground.
âPaâ¦â¦â
A gold battle boot stepped onto the shield as its new owner reached down to pick it up. He scanned it and smiled, âHe he, a Lv 70 Purple shield. The defense is pretty good too. Itâs a waste to put it on such a trashy Knight, how about we take it? Fourth Bro better get up here soon or else all of the Recovering Spirit Grass might not be monopolized by our [House of Prestige] any longer.â
Staring at the killer, I found that he was a Lv 71 Berserker. Above his head, a line of distinct words appearedââ
Quick Thunder Swift Wind Lv-71 Gold Berserker
City: Jiu Li City
Guild: House of Prestige
Position: Vice Guild Master
â¦â¦
Beside him, an Archer cleared his throat and said, âVice Guild Master, we came all the way from Jiu Li City for the sake of grinding to Lv 10 alchemy and herb-pickingâ¦â¦ Ruo Feng Guild Master had repeatedly forbidden us to PK out in the wild but just nowâ¦â¦ now weâve killed three people from Fan Shu City. If Guild Master were to find out, then Iâm afraidâ¦â¦â
Quick Thunder Swift Wind grit his teeth and said, âWhat are you afraid of? Brother Ruo Feng wonât say anything about it. Itâs a good thing for [House of Prestige] if we produced the first Lv 10 Alchemist. Three dead people canât be compared to that. If there were others I would have killed them all the same. This is the price you have to pay to become the King.â
The Archer pursed his lips and said, âAlright alright, Iâll keep this a secret. Iâll do my best to make sure that Guild Master Ruo Feng wonât find out about thisâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
I took a deep breath. I finally understood what had happened. It was Jiu Li Cityâs [House of Prestige] coming here to grind to Lv 10 Alchemy. The Vice Guild Master Quick Thunder Swift Wind was leading the expedition himself. Clearly, he was none other than the famous CBN ranked 16. His ranking was actually above mine. But, his ingame attitude was just all too terrible. In all honesty, the two parties couldâve negotiated; there was absolutely no need to kill the Fruit family. I couldnât tolerate his way of settling the issue.
âKeng!â
Reaching back, I pulled out my Emperor Qinâs Sword and together with my Flaming Tiger God, slowly stepped out of the thicket, my silhouette flickering as I appeared.
âWhoâs there?â
The Archerâs voice fell as his eyes widened in shock, âThis⦠Ba Huang Cityâs number 1? Xiao Yao Zi Zai, itâs actually you!!â
Quick Thunder Swift Wind reached out and grabbed his battle axe. He stared coldly in my direction, âXiao Yao Zi Zai? What are you doing in Fan Shu City. Arenât you busy flaunting your dominance?â
I grinned and said, âIâm here to pick Spirit Recovering Grass, why donât you step aside!â
âWe got here first, why should we get out of your way?â
âBecause you guys are in my way so I should kill all of you. Isnât this your style?â I coldly smiled back.
Quick Thunder Swift Wind grit his teeth and coldly said, âXiao Yao Zi Zai, heroes are flexible. Take a look yourself, there are 5 members of [House of Prestige] but only one of you. Even the lousiest of us five is ranked 1137 on the CBN Battle Net Rankings. On what grounds do you think that you can deal with all of us?â
I suddenly raised my other hand and pulled out my Cold Iron Sword. The corners of my mouth lifted as I said, âWhy donât we give it a try? How else would I know if I could deal with all of you? Letâs fight!â
Quick Thunder Swift Wind was starting to get mad and lifted his battle axe, âXiao Yao Zi Zai, I know youâre an arrogant person. However, unless itâs inevitable, I wonât fight you. For what reason would you challenge [House of Prestige]?â
I swung my arm and pointed my Cold Iron Sword at the three bodies, âJust pretend that itâs for their sake! Our [Zhan Long] has always fought for the weak. I simply canât stand trashes like you that take advantage of the weak with your strength. Whatâs the point in people like [House of Prestige], [Legends], or [Heroâs Mound] killing these solo players? Come on, donât be a wimp. If you have the guts, then fight me instead!â
âYou have a death wish Xiao Yao Zi Zai!â
Quick Thunder Swift Wind abruptly raised his battle axe and summoned his pet. He roared out, âBrothers, attack together! Letâs kill him!â
Charging forward, I met Quick Thunder Swift Windâs battle axe with one of my swords. At the same time, I looked over and noticed a [Scatter Shot], a [Indigo Sea Arrow] and a [Combo] locked onto me. They would hit me all at once!
âDie!â
Quick Thunder Swift Windâs axe was engulfed in flames as he violently swung it down at an impossibly undefendable angle. My only option was to fall into their trap. The first attack basically showed that Quick Thunder Swift Wind was a true top level expert, and he wasnât much weaker than an expert like Yan Zhao Warrior.
My body came to a sudden halt as I held my Cold Iron Sword above my shoulder. âKeng!â I parried the battle axeâs attack, and as I expected, the left hand buff of block+40% was extremely useful; an originally extremely difficult attack to defend against was easily blocked by my sword!
âShua shuaâ¦â
After taking Quick Thunder Swift Windâs oppressive attack, I rolled across the ground, dodging the other three attacks. I slipped out of the fight and flipped myself upwards while punching the ground, making [Binding Chains] fly out, binding the Archerâs two feet. Good! My opportunity was here!
I swung my Cold Iron Sword and activated [Great Realm of Desolation]!
Three images of the Cold Iron Sword appeared in the air and suddenly shot through the Archerâs body. 4531 damage. It was an instant kill. The enemies were now down a person and best of all, it was a control type!
My body shot through the group as I activated [Haste] while my Flaming Tiger God roared as it charged in from behind the group. I turned around as I slid, my Emperor Qinâs Sword flashing with the light of a [Seven Star Fragment Slash]!
â¦â¦
âOh no!â
Quick Thunder Swift Wind bellowed, seemingly aware that the situation was becoming extremely unfavorable for him.