"Ling Yue, hurry up. I've already caught the aggro..."
Under the moonlight, a half-beastman scout was beating a small warrior with a battle axe. Clearly, this person was me.
Ling Yue also saw that the monster's aggro was indeed caught. Otherwise, the monster wouldn't have beaten me up so badly.
As for how to catch the monster's aggro, that was a university question.
From the beginning to the end, I didn't even touch a single hair on this half-beastman's body, but he hated me to the bone. To sum it up, I insulted him. When he shouted 'Sinbad', I cursed loudly, "Sinbad your sister!" (Sinbad, suspected to be the name of the God of the half-beastmen's belief).
Then, this half-beastman seemed to think of me as the enemy who dug up his ancestral grave and chased after me relentlessly.
At this time, Ling Yue finally acted. First, she entered Cyclone Transformation and summoned a Cyclone Shield. Then, she raised her staff and shot a Waning Moon Arrow!
Thud!
“113848！”
Not a bad attack. Reality proved that my Magic Resist was much higher than this Warsong rank monster's!
However, the monster's total HP was over 4 million, so I couldn't one-shot it at all. Ling Yue could only switch to a large-scale spell, Ice Whirlpool. As a result, a string of damage numbers flew up. When the half-beastman got close to Ling Yue, it only had half of its HP left.
Since I had nothing to do, I walked over to the Z-shaped position. I was very familiar with it. With Ling Yue's Ice Attack, this half-beastman's movement speed was comparable to Bing Cha's Dragon Turtle.
After a series of ice-elemental magic spells, the Beastman finally collapsed with a loud roar. At the same time, several rays of golden light rained down on Ling Yue's head. She had actually leveled up to Saint Domain Level 7. Such a leveling speed was simply enviable!
I, the pioneer, was very noble. I summarized my experience for future generations. My moral integrity was rarely seen...
Ling Yue was in charge of gaining experience, while I was in charge of luring mobs, blocking positions, and cleaning up the battlefield.
Later on, I discovered another good strategy. After the monster was lured over, I would use Dragon Bind to bind it. This didn't count as attacking first, so Ling Yue could kill it with a barrage of spells. The experience would still go to her alone!
The night flowed quietly.
Ling Yue's level kept climbing, and in less than two hours, she had already reached Holy Domain Level 50. This kind of leveling speed made me want to die!
However, my leveling speed finally slowed down after I hit Level 50. It wasn't until around 6 am that we managed to kill the final Epic Rank boss with my help. The quest was complete, and Ling Yue had reached Holy Domain Level 72. In just a single night, she had surpassed Fleeting Fireworks and the Magic Cube of Fate. Iced Tea had also leveled up 7 times in a single night.
On the leaderboard, there were huge changes in the levels —
Frivolous Scholar Level 209 (Sanctuary) Dragon Speaker
Brave Heart Level 207 (Sanctuary) Dragon Knight
Seven-star Lamp Level 190 (Sanctuary) Dark Swordsman
A Speck of Dust Level 184 (Sanctuary) Dragon Warrior
The Waning Moon In The Morning Breeze Level 170 (Sanctuary) Soul Swordsman
Windy Snow Level 145 (Sanctuary) Ice Swordsman
7. Dark Shadow Follower Level 117 (Saint-domain) Gale Warrior
Bing Cha Level 82 (Sanctuary) Thunder Swordsman
Breeze That Touches the Moon Level 72 (Sanctuary) Ice Mage
Magic Cube of Fate Level 67 (Sanctuary) Magic Archer
Fleeting Time Level 65 (Sanctuary) Dragon Knight
Little Butterfly Level 61 (Sanctuary) Star Moon Priest
13. Hellfire Level 60 (Sanctuary-realm) Tempest Warrior
Sword Fire Dragon Soul Level 51 (Sanctuary) Swordsman
Bing Zhiyi Level 255 Dragon Knight
… …
Generally speaking, any player at the peak of the game would level up pretty quickly after they entered the Sanctuary. Among them, Ling Yue's leveling speed was the most shocking. I reckoned that she would level up a few more times if she returned to the game and turned in her quest alone. I was sure that it wouldn't be a problem for her to enter the Top 5 with her leveling speed.
I sent Ling Yue and Bing Cha a message to tell them to sleep early. The two girls were about to go crazy, but I couldn't take it anymore, so I logged out of the game and went to sleep. I had to wake up early at noon because the battle to retake White Cloud City was going to begin in the afternoon. This was an important battle for all players in China, so I had to be on time!
I slept until past 11 pm, and I immediately washed up after I woke up. Then, I called downstairs and ordered a couple of dishes. Not long after, a waitress came over with a tray. She was more familiar with me than I was, so she joked, "General manager, you're ordering takeout too? I'm so sorry!"
I smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. I'll tip you 50 cents later."
The waitress smiled and walked out of the room, her face red.
I called Chrysanthemum Daohana out to eat with me in my room. Once we were done, I brought the empty bowls downstairs and flew back upstairs. I was ready to retake White Cloud City!
… …
Swhoosh!
There was a flash of light, and I appeared in King's City. The place was already bustling with activity, and I could see many Snow Moon emblems flashing in front of my eyes. Clearly, the Shadow Follower, Bing Zhiyi, Spring And Autumn Dance, and other core members of the guild were gathering their troops.
I repaired my equipment and grabbed some potions.
Since potions had a limited respawn rate, I secretly bought them at night and stored them in my warehouse. Otherwise, they'd be sold out in less than a minute during the day. Going into battle without potions was tantamount to suicide, especially for classes like mages and warriors who used potions like crazy.
After I finished preparing, Ling Xue sent me an invitation to join the party. After I joined the party, I saw that the 24 cavalrymen of Snow Moon and the people of Xue Yue Studio were all present. Bing Cha, however, wasn't present. I heard that Vanilla Plus Ice was going to act on his own today, and this was the first time Bing Cha was leading his guild into a war of unprecedented proportions!
I led the girls to the outskirts of the territory and met up with Shadow Follower, Flying Fire, and Spring And Autumn Dance. Moreover, there was already a large group of Snow Moon players waiting outside the territory. Their cavalry was ready to depart at a moment's notice.
Dark Shadow rode a black warhorse and held a glimmering longsword in his hand. He smiled and asked, "Scholar, when are we leaving?"
"Right now!
We'll pass through the Plains of Despair and meet up at the open space outside Moonlight Forest. We'll wait for the order to attack first. "
"Mn!"
A large group of people set off and entered the Despair Ice Field. They followed the nearest path towards the Moonlight Forest, which was the White Cloud City's Forest of Protectors.
It was at this moment Solitary Grave sent me a message: "Scholar, is Snow Moon moving?"
"Yeah. Where's Time Like Water?
In about an hour, our vanguard will arrive at White Cloud City. Everyone has agreed to attack together, otherwise, we'll be wasting our strength. I've heard that during the Blood Path quest, if a player dies in White Cloud City, they won't be able to log in for ten hours. "
"Alright. Time Like Water has set off as well, so let's move faster. We'll arrive at White Cloud City in about half an hour. We'll figure out how to conquer the city then."
"Mn!"
A few minutes later, the beautiful guild leader of the Rain Listening Pavilion, Listening To The Rain From The Window, also sent me a message about conquering White Cloud City. We quickly came to an agreement and waited for the NPC army led by Fei Ya to arrive. Then, we would attack the city together and use our explosive power to destroy the Undead Defense of White Cloud City.
Of course, this was just our wishful thinking. The boss defending White Cloud City right now was definitely very powerful, and it wasn't impossible for it to be a match for us!
In any case, a battle for survival was about to begin. If the humans could retake the city, then they would have a chance at victory. Otherwise, they would be stuck in a temporary camp like the Shadow Moon Stronghold.
I didn't participate in the defense battle of White Cloud City last time, and I don't know how we lost. It seemed like the first boss, Abyss of Destruction, was so powerful that Fei Ya didn't even dare to fight it. She withdrew from White Cloud City with her remaining army. Of course, it was a wise decision. If we used up all our strength, we wouldn't even have the capital to reclaim White Cloud City.
… …
Rustle rustle...
I didn't summon my mount. Even so, my movement speed wasn't necessarily slower than the mounted players. Ling Xue was also walking on foot, and the sound of our war boots hitting the snow was pleasing to the ear.
Snow swirled in the air. Countless figures could be seen galloping through the snow. It was worth mentioning that the Level 72 Ling Yue was already wearing a messy set of cloth armor. She held a Holy Flame Staff in her hand and looked forward with a smile. She looked very confident. Presumably, her current Mana wasn't too low. As long as she didn't encounter a boss that was too strong, she would at least be able to kill monsters with ease.
Ling Xue, on the other hand, was a Holy Domain Level 145. Her Holy Domain equipment was pretty amazing, and her Defense wasn't much weaker than mine. Her Attack was also very powerful. This was a chance for her to shine.
Flap flap flap...
A tiny blue dragon was flapping its wings happily above Fleeting Time's shoulder. Flower Flame was smiling so widely that her eyes turned into slits. "Grow up quickly, Lil Lanlan. I want to ride you …"
"Puchi!"
A bunch of men burst into laughter. Fleeting Time's words were invincible, and they were capable of causing people's imaginations to run wild. Flying Fire looked at Melancholy and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Melancholy grinned. "I'm laughing at Flower Flame's lack of taste. This Lil Lanlan isn't very rideable!"
Fleeting Time smiled. "If you can fly a few dozen meters high, I'll consider it."
"Nonsense?!"
Melancholy's eyes widened, and he drooled. However, he didn't dare to say anything because Fleeting Time had already raised her Holy Domain sword and sneered. "If you tease me again, I'll tell the guild leader to teach you a lesson!"
Flying Fire laughed. "Rabbits don't eat the grass near their nests. You're f * cking crazy!"
"Fuck you …"
While we were talking and laughing, a system bell suddenly resounded in the sky —
Ding ~!
System Announcement: The quest "Path to Blood" has officially begun. The China server has launched a war against White Cloud City. All players are welcome to participate. Kill dark creatures and earn points. Rewards will be given when the quest is over. Players will not be able to respawn for 10 hours after death!
Kill any evil forces in White Cloud City to complete the quest, and White Cloud City will return to the human faction. If not, you will not be able to trigger the quest again for half a month!
… …
Finally, it began!
Moonlight Forest appeared in front of us in the distance.
I immediately summoned the Flame Qilin and ordered, "The main city is in front of us. Let's gather at the forest clearing outside the eastern gate!"
Then, I pulled Chrysanthemum Daohana onto my mount and galloped toward White Cloud City like a fireball.
Ling Xue also summoned her Blazing Warhorse and caught up to them with Ling Yue. Flurry of Spring and Autumn, Flying Fire, and the others also advanced at full speed. In the sky, Silver Dragon let out a long howl and charged toward White Cloud City with Yi of Ice!
The ground rumbled as warhorses neighed. Countless Snow Moon Country's melee players surged into the Moonlight Forest. Behind them, a large number of archers, mages, and other classes followed suit. It was a majestic sight, as if they could sweep away everything in their path.
Ten or so minutes later, we reined in our horses and arrived at the foot of White Cloud City.
The majestic White Cloud City was shrouded in a layer of black plague aura. The originally white bricks of the city walls had all decayed, and corpses floated in the moat. It was hard to tell whether they belonged to humans or beasts. The flag with the emblem of White Cloud City fluttered above the city walls, but unfortunately, half of it had been torn off. In addition, a dried human head was hanging above the city gate, swaying unsteadily. Swarms of black flies were flying around it.
Ling Xue frowned. "Whose head is that?"
"I'm not sure. Could it be …" Suddenly, I shuddered and widened my eyes. "Fuck!
Could it be the head of the king of White Cloud City? "
It had to be. Last time, I heard that the first thing the Annihilation Abyss did when they invaded White Cloud City was to kill the king and use his head to intimidate the people!
I asked, "Do you know who the highest boss in the city is?
The information should've been updated by now … "
Ling Yue nodded. "I just looked it up. It's the Undead Knight Blood Blade. He's ranked fourth among the ten bosses, and he's a tough character to deal with!"
I thought for a moment. "It looks like our chances of winning aren't high!
Blood Blade is the equivalent of a general in the Army of Darkness. He must have a lot of elite soldiers under his command … "
Ling Xue was puzzled. "Then what should we do?"
"I'm going to ask for reinforcements. Wait for me, it'll only take a few minutes!"
"Okay!"
I immediately took out the Longyu Ring and used it. In the next moment, I turned into a shadow and appeared on a snowy peak in Longyu. Bing Lan's residence had already been rebuilt. She stood at the edge of the snowy region and looked into the distance.
"You're here?" she said softly.
I nodded.
Bing Lan looked like she couldn't bear it and said softly, "I can't go to White Cloud City right now. The Ancient Dragon is attacking Longyu under Audin's bewitchment. I must go there soon …"
I was slightly disappointed. The Army of Darkness was really good at creating a diversion. It was always hard to deal with.
"I see. Then I'm … going back!"
Bing Lan nodded. "Okay. If I can take care of the Ancient Dragon quickly, I'll rush over. You stay in White Cloud City … don't, don't die …"
"Okay!"
I took out the Tracking Necklace and used it. I teleported next to Ling Xue.
… …
In the distance, a large NPC army appeared on the horizon. It was the Silver Cavalry of White Cloud City. At the front of the army, a beautiful human knight slowly walked over under the banner of a commander. It was the princess of White Cloud City, the highest commander of the Silvermoon Alliance, Fei Ya.
Looking at the ruins of White Cloud City, Fei Ya shuddered when she saw the human heads hanging on the city gates. Her eyes were filled with hatred. She suddenly pulled out her sword and shouted, "Royal father, I'm back!"
As she said that, Fei Ya raised her sword and ordered, "For survival, attack!"
The warhorses galloped forward. The exciting battle had finally begun. The horn of humanity's counterattack had sounded, and the first battle to reclaim lost territory had begun!