Thud!
He landed firmly on the ground, surrounded by a barren wasteland, and heard a crisp and melodious ring of a bell — Ding ~!
System Notice: Please note, you have stepped into a contested territory — Iron Head Wasteland!
… …
Iron Head Wasteland?
I thought for a moment and opened the official database. I couldn't find any information about the Iron Head Wasteland, but I could still find some information about it on the forums. There were three posts about the Iron Head Wasteland on the China server forums. They were — A: Iron Head Wasteland. My university classmate and I traveled for 24 hours through Bone Desert, Thunder Mountain Range, and Elephant City to reach the Iron Head Wasteland. We thought we could fight some bosses we had never seen before, but we were ambushed and killed by a foreign assassin the moment we entered the wasteland.
B: Iron Head Wasteland is a forbidden land for players, so it's best not to go there. I heard that someone was ambushed and killed in the Iron Head Wasteland, and his corpse was guarded for half a month...
C: Ironhead Wasteland. I've seen it in the official information of the European server. It's a very chaotic map. The wasteland is huge, and it's almost the size of Sky City. The natives in the Ironhead Wasteland are very strong and cruel. They are made up of many tribes. They have no nationality, no sense of honor, and the only thing they do is kill and trade. Fans also like to read:
… …
"Only kill and trade?"
I shivered. Damn, this was a good place. Basically, this was the border zone of the Heavenblessed Continent, so the people of Elephant City probably couldn't be bothered to come here. Perfect, I could grind levels in peace. At the very least, I needed to get to Level 210 and get my eighth promotion. Maybe my trainer would have some amazing eighth-promotion skills for me to learn!
I rode on the Ancient Divine Dragon and flew at a low altitude. I was only ten meters away from the ground so that my field of vision was the best. I wouldn't miss a single thing. At the same time, I activated Dark Pupils. I needed to be cautious in such a dangerous place. Otherwise, I could be killed without a trace...
On the ground, Level 220 dread-rank Wild Bear Monsters were running amok. Damn, their levels were so high that it was no wonder this place was a forbidden area for players. Only a party of 190 + seventh-promotion players could survive such high-level monsters. Normal parties would only be sending themselves to their deaths if they tried to fight them.
However, I was Level 206 now, and Level 220 dread-rank mobs were nothing to me. I had to kill mobs that were at least 30 levels higher than me, or I would be letting down the Ancient Divine Dragon and the divine equipment I had.
I roamed the wilderness for almost an hour. I was looking for an orange-yellow dot. That was an NPC's dot of light. I had to find a supply point first before I could continue grinding. Otherwise, my equipment would rot and I wouldn't be able to repair it. Then, what would I be able to practice...
Finally, an hour and a half later, I saw a few dots in the depths of the wasteland. Finally, there were NPCs!
I urged the little dragon to glide down and land on the ground with a thud. There was a simple tent at the edge of the forest, and there was a giant skeleton of a beast next to it. It didn't look like a dragon, but it was so big that its bones were ghastly white. There was a bonfire at the edge of the tent, and five NPCs were sitting around it. One of them was a warrior, and the other two were archers. Their equipment was in terrible shape, and their equipment was in tatters. However, there was also a goblin blacksmith and a succubus grocer. My eyes lit up at the sight of them.
It was obvious that these NPCs were from the Silver Moon Alliance. I rushed down the city walls. Although my China emblem had been taken away, the emblem of the Silver Moon Alliance was something I was born with. No one could take it away from me.
I gripped the Purple Ying Sword tightly and stepped on the fallen leaves.
"Who's there?!"
A succubus archer pricked up his ears and looked in my direction vigilantly. He pulled his bowstring taut and growled, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
The leaves rustled, and I walked out with a dewy face. I sheathed the Purple Ying Sword and smiled. "It's me. I'm an adventurer from Sky City."
"Oh, you're a lost adventurer …" The Level 245 dread-rank NPC warrior let out a sigh of relief.
I was speechless. "I'm an adventurer, but I'm not lost."
"You're not lost?
Then how did you end up in this desolate, godforsaken place? "
The middle-aged warrior smiled. "There's no need to be embarrassed, young man. Even we lost our sense of direction in the Ironhead Wasteland, so it's only natural that you're lost."
I smiled. "Is that so?
Fine, I'm lost, and I'd like to rest here for a bit. Can you help me repair my equipment? "
"Of course!" the blacksmith replied with a laugh.
I praised him on the inside. "The Silver Moon Alliance's NPCs are so loyal. They didn't even need to pay me anything to repair my equipment. They're not like Sophie's bastards who asked me to help them kill mobs just to repair their equipment."
After a series of clanking sounds, my equipment was repaired and I bought some fragrant bread from the grocer. Awesome, this really is a good place. Book fans also love to read "!!!!"
I took a seat on a dewy boulder and munched on my bread. The battle against Breeze and Rain and Cloud Walker was exhausting, so it was good to take a break.
… …
Beside them, the middle-aged warrior sighed and said, "We're the 'Black Wind Scout Battalion' that Her Highness Karinshan named herself. We're here on a mission to hunt down the Jie Li Beast. Now that the Jie Li Beast has been slain by us, the Black Wind Scout Battalion has been reduced from 500 to 5. I really don't know if we can get out of this place."
The archer said, "Don't be too depressed, leader. The Jie Li Beast killed tens of thousands of civilians in Vanished God City, and it's an honor that we were able to kill it. Even if we can't return to Sky City, Princess Karinshan will learn of our contributions sooner or later!"
The middle-aged warrior nodded. "It's too bad we didn't know that the Jie Li Beast had so many cruel companions. We wouldn't have ended up like this otherwise."
Intrigued, I put down my bread and asked, "Uncle, if the Jie Li Beast is so powerful, I wonder what its companions are like!"
The middle-aged warrior looked at me and shook his head helplessly. "Listen to me, young adventurer. If you have the chance, return to Sky City. This place isn't suitable for you to train here, and as you can see, my right arm is a bloody mess. These wounds won't heal, and unless I can obtain the scorpion venom of those venomous scorpions, I'm going to die here!"
"Scorpion venom?"
"Yes. Those ferocious Hypervenomous Scorpions are huge and powerful. They stung me, and I need the scorpion venom to refine the antidote. Otherwise, we're going to die of old age here."
I immediately rose to my feet and raised the Purple Ying Sword. "Uncle, if you trust me, I'll help you find some scorpion venom and heal your wounds!"
"Really?"
The warrior's eyes lit up and said, "Alright, then I'll let you try. Young man, those poisonous scorpions are in the cave on the west side. After you enter the cave, kill those poisonous scorpions and collect 100 portions of scorpion venom for me. Then, you'll be considered to have completed the task. I'll give you a very generous reward. As for the other book friends, just watch as normal!"
Ding ~!
System Notice: You have accepted the quest [Hypervenomous Scorpions] (Current Quest Difficulty: S Rank)
Details: Enter the Scorpion King Cave, kill a certain number of poisonous scorpions, and collect 100 portions of scorpion venom to hand over to the captain of the Black Wind Scout Battalion. You will receive a very generous reward, but you must be careful. Those poisonous scorpions are very powerful. Perhaps you can find some companions.
… …
It was a shared quest, but unfortunately for me, I was the only one here. Where would I find any companions? I might as well just kill my way through, and at worst die...
A low S rank quest meant that the monster's level wouldn't be low. I organized my inventory and sold 200 pieces of equipment that weren't too high quality from the blacksmith. Once I organized my inventory, the Poison Scorpion would definitely give me a lot of equipment.
"Wait …"
I was about to leave when the female archer stopped me. "Young warrior, I must warn you not to enter the bottom of the Scorpion King Cave. There's a terrifying devil lurking there, and it's as strong as a Jie Li Beast. You'll die for sure if you run into it."
I smiled. "Maybe I can kill it while I'm at it …"
The beautiful archer blinked her eyes and suddenly walked up to me. She reached out to touch my cheek and said with a smile, "It's such a pity for such a handsome young man to die like this. However, if you can kill the Poison Scorpion King and bring back its venomous stinger, I will give you a very generous reward, and …"
The beautiful NPC archer suddenly blushed. "And I'll marry you!"
Beside him, the middle-aged man laughed and said, "Mona is the number one beauty of our Black Wind Scout Battalion. Boy, your luck with the ladies has come. Go and fight hard for the glory of Sky City. Fans like to read:!"
I grinned and felt my heart clench. What the hell is this? If I marry an NPC beauty, then Lin Yixin and He Yi will kill me. This luck with the ladies should be given to someone else. However, I still accepted the quest to kill the Hypervenomous Scorpion King. It was just a matter of convenience, and the rewards would definitely be great.
… …
I turned around and rode out on the Ancient Divine Dragon. I had to stay mounted at all times. This barren land wasn't just filled with dangerous players, it was also filled with dangerous mobs and bosses. One moment of carelessness and I'd lose my life.
The little wolf howled on the ground. The Ancient Divine Dragon was flying close to the ground, and it was only a meter above the ground. In reality, it was walking on the ground, but its movement speed was super fast.
Some distance away, I saw a pack of ferocious wolves howling in a secret chamber in the forest. I didn't provoke them. Completing the quest was more important than killing pointless mobs.
I followed the quest instructions on the map and arrived at a dark cave at the bottom of the mountain in less than ten minutes. The good news was that the cave seemed to be very spacious, and the Ancient Divine Dragon could move freely in it.
"Go in, little wolf!" I ordered.
The Phantom Wolf King howled and ran behind me with its tail between its legs. It seemed to be saying, "You can go in first if you want!"
That cowardly bastard!
I cursed under my breath and spurred the little dragon into the cave. The cave was extremely dark, so I raised the Purple Ying Sword and lit up everything around me. I smelled a terrible stench coming from the cave. Tsk tsk, the stench of the scorpion king's cave really didn't disappoint me.
(Third update, worth 3600th PK vote.
Also, I would like to recommend a very hot-blooded fantasy book to everyone. It's called "Heaven Devouring" by Shrimps XL. This book is pretty fat already, and it's almost 3 million words long. It should be enough for everyone to kill for a while. I'm going to read it too …)