A person riding a warhorse and wielding a blade stepped out into the open. His equipment looked dazzling, and his level was pretty high. He got off his mount and walked up to us with a smile. "Friends of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Warsky Alliance, is it okay with you if I, Zhang Chun, request a short meeting with you two?"
The speaker was none other than Hot Sour Noodles, the guild leader of Righteousness and an official of the CGL committee. He was linked to the VR economic union in countless ways, and his opinion would majorly impact the new CGL Guild Ranking too. We couldn"t not ignore him.
I lowered my sword and glanced at him briefly. I asked, "What is it, Mr. Hot Sour Noodles? Can it wait until we defeat Candle Dragon?"
Hot Sour Noodles shook his head. "No, I need to tell you this right now. Warsky, you too. Can you please tell your comrades to stop fighting temporarily and listen to what I have to say?"
Warsky was a man of reason, and he knew full well he couldn"t afford to offend a heavyweight like Hot Sour Noodles. Zhang Chun was a VIP in the CGL committee, while the two of us were compet.i.tors who chased the throne of the king of all guilds. It would be irrational at best for us to anger someone like Hot Sour Noodles.
He Yi also got off her mount and stood next to me, asking, "Please state your business, Mr. Hot Sour Noodles."
The man nodded and started, "I have a suggestion."
"What is it?" Li Chengfeng asked.
Hot Sour Noodles smiled and pointed at the layers of bodies around us. "The battle of Immortality City is the battle with the highest number of partic.i.p.ants in all of China. It has lasted for 10 hours, and Candle Dragon, Warsky Alliance, The Monarch Descends, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, and other powerful guilds have taken part in it as well. Therefore, this battle definitely deserves to be rated as an "like none other". However, we all suffered ma.s.sive losses, and practically everyone except an extremely small percentage of players will lose a level. Don"t you think it"ll be unwise to allow this to continue right before the start of the Nation Wars?"
Hot Sour Noodles pointed to the north before continuing, "To the far north beyond Wind City and Sky City lie the three main cities of the USA, Seven Star City, t.i.tan City and Hero City; the main city of Korea, Burning City; the main city of England, Sunset City; and the main city of Vietnam, Hot Sand City.
……
"How do you propose we settle this peacefully?" asked Xu Yang with raised eyebrows.
Hot Sour Noodles gave him a smile and answered, "According to the latest tally, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is the guild with the most kills at 290k, followed by Candle Dragon at 240k kills, and finally Warsky Alliance. Going by damage-based rules, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is the strongest guild of this territory war in terms of kill count, so Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is the victor of this territory war. This also means that the territory should go to their ally, Baidicheng."
"Okay. So?" I asked with a smile.
Hot Sour Noodles paused and said, "So, there is no need to fight any longer because the battle has already been decided. Candle Dragon will withdraw from the battle now and return to Wind City, and Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Baidicheng will occupy Immortality City."
Not far away, Bloodthirsty Battle Monarch of Hall of Immortality immediately flew into a rage, "f.u.c.k! Who the f.u.c.k do you think you are, Hot Sour Noodles? Who gave you the right to give my rightful territory to Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls? Who?!"
Hot Sour Noodles didn"t give in to anger. He simply looked back at Bloodthirsty Battle Monarch with a smile and replied, "Simple. It"s because you already lost. As the defender of this war, Hall of Immortality"s kill count didn"t even reach 10% of Ancient Sword. Why should you get to occupy this valuable city, and how are you going to use it to protect Vanished G.o.d City?"
"You shove your bulls.h.i.+t back into your own mouth!"
Bloodthirsty Battle Monarch raged with bloodshot eyes. "This city is mine, and no one can change that! There"s still 30 minutes left on the clock, and if the attackers cannot take down the territory hall in time then they will all have to f.u.c.k off my territory, end of story! This is my territory, and I"m going to kill anyone who tries to take it! Candlelight Shadow, why are you being so quiet? Don"t tell me you already forgot your promise to Hall of Immortality! You gave your word that you will aid in the defense of Immortality City no matter what!"
Candlelight Shadow also plunged his sword into the ground and said in a low, stern voice, "He"s right, Zhang Chun. I appreciate your words, but you can stop talking now. The battle isn"t over yet, and I can hold this city for another 30 minutes, so please, take your men and go away. We are friends. I won"t ask you to help Candle Dragon, but I will ask that you don"t turn on us."
Hot Sour Noodles stared at him in frustration. "Did you hit your head in the battle, Candlelight? How many of your people are still alive? How can you possibly hold back the experts of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls with so few people? Forget 30 minutes, you might not even be able to survive for another 20. You know I"m not a selfish person. We may be friends, but I will never discriminate in Candle Dragon"s favor because of that."
Not far away, October Rain chuckled out loud. "Oh? You and Candlelight Shadow are friends, Mr. Hot Sour Noodles? In that case, please tell us why you"re stopping us from killing him. You"re not going to say that it"s in the nation"s interest to keep him alive, are you?"
Hot Sour Noodles turned to look at October Rain for a moment before laughing all of a sudden. "Chen Yu, let me ask you a question: Who is the player who led the army of China and won a great war during the last two years of Spirit of Grief? Who"s the man who carried China to the top and made the world tremble when they heard our IDs?"
October Rain looked caught off-guard. She answered, "It"s… Candlelight Shadow!"
"Correct! It"s Candlelight Shadow!"
Hot Sour Noodles pointed at Candlelight Shadow"s direction and said, "That"s right! It"s this man that wiped out three of India"s main cities and forced the United States of America to move their capital city 6 times with his G.o.dly army! It is this man who extended China"s domain to the literal edge of the zone, occupied over 30% of Spirit of Grief"s world map, and increased China"s virtual economy by 80% and more! He is the man whose very name scares the s.h.i.+t out of those Korean and Indian experts, a G.o.d to our players, and the soul of our very server! Now tell me, are you going to destroy this symbol with your own hands?"
Startled, October Rain fell quiet after she ruminated over his words.
I finally understood what Hot Sour Noodles was going on about. I got up my mount, urged it forward, and tossed the Cyan Netherworld Sword on the ground right in front of Hot Sour Noodles and Candlelight Shadow. I growled at them, "We have our own symbol! We will not live under another person"s shadow!"
Warsky also shouted, "Well said! We have our own dignity, and we will not become another person"s va.s.sal! We will accomplish our dreams with our own two hands!"
Hot Sour Noodles looked stunned by Warsky and my determination. For the first time, he looked a bit uncertain and couldn"t say anything for a long time.
About half a minute later, Candlelight Shadow suddenly looked up at the sky and laughed. "Hahahaha! I knew that the two of you won"t disappoint me! From this moment onward, I acknowledge Lu Chen and Warsky as worthy opponents! Now come! Let us settle this battle right here and now! I, Candlelight Shadow, would rather die than live in shame!"
"Then die!" The Armored Ice Qilin Horse exploded into motion as I said this. I picked up the sword I just tossed in the ground and rushed toward Candlelight Shadow!
"Kill them!"
Behind me, Gui Guzi, Li Chengfeng, and the others also joined me. They would never let me fight all of Candle Dragon"s players alone.
……
Boom!
I launched Thousand Ice Slash that hit Candlelight Shadow and all the players around him. Half of his players were killed in an instant, and Candlelight Shadow himself lost a huge chunk of HP. His pet, a Bloodthirsty Lion King roared and abruptly pounced toward me.
"Out of my way!"
I furiously slashed its stomach three times in a row with Burning Blade Slash and sent it rolling across the floor in pain. Before it could roll too far away, my Phantom Wolf King emerged and bit it ruthlessly in the neck, refusing to let go. Its HP dropped as quickly as the blood that was spilling out of its wounds.
That wasn"t all. Beiming Xue"s Purgatory Thunder Beast and Murong Mingyue"s Ironwing Dragon were working together to attack the enemies as well.
Candlelight Shadow was standing in front of the entrance to the territory hall and managed to kill a couple of Cyan Tiger Cavalrymen. Although Stranger of Three Lifetimes was engulfing him with her spells, he trusted his priests to keep him alive and refused to budge an inch from his position.
"Kill Candlelight Shadow! Eliminate Candle Dragon!" Warsky shouted.
Candlelight Shadow uttered with bloodshot eyes. "Come at me if you dare!"
Laughing At The Heavens answered his challenge, but Candlelight Shadow tricked him with a feint and jumped onto the back of his horse. Five consecutive strikes later, Laughing At The Heavens fell off his mount and died just like that!
Everyone was stunned by the incredible one-shot. Laughing At The Heavens was a CGL Hall of Famer who was famous for his impressive HP and Defense, but he couldn"t even take a single combo from Candlelight Shadow. Just how strong was the best active CGL Hall of Famer?
Thud!
Suddenly, a b.l.o.o.d.y light flashed past Candlelight Shadow and stunned him. The man was furious, but there was nothing he could do until the status condition was gone. Behind him, Farewell Song smiled coldly and stabbed him right through the neck, dealing 21828 damage!
G.o.d d.a.m.n, that was a scary amount of damage. This is what the apex of the a.s.sa.s.sin cla.s.s looks like!
……
Warsky, Li Chengfeng, Xu Yang and Chaos Moon didn"t let the chance slip by their grasp. Four Barrier Breaks, Rock Crush, Cyan Tiger Shatter, Mountain Stagger Slash, and Cyan Dragon Horn ripped across Candlelight Shadow"s body!
Not even a G.o.d could take the full combo of this many experts head-on!
Swhoos.h.!.+
The light of the soul flashed before our eyes, and Candlelight Shadow collapsed to the ground. Finally, the guild leader of Candle Dragon and the so-called Martial G.o.d of China had fallen!
……
The death of Candlelight Shadow didn"t mean the battle was over, however. Li Chengfeng narrowed his eyes and took a shot at the nearby Farewell Song!
The a.s.sa.s.sin was smiling himself as he caught Li Chengfeng"s attack with his dagger and brushed it aside from a strange angle. At the same time, Li Chengfeng lifted his foot and sent Farewell Song stumbling at least a dozen of steps away.
Clearly, the two strongest players of their respective guilds had a beef with each other. Both were eager to end the rivalry between them!
……
Farewell Song kept his daggers in front of him as he melted slowly into thin air. He was going to launch another sneak attack.
However, Warsky suddenly shouted, "Stop, Farewell Song!"