The archer girl looked up at me, her b.l.o.o.d.y eyes indifferent. She said softly, "Undead from afar, what did you see?"
I nodded. "I saw a girl on the gra.s.s and you seem… wounded?"
My gaze landed on her chest where there was blood. A glowing dagger was inserted into her skin, the blood dripping onto the gra.s.s. The gra.s.s immediately withered upon contact. This told me this NPC young female was not very pure. Her blood was so toxic it could siphon life. This was a trait of high-rank Night Creatures—the living couldn"t even come close!
"Yes."
Xue Wei nodded and said quickly, "Those horrible traitors dared to wound me... wuuwuu, I failed the mission Queen Sophia had given me!"
My eyebrows rose. Who is this Queen Sophia?
Therefore, I asked, "Who is Sophia?"
Xue Wei laughed and said, "You are an undead and don"t know Sophia? Alright, I will tell you. Sophia was originally a succubus, but after a mishap, she became a Night Creature. She is the greatest Night Creature on the continent. In our tumultuous times of war, Sophia is leading millions of our brethren against the invasion of humans and elves!"
I nodded. So she"s the leader of the Night Creatures!
Who cares? I"m neutral anyway. I will follow whoever feeds me. I work for whoever can give me experience and rewards!
I bent down and crouched in front of Xue Wei. I inspected her wound and asked, "How can I help you?"
"My injury is very serious and I need to recover quickly..." Xue Wei said, opening her red lips. "Maybe, if you bring me a living person, their fresh meat can let me recover..."
I stilled and suddenly stood up. I said decisively, "Sorry, I would never do such a thing."
Xue Wei looked at me in surprise and suddenly smiled. Her smile was bright and she said, "Well spoken! Young warrior, you remind me of my former stubborn self. In the first century after my death, I have never harmed a single innocent human."
"Oh?" I was quite surprised. "Don"t Night Creatures all eat corpses?"
Xue Wei smiled and shook her head. "You should know that Night Creatures are divided by rank and strength. High-rank Night Creatures have principles. That would be Queen Sophia or I. We never go against our principles."
"Then why are so many Night Creatures committing atrocities across the continent, ma.s.sacring human towns like a plague?"
Xue Wei looked deeply at me, a hint of praise in her beautiful blood eyes. She said, "Yes, those Night Creatures are senseless. Or rather, they belong to the other of the two camps. One camp consists of friendly Night Creatures, who only want to survive. The other kind are evil, violent, and bloodthirsty, the mutual enemy of the Silver Moon Alliance and the Blood Dance Legion!"
"Blood Dance Legion?"
"Yes." Xue Wei nodded and said, "Blood Dance is the holy alliance that Queen Sophia formed by gathering large numbers of high-rank Night Creature warriors. At least, in our view, we are holy. We fight the evil Night Creatures, and only fight the Silver Moon Alliance if it concerns our survival"
I was relieved. "Are you one of the higher-ups of the Blood Dance Legion?"
Xue Wei did not hide and smiled. "Yes. I, Shadow Dancer Xue Wei, am the commander of the Blood Dance Legion"s first corps!"
I immediately knelt down on one knee in front of her and gave an oath of loyalty. "Boss, allow this one to be promoted. I"ve been bullied at Frost Mound and came close to death many a time. I am willing to join the Blood Dance Legion and fight injustice for our continued existence!"
Xue Wei laughed. "Alright, as your trial to join our faction, you must complete my mission first. It will be very difficult!"
I nodded. "Alright, speak!"
Xue Wei looked into the distance with a profound gaze. "I need to absorb a large number of undead sparks to heal. Go kill at least 500 Violet Undead Knights, and use this bow to absorb their undead sparks. Once you"re done, bring it back to me. I will reward you generously!"
Ding~!
System Notice: You have received the quest [Shadow Dancer"s Request]! (Current Quest Difficulty: C+)
Description: Kill 500 Violet Undead Knights, absorb their undead sparks, and give them to Shadow Dancer Xue Wei. You will be rewarded!
……
I got a quest!
Finally, after waiting all this time, I saw the hope of joining the Night Creatures" faction! Actually, there were many quests at Frost Mound that required me to kill human citizens. I had not accepted any of them. I really didn"t want to do things that went against my heart. This Blood Dance Legion was a separate faction within the Night Creatures. It was a perfect place for me!
At least, I would no longer have to eat corpses. That was disgusting. Only someone with strange tastes and slow to adapt like Gui Guzi would eat those.
Originally, I was killing the Violet Undead Knights to level up. Now, I got a quest for them. Two birds with one stone!
……
Around 2 am, after killing some Violet Undead Knights, a ray of light washed over me. I was finally Level 45!
I immediately opened my bag and took out the Stormy War Boots. I had yearned for this Silver-grade item for so long! I could finally equip it!
Stormy War Boots (Silver)
Defense 55
Strength: +18
Stamina: +15
Pa.s.sive: Increases user"s movement speed by 0.5%
Level Requirement: 45
……
I looked at the stats. Very good, especially the 0.5% increase in movement speed. This made me feel very pleased. Normally, boots wouldn"t increase basic speed. Bonus to movement speed was extreme. In the current stage of the game, all players moved at the same rate. And now, I had an extra 0.5%. While the difference was really small, I would be able to do things like hit-and-run!
I took off the Porcupine Boots and put on the Stormy War Boots. Immediately, my feet glowed and all my stats increased—
ID: Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand
Cla.s.s: Undead Swordsman (Bronze Swordsman)
Level: 45
HP: 1030
Attack: 191~345
Defense: 238
Magic Resist: 0
Reputation: 2840
Luck: 0
……
I"m so great. Fifteen points of Stamina meant a boost of 150 HP. It allowed me to break through the barrier of 1000 HP. It really was terrifying. Even the strongest magic knights may not have such high HP. On top of that, 18 Strength added 11~18 points to my Attack. My Defense surpa.s.sed 200 points for the first time. I had completely transformed!
I turned around and found a Level 50 Violet Undead Knight to fight. This time, it was much easier. When I was. .h.i.t, I only took 200 damage. Also, my HP was higher, so Regeneration of the Undead had become even stronger.
Tsk, tsk. One Silver-grade item was enough to make me so strong. If I put on Ghost Ice Soul, wouldn"t I become too OP?
The mere thought of it filled me with a sense of longing. I need to reach Level 50 as soon as possible! The second I equip Ghost Ice Soul, I will be unstoppable
I continued to kill, looking like a grinding machine that did not know what fatigue and sleep were. It wasn"t until 8 am that I felt a hint of tiredness. However, the results were clear. I had leveled up to 46 and 12%. Numerous Violet Undead Knights fell under my sword. I had long ago finished the quest, but with their rich experience, I couldn"t bear to finish and leave.
"Haa..."
I sighed in relief. After killing another knight, I looked into my bag. It was filled with magic stones, I had more than thirty of them. Time to finish. After turning in the quest, I will basically catch up to Lin Yixin.
As I returned to the forest, Shadow Dancer Xue Wei was still leaning against the tree, the wound in her chest terrible. She looked weakly in my direction.
As an ancient player with abundant experiences in countless games, I naturally knew that NPCs in a game like Heavenblessed would scale along with players" levels. Xue Wei might be only Level 55 at the time, but she would soon grow into a powerful boss-level NPC. Once I reached Level 100, Xue Wei would probably be an epic Level 120 boss.
I grabbed the longbow and handed it to Xue Wei, saying, "I have gathered sufficient undead sparks on there, is it enough for you to recover?"
Xue Wei nodded, her white hand touching the bow"s string. Immediately, blood-red undead sparks permeated her body and the girl"s wounds visibly healed. The healing effect of these sparks was truly powerful. Compared to my Regeneration of the Undead, her technique was divine!
A moment later, when Xue Wei"s wounds had mostly healed, she smiled happily. "Young Warrior, thank you for your help in healing me. As one of the commanders of the Blood Dance Legion, I, in the name of Shadow Dancer Xue Wei, give you a reward. Thank you for all you have done. Fight on!"
Ding~!
System Notice: Congratulations, you have completed the quest [Shadow Dancer"s Request]. You have gained 14400 EXP and 375 Reputation!
……
My experience soared, prompting me to immediately open the Heavenly Ranking. It refreshed every three seconds anyway. As expected, I jumped to the top spot! I was finally first for once!
Lin Yixin and I were at the same level, but I still had more experience. I had no doubt in my mind she would surpa.s.s me once I went to sleep. Dominating Heaven Blade was also a leveling maniac, closely behind us two. He was also at Level 46. He probably would surpa.s.s me soon.
If I wanted to keep the top position, I couldn"t sleep and had to continue grinding.
I thought about it and discarded the notion soon after. There"s no point. Level isn"t everything. I"ll move slowly but steadily. What matters most is my individual strength. Dominating Heaven Blade may have a high level, but so what? Can he even take my Pardon-empowered attack?
If not, then he was nothing to me.
Shadow Dancer Xue Wei smiled and stood up with her longbow. "Young warrior, if you have the chance, I hope you will come to Blue Moon Island and formally become a member of the Blood Dance Legion. May we meet again!"
As she finished speaking, Xue Wei disappeared from the forest like an elf, astoundingly fast.
I shook my head. In the information published on Heavenblessed"s forums, Blue Moon Island was a high-level map. Before reaching Level 100, I wouldn"t want to go there, unless I had a death wish.
My body was the capital of the revolution. Drowsily, I logged off to rest.