At the forefront of the group of players coming at us was a player wielding a lighting axe, seated on a black horse. The ground rumbled as he led a group of t.i.tan City players whose blood was boiling with excitement. That player was t.i.tan"s City Blade of Kings himself!
The players under the command of Blade of Kings belonged to a guild called "King of Mercenaries” Needless to say, the guild leader was Blade of Kings. King of Mercenaries was once known as the number one guild in t.i.tan City. However, their strength diminished after battling with t.i.tan G.o.d, causing their ranking to drop to the second place instead. But now, Blade of Kings actually managed to reach the core of the first floor before t.i.tan G.o.d did.
Blade of Kings raised his axe high up and laughed. "The boss has been lured out! Comrades, prepare for battle! Hehe, those players are our long-time enemy, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls! Show no mercy and charge forward! Kill every single Chinese player!"
……
Seeing the menacing look on Blade of Kings" face, Gui Guzi raised his spear and said, "Boss Broken Halberd, you guys continue to kill the boss. I"ll lead my men and slaughter them!"
"No!" I stretched my hand out to stop him and looked into the distance. "Blade of Kings has brought nearly a thousand players with him. We are at a number disadvantage either way, so let"s not fight with them. We"ll let them have this boss."
"What do you mean? We don"t want the boss anymore?" Gui Guzi asked in shock.
Chaos Moon giggled and said, "I understand what Lu Chen is getting at. Mn, let"s withdraw a few hundred yards first. We"ll let them have the boss!"
"Mn!"
Without further objections, everyone retreated swiftly. Meanwhile, Blade of Kings led a bunch of ferocious t.i.tan City players toward the boss, swinging his axe at the nearby Heaven"s Rain. The girl leaped back and retreated swiftly. With no losses, we disengaged and left the boss to Blade of Kings" guild.
Blade of Kings laughed heartily and shouted, "These losers dare step foot into Nine Tigers Soul Suppressing Tower! They"re asking for death! I want three hundred men to guard this place! Don"t let a single Chinese player get into this place! Everyone else, come with me! Kill the boss!"
……
In the distance, a group of t.i.tan City players encircled the boss and unleashed their skills at it. At the same time, curses and shouts started to ring out.
"f.u.c.k! Where are my legguards?!"
"My… my s.h.i.+eld is missing! What"s going on?"
"G.o.ddammit! Boss"s helmet is missing too!"
"f.u.c.k! That Heavenstealing Tiger has "Heavenstealing Technique"! We need to kill it immediately and get all our stuff back!"
The Blade of Kings" gaze turned icy. His helmet had been stolen by the Heavenstealing Tiger, leaving his head unprotected. It was then that he realized why the Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls decided to give the boss up without a fight. We had simply handed them a piping hot potato.
……
Bang, bang, bang!
The Heavenstealing Tiger continued to wave its sharp claws and unleash raging flames among a group of players. Cries rang out as batches of King of Mercenaries players dropped like flies. However, there was no other way around it. All they could do was to keep on fighting, backing down was not an option.
"Blade of Kings is just too unlucky. Why did he have to be such a busybody…" He Yi laughed and said, "What a pity. About a thousand King of Mercenaries players managed to get here. Ten thousand probably died while trying to cross over the series of traps. And now, the Heavenstealing Tiger keeps on stealing their equipment. How unlucky…"
"It can"t be helped. They are all willing partic.i.p.ants."
I simply laughed.
Blade of Kings shouted out a string of curses as his armor was also stolen by the Heavenstealing Tiger. It seemed like that armor was a pretty high-grade item, evident from the rage visible on Blade of Kings" face. Nearby, a magic knight lost his legguards, helmet, boots and s.h.i.+eld. His Defense was so low he could no longer fulfill his role as a tank and moved to the back. Alas, before he could reach safety a random swipe of a claw got him and one-shot him instantly. How unfortunate of him to lose so many items.
"Everyone, hold your ground!"
Blade of Kings raised his axe and shouted words of encouragement, "I"ve contacted our allies! The greatest two allies of King of Mercenaries will be here soon! Hold your ground! The boss has less than 50% of its HP left! Continue to kill it!"
Just like Blade of Kings had said, a group of Northern Alliance players arrived a few minutes later. However, the majority of them were just cannon fodder!
……
Ding!
Li Chengfeng sent me a message: "Lu Chen, what"s the plan? We"re gathered southeast of the boss."
I replied, "When the boss is left with 10% health, attack at once. Kill the boss as well as Blade of Kings. We have to obtain the Tiger Soul Essence!"
"Alright, understood! We"ll wait for your signal."
"Mn."
……
Heavenstealing Tiger"s growls reverberated through the tower. Meanwhile, the number of players of the King of Mercenaries continued to diminish. Heavenstealing Tiger"s AoE skills were extremely powerful and it was also an Immortal Rank boss. To take down such a powerful ent.i.ty would require the sacrifice of countless players.
Blade of Kings brandished his axe and shouted, "Comrades, keep fighting! The boss only has 25% HP left! This is an Immortal Rank boss so there is a chance of getting Immortal-grade equipment! If it drops Immortal-grade equipment, I, Blade of Kings will be impartial! To demonstrate fairness, Immortal-grade equipment will go to the guild"s treasury. Everyone can bid for them using guild points!"
The players of King of Mercenaries broke out in laughter and shouted, "The boss is wise!"
Immortal-grade equipment was as rare as a G.o.d at the current stage of the game and I had yet to lay eyes on such an item. Of course, there was Lin Yixin"s Devil Bell which was a Cambrian-grade Divine Armament. However, that didn"t count because it was merely a beautiful accident. It was obvious how much everyone l.u.s.ted for a piece of Immortal-grade equipment. For that, I"d even sell my sons and daughters, if I had any!
……
We turned around to see a bunch of players walking toward us. The leader was a player carrying a broadsword, Dominating Heaven Blade. His loyal subjects, Dominating Knight G.o.d, Dominating Archer G.o.d and the rest followed behind. They had less than a hundred players in total. Needless to say, I was shocked that the G.o.ds of Destruction could actually make it this far.
"Hey, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls comrades. What are you waiting for?" Dominating Heaven Blade shouted from afar.
"Someone"s fighting the boss up ahead!" Gui Guzi answered.
"Who is it?" Dominating Heaven Blade asked.
Gui Guzi stretched his spear out and said, "The Northern Alliance stole the boss from us. This boss belongs to us. You can forget about stealing it from us…"
Dominating Knight G.o.d smirked and said, "Who says this boss belongs to you guys? Are the words "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls" written on the boss"s head?"
I turned around and thrust my sword into the ground with a loud clang. My sword penetrated the stone ground as I glared at Dominating Knight G.o.d and said, "Dominating Knight G.o.d, mind your words. On the account of your performance during the Nation Wars, I don"t wish to do you harm. I hope that you will also show us some respect. Otherwise, don"t blame me for showing no mercy!"
Dominating Heaven Blade was a smart man. He raised his sword, laughed and said, "Knight G.o.d, shut your mouth! First come, first served! This is a principle of old! Since the Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls arrived first, they should have the boss. Once they have killed it, we will move on to the second floor. Our goal is not to kill the bosses but to obtain as many Cyanblade sets as possible!"
"Yes, boss!"
Dominating Knight G.o.d responded resentfully. It was clear that Dominating Heaven Blade was as important as the sun to G.o.ds of Destruction. His words were obeyed by everyone under his command. Moreover, Dominating Heaven Blade was a calm and collected man. Otherwise, they would have been eaten alive by power-hungry guilds such as Hegemon Palace and Flower Room.
……
"Vice leader big bro, the boss has 11% health…" Heaven"s Rain reminded me gently.
I pulled my Cyan Netherworld Sword from the ground and informed Li Chengfeng, "Chengfeng, attack in 10 seconds! I will one-shot the players around the boss with my Ancient Seal. Eve will lead a group of players and aggro the boss. You are responsible for killing the remaining players in the area. This boss should drop all the equipment it has eaten once we kill it, and oh boy has it eaten many! Hehe, all these treasures will definitely belong to us!"
"Hehe, they are ours for sure!"
Li Chengfeng laughed out loud and said, "Leave it to me! Prepare to attack!"
I pointed my sword to the front and shouted, "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, prepare for battle! This bunch of a.s.sholes stole our boss because they thought that the Chinese are weak! Now we"ll show them the meaning of true power. Charge! Kill anyone without a five-pointed star on a red flag above their heads!"
I charged out immediately only to clash head-on with 300 t.i.tan City players, a force not any inferior to our own!
……
"Dammit! They were just waiting for us! Everyone, hold your ground! Riders, activate your s.h.i.+elds and defend!" a magic knight shouted.
High Fighting Spirits laughed heartily as he swung his Dragonlight Shatter. He unleashed his Xiezhi Howl right as Chaos Moon unleashed her Rock Crush and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun unleashed his Rock Smash. Over a dozen players were instantly killed by the combination of three skills.
I urged my horse forward and waved my hand. Instantly, three golden seals flew up and imprinted themselves onto the crowd. The ground shook violently, instantly killing an entire horde of King of Mercenaries players. The Ancient Seal was simply too powerful! Even Holy s.h.i.+eld was unable to protect them because Ancient Seal was an attack of pure light, and thus of the same element as their magical s.h.i.+elds!
Ice Qilin Horse activated Hoof Trample and I charged my way past the three hundred players. The Phantom Wolf King let out a howl and followed after me, killing any player that tried to get close. About three hundred players encircled and trapped the boss and Blade of Kings was also within that party. He wore an ugly look on his face as many of his items had been stolen by the Heavenstealing Tiger. To be attacked by Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls at this moment was like adding salt to his wound.
He could only turn his head and glare at me with hatred in his eyes.
……
Purgatory Storm!
The Phantom Wolf King raised its head high as brimstone and sulfur rained down from heaven, wreaking havoc amid a group of enemies. After that, He Yi unleashed her Purgatory of Ice and Magma, slaughtering more than a dozen King of Mercenaries players in an instant!
At this moment, Li Chengfeng charged in from the side and unleashed his Dragonblade Revolution. As the green dragon energy spun around, Blade of Kings staggered back to avoid being hit. However, Chaos Moon quickly dashed forward and thrust her sword through his back, one-shotting him instantly. Half of Blade of Kings" equipment had been stolen by the Heavenstealing Tiger, so his Defense was pitiful, not even close to being able to withstand a blow from Chaos Moon. His eyes were full of resentment as he collapsed to the ground.
……
"Eve, you and Little Gui handle the boss! Attack it until it"s dead!" I shouted.
I took a few steps back, summoned my apparition and unleashed Purple Dragon Howl at once. The boss had little HP left so we had to be quick and get rid of all the players from King of Mercenaries. Otherwise, they may get the last hit.
At this exact moment, we heard a group of people charging at us from the east. The leader of that group was Blue Sky Scar, Candle Dragon"s vice leader. His eyes lit up when he saw that the Heavenstealing Tiger was left with less than 10% of its HP. He shouted with excitement, "Comrades, attack! Only the brave and powerful will win! Since the Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls dares to slaughter our subguild, we shall annihilate their main guild!"
A group of menacing Candle Dragon players let out a battlecry and started to charge at us.
At this moment, a rider appeared out of the blue and dashed out from my right. It was a beautiful lady on a Frostscythe Warhorse. She pointed her sword in front of her as cyan lotus flowers bloomed all around her. It was a player who had undergone her Great Earth Transformation, Lin Yixin!
"Snowy Cathaya, kill anyone who attacks Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. Defend our allies until they kill the boss! Candle Dragon, come at us if you dare! We aren"t afraid of you!"