"Fucking hell, who would have thought that one of Candle Dragon’s lapdogs would come from Sky City?!" Li Chengfeng spat in disgust. "Little Piglet, you are one of the best players in Sky City, but you’re actually helping Candle Dragon obstruct Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls?! Do you have no shame man?!"

Little Piglet’s gaze turned dark but he didn’t say a word in response. He simply held onto his sword and stood there.

At this moment, more people started emerging from the forest. The player at their head was precisely the leader of Hegemon Palace, Pillar of the Nation. It seemed as if that punk Wang Dongliang had been recruiting again recently, as all the players around him were elite players higher than Level 140. In fact, their levels outstripped their own guild leader. Little Piglet was outstanding even in that group. The Level 147 Cold Wind Swordsman was a force to be reckoned with.

Wang Dongliang was an extremely handsome man. He walked forward and arched a perfectly-groomed eyebrow and said, "What do you mean by ‘Candle Dragon’s lapdogs’? My Hegemon Palace has never bent the knee to Candle Dragon. The only reason why we are interfering with you here is because Hegemon Palace was designated as an enemy guild by Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. Is there anything wrong with us attacking an enemy guild? Besides, this battle over Immortality City is to help determine the next Guild Ranking. As a new guild, Hegemon Palace has to distinguish itself in some way, right?"

Xu Yang pointed his sword toward Wang Dongliang and said, "Bullshit, you’re clearly backing Candle Dragon up, so why bother making all of these excuses? Little Piglet, if you’re a man, just bring it on! There’s nothing left to talk about!"

Little Piglet’s lips curved up into a lazy smile as he said, "I’m just a simple mercenary. I’ll do the job for whoever pays me. Don’t involve me in your petty squabbles. I’m not interested in the fight between guilds. However, if you make a move against my guild leader, don’t blame me for taking action!”

"You really are a mercenary fellow…" Xu Yang scoffed in disdain. [1]

Little Piglet didn’t waste his time trying to explain himself. He swept his sword in front of him and said, "Whatever it is, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls can forget about crossing this road today! Hegemon Palace is also trying to garner some fame and power from this battle, heh heh!"

Chaos Moon brandished her sword and took a threatening step forward, "Garner fame and power? Based on what merit?!"

"On what merit you ask?" Pillar of the Nation raised his sword high in the air and laughed. "Based on the fact that we have the strongest cavalry troop in the entire Sky City!"

"Cavalry troop?" I couldn’t help but ask.

Pillar of the Nation slashed his sword downward and let out a hearty laugh. "Hegemon Palace, it is time! Mobilize our armored riders. Rulers raise soldiers for a year in preparation for that one special day! Today is that day! Come out and show the world our earth-shaking might!"

The thunderous sound of hooves soon reverberated in the air as countless shadows surged out of the forest. They were all players from Hegemon Palace! Fuck, the Hegemon Palace had actually managed to create an elite cavalry troop while they were laying low. Well, to be fair, no super guild would sit around doing nothing while the Nation Wars were around the corner.

However, the moment Hegemon Palace’s cavalry troops appeared, all the players from Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, The Monarch Descends, Baidicheng, and Blazing Hot Lips burst out into laughter. Chaos Moon’s reaction was the most exaggerated. She was laughing so hard that tears were about to come out from her eyes. As she pointed at Hegemon Palace’s cavalrymen, she bent at her waist and gasped, "No way! Are these guys really a proper cavalry squad?"

Huge porcupines with long canines sticking out of their mouths were slowly marching toward us. Sturdy metallic quills stuck out of their back and a special seat had been fitted on to them. They had a pair of round, liquid eyes and they were very short and broad in stature. The troops mounted on the back of these porcupines were as tall as everyone else, and some of the taller riders could actually plant their legs on the ground while they were riding on these things. As a result, they had to lift their legs awkwardly as the porcupines moved forward. This looked so hilarious that everyone was dying of laughter.

……

"Damn, did Hegemon Palace come here to put on a comedy show?" Xu Yang was also laughing so hard his eyes had become teary.

Li Chengfeng’s eyes went cold as he replied, "Hey, don’t underestimate those bastards. I heard that those mounts are called Steel Needle Porcupines. They are Level 135 Dark Gold Rank rare mounts, so don’t laugh at them just because they look short and ugly. They won’t be too inferior to our Cyan Tiger Cavalry. Furthermore, these Steel Needle Porcupines provide a 10% splash damage passive to their riders, so they’ll really be a thorn in our side when we start fighting them."

I nodded my head. "Yeah, we can’t underestimate the enemy. Cyan Tiger Cavalry, prepare to charge!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Gui Guzi, Heaven’s Rain, Diamond Dust, He Yi, and the rest of the magic knights unsheathed their swords as their mounts started bristling at the prospect of battle. They were getting ready to charge straight at those porcupine riders.

However, it was at this moment that Baidicheng’s guild leader, Come See The Snow Tonight, raised her spear high in the air and rode over on a warhorse that swirled with flaming energy. She smiled at us and said, "Sis He Yi, Handsome Lu Chen, I think… that the Cyan Tiger Cavalry won’t be needed for this battle. You’ve already lost far too many comrades during this battle. How about you let Baidicheng’s cavalry unit take on Hegemon Palace?!"

I couldn’t help but laugh. "Oh, I’m actually really interested in seeing what kind of cavalry unit Beauty See The Snow, the best magic knight of Vanished God City, managed to create!"

Come See The Snow Tonight covered her mouth and giggled before replying, "Alright then. Please don’t laugh at my performance, Little Heavenly King!"

After she said that, Come See The Snow Tonight wheeled around and raised her spear high in the air. Her lovely voice rang out, "Riders of Baidicheng, it’s time to show our friends from Hegemon Palace our true strength. We’ll let them know that the guilds of Vanished God City can hold their own against the other cities! No one can trample over our dignity!"

Baidicheng’s huge formation dispersed like a tide, causing a path to form in the middle of their formation. They had managed to preserve most of their strength in this battle and as the sound of their hooves thundered in the air, a huge group of players riding on fiery red horses appeared. There were about ten thousand of them in all and every one of these horsemen was a well-equipped high-level player. It was clear that See The Snow had exerted a good amount of money, time, and effort to build up this unit.

He Yi giggled before she said, "We finally get to see them in action. Baidicheng’s elite unit, the Crimson Fire Cavalry!"

"Oh? The Glutton Cavalry? I thought that only a cavalry troop established by Sister Mingyue would have such a name…"

Thud!

Murong Mingyue’s staff smacked against my face. She stuck out her chest, causing her proud bosom to quiver mightily as she shouted angrily, "Do you want to die, you punk! Since when did I ever build a cavalry unit? Besides, it’s Crimson Fire Cavalry, not Glutton!"

"Oh, oh. So it was Crimson Fire…"

A smile crept up on He Yi’s face as she nodded her head and said, "Yeah, they’re riding Level 120 Purple Gold Rank rare mounts, just a little bit worse than our Cyan Battle Tigers. Furthermore, their cavalry troop is two times bigger than ours, so our cavalry troops are about equal in terms of raw strength. They just don’t have the Famous General Skills we do. This cavalry troop has allowed Baidicheng to quietly become one of the Top 4 guilds in Vanished God City."

My mouth dropped open in shock. To think that our allies were so OP!

……

Their metal hooves thundered against the ground as Beauty See The Snow led them forward. She activated Encourage VII as they charged into battle. The sound of their hooves was so loud that it even caused the ground to shake and it looked as if the distant territory hall was shuddering in response to this violent clash between guilds.

This was the truth of the matter, the battle in Immortality City was a watershed moment for the super guilds in China. This battle would play a huge part in how we were ranked in the upcoming Guild Ranking. This was due to the fact that it was a recent battle that most of the super guilds had participated in, so everyone’s strength would be laid bare in this moment.

The cavalry troops from both sides fiercely crashed into one another! Even though Hegemon Palace’s porcupine riders looked ridiculous, they were extremely fierce in battle. In fact, they didn’t seem any less powerful than the Crimson Fire Cavalry. Come See The Snow’s spear danced in the air as she hunted down one porcupine after the other, the steel-shod hooves of the Crimson Fire Cavalry turning the bodies into minced meat as they thundered in behind her.

Even though Little Piglet wasn’t a rider, he was able to stand toe to toe with them thanks to his Vajra. The 200% boost to his Defense allowed him to stand firm amid the onrushing wave of horsemen. He swung his sword through the air fiercely, batting aside riders as if they were ping-pong balls. Wind started swirling around his feet as a vortex of green energy started whirling in the air around him. After that, he gave a great shout as he slashed his sword out in front of him. A huge tornado shot out of his blade and tore into the Baidicheng players around him.

"Damn, Little Piglet’s become even fiercer…" Gui Guzi said with a dumbfounded look of amazement on his face.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, when it comes to 1v1 fights, Little Piglet is definitely ranked among the Top 5 players in Sky City. His skills can’t be doubted!"

Xu Yang asked curiously, "Who’s in your Top 5?"

Li Chengfeng replied, "Among the players of Sky City, the king of PvP is undoubtedly our boy Lu Chen. Lin Yixin is probably on par with him, but it’s too close to tell. After that, the Top 5 is rounded out by Beiming Xue, Purple Marquis, and Little Piglet. As for me? I’m probably ranked somewhere between sixth to tenth!"

Gui Guzi laughed, "Our boy Li is really humble. If you’re in sixth place, everyone besides Boss Broken Halberd and the beautiful Lin Yixin would be too ashamed to declare it out loud.”

Xu Yang let out a hearty laugh. "That’s right. If it’s just in Sky City, the best duelist outside of Lu Chen and Beauty Lin would be you! What the fuck are you trying to be humble about?! Purple Marquis and Little Piglet probably round out the rest of the Top 5…"

He Yi chimed in and said, "You’re forgetting one very important person…"

"Who?"

"Farewell Song. In terms of 1v1 duels, he actually has a pretty good chance against Lu Chen himself. How could you leave him out of your list?"

"Oh right, but the way that guy fights is way too dirty..."

……

Even though we started chatting, no one had let their guards down. Everyone had their weapons in hand, and we were waiting in the wings of the Cyan Tiger Cavalry. The moment any stragglers from Hegemon Palace appeared, we would immediately rush forward and chop them to pieces. This caused Pillar of the Nation to fume angrily, but there was nothing he could do about it. All of the experts he had brought with him had gone to reinforce Little Piglet, so he didn’t have any strong players left to deal with our Cyan Tiger Cavalry.

It was at this moment that a beautiful voice rang out in the air. The beautiful assassin, Shangguan Wan’er, had appeared beside Wang Dongliang.

Shangguan Wan’er surveyed the battle in front of her, her eyebrows knitting together as she said, "Boss, we didn’t manage to taunt out Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and we now have to contend with Baidicheng instead. However, Baidicheng isn’t an opponent that will roll over for us either, so it looks like a little hitch has appeared in our plan…"

Pillar of the Nation frowned. "It’s fine. Little Piglet definitely won’t disappoint me. How could the strongest general of Hegemon Palace lose to mere Baidicheng! Even if that girl, Come See The Snow Tonight, is a CGL Hall of Famer, Little Piglet definitely won’t lose to her!"

Shangguan Wan’er pursed her lips, but she chose not to say anything.

As she swept her eyes across the battlefield once more, a stunned look appeared in Shangguan Wan’er’s eyes. A beautiful figure had appeared around the edges of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ cavalry unit. It was another female assassin, and it was precisely the guild leader of our eighth subguild, Cute Little Naughty.

"Heehee…"

Shangguan Wan’er vanished into the background, daggers in hand. Her laughing voice floated in the air, "Boss, just stay here. I’m going to test the mettle of Ancient Sword’s best assassin!"

1. It’s a play on the two definitions of mercenary, one a noun and the other an adjective.