"This is such a good card…"

I let out a heartfelt sigh. This OP card could greatly increase one’s Attack, Defense and HP. Those steel-like Bronze Beasts had extremely high Defense. This card that could increase one’s Defense by 40% was even better than any Spirit-grade or Earth-grade equipment!

Even if it were an Earth-grade equipment, I highly doubt that it would be able to boost one’s Defense by a whopping 40%! In addition to that, this card added another 20% HP and 15% Attack! I love this card to death!

Tossing the card to Du Thirteen, I laughed and said, "Thirteen, use this card. It will increase your HP and Defense, so you won’t get killed so easily."

"Mn."

Du Thirteen activated the card and his Defense increased instantly by 40%. With his HP and Defense increased significantly, I did not have to keep looking out for him. It was too tiring for me to do so.

Glancing back at the navy blue helmet in my hands, I waved a hand over it to take a look at its stats. Everyone turned their heads immediately to get a closer look and gasped in shock. "What an OP helmet!"

Cyanblade Helmet (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★)

Defense: 800

Magic Resist: 720

Strength: +115

Stamina: +125

Passive: Increases user’s Defense by 20% and attack power by 10%

Outstanding Property: Reflect. There is a 1% chance that the damage taken will be reflected onto the target.

Property: Cyanblade Set, Helmet

Level Requirement: 155

……

"Mn? Cyanblade set…" I muttered under my breath, "Does Nine Tigers Soul Suppressing Tower drop sets? Did anyone check the database…"

Pure Love replied, "It does indeed, Lu Chen. I just checked the database. The first three floors of the Nine Tigers Soul Suppressing Tower drop the Cyanblade set. However, no one knows what equipment will drop on the fourth to sixth floors. And only the heavens know what high-level equipment will be awaiting us on the last three floors…"

I licked my lips and replied, "Goddammit, this Cyanblade set is really strong. It’s even stronger than the Dragonblade set that some of you are wearing right now. It’s no wonder that they all said this Land of Soul Suppression is full of treasures. Even a normal monster here drops Spirit-grade equipment! This map does not disappoint indeed! Let’s do our best, everyone! Gather as many Cyanblade sets as you can!"

"Mn! Let’s do our best!"

Everyone’s spirits were lifted at the thought of a new set. That Cyanblade set was of high level and had good stats. One could make a fortune just by selling it. Equipment sets were few in Heavenblessed, high-level sets were even rarer! Moreover, a Level 155 set was perfect for the top players. Every such set was practically priceless!

……

The corridor in front of us started to grow wider and wider, like entering into a grand hall. He Yi, Gui Guzi, Chaos Moon’s party members followed closely behind us as we advanced forward. We needed to eliminate every single Bronze Beast before we could reach the boss.

I asked in the guild chat, "Chengfeng, how are things on your side?"

Li Chengfeng replied, "We encountered a few traps and only a hundred or so players made it through. The rest were not willing to try and come over. Meanwhile, Hall of Immortality and Rose of the Holy Domain have caught up with us. I’ve told the rest to go grind the Scavenger Imps as they give rather high EXP. Lu Chen, what about yours?"

"Only 190 or so players made it past that goddamned trap. We’re slaughtering Bronze Beasts now. Everyone, pick up the pace! We need to reach the boss as quickly as we can!"

"Yessir!"

……

The road ahead split into eight different paths, but each led to the boss anyway, so it didn’t matter which path we took.

He Yi spoke up, "Let’s part ways. Each group will take a path."

"Mn, let’s split ourselves. The more mobs we kill, the more EXP we’ll get."

"Let’s go!"

Our party chose the rightmost path and we split ways with the other three parties. The path was nearly thirty meters wide and it was packed with Bronze Beasts. Everyone’s blood was pumping with excitement as growls rang out in the air. The countless Bronze Beasts before us were bags of EXP and equipment! That Cyanblade set was appealing enough to make one drool all over.

Stepping over the bodies of those Bronze Beasts, we swiftly pushed forward. Beiming Xue would aggro eight or so Bronze Beasts and I would activate my Icy Cyclone Domain. Du Thirteen would then quickly trap them with his Poseidon while everyone else quickly hacked away at the Bronze Beasts. It took less than two minutes to eliminate a bunch of Bronze Beasts and our EXP continued to increase dramatically with each kill. Even players who were simply leeching from us were receiving an insane amount of EXP. Leveling up had never been quicker!

Bang!

A bluish-green whip and Phantasmal Magic Stone fell to the ground and I picked them up to get a closer look. Sure enough, it was a Cyanblade Whip that we have been yearning for. Now, I had two pieces of the Cyanblade set in my inventory!

After two hours of grinding and gaining a huge amount of EXP, I had managed to level up and reach Level 158. Even so, I still was not on Sky City’s Heavenly Ranking. Goddammit, everyone was leveling up at an insane speed! It was going to be a difficult feat to enter the Top 10 once again!

……

At this moment, we heard a noise from the back. Cute Little Naughty gripped her dagger and melted into the air. "Vice leader big bro, I’ll go scout it out. It seems like we have company!"

"Mn."

There were four assassins in our party and one of them was Cute Little Naughty. Odds of winning in a PvP battle were much higher when one had assassins in their team.

We continued to grind while Little Naughty went to scout things out.

A few minutes later, Cute Little Naughty sent a message inside the party chat: "Vice leader big bro, we have company! It’s Candle Dragon! They have… about a hundred players in total!"

"Goddammit! Candle Dragon came with so many players?" Who’s their leader?" I asked.

"It’s Purple Dawn! It’s Candle Dragon’s first subguild!"

"I’ve got it! Little Naughty, follow them closely."

"Vice leader big bro, what should we do next?"

"Stop grinding and slaughter Candle Dragon’s first subguild! This is our territory now, we will not let them pass! We will not have any enemy appear before us while we are grinding. Hmph, Purple Dawn had actually chosen to take the same path as us. They refused to take the stairway to heaven and instead chose the highway to hell. Everyone, stop grinding! Prepare for battle!"

The Dragonlight Cavalrymen summoned their mounts immediately at my command while Beiming Xue and the other ranged players got into their battle positions.

……

The sound of movement continued to grow closer and closer to our present location.

I swiftly entered into the Great Earth Transformation state and laughed. "Thirteen, take the Dragonlight Cavalrymen and block the path ahead but don’t attack yet. Cute Little Naughty and I will ambush them from the back. We’ll attack from both sides and eliminate Candle Dragon's first subguild!"

"Alright!"

My speed was reduced by the Great Earth Transformation and yet, I leisurely strolled over to a hiding spot.

The voices started to become clear as nearly seventy Viper Dragoons came into view under the dimly lit hallway. At the back of the troops was Purple Dawn who wore a set of excellent leather armor and carried a pale blue bow. He looked around cautiously as he led a group of Candle Dragon's first subguild players forward.

……

Purple Dawn frowned at the bodies of the Bronze Beasts on the ground and said, "These monsters have been killed. Looks like our information was right. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players have indeed chosen this path. Everyone prepare yourselves! A battle may break out at any moment!"

Red Dawn, a Level 155 magic knight spoke up. "Don’t worry! Our intel is absolutely reliable. Not many Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls players managed to pass through the traps. Unlike us who risked our lives to pass through them, they decided to preserve their strength. Less than two hundred of them made it through! We have nothing to fear!"

Purple Dawn grinned and said, "Hmph, out of a thousand Viper Dragoons, only a hundred made it past the traps. Even though we outnumber Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, we paid a high price for that! We’ll let them pay the price for underestimating us! If they thought that they could go about as they pleased in this Nine Tigers Soul Suppressing Tower, they can continue to dream on! Tell our comrades at the back to keep up! I would like to see how Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls die in the hands of 500 elite Candle Dragon players!"

Red Dust looked at the dark hallway in front and said, "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls have split up to grind and we have no idea whose party is in front of us. Let’s hope it’s From Water’s party so we can slaughter their guild leader. Hehe, that will teach them a painful lesson!"

An assassin to the side chimed in, "Guild leader, Candlelight Shadow said that we would do well not to provoke Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls inside Nine Tigers Soul Suppressing Tower. The Northern Alliance is watching us too. If we make a move on Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Candlelight Shadow will get angry…"

A look of jealousy crossed Purple Dawn’s face as he growled, "Candlelight Shadow has grown weak! The Nation Wars have him completely confused! Hmph, is Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls that frightening? I think not! We’ll kill them as planned! Have our comrades caught up with us or not? Everyone is to continue and pass through those traps! Even if only 5% of us make it past, we would still have a total of one thousand five hundred players! There’s no need to be afraid!"

"Mn, guild leader is wise!"

……

I was stunned by what I had heard. Purple Dawn was truly cold-blooded for forcing his own comrades to pass through the series of traps. One could only imagine the losses they must have suffered. One must be fortunate, nimble and swift and to also be healed by priests in order to pass through these traps. Goddammit, this asshole truly does not regard his guild members as his brothers and sisters! What a cruel man!

Moreover, Candle Dragon's first subguild had over 500 players while we only had 50. This was a race against time as we were outnumbered. We would be at a disadvantage if we had to face them head-on.

"Vice leader big bro…"

In the darkness, Cute Little Naughty was hunched over like a pretty kitten about to pounce on its prey. Looking at me, she giggled and said, "Shall we attack together?"

"Mn."

I nodded my head and said, "I will unleash an AoE skill and lock that bunch of Viper Dragoons in place. Meanwhile, search for an opportunity to stun Purple Dawn and help me slaughter that asshole! We’ll attack together at my command."

"Mn, understood!"

……

We waited patiently for the group of Candle Dragon's first subguild to enter into the region we were at before starting our ambush!

"Attack!"

I yelled inside the party chat before turning into countless crimson light rays and shooting out of my hiding spot. Summoning my apparition and the Phantom Wolf King, my apparition unleashed Purple Dragon Howl into the hapless group of enemies. Meanwhile, the Phantom Wolf King raised its head up high and unleashed Purgatory Storm at another group of players.

"This is bad! We’re being ambushed! It’s Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand’s party!" Purple Dawn turned ashen.

Without giving him any time to react, a crimson light flew past him. Cute Little Naughty’s Ambush succeeded and she managed to stun Purple Dawn. She activated Haste and ran in a beautiful arc around Purple Dawn swiftly. Swiping her dagger three times, she shaved off a large portion of Purple Dawn’s health.

I locked my sights on Purple Dawn and activated Thunderous Charge. Without giving him a chance to recover, I swung my sword, unleashing three consecutive waves of Burning Blade Slash straight at him!

Boom, boom, boom!

A bunch of Candle Dragon players were scared out of their wits. Two AoE skills, Purple Dragon Howl + Purgatory Storm enveloped them, shaving off 40% of their health instantly. Du Thirteen led a large bunch of Dragonlight Cavalrymen and charged out of the dimly lit hallway. The enemies were gripped with fear when they saw a beautiful dark archer emerge from the shadows.

Red Dust turned ashen as he looked to the front and shouted, "Goddammit, we’re trapped on both sides! We’re royally screwed! The guild leader has really underestimated our enemies! Fuck!"