Ding~!

System Announcement (Player "Chance Meeting" Shout): [Bounty Announcement] Blood Alliance openly disregarded gaming ethics and ambushed Twelve Musicians in the open world, killing 400 and stealing my Dragonbone Whip in the process. I hereby declare a repeatable bounty on their guild leader, Assassin’s Creed. Bring me video proof, and I will pay you 50k RMB per kill as a reward. If the Dragonbone Whip drops, and you bring it back to me, I will pay you 2 million RMB as a reward! Even if you decide to keep it for yourself, I will still reward you an additional 100k RMB for killing Assassin’s Creed on top of the bounty!

……

For a time, I didn’t say anything. Then, I began steering the onager toward the direction of Sky Ridge. Sky Ridge Fortress had completed its construction a while ago, and it was currently guarded by the NPCs of Sky City. They represented a threat that the Japan server couldn’t ignore. However, Blood Alliance had slipped past Sky Ridge Fortress and entered Purple Grape City’s domain. It was looking increasingly unlikely that Zhou Ping would regain her Dragonbone Whip.

Inside the guild channel, He Yi, Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and everyone else had rallied 30k Dragonlight Cavalry and 10k Dragonlight Archers in no time. They then marched straight for Sky Ridge Fortress. The Dragonbone Whip was a Lower Divine Armament, and a Lower Divine Armament couldn’t be put in a warehouse for 3 days after being obtained. Therefore, Blood Alliance was sure to gather around Assassin’s Creed to protect him. Assassin’s Creed could teleport back to a main city and just log out until 72 hours were up, but he had shown himself to be an extremely arrogant and obstinate bastard. The more you challenged him, the more he would want to respond to that challenge[1]. He wouldn’t have made that announcement after our guilds declared war on his guild otherwise.

Rustle rustle…

A red leaf fell on my head, but Xinran brushed it away before I could do it myself. A drizzle turned the ground below wet and slippery, so I walked up to Xinran and pulled her cloak over her head. I smiled at her and said, "Don’t catch a cold, Xinran."

"I know, big brother…"

She smiled sweetly at me. "I’ll be fine. If I could endure God Domain’s much harsher environment, I could certainly endure a bit of rain. The corruption of Strella’s dark draconic energy prevents me from summoning my true qi, but my physical resistance remains unchanged."

I caressed her shoulder gently. "Yeah. My Xinran is the toughest girl in the world…"

"You too, big brother…"

Me: "..."

……

The rain grew bigger and bigger. The players grinding at the canyon started running into the forest to hide from the sudden downpour. I ignored the weather and continued leading my onager along a small forest trail though. To most people, I probably looked like a herb-gathering support player who was exploring the open world with his younger sister. They might even think that the sword on my shoulder was mostly for show.

In reality, hidden behind the unassuming and even harmless disguise were Divine Armaments such as the Fire God Helmet, Chill of the Nine Provinces, Guardian Dragon Armor and my latest acquisition, Dark Magma Poleyn. I could hardly wait to give the key members of Blood Alliance a taste of my virtual power.

Meanwhile, a new set of coordinates from Intelligence Agency entered my message logs. At the same time, I noticed a lot of unassuming archers with pets grinding mobs in the nearby forest. They looked perfectly harmless and guileless, but I knew that they were all Intelligence Agency members. Their Clear As Flame was activated at all times, and they didn’t allow even a single blip to escape their notice. Even a Blood Alliance player would be hard-pressed to remain hidden with so many of them lurking in the area, not to mention that this was how they earned a living, being paid a certain percentage for the intel they provided. Of course they were going to treat their jobs seriously.

Swhoosh!

I abruptly unsheathed my Chill of the Nine Provinces and threw it at a giant tree trunk. An instant later, a dead assassin with a sword through his heart slowly appeared out of thin air. He was clearly shocked and in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that I would attack him when he was still 20 yards away, much less land an accurate one-shot.

Melee players seldom threw their melee weapons at the enemy because it made them temporarily weaponless. Moreover, the accuracy of weapon tosses was less than 50%, a terrible number to say the least. However, I had used Coiling Dragon Revolution so many times that I could perform the movement in my sleep. I could also land my skill over 95% of the time unless the enemy was a player at Candlelight Shadow or Farewell Song’s level.

……

I went to the tree trunk and withdrew my sword. I also picked up Earth-grade wristguards from the ground. Every time I killed a Blood Alliance member, I would have to pay the Intelligence Agency 15 RMB. However, the equipment they dropped was worth 100 RMB at least. Therefore, I was really making money from all this. Moreover, I was an Asura King; a natural red name. Unlike a player with a basic race, the cities wouldn’t put me on a wanted list for red-name crimes. Even if I was a player with a basic race, these Blood Alliance players practically made it their life’s motto to PK other players. It was highly unlikely I would gain any infamy by killing them.

I continued forward until I encountered a party of players. They were Warsky Alliance, and they were led by Warsky himself. The guild leader was leading the way with the Immortal Blade in his hand and his back guarded by Lin Bing Dou Zhe and Laughing At The Heavens. Warsky was declaring in a loud voice, "It’s time, people! Let’s kill Assassin’s Creed and take the Dragonbone Whip for our own tamer! The equipment was wasted on a shitty guild like Twelve Musicians anyway, hmph!"

The screaming band of men and women disappeared into the rain after that.

I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. I had no idea how they were going to kill any Blood Alliance assassin since I hadn’t spotted a single archer in their party. Blood Alliance was arrogant, but not stupid. Who in their right mind would engage an entire band of cavalrymen when they could just hide themselves in the forest and wait until the danger was gone?[2] At the very least, the guy carrying the Lower Divine Armament certainly wasn’t going to reveal himself. It might not even be with Flame of Summer anymore. He might’ve transferred it to his guild leader, Assassin’s Creed, for safer keeping.

……

Swhoosh!

Suddenly, an arrow rain exited a canopy and landed on an empty spot on the plains. Right after that, I heard Beiming Xue shouting, "Advance! Make sure to sweep every inch of space and give Blood Alliance no place to hide! Let’s see if these bastards can remain hidden after we’ve turned their bodies into pincushions!"

The Dragonlight Archers shot what seemed like an endless amount of arrows and were able to expose countless hidden Blood Alliance assassins. They would then eat Spiraling Arrow Blade and be killed on the spot. The archer party Beiming Xue was leading was at least ten thousand strong, and every single one of them had Clear As Flame turned on. Even if the skill only had a 30% chance of penetrating the veil of invisibility that was Assassin’s Oath, the sheer amount of archers made that chance infinitely close to 100%. The only way Blood Alliance’s assassins could stay hidden was to stay far, far away from the archer party.

I smiled. After she had returned to her university to study, Beiming Xue had become less like a dependent younger sister and more like a regal queen. In fact, it was the only way she could’ve stayed on top of the Dragonlight Archers. Had she remained the cute little girl she was, our players would love her, but they would never truly respect her.

The 30k Dragonlight Cavalrymen led by He Yi and Gui Guzi followed closely behind the Dragonlight Archers. None of them noticed me, and that was good.

……

"Someone spotted Assassin’s Creed passing through Sky Ridge and entering Purple Grape City’s domain. What do we do? Do we continue the chase, or do we give up and cut our losses?" Eyes Like Water appeared next while carrying Stranger of Three Lifetimes on her mount.

The beautiful guild leader declared without hesitation, "We chase them to the ends of the earth. Practically everyone is participating in the hunt for Blood Alliance anyway. It’s time we teach these arrogant bastards a real lesson."

"Got it!"

Blazing Hot Lips’ party was about tens of thousands of players strong. Their troop size was average, but nearly everyone in the party was an elite. That was why I wasn’t really worried that the Japanese would dare to interfere with our business.

……

"Hey, brother!"

Suddenly, a couple of simply armored players appeared behind me. There were 7 of them, and they were all between Level 210 to Level 215. They also hailed from Sky City. The warrior who called out to me wielded a great hammer. "Are you alone, brother? If you’re on the way to kill Assassin’s Creed, you can join our party! Our workshop is only 7 men strong, but each of us is a strong player. If you join us, I’m sure our chances of killing Assassin’s Creed should we encounter him will be much higher."

I considered the request for a moment. If I partied up with them, it would only increase the chances of my identity being discovered, and I would have to babysit them while fighting against top-tier assassins like Assassin’s Creed. So, I shook my head and said, "Sorry, I’m used to playing alone, and I’m not here to fight Blood Alliance anyway. I’m just traveling to Purple Grape City to enjoy the scenery…"

"Oh, I see. That’s perfectly fine, brother. See you some time!"

"Thanks. You too!"

I turned around and guided the onager and Xinran into the tunnel that led to Purple Grape City. Soon, I was greeted by a familiar sight. It had been a while since I returned here!

……

I saw the Dragonlight Cavalry working together with the Dragonlight Archers to hunt down groups of Blood Alliance players. Wherever the enemies were most concentrated, that was where the carrier of the Dragonbone Whip most likely was.

I wiped away the rain on my face as I trekked along the edges of the forest. I turned my Dark Pupils on and off repeatedly so that I wouldn’t be caught off-guard by the enemy, but I wasn’t really worried. The Dragonlight Cavalry had provided me with the best cover I could possibly hope for. Also, any party who detached themselves from the main force of Blood Alliance right now was most likely the party carrying the Lower Divine Armament.

I didn’t have to wait for long. Very soon, a group of seven or eight people slipped away from the clearing and entered a nearby forest.

I immediately pulled on my onager’s reins and gave chase. The onager whined in pain, and Xinran bounced up and down a bit on its back. She chuckled. "Slow down, big brother. There’s no hurry…"

Chiang!

I abruptly unsheathed the Chill of the Nine Provinces, bent as close to the ground as possible and charged toward two shadows who were moving in my direction. I immediately identified them as the elders of Blood Alliance because of their IDs: Flame of Summer and Leaf of Autumn. They must be targeting me because of my killing of Cold of Spring earlier. There was also a chance Flame of Summer was still carrying the Dragonbone Whip.

……

"Is that the one who killed Brother Spring?" Flame of Summer said with chilly eyes, unlike his fiery and passionate name.

Leaf of Autumn wriggled her daggers a bit. She was a beautiful woman, but her eyes were full of violence. She was clearly not a woman to provoke.

1. E/N: Yeah, that wouldn’t happen author. You make a guild of assassins, precise, calculative bastards who gank others. They are arrogant because there’s literally nothing you can do to them. They attack and disappear, they don’t let you hit them back. That’s why Assassin’s Creed is arrogant. He doesn’t think he’s the strongest, he knows he can just kill weaker people, or cloth-armor classes and dodge the stronger ones. At the end of the day, he’ll always win more than he loses.

2. E/N: ????? Didn’t we just establish they are gangsters who are so arrogant they wouldn’t log out of the game to wait until the danger was gone?