Who would’ve thought that my moment on the number one spot of Floating Ice City’s Heavenly Ranking would only last for three seconds? This is ridiculous!

My soul appeared in a nearby graveyard. It would take only twenty minutes to travel back to Reflection Hills, but I didn’t dare to revive immediately because Roaming Dragon was sure to camp my corpse. But if I chose to revive inside the city, then the punishment would be three levels instead of one. That was completely unacceptable.

Left with no choice, I chose to revive where my corpse was. I could use Earth Escape the moment I resurrected. There was no way Roaming Dragon’s band could maintain constant twenty-four-hour vigilance without slipping up here and there. One instant of negligence and I would be able to revive and make my escape!

I returned to Reflection Hills as a soul, and it was just as I thought. Roaming Dragon was standing guard next to my body, and Coldmoon Rose was holding her bow and looking left and right. If I tried to revive now, she would definitely Volley me out of the ground. Her control and accuracy were excellent, and she had already caught me once while I was lurking beneath the boss.

She was also Roaming Dragon’s woman. What a waste of such a good body!

……

Anyway, they were still on their guard. I had to be patient and wait for my opportunity!

“Fuck!”

Roaming Dragon swore like a sailor as he ran rings around my corpse. He would’ve strung my corpse into the air and whipped it if the game would allow it. Unfortunately for him, Heavenblessed didn’t have such a ridiculous setting, so a player’s corpse was inviolable.

Coldmoon Rose consoled him, “Calm down, our people are on their way already. They’ll show up in at most half an hour. Once we have the entire map under lockdown, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand will not escape our grasp!”

Roaming Dragon let out a cold snort and sat down on a nearby rock. He still looked resentful and angry.

Coldmoon Rose swayed her hips and sat down gently on his thighs. Then, she smiled seductively. “Don’t be angry, okay? Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. Plus, you still killed him in the end, didn’t you?”

Roaming Dragon finally exhaled, but his eyes were still bitter. “I wonder what were the two items dropped by the boss. Dammit, he took both of them! But… I don’t think I saw Hero’s Token there!”

“That’s right, the boss didn’t drop a Hero’s Token, so calm down, okay?”

Coldmoon Rose wrapped her arms around Roaming Dragon’s neck and rubbed her breasts against his arm. She really was a seductive and lecherous woman.

But this was the moment I was waiting for!

Their time together was their most distracted moment and my best chance to make my escape!

Moreover, the World of Ice and Snow had run its full course. If I didn’t run now, I wouldn’t have a better opportunity than this!

Swhoosh!

I revived and consumed a health potion to restore myself to full health immediately. Then, I immediately ran toward the exit.

“He revived, he revived!”

An archer shouted before firing Volley at me. None of his arrows managed to hit me, but it was such a hasty and uncoordinated attempt that I didn’t dare to slip underground either.

Roaming Dragon grabbed his sword and charged me. Coldmoon Rose also grabbed her bow and darted between the trees like a speedy cheetah!

I ran like my life depended on it, throwing all caution to the wind.

Suddenly, Roaming Dragon released his own pet. It was a blood-red Level 27 Wildfire Greedy Wolf, and it wasn’t even fully mature yet.

I laughed on the inside and set loose my own Dark Wasp. Although it had dropped a couple of levels, it was still very powerful.

The Dark Wasp buzzed toward the Wildfire Greedy Wolf and gave it a Flurry to the face. The attack actually one-shot Roaming Dragon’s pet.

Panicking, it took three full rounds from the archers, Roaming Dragon and Coldmoon Rose to finally take down the Dark Wasp. However, my pet managed to kill two of the archers in the process, meaning that only six people were left in their group.

I couldn’t help but swear inside my head as I tried to shake off the six-man group behind me. Coldmoon Rose and Roaming Dragon’s combat skills might not be anything special, but their tracking skills were downright legendary!

While I was ahead, I took the momentary respite to check the equipment I had gotten from the boss. The first item was a pair of metal armor war boots. They were well-forged, well-designed and the bloody runes floating near the edges looked very special. I practically salivated when I saw their stats.

Stormy War Boots (Silver-grade)

Defense: 55

Strength: +18

Stamina: +15

Passive: Increases the user’s movement speed by 0.5%

Level Requirement: 45

……

These Silver grade metal armor boots are amazing! They had higher Defense than even my Dark Steel–grade chest armor, but what really attracted my eyeballs were the bonuses, 18 Strength and 15 Stamina! Every level-up, player would get 5 stats points to allocate, and this pair of boots gave 33. They basically gave its wearer 6 levels worth of stats! Saying they were amazing would be a severe understatement!

Even better, they gave the wearer 0.5% movement speed. It was a small boost, but it wasn’t negligible. For example, if I was wearing this pair of boots now it would only be a matter of time before I outran my pursuers.

Very pleased with my first finding, I put the Stormy War Boots back into the bag and checked out my next loot. It was a lustrous sword with cryptic runes floating above its blade. It had a grave, no-nonsense design, and it was clearly made for slaughter!

I waved my hands and brought up the sword’s stats. My mind immediately went blank.

Ghost Ice Soul (Gold-grade)

Attack: 115~150

Strength: +25

Stamina: +20

Passive: Increases the user’s ice-based attacks by 7%

Level Requirement: 50

……

A Gold-grade weapon! An actual Gold-grade weapon!

I felt like my heart was about to leap out of my throat. At this stage of the game, this weapon was practically a Divine Armament. Not only was its Attack four times greater than my Weeping Fire Blade’s, it also gave its user 45 stat points. Moreover, it boosted power of any ice-based attacks by a whopping 7%. This item alone could turn an average player into a top-tier pro!

I put the Ghost Ice Soul back into my bag and thanked my lucky stars again. If the sword had dropped when I was killed, I would’ve regreted this loss of opportunity for the rest of life!

The exit was now right in front of me. I continued to run full speed toward it.

But just as I was about to reach the exit, I suddenly felt a cold gleam making its way toward me.

It was the Assassin skill, Cold Blade!

Crack!

187!

Damn, what a powerful attack!

I glanced sideways, and a face scrunched up in rancor entered my view. It was none other than the greatest assassin of the Mad Dragon guild, Unyielding Mad Dragon!

“Die, motherfucker!”

Unyielding Mad Dragon ran toward me with shocking speed. When he passed through my sides, an unbearable pain exploded from my waist area and lowered my movement speed drastically!

Beep!

Combat Log: Player “Unyielding Mad Dragon” used “Poisoned Weapon IV”. Your movement speed is reduced by 35% for 12 seconds!

Shit, he learned Poisoned Weapon already?

I couldn’t help but swear in my head. At this point, the situation was absolutely disadvantageous for me!

Unyielding Mad Dragon didn’t dare to get too close to me because he was worried about my Pardon skill. It would’ve been a piece of cake for me to one-shot a low-HP assassin like him. Thus, he took out a black card from his bag and tossed it into the air instead. Thunder assaulted my ears for a moment before three lightning bolts dropped right on top of my head!

Bang bang bang!

176!

198!

201!

It was a Thunder Beast Card, an offensive-type Skill Card that dealt massive damage to its target. God knows how much money Unyielding Mad Dragon had spent to buy it!

It was a deadly attack, and my HP hit rock-bottom in the blink of an eye. I quickly downed a Rank 3 Health Potion to stay in the fight. If this situation continued, I would run out of options very, very soon!

By now, Roaming Dragon, Coldmoon Rose and the remaining members of their party had caught up to me. They looked absolutely livid, and all they wanted to do right now was murder the shit out of me. In that moment, I made peace with the fact that I would have to die again to my enemies. Clearly, this ambush wasn’t going to end perfectly like it did in the past. Coldmoon Rose was about to catch up to me and I had been poisoned by Unyielding Mad Dragon.

Swhoosh swhoosh!

She fired a Penetrating Arrow and a Devil Piercing Arrow at me the moment she got into range. Then, she followed up the attack with a harsh Volley. Clenching her teeth and fuming in anger, Coldmoon Rose said, “How dare you kill-steal our boss, you bastard! You will die without a grave to your name!”

Man, this woman is seriously wicked. No wonder she’s a pair with an equally wicked man like Roaming Dragon. I guess birds of a feather really do flock together.

I stumbled out of the valley with arrows in my back. My HP was dropping right before my eyes, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

100, I only have 100 HP left!

50! I’m not even at 50 HP!

It’s all over...

Just as I was about to be consumed by despair, the thick undergrowth in front of me suddenly trembled unnaturally. It looked like someone was about to come out.

Rustle!

A pure white figure with long, white legs pushed her way out of the undergrowth. She wore a glowing chest armor and a pair of boots. She gripped a sword in her right hand and a dagger in her left. Her hair was dancing in the air, her eyes looked like stars in the sky, and her smile looked as sweet as honey. The beautiful girl in front of me was none other than the number one player on the Heavenly Ranking of Floating Ice City, Lin Yixin!

“Hoho~ what a pitiful appearance.” Lin Yixin giggled while covering her mouth. “Come on, tell me already. Where are your bullies?”

I was just about to say something when I took an arrow to the back of my head and lost 44 HP. It was Coldmoon Rose’s basic attack!

My HP couldn’t be any lower than it was right now.

Beautiful eyes suddenly brimming with killing intent, Lin Yixin pulled out her sword and shouted, “Charge! Kill them all!”

The undergrowth shook even harder, and a dozen or so high-level, second-promotion players burst into the open and charged behind Lin Yixin.

Coldmoon Rose got caught in Lin Yixin’s Moon Gaze and suffered a series of random blows. Retreating hastily, she exclaimed in panicked surprise, “Wind Fantasy, wh-what are you doing?”

“What?” the beauty replied.

“Why are you helping Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand? What is the relationship between you two?”

Coldmoon Rose was hoping that Lin Yixin would reconsider and stay out of this. After all, all she and Roaming Dragon wanted was the loot, Stormy War Boots and Ghost Ice Soul, I had stolen from them.

However, Lin Yixin looked back at me with a smile before curling her lips. “There’s nothing between us. I just don’t like your style…”

Sword surrounded by holy energy, she fell atop Coldmoon Rose in a crushing blow and killed her without mercy.

Thump!

Roaming Dragon was also dead. A still-quivering arrow was stuck to his neck, and it belonged to none other than Clear Perfume, the number one archer on the Heavenly Ranking and Lin Yixin’s friend, Sun Qingqing.

……

The battle was over in less than three minutes, and not a single one of the remaining Mad Dragon guild members managed to get away. Lin Yixin had brought a lot of pros with her besides Clear Perfume such as Zi Chuanyu and Lifetaking Sword. They were all top-rate players in Floating Ice City.

It looked like Lin Yixin was the leader of this group. She walked toward me and opened her palm, smiling. “Give it to me?”

“Excuse me?” I asked blankly.

Lin Yixin narrowed her eyes and giggled. “I know that the Hill Protector God was killed by your hands, and I know there’s a chance a Level 60 boss might drop a Hero’s Token. If you got it, I want the right to buy it off your hands first before anyone else.”

“It didn’t drop…” I spread my arms and said.

Lin Yixin moved her palm closer—it was literally touching my chest at this point—and smiled wider. “Maybe so. But I still saved your life, didn’t I? Don’t you think you should pay me some gold as thanks?”

“Fuck…”