Crack!

The last player died with a painful groan as my sword tore through his flesh, spurting a fountain of blood. Not one of them tried to beg for mercy or escape. This alone proved that Gods of Destruction was a respectable opponent, or at least this party was.

I sheathed my Purgatory Sword and ran back to Xinran.

She was groaning a little when I reached her; her wounds were starting to deteriorate. Archbishop Alves's holy spell was so terrifying that it was actually damaging her body from the inside!

My heart ached when I saw black blood pouring out of her wounds. I lifted her off the ground and said, “Just hold on a little longer, we’re almost at Princess Sophia’s encampment! I’m sure she’ll have a way to save you!”

Xinran was incredibly weak. She pressed her cheeks against my neck as a hot tear slid down her cheek.

I looked at the sky and saw that it was cloudy, lightning bolts striking down from time to time. Was this what they call divine judgment? Was the crying girl in my arms truly a devil? Who gave Alves the right to enact divine judgment upon others, and who gave him the right to sentence another person to death?

Terrible anger rose from the bottom of my heart. This world was filled with injustice from the start, and there was oppression and bullying wherever you looked. Only a kindergartener would believe that the world was a place where everyone was equal to one another. God wouldn’t save you when you were facing injustice and bullying. The only way you could save yourself was to cut apart the darkness with your sword and bring light to your world once more!

As I stared at Xinran, I was starting to understand why she had betrayed the Netherworld. She was unstoppable from the moment she found something that was worth protecting with her life.

“Big brother, I’m scared…”

Xinran suddenly let out a sob and said, “I just want to be Xinran, that’s all. I… I don’t want to be ‘Wind Singer’, I don’t want to kill people, and I don’t want any harm to come to those who are close to me…”

I nodded and replied gently, “Sleep and leave the rest to me, Xinran… I promise you that everything will be okay, alright?”

Xinran closed her eyes as she burst into tears.

Ding~!

System Notice: You have made new progress in your SSS-rank quest [Promise]. Your relationship with Wind Singer Xinran has improved!

……

I barely noticed the system notice as I held Xinran tight and resumed my run. If I didn’t leave this place as soon as possible, Dominating Heaven Blade was sure to show up with his band of elites. When that happened, not even wings could save me from destruction.

Beep!

It was at this moment I received a message from Lin Yixin: “Hey, how are you doing? Gods of Destruction are hunting for you everywhere. What do you want me to do?”

I replied quickly, “Whatever you want, Yiyi. I can’t afford to be distracted right now.”

“Got it!”

Lin Yixin fell silent after that. I didn’t know what she was planning, but I wouldn’t be surprised by anything she did starting this moment. She was no ordinary girl, and I had full confidence in her ability to astound me.

……

Nighttime soon arrived, and Eternal Song Forest became shrouded in darkness.

I was still running across the dewy forest, but this time with growing anxiety. Xinran’s injuries were getting worse by the minute, and it was getting to the point where she was starting to turn delirious. If she didn’t seal away most of her power, she wouldn’t be afraid of a mere holy spell, right? Sigh.

Suddenly, the world opened up in front of me, and I could hear the neighs of warhorses in the distance. Did we finally reach Blood Dance Legion’s camp?

Excited, I burst into the clearing with my bloody cape flapping behind me. However, my heart quickly sank like a rock.

A large group of players was standing not far ahead of me. They were players, and they all wore the same symbol on their shoulder. It was Gods of Destruction, and there were almost a hundred of them!

……

To say I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. Fuck, who would’ve thought that I would walk right into an ambush one day? Escaping was impossible considering how many enemy archers and mages there were, not to mention that I was moving much slower than normal because I was carrying Xinran. However, there was no way in hell I was leaving her behind and escaping myself either.

Shiing!

Dominating Knight God walked out of the formation and pulled out his sword. Then, he shouted at me, "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, you had fun killing our people earlier, didn’t you? Do you really think that we are toys you can fool around however you like? Fuck you! Your death will wash away the shame we suffered today!"

I put Xinran down at the edge of the plain. Then, I pulled out the Purgatory Sword and smiled fearlessly. "If it’s a war you want, then it’s a war you’ll get. I’m not going down without a fight!"

A muscle on Dominating Knight God’s face twitched. "Are you really going to declare war on us? Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls versus Gods of Destruction?"

"Why not?" I said casually with cold eyes. "Now fight me already. I’m used to dealing with my problems with my fists anyway!"

"Fuck, what arrogance!"

Dominating Knight God raised his sword and shouted, "Brothers, it is time to wipe out the first player on the Heavenly Ranking! He has AoE skills, so spread out and surround him in a circle! mages and archers, do not clump into groups as well! Mages, spam your Ice Dragon Howl! Archers, don’t waste your MP except on Devil Piercing Arrows! Warriors, I want you to surround him from twelve different directions and block his retreat completely! Today will be the day Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand is wiped from Floating Ice City!"

I had to hide my surprise. Dominating Knight God turned out to be smarter and bolder than Dominating Warrior God. At the very least, he was leagues ahead of Dominating Warrior God in terms of tactics. People like him had always been and would always be incredibly difficult to deal with!

My gaze swept across the crowd calmly while my blade glowed faintly with bloody energy. A 1vs100 battle was about to begin.

I was free of hesitation because I knew that I was going to lose no matter what. It was always going to be a fool’s errand to challenge a hundred-man party alone, although I would have had a good chance to win if I still had Purple Dragon Howl. The skill was designed specifically for situations like this, and if the enemy players chose to pack themselves closely in one place I could even kill a hundred of them in one go. Unfortunately, I had already used that skill several hours ago at the Holy Temple, so that was that.

……

The blades gleamed, and the wind howled. Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the sound of thundering hooves. A cavalry had burst into the opening from a corner of the forest, and they were all undead units. Not only were the undead knights and warhorses armed to the teeth, there were at least a thousand of these elites.

The symbol of the Blood Dance Legion glowed in the night like beautiful violets.

The leader of the cavalry unit was a beautiful girl wielding a bloody bow. Unlike the soldiers she led, she was riding on top of a huge and heavily-armored skeletal battle wolf that let out a shrill howl and charged toward me under the girl’s order!

I recognized the face of the female rider. I couldn’t help but blurt out, "Xue Wei?"

"Ah? It’s you?"

Xue Wei exclaimed in shock, "Why are you here?"

I shook my head. "It’s a long story. Why are you here?"

Xue Wei answered with a frown, "The scouts reported a powerful human cavalry making their way through Eternal Song Forest. I was worried that it might be a preemptive attack from Floating Ice City, so I brought my elite cavalry here to protect our base. I wasn’t expecting to meet you here, and…"

Xue Wei glanced at the Gods of Destruction party before smiling. "Am I mistaken, or are you in trouble?"

I nodded and looked back at Xinran. To my surprise, she was covering her wounded chest with one hand and pointing at the Gods of Destruction party with the other hand. She ordered, "Xue Wei, kill these people now!"

"Ah?!"

Xue Wei’s mouth fell open in shock. "La… Lady Wind Singer? Heavens, I didn’t realize that you were here as well!"

Xue Wei immediately raised her arm and growled, "Cavalry, charge!"

The undead cavalry immediately charged toward Gods of Destruction as ordered.

"Fuck, what the hell is going on?"

Dominating Knight God was flabbergasted. He had no idea what was going on.

Normally, NPCs wouldn’t attack players, let alone massacre them without provocation. However, Gods of Destruction had unwittingly injected themselves into the conflict between two factions, so this battle could only end in a tragedy for them. Still, their fate was better than mine. I had to escape Floating Ice City with every NPC and player in the world chasing behind my back because I had betrayed the human kingdom for Xinran.

However, my opinion immediately changed when I saw what happened to the Gods of Destruction party. Yeah, they are definitely worse off compared to me.

The undead cavalry consisted entirely of Level 90 elite mobs, the subordinates of Shadow Dancer Xue Wei herself. They were probably on par with the templars of the Holy Temple.

The battle was completely one-sided. Forget defending themselves, they couldn’t even block the NPCs’ initial charge. The thousand-man army of Level 90 elite NPCs tore through their defense line like a tsunami breaking through the dam, or a fire consuming the forest whole!

The battle was over in the matter of minutes. All that was left on the ground was potions and equipment. I was going to loot it all, but before Xue Wei’s knights even got to slow down, a new army suddenly emerged from the distance. It was none other than the Black Cavalry Legion led by Commander Stark himself!

"Formation!"

Xue Wei cried out as her elite cavalry rushed to obey her command. The undead knights pulled out their blades and quickly fell into an assault formation.

At the forefront, Stark raised his sword high into the air and kept galloping until he and Xue Wei’s cavalry were just a hundred meters away from each other. He abruptly came to a stop and ordered, "Stop!"

Xue Wei urged her skeletal battle wolf forward before raising her own bow. She said angrily, "Blood Dance Legion and Floating Ice City have always minded their own business until tonight. Why are you here, you black-faced man?"

Stark’s surprise lasted only for an instant before he pointed at Xinran and me angrily. "These two killed Archbishop Alves, so they are the sworn enemies of Floating Ice City! I won’t kill you because you don’t belong to the Night Creatures’ faction, little girl, but if you don’t move aside now I swear the Black Cavalry will flatten your camp tonight!"

"The arrogance!"

Xue Wei raised her arm and cried, "Shadow Dancer Elite Cavalry, prepare for battle!"

……

Suddenly, a draconic roar shook everyone’s ear drums. I looked up and immediately saw a huge red dragon circling the sky!

Xue Wei looked up as a trace of astonishment passed through her face. "Heavens, a Dragon Knight?"