Swhoosh swhoosh!

Warsky and Laughing At The Heavens activated their Charges in succession. October Rain was wise to launch an all-out assault the moment the boss dropped to 2% HP. She had successfully disrupted our control and given us a massive headache.

Not far away, along with the experts of The Monarch Descends, Little Piglet and Shangguan Wan’er were charging us as well!

……

Keeping the Heaven-stealing Sword lowered, I ran to the front and instructed in a low voice, "Everyone, it’s do-or-die time. Li Chengfeng, I want you to hold off Warsky Alliance and Hegemon Palace. I’m going to one-shot the boss with Purple Dragon Howl. High Fighting Spirits, Chaos Moon, Xu Yang, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun, I leave the task of snatching the Territory Token to all of you!"

"Got it!" Everyone nodded in unison.

I was already rushing toward the boss and stomping my foot right next to its feet. The skill animation of War Crush was incredibly obvious, so Warsky, Laughing At The Heavens, Little Piglet, and the rest of my enemies dared not rush me right away. They were well aware that the skill had the potential to one-shot them where they stood!

Li Chengfeng ran toward Laughing At The Heavens and Warsky and swung his sword three times in a row, knocking both of them backward. Little Piglet was blocked by He Yi and couldn’t get to me immediately.

While they were hesitating, I slid behind Gui Guzi and said, "Little Gui, cover me!"

"Got it!"

While Gui Guzi blocked in front of me with his mount and raised his shield, I swung the Heaven-stealing Sword and channeled the Purple Dragon Howl. The next moment, a draconic roar filled the air, and vast swirls of purple energies surrounded me for a time. Once they turned into a giant purple dragon at the tip of my blade, I shouted and flung the energy straight at the Death Lord. The skill engulfed the boss and dealt a shocking amount of damage—

18674!

19832!

18308!

……

Purple Dragon Howl did well over 10 times my normal damage. There was simply no way the Death Lord could’ve survived the attack. When it groaned and collapsed to the ground, its soul entered all Ancient Sword Dreaming Soul members’ bodies as streams of experience. It wasn’t much, but it still bumped my experience by 2% or more.

Pop pop pop!

The boss also dropped a ton of equipment and items. I had a high turn rate, and I was the first player to react to the drops. I immediately zigzagged past Gui Guzi and grabbed the closest equipment to me. Before I could do anything else, Warsky Alliance’s mages had turned the entire area into a sea of fire, and October Rain stunned me with a Shock Arrow!

"Not good!" I swore inside my heart. It was because I saw a shiny token at a bush close to me. It was none other than the Territory Token everyone was fighting for!

Swhoosh!

A shadow appeared in front of me, seized the Territory Token and broke my poor heart. It was an assassin who managed to elude everyone’s attention so far!

"Drop that now!"

Chaos Moon appeared out of nowhere and forced the assassin out of his stealth with a sweep of her sword. It was none other than Farewell Song himself. Clutching the token and parrying Chaos Moon’s attack with his dagger, he said with a smile, "Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls will not be claiming the territory today. We will!"

"Get lost, you idiot!"

Xu Yang attacked Farewell Song from behind with a devastating Blaze. Had the skill connected, Farewell Song’s HP would’ve dropped past the safety line at the very least. Unfortunately, Farewell Song was a super assassin and the 11th place CGL Hall of Famer, so he easily dodged the skill by taking two steps to the front. After that, he activated Shadow Dance and started moving a lot faster than before. First, he stunned Chaos Moon with a Thrust and a Gouge. Then, he zigzagged past a couple of our players until he reached October Rain’s side. After he was out of combat state, he slowly raised the Territory Token into the air and used it!

It was too late. I was stunned, Li Chengfeng was busy dealing with Laughing At The Heavens and Warsky, and Little Piglet was blocking He Yi. Everyone’s hands were full fighting multiple guilds at the same time!

Swhoosh!

Farewell Song used the Territory Token, and a system announcement dinged across Sky City—

Ding~!

System Announcement: Player "Farewell Song" has used the Territory Token, and the first territory in Sky City, "City of Death" has spawned. The territory’s coordinates are (76984, 60948), and the teleportation formation is now active. The guild “Warsky Alliance” is the first owner of the territory, so all “Warsky Alliance” members may now teleport to the territory. The ownership becomes permanent if the guild “Warsky Alliance” successfully defends the territory for 5 hours!

……

Fuck, Warsky Alliance ultimately got one over us!

All Warsky Alliance members started teleporting back to the city under October Rain’s orders en masse. We killed the rest who were still stuck in combat to vent our frustration.

Time was slowly but surely ticking down like a bomb. If we failed to conquer the City of Death in 5 hours, it would belong to Warsky Alliance permanently.

I brought up the world map and looked at the given coordinates. "This new territory is about one and a half hours away from Sky City. It is also situated right between Sky Forest, Dragonbone Mountain Range, and Black Coast. This is such a perfect location that countless players would be attracted to it!"

"Mn!"

He Yi nodded. "In that case, let’s not waste any more time and march there right away!"

"Yeah!"

Under He Yi’s leadership, we left the canyon and fought our way toward the new territory. Xu Yang also contacted our main camp for reinforcements while I contacted Du Thirteen to mobilize Bloody Mercenaries. The guild was now a Rank 4 guild that could accommodate 5000 players. I was sure that they would play a huge role in this upcoming battle.

……

I also received news that Snowy Cathaya’s main force had taken off toward the City of Death from Sky Forest. They would most likely reach the new territory before us. This war for territory had only just begun!

"Oh right, what did the boss drop, Lu Chen?" Murong Mingyue asked.

It was only now I recalled that I had nabbed a ton of loot before October Rain stunned me. When I opened my bag and looked inside, I saw five items waiting for me to examine them. Although the Territory Token was ultimately stolen by Farewell Song, I managed to nab the equipment, magic stones, crafting materials, and a ton of other goodies—

Burning War Boots of Justice (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★): Level 130 metal armor, 4 slots, 420 Defense, 280 Magic Resist, +107 Strength, +102 Stamina. Outstanding Property: Reduces damage taken by 14%.

Deception Legguards (Purple Gold–grade, Outstanding★): Level 130 leather armor legguards, 2 slots, 285 Defense, 220 Magic Resist, +92 Agility, +90 Stamina. Outstanding Property: Agility increased by 11%.

Olivia’s Cape (Purple Gold–grade, Outstanding★★): Level 130 cape, 2 slots, 300 Defense, 215 Magic Resist, +104 Strength, +100 Agility. Outstanding Property: Attack increased by 9%.

Miracle Scepter (Purple Gold–grade, Outstanding★): Level 130 scepter, 1 slot, 440~765 Magic Attack, Intelligence +102, Stamina +89. Outstanding Property: Fire magic damage increased by 20%.

Ardent Thunder Blade (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★): Level 130 blade, 620~800 Attack, +100 Strength, +97 Stamina. User’s Attack increased by 25%. Outstanding Property: Ardent Thunder, a high chance to trigger Ardent Thunder and scorch your target.

……

I was pleased. We might have failed to acquire the Territory Token, but the loot we got was definitely outstanding. There were even two 2-star Outstanding Spirit-grade items in the mix. In fact, the rarity of these items was so amazing only because I, the killer of the boss, had 22 Luck. Had the boss killer been a 0-Luck player, they would’ve gotten non-Outstanding Dark Gold–grade equipment and Purple Gold–grade equipment only. They would have to be really lucky to get even one common Spirit-grade equipment.

I consulted He Yi’s opinion regarding the distribution of the loot. "Eve, can we give up these loot and distribute them based on class DPS contribution points?"

"Sure." He Yi smiled before lowering her voice, "I don’t mind increasing everyone’s strength. Do what you want."

"Okay!"

I brought up the DPS contribution ranking of the previous battle. Although I had the highest contribution points out of everyone, and the Burning War Boots of Justice were technically better than my Barbaric War Boots of Heaven, I ultimately decided to forfeit my right to claim the loot. It was because I noticed that Li Chengfeng, the second-highest damage dealer on the ranking, was still wearing non-Outstanding Dark Gold–grade boots. It was simply unacceptable for someone of his power level and skill to be stuck with such low-quality equipment.

After accepting the boots, Li Chengfeng tossed it into his bag and gave me a smile. "Thanks, Lu Chen!"

"You’re welcome."

"Hehe…"

Next, I passed the Deception Legguards to Beiming Xue. It was a great item that added 11% to one’s Agility, and it would be a shame to give it to anyone else, be it an assassin or an archer. Every guild needed a powerful player—a soul—its players looked up to, and Beiming Xue was the soul of all Agility-based players in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. I had every reason to make her as powerful as a goddess!

Chaos Moon was so surprised when I gave her Olivia’s Cape that she couldn’t stop thanking me and swearing her undying loyalty to the guild. Thank goodness she wasn’t Pure Love, or she might even offer to sleep with me as a token of gratitude.

I gave the Miracle Scepter to Moonlight Stone. She was the strongest mage in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, and only a fool would neglect her growth.

Finally, there was the Ardent Thunder Blade. I wasn’t quite sure who to give the weapon to, to be honest. Blade-type weapons were exclusive to the Wanderer class, that enjoyed 30% boost when wielding such a weapon. Therefore, it would be wiser to give the Level 130 Ardent Thunder Blade to a wanderer.

I looked at the DPS contribution ranking again. Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun was clearly the best wanderer in the guild, not to mention that his class, Earth Wanderer, was a hidden class. Alright, I had made up my mind. He was a general in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, and it was only right I confirmed his efforts by gifting him an Outstanding Spirit-grade weapon.

So I walked up to Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun and gave him the Ardent Thunder Blade. "This blade is yours according to the DPS contribution ranking. Take it, no need to be shy."

The wanderer was so shocked that he actually fell off his Bald Wolf. Clutching the Ardent Thunder Blade, he looked at me in astonishment and said, "Vice leader, you’re not joking, are you? Are you sure you’re going to give me a Spirit-grade weapon this great?"

I grinned. "You can give it back to me if you don’t want it. I can use it to earn a favor from Lin Yixin."

"Fuck no, I mean fuck yes I want it!"

Eighteen Steeds You and Yun hugged the blade like it was his baby. "No, no, I can’t leave it like this. Boss, I’m going to teleport back to the city and put the blade away for safekeeping. I’ll catch up to y’all later!"

"No problem. See you in a moment!"

It wasn’t just him, everyone who got a share of the loot also teleported back to the city. However, I later learned that Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun had decided to change his mind. Instead of putting the weapon in the warehouse, he spent 70k buying a Convenience Gem and slotting it into the Ardent Thunder Blade. Now, he could equip it and use it in the upcoming battle. Speaking of levels, competition was absolutely fierce in Sky City. Level 110 players were everywhere, and everyone was only a couple percent of experience away from one another. Right now, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun was one of these players. Lady Luck was apparently smiling on him today because he gained enough experience to hit Level 110 after the Death Lord was killed.