Ding~!

System Announcement: Attention all players, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has claimed the Sacred Armament "Fire God Helmet”. Its current coordinates are: Zephyr Valley (42899, 92832). Kill the player for a 100% chance to get the Fire God Helmet to drop!

……

I moved the second my coordinates were revealed, passing through a lush forest and aggroing countless Level 250 fiend-rank Mad Leopards in the process. Too bad for them, they were just a bit slower than the Ancient Divine Dragon, and after just a couple minutes of pursuit they lost the aggro and returned to strolling aimlessly in the wilderness.

The same couldn’t be said for the Beast King Cavalry though. Bloodcurdling screams kept ringing from behind me. The cavalrymen couldn’t maintain their formation in the first for long, so when the Mad Leopards ganged up on them in groups they were one-shot before they were able to do anything!

Breeze and Rain was a very smart man. He had predicted where I would eventually exit the forest from and positioned several thousand Beast King Cavalrymen there. However, he had no idea that my Dark Pupils also extended the detection range of my minimap, so I could see exactly where his Beast King Cavalry was stationed!

"Lock down this forest and keep up the pursuit! Don’t let him escape this area!" Breeze and Rain ordered in a harsh tone. "Get your act together, people! Our ranged parties will show up in just another two hours! God of War has made up his mind to uproot this god-forsaken place once and for all, and we’re going to destroy that bastard Lu Chen as well! He has been humiliating our server for too long already!"

The Beast King Cavalrymen unsheathed their weapons and prepared to fight me the moment I showed my face.

……

"Hoot hoot…"

Suddenly, I heard a couple of hoots from above. When I looked up, I saw a couple of Owl Riders flying in the sky. One of them shouted from barely ten feet away from me, "I see him! Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand is at coordinates (43982, 92911)! Dispatch our assassins to kill him before he escapes!"

I shot the guy a look of disbelief. Is he crazy? Does he seriously think he’s safe from me this close?

I wasn’t a man of half-measures, so I immediately brought my sword low before tossing it into the air. The spinning hurricane that was my sword easily cut through the Owl and the rider’s torso, dealing 192882 damage and one-shotting him instantly. As blood and feathers fell from the sky, I grew certain that a certain rumor I read on the forums were true. The Owls were fast and very suited for aerial combat, but apparently they came with a horrific demerit that reduced their riders’ max HP by 20%. The Ancient Divine Dragon had no such flaws since it was of a much higher rank.

I changed directions immediately after killing the Owl Rider. At the same time, I sent a message to Warscar, "Dude, you can tell your guys to revive now. Don’t try to fight against the Indians though. Go find a leveling map and grind or something. In 10 hours, when I’m no longer restricted by the system, I’ll come find you all again!"

Warscar responded, "Got it. Don’t hesitate to call me if you’re in danger. We vikings will do anything for a friend. Fuck that hammer Breeze and Rain…"

Hammer what? Heavens, Sichuan accent sounds so strange on a Nordic uncle. "Okay…"

……

Another two or three Owl Riders appeared above my head. These players were once White Horse Cavalrymen, so they definitely counted among the elites. However, their new flying mounts had a turn rate far inferior to their previous companions, so even something as simple as making a turn was difficult for them. I exploited this weakness and kept killing them with Coiling Dragon Revolution and Dragon Slaying Slash.

Pu!

During one such kill, I stretched out my hand and caught the weapon dropped by a rider as he fell from the sky. It was a 3-star Outstanding Heaven-grade spear with very good Attack and 5% lifesteal. It was comparable to a Level 170 basic Divine Armament.

I put it in my bag and resumed my escape. As of now, it didn’t look like I could catch a breather during these ten hours.

An idea suddenly entered my mind, and I brought up the friend screen and searched for the ID "Hickey”. A few seconds later, my friend request was accepted, and Hickey officially became my second friend ever in Iron Skull Wilderness.

"Hi, Hickey!" I greeted her smilingly.

Hickey breathed heavily as she replied, "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand? Oh, your name’s Lu Chen. Lu Chen, have you escaped yet? You… haven’t been killed by Breeze and Rain, have you?"

I grinned. "Of course not. I’m just checking up on you. How’s Sacred Oath doing?"

Hickey answered in a helpless tone, "Flowing Cloud’s skill and equipment are both first-class. I tried 1v1ing her just now, but I came up a bit short so to speak. Right now I’m just trying to beat an organized retreat with my remaining men. The Owl Riders are too numerous, and another 10000 White Horse Cavalrymen just came to Flowing Cloud’s aid. This girl is doing her utmost to kill me!"

I replied, "Eh, it’s more like she’s doing her utmost to kill me, and you just happened to be in the way…"

Hickey chuckled at that. "What on earth did you do to her, boy? You didn’t dump her after you got in bed with her, did you?"

I rolled my eyes. "What on earth are you talking about? We just belong to different worlds, is all. Long story short, Flowing Cloud and I are destined to be enemies."

"I see."

Suddenly, Hickey asked me, "By the way, I heard that you formed a temporary alliance with the vikings. Is that true?"

"Yep. I like how straightforward and stubborn they are!"

Hickey giggled. "You don’t need to pretend with me. We both know they’re just a bunch of donkeys…"

Me: "..."

"Lu Chen?"

"Yes, what is it?"

Hickey ground her teeth visibly before continuing. "Will you stay with us and protect Iron Skull Wilderness from the Indians? We… really don’t want to give up our homes, even if it’s just a barren wasteland that’s filled with danger…"

I replied without hesitation, "Of course I will. I am fighting with you right now, aren’t I? Plus, I don’t think Breeze and Rain and Flowing Cloud will allow me to escape."

"Yeah. Anyway, I need to run again, so talk to you later. I’m going to rally the other tribes in Iron Skull Wilderness and have them fight against Cyan Earth City and Elephant City together!"

"Okay!"

……

I turned off the communicator. Starting another war was the last thing in my mind when I came to Iron Skull Wilderness, but on second thought, why not? If I could keep Cyan Earth City and Elephant City busy here in the south, the China server would have more time to regain their strength.

Also...

An idea suddenly flashed across my mind. I wasn’t really thinking earlier, but why can’t I become a true member of Iron Skull Wilderness? Why can’t I create my own private army in Iron Skull Wilderness? I could recruit the Berserkers of Virgin Islands to my cause and strengthen them with my level, equipment and mount. Growing my power would also grant me true authority over Iron Skull Wilderness!

The new objective took root in my mind in no time. Yes, I would unite the barbarians of Iron Skull Wilderness and create a dynasty that belonged to myself. I would use them to fight against all the wolves around me!

I even had two perfect targets to kick off my recruitment drive. Warscar was a brave and honest warrior. He shouldn’t be difficult to recruit at all. Hickey was much smarter and skillful than the viking, and I imagined that it would take a lot more effort to convince her to join my cause. If I could succeed though, conquering Iron Skull Wilderness would become a lot easier!

……

A while later, Hickey contacted me again and informed me that she had successfully escaped Flowing Cloud’s pursuit. I let out a long sigh of relief and said, "That’s one less worry off my shoulders…"

Hickey smiled as well as she replied, "Life is such a roller coaster. Just a few hours ago, I was trying my best to kill you and rob you of the Sacred Armament. Now? We’re both worrying about each other’s safety."

I replied, "A common threat will do that, especially one as powerful as India."

Hickey asked, "Lu Chen, the reason I would rather let you keep the Sacred Armament than give it to the Indians is because you are currently an unaffiliated player of Iron Skull Wilderness. What will you do after the Sacred Armament is truly yours?"

I thought for a moment before responding, "The Fire God Helmet will greatly increase my power, so I plan to turn in my quest after the 10-hour duration is over. How would you like me to pay back the favor, Hickey? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Hickey replied, "Hmm, how about… you help me beat the S1 instance?"

"Sure!"

"Are you sure you can beat it though? We don’t have any priests, so we won’t have a source of healing…"

"Don’t worry!"

I showed off my stats for a bit. "I have 23170 base Attack, 540% boost from my equipment, and another 50% from undead energy. Sadly it’s not multiplicative, so that’s a 590% boost. Quick math, that’s like 160k effective Attack. Next, I have 27715 base Defense, 550% from my equipment, and a skill called Ghost Deity Shield which I haven’t maxed yet, but I should be around 200k effective Defense. Moreover, my Ancient Divine Armament gives me 20% lifesteal. You probably noticed it already, but not even Breeze and Rain’s Beast King Cavalry can pierce my Defense much unless they’re using Barrier Break. Do you think I’m strong enough to beat the S1 instance now?"

"Wow…"

Hickey blinked once before replying, "I understand now that the S1 instance is a waste of time for you. Let’s try out the S2 instance instead…"

Me: "..."

……

We talked a bit longer before hanging up. I asked both Hickey and Warscar to hide themselves and grind their levels back to par. Both of them had been weakened after the battle against the Indians, so there was no reason for them to throw their lives away. Meanwhile, while I was studying the minimap, I suddenly came up with the excellent idea of making my escape path a pentagram and did exactly that. With limited area, it was the best way to change direction constantly and just enough to never come close to my pursuers lagging behind. Thanks to the Ancient Divine Dragon’s movement speed, Breeze and Rain never really knew where to look for me.

By the time I was done "drawing" my super massive pentagram, my 10-hour timer was almost up. It was only then Breeze and Rain slapped his thighs in realization and complained to Flowing Cloud, "OMG, this… this fucker is drawing a pentagram!! I… I should’ve noticed this much sooner…"

Flowing Cloud couldn’t help but laugh at this.

……

Ding~!

System Announcement: Attention all players, player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" has claimed the Sacred Armament "Fire God Helmet", and retained it for 10 hours. The Fire God Helmet is now bound to player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" and cannot be dropped!

……

Joy swelled in my heart as I stood at the center of the valley. I took out the Fire God Helmet and admired the flames flickering across its surface. What a beautiful piece of equipment!