The human slowly opened his eyes and looked around. When his murky gaze found us, he perked up a bit before asking with a grimace, "Are you… humans…?"

……

I walked up the hill of corpses until I was in front of him. Then, I nodded and said, "Yes, we are. We are adventurers from Sky City. Who are you, and why are you here? What happened and who killed so many people?"

"Who am I?"

He shot me a distressed smile before replying, "I was the prince of the Warhammer Empire. I was the prince who lost his light, Prince Lian Qian…"

"Lin Qian?" I exclaimed in astonishment. "Why is a prince at this place?"

Infinite anger flooded his eyes. "It was over four thousand years ago when the Dragonslaying Sword became known to the world. The sword was overflowing with power and resentment due to its failure to find its master, but it was said that the wielder of the Dragonslaying Sword would gain incredible power. So, the empires across the continent dispatched many of their elites to Dragon Domain to fight for it. In the end, the sword transformed into a cursed Divine Armament, and we, the Warhammer Empire, were dragged into the conflict as well."

Lin Yixin walked next to me and glanced at Lin Qian. "It seems like your empire is the victor though. After all, everyone here is dead except you."

"No!"

However, Lin Qian shivered and shook his head repeatedly like a frightened animal. "There was no victor in this battle… the moment I made contact with the Dragonslaying Sword, my soul became corroded by its mad power. It was like an irresistible temptation that devoured me whole. After I obtained absolute power, I… I…"

I asked calmly, "What did you do?"

Lin Qian dropped to his knees and cried. "I killed my three mentors with my own two hands! My mentors all loved me like their own child, and I killed them all just so that I could seize all of its power for myself…"

I said indifferently, "So, you killed all your mentors for a single sword?"

Lin Qian continued to shiver like crazy, but he said in a begging voice, "I wish to atone for my sins and save my own soul, but do I even have the right anymore? I will sacrifice everything if I can rescue my three mentors’ souls. I… I don’t want to be the sinful protector of the Dragonslaying Sword any longer!"

Feeling slightly more at ease, I asked, "Tell us. How can we save their souls?"

Even more tears spilled out of Lin Qian’s eyes. "My three mentors are the master swordsman, the Mountain Dwarf King Nordin; the unparalleled archer, the Succubi Queen Leila; and the great magus who taught me countless spells including forbidden spells, Holy Magus Lin Xu. Their bodies are currently scattered across the graves of this mountain range. I beseech you to seek them out and defeat their bodies. Bring me their soul essences, and I will chant the holy words of purification to rescue their souls. I will rescue them even if it costs me every drop of my power!"

I nodded.

Lin Yixin didn’t like the decision, however. "We’re just here for the Dragonslaying Sword, Little Cheat. There’s no need for us to obey his whims."

Lin Qian shot her a tragic smile. "Warrioress of the later generations, you don’t understand. Not only can I not leave the vicinity of the Dragonslaying Sword, it will devour my consciousness and control my body to kill you the moment you approach it. Where do you think the mountain of bodies beneath my feet came from?"

I gave Lin Yixin’s wrist a tug and said, "Come on, Yiyi. Let’s finish this quest first!"

"Mn!"

……

Ding~!

System Notice: Your party has received the SS Rank main quest [Collect The Three Soul Essences]!

Description: Aid Prince Lin Qian of the Warhammer Empire to collect soul essences of his three mentors. Bring them to Lin Qian for a very generous reward. However, be warned that the three mentors’ bodies have been demonized, and their strength is greater than you can imagine. Death is waiting at every step!

We accepted the quest. The quest notification meant that we finally didn’t have to search for the Dragonslaying Sword aimlessly anymore. The graveyards were close to the Dragon God Cave, so that was convenient as well.

……

Night fell inside the game.

Evening dew descended upon Dragon Domain and nourished the withered trees and grass. The sky was also full of stars. As my boots trudged across the grass, a couple of startled White Fireflies flew away in a hurry. They looked very similar to normal fireflies except that they were born from dead bodies, and they couldn’t survive without the deathly aura permeating this place. Hidden beneath their pretty exterior was a most horrifying origin and way of living.

Clumps of ghost fire burned, and the hoarse cries of the dead resounded vaguely within the forest. Nighttime to undead was like daytime to humans, and heaven knows how many undead mages were roaming this dead, mysterious domain in search of souls who hadn’t been enslaved yet.

I brought up my map screen before pointing to the east. "Our first boss to kill is only three minutes away in that direction. I’ll open the way, so Yiyi and Eve should just focus on protecting Lian Xin, Beiming, sis and Miss Guanyue."

"Got it."

He Yi summoned the Snake King Little Qing while Lin Yixin summoned her Ice Dragon Kris. The latter let out a sigh before saying, "It’s such a shame that Kris is a pet, not a mount. It would’ve been an Ancient Immortal Rank boss mount at least since it’s a Holy Giant Dragon..."

I guffawed. "Quit dreaming, Yiyi. Pet ranks are incomparable to mount ranks at all. These days, you only need to spend 2000 RMB at most to purchase a Heaven Rank pet egg in Sky City. A Heaven Rank mount egg though? You’ll have to pay 10 times the price or 20000 RMB at least to get one. That’s how big the difference between the two things are…"

Beiming Xue giggled. "I wonder how much big brother’s Ancient Divine Dragon would sell for if it reverted to egg form? It has to be an astronomical amount of money, right?"

I shrugged. "Doesn’t matter. I’m never selling it no matter what…"

Lian Xin curled her lips. "Lu Chen’s Ancient Divine Dragon could sell for 50 million RMB at least, and if a trust fund baby decides to murder their own bank accouns, that price could swell up to a couple hundred million. Not only is it the best mount in Heavenblessed right now, its power rating is seven times higher than Vienna’s Sorrow black dragon on the Mount Leaderboard. There’s just no way it’ll be dethroned until a very, very long time later…"

Lin Yixin shot me a beautiful, moonlit smile and said, "I’m not asking for a mount that will surpass Little Cheat’s Ancient Divine Dragon. I just want a flying mount so that it won’t take forever to run to a distant map. Plus, a flying mount’s incredible mobility makes it extremely easy to intercept, ambush, or reinforce an army. It’s only a matter of time before they become the royal road of all future wars…"

I agreed smilingly. "That’s why we cannot go back empty-handed. The sooner we find some dragon eggs for the guild, the better. Unfortunately, we haven’t dropped a single one from all the bosses we killed so far…"

He Yi giggled. "Why don’t you challenge Strella then? I’m sure it’ll drop some mount eggs…"

I knew she was joking, but I still almost threw up blood. "Who do you think Strella is, the Dominating Warrior God or Li Le version of dragons? It’s one of the Nine Purgatory Sovereigns and most likely a Divine Rank boss! It’s far beyond our power to defeat it to say the least. Maybe we can kill it with the help of friendly NPCs like Karinshan, but none of them are here right now. There’s just no point in even trying it."

Beiming Xue agreed. "Yes, it’s better to be pragmatic here. Let’s finish the quest Prince Lin Qian gave us first and decide later. By the way, don’t you think that Lin Qian looks super cool even though he’s covered in swords and arrows, and kneeling atop a pile of corpses? He looked like a fierce general who fought to protect something until the end of his life. It’s so cool!"

Lian Xin smirked at her. "Oh? Did you fall in love with Prince Lin Qian, Beiming?"

Beiming Xue blushed. "No! I just thought that he looked real similar to the time big brother fought millions and millions of people at the entrance to Dawn City and dropped to Level 70, or the time big brother fought in Final Duel Valley. They both stood atop mountains of corpses without the slightest hesitation on their faces, you know?"

Murong Mingyue covered her forehead for a moment. "Sigh, Beiming is way too addicted to Lu Chen. What will you do if she decides to stay single and follow you forever, Lu Chen?"

I smiled. "Relax, Beiming will wise up once she’s become a proper adult. She’ll naturally find a good man for herself and marry him."

The Dark Archer pouted though. "I don’t wanna, at least not now!"

……

Suddenly, He Yi turned serious and lowered her voice. "Let’s chat later. I see the boss. Lu Chen, can you scan it with your Dark Pupils and tell us its strengths and weaknesses?"

"Got it!"

I looked. At the bottom of the mountain range where the sheer cliffs connected to one another, there was a general wearing thick layers of armor and holding a sword. He was only 140 centimeters tall, but the black cloak flapping behind his back and his red eyes gave him a calm and frankly terrifying appearance.

I stared at the boss for a moment before saying, "He’s a Level 280 Ancient Immortal Rank boss, but don’t underestimate him. He has Barrier Break, Ultimate Strength Break, Blaze Sweep and Sword Rain. His Attack is pretty high, and his weak point is the 10 cm gap in armor below the armpit. I’m going to kick off this battle by reducing his Defense using Purple Frost Concentration and capture his aggro. Yiyi, Eve, I want you to only use hit-and-run technics. I will tank all of his attacks. Sis, Guanyue, lock onto me and coordinate your heals. Let’s hope we can kill this Ancient Immortal Rank boss without losing any levels!"

"Got it…"

……

Beneath the night sky, the dwarven general slowly raised his head. He let out a horrific laugh before saying, "Cultivators of the later generations, aren’t you? Did that traitor, Lin Qian, order you all to kill me? Come then. I will fight a great battle before oblivion takes me!"