Chapter 133 - Fire Dance

Inside the Red Leaf Forest, where the green grass was plush like a cushion...

A party of Level 5 players currently surrounded a group of three Level 5 Forest Wolves. The players advanced and retreated in battle familiarly, steadily pushing the three Forest Wolves towards defeat. In a short moment, one of the Forest Wolves died from the large fireball that flew at it, while the remaining two Forest Wolves only had a small amount of HP remaining.

“Leader, we’re already Level 5. We’re tired of constantly killing the same Forest Wolves. Let’s just kill the Level 6 Grassland Lion Cubs! I hear the loot is quite good. Moreover, everyone can obtain a larger share of experience there,” the bold and powerful Shield Warrior said as he blocked a Forest Wolf’s attack.

“Forget it. In these troubled times, you forget that everyone from our Martial Union has a bounty on their heads. Each one of us is worth 1 Silver Coin, and there are plenty of people looking for this transaction,” the party leader, an Elementalist, shook his head. He felt that the Shield Warrior’s suggestion was too risky.

“Leader, since when have you become such a coward?” a Berserker with waxy skin curled his lips, asking disdainfully.

“Before, when we snatched Elite monsters and equipment and even killed the other players, I’ve never seen you reluctant before!”

“Regardless of what other people say, Martial Union is a famous large Guild in Red Leaf Town. I don’t believe that those people would be so foolish, daring to kill us. Even if they come, we can kill them off and make a quick buck!”

The Elementalist party leader nodded, thinking that his subordinate’s words sounded logical.

In Red Leaf Town, only Martial Union bullied others. Whoever dared provoke them was only seeking death.

The Elementalist party leader then said, “Alright. After we kill these two Forest Wolves, we’ll go kill the Grassland Lion Cubs.”

“Oh yeah!”

The Shield Warrior grinned, using his shield to send one of the Forest Wolves flying. He then followed up with a Heroic Strike on the other Forest Wolf, taking away its remaining HP.

Immediately after the party from Martial Union killed the final Forest Wolf, they suddenly discovered that they were surrounded by a team of over twenty players. Moreover, every one of these players was Red Named, and clearly, they had already killed a lot of players.

“Brothers, our luck is good this time! They are all from Martial Union!”

A Red Named female Assassin with a provocative body revealed herself from Stealth. She wore a smile as she looked at the players from Martial Union.

The members of Martial Union immediately felt chills through their bodies. This female Assassin was clearly the scout for this entire team. Although she should have been hiding near their party this entire time, they did not detect her presence at all.

“What are you all trying to do?” the Elementalist party leader asked in a cold tone, his eyes observing his surroundings.

“What are we doing?” the female Assassin gleefully smiled at the party leader from Martial Union, saying with a laugh, “Of course, we are here to do some happy things with you.”

“Sister Fire Dance, why are you wasting your breath on them? Let’s just kill them and be done with it,” one of the Rangers standing in the encirclement said, feeling restless. His bow was already nocked and aimed at Martial Union’s Cleric.

The Shield Warrior from Martial Union knew that they were not a match for these group of players. Hence, he intimidated, “You guys better think through this. You will not have a good ending if you become Martial Union’s enemies. By the time we take care of that Ye Feng, we will take revenge on those who dared attack the members of our Guild. You guys best consider your actions properly. Don’t make a mistake.”

“Is Martial Union really that amazing?” The female Assassin named Fire Dance played with the dagger in her hand. Curling up her lips slightly, she said, “Why have I heard that you guys suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of my idol, Ye Feng?

Moreover, since you guys dared make trouble with my idol, it’s no different than seeking for trouble with me. You should all just die, right here.”

“Brothers, take action! Don’t let any of them escape!”

Hearing Fire Dance’s command, the twenty-plus players surrounding Martial Union rushed forward.

Meanwhile, the female Assassin named Fire Dance suddenly appeared behind the party leader from Martial Union. She immediately knocked the Elementalist unconscious, her icy-cold dagger slashing across his neck. She then followed up with a Backstab and Eviscerate, instantly taking the party leader’s life, her techniques both quick and efficient.

The other members of Martial Union were extremely shocked by this scene; their hearts stopped beating completely. Immediately, they turned and ran.

However, would it be that easy to run away? Immediately, the Ice Walls of Elementalists blocked their escape, followed by Ice Spheres reducing their Movement Speeds. Several Berserkers separately used Charge on their targets, followed by Breaks, greatly reducing the Movement Speeds of the members of Martial Union once more. With their fleeing speed slower than even a tortoise, the members of Martial Union died within moments.

“Tidy up the loot quickly. We’ll be looking for our next target,” Fire Dance issued her command.

“These fellows sure are fat[1]. They have contributed three pieces of Bronze Equipment to our inventory. It really makes you wonder just how fat Ye Feng’s party, which is much more powerful, is,” a lean Berserker said as he collected the dropped items. He couldn’t help but drool when he gazed at the Bronze Equipment the members of Martial Union left behind.

“Hmm? Water Buffalo, are you having ideas about my idol’s teammates?” Fire Dance looked at the Berserker, smiling faintly as she asked.

Immediately, the Berserker called Water Buffalo quivered, hurriedly laughing as he replied, “How would I even dare? I was only fantasizing in my mind a little! If I really did look for trouble with them, I would only be there to die at their hands!”

“Humph! At least you know your limits,” Fire Dance snorted. She then turned, departing in search of her next target.

......

Red Leaf Town, Slum Area, The Enchanted Bar:

Peng!

Ironsword Lion angrily smashed the alcohol bottle in his hand after seeing the report from his subordinates.

“Who can tell me what is going on exactly?”

“Why is it only our members are dying, while not even a shadow of Ye Feng’s teammates can be found?”

According to the report from his subordinates, within a short two hours, of all the members of Martial Union stationed in Red Leaf Town, 58 of them, had already died once. Amongst those who died, nine of them were even the top echelons or elites of their Guild. Not only had they lost a level as a result of dying, they even dropped some of their equipment. This was a huge loss for Martial Union’s Red Leaf Town branch. Moreover, Ironsword Lion was required to compensate them for their losses.

Besides that, the large number of deaths had largely impacted the loyalty of the members of Martial Union. Many started to think of leaving the Guild as they did not wish to be dragged into this game of hunting. If this matter did not quickly resolve, the Martial Union branch at Red Leaf Town would, sooner or later, break up.

“Boss Ironsword, could they be hiding? Why don’t we increase the bounty on them? That might tempt the true experts,” Drifting Blood suggested.

“Fine, increase the bounty immediately. I don’t believe that we can’t find them,” Ironsword Lion nodded his head. He then continued saying, “Remember, as long as you receive any information, immediately contact Absolute Heaven.”

“Leave it to me, Boss. I’ll relay the information immediately.”

......

Inside an Intermediate Forging Room, Shi Feng repeated the same task, over and over.

Shi Feng took out a Hard Stone, immediately using the Ice-Blue Devil Flame to burn it. He then used the Runic Hammer to tap at it a few times, very quickly forming a high-quality Advanced Whetstone.

System: Advanced Whetstone has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 1 point. Obtained 200 EXP.

[Advanced Whetstone] (Consumable)

When used on a Level 20 weapon or below, recovers the durability by 8 to 12 points. Simultaneously, it increases the damage of the weapon by 3% for a duration of 30 minutes.

Number of usage remaining: 3

In the later stages of the game, the value of this item would become greater and greater. The reason was that the damage to a weapon increased as monsters’ prowess increased. It was especially true for monsters that were Level 7 and above, as some of them possessed skills that could greatly reduce the durability of a weapon. Hence, Whetstones became one of the necessities when grinding and battling in God’s Domain’s wilds.

Compared to a normal Whetstone, not only could the Advanced Whetstone recover a weapon’s durability, but it could also increase the weapon’s sharpness, increasing the weapon’s damage by 3%. This effect could even compare to a buff, and it would greatly benefit melee players. There would be plenty of melee classes scrambling over this item, and they would still be willing to buy more after buying the first. No player would willingly reduce their damage when fighting monsters, even if it were just a 3% reduction.

Right after Shi Feng finished the Advanced Whetstone...

System: Congratulations! You are the first player to be promoted to an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Obtained 50,000 EXP. Rewarding 10 Runic Steel.

TL Notes:

[1]fat: this isn’t the obese kind of ‘fat.’ This term is used to refer to those who are very wealthy in terms of game equipment/money.