Chapter 44
Chapter 44
“Ding!”
[You have obtained the hidden side quest Find the Sword Saint! Difficulty: A]
[Find the Sword Saint] (Difficulty: A)
Description: No one knows where the Sword Saint has gone. Finding him will be no easy task.
Objective: Discover the Sword Saint’s whereabouts and report them to Abyssal Sword Demon · Cangxuan.
Reward: Nightfall Cloak
Failure Penalty: None
…
Compared to the other quests Zhou Ming had accepted, this one was relatively normal, even if the figures involved possessed extremely lofty status.
“It seems extracting money from the Dark Faction isn’t going to work,” Qianying said regretfully.
The reward Cangxuan had offered wasn’t particularly generous.
Their most urgent task remained finding some way to amass wealth.
Zhou Ming shook his head. “Actually, Cangxuan just gave me two extremely important pieces of information.”
“Which two?” Qianying asked.
“First, the Dark Faction is definitely going to attack me on the day they descend. They’ve put that fact out in the open without trying to conceal it,” Zhou Ming said frankly. “That means they’ve already made their plans. You might not be able to protect me!”
The senior leaders of both factions knew Qianying remained by his side and would undoubtedly intervene if other god-tier experts attacked him.
If they still intended to act under those conditions, they had to possess a method for holding Qianying back.
That would leave Zhou Ming isolated and inevitably force him to face an enemy he couldn’t defeat.
“How many Demon Gods could possibly attack Qingshui Town at once?” Qianying asked with certainty. “Even one would already be impressive!”
What proper Demon God would ignore the primary capitals of every national region and deliberately target a tertiary town? The idea itself was absurd.
If Zhouyou Shijie didn’t possess the God-Demon Orb, and if Qianying didn’t have the ability to enhance equipment, such a thing would never happen.
Even under the present circumstances, the rules wouldn’t permit two Demon Gods to attack.
“That’s what I thought too.” Zhou Ming nodded lightly and continued searching for nearby monsters, unwilling to waste precious leveling time. “But Cangxuan’s words made me consider another possibility: mutually beneficial cooperation.”
Qianying instantly understood. “You mean… the two factions might pressure you together?”
“The two factions are bitter enemies, divided by hatred and conflict that can never be erased.”
Zhou Ming repeated Cangxuan’s words and carefully considered them. “But I alone am the common target of both sides…”
He had, in fact, considered the possibility that the Light Faction might stab him in the back during the siege.
Direct cooperation between the factions, however, was an entirely different matter. The pressure it created would be far greater.
As if to validate Zhou Ming’s suspicions, a relevant system chime rang soon after Cangxuan’s negotiations on behalf of the Dark Faction collapsed.
“Ding!”
[Through the tireless construction efforts of the Light Faction, Qingshui Town has advanced into the secondary city Qingshui City. All adventurers and residents affiliated with Qingshui City receive: Quest Acquisition Chance +20% and EXP Gain +10% for 3 days!]
“It seems the Dark Faction sent Cangxuan because they wanted to seize the God-Demon Orb first, before the plan was carried out!” Zhou Ming saw the situation clearly.
Ultimately, a city’s rank was not fixed forever.
There was always room for manipulation.
If Qingshui Town could only sustain an attack by one Demon God, Qianying could block that enemy. Once it advanced into Qingshui City, however, the situation naturally changed.
Qianying’s tone grew solemn. “A secondary city can face an assault from up to three Demon Gods.”
“How many can you withstand, Qianying?”
“If none of the top three Demon Gods come in person, two cannot defeat me. I could barely hold off three for a short time.”
“Understood.”
Zhou Ming nodded, calculations already forming in his mind.
The pressure had increased significantly, but Qianying’s combat power remained extraordinary.
…
Whoosh!
The void not far from Zhou Ming suddenly twisted. A phantom woman holding a bow emerged from the distortion. She wore dark magenta leather armor and had long, pointed ears, golden hair, blue eyes, and strikingly elegant features. At present, however, she looked openly hostile.
[Blood Elf · Amy] (God-Tier Boss)
Level: ???
HP: ???
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Skills: ???
Description: The ninth-ranked of the Ten Demon Gods. Once queen of the elves, she possesses extraordinary archery. After being recruited by the First Demon God, she stole the elves’ divine artifact and joined the Dark Faction.
…
She made no attempt to conceal her name, allowing Zhou Ming’s Inspect to reveal part of her information.
Zhou Ming: “…”
Another Demon God had taken the stage?
“I hear your interest was piqued?”
Killing intent filled Amy’s eyes as she looked coldly down at Zhou Ming. “Now that disaster is staring you in the face, are you still interested?”
Zhouyou Shijie’s attitude in the face of a Demon God’s pressure greatly displeased her.
In her eyes, the weak should bow before the strong until they possessed enough power. They should wag their tails like dogs and offer complete devotion in exchange for mercy. That was the true path to survival.
“More interested than ever!”
Zhou Ming remained neither servile nor overbearing.
“So stubborn. You deserve to die!”
The killing intent in Amy’s eyes grew stronger. She sneered, “When darkness descends, I will be one of the Demon Gods attacking Qingshui City. I’ll be watching to see how long your interest lasts!”
With that, her projection faded away.
“What nonsense!”
Zhou Ming paid her threat no mind and continued grinding.
Whoosh!
Two hours later, he reached Level 40. He immediately took the two Silver-grade items that had dropped from his inventory.
“Qianying, enhance these for me!”
“All right!”
With Qianying’s help, the forms of the two Silver-grade items changed and their power rose dramatically.
[Goldsource Boots] (Radiant Grade)
Defense: 60-65
HP: 1,000
Trait: Defense +20% and HP +20%
Trait: Movement Speed +20%
Effect: Acceleration, Movement Speed +10%
Required Fame: 500
Required Level: 40
Description: Boots forged from Goldsource Ore. Exceptionally resilient and highly durable.
[Goldsource Helmet] (Radiant Grade)
Defense: 60-70
HP: 1,000
Trait: Defense +20% and HP +20%
Trait: Critical Resistance +10%
Effect: Lesser Fortification, incoming damage reduced by 20.
Description: A helmet forged from Goldsource Ore. Ordinary arrows could never shatter it.
…
Level 40 Radiant equipment possessed far better attributes than the low-level Gold equipment Zhou Ming had been wearing.
Once he changed gear, his Defense and HP rose by a huge margin.
Afterward, Zhou Ming left the map behind.
Beep, beep!
As luck would have it, a message arrived through his friends list.
Tingfeng Xiyu: “I found a fire-element Gold Boss! Flame Hills, coordinates (1553, 4565, 4156)!”
“Great!”
Zhou Ming replied at once and hurried toward the location. “I’ll be right there!”
With a speed-related Talent, Tingfeng Xiyu’s efficiency was beyond reproach.
The first Gold Boss kill was within reach!
“Right!”
Qianying suddenly remembered something. “You said Cangxuan revealed two important pieces of information. What was the second?”
The first was that the Light and Dark Factions were willing to collude in order to kill Zhouyou Shijie.
Zhou Ming had yet to reveal the second.
“The second piece of information is even more important…”
…