Chapter 1521: Calm Before The Storm

"Fuck, you killed him already?"

In the sky, Li Chengfeng stared at Shogunate’s corpse with a dissatisfied expression on his face, "You’re too fast, Lu Chen. I didn’t even make it close to you…"

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

I looked at the convoy and said, "We don’t have time to play anyway. Let’s catch up to the convoy before we fall out of range!"

"Mn!"

……

We were divine players, so we were able to fly back to the three supply carts in just the blink of an eye.

Murong Mingyue counted, "That’s exactly 5 minutes. How many people have you killed?"

I thought for a moment before replying, "Chengfeng and I killed a total of 1,500 players or so. That being said, a lot of them managed to run away during the hunt, and this is just the first wave of harassers."

"Did you kill Shogunate?" He Yi asked.

"Yep."

"Did he drop anything?"

"Nope…"

"Why didn’t you use Song of Freedom?"

"I, er…"

Li Chengfeng roasted me, "Because he wanted to kill Shogunate before me, of course. He was so busy acting cool that he forgot to use Song of Freedom…"

Me: "..."

……

Amazingly, nothing happened in the next hour at all. Neither the mobs nor the players had shown up to attack us. The three tortoise-shaped supply carts slowly rolled forward among the ruins of Ice River Canton while I walked in front of them.

"Strange. Where are the people?" Beiming Xue looked left and right anxiously.

Gui Guzi sucked in a deep breath. "This is the calm before the storm. I’m almost certain that they’re preparing something big…"

I nodded strongly. "I am of the same opinion. Either they don’t show their faces at all, or they will show up with something that will destroy us for sure. Chengfeng, give Chaos Moon and High Fighting Spirits our coordinates and tell them to come to our aid now. If they can’t reach us immediately, then have the Dragonlight Cavalry come over first. My hunch is telling me that the Japanese server will attack us in less than ten minutes…"

Li Chengfeng smiled. "Got it. Chaos Moon and 50k Dragonlight Cavalry are already on their way. They’ll probably arrive in 15 to 20 minutes. High Fighting Spirits, Xu Yang, Heaven’s Rain and more are mustering the other classes. They will be arriving not too long after. In total, I’ve mobilized 200k elites to come to our aid. We may as well turn this battle into an appetizer before the Nation War, right?"

I leaped onto a supply cart and sat on its tortoise shell, saying, "Yeah. The convoy won’t stop just because we need it to stop. Therefore, I want everyone to stay alert at all times. If the enemy manages to destroy the goods, our SSS Rank quest will end in failure, and we will all suffer a harsh penalty. Also, Xinran is the guarantor of this quest. I won’t be able to face her later if we lose the goods I promised her to protect…"

Suddenly, Gui Guzi let out a snicker and said, "By the way, have you claimed Sister Xinran already, Boss Broken Halberd? I only caught a glimpse of her during the party, but I can tell that she is an absolute beauty despite having slept in a pod for many years!"

I rolled my eyes at him before saying, "What about you? Could you screw your own younger sister? That’s what she is to me, no more, no less."

Murong Mingyue wrapped an arm around Beiming Xue’s shoulders and said, "I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Don’t you agree, Beiming?"

Beiming Xue turned beet red as she stuttered, "I-I won’t force it if big bro isn’t willing. I won’t get jealous because he’s together with another girl either."

Murong Mingyue facepalmed for a moment. "Okay, that’s a more well-rounded answer than I thought you would give. What a smart girl! Did you hear that, Eve? If neither you nor Beauty Lin can tame Lu Chen, someone will gladly replace you two…"

He Yi turned beet red as well. "You’re so shameless, Mingyue. If you’re this thirsty, I can find you a boyfriend within the company. In fact, the business unit manager from last time seems like a good guy. I also know he’s interested in you since he couldn’t stop looking at you during the meeting!"

"Eh… he looks a little too girlish. Lu Chen’s more my type, if you get what I mean…"

Me: "..."

I stayed as quiet as a dead body. I had no doubt that Murong Mingyue would play me like a fool if I gave her even the slightest opening. In the meantime, I brought up my friend list, scrolled to Hickey’s ID and gave her a call. She greeted me after accepting the call, "Hey boss! What’s the matter?"

I replied in a succinct manner, "Ahem, me and my friends accepted a quest to escort a batch of goods from Violet Empire to Purple Grape City. We are currently at the ruins of Ice River Canton. We suspect that the Japanese have prepared a massive ambush for us, so I want you to bring whoever is available at this time to Ice River Canton as quickly as you can. How long will it take you to reach us?"

Hickey hummed for a moment before replying, "20 minutes!"

"Alright. Be quick. The success of our quest depends on you!"

"Don’t worry, boss. We’ll get it done!"

……

I also sent Lin Yixin a message because I realized that this war might be beyond our single guild’s ability to fight.

"Yiyi?"

“Yes, what is it, Little Cheat?" Lin Yixin replied with a voice that reminded me of clear bells.

"Hehe, nothing? I’m just missing your voice…"

"Yeah, I don’t believe you. Now tell me what you need already!"

"I accepted a quest some time ago, and my party and I may be ambushed at the ruins of Ice River Canton. If possible, can you muster a troop of elites and come to our rescue? Make sure they’re pure cavalrymen, or you may not be able to reach us in time!"

"I see…" Lin Yixin giggled. "A large majority of my players are currently grinding, and it doesn’t feel right to cut their session halfway, so… I can only promise around 100k cavalrymen or so. Is that enough?"

"That’s enough. Come quickly!"

"Okay!"

……

After everything was ready, I refreshed my Dark Pupils and scanned my surroundings once more. I immediately shivered in alert. My Dark Pupils had a vision range of 1,000 yards or so, and my map screen showed that a great number of red dots was littered all across the forest ahead of us. They were lying in ambush, most likely for us.

Chiang!

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and pointed to the front. "At least 10,000 Swallow Ear Canton players are waiting for us over there. Should I head over and test their strength?"

Li Chengfeng shook his head immediately. "No, you are the commander of this party. You must stay here and oversee everything. I’ll scout them and see if I can force them to reveal their cards!"

"Alright. Don’t let your guard down for even a second though! Unusual Physique is a powerful skill, but super-tier players can still do a considerable amount of damage to you. Also, Mount Armor Transformation and Flight aren’t that big of an advantage either since you’re fighting a one versus many battle. You may die if they manage to surround you[1]."

Li Chengfeng waved a hand confidently. "I know, I was there when you fought Candlelight Shadow, remember? Anyway, you have nothing to worry about. I am no Warsky. I never underestimate my opponent no matter the time or place!"

"Okay. Go get ‘em!"

……

Pa!

A couple of maple leaves spun madly in the air as Li Chengfeng took off into the sky and sped straight toward the front. When he reached a certain area, he abruptly came to a stop and fired a pair of blade auras toward the ground. A dozen or so archers immediately let out painful screams and dropped to their knees.

"Come out!" Li Chengfeng uttered.

Seven whole seconds of silence later, the trees suddenly shook violently. At the same time, countless arrows shot into the air and flew straight toward Li Chengfeng.

Pa pa pa!

Unfortunately, the volley only managed to pierce the dragon warrior’s afterimage. He had always been famed for his strength and agility, and he had engaged evasive maneuvers the second the enemy’s arrows had left their bowstrings.

The assault was just beginning, however. A bunch of Galaxy Storms followed the arrows, and this time he wasn’t able to dodge them perfectly!

While backing away with only 60% HP left, Li Chengfeng cursed, "Fuck, this is a lot of damage! Who are these mages?!"

Suddenly, an axe-wielding berserker rushed out from behind a shrubbery and swung his axe at him at high speed, shouting, "Do you remember me, Legendary Brave?"[2]

Chiang!

Li Chengfeng managed to parry the attack, but he was sent skidding across the grass because he had been caught by surprise. He lashed out with a Reverse Scale Slash before kicking the attacker out of the way, laughing. "Red Hot Vortex? Sorry, but you are not a worthy prey to me!"

……

Another figure rushed out from behind the trees. This time, it was Cyan Frost the Ice Knight! She fired a Freezing Slash at Li Chengfeng!

The dragon warrior had just spent his strength knocking back Red Hot Vortex, so he could only drop to the ground to dodge the skill!

MISS!

The instant Freezing Slash had missed him, Li Chengfeng bounced back to his feet and exploded toward Cyan Frost so hard that the space where his boots were literally cracked under pressure. He was able to grab Cyan Frost’s cape and haul her off her mount before thrusting his halberd toward her pale neck.

Although Cyan Frost was a woman, Li Chengfeng didn’t hesitate to go all out against her. It would be incredibly foolish to put the party in danger just because the enemy happened to be of the fairer sex.

A bloody icicle knocked his weapon away before he could hit her though. It was the temporary attack a divine player could conjure using their Domain!

Li Chengfeng looked up as a grinning Red Maple swooped toward him from above. "Today is the day you die, Legendary Brave!"

Fire God Flurry!

Li Chengfeng let out a muffled groan as the triple-hit skill dropped his HP to just 30% or so. In retaliation, he stabbed Red Maple in the shoulder before punching him in the chest.

……

"No, Chengfeng can’t beat Red Maple, Cyan Frost and Red Hot Vortex alone!" Gui Guzi clenched his fists tightly.

I looked around and saw that a great number of enemies were moving toward our location. I immediately said, "Little Gui, heal Chengfeng with Shennong Tastes Grass while I fly over to help him!"

"Mn!"

I rose until I was about three meters above ground before flying toward Li Chengfeng. After I found an appropriate attack angle, I executed a long-range Burning Blade Slash!

"Watch out! It’s Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand!"

Red Maple and Cyan Frost reacted almost identically. They both crossed their swords in front of themselves and Guarded!

Bang bang bang…

The duo were blown back dozens of meters by the powerful skill. The moment they regained mobility, they downed a health potion despite the fact that a ton of healing spells were flashing on their person. It was the smart thing to do. Their HP had gone above 70% before I could use the Xuanyuan Art to kill them.

……

Li Chengfeng grabbed my cape and said, "We need to go. There are too many high-level players in the area. There’s not much even we can do against this many enemies!"

I nodded and followed him back to the convoy, an endless shower of Shock Arrows and Galaxy Storms following our wake. It looked like Swallow Ear Canton’s highest-leveled and best-equipped players were all here.

1. E/N: ?????????? Just last chapter you said it was a huge advantage, that’s why you went alone for Shogunate… BECAUSE you could fly and it was a huge advantage in 1vX??????? Surround? He can literally just fly up????? ☜

2. T/N: Li Chengfeng probably dodged TO the ground. Not the worst decision since hovering in the air here is asking to be sniped, but I agree that the author could’ve mentioned it somewhere ☜