The Ghost King's eyebrows shot up as he looked at the newcomer. A few lines of text floated above the person's head—
[Li Canghai] (Trainee Sword Master)
Level: 36
Squad: Azure Knights
Squad Position: Captain
...
Li Canghai, another renowned ID in Yunshang County. Looking across the entire county, not a single top-tier guild had established a presence in this administrative city. There were only a host of unremarkable guilds, among which Shengshi Mudan held the most sway and manpower, making them the undisputed leader. Following them, the Azure Knights, led by Li Canghai, were the undeniable contenders for second place.
Li Canghai was a man who could remain patient. While Shengshi Mudan launched their hunt for the Scarlet Moon Knights, the Azure Knights had been diligently developing themselves, awaiting an opportunity. Now, that moment had finally arrived. Shengshi Mudan was destined to fail in their attempt to conquer the Level 45 Dark Gold Boss, and it would naturally fall to the Azure Knights to take over.
At this very moment, Li Canghai was even quite grateful to that expert named "Bai Yi." Without him, the Azure Knights wouldn't have been able to take over the Dark Gold Boss so easily and claim the Dark Gold Tier 2 kill reward in Yunshang County.
The significance of this Tier 2 kill was self-evident. Once the Azure Knights secured this kill, many players in Yunshang County who had been observing would flock to them, willing to serve even without pay. This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
"Li Canghai!"
The Ghost King's brows furrowed. "What do you mean, kicking me when I'm down?"
"What else?"
Li Canghai chuckled. "Are you expecting me to offer you a helping hand? Don't forget, two days ago you were pointing at the nose of our Azure Knights' vice-leader and saying you only had the qualifications to scavenge Shengshi Mudan's leftovers."
The Ghost King gritted his teeth.
"Ghost King,"
Li Canghai smiled faintly. "Blame yourself for insisting on offending the Scarlet Moon Knights. Did you think you could bully them just because they were few in number? Don't waste your breath; just issue another decree of self-condemnation."
"Damn it!"
A berserker from Shengshi Mudan roared. "Is the Azure Knights determined to go against our Shengshi Mudan?"
"No, we're just competing for resources."
Li Canghai pointed at the opponent and smiled. "I'll forgive your coarse language, as I am a scholar. As for Shengshi Mudan, I'll give you one chance to return to the city now. After I count to three, anyone who refuses to return will die!"
"Bastard!"
A group of Shengshi Mudan members roared. "My King, our pride must not be lost! Let's fight these shameless scoundrels from the Azure Knights!"
The Ghost King drew his longsword and pointed it at the crowd. "An army can lose its commander, but a man cannot lose his spirit. If your Azure Knights are going to bully our Shengshi Mudan while we're down, then we'll fight you! Everyone, charge! Engage them in a decisive battle!"
"Kill!"
"Hmph..."
Li Canghai let out a cold laugh. "Charge! Annihilate them!"
Outside, nearly 400 Azure Knights players swarmed in, crushing the remaining dozens of Shengshi Mudan players who were left. They suffered minimal losses themselves. Even the Ghost King was taken down by Li Canghai's combo, shamefully dropping two more pieces of equipment.
...
On the hilltop.
Lin Zhao and the others watched the scene unfolding in the distance, a sense of unease settling in their hearts.
"So..."
Zhang Jun frowned. "Is this the legendary Mantis stalks the Cicada, unaware of the Oriole behind? Are we the mantis?"
"Yes."
Ding Chi said indifferently. "Li Canghai played his cards very well, tsk tsk... We did the killing and arson, and they reaped the benefits. That's great, truly great. By rights, this Boss should have belonged to us. Once Shengshi Mudan leaves, our chance will come."
"Not necessarily."
Lin Zhao, with the best composure, smiled. "Our original strategy was to disrupt Shengshi Mudan's raid. We've achieved that. As for the Boss's ownership, let it be. We never intended to snatch the Boss in the first place. As for this Azure Knights, let them have it. We don't need to concern ourselves."
"Mmm."
Right before everyone's eyes, Li Canghai led his followers into the now extinguished Dry Leaf Valley and claimed the half-health Boss, triggering a system announcement for a Dark Gold Tier 2 kill reward.
Lin Zhao and the others departed, continuing their leveling.
...
They continued grinding until late at night. Lin Zhao reached Level 39. Today's raid could only end here. By then, the auction results were also out. The final sale price for the Golden equipment, Shield of Destruction, was 27,000 common coins. The Dark Gold equipment, Fiery Phoenix Spirit Robe, sold for an even more outrageous 150,000 common coins, once again pushing the Scarlet Moon Knights' studio's daily income off the charts.
They logged off. The three of them ate supper and chatted about these matters.
"Our total income today is close to 200,000."
Ding Chi smiled gleefully. "This game is a godsend for the three of us. Tsk tsk, I never imagined we could get rich so easily in a game."
"Keep a low profile. It will get even better."
Lin Zhao's confidence in the future grew stronger.
"I heard..."
Zhang Jun took a sip of his porridge. "The Spirit Robe's final transaction price was initially only 110,000 common coins. It seemed like a female mage from the Azure Knights bought it. But then a knight from Hai Xi County appeared and bid 150,000 with a single offer, locking in the price at the last second. Fifteen hundred thousand common coins! Compared to the average monthly salary of 4,000 common coins in Su City, that's enough for a normal person to work diligently for four years. And they just casually dropped it."
"There's nothing we can do."
Ding Chi frowned. "The current global situation is like this. Real power is held by major powers and conglomerates. The so-called Earth United Government is, in fact, controlled by these conglomerates, with many checks and balances in place. This world belongs to the rich. To pry even a little money from their hands, we must put in more effort."
"Indeed."
Lin Zhao wholeheartedly agreed. "Let's eat quickly. After eating, we'll get back online tomorrow and fight again."
"Mmm!"
...
The next morning, Lin Zhao and Ding Chi woke up early. They accompanied Wang Ju and Xiao Juzi to a school about two li away. The school was of exceptionally high caliber, explaining its steep tuition fees. After Ding Chi helped pay the fees, a beautiful homeroom teacher took Xiao Juzi to class. Lin Zhao and Ding Chi returned, while Wang Ju watched from outside the school gate for a while before reluctantly going to buy groceries.
Returning to the studio, they logged in.
"Shua!"
The moment Lin Zhao appeared in the East City Plaza of Yunshang County, he saw players from all directions staring at him and murmuring amongst themselves. He paid them no mind. After buying potions and repairing his equipment, he, Ding Chi, and Zhang Jun crossed the city gate bridge, intending to leave the city. However, just as they were about to exit, they saw a dense crowd of players standing before them. They were all from Shengshi Mudan, numbering over a hundred!
"What... what is this?"
Lin Zhao looked at the group of burly men, somewhat dumbfounded.
"It seems the rumors are true..."
Zhang Jun frowned. "It's said that Shengshi Mudan has completely fallen out with us. They really don't want us few members of the Scarlet Moon Knights to leave the city. So, they're stationing a hundred people at each city gate, allowing any player to exit, but strictly prohibiting members of the Scarlet Moon Knights from leaving to level."
"Holy crap..."
Lin Zhao grinned. Ghost King was truly ruthless. To stall the leveling progress of just the three of them, he was willing to make 400 members of Shengshi Mudan sit idle with him, completely forfeiting Shengshi Mudan's early game advantage?
"Damn it!"
Ding Chi clenched his fist lightly. "Ghost King is amazing. This person is destined for great things..."
"Indeed, indeed..."
Zhang Jun said wryly.
"What do we do now?" Ding Chi asked.
"We stall them, I guess..."
Lin Zhao crossed his arms and leaned against the city gate. As long as they were within the safe zone, they couldn't leave. They couldn't go out now; with over a hundred people outside, a head-on charge would mean certain death.
...
"Beep!"
He had just received a voice message from an unknown person, from Li Canghai of the Azure Knights. He chuckled. "Brother Bai Yi, this is quite awkward, isn't it? I didn't expect this. Shengshi Mudan even lets our Azure Knights pass, but refuses to let your Scarlet Moon Knights out. People like that... are the most terrifying."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "Alliance Leader Li Canghai, is there something you need?"
"Yes."
Li Canghai laughed heartily. "Look, my guild is called the Azure Knights, and yours is the Scarlet Moon Knights. Since Shengshi Mudan is our common enemy, why don't our two guilds form an alliance? We'll take on Shengshi Mudan together and show Ghost King why the flowers are so red."
"This..."
Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes and smiled. "After forming an alliance, how do we handle the name?"
"That's simple. We each take half of our names."
Li Canghai chuckled. "We'll take the words 'Azure' from 'Azure Knights,' and you take 'Knights' from 'Scarlet Moon Knights.' That way, you get an extra character. In the end, it will be called Azure Knights. Both sides are happy, and it's a win-win cooperation!"
Lin Zhao rolled his eyes. "Alliance Leader Li Canghai, if you have nothing to do, please don't talk to me. You might get attacked."
"Ah ha ha ha, don't say that! Keep my proposal in mind. If you ever need reinforcements, just say the word. Once we're allied, we're brothers. Our Azure Knights are truly willing to go through fire and water for our brothers!"
"Understood."
...
Lin Zhao continued to lean against the city gate, silent. He needed to find a way out of this predicament. While Shengshi Mudan's idiots didn't want to level, he desperately did.
Just then, a message arrived on his phone: "This is Chen Xue. I'll be in Su City soon. Are you coming to pick me up?"
Chen Xue? The one introduced by his cousin Murong Feiyue?
Lin Zhao's heart stirred. "I'm Lin Zhao. When will you arrive, and at which station? I'll come pick you up."
"Shí Hú East Road Station on the subway. I'm coming from Xi Cheng."
"Then... how will I confirm which one is you?"
"No need to confirm."
Chen Xue said lightly. "I'll be there soon. I'll be waiting for you outside the station. When you get to the station, the most beautiful person you see will likely be me."