Upon arriving at the northern border of Yunshang County, they split into two groups. Both Lin Zhao and Chen Xue decided to train alone. Firstly, if they were discovered by the people of Shengshi Mudan or Cangzhi Knight Order, it would be easier for one person to escape. Chen Xue and Lin Zhao’s boots were not bad, with movement speed bonuses, making it not difficult to flee. Secondly, Chen Xue was a knight focused on strength, with considerable output, and coupled with the attack power bonus from her equipment, she was capable of solo training. As for Lin Zhao, he was fully equipped, and in the Jianyun Lake, he possessed a flying sword named Mingyue, making him an outstanding solo trainer. It would be a waste for an account like his not to train alone.
...
After parting ways with Chen Xue, Lin Zhao continued northward. Before long, the ground beneath his feet had turned into a snowy landscape. When players first entered the game "Tianxia," it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, but now it was late autumn. Yunzhou was located in the northern part of the human territory, and it had already started snowing earlier than expected.
With the Zhanlong Sword on his back and the Qinglu Sword in his hand, his white cloak fluttering, Lin Zhao walked on the snow-covered ground while opening his minimap. He saw that the northern border of Yunshang County was approaching a natural barrier, the "Qinling Mountains." These Qinling Mountains stretched thousands of miles from east to west, serving as a natural defense for the Great Shang Dynasty, separating the human territory from the north. The six great passes of the human race were all built within these mountain passes, guarding the gateway to humanity.
Beyond the Qinling Mountains lay a barren land of several hundred miles, and further north was the Fusang Great Wall. Lin Zhao remembered all of this clearly, having traveled this path more than once; it was etched in his memory.
The closer he got to the Qinling Mountains, the higher the level of monsters and the fewer the players. When Lin Zhao reached about ten miles away from the Qinling Mountains, the monsters in the snowy ground before him were already level 65, a full nine levels higher than him. It would be difficult to train further ahead. However, the current monsters were not high-level; they were high-defense snow forest boars, with high health and defense, unsuitable for a swordsman to train. It would have been good for a mage, who could have easily gathered monsters with AoE spells and burned them.
"Not training here."
Lin Zhao frowned and continued eastward.
About ten minutes later, he stepped into a snow-covered forest area. As he entered a pine forest, the scene before him made Lin Zhao’s heart tremble, and he even felt a flutter of emotion. On the snowy ground stood women holding flower baskets and wearing white gauze dresses. Each one was graceful and elegant, as pure and detached as fairies in the snow mountains. Seeing Lin Zhao enter the pine forest, a beauty in the snow gracefully bowed and said with a smile, "Young master, have you come here to die?"
This remark was quite a mood killer!
Lin Zhao frowned and took a few more steps forward, reading the opponent's information into his personal interface—
【Snow Lotus Fairy】 (Dark Gold Grade Monster)
Level: 65
Attack: 800-1350
Defense: 400
Health: 5000
Skills: [Flower Dance] [Petal Shadow Kill] [Snow Lotus Footwork]
Introduction: Snow Lotus Fairies are spirits cultivated from snow lotuses in the mountains. Driven by the Snow Lotus Demon, these Snow Lotus Fairies have become ferocious and begin to resent humans. These days, hunters entering the mountains and human soldiers patrolling the area are often attacked by these Snow Lotus Fairies, causing immense suffering.
...
It’s them!
Lin Zhao smiled faintly. With only 5000 health and 400 defense, neither was high. More importantly, they were physical melee monsters, which was even better. Heavy armor players loved this kind of opponent. He then drew his sword and swung it directly at a Snow Lotus Fairy who had just greeted him.
"Little one!"
The Snow Lotus Fairy's beautiful face instantly turned ferocious, and she said, "So, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit?! Take this!"
Her long sleeves and flower basket spun together, and with a "swish," she launched the "Flower Dance" skill at Lin Zhao. It was an AoE, instantly dealing nearly 300 points of damage to Lin Zhao, which was bearable. Immediately after, the Snow Lotus Fairy, with a face full of venom, raised her delicate fingers and plucked a petal from the air. With a "chi," the petal shot towards Lin Zhao's throat at extreme speed. It was the Petal Shadow Kill skill!
This skill was somewhat similar to the family heirloom secret art of Ye Lin, the innate romantic encountered by Lin Zhao at Fusang Great Wall. The moves looked poetic and artistic but carried extreme killing intent!
However, Lin Zhao was unconcerned at this moment. He endured one strike of the Petal Shadow Kill, and in just two or three sword strikes, he slew the Snow Lotus Fairy. The experience gained was extremely generous, instantly relaxing the suppressed mood he had felt for a long time. Indeed, training within the bound county city was comfortable; the past four days had been utterly stifling!
Onward, and he could speed up his leveling efficiency!
In a flash, he aggroed over 50+ Snow Lotus Fairies and began his domineering leveling style. His Qinglu Sword flew, unleashing waves of splash damage, while the flying sword Mingyue would fly out at any time, delivering a fatal blow to a slightly healthier Snow Lotus Fairy, correcting her health balance with the other monsters. When it was time to die, they would all die together, saving trouble.
...
After clearing several waves of monsters, the sound of hooves echoed from his surroundings. A troop of cavalry wearing the Yunzhou emblem stopped in the woods behind Lin Zhao. One of the cavalrymen, wearing a bronze military rank, rode forward, raised his eyebrows, smiled, clasped his fists on his horse, and said, "Esteemed Sword Cultivator, may I trouble you for a moment?"
"Hmm."
Lin Zhao gathered the gold coins and trash equipment from the ground, stood up, and smiled, "Please speak."
The cavalry captain took a deep breath and said, "We just saw you here killing demons, so you must be a sword cultivator who greatly hates the demon race. If that's the case, why not use your cultivation on the main battlefield? About five miles east of here, our border defense camp is under fierce attack by these fiends called Snow Lotus Fairies. If you are willing... would you perhaps lend a hand there? We... have already suffered heavy losses!"
Lin Zhao glanced again. The man's arm was clearly bandaged with white cloth, and even his warhorse's hindquarters had a concave bloody gash, likely inflicted by a Petal Shadow Kill. Fortunately, Yunzhou's warhorses were strong and robust; otherwise, such an injury might have prevented them from going to the battlefield.
"Understood."
Lin Zhao was naturally willing. A quest presented itself; why would he refuse? He nodded and smiled, "Please return first, sir. I will rush over to reinforce immediately."
"Good, thank you!"
The troop of cavalry galloped away in a cloud of dust.
Lin Zhao looked at the sparse Snow Lotus Fairies in the snow forest before him. There were too few; he couldn't get enough of killing them. So, he decided to go to the main battlefield. On one hand, he could complete a quest, killing two birds with one stone. He then drew his sword and galloped eastward.
Before long, a human fortress appeared in the snow forest. It was a camp built against the mountain, with giant stones piled up on the outer walls and mostly wooden structures inside. Barracks were connected one after another, and the Great Shang Dynasty's war banners fluttered in the air. Arrow towers stood tall at the edges of the fortress, densely packed with archers. Outside the camp, countless Snow Lotus Fairies, their expressions ferocious, assaulted the fortress. The outer walls of the fortress were already covered in a dense layer of white petals, all of them deadly.
Lin Zhao observed the terrain. There were too many monsters in the front, making it impassable. So, he circled around to the side, went up the mountain, and then climbed along the mountain range, finally landing inside the fortress. As soon as he landed, the cavalry captain from before rode over, clasped his fists, and said in a deep voice, "Young hero, you've arrived. I will take you to see our Thousand Cavalry Commander!"
"Hmm, good."
Inside the front gate of the fortress, a great general clad in silver armor walked down from the command platform, his face weathered and wind-beaten. He looked as though he hadn't slept for days and nights, with swollen, red eyes. He frowned, clasped his fists at Lin Zhao, and said, "Young hero, I am Sun Jialiang, the Thousand Cavalry Commander of the Yunshang County Border Defense Camp. Greetings, young hero!"
Lin Zhao clasped his fists, "Sir, you need not be so polite to a lone cultivator like myself."
Seeing Lin Zhao's humility, Sun Jialiang felt even more comfortable, smiling, "The infiltration and destruction of our human homeland by the four northern tribes has never ceased, and it seems to have become even more rampant recently. According to reconnaissance by the accompanying cultivators, the demon race seems to have dispatched a Star River Realm Snow Lotus Demon to the Qinling Mountains area. It is causing havoc, causing the snow lotuses on the thousand-mile cliffs to transform into these vicious Snow Lotus Fairies. They constantly attack our armies and villages, causing extremely tragic losses."
He sighed, "After receiving the decree from the County Governor, I led my troops here to reinforce, but soon after arriving, we were surrounded. This was a premeditated attack. That Snow Lotus Demon unleashed tens of thousands of Snow Lotus Fairies, intending to overwhelm our fortress and turn my thousand brothers-in-arms into corpses in the snow!"
"I see..."
Lin Zhao nodded but said nothing.
The Thousand Cavalry Commander said in a deep voice, "Young hero, you are a young sword cultivator with great strength. By rights, you should not be put in danger, but we are truly at our wit's end now. Therefore... I implore you to help. On behalf of my remaining seven to eight hundred brothers, I thank you!"
As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and he was about to kneel on one knee.
Lin Zhao quickly supported him and said, "Sir, please speak your mind freely. Whatever you command, I will obey."
"Good!"
The Thousand Cavalry Commander pointed to the left flank and said, "Those Snow Lotus Fairies all come from the valley ahead. Their reinforcements are endless. The valley entrance is a narrow strip. As long as a sword cultivator of considerable cultivation can hold the line there, blocking their reinforcements, I can send my brothers to charge out of the fortress for a push. However, this matter is too perilous, truly..."
"It's alright, I'm willing to try."
Lin Zhao said.
"Good!"
The Thousand Cavalry Commander's face lit up with joy. "Then I entrust this to you, young hero!"
...
The next moment, the sound of a mission notification rang in Lin Zhao's ears—
"Ding!"
System prompt: You have accepted the main mission [Blockade Snow Rock Valley] (S-grade)!
Mission Content: A tenth-level Snow Lotus Demon is causing havoc in Snow Rock Valley, creating countless Snow Lotus Fairies to attack the human army. At the request of Thousand Cavalry Commander Sun Jialiang, immediately proceed to the entrance of Snow Rock Valley and blockade the entrance for 240 minutes. You will then receive extremely generous rewards.