The members of the Crimson Moon Knights, eyes blazing, looked at the 1000+ members of the Seeking Immortals guild ahead and the Earth-grade boss with less than 10% health remaining. It was like seeing a feast laid out before them; what better time than now to charge in and claim victory?!
"Whoosh!"
At the forefront, Lin Zhao suddenly held his left arm horizontally in front of everyone, palm facing them, signaling them to hold their charge.
"Brother?"
Luo Man said softly, "Aren't we going to take advantage of their misfortune?"
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head, "Seeking Immortals and our Crimson Moon Knights are not sworn enemies. If we were to truly take advantage of their situation, this enmity would be cemented. There's no need for it. If you were in our shoes, after losing over 3000+ people for an Earth-grade first kill, and then being robbed, wouldn't you feel disgusted?"
Ding Chi said, "There's nothing more disgusting in the world than that, right?"
"So..."
Lin Zhao turned to look at everyone, smiling, "I think we shouldn't do things that disgust others. Instead, we should draw a line for ourselves. What can our Crimson Moon Knights do, and what can't we do? Everything we say and do should be within the rules we set for ourselves; we shouldn't overstep."
He pursed his lips, "I'm sorry, everyone. Some might think I'm too pedantic, too soft-hearted. It's ridiculous to say such things in the current environment of intense competition. But I truly believe we should be this way. I met many good people in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, like Mr. Qin Suihan, senior brother Ding Muchen, and many others. The principles they taught me are just this."
Looking at everyone, he gritted his teeth and said, "In this battle, we will only seize the Guardian Seal, not the Earth-grade boss's first kill. This is my thought. What do you all think?"
Shen Xingchen stared at him blankly, lost in thought, as if seeing the reticent youth practicing martial arts on the stone bridge again. That was how Lin Zhao was back then, showing the world his utmost goodwill.
Chen Xue looked at Lin Zhao with her beautiful eyes, a smile playing on her lips, "I'll listen to you."
Luo Man gazed at him intently, her heart a mix of emotions. If he had directly ordered them to snatch the boss, Luo Man might have looked down on him a bit, thinking he was just an ordinary person. But hearing these words now truly made her heart flutter like a startled fawn. She liked this "brother" more and more. What to do? Before, it was pretend; now, it was real.
Mo Chenxue also nodded, "Brother, I'll listen to you."
Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Mo Yin, and others exchanged glances, then in unison, they said, "Brother! We all listen to Brother!"
"Hahahaha~~~~"
A large group of Crimson Moon Knights players burst into laughter.
...
In the distance, the members of Seeking Immortals, who were fighting the boss, were stunned. Especially Xian Bai, who was casting spells on the boss while anxiously watching the Crimson Moon Knights. But to his surprise, that group remained still. Were they waiting for the boss's health to drop to the last 3% before charging? No, that wouldn't be enough time. After all, he had over 1000 people under his command; they couldn't be scattered in an instant.
There was only one answer: the Crimson Moon Knights had given up on competing for the first kill of this Heavenly Mystery City Earth-grade boss!
Thus, Xian Bai, staff in hand, left the boss's area and walked directly out of the crowd. He called out from afar, "Bai Yi, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend to coexist peacefully with our Seeking Immortals guild?"
Lin Zhao stepped forward a few paces, "Alliance Leader Xian Bai, hurry up and finish it. After you get the first kill, we will attack. You can have the first kill, but we still want to contest the Guardian Seal."
"Understood."
Xian Bai frowned, immediately returned to the boss circle, and said in the guild channel, "Push the boss as fast as possible, make it quick! After defeating the boss, immediately recover your states. The Crimson Moon Knights will attack. Later, I will hold the Guardian Seal and retreat towards the depths of the valley. Everyone else, cover me, and strive to hold out until our allies from outside can break through. As long as we can secure this S-class oil well, the ultimate victory will belong to Seeking Immortals!"
"Yes, boss!"
The members of Seeking Immortals guild were relieved. At least they could secure the Earth-grade first kill. Otherwise, having over 3000 brothers die for nothing would have been truly disgusting.
...
While the Seeking Immortals guild was in secret consultation, the Crimson Moon Knights were also doing the same.
Lin Zhao's sword brows furrowed, and he said in the guild channel, "When the first kill reward bell rings, all mounted combat players will charge out with me. Everyone will charge parallel towards the southern objective, like a rain descending upon Seeking Immortals. I will be responsible for sniping the person holding the Guardian Seal, aiming to secure it immediately and prevent Seeking Immortals from gaining attack and defense buffs for a prolonged fight!"
"En!"
Everyone nodded in unison. At the front, Chen Xue, Luo Man, Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, and others lined up, ready to charge. Out of the 5000+ players, over 2700 were heavily armored mounted combat units. The Crimson Moon Knights had to be cavalry-oriented to live up to their name.
Suddenly, the large tree in the distance collapsed with a roar. Its branches were continuously obliterated, and the Eleven Realm monster finally fell under the human players' overwhelming numbers. At the same time, a pleasant ringing sound echoed through the skies of Heavenly Mystery City—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Xian Bai] and their team for successfully defeating [Treant·Spring Breeze] (Earth-grade Boss) and obtaining the first kill for the Heavenly Mystery City Earth-grade Boss! Congratulations to player [Xian Bai]'s team for ranking first in contribution, receiving rewards: Level+3, Charm+5, Reputation+3000, Gold+20000, and an additional reward: [Meteor Shower] (SS-grade skill book). Congratulations to player [Xian Yu]'s team for ranking second in contribution, receiving rewards: Level+2, Charm+3, Reputation+2000, Gold+10000, and an additional reward: [Sword Qi Cage] (SS-grade skill book). Congratulations to player [Xian Tan]'s team for ranking third in contribution, receiving rewards: Level+2, Charm+2, Reputation+1500, Gold+8000, and an additional reward: [Vitality Staff] (Gilded Weapon). All other participating players will also receive rewards of varying amounts!
...
The rewards were truly abundant: a Meteor Shower, a Sword Qi Cage, and a Gilded Weapon, the Vitality Staff, along with increases in level, charm, and more. The first kill of an Earth-grade boss was indeed very generous. Furthermore, the boss might have dropped other items, perhaps even Heavenly Mystery City's first Earth-grade equipment!
"Attack!"
Lin Zhao had already raised his long sword, not giving Seeking Immortals much time. He spurred his warhorse and galloped forward.
"Quickly!"
Xian Bai bent down and scooped up all the boss's dropped items. Immediately, the Seeking Immortals guild gained a 15% attack and defense buff. After securing the items, Xian Bai activated a starry sky shield and turned to leave, shouting, "Cover me, and hold down Bai Yi! Hurry, we have buffs now, so we have no reason to fear the Crimson Moon Knights. Hold them off!"
"Yes, boss!"
A group of people turned and charged towards the Crimson Moon Knights.
Lin Zhao, charging at the forefront, was met with a barrage of Frost Arrows, Burning Soul Arrows, and other slowing and controlling skills before he even got close. This was the usual tactic for ranged players against heavy armor units. As long as they could slow and stun them, and then keep them locked down, heavy armor units would be rendered useless. After all, mounts required distance and time to accelerate. Once their speed couldn't be maintained, heavy armor units would become mere targets.
But what everyone found hard to imagine was that before Lin Zhao was hit, with a "swish," his entire body was covered by a golden shield, activating an invincibility skill!
"Fuck!"
The Seeking Immortals guild members couldn't help but curse. This was too dishonorable!
The Jade Flower Armor, 5 seconds of invincibility was enough!
At this moment, Lin Zhao's speed had reached its peak. Under the effect of invincibility, he pierced through the crowd at high speed and swung his sword at the back of Xian Bai's head. Xian Bai was shocked and instantly activated his Spatial Warp. Mages using blink skills were not to be feared. Lin Zhao raised his hand and marked the target with Sword Qi Impact. The next second, he charged forward!
"Bang!"
Before Xian Bai could be stunned, a green shield appeared all over his body. It wasn't an invincibility effect, but merely a special skill for a thick and resilient shield. It was clear that invincibility skills were too rare at this stage; even the leader of the Seeking Immortals guild didn't have one. Otherwise, Xian Bai would have surely used invincibility to block this Sword Qi Impact.
This heavy green shield was extremely resilient, but it was not a problem.
In an instant, a ray of golden sword light erupted from the ground, directly sending Xian Bai's body flying into the air. Then, Lin Zhao followed up with a normal attack + Divine Control + Sweeping Army, just managing to break Xian Bai's green shield. There was still a starry sky shield below, so Lin Zhao directly connected with a Sword Qi Cage, preventing anyone from approaching and prohibiting Xian Bai from using any more displacement skills or special abilities. In that moment, despair filled Xian Bai's eyes.
How could he fight this? It was completely unreasonable!
The mechanism of the Sword Qi Cage was extremely powerful. Within the Sword Qi Cage, enemy players' displacement skills would be repelled. Therefore, Lin Zhao was able to kill people within his own Sword Qi Cage with great ease. The numerous Seeking Immortals heavy armor units outside launched charges and Sword Qi Impacts, but they all bounced off the edges of the Sword Qi Cage and couldn't get in!
Xian Bai, before him, appeared weak and helpless.
Xian Bai looked at Lin Zhao somewhat awkwardly.
He was trapped by a love rival... What else could he do? He couldn't possibly kneel and beg for mercy, saying he had an eighty-year-old mother and a crying infant at home, could he? Leng Yan would look down on him. Xian Bai's inner turmoil at this moment was extremely complex. Looking at Lin Zhao, this youth who once fished and practiced martial arts on the stone bridge in the small town, Xian Bai had previously considered him insignificant, a nobody. It was a pity that Leng Yan just liked him. What could Xian Bai do?
The thought of Leng Yan's beautiful legs made Xian Bai feel that life was truly dull. Such legs couldn't be sitting in his passenger seat as his exclusive handbrake. The feeling of unrequited love was truly unbearable.
Of course, it was even more unbearable now. The alliance leader of the Crimson Moon Knights, many people had secretly confirmed to be Lin Bai Yi from the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, had grown up. He was a bit handsome. In the game screenshots he had obtained, Leng Yan's legs, which made him dream, were tightly clasped around this person. What could he do?
...
While Xian Bai was lost in thought, Lin Zhao had already brought his sword down.
ps: Eight chapters completed, thank you for your recommendation tickets!!