Chapter 64: Chapter 64: First Encounter with the Iron Armor Corps
The leader of the trio is a man with a topknot, holding a Samurai Sword, dressed like a Ranger.
The man has a lean and muscular build, practicing Dual Swordsmanship, with one sword in his hand and a long Samurai Sword hanging at his waist.
Beside him are two figures like Heng and Ha Generals; one is a bald, muscular man with a bare torso, his hands wrapped in boxing bandages, seemingly a close-combat type player.
The other is wearing a Mage Robe, holding a two-meter long blue metal Magic Wand, which when placed on the sand, creates a noticeable hole, indicating its weight, suggesting he’s a Magic and Martial Dual Cultivation type player.
The trio has one thing in common, which is that they carry resentment, with three grievances each, all from players.
As the leader of the trio, the Ranger speaks in an experienced tone:
"I’m Zhan Gui, the deputy leader of the C-Level Dungeon Strategy Group of the Iron Armor Corps. These two are my lieutenants. As long as you follow our commands, a mere C-Level dungeon poses no significant threat."
After speaking, the Ranger reveals part of his Attribute Panel to everyone.
In the Level section, the value shows 19, while his two lieutenants are both Level 18.
Seeing the levels of the trio and hearing the name Iron Armor Corps, everyone can’t help but show signs of apprehension.
The Iron Armor Corps is somewhat famous in the Desolate Realm, not exactly revered, but at least feared and disliked.
The overall strength of the Iron Armor Corps is only mediocre among second-rate forces, but even some first-rate forces with less backing find them troublesome.
The reason is simple: players of the Iron Armor Corps enter the Abyssal Game not to strategize in dungeons, but targeting other players.
Players from other forces, when building their ability systems, aim at surviving in dungeons, gathering more intelligence, and defeating the dungeon’s boss.
The Iron Armor Corps is different; most of their chosen Skills are human-like special attacks, especially against players.
It’s like inserting a group of PVP players into a PVE group.
The Iron Armor Corps isn’t good at fighting bosses, but they’re experts in assassination, ambush, and relentless pursuit.
Once provoked, they act like a bone attached to flesh, conducting unending pursuit of the target organization’s members until forcing the opposing organization to surrender and pay a hefty compensation.
It’s due to this malignant gameplay that they dared to boast on the public Bounty Board, claiming that anyone attempting to strategize in a dungeon they have set their sights on is declaring war on the Iron Armor Corps.
Seeing the fear in everyone’s eyes, the Ranger nods in satisfaction and says:
"It seems you haven’t been in high-difficulty dungeons. Let me tell you, there’s a world of difference between a C-Level dungeon and a D-Level dungeon. You can’t just hide like mice in a hole until the dungeon ends."
"If you want to survive, you must utilize everything useful on your body. Skills are just the basics. You must also fully tap into your real-world Profession, personal strengths, including your body and last bit of Life Value."
Seeing several collaborators already stirred by tension, the Ranger speaks in a commanding tone:
"Since you are all newcomers, it’s most appropriate for me to lead. To better understand each other, please introduce yourselves one by one."
The introductions start with the collaborators from Wanghai City.
The five collaborators introduce themselves in the order they practiced with Zhao Yan.
The first, who experienced the Mamba Iron Elbow, is a masked man. In front of newcomers like Wu Chang, he tries to maintain mystery, but he can’t hide anything in front of the three seasoned players.
"I’m Iron Face. My ability is Golden Bell Shield. I’m skilled in Fighting Techniques, excel in close combat, and can both take and deal hits."
The bald boxing man chuckles, picking up a shell from the ground and flicking it with his thumb, hitting Iron Face in the chest and making him stagger back two steps, sitting down on the ground.
The bald man repeats mockingly, "Can both take and deal hits."
Iron Face gets up from the ground, frustrated but not daring to act out, only lowering his head and retreating two steps.
The second in line has concealed their level and already slipped away.
The third is a girl about twenty years old, with a face full of youthful innocence, pure and cute, clearly a student.
The girl’s codename is Hamster, possessing two Life Skills: gathering and planting. Her combat style leans towards defense, with three Skills: Iron Wall, Charged Reflect, and Shield Bash.
Listening to the girl’s skill set, the bald man’s eyes light up.
"Boss, this is the type I like, just like my first love."
Hamster shivers under the bald man’s gaze, hiding behind Wu Chang beside her.
The fourth in line on the platform is a young man about twenty-six or twenty-seven, codenamed Gale, the first to previously converse with Cotton.
Gale’s skill set follows an Assassin path with Concealment, Protective Color, Reconnaissance, and Assassination Skills; his attack style is agile and changeable.
The fifth on the platform is a white-collar dressed woman, codename Spirit Fox.
Unlike the youthful Hamster, Spirit Fox’s outfit is highly polished, a tailored professional attire paired with carefully crafted makeup, highlighting her glamorous aura and curvy figure.
Spirit Fox is a pure Magic System player with Healing Ability and several Attack Spells, but her Body Techniques are poor. Even with Zhao Yan going easy on her, she couldn’t last long.
Just as Wu Chang, the last in line, was about to speak, the bald man excitedly said:
"Boss, this one is also my type, just like my first love."
Wu Chang: "..."
Everyone you B raise looks like your first love, huh.
Was your first love a Ditto or Mystique?
He wanted to continue introducing himself, to interrupt the bald man’s crazy talk, but the bald man directly said:
"I won’t listen to the introductions of the miscellaneous crew anymore; I’ll take them aside to chat about life."
After speaking, he walked toward Hamster and Spirit Fox with a lecherous look.
Wu Chang couldn’t stand this damn thing anymore; he was ready to control his True Self to teach this guy a lesson.
Controlling the Clone to fight one against three, he didn’t have much chance of winning, but sneaking in a hit and escaping using the Lightning Shadow Body Technique wasn’t much of an issue.
Just as he was contemplating whether to use Calamity or Palm Thunder, a flash of light appeared in front of him, and a Flying Sword was placed horizontally against the bald man’s neck.
Among the two players Cotton brought, one of them removed his hood and completely changed his previously seen dull demeanor, as if having switched faces, becoming bright-eyed and bushy-browed, refreshingly handsome, a standard protagonist face from a martial arts novel.
"Enough!"
With the Flying Sword at his neck, the bald man didn’t dare to move recklessly and looked to his boss for help.
The Ranger squinted his eyes and asked, "Sword Sect?"
"A bit knowledgeable."
"Are you guys from the Management Bureau?"
"Yes."
As people from Xia Country, having the chance to gain Extraordinary Abilities in the Abyssal Game, who wouldn’t want to become a Sword Immortal that rides the sword?
But being a Sword Immortal isn’t that easy. In the Desolate Realm, there are few professions with sword-riding ability, the most famous among them being the hidden profession — Sword Sect.
Sword Sect is a preliminary profession for Sword Cultivators in the next layer of the Abyss; the transition item is extremely hard to obtain, and players with the Sword Sect profession are very few.
Among those, the most famous is the Management Bureau’s new generation genius player, Sword Star.
It’s rumored that Sword Star broke the Management Bureau’s record for lowest-ranked clearance of an A-level dungeon; the ability to clear an A-level dungeon means the level cannot be lower than 20.
Additionally, with the hidden profession, even three level 20 players might not fare well against Sword Star.
Seeing the other party admit it, the Ranger immediately changed expressions.
"It’s really a misunderstanding; I didn’t expect you all to be members of the Management Bureau. Our Iron Armor Corps has always cooperated with the Management Bureau’s work and solidly supports it; this is really like flooding the Dragon King’s Temple."
After clearing up the behavior of the three, the Ranger shifted the conversation, probing:
"I don’t know if you’re bringing a bunch of rookies, a bunch of newcomers to the C-Level dungeon, is there any arrangement? If needed, we will definitely cooperate."
Sword Star’s expression was slightly awkward, paused for a moment, then stiffly said, "We are doing team building."
The Ranger was slightly taken aback, did not expose them, and instead flattered, "The Management Bureau truly deserves to be a top force. Even the newcomer team building has to come to a C-Level dungeon; given your presence, we probably won’t be needed."
Sword Star moved his fingers and withdrew the Flying Sword from the bald man’s neck.
"Please proceed."
"Then we brothers will take our leave first." After saying this, the Ranger led his two deputies to retreat to the corner of the safe zone.
After driving away the three from the Iron Armor Corps, Sword Star turned to Wu Chang and the others, and sincerely said:
"I’m sorry, it’s because of me this time that you all fell into danger. It’s also because of me that got you matched with the high-difficulty dungeon, Peaceful Town. Rest assured, no matter what happens, I’ll ensure everyone leaves unharmed!"
Having witnessed Sword Star singlehandedly and with one sword driving away three fierce men from the Iron Armor Corps, listening to Sword Star’s speech now filled everyone with a strong sense of security.
Especially for Hamster and Spirit Fox, who almost fell into the bald man’s lewdness just moments ago; Sword Star’s appearance was like a light in a desperate situation.
As for why they fell into such a situation, let’s not worry about that for now.
In any case, except for Wu Chang, all the assistants were instantly smitten by Sword Star.
As for Wu Chang, he was happier than others about Sword Star’s appearance.
Hey, here comes the one who willingly takes the blame.
Since Sword Star said so, then being matched with this C-Level dungeon has nothing to do with him!
Sword Star looked around, and after a brief silence, he spoke:
"The difficulty of Peaceful Town is immense; to clear it, everyone must work together. I happen to have some intel on Peaceful Town, so please listen carefully."