Lin Zhao frowned, "The Ghost King is provoking us again. Do we accept or not?"
"Accept!"
Ding Chi raised an eyebrow, "Our Scarlet Moon Knights are just starting out and someone's already stepping on us. How can we stand for this? If we back down this time, the Scarlet Moon Knights will never be able to hold their heads up again. Not being able to win is one thing, but being too afraid to fight is entirely another."
"Exactly!"
Zhang Jun sneered, "What's this upstart from a demolition project so arrogant about? Let's fight him. With so many patches of grass in this Hundred Blossom Forest, it's practically a gift from heaven. Why shouldn't we go head-to-head with them? At most... if we can't win, we retreat!"
"Understood."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly, "Then we'll wait for the Ghost King here."
Of course, he didn't reply to the Ghost King's message. Fighting was fighting, but making threats was too childish.
...
Not long after, people from Grand Blossom arrived.
About thirty yards from the patch of tall grass where Lin Zhao and his companions were, the Grand Blossom players began to form ranks. Templar Knights, Sword Masters, and Berserkers stood in the front line, followed by Starfall Mages, Sharpshooters, and Stormshooters – three ranged professions. Behind them were Nomads and Formation Masters. Additionally, some Phantom Assassins had already hidden in the darkness, possibly closing in on Lin Zhao and his group.
The formation was somewhat intimidating. The Ghost King had mobilized over two hundred people to hunt Lin Zhao and his two companions!
"Whitey!"
The Ghost King, clad in gleaming golden armor and wielding a golden-tier longsword, stepped out of the formation and pointed his blade towards the grass, smiling, "If you're still alive, come out and face your death!"
"My King."
A Templar Knight with a simple, honest face grinned, "You should stand back a bit. That Whitey has top-tier gear, is high level, and has learned Divine Throw, capable of instantly killing people. You shouldn't take any unnecessary risks, my lord."
The Ghost King shot him a glare. Maintaining his imposing aura, he said slowly, "A strong person fears no enemy. Forget him, Whitey. Even if Su Xinghe himself were here, I wouldn't take a single step back!"
"Our King is awesome!"
Someone in the crowd cheered.
"Cough cough..."
Fei Long Zai Tian, standing at the front, raised his hand and pressed down slightly, signaling everyone to shut up. Didn't their King need some dignity?
"Whitey!"
The Ghost King's eyes held a look of disdain for the world. He sneered, "I heard you want to rebuild the Scarlet Moon Knights guild. I did some research these past few days. Over a hundred years ago, in Moon Horizon Group's previous game, there was indeed a guild called the Scarlet Moon Knights. Rumor had it they were a T1 guild, on par with guilds like Beichen, Tangmen, Silver Fox, and Hero Hall."
He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Consider yourself an old king. Do you know what I mean?"
In the grass, a gentle breeze rustled. No one responded.
The Ghost King slowly raised his longsword again, pointing it towards the grass, "When a new king ascends, he must step over the bones of the old king! Therefore, for us to become the kings of the Huaxia District, we must first strike at old kings like the Scarlet Moon Knights. Throughout Cloud Top County, throughout the entire Huaxia District's Kyushu map, I will make the Scarlet Moon Knights like rats crossing the street, hated by all. I will make you sleep with your weapons by your side every day, I will make you live in constant fear, I will leave you with eternal shadows and inner demons. When you hear the name Grand Blossom, you will tremble, unable to sleep through the night, regretting any offense you ever showed Grand Blossom!"
"Long live our King!"
Someone cheered again.
Even Fan Wang Zhi Xue raised his staff and shouted, "We swear our lives to follow the Ghost King!"
Bi Yi Yi Zhong Tian, with a suppressed voice, also joined the commotion and shouted, "I've decided to marry the Ghost King's daughter!"
A Sharpshooter raised his battle bow high, "In my lifetime, I will surely hold the envoy's token and govern Blossom!"
Another person roared at the top of their lungs, "Your loyal subjects eagerly await, may our King restore the realm!"
Even a crowd of onlookers who hadn't joined Grand Blossom watched from a distance. A level 28 Sword Master cupped his fists from afar and said solemnly, "I have heard of your Majesty's great name from afar and wish to achieve immortal deeds!"
Another Berserker slammed his battle axe into the earth, cupped his fists towards the Ghost King, and declared, "I have come to admire you. I wish to serve under your command!"
The scene became chaotic for a moment.
...
"Today!"
The Ghost King raised his longsword and declared, "I will issue Grand Blossom's first Imperial Blossom Order in 'Tianxia'. Attack immediately and utterly destroy Whitey, Ember, and Lin Feng!"
"My King!"
Fan Wang Zhi Xue turned in surprise, "Please reconsider, my King. For these three small fry, an ordinary Blossom Order would suffice. Why use the military-order-like Imperial Blossom Order?!"
The Ghost King narrowed his eyes, "The Imperial Blossom Order, where words are law, requires no persuasion. Attack me now!"
"Yes, my King!"
Finally, the opposing side made a move. Dozens of heavy-armored players charged into the grass with "swish swish swish" sounds. However, upon entering the grass, they found it empty. Incensed, they thought, "Are they mocking our King?"
"They retreated?" Fei Long Zai Tian asked coldly.
"They will die even if they retreat!"
The Ghost King waved his hand, "Search the entire Hundred Blossom Forest! Turn this entire area upside down, and I will dig them out!"
"Yes, my King!"
Everyone dispersed and attacked.
...
Hundreds of yards away, in a patch of tall grass, Lin Zhao, Ding Chi, and Zhang Jun were crouched, closely observing the enemy's movements. Just then, a Templar Knight approached at full speed, sword drawn.
"Here they come..."
Ding Chi smiled slightly, "Should we use Sword Qi Impact?"
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head, "Save the cooldown for Sword Qi Impact. We can use it for offense or to charge into monsters and escape."
"Mmm."
"Let's go!"
The moment the Templar Knight was about to pass their patch of grass, Lin Zhao drew his sword and rushed out. He immediately unleashed a basic attack + Divine Throw + basic attack combo, leaving the Templar Knight with critical health. Ding Chi and Zhang Jun each delivered a heavy strike, instantly killing the Templar Knight. He was quite generous, dropping a black iron-tier armor greave, which they kept for Ding Chi to sell.
At this moment, Lin Zhao's name had turned red.
"From now on, try to leave the harvesting to Zhang Jun and me!"
Ding Chi said with some concern, "Otherwise, if you're killed, the price will be immense. You'll likely drop a significant amount of gear, and your level will also drop considerably while red-named."
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao nodded. He couldn't help it; his attacks were too powerful. Inadvertently, he had killed the low-level minions of Grand Blossom. He couldn't hold back.
They moved to a different spot and hid in another patch of grass.
Soon, a few more Grand Blossom players searched their way over. This time there were more of them: a Berserker, two Starfall Mages, a Stormshooter, and a Nomad. Coincidentally, the girl named Mo Chenxue was among them. One of the Starfall Mages was level 30 and was enveloped in a star-filled shield as she walked, deep and beautiful like a galaxy, and quite practical.
"What do we do? Fight or not?" Ding Chi asked.
"Fight!"
Lin Zhao said in a deep voice, "I'll use Sword Qi Impact on the level 30 Mage, then activate Sword Aura Guardian to take a burst of damage. You two come out afterward. Ding Chi, you engage the level 29 Mage. Zhang Jun, charge the Stormshooter. I'll provide support when the opportunity arises. Don't worry about the Berserker and the Nomad for now; neither of them has the ability to instantly kill you."
"Mmm!"
The next second, Lin Zhao unleashed a sword qi that enveloped the enemy's level 30 Mage. As the mage stood there in surprise, Lin Zhao broke through the wind with a "bang," stunning them in place. However, the two hits from Sword Qi Impact failed to break the Starfall Shield. So, with a flick of his sword tip, he delivered a Divine Throw the moment the shield broke!
"4888!"
That was brutal. Double critical hit, meaning even without a critical hit, this sword would still deal 2444 damage, enough to instantly kill this fragile Mage!
"Careful, it's Whitey!"
The Berserker roared and entered a berserk state, bathed in a blood-red aura. He then raised his battle axe and swung a fierce heavy strike towards Lin Zhao's head. The level 29 Starfall Mage rapidly retreated, waved her staff, and cast Meteor Strike + Fireball together. The Stormshooter not far away also raised his dark barrel and fired "bang bang" shots!
As everyone focused their attacks, Lin Zhao activated his Sword Aura Guardian skill and downed a health potion. A searing sensation spread through his body, and his health bar immediately dropped by over 1400. It was indeed quite fierce. Without Sword Aura Guardian, it would likely have exceeded 3000. No one could withstand such concentrated fire.
"Go!"
From the grass, Ding Chi and Zhang Jun rushed out with "swish swish" sounds. One suppressed the Mage, the other suppressed the Stormshooter. Lin Zhao then suddenly charged towards the Nomad girl. Mo Chenxue's face paled in shock. She forgot to escape, raised her staff, and, not knowing who to heal, cast a healing spell on Lin Zhao!
"Swish!"
"+600!"
Instantly, Lin Zhao felt too embarrassed to kill her. He sank his body and performed a penetration move, drawing his sword and slashing through Mo Chenxue. Then, he turned and unleashed a fan-shaped sword qi, dealing 700-1000 damage to the Starfall Mage, Berserker, Stormshooter, and Mo Chenxue. The single-target damage of Drawing Sword Slash wasn't high, it couldn't instantly kill anyone, but its advantage was its area-of-effect.
"Let's finish quickly!"
Lin Zhao bypassed Mo Chenxue and unleashed a basic attack + Divine Throw + basic attack combo, leaving the Berserker with critical health. He then landed a basic attack on the Stormshooter. Ding Chi was still very fast at killing. With flashing sword light, he not only took down the level 29 Mage but also finished off the Berserker. Zhang Jun had also taken down the Stormshooter.
"This Nomad?"
Ding Chi glanced at Mo Chenxue, a smile on his face, "Lin Zhao, why didn't you kill her?"
"Well..."
Lin Zhao was speechless. Should he say she had aided the enemy, and he felt awkward killing her?
"Oh, something interesting?"
Ding Chi laughed heartily, looking at Mo Chenxue, and asked with a smile, "Future sister-in-law?"
"Ah?!"
Mo Chenxue was just a young girl. Her face instantly turned red, "I... I..."
"Hurry up and go!"
Lin Zhao frowned, "Still want to hand over your equipment? Or by the old rule, drop your staff and leave?"
"I'm going..."
Mo Chenxue turned and fled in a panic, her pretty face flushed. Oh dear, that swordsman named Whitey was so cool with his operations. Even when killing, he was different. His friend called her sister-in-law? Oh, this...
For a moment, this flat-chested, nooblet, little-healer's heart was pounding wildly as she fled.
...
"Tsk tsk..."
Ding Chi watched Mo Chenxue's retreating back and said with a laugh, "Are most of the Ghost King's subordinates like this? It's quite amusing. What good is a Nomad like this?"
He tilted his head and commented, "Her chest is flat, but her looks are good, a solid nine points. The way her hips sway is also decent..."
"Indeed."
Zhang Jun narrowed his eyes, "Someone like this would be the best to find as a girlfriend. Waking up every day and seeing that face would be very comfortable."
"Get back in the grass and hide!"
Lin Zhao kicked both of them, sending them back into the grass.