“Fuck! What abomination is that?”
An astronomical boulder materialized within the sky, blanketing the land in its massive shadow. Immediately, distress set off the mental alarms within the Warring Dragon Guild members. Whipping their heads up, they immediately saw the fiery meteor bulleting down like a mega-sized cannon. Their minds went blank, as their mouths gaped wide, yet their voices failed to form.
The next moment, someone pulled himself together, managing to squeeze out a cry of caution, “Epic-sized magic! It’s a meteorite! It’s coming for us! Run! NOW!”
As the meteorite zoomed past the sum, the entire forest became shrouded in darkness, like a momentary eclipse. Needless to say, this boulder of death was coming straight for the Warring Dragon Guild members. The moment the realization dawned on them, not a single one had anymore care for Ye Chen. If such a majestic boulder crushed them, they would be reduced to mush. In a swarm, they ran in all directions as fast as they could.
Within the 40 scurrying rats, the adventurer that wiped out Dharma and the others were stricken with the purest form of panic. With 15 crime points, he could lose all his assets if luck was not on his side. Right now, he only wished that he had a third leg to run with.
“Look! Something is happening over at Gray Stone Forest again!”
At the same time, the adventurers had crowded the exterior of Gray Stone Forest out of curiosity of the Restricted Regional-Type Mission. At the instant the massive meteorite appeared in the sky, an uproar broke out.
“That is an Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic, not something any adventurer could achieve at the current stage. Something must be happening! Quick, we need to get over there right now!” The conspicuous assault caught the attention of a veteran. With his long years of experience, he knew something peculiar was happening.
The restriction on Gray Stone Forest had just lifted. Yet, the moment it was raised, another extraordinary sight occurred. This had to be a sign of another rare mission! Driven by their curiosity, the adventurer all flooded into the forest at once.
BOOOOM!
Before they could even get 100 meters into the forest, the earth shook down to its core. A deafening crash reverberated through the woods, sending an unceasing ringing through their ears. Then, the residual shockwaves swept through the foliage. From the central region of the forest, a massive gust of wind rushed through, bringing the fallen leaves along, swirling vigorously, flashing by the eyes of the dumbstruck adventurers. It was as though they were being chased away from the epicenter of activity.
Dilapidated Stone Tribe’s Altar, Central Region, Gray Stone Forest.
What used to be the battlegrounds of a white-hot battle, the venue where the final struggle of Ye Chen and his party occurred, looked nothing like the past. Now, lifeless bodies were strewn all over, with their last gasps of disbelief clearly carved onto their faces. In their final moments as fleeting souls, the Warring Dragon Guild members exchanged glances in silence.
When the colossal meteorite with a 100-meter radius sent its divine judgment, the entire area around the altar was reduced into a sprawling crater. Not a single of the 40 members of the Warring Dragon Guild were spared. Their twisted corpses laid unceremoniously within the hole, splattered in blood, covered in powdered gray stones and collapsed forestry.
The Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic was merciless, indisputably standing at the pinnacle of all AOE skills.
It was probably one of the rudest assaults faced by any member of Warring Dragon Guild. From the moment they saw the beginning of the attack, they ran. Yet, despite their utmost efforts, utilizing all of the items they could manage, no one made it out alive. The instant the meteorite touched down, the blast from the shockwave was sufficient to deal with damage as severe as a few thousand, instantaneously robbing them of their lives.
“Ah, finally, some peace and quiet.”
The folded monolith wings slowly displayed its regal spread, revealing Solia and Ye Chen within. The Angel faced the warm rays and closed her eyes. With her arms stretched outwards, she took a long deep breath.
On the other hand, the devastation of the surroundings, and the macabre consequences of the Warring Dragon Guild was spine chilling for Ye Chen.
When he heard the unknown yet domineering name of the magic from Solia’s mouth, he knew the Warring Dragon Guild was not going to walk out alive. However, he had never thought that the spell would be so overwhelmingly oppressive.
Most magic could only deal damage up to a 100-meter radius, with the damage at the edges being minimal. However, the Epic-scale Meteorite Magic could reach at least 200 to 300 meters, and Ye Chen was sure, the damage at the sides was anything but small. That thought was horrific. This one skill could bring down an entire city.
“How is it? Impressive? If it’s not enough, let me know. If you unseal me, I can probably at least bring it up ten notches.” Solia looked at Ye Chen and flashed a confident, child-like smile.
On the contrary, Ye Chen could only attempt awkward laughter. If she really did push it up ten notches, she would not be annihilating just a city, but a whole kingdom.
“Aw man, I really want to stay here forever, but time is limited.” Solia’s wings fluttered, and she rose into the skies smoothly. Her eyes looked around wistfully as she lamented words with nostalgia.
As she spoke, Solia swayed downwards, landing with a soft thud in front of Ye Chen. “My time is limited. While we can still meet once more, I want to warn you now. Don’t lose my sculpture. If you wish to unseal me, this sculpture is critical. If you lose it, you must find it back at all costs. Otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences.”
After she spoke, she prepared to leave.
“Oi oi. Hold up. Don’t you have clues about where the ‘Heart of the Dark Lands’ is at?”
“Clue? What’s that? Is it edible? Hehe, alright I’m kidding. I don’t have such things. All the best to you. If you unseal me, I will be sure to reward you well.” With a very cold joke, Solia chuckled. Her eyes softened as she smiled at Ye Chen, walking towards him. When she stopped, Ye Chen could almost smell her light bodily scent. Then, she leaned forward, bending towards Ye Chen’s face.
Seeing that familiar movement again, Ye Chen shot back into attention, leaping backward without delay.
“TCH! What a blind man!” Under her breath, Solia grumbled as her attempt to bite his neck failed. Then, her bewitching body paled out, dissipating like a cloud of glitter with the winds.
One minute was up.
Ye Chen’s eyes scanned the ruins of battle. “Hm, Dharma’s skill book got taken away, eh?”
On the altar, only some medical supplies remained, nothing of value was left.
When the three of them were killed, Dharma had barely touched the skill book, much less learn the skill. Then, when he was dead, the skill book dropped as loot. When Ye Chen witnessed it, he dared not rush.
If he had done so, he probably would have died before even activating Solia’s help.
“The thief who took it also died, but dropping the skill book again is unlikely… whatever, I guess I will pick some items back for him as a substitute…”
Ye Chen had a pleasant impression of the straightforward and honest personality that Dharma had. Knowing him, Dharma was probably downtrodden by this tremendous loss. But, Ye Chen had taken revenge for him, and with an additional gift of two proper equipment, he would not remain sulking for long.
Looking at the messily strewn corpse, a sinister smirk surfaced on Ye Chen’s face.
Each member who died here was around Level 50. From that level onwards, the equipment actually held some value. For a set of decent equipment, the starting bid was 2000 to 3000 gold.
Now all of these elites lying on the ground were defenseless like sitting ducks waiting to be looted. With that happy thought, Ye Chen skipped over with an insultingly huge smirk on his face.
“Oh wow! Level 48 Silver Equipment? That’s 200 gold!” Ye Chen’s expert eyes were sharp and decisive. From the rubble of stones and medicine, he quickly fished out a decent Silver Equipment.
“Fuck! No, no , no! Don’t take my equipment!” As the gravedigging Ye Chen scoured through the ruins of battle, the Warring Dragon Guild members had yet to revive back in Titan Megacity. As fleeting souls, they could only sit and watch helplessly as Ye Chen reaped the spoils of battle.
Alas, despite his pleas for mercy, Ye Chen could not see or hear anything. Ensuring that nothing of value was left, he happily whistled and sauntered to the next body.
“My Gold Equipment! Oh my lords in the good Heavens, my Gold Equipment! Just kill me now!” The adventurers of the Warring Dragon Guild had, in fact, died for a while already. However, the dominating magic that they were killed by had left too big of a scar on their minds. It had caused them to forget about checking their equipment on them for a while. Until Ye Chen started to turn over the bodies, cleaning the battlefield for money, they began to check the equipment in panic.
Suddenly, a hoarse cry shrieked out.
The words drained the Warring Dragon Guild members’ faces. A Gold Equipment was worth at least a 1000 gold per piece.
“Nice, nice. Another 1800 gold!” Picking up the poor man’s Gold Equipment with a gleeful smile, Ye Chen estimated the value. His narrowed eyes could not hide the glistening excitement rumbling within his heart.
Then, a lifeless, grayed voice muttered amidst the commotion from the 15 crime points adventurer. “I… I… dropped five pieces of equipment…”