Chapter 305: Explosive City War!

"How infuriating! To think they would actually relegate our auction pieces to the minor hall! Claiming our goods are difficult to appraise, of all things!" Ruan Ning and Xie Yue strode into the shop, their faces flushed with indignation as they voiced their bitter grievances.

"Sister Yue, between your Magic Shield tome and that Wuji Staff, we are talking about at least ten thousand spirit crystals, easily!" Currently, the legendary trinity of weapons—the Judgment, the Dragon Pattern, and the Bone Jade—had yet to even grace the game. The great guilds across the Morning Star Sea and the Dajin Grand Empire were relentlessly pushing the vanguard of exploration, yet none had managed to breach the depths of the Zuma Temple's seventh layer, let alone lay eyes upon the venerable Ancestral Archmage himself.

Thus, arms like the Wuji Staff and the Well Month Blade stood unchallenged at the absolute zenith of the realm's armaments. They were treasures that money alone could scarcely guarantee.

When Boss Fang took his place within the safe zone, resting the Well Month Blade upon his shoulder, one could search a hundred miles in any direction without ever encountering its likeness. Naturally, the Wuji Staff commanded an equal measure of reverence.

"Let it go, let it go," Xie Yue murmured, her brow furrowing slightly. "Ten thousand spirit crystals amount to little more than pocket change within the Inner City anyway. Let us log into the game first..."

Yet, before they could even settle before their stations, they noticed that the vast expanse of the internet cafe was already on the verge of being filled to capacity.

"Oh? What is happening today?" Ruan Ning asked, her curiosity piqued. "Why are there so many people? Guild Leader!"

Leaning over Boss Fang’s shoulder to peer at his screen, she exclaimed, "Boss! You only just bullied Little Yue yesterday, and yet today you have the nerve to summon her back to heal you?"

"What rubbish are you spouting?" Boss Fang replied, his voice laced with displeasure. "You have it entirely backwards. It was Little Yue who practically begged this boss to join her."

Standing behind him, Ruan Ning let out a sharp, incredulous laugh, utterly unconvinced. "Little Yue abandoned her Plants vs. Zombies today just to call the Guild Leader to play Legend?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Humph!" The girls huffed, dispersing to find their own stations nearby.

"Little Yue, dear, let sister teach you how to play Plants vs. Zombies today!" a message flew across the Penguin communication network.

"I cannot, I am busy hunting in Legend with the Boss (Cute Face)."

"What—!?" The girls sat in stunned silence, a flurry of chaotic thoughts racing through their minds in an instant:

"Despicable Guild Leader!"

"Could he have bewitched Little Yue with some sort of potion?!"

"What foul schemes and deceits did he employ?!"

"..."

Suddenly, their gaze caught sight of a massive, dark-red beast appearing upon the screen. It stood entirely alone amidst a throng of Zuma Guardians, spewing torrents of flame from its maw, completely devoid of fear!

"What in the world is that?!"

"Has a new monster appeared within the Zuma Temple?"

"Could it be the Zuma Archmage itself?"

"No, look, Little Yue is healing it!"

One had to understand that creatures like the Zuma Guardians possessed devastating attack power and impenetrable defense. Whenever the girls encountered them in pairs or more, they were plagued by immense headaches. As for the Skeletons, a newly summoned rank-three skeleton could hardly withstand a few blows before crumbling into a heap of useless bones.

Yet this particular monstrosity was holding its ground alone against several Zuma Guardians simultaneously!

"That is a Sacred Beast." In this era where everyone universally summoned mere skeletons, the girls had naturally never beheld such a creature.

"Ah, so that is how it is!"

"Little Yue only dragged the Guild Leader along so she could test her new skill!"

"And here I was, worrying over nothing!"

Fang Qi scoffed in dissatisfaction. "What exactly were you worrying about?"

"By the way, Guild Leader, why does it feel as though the shop is suddenly teeming with so many people today?" Ruan Ning asked, quickly steering the conversation elsewhere.

"A monster siege," Fang Qi explained. "In short, the Kingdom of Biqi is currently locked in a fierce confrontation with the main force of the Orc army. The city's defending garrison is short-handed, so they have requested our assistance to defend the walls."

...

By roughly seven o'clock in the evening, both branches in the Half-City and the Jiuhua City were packed to the brim. Crowds of onlookers even stood closely behind the rows of computers, watching the spectacle unfold.

This electric atmosphere soon infected the solo players in the non-guild areas and those engaged in other titles. Even if they were not participating, merely watching the spectacle was entertainment enough.

"What does a monster siege even look like?"

"There are so many people in this city!" several players of other games marveled from behind the crowd. At this very moment, virtually every Legend player had converged back upon the capital city.

The great and powerful guilds had already begun organizing themselves in a meticulous, orderly fashion, bracing for the impending defense of the city.

Promptly at seven, the vanguard of the monster horde manifested. Beneath the towering majesty of the grand city walls, an immense sea of low-level cannon fodder surged toward the great gates.

"Look at the sheer number of monsters!"

However, these low-level creatures yielded nothing more than meager gold coins and common equipment. Holding little value, they were swiftly and decisively eradicated.

Yet, as the first wave collapsed into the dust, many caught sight of the ranks of pale white skeletons rising just behind them.

Behind the skeleton legions came a vast, undulating sea of zombies. Moreover, amidst the suffocating tide of marrow and rotting flesh, everyone spotted them—the massive, dark-red skeleton kings known as the Skeleton Elves, and the towering, ash-pale corpses bound in heavy iron chains: the Zombie Kings!

By now, the players were not to be trifled with either. Realizing that allowing the monsters to breach the city would gravely jeopardize their own fortunes, a massive host of players launched a counter-charge into the monstrous expanse. Mages, cloaked in their protective magical shields, plunged directly into the roiling tide of corpses. With a flourish of their staves, arcs of blinding lightning burst forth and scattered across the battlefield!

Hell Lightning!

"A Zombie King! Claim the Zombie King!" Dark Demon shouted, holding his ground at the front with his shield raised high. He suddenly realized that this crisis was, in truth, an unprecedented golden opportunity. Even the lesser monsters from moments ago had dropped several exquisite pieces of gear. Now that a Zombie King had appeared, if it were to drop a Magic Shield tome, the profit would be astronomical!

And should it yield a Seduction Light tome, it would be the very holy grail that every mage currently dreamed of possessing!

Regrettably for the monsters, the sheer volume of players at this hour was overwhelming. A boss of the Zombie King's caliber appeared thoroughly inadequate before such numbers; within a mere breath, the Zombie Kings were slaughtered, their treasures carpeting the earth!

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding players descended upon the spoils like a ravenous swarm of locusts!

Even the patrons watching from behind in the shop felt their hearts leap into their throats. "A book! There is a skill book over there!"

Dark Demon practically forced his way through the melee, his magic shield deflecting blows as he squeezed into the boss's drop zone. Reaching down, he snatched a small yellow volume. When he raised his eyes once more, the surrounding ground had been swept clean, as though a meticulous maid had vacuumed the earth; not a single scrap remained!

"Boss, what did you manage to grab?" A member of the Dark Demon Guard crept closer, eagerly initiating a trade window to display his prize like a hound presenting its quarry:

Half-Moon Curved Blade.

Dark Demon gasped in shock, then burst into a booming laugh. "Splendid work, boy! You certainly know how to plunder!"

Though the Half-Moon Curved Blade might not be considered an exceptionally peerless martial technique within the reality of their world, it was the single most practical area-of-effect skill for a warrior within Legend. What did an area-of-effect skill signify? It signified unparalleled efficiency in slaying monsters, which in turn dictated the speed of one's cultivation. Its value was self-evident.

Thus, a single copy of the Half-Moon Curved Blade could fetch an astronomical price. Due to its sheer scarcity, even the high-ranking elders of the Imperial Royal Guild did not universally possess it; it was the rarest of commodities.

"Once this siege concludes today, go to Wang Jin and claim an exquisite Magic Staff. Tell him I commanded it!" Dark Demon laughed heartily, hurrying toward the storage vault to secure his prize.

This tremendous harvest from the bosses instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire internet cafe, driving the excitement to its absolute zenith!

"I found a Ghost Shield tome! Good heavens!" These greenhorns, entirely new to the phenomenon of online gaming, had never witnessed such a frantic spectacle. Before long, wild bellows echoed through the hall.

"Yama Gloves with an attack modifier of 0-3! A peerless attribute!" A warrior from the Jiuhua Army shouted, his face flushed crimson with adrenaline.

"Hahahaha! This old master has claimed a Mass Healing Art!" The Grand Manager of the Yuanheng Pavilion slammed his hand against the desk, laughing with the pure, unbridled joy of a septuagenarian child.

By this time, the denizens of the Stone Tomb had begun their assault. While the previous low-level monsters had posed no true threat, the arrival of these higher-ranked beasts severely bogged down the players' killing speed. Those on the front lines perished or were forced to teleport back to the city, only to charge back into the fray in an endless, undying cycle.

"Young Master Song! A White Boar! There is a White Boar on my position!" Lin Shao cried out at the top of his lungs. The White Wild Boar was a mini-boss of the Stone Tomb; if fortune favored them, it could drop truly spectacular equipment!

"Cue the battle hymns! Play the battle hymns!" Within the Imperial Royal Penguin channel, Yu Chi, who had just snatched an exquisite Skeleton Ring, was drowning in a wave of high spirits. "There is a White Boar right beside me! A few of you get over here and hack it down! I need men here!"

Ji Wu also began roaring into the Penguin channel, "I have two White Wild Boars on my position! Where are the Imperial Guards!?"

"A Well Month Blade! A Well Month Blade has dropped here!" Xu Luo suddenly shrieked, his breathing turning ragged and shallow with excitement.

"What on earth are you all playing? How can it be this chaotic?" Over in the Half-City branch, Mo Xian and her companions, who were attempting to watch their dramas nearby, felt as though their heads were about to explode from the din. She leaned over, peering intently toward Boss Fang's screen.