Zhan Long-Chapter 619: Earth Dragon Canyon

The Flying Scythe War Horse dashed out in a cloud of dust, and swept past the thousand acres of fertile land that Ba Huang City used to train its troops. It crossed over the Butterfly Forest, and then continued westward for almost 30 minutes. It crossed over a vast piece of fertile land, and as it went forward, a scarlet territory had begun to appear on the world map——Zi Wu Mountain. This was a continuous mountain range that rested between Tian Ling City and Ba Huang City. It was a natural stronghold; anyone who wanted to enter Tian Ling City had to first pass through Zi Wu Mountain. Furthermore, there was a screen that separated Tian Ling City and Ba Huang City that was set up on Zi Wu Mountain, so the mountain range had never been stepped on by players of Ba Huang City.

The Flying Scythe War Horse was extremely quick, and when I glanced backwards, I was the only person on the fertile land. I had rushed out of the city at the first possible moment, and reached the Zi Wu Mountain as soon as I could. Even if the other players were quick, they could only arrive here after at least 5-10 minutes.

I suddenly pulled on the reins, and urged my horse to charge towards Zi Wu Mountain. I needed to fight to become the first person to reap the benefits!

“Roar…”

There were ferocious beasts covering the mountain range. Flame Tigers scuttled about the area. Furthermore, it was an active volcano. Even the mountain itself slightly trembled every so often. The sky was densely packed with volcanic clouds, and there was a piece of text on the game interface: 8 minutes and 24 seconds until the volcano erupts. Hm, have I arrived at the perfect time?

I raised my sword and urged my horse to charge up the hill. My mount ran up the narrow and scorching mountain path. A few Flame Tigers began charging towards us. They were Level 117 Thunder tier monsters, but they were just small appetizers to me. I swept out my blade, and [Seven Star Fragment Slash] exploded in the crowd of monsters. The Ancient Tiger God then finished them off, while I charged straight up the mountain by myself. I had to quickly get across before the volcano erupted, or else I would be delayed.

Fiery rocks were spread densely on the mountain road. I raised my head to look, and saw a group of people on the mountain range. They were wearing fiery red armor. They were NPCs, and every person there carried a simple and crude crossbow. Looking in my direction, a big bearded greedy man laughed: “The Heavenly Barrier has disappeared, and the adventurers of Ba Huang City have to cross over this road to get to Tian Ling City. The time to hunt has arrived! Aim at them, kill everyone you see! These adventurers have killed countless prey in Ba Huang City. They’re probably stinking rich!”

I couldn’t help but break out into laughter. This system setting was really interesting, they actually had NPC bandits to intercept players going towards the main city?

I waved my sword, and a golden wall condensed around me. This was the activation effect of [Wall of Dou Qi]. Furthermore, [Wall of Dou Qi] was now at Heavenly Tier Level 1. Although it says it only gave a 200% defense bonus, Heavenly Tier skills have a hidden bonus. So its actual defense increase was definitely not just 200%.

On the mountain, the flying arrows were like rain, unceasingly bouncing against my Hidden Dragon Armor. However, these were only mountain bandits after all in all. Their attack power wasn’t that high, and they only dealt a mere 200-400 points of damage. I could resist it, and so could players like Li Mu, Wang Jian, and Ran Min. It seems that this obstruction was just to raise the difficulty for the players. However it wasn’t really going to delay the players at Zi Wu Mountain until dawn.

The Ancient Tiger God continuously roared behind me, and my experience bar was also constantly flashing. The killing power of my little tiger was getting higher and higher.

I madly sprinted down the path. With just three minutes left until the eruption, I had just crossed over the peak of the Zi Wu Mountain. I flew downwards, and kept going forward until i reached another fertile forest. As I entered the forest, I looked backwards. Zi Wu Mountain had erupted, and it officially become an unstoppable spewing volcano. It seemed like the flames created a protective screen. There also appeared to be an eruption countdown: 59 minutes and 57 seconds. Yup, it looks like this mountain range erupts once every hour, and besides me and a few other players, the rest would have to wait for another hour before being able to cross over.

　　……

I turned around, and urged my horse to continue running into the distance. I crossed over forests, mountain ranges, and a brook. Finally, after 20 minutes of galloping, I could see a majestic city appear in the distance across the enormous flat plain. The area of the city was roughly 5-8 times the size of Ba Huang City’s, and practically the whole city wall was made by the most expensive materials.

“Ding!”

System Notification: You have already entered [Tian Ling City]!

　　……

As I stepped onto the cobblestone of the city’s front public square, I could heard the fierce stampede of horses shake the ground as a group of patrolling cavalry swept past me. I raised my head to look, and the grand gates of Tian Ling City opened widely for me. I urged my horse to enter, and a sweet piece of music immediately resounded into my ears. An aged yet solemn voice narrated about the history of the city to every adventurer that had visited for the first time——

After the ancient war between the gods and devils, the mighty heroes and warrior died in the Hero’s Graveyard, with their spirits still living in the people’s hearts. A wise and farsighted hero of man, “Luo Ge”, led 100,000 men and horses from the northern tribes to lay siege upon the Hybrid Demons of the North. Finally they entered the land south of the Ice Ridge Mountains. While the other six empires were continuously forced back, he unyieldingly set up an empire to stop the invasion of the Hybrid Demons. Hence, the legend of Tian Ling City began to spread across the continent. This city has 9753 years of history. During the ten thousand year long river of history, there have been countless humans, Moon Elves, and Barbarian heroes who have made their mark. They have led heroic people to continuously prevent the invasion of strong enemies. Their feats have allowed Tian Ling City to stand tall in the northern continent, becoming one of the firmest forts. Now, the sounds of war are resounding once again on the continent. Enter Tian Ling City, and you will have the chance to be one of the heroes who shall write the story of a new epic!

　　……

This stern yet brief narrative made my blood boil with excitement. The buildings of the Tian Ling City were indeed extremely sturdy. Furthermore, its military strength was tyrannical, which let me begin to understand why Da Lun, Xi Fu, Yin Ge, these types of God level BOSSes didn’t advance after taking Dragon City. It was because they were scared of the military strength of Tian Ling City. This main city was far stronger than the strength of the three secondary cities combined!

Opening the map, I ran straight towards the imperial palace of Tian Ling City. As it was the first day of the city’s opening, the doors of the imperial palace should be open to players. Otherwise it would be far too complicated and there would definitely be far too many complaints made….

The Flying Scythe War Horse neighed as it rushed into the main city. In the distance, white jade steps and an extravagant hall slowly came into view. There were over 10,000 soldiers guarding the main hall. In addition, countless moon elf, human and elf maids carried fruits, wine, meat and others delights into the hall, coupled with hundreds of civil and military ministers standing on both sides of the hall. All of whom were seemingly awaiting the arrival of players.

My Flying Scythe War Horse charged directly into the main hall, with no one to block my way. Also, I sheathed the Zhen Yue Sword as I could no longer maintain my murderous air, for it would be disastrous if I were to offend the king of the main city.

At the end of the main hall, there was a king dressed in battle armour, who stood proudly before his throne with his hand on his sword hilt. It was the present king of Tian Ling City ----- The Great Emperor Rob. On his right stood three members of the royal family in proper order. The First Prince Theodore, Second Prince, Owen while the youngest was Princess Pearl. Each of them had a very dignified look and imposing appearance, seemingly discussing what ways there were to defend against the Hybrid Demon invasion.

As I took a step forward, Great Emperor Rob noticed me and asked, “Adventurer, have you come to Tian Ling City to join us? If it is so, then that would be perfect. Our Tian Ling City is just in need of people!”

I nodded my head, “Yes, your Majesty.”

The third princess Pearl walked forward with a white longsword by her side and said, “Adventurer, you originally came from Ba Huang City, are you willing to acknowledge that you belong to Tian Ling City first and Ba Huang City second?”

Without thinking, I replied, “Yes, I agree!”

Instantly, a bell rang beside my ear

“Ding”

System Notification: Congratulations, you have successfully joined Tian Ling City. From now on, you will now fight for the glory and honour of Tian Ling City. At the same time, you are still a warrior of Ba Huang City and will be able to keep the Ba Huang City’s City Badge -- [Let the Blood Spill over Ba Huang]. Please fight for humanity and never retreat even in the face of death.

　　……

Above my shoulder, the Tian Ling City insignia slowly appeared. I should be Tian Ling City’s first player but unfortunately, there was no reward. However, that wasn’t what I was looking for and I immediately bid farewell to the Tian Ling Imperial Family. I was no tfamiliar with them and so our relationship status was 0 and I could not possibly receive any quests for them. The sooner I left, the sooner I could find what I wanted!

Right as I walked down the steps out of the main hall, I could see a silhouette urging a horse with whips as it galloped in this direction. Turns out it was [Hero’s Mound] Guildmaster -- Q Sword. He was riding a warhorse that had flames rising from it. He wore a suit full of high tier armor. He seemed slightly stunned as he glanced at me. It was as if he had never expected me to be this fast. Afterwhich, he just urged his horse in the direction of the main hall in silence.

I too did not say much, and lifted my sword as I rode my horse out. On the way out, I met other players who were all knight class players with high speed, and greeted Ye Lai, Jian Feng Han, Lu Chunyang, Xuan Yuan Feng and others who also did not feel they had time for idle chatter. Well, this wasn’t bad either. Time was precious and I don’t have the time to chitchat.

Reaching the public square near the northern gate of Tian Ling City, I went to find the NPC in charge of the teleportation array. It was a barbarian warrior and he gave me a valiant look before laughing out loud, “Brat, you look like you’re a little strong. Joining Tian Ling City was the correct decision. Would you like to activate the Tian Ling City Teleportation Portal to allow you to teleport to Ba Huang City?”

I chose yes and activated the teleportation portal. Now, I can teleport from Tian Ling City to Ba Huang City and also from Ba Huang City to Tian Ling City. Then, I bought a couple of City Return Scrolls to Tian Ling City. This way, I would then be able to return to the city from outside of the city, reducing the time required to travel back.

Soon after, I cruised around the interior of the city for a few minutes. After confirming that there was no profits to be made here, I began to check my herb picking list. Heavenly Tier Grade 1 herbal medicine, dragon spit grass. These resources could only found at areas where dragons roam. On the big map of Tian Ling City, I chose the Earth Dragon Canyon and Magic Dragon Nest to be my targets. Perfect, these two maps just happened to be right next to each other. Alright, I’ll be going here!

I then bought some alchemy furnaces in bulk. I checked my bag, and I still had ten sets of Demon God Grass that are needed for the [Herb Gathering]. It should be more than enough.

Lifting my sword, I left the city and headed towards the south where Earth Dragon Canyon and Magic Dragon Nest were located. Both of them lie very close to the territory of Ba Huang City just bordering the Poacher’s Camp. After the main city opened, these two maps also lit up. I had to leave soon, before all the other players arrive!

　　……

On the road, I didn’t bother to tangle with the little monsters. In the distance, right at the foot of Zi Wu Mountain, a huge canyon appeared before my eyes. I could even faintly hear the sound of the howling wind in the distance.

Earth Dragon Canyon, here I come!