Zhan Long-Chapter 730: Bad News

On the border of the desert after we walked into the forest, the scenery gradually became more green. The soft sand also gradually became more firm and moist. As we continued forward, we still didn’t meet a single player. This map was on the frontier of Moon City. It was at least an hour away from the main city. Most players wouldn’t walk so far to grind levels. Besides, the level of the monsters here weren’t low, which made it more dangerous to grind levels here. Only middle to high level players would come to such a distant map to grind.

　　……

Our twenty horses charged forward for some more time. The greenery around us become thicker and more dense. An enormous valley appeared ahead of us. It was the first map that we had come upon since entering Moon City, Moon Valley. The valley itself was very lengthy. It guarded the borders of the city and was very close to the desert. This map was the only way we could reach Moon City from Tian Ling City. Furthermore, it was immense; similar to Ba Huang City’s Fire Stone Canyon with layer upon layer of smaller maps. It was as though it was a never ending map. Furthermore, there was a diverse group of monsters and was a main grinding map for players.

“Moon Valley?” Matcha furrowed her elegant brows and continued to study the system map, “Guildmaster, are we just going to walk straight in? If we go any further, we may end up meeting several Moon City players.”

I gripped my reins and smiled, “Let’s go and maintain a low profile. Even if we do see any Moon City players, we’ll do all we can to avoid them. Let’s take this chance and walk around the map. We didn’t come here this time to kill people but rather to get a better understanding of Moon City. That way at least we’ll have more preparation. At least we won’t be caught too off guard during the country battles.”

Matcha nodded.

My Flying Scythe War Horse lowly whinnied and stepped down into the valley. Hooves clattered against the rocky slope. Behind me, Matcha, Li Mu, Wang Jian, Meng Yao and the others followed close behind. Now that we had entered a Moon City map, we already assumed a battle stance. Everyone had already pulled out their swords and cautiously glanced around. After all, this was enemy territory and we were the outsiders.

“Grr…”

Right in front of us, a couple of tigers roared. They were Level 137 Titan Tier monsters. No wonder there weren’t many people grinding levels here. The monsters were terrifyingly strong. Even we would feel some pressure if we grinded here. As usual, I let my Ancient Heavenly Tiger God charged forward to clear the path. Titan Tier monsters had a ten hour spawn rate, which meant it’s been awhile since someone’s been here. That was good too, at least we were somewhat safer here.

As I dashed forward, I raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword and “Ka ka ka” I threw out three slashes. Li Mu and Wang Jian each used a [Blade Rush] and cut down the tigers. Our group swept past, and left behind the three tiger bodies. They didn’t drop much so we didn’t bother to stay.

I lowered my voice, “Let’s draft out a map so that we can take note of the details about Moon City. If Tian Ling City ever decides to launch an attack on Moon City, then Smile and the rest will definitely work the geography to their advantage. If we don’t take the time to understand these maps, then we’ll definitely be at a disadvantage.”

Li Mu shuddered and smiled, “Haha, you’re really thorough.”

As we continued forward, the path became more precipitous. Even the Steel Blade Horses’ speed was being affected. However, Matcha was drawing out the maps very well. She noted everything from the topography to the structure of the ground and the lakes that lie within the valley. This Moon Valley was actually split into five different smaller maps, each with a different terrain. If we hadn’t walked in, we would’ve never been able to tell.

　　……

As we continued, Wan Er suddenly narrowed her eyes and said, “Careful, there’s people ahead!”

“Ok!”

I leaned over and hid in the brush. We were completely covered in the bushes and I activated [Camouflage]. There were around twenty people ahead of us in the forest. They wore the Moon City insignia on their shoulders. Furthermore, there hung a three colored French Flag beside the players’ names. They were like us. The moment that we entered Moon City, everyone’s ID had a Chinese flag right beside. This was a way to tell the difference between players.

Old K walked his horse over and gripped his battle axe. He excitedly whispered, “They’re French players, and are all around level 117-120. They aren’t too high, should we go over and cut them down?”

Li Mu grunted, “Guildmaster, what do you think?”

I glanced around and said, “Let’s not fight and go around them. It’d be best if we don’t exchange blows with them. Once we fight with them, then the French forums will immediately blow up with our location. That would only lure thousands of armies after us and we’ll never be able to complete our scouting mission.”

Li Mu nodded, “OK!”

I gripped my Dragon Reservoir Sword and tugged on my reins. My Flying Scythe War Horse slowly backed away and went around the group. The nineteen horses behind us also followed behind me without a sound. These were all [Zhan Long]’s core players and so naturally they wouldn’t botch up things. Even Old K, that bad tempered kid, quietly went around with me. The discipline of a guild was extremely important.

Before we had walked very far, “Sou!” a [Fierce Ice Arrow] suddenly shot above my head. I quickly halted my horse and heard a “PA!” as Wan Er opened up her Iron Umbrella to block the arrow. I looked around, only to see a blonde Level 121 archer sitting among the tree branches. He shouted, “Everyone be careful, a group of Chinese players are here!”

At that moment, another voice sounded out, “Gather around and surround these Chinese players!”

Hooves pounded the ground and the entire forest shook. Several dozen Moon City French Cavalry players charged over. My heart panicked for a second. Now that we were found, there’s no way we can avoid this battle. I immediately swung my blade and roared, “Blitzkrieg them!”

Wan Er quickly slid from my lap and picked up her dagger, and entered into [Stealth] mode. Li Mu, Wang Jian, and Matcha all turned around and charged at the first group of people they saw. In total there were around 30-40 French players, and none of their levels were very low.

“Kill!”

At the very front, a French player with a red beard raised his battle axe. He charged his battle horse towards us with a roar. Fury lit his eyes as he roared, “These Chinese players don’t take us Moon City players seriously at all! Did you think that Moon City was your backyard, somewhere you can carelessly come in and out of?”

Without another word, I dashed forward to meet his attack. I threw my Brilliant Flame Emperor. “Pu Chi!” it pierced through the chest of that Level 122 Berserker, and drew out a spurt of blood and dealt fourteen thousand damage. I then flicked my wrist again and the moment that I got close, I suddenly grabbed my sword from the air, and threw a few simultaneous slash. I scliced right through the berserker’s chest!

　　“13221！”

　　“15873！”

With a wretched roar, the berserker fell off his horse. He couldn’t even defend against one round of attacks. I didn’t hesitate for a second and raised my Dragon Reservoir Sword, and threw a Seven Star Fragment Slash into the crowd. Right after that, I activated my [Sword Tempest]. Hooves thudded across the ground and an icy whirlwind swept through. Everyone around me was sealed in [Ice Domain].

Li Mu and Wang Jian then pushed forward and swept out their swords. [Combo], [Skyshaker Slash], and [Covering Sword Slash] danced through the crowd, and killed another group of people. Wan Er, Qing Qian, and Wolf would appear behind the enemy mages and archers. A bloody light flashed and they were all killed. Wan Er’s attacks were especially strong. She didn’t even need to break through their [Mana Shield], as she relied solely on her Defense Break stats to kill the mages. She was practically the bane of all mages.

Dancing Forest and Dong Cheng lead the ranged attacks, and focused their firepower on each player one by one and killed them off. Magic wreaked havoc in the forest. Xing Lie raised his musket and “Peng peng peng!” fired off his shots. Almost every hit dealt over ten thousand damage. He really deserved his reputation as [Zhan Long]’s number one musketeer. His shots were both accurate and timely. Of course, Fox’s ability to manage was far better than Xing Lie’s. Each had their own special skills.

　　……

We struck hard and fast. Within three minutes, we had finished the battle. After counting the bodies, there was a total of forty four bodies from the French players. As for whether or not there were any assassins that had escaped, we weren’t sure. If an assassin wanted to run, you couldn’t catch one no matter what you tried to do.

“Let’s go, our location’s been revealed!” I commanded.

Matcha and the rest nodded and quickly cleared the battlefield before we dashed towards the north.

Ten minutes after we left, we had reached the northern end of Moon Valley. In the distance, we could see the white snowy ranges of Ice Ridge mountain. It was the same Ice Ridge Mountain that ran through Tian Ling City and Ba Huang City. This mountain spread across thousands of leagues, and completely separated the South from the Hybrid Demon Territory. Thanks to this natural defense, the Hybrid Demon Kings have yet to invade the Southern Territories.

The Steel Blade Horses moved incredibly fast, even if our position was revealed, that didn’t necessarily mean that we would get caught. After all, there were few mounts that had the same speed as the Steel Blade Horses, especially if they wanted to chase after us and go in for the kill. First they would have to consider their own strength. The players of Moon City weren’t idiots, they wouldn’t sacrifice themselves for nothing.

　　……

When we left Moon Valley, we made it to a grass plains. It was the Breezy Plains just east of Moon City and was just as vast as the Moon Valley map. A light breeze brushed against my face, fluttered my cape behind me. Li Mu and Wang Jian were chuckling as they admired the scenery. The setting sun over the west gave off a warm light.

Matcha widened her eyes and said, “Breeze Plains is extremely open. If we do end up fighting here, this map will likely be dyed red. After all, this is the most suitable place for the Steel Blade Horsemen to fight. The guilds of Moon City and Tian Ling City won’t let this map slip by. I can already just imagine what it’ll look like when it's torn by war….”

Matcha was one of [Zhan Long]’s most important commanders. Her understanding of topography and her sensitivity to its effects on battle were not much inferior to my own. There was no way we could ignore her words.

　　……

Right at that moment, Dong Cheng narrowed her eyes and shouted, “I have some bad news!”