Chapter 312: In Raging Seas Gather Flood Dragons; Ten-thousand-fathom Pillars Split The Sky
Mountain of the Dead, inside the dense forest canyon.
Three sky battleships hovered in midair. The blood pattern clan middle-aged man playing with marbles swept a glance over all the players who had been wiped out, then casually beckoned with his hand.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
The pitch-black marbles that had originally shot out, as if responding to a summons, quickly flew up one after another from the craters they had smashed open and dropped back into the blood pattern clan middle-aged man’s hand, as if they were alive.
Then the blood pattern clan middle-aged man put away the marbles and directly turned to fly toward the central sky battleship.
Inside the sky battleship command cabin.
As the blood pattern clan middle-aged man walked into the cabin, ten men and women whose qi and blood had clearly reached the blood condensation realm were seated there. At their head was a burly blood pattern clan old man, over four meters tall, with qi and blood as deep as an abyss and sea, wearing a pitch-black helmet.
And this burly old man was none other than the renowned leader of the dragon hunting corps across the four regions, the dragon hunter Rhine Manster.
“Leader, those people from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall have been dealt with.” The blood pattern clan middle-aged man looked at Rhine Manster at the head seat and spoke with utmost respect.
“Very good. Notify the other two ships to send out more flying exploration vehicles, then continue expanding exploration of this area. Once we confirm there are no more people from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in this area, we will move forward.” Rhine Manster nodded, then waved his hand to signal the middle-aged man to withdraw.
“Yes!” The middle-aged man immediately bowed and left the cabin.
And it was only after the marble-wielding middle-aged man left the command cabin that the white masked youth, who had been standing behind Rhine Manster, finally came back to his senses.
“Even a blood condensation realm master of that level is not qualified to become a captain of the dragon hunting corps?” The white masked youth glanced at the other nine men and women seated in the cabin, feeling indescribable shock.
He had seen the battle of the man with the marbles clearly from inside the cabin.
Although the grey-robed disciples of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were very weak, with the strongest only at beginner martial artist level, that marble projection technique was something that even he, a bone forging realm high-tier limit martial artist, did not dare claim he could withstand.
The speed of those marbles was too fast; at short range, it might have exceeded ten times the speed of sound.
As for this man who played with marbles, he also knew his famous name: one of the top ten experts in the four regions youth competition five years ago, the silent hunter, one of the super geniuses cultivated by the Red Moon Merchant Guild back then.
Now the silent hunter was already a blood condensation realm intermediate level martial artist, his strength far beyond what it had been in the past. Yet in the dragon hunting corps, compared to the other nine blood condensation realm intermediate level captains, he was only a vice captain. It was truly hard to believe.
“According to the original plan, you each lead your teams to explore separately. I hope you can clean up these little bugs before sunset. After that, we will head to Mist Mountain Domain City to talk business.” Rhine Manster’s voice was solemn and naturally imposing, making the white masked youth standing nearby tremble inside.
“Yes!”
The nine captains of the dragon hunting corps responded and then left the cabin one after another.
After the nine captains of the dragon hunting corps left, Rhine Manster finally turned his gaze to the white masked youth. At some point a blood-colored pendant had appeared in his hand, and he directly tossed it to the white masked youth.
“Go back and tell Kui Lang that I helped him deal with these bugs in the Mountain of the Dead. From now on, we owe each other nothing.” Rhine Manster’s voice was indifferent, clearly holding little goodwill toward Kui Lang.
“Yes.” The white mask caught the blood-colored pendant and hurriedly left, not daring to stay any longer.
He had only heard of the dragon hunting corps by reputation before and knew they were formidable, but only after making real contact did he discover that the dragon hunting corps were even more terrifying than the rumors. Even just staying on the ship made one feel suffocated.
Blood condensation realm masters, rarely seen in the Mist Mountain Region in normal times, were all over the place in the dragon hunting corps.
The nine captains and nine vice captains were all blood condensation realm intermediate level masters, and among the many teams, there were also more than ten initial stage blood coagulation realm masters.
In a corps of a thousand people, there were more than forty blood condensation realm experts. In terms of sheer number of blood condensation realm experts, it was roughly equivalent to the combined total of the two major powers in the Mist Mountain Region.
But the most terrifying thing about the dragon hunting corps was not these captains and vice captains. The truly terrifying part was the corps members.
One could say that every captain of the dragon hunting corps was an advanced bone forging realm martial artist, and not just any advanced bone forging realm martial artist, but one who had mastered at least one supernatural level martial skill, equivalent to a vice city lord in the Mist Mountain Region.
As for becoming a squad leader in the dragon hunting corps, one generally had to master a sequence extraordinary level martial skill. The powerful ones had even reached the perfection realm of the sequence supernatural martial skill second stage, or had already become initial stage blood coagulation realm masters.
His own abilities only barely reached the level of a squad leader. If he stayed any longer, it would seriously damage his confidence and self-perception.
While the white mask was leaving, the official forum of high martial arts descend was in an uproar, all because a post had been pinned at the top.
“World boss appears in the Mountain of the Dead, with images and proof. Come if you want to get sky battleships!”
The post contained an edited video. It showed three sky battleships hanging high above the canyon, with more than a hundred flying transport vehicles on alert around them. On the decks of the sky battleships stood many blood condensation realm masters floating in midair. One blood condensation realm master flew out, his pitch-black marbles shot forth, and the video instantly turned pitch-black.
Although the edited video was very short, it left everyone who saw it deeply shocked.
Even players unfamiliar with high martial arts descend could clearly feel that overwhelming pressure that blotted out the sky. As for players who had some understanding of high martial arts descend, they could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
On the decks of the three sky battleships, they could one hundred percent confirm there were more than twenty blood condensation realm NPCs.
Anyone who knew a bit about high martial arts descend understood that blood condensation realm NPCs were existences equivalent to city lords. More than twenty city lords appearing together like mere guards of the sky battleships made it almost impossible to imagine what kind of existence was inside the sky battleships to deserve such treatment.
“More than twenty blood condensation realm NPCs guarding them. Is this a world-class boss on parade?”
“These sky battleships are insanely cool. Can players use this thing too? If players could use them freely, this game would be absolutely unbeatable.”
“More than unbeatable! If you could get such a big sky battleship, you would never have to worry about transporting anything again. Just relying on a sky battleship for transport, you could make a fortune in the game. Right now those garrisons have discovered quite a few mine veins in the wilderness. It is not that bad to hire NPCs from martial arts halls to mine, but transport is the headache. Who knows how many trips in flying transport vehicles it would take? There are tons of monsters on the ground too, so you have to spend manpower to guard them. With a sky battleship, you could easily charge transport fees and practically earn until your hands go numb.”
…
Everyone watched the video and talked heatedly. Many players who had only just entered the game drooled at the sight of the three sky battleships in the video.
Any player who entered the game from version 0 basically understood the importance of transport vehicles. After all, in this version the most profitable method was mining, practically the child of the version.
Whether it was B-grade and above precious metal ore veins or energy veins, they made far more money than hunting monsters in the wilderness.
In the past, even if players built strongholds, mining required them to do it themselves or hire players to mine, which was very inefficient. First, very few players were willing to be hired for mining. Second, the cost of hiring players was high and profits were low. The only advantage was stable long-term trickle income.
But now, after building a stronghold, they could directly apply to martial arts halls for NPC miners. The hiring price was far lower than hiring players, and they could hire many NPCs to mine.
The only problem left to solve was insufficient transport capacity.
Previously, daily ore output was low. Buying a dozen large transport vehicles from martial arts halls or NPC merchants and making one trip a day was enough. But now, with hired NPCs, three or four trips a day was normal.
However, for ground transport, because of monsters, to ensure the safety of goods and vehicles they had to send large numbers of experts as escorts. Players also needed time for cultivation and could not always follow the vehicles, so they could only rotate shifts. Many players complained that this game was too realistic.
In real life, working in a factory meant rotating shifts as a tool. After entering the game, they were still doing the same thing.
With only so many expert players available, the number of daily transport runs was very limited.
They could, in theory, buy more large transport vehicles to solve the problem, but large transport vehicles were always in short supply. Even martial arts halls and NPC merchants did not have many for sale each time. They were not something you could just buy at will, and they rarely dropped in the wilderness. As a result, each stronghold’s earning potential was tightly capped.
If they could obtain a sky battleship, its transport capacity would be unimaginable, and as an air transport, it would be much safer.
“Three sky battleships and so many flying transport vehicles. If we could get even a portion of them, we could mine in far more distant places, and our income could multiply. This field boss is truly a great treasure.” Fang Zhen, resting offline, watched the video, his eyes burning with desire. “I won’t even bother with competitions today. We must take down this boss!”
Fang Zhen immediately began rallying people and logged on as soon as possible to rush to the Mountain of the Dead.
Now that the garrison had over a thousand people, they controlled many mining strongholds. But as he and the other bone forging realm intermediate level players continued cultivating, they realized that progressing quickly was extremely expensive.
There was no need to mention rolling for dual attribute clothing. Just renting the cultivation tower second level, the intermediate gravity chamber, and the beginner meditation room cost close to ten million points a day. Not to mention needing type three energy potions for support.
If they went even a single day without using potions for cultivation, it was easy to get surpassed by others. Ever since version 0 launched, players had been going all out to compete for the qualifications to use the third floor of the cultivation tower.
In this great age of expansion, ordinary players could move around the entire Mist Mountain Region, while core disciples could travel freely across the four regions. Those places contained many high-level areas with more treasures. To establish strongholds and mine in those areas, bone forging realm alone was not enough. They had to at least step into the blood condensation realm.
The cultivation rooms on the third floor of the cultivation tower provided enormous help for cultivation, forcing everyone to grind hard for higher ranks in the arena every day.
“Wu Shang, everyone has assembled and we can head out at any time.” Zhang Qing Wei looked at Luo Wu Shang, who had just come out of the intermediate gravity chamber, and asked with some anticipation, “How is your cultivation now? Have you broken through?”
“I just reached one hundred percent proficiency in the second level of the body strengthening secret technique,” Luo Wu Shang said with some regret. “The second level of the body strengthening secret technique is much harder than I expected. To reach the perfection realm, I’ll probably need to spend a few more days thinking and experimenting in the beginner meditation room.”
“How is the defense effect?” Zhang Qing Wei asked curiously.
Although simply reaching entry-level in the body strengthening secret technique enhanced body toughness, the degree of improvement varied with proficiency.
When they were only at entry-level in the second level of the body strengthening secret technique, even as bone forging realm intermediate level martial artists, their defense was only slightly better than a beginner lord monster’s. Only after achieving proficiency did their body toughness reach the level of an intermediate lord, where ordinary C2-grade weapon attacks would only break the skin, and C4-grade weapons were needed to actually injure them and pierce muscle and bone.
“It should be slightly stronger than an advanced lord, close to an ordinary catastrophe level monster,” Luo Wu Shang thought for a moment and said.
“Close to an ordinary catastrophe level monster? Is second level at one hundred percent proficiency really that strong?” Zhang Qing Wei could not help but stare at Luo Wu Shang.
They had encountered catastrophe level monsters in the Mountain of the Dead many times before, and every time ended in a total wipe. They were deeply familiar with the defense of catastrophe level monsters.
One could say that apart from Luo Wu Shang using a C6-grade alloy weapon to break through their defense, everyone else’s attacks against catastrophe level monsters were little better than scratching an itch. Even using hard-won tier 3 weapons, they could only slightly damage the scales of catastrophe level monsters and make them bleed.
Now Luo Wu Shang’s defense was comparable to a catastrophe level monster. Combined with a tier 3 weapon, they finally had a real chance to hunt catastrophe level monsters. After all, the true strengths of the body strengthening secret technique were not just defense, but recovery power and the upper limit of cellular energy storage.
Luo Wu Shang’s mental secret technique had already reached second level proficiency, and her energy secret technique was also at second level proficiency. With the foundation of the body strengthening secret technique at full proficiency, once she entered a transcendent state, her strength would definitely increase even further. Zhang Qing Wei would not be surprised even if Luo Wu Shang fought a catastrophe level monster one-on-one.
“Let’s hurry over as well. If we are late, those sky battleships and flying transport vehicles will all be snatched.” Luo Wu Shang looked at the dazed Zhang Qing Wei, her eyes showing a hint of anticipation.
She had always been personally interested in sky battleships and flying transport vehicles, but those were things they could not own. Martial arts halls did not sell flying transport vehicles at all; players could only rent them temporarily, not own them.
And the map of high martial arts descend was so vast that without flying vehicles, moving around was extremely slow.
Now non-plot bosses had appeared with sky battleships and flying transport vehicles. That meant they had a chance to obtain them. Even if they could not get a sky battleship, getting a few flying transport vehicles would greatly increase Heavenly Might’s financial strength.
Mountain of the Dead, sky battleship.
As the dragon hunting corps kept slaughtering players, they pushed forward frantically through the Mountain of the Dead, drawing ever closer to its edge.
A female captain pointed at the map on the conference table and reported with utmost respect, “Leader, if we fly from here for just over half an hour, we will leave the Mountain of the Dead and reach the Mist Mountain Region.”
“How is the clearing in the other areas?” Rhine Manster glanced at the map and nodded slightly.
“They have all been completely cleared, but the farther we advance, the stronger the resistance,” the female captain explained. “Now many places have dozens or even hundreds of people gathered together, which has slowed our advance somewhat.”
“After all the clearing we have done, they can still gather hundreds of people?” Rhine Manster was slightly surprised.
Since they started purging the people of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, several hours had passed. The number of grey-robed disciples killed had exceeded four thousand, which was about the same as the number Kui Lang had provided in his information.
“Yes. And those people are very familiar with our fighting style. At this point, if we captains do not take action, many of our members could die,” the female captain said with a nod.
“You will suffer casualties if you do not intervene?” Rhine Manster was somewhat surprised and said with some regret, “No wonder the smiling skull had to send those four. It seems this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is indeed interesting. It is a pity they have not yet grown. If they had, they might have been able to fight us on equal terms.”
The female captain also nodded, feeling that if the disciples of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were allowed to grow, they would indeed become a problem. After all, many of them could undergo transformation to dramatically increase their combat power. Even an ordinary martial artist, once transformed, would be comparable to an advanced bone forging realm martial artist. If a bone forging realm martial artist transformed, their strength would reach the level of an ordinary initial stage blood coagulation realm master. This was why the captains had to take action themselves.
But just as Rhine Manster finished speaking, the moving sky battleship suddenly stopped, almost making everyone present stumble and fall.
“Why did we stop?” Rhine Manster frowned.
As Rhine Manster asked, the young man operating the ship spoke in a somewhat terrified voice, “Leader, it seems we have been surrounded by people from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
“Surrounded? How many of them are there?” Rhine Manster looked at the frightened operator, feeling that the dragon hunting corps had grown a bit lax recently. It was only being surrounded by people from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall; what was there to fear?
“One thousand… two thousand… three thousand…” The operator stared at the sea of red dots on the map, his eyes fixed on the scan statistics on the screen. He could not help rubbing his eyes, thinking he had misread. “Three thousand five… four thousand… four thousand five… and they are still increasing…”
Only when the sky battleship’s life scan radar finished its full sweep did two enormous numbers appear on the main screen in the command cabin.
Number of ordinary individuals: 6,186!
Number of high-risk individuals: 262!
“6,186 ordinary martial artists? 262 bone forging realm martial artists? How is that possible!”
The female captain stared at the life detection radar statistics on the command cabin’s main screen, her beautiful eyes wide open in disbelief.
