Chapter 1 A Thousand-Man Battle

Outside the Golden City's wide plaza, monsters wouldn't respawn here, but it also wasn't a safe zone. Thus, PK battles happened from time to time. Fights involving thousands or even several thousands of players frequently erupted here, usually starting from a small skirmish, then escalating into a massive battle as people called for reinforcements.

Today was relatively peaceful, with everyone focused on finding a team to run dungeons with.

On a small path in the woods west of the Golden City, a group of over twenty players was heading towards the plaza. They were all around level sixty, the highest being sixty-three and the lowest sixty. They were members of the Niuren Tribe (Bullsh*t Tribe).

Leading this group was a Holy Knight named Dun Keng Si Meinv (Squatting in a Pit Thinking of a Beauty). He wasn't one of the top players in the Niuren Tribe, but he was at least in the top hundred. He had decent skills and good leadership ability, so Guo Huai had assigned him as the leader of this small team.

"Keng Nan (Pit Bro), Leader Guo Huai said to bring two bottles of Advanced Fire Resistance Potions. He's sending someone over with them right away," a Thief named Kuaile Yinshi (Happy Hermit) said to Dun Keng Si Meinv. He was the vice-captain of the team and was usually responsible for gathering information.

Keng Nan was the nickname they had given Dun Keng Si Meinv, all because he had chosen such a perverted name.

"Advanced Fire Resistance Potions? What for?" Dun Keng Si Meinv asked, surprised. He had checked the official website's information, and this dungeon shouldn't require Advanced Fire Resistance Potions.

"Leader Guo Huai said that although the Furnace Blacksmith's Sacrifice skill, the final boss of the Underground Mines, is a Dark Corrosion skill, the attack contains fire-type damage. Taking two bottles of Fire Resistance Potions can reduce the user's damage by about 30%," Kuaile Yinshi explained. He had also been puzzled when he first received Guo Huai's instructions, but after Guo Huai's explanation, everything became clear.

"Leader Guo Huai even knows that," Dun Keng Si Meinv said, stunned. After all, the Golden City had only been open for a short time, and this team was only the second group from the Niuren Tribe to come here to run dungeons. Players usually had to experiment hundreds or thousands of times to learn such detailed information.

"It must have been Daoguang (Blade Light) and Shuise (Water Color) who figured it out," a beautiful woman in white Priest robes interjected. Her name was Wu Yue Xianzi (Dancing Moon Fairy), a level sixty-two Priest who ranked eighth among all the Priests in the Niuren Tribe.

"Maybe," they said, their faces showing a hint of reverence when they mentioned Cuican Daoguang (Brilliant Blade Light) and Shuise Yantou (Water Color Cigarette Butt). Cuican Daoguang and Shuise Yantou were legends in the entire Niuren Tribe, and their status within the Niuren Tribe was second only to Nie Yan. Nie Yan was usually elusive, but Cuican Daoguang and Shuise Yantou often formed groups and led the players below to run dungeons, nurturing wave after wave of experts. They were highly respected. They sighed, realizing that only people like Cuican Daoguang and Shuise Yantou could notice such extremely minor details, details that ordinary players would never think of. They had no idea that these details weren't discovered by Cuican Daoguang and the others, but were instead told to Guo Huai by Nie Yan, who then relayed them to the various teams. Two bottles of Advanced Fire Resistance Potions could greatly increase a team's success rate when running the Underground Mines.

This team entered the plaza outside the Golden City and headed towards the Golden City when three teams appeared in their field of vision.

Dun Keng Si Meinv's expression changed as he said in a deep voice, "It's the people from the Mage Alliance." He recognized a few faces.

Now that players were getting richer, the one-gold-coin teleportation fee was nothing to some expert-level players. Teams from various guilds began to travel to the dungeons in various cities. Just like Dun Keng Si Meinv and the others, the Mage Alliance also had several teams coming to run the Underground Mines of the Golden City.

The Niuren Tribe and the Mage Alliance were rival guilds, and they were very hostile towards each other. Conflicts in the wild were very common.

"Everyone, wait a moment," Kuaile Yinshi said. The other side had three teams, totaling nearly sixty people, while they only had twenty people. They were clearly at a disadvantage, and if they were surrounded, it would be dangerous.

The players from the Niuren Tribe stopped in their tracks.

The group from the Mage Alliance was gathered at the teleportation stone in front of the Golden City's entrance. Once they activated the teleportation stone, they could enter the Underground Mines dungeon.

A tall Warrior wearing golden armor was leading the team, dividing everyone into three groups and explaining the meeting point, preparing to have them enter the Underground Mines. A small, thin Thief leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Shura (Asura) boss, there's a team from the Niuren Tribe coming over."

Shura's expression hardened as he asked, "Where?" He followed the direction the Thief pointed and looked towards Dun Keng Si Meinv and the others. His eyes narrowed sharply as he realized that the Niuren Tribe had only sent twenty people. They had an absolute advantage. Should he make a move?

Shura didn't dare to make the decision himself, so he reported the situation to an executive officer of the Mage Alliance. Soon, he received a message from the executive officer: Kill them all!

After receiving the message, Shura immediately stopped activating the dungeon.

"Everyone, follow me," Shura said as he led the group towards the Niuren Tribe's team with a menacing aura.

"They're coming over. Prepare for battle," Dun Keng Si Meinv said. His heart sank when he saw the person leading the Mage Alliance, "It's Shura!"

Shura also had quite a reputation, and he had clashed with the Niuren Tribe's players several times. At least twenty people from the Niuren Tribe had died at Shura's hands.

Shura might not be anything in the eyes of Cuican Daoguang and Shuise Yantou, but in the eyes of these people, he was already a formidable opponent.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Under Dun Keng Si Meinv's command, the Niuren Tribe's team quickly adjusted their formation. The Warriors moved to the outer perimeter, while the Mages occupied several advantageous positions, preparing to fight.

Dun Keng Si Meinv scanned the people from the Mage Alliance and saw six or seven Thieves enter stealth, disappearing from their view. He immediately warned, "Mages and Priests, be careful!"

The air felt exceptionally heavy. The other players nearby, sensing that the atmosphere was off, quickly retreated and watched from a distance.

"What do we do? There's too many of them," Kuaile Yinshi frowned.

"I've already sent a message to Leader Guo Huai. The brothers nearby will be here in a few minutes!" Dun Keng Si Meinv said. A melee battle was unavoidable, and they could only try their best to cope.

Wu Yue Xianzi smiled and said, "Yinshi, Kengnan, some of my friends from the Garan Temple are running the Underground Mines next door. They'll be out soon."

"People from the Garan Temple are here? That makes things much easier. By the way, can you please stop calling me Keng Nan?" Dun Keng Si Meinv said with an innocent and helpless expression.

Wu Yue Xianzi smiled playfully.

Shura scanned the faces of Dun Keng Si Meinv, Kuaile Yinshi, and Wu Yue Xianzi before finally settling on Kuaile Yinshi.

"Long time no see," Shura said with a faint smile.

Seeing Shura greeting Kuaile Yinshi, Dun Keng Si Meinv looked at Kuaile Yinshi in surprise and asked, "You know him?"

"We used to team up in another game, were brothers. That was a long time ago, not anymore," Kuaile Yinshi explained. He seemed to have some unspeakable secrets, but that didn't matter anymore.

Those who come with good intentions don't come, and those who come don't have good intentions. Since Shura had brought people over, he definitely wasn't here to make friends.

The players on both sides glared at each other, and a battle was imminent.

Relying on their numbers, the Mage Alliance's players surrounded the Niuren Tribe's players in a semicircle.

The Niuren Tribe's players couldn't run. If they did, their formation would be broken, and they would be chased and beaten, resulting in even greater losses. Rather than that, they might as well fight it out.

"You trash from the Niuren Tribe, you won't be able to escape today," a Thief from the Mage Alliance shouted.

"Who's trash is still up for debate. In the Battle of Cripps Fortress, so many elites from the Mage Alliance came, but didn't they all run away with their tails between their legs?" Dun Keng Si Meinv chuckled, his words laced with sarcasm.

"Damn it, don't get cocky. You just got lucky."

The players on both sides were red-eyed, engaging in a war of words, spewing all sorts of nasty insults.

Shura looked at the Mage Alliance's players. The encirclement had already formed, and the Thieves had cut off the Niuren Tribe's retreat. Time was of the essence, and to avoid the Niuren Tribe calling for reinforcements, he didn't waste any more words. In the team chat, he said coldly, "Attack, kill them!"

As soon as Shura finished speaking, a dozen Warriors from the Mage Alliance activated Charge, rushing towards the Niuren Tribe. The Mages also had dazzling light shining in their hands as one magic spell after another was unleashed, and the scene instantly became chaotic.

"Warriors, hold them off! Priests and Holy Knights, focus on healing!" Dun Keng Si Meinv said before looking at Kuaile Yinshi next to him.

Kuaile Yinshi nodded and said, "Understood." After speaking, he entered stealth. He and Dun Keng Si Meinv had been cooperating for so long that they already had a tacit understanding. He already understood what the other party meant without Dun Keng Si Meinv saying anything.

"Brothers, we have reinforcements nearby who will be here soon. Damn it, let's fight them to the death! Those who die, run back!" Dun Keng Si Meinv said. By issuing this order, he was essentially saying that they would fight the people from the Mage Alliance to the bitter end to see who could last the longest.

Magic howled as it landed, exploding on a Warrior from the Niuren Tribe, instantly blasting the Warrior away and knocking him to the ground.

Kuaile Yinshi sneaked behind the Mage Alliance's formation, delivering a Stun to the back of a Priest's head, and with a few attacks, he knocked the Priest to the ground.

Dense magic exploded on Kuaile Yinshi, and seeing that he was about to die, he quickly drank a Intermediate Instant Recovery Potion and disappeared from these people's view with a Gale Step.