Zhan Long

Chapter 710 - Enemy from Afar

“Du du du….”

Horse hooves softly stepped across the pontoon bridge. I was very careful, afraid that the Flying Scythe War Horse would suddenly step onto a decayed plank. Wan Er walked beside me, and held her Iron Umbrella with one hand. She happily glanced at the landscape around us. She didn’t seem afraid at all, on the flip side she seemed very content.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Even though Wan Er is practically a little princess by Lin Tian Nan’s side, she was also like a small caged bird. Every time she went out she was followed by a group of bodyguards. She didn’t even get the chance to be completely relaxed when she went out for vacation. Although we were in a game, it was still like vacationing with friends, so she must be feeling very ecstatic.

Dong Cheng flapped her wings and fluttered in the sky like a beautiful fairy. Qing Qian was gripping her dagger, and carefully watched everything around us. Darling Duck was much calmer and followed me with her staff. It seems that when she’s with the four of us she needn’t worry about danger.

……

Duckweed clung to the sides of the bridge and along the surface of the river. In the distance I could see the river’s water continuously rush against the bridge’s banks, and made this bridge sway even more. It was like we were standing on a boat. Sometimes the bridge swayed so hard that I wanted to throw up.

Thankfully the bridge wasn’t long and very soon we passed through it. The guard camp on the western banks wasn’t much better off than the one on the eastern banks. The soldiers all looked unspirited. However, the moment that we reached the bank, an old soldier around fifty years old suddenly stood up with a smile, “The adventurers of Tian Ling City have finally stepped onto this territory!”

I was slightly speechless. But the old soldier had already walked up to us. He grabbed the reigns of my Flying Scythe War Horse and excitedly said, “Young warrior, you have finally arrived!”

I stared at his face. The words “Tian Ling City Xia Yu Army’s Fourty Seventh Unit Leader Luo Si” appeared above his head. So the army here were all from the Xia Lu Army. The Xia Lu Army was Tian Ling City’s second strongest army, second only to the Flame Dragon Army. The Xia Lu Army is commanded by the second prince Owen. This Luo Si was just a small lieutenant. There were five people in a squad, ten people total in the company. This was the most basic structure for an army. I want to see just how this small lieutenant plans on preventing our course.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Even though he was just a lieutenant, his military rank in Tian Ling City was higher than my own, so I still needed to address him with a term of respect.

Luo Si excitedly explained, “Young adventurer, it’s wonderful that you were able to arrive. I have something I need your help with!”

“Oh? What is it?” Wan Er asked with a smile.

Luo Si replied, “2.5 kilometers northwest of the Bridge of Fate is the Spirits of No Return Valley. There once was a fierce battle that occurred at that location. The War God Lu Xing lead an army of 4000 soldiers there to obstruct the barbarian armies from invading the south. The fought a harsh battle for three days and three nights. Finally, all four thousand soldiers died in battle. The bones of these brave soldiers were never able to find peace in this Spirits of No Return Valley. One of these remains belongs to my ancestor. And so, I ask that you go to the Spirits of No Return Vally and find the remains of my grandfather and pay respects to his courageous spirit for me. I hope that he can return to the reincarnation cycle as soon as he can, rather than suffer in the spirit world.”

As he said that, Luo Si’s face fell, “I was originally going to go on my own, however this Spirit of No Return Valley has been taken by a group of fearsome Evil Spirits. A year ago, I took ten soldiers there and lost three in the process. We didn’t even manage to get into the valley. I…. I am at fault and ashamed to face my soldiers. However…”

Lu Si knelt towards the northwest with tears welling up in his eyes, “Those brave soldiers fought to protect their country and yet there isn’t a way to put their bodies to rest. Is this fair to them? The nobles of Tian Ling City only know how to outwit each other. They have never thought about the lives of their soldiers. We have dignity too. Two hundred years ago, they continuously infringed upon the Barbarian Tribes territory, but didn’t have the “time”to banish them from the Spirit of No Return Valley and go return the remains of those heroes? No, they just think that I, Lou Si am only a small lieutenant. Yet Generals are also people. They are also made of blood and meat. The dead ought to receive the respect that they deserve!”

Luo Si was very passionate. The soldier behind him quickly cautioned him, “Uncle Luo Si, quiet down. What if Captain Xiao Ji hears of this? Not only you, but the other nine of us will lose our heads!”

I quickly jumped off of my horse and helped Luo Si up and said, “Alright, I’ll help you. What do you want me to do?”

Luo Si broke into a grin and wiped away the tears on his cheek, “This will be a very dangerous path. Are you really willing to put your life on the line and fight for these brave souls?”

I nodded, “Yup, I am willing to bring the honor and respect that these brave souls deserve!”

Luo Si became even more excited, “Alright… you…. You must be careful when you enter the Spirits of No Return Valley. The monsters there are extremely strong. Even the Sky Knights of Tian Ling City have difficulty winning against them. You must remember, when you enter the valley, you have to kill all of the monsters there, and then light a fire on all of the corpses of the human soldiers. Once their remains have been purified by a flame, a shower of rain will allow their spirits to return to the ground where they will truly be allowed to continue their path!”

I nodded, “Yes!”

“Ding!”

System Notification: You have received the SSS tier Quest [Spirits of No Return Valley]!

Quest Details: Enter the Spirits of No Return Valley and kill all of the evil spirits. Furthermore, light a fire on the remains of the heroes and allow their spirits to return to their homes and take them away from the suffering of a wandering spirit. However, you must be careful. The evil spirits are extremely strong. You must be careful, or else your little team will be annihilated. When you have finished the quest, turn it into lieutenant Luo Si. You will receive a very generous reward.

……

OK, we got the quest. Even though it wasn’t a main story quest, it was still an SSS Tier. It was better than having nothing. If we didn’t have a quest, then we wouldn’t level up quite as fast while killing monsters. We wouldn’t even necessarily level up once in a day. At that rate, just when would we reach Level 150’s Sixth Advancement!

Set off!

We left the Bridge of Fate and walked 2.5 kilometers towards the north west part of the map. Forests and shrubbery surrounded the path that we walked along. As we continued forward, an entrance to a valley appeared before us. Before we even entered it, we noticed a vulgar figure hiding amongst the bushes. It was a Gravedigger Demon, a Level 2 Hybrid Demon. No wonder that Lieutenant Luo Si the NPC soldier was no match. Hybrid Demons were already extremely strong. They weren’t something that a normal soldier could deal with!

“Charge!”

I charged straight at it and plunged both of my swords into the Gravedigger Demon. This thing immediately looked up and swung its sharp blade hands into my Hidden Dragon Armor. Unfortunately for it, my armor had already added 117% [Thousand Layer Cliff] effect. This hit only dealt 3000+ damage to me. With a few more attacks from me, I had already [Drain]ed it all back. Soloing a Level 2 Hybrid Demon was as easy as cutting down a small cabbage.

Dong Cheng waved her staff, and activated [Magma Lance]. The Gravedigger Demon wailed and fell to the ground, and dropped a pair of Emperor Tier leather wrist guards. There wasn’t much use for it so I threw it into my bag. Later, I’ll sell it in National Beauty.

We killed another group of Gravedigger Demons before we finally entered the Spirits of No Return Valley. As soon as we stepped in, the wails and screams of lost spirits filled our ears. There were countless soldier spirits that couldn’t leave and had gathered in this one map. At the same time, countless Gravedigger Demons, Hellhounds and other Hybrid Demons appeared in the valley. One after another we killed them all, without any worries at all.

……

We dripped the oil onto a pile of bones and then backed away from it. The materials were part of the quest items that Luo Si had given to us. After I finished that up, I looked at Dong Cheng and said, “Light it up.”

Dong Cheng obediently opened her palm and used a Level 1 Skill, [Magic Flame]. “Hua La!” the remains lit on fire and was turned into a pile of ashes in the blink of an eye.

As we continued forward, we looked for the next target. We roamed the valley looking for monsters to kill. We didn’t let a single one go. Thankfully, the valley wasn’t very big. We could kill all of the monsters here within three hours.

In the blink of an eye, close to two hours had passed. The monsters in the valley had basically all been cleared out.

Brother Xiao Yao, there’s a Gravedigger Demon over there. Hurry up and kill it!” Qing Qian yelled over to me from a distance.

I charged over, but when I was halfway there, a silver armored figure caught my eye. A little general riding on a white battle horse charged and stabbed the Gravedigger Demon. After several charges and stabs, the Gravedigger Demon’s head was filled with holes. It huffed as it stood there and said, “D*mn*d b*st*rd….”

“Huh?” Wan Er was stunned, “There’s someone else who also took this quest?”

I nodded. This youngster in the silver armor was an NPC. Above its head floated the words, “Tian Ling City Xia Yu Armry Forty Seventh Halberd Wielder Luo Heng”. It seems that his rank was slightly higher than the Uncle Luo Si the Lieutenant.

As I walked over, the little general glanced at me and immediately saluted me, “Sir adventurer, I am the halberd wielding guard of the Bridge of Fate. Lieutenant Luo Si is my father. I heard that you have taken up this quest. However, I was afraid that something would happen to you and so I came here to help. However, it looks that you have not let my father down!”

I smiled, “Yes, thank you for your help. We can finish this quest.”

Luo Heng replied, “Yes. Allow me to help you kill a few evil spirits!”

“Alright!”

……

Luo Heng patted his horse and continued forward. We continued to finish the last bit of our quest.

After twenty minutes, we reached the end of the valley. We left a trail of smoky remains in our wake. I raised my bloody Dragon Reservoir Sword and happily stood at the end of the valley I was filled with pride, and saw how far we had come as players!

Right at that moment, Wan Er suddenly charged at me and pulled the reigns of my horse into a hidden forest, “There are people here!”

……

I pressed my body along my horse’s back and looked up. As she had said, a group of five people had entered the valley. They had come from the west. Furthermore, the knight player that stood at the head of the team hung a bloody human head from his horse. As I looked closer, it was the head of Luo Si’s son! He… he was killed?

Suddenly, I felt a fiery anger boil in my stomach!

“F*Ck!” I cursed.

Qing Qian softly said, “Brother Xiao Yao, be careful. Those aren’t Chinese players….”

When I looked over, I realized she was right. The British flag that floated beside the first player’s head confirmed that——

Smile LV 123 Heavenly Spirit Knight

City: Moon City

Guild: Thunder Gods

Position: Guildmaster

……

I nearly broke a tooth from how hard I was clenching my teeth. I gripped the hilt of my Dragon Reservoir Sword, “The British, they’ve already entered our territory!”

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