After their warm welco, Chang Long and Siegfried were left in rough shape—especially Chang Long, who had fared worse. Her combat abilities were only average. Compared to her opponent, the Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub was a deadly predator. Despite its lower level, it had fought Chang Long, who was of a higher level, to a near standstill and at tis even had the upper hand. Once she had rested enough, Chang Long sat up, removed her outer cloak, and unbuttoned her inner shirt to inspect if her wounds had healed. The gashes were severe, and the brief respite had not been enough for them to fully heal. Pulling out a healing salve, she applied it to the injuries on her arms and shoulders, which were still red and oozing blood.
anwhile, Siegfried dispatched the last of the Gravel Seed Golems and turned to check on Chang Long. The sight that greeted him made him freeze, his face flushing bright red. Chang Long was tending to her wounds, her shoulders exposed. Though she was not explicitly revealed, it left Siegfried flustered in a way it would not have if the person he saw were soone else, like Peach Blossom or another woman he did not feel strongly about. He wanted to look away, knowing it was improper to stare, but he could not tear his gaze from her.
"Hey, how long are you going to keep staring? My heir is wearing out under your gaze."
Devi-chan appeared beside Siegfried, his voice sharp. He cast a sidelong glance at Siegfried, who startled and turned to him, his face growing even redder.
"I...I'm sorry! I didn't an to!"
Siegfried stamred. Seeing his heir flustered by Devi-chan's scolding, Heaven floated over to defend Siegfried.
"Why are you so possessive, Devi-chan? (Heaven said Devi-chan's na in a mocking tone.) It's not like looking will take anything away. Besides, she doesn't seem to mind—she's practically putting herself on display."
"She's in a spot where she can't see you lot, you shaless bunch. Even as ghost, you haven't let go of your earthly desires, have you, you elf?"
Devi-chan growled through gritted teeth. Privately, Devi-chan wished Chang Long would na Heaven sothing silly so he would not be the only one teased about his na.
"Tsk, tsk. Maybe your heir is falling for the undeniable charm of my heir. That's why she's doing it—to get his attention!"
Heaven continued provoking him. This ti, it was not Devi-chan but Siegfried who jolted. He glanced back at Chang Long and saw Kitsune, the two-tailed fox, snuggling close to her. Her pained expression made Siegfried thought that seem improbably she was doing this to get his attention. Moreover, it would be entirely out of her character. She was straightforward and sincere in his opinion.
"Hehe. Want to find out if she really thinks that way?"
Devi-chan asked in a cold tone. Instead of getting angry, he turned to challenge Heaven. The elven spirit was surprised by Devi-chan's unexpected move.
"Well, that must be it!"
Heaven insisted, with puffed chest, clearly confident.
"Hey, missy. Heaven says you're..."
"Ugh. Stop right there, Devi Jones!"
Heaven's shout drowned out Devi-chan's voice. Chang Long, just finishing buttoning up her shirt, turned toward them with a curious expression. Despite being a proud Pirate King, Heaven had to admit that he held a certain respect for Chang Long—after all, she was his master. (She was the one who bound him to a spirit tablet and given it to Siegfried.) He was not shaless enough to risk angering her.
"Hmm. What's wrong, Heaven? Why so flustered... Don't tell you're afraid missy will get mad,"
Devi-chan teased, shooting a smug look at Heaven. Lycanth, having just returned from scouting the area, stood protectively beside Siegfried. anwhile, Chang Long, along with Kitsune and her other two spirits, was making her way toward the group.
"Afraid? Why would I be afraid of her getting mad? She's not that frightening!"
Heaven yelled, his pale cheeks flushing slightly.
"Who's afraid of what?"
Chang Long asked as she joined them, coinciding perfectly with Heaven's outburst. The elven spirit jumped and imdiately floated behind Siegfried.
"That guy, over there. Look, he's so scared of you, he's hiding way over there,"
Devi-chan said with a laugh, pointing at Heaven. Chang Long followed Devi-chan's finger and saw Heaven hiding behind Siegfried, refusing to et her eyes.
"Ridiculous ghost...(Heaven's mouth gaped open in shock)"
she muttered, exhaling through her nose. Then, she urged the group to move deeper into Dragon's Maw Valley. Despite knowing there would be challenges ahead, Chang Long felt more excitent than fear. She could not help but wonder what kinds of beasts awaited them further in and whether they would be as fierce as the Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub she had just faced. She did not have to wait long for an answer. A thunderous roar echoed through the valley, shaking the gravel under their feet—another chilling welco for their arrival.
"Sounds like this one's going to be big,"
Siegfried said, gripping his sword tightly. His eyes were fixed on the narrow path ahead, as were Lycanth's. Even the ghosts and Kitsune tensed, their expressions grim. Whatever it was, they would have to confront it if they were to venture deeper into the valley.
"Let's go,"
Chang Long said with a smile, stepping to the front of the group. Of all of them, she seed to be the only one completely unfazed by the deafening roar reverberating through the valley. Siegfried smiled back at her and followed, with Devi-chan also smiled proudly at Chang Long. His missy was growing stronger!
.....
Longshan mountain was a vast area with nurous zones for hunting beasts. Players of level 40 and above often grouped up to hunt there. While the experience points earned were similar to beasts outside the mountain, the challenge was significantly higher. Additionally, the beasts in Longshan frequently dropped valuable items, so of which were required for special quests from Longshan City. However, quest-specific items dropped only from level 50 and above beasts. A man dressed in red strolled along a narrow path on Longshan Mountain. To say he was enjoying the scenery would be inaccurate. A powerful beast had been stalking him for so ti. Though fully aware of its presence, the man could not act rashly. For now, all he could do was proceed with utmost caution.
"Don't be ridiculous, Crown. There's no special zone on Longshan Mountain!"
The voice of a young male player echoed from just ahead. The man in red had not expected that there would be players blocking his path. If he stopped walking now, the beast stalking him might attack imdiately—or perhaps this was his chance to shake it off and let the players ahead deal with it instead.
"Admit it, Duncan, you're just scared. You should quit being a chef, all you did was sell food. No wonder you never go adventuring like other people."
"I'm not scared. I just think it's a waste of ti. I don't believe the system would bother creating a special territory on Longshan Mountain!"
"Exactly, because everyone thinks like you, it'll be easy. If we find it, we can claim it without having to fight off other players."
"If it even exists, the Dark Horse Guild will definitely try to take it from you. That guild's the biggest on this island, and their base is in Longshan City. They've got thousands of mbers—we wouldn't stand a chance against them!"
The man in red rounded the bend and saw two male players arguing. One held a long butchering knife, while the other had a pair of swords, their hilts adorned with wolf heads. Both turned to look at him almost imdiately.
"Uh… I'm not with Dark Horse Guild,"
the man said, anticipating their suspicion.
"You brought sothing dangerous with you,"
Crown said, narrowing his eyes at the newcor. He drew the twin swords from his back and scanned the area cautiously. Duncan smiled at the stranger but tightened his grip on his knife, preparing for an attack. The man in red knew escape was not an option and unsheathed his weapon as well.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. All three braced themselves and turned toward the noise. Eight players were running in their direction. Duncan recognized two of them and broke into a grin.
"Jane, Hero. What's got you so rattled?"
Crown glanced at Duncan, then at the two rifle-wielding players running toward them. One of them returned the smile but answered urgently.
"The King is out. It wiped out everyone in the area."
It was Jane who answered. The group stopped to join Crown, Duncan, and the stranger, who stood with only his eyes and hands visible.
"That's bad news. We'd better make a run for it!"
Crown exclaid. Despite his and Duncan's high levels, even with reinforcents, the kings of Longshan Mountain were not to be underestimated. Though their level were lower than kings outside the mountain, their strength was still in a league of its own. Worse, this one sounded like it would not be a low-level king.
"Too late,"
the stranger muttered, his gaze fixed beyond Jane and her group. From behind them erged a towering beast, over five ters tall, with plush fur, a pristine white mane, and a tail tipped with pure white fluff. Its piercing blue eyes locked onto the group. (The beast that had been stalking the man in red had disappeared without a trace.) The system announcent rang out: "White Cloud Lion Beast King, Level 105, has appeared."
The Four Tao group and their two companions, who they were tasked with protecting, were wide-eyed with shock. A Level 105 Beast King—just hearing that was enough to convey how formidable it was, not to ntion that this was a Beast King. The White Cloud Lion stood calmly, observing its prey. Surprisingly, it made no move to attack, leaving everyone staring at it in bewildernt. This behavior was especially unnerving for Jane and Hero, who had witnessed the lion rampaging and wiping out players rcilessly on the slopes below. Yet here it was, standing as still as a giant, fluffy stuffed animal.
"Why isn't it attacking?"
Duncan asked, puzzled.
"It looks like it's waiting for sothing,"
Hero agreed, following the lion's gaze. He found that it was looking at the strange young man they did not recognize.
"It's looking at you!" Hero exclaid, pointing at the mysterious man in red. The man appeared just as startled as everyone else.
"Who are you, anyway? Are you a friend of Duncan's?"
Jane asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Oh, no, we just t a mont ago. This here is my friend, Crown,"
Duncan replied, introducing Crown to Jane, Hero, and their group.
"This isn't the ti for introductions. Do you have sothing it wants? That's the only reason it hasn't attacked us yet,"
Hero said urgently, turning to the mysterious man.
"I don't think so. Uh… I don't know,"
the man replied, unsure. He slowly opened his bag to check if there was sothing the lion would want, though he was fairly confident he had nothing of interest.
There were jars of blood crystals, mana crystals, rejuvenating crystals, and antidote crystals. Then there was healing salve, a box of beast sealing ring that could seal a beast of any level (which he got from a quest), two sets of spare clothes, half armor he had acquired from the secret chamber beneath the Samurai Cetary, and a storage box filled with heavenly deer at (which was an item ant for delivery to an NPC to complete a quest.)The White Cloud Lion King perked up when he storage box was taken out. It sniffed the air and let out a deafening roar.
"What's in that storage box?"
Duncan asked, his curiosity mirroring the others'. Perhaps their survival hinged on knowing what the lion wanted.
"It's a quest item. This is Heavenly Deer at,"
the man explained, opening the box to show them. Heavenly Deer, found in the Erald Forest near Suvarn City, was a unique beast. Its at could not be harvested unless a specific quest was accepted, and only then would the deer drop its at upon defeat. It seed the White Cloud Lion was very interested in the Heavenly Deer at. The lion began walking slowly toward the group. Panic erupted as everyone scattered in different directions, leaving the man in red alone to face the massive beast.
"Sigh!"
Thankhun sighed, frustrated by his predicant. Now left alone with the White Cloud Lion Beast King, which followed him closely, Thankhun maintained a cautious distance. He tossed a piece of the Heavenly Deer at toward the lion, backing away slowly.
anwhile, Duncan, Hero, and their group stayed at a safe distance but kept following. To them, Thankhun was a benefactor who had once saved their lives. If he ran out of Heavenly Deer at and could not escape, they were prepared to step in and help him at any mont.
Thankhun kept backing away cautiously, unable to let the level 105 White Cloud Lion Beast King out of his sight for even a mont. He had glanced over his shoulder to figure out where he should go next, but when he turned back, the lion had leapt forward and landed just an inch away from him. The sudden proximity nearly gave him a heart attack. He realized he was venturing deeper and deeper into the dense forest. There were no beasts in the area he passed through; all of them had fled to avoid the Beast King relentlessly trailing him. No matter how much Heavenly Deer at he threw to appease it, it never seed to be enough. The lion continued to demand more. And now, the supply of Heavenly Deer at was almost completely depleted.
"I'm so screwed!"
-----
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