"Amazing. To take a hit like that and still survive. But this is as far as you go."
Zhu Lang marveled at Aswa's resilience as he strode toward the young man without hesitation. The two stood face-to-face, less than a ter apart. Confident that his opponent had no fight left, Zhu Lang let his guard down, inadvertently exposing a fatal opening.
"Dark..."
"Huh? What did you say? Are you trying to say your last words?"
Zhu Lang looked at the young man with curiosity. Aswa remained still, his lips moving faintly, his voice hoarse. Zhu Lang complacently leaned closer, trying to catch the whispered words. But as he approached, his mocking expression shifted to alarm. The instant realization struck, Zhu Lang attempted to retreat, but it was too late.
"Dark Horse Might!"
A massive golden warhorse, shimring like mist, surged forth from Aswa's blade. Its colossal form was both majestic and fearso. Its deafening neigh echoed across the desert, and its mighty hooves trampled down on Zhu Lang, who could not escape in ti. Zhu Lang's screams of pain resonated as his body was crushed, sinking a ter into the ground before disintegrating into white light that ascended into the sky. The golden warhorse, the skill Aswa had unleashed galloped onward, destroying everything in its path until it finally faded into nothingness, leaving only imasurable destruction behind.
Aswa descended from the ruins, retrieving the city's golden emblem from the blood-soaked crater. The gathered players watched in stunned silence, no one daring to utter a single word. It was not until the system announcent declared the conquest of Gobi Wall that the silence was broken—only to be replaced by collective gasps as Aswa collapsed from exhaustion.
.....
"Whoa, this is!"
"Why the commotion? So of us are trying to finish designing King's Isle here. Do you know how much concentration this takes?"
"Look at this skill. Doesn't it seem familiar? It's just like the one that obliterated Longshan City's castle last year."
"Replay the footage. We might finally catch the culprit this ti."
"There it is. Gobi Wall. This ti, it's clear as day, and there are hundreds of witnesses. There's no way he can wriggle out of this."
"Then go inform the sanction team. I think they're issuing missions on ASEANA Island right now."
"Why don't you do it yourself? Contacting soone in-ga is a hassle!"
"Because I'm busy finishing this project. All seven pirate king heirs have erged, but the battleground isn't ready yet. Do you know how many sleepless nights I've had working on this!"
The young man rolled his eyes in mild irritation before leaving the control room to notify the GMs in charge of enforcing player penalties. The older woman in the room sat at her desk, letting out a soft sigh. She glanced at her progressing work on the computer screen, where an image of a massive island in the middle of the sea was displayed. Tirs counting down the completion of various in-ga resources filled the screen.
"Finally caught the troublemaker. This is going to be fun. He escaped punishnt last ti, leaving GM 010 fuming. But this ti, he's in for a brutal mission he didn't choose. Heh, heh, heh."
The woman murmured to herself, clearly amused.
.....
As night fell, Chang Long and Siegfried returned to their human forms once again. This ti, however, they both sprouted ears and tails. They exchanged amused glances before sitting by the riverbank while their pets lounged nearby. Siegfried turned to the woman beside him, his expression hinting at an unspoken question.
"What is it?"
Chang Long asked with a smile.
"Huh?"
Siegfried looked puzzled, unsure of what she ant.
"You were about to say sothing, weren't you?"
Chang Long prompted.
"Oh, well... I was just wondering if you still wanted to go for a swim. Now that we're back to our original forms, even with these extra ears and tails, it might be a good ti."
Siegfried responded bashfully, wondering if Chang Long might have lost interest in playing in the water with him by now.
"You're right. Why don't we go for a swim?"
Chang Long said with a bright smile. She stood up, offering her hand to him cheerfully. Siegfried smiled in return, took her hand, and together they waded into the shallow stream that reached their knees, laughing and splashing around as they played in the water.
On the riverbank, a group of players camping nearby noticed two strange figures—humanoid in shape but with dog-like and cat-like ears and tails. They began calling their friends over to observe, discussing excitedly what these creatures could be. After so heated debate, they seed to reach a conclusion.
"From my experience hunting beasts, those must be beast kings!"
declared one male player with great conviction.
"Why are you so sure?"
asked a female player, her inexperience in hunting leaving her uncertain.
"Haven't you heard the rumors? It's said that beast kings and above can transform into humans, but not completely. They retain so animal features, like ears or tails, to help players distinguish them from real humans,"
the male player explained.
"How can you be so sure with just that information? There are plenty of players who cosplay as animals. What if those two are just players in costu?"
the female player countered.
"No one cosplays outside the city. Those outfits have no combat stats. Anyone venturing out dressed like that would be dead before they even leave city gates,"
another male player interjected.
"But that rumor you ntioned is just that—a rumor. How many people have actually seen a beast king transform into a human? And those who own beast kings are extrely rare. We don't even know their transformation capabilities or limitations."
the female player pressed worrily.
"Ugh, if you're so curious, why don't we just go over and check? Who knows, we might be the first to witness a beast king transformation,"
the first male player suggested excitedly. He stood up in an attempt to abruptly end their conversation, ready to investigate if what he saw was really beast kings.
"Wait. If they really are beast kings, how are we supposed to fight them? They're not exactly weaklings."
the female player protested. The male players hesitated, suddenly considering her words.
"She's right. If those two are beast kings, we're out of our league. One skill from them and we'd all be respawning."
"So what's the plan? Do we still want to find out?"
the second male player asked.
"Of course. Here's what we do: let's cause a commotion and wake everyone around here. They can act as distractions while we figure this out,"
the first male player proposed.
"That's awful. Those people have nothing to do with this,"
the female player exclaid, visibly disagreeing.
"Don't worry. We'll just shout that there's a beast king attack. That'll get everyone panicking and confuse those two. Let's get started!"
Without waiting for further objections, the first male player shouted at the top of his lungs, that beast kings are attacking. To make it more convincing, they unleashed skills onto the surrounding area, creating an illusion of chaos. Their plan worked; the nearby players, who had been peacefully resting, scrambled to pack up their belongings and fled in all directions, shouting and panicking at the supposed attack.
The commotion drew the attention of Chang Long and Siegfried, who had been playing in the water. They turned to see a group of high-level players rushing to hunt the cause of the commotion. These players had been lured by false rumors of a beast king, fabricated by a scheming group. The approaching players, though clearly anxious, tightened their grips on their weapons as they surrounded the pair.
"What's going on?"
Chang Long whispered, confused about why they were being cornered. Her question was soon answered when one player shouted at them,
"There they are. Those two are the beast kings. They're disguising themselves as humans!"
Chang Long and Siegfried froze, their mouths agape, as the surrounding players murmured in astonishnt.
"Wait, we're not..."
"It talks. We have to catch it and make it a pet!"
another player interrupted, ignoring Siegfried's attempt to explain. The group had already succumbed to greed and excitent, their sights set on capturing the supposed beast kings.
With wide eyes, Chang Long and Siegfried exchanged a glance before clutching each other's hands and running for their lives. They were utterly baffled by the situation. How had the players mistaken them for beast kings? As Chang Long considered the cause, her gaze fell on her own cat ears and tail, then on Siegfried's canine features. Perhaps those were the reasons for the misunderstanding. However, they should have realized that the system did not issue an alert. But she also realized the players' judgnt might be clouded by their desire for a rare capture for themselves among many competitors.
"What do we do? If we fight back, will I get another penalty?"
Chang Long asked, glancing at Siegfried.
"Probably not. Killing another player isn't considered a cri unless they report it, and even then, they're the aggressors in this case."
BOOM!
Before they could plan their next move, a player launched an attack spell. The force of the explosion caught Chang Long and Siegfried off guard, sending them flying several ters. Chang Long's head struck the rocky riverbank, and she struggled to rise, her vision blurred and her head throbbing. She croaked, calling for Seigfried and scanned the area with her blurry vision, searching for him.
Instead, her eyes locked onto sothing unusual—a small glowing object among the river stones. It was no bigger than the tip of her pinky finger, emitting a soft, ethereal glow amidst the pebbles. Entranced, Chang Long reached out and grasped it. A system notification sounded in her ears:
"Player Chang Long has found a fragnt of Estania's tear crystal. Piece #3, letter T."
"Get up, missy!"
Devi-chan's voice snapped Chang Long out of her daze. She realized the spirits and her pets had arrived just in ti to shield her and Siegfried from the players' relentless pursuit.
The players chasing them stopped in their tracks upon seeing the newcors who halted their hunt. The nacing expressions of Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Heaven made them hesitate, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
"Who are you? Why are you interfering?"
one of the players shouted.
"Get lost, unless you want to die,"
Devi-chan growled. His challenging tone ignited the defiance of several players. Instead of backing down, they glared at him, ready to attack at any mont.
"Heh! Think you're tough? Let's see how strong you really are,"
one of the players retorted, stepping forward aggressively. Devi-chan glanced at Chang Long, who nodded in agreent. She activated her skill.
"Spirit Realm."
In an instant, the translucent forms of Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Heaven solidified into fully fleshed figures. Without further ado, they unsheathed their weapons and launched a fierce counterattack. The speed and ferocity of their strikes caught the players off guard. Those of lower levels faltered, retreating in panic as the spirits' overwhelming power beca clear. Even the massive werewolf, though it did not attack, snarled threateningly, further unsettling the group.
"Brownie, over here," Chang Long called to the little mouse perched on Kitsune's back. He leapt into the river and swam toward her.
"Yes, master,"
Brownie replied.
"Look at this. Can you and the others search for more like this? I think they might be scattered along this river. I want you to collect every single piece you can find. Take Kitsune, Flatear, and Lycanth with you for assistance. I can't leave the battle area, or my skill will automatically cancel."
Chang Long said, holding up the fragnt of Estania's tear crystal. Brownie took the fragnt from Chang Long, nodding before swimming back to Kitsune and Flatear, who were standing nearby. Kitsune barked to call Lycanth, and Siegfried gave a nod, signaling it was okay to go. anwhile, Siegfried approached Chang Long, concerned about her condition. Her head was still spinning. The pets began their search along the riverbank to find more fragnts. Behind them, the battle raged on fiercely.
Siegfried examined Chang Long. Seeing a large bruise on her forehead, he quickly applied ointnt with care. The players, overwheld by the sheer power of Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Heaven, eventually chose to retreat. They knew staying any longer would only lead to their defeat and a drop in level, a cost far greater than the potential reward. Once the players had left, Chang Long deactivated her Spirit Realm skill, and the spirits' forms began to fade.
"How are you feeling, missy?"
Devi-chan asked, sheathing his sword.
"I'll be fine. We should keep looking for more fragnts.
We don't know where they all are and might need to search until morning," Chang Long replied as she slowly got to her feet. The group nodded in agreent and spread out to continue their search.
They scoured the riverbank under the cover of darkness, examining every boulder, gravel patch, and bush nearby. By 3 AM, everyone reconvened with a sizable pile of glowing fragnts in tow.
"What is this? You said there were only seven pieces. So why is there so much of this stuff?"
Devi-chan exclaid in astonishnt. The pile of radiant gravel before them was far larger than anyone had anticipated. Could they truly all be fragnts of Estania's tear crystal!
-----
Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at sjinovel/en
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