Chapter 132: The Great Battle in Listening Wind City (II)

Oysis sped rapidly through the sky, crossing one monster zone after another. Having gained three levels, within the entire map of Listening Wind City, aside from the monsters inside the 20th-level regular dungeon, there was no longer a single monster higher in level than it.

Advancing all the way, roaring all the way, there were plenty of flying monsters in the sky, yet not a single one dared to approach.

The little loli, Ye Anya, hugged Zhao Nan tightly from behind, burying her head against his back. Such flying speed made it difficult for her to even keep her eyes open, and her snowy white long hair was whipped straight by the fierce wind.

With Zhao Nan in front, his eyes narrowed slightly, he had completely calmed down by now.

The sudden encounter with an overwhelmingly powerful enemy—even the city lord's overpowered ability, the Heavenly Punishment Thunder, had only managed to take off a small fraction of Earl Rose's health—had thrown him into utter panic due to its terrifying might.

It was just that the opponent's speed was simply too fast, making it difficult to respond in time. Even worse, after Finina transformed into having black hair, apart from being able to view her basic attributes, when Earl Rose snatched her away, she could not be recalled back into the pet space.

Normally, pets could be recalled, whether beast-type or humanoid pets. Unless the relationship between them was fundamentally not that of a pet and its master, such a situation would not occur.

Yet having encountered this, Zhao Nan had never heard of it, and at the moment, he was completely clueless. Thus, he could only watch helplessly as Finina was taken away.

Fortunately, Ye Anya's music had helped him regain his composure, allowing him to sort through the ins and outs of the matter properly.

"Zhao Nan, oh Zhao Nan, you are still not mature enough... In a situation like this, it is not entirely without a solution."

His gaze gradually grew resolute. Oysis seemed to sense its master's mood, flapping its wings with even greater frequency, and its speed increased by a few more notches.

Layers of clouds and mist intertwined. The sky dragon suddenly plummeted, and Ye Anya on its back instinctively gripped Zhao Nan even tighter with both hands. Then, the sensation of rapid descent vanished abruptly. With a light feeling in her body, Ye Anya was held and landed on the ground.

"You weren't frightened, were you?" Zhao Nan asked apologetically.

Lowering her head, Ye Anya wrote: "This concubine is fine."

Still using such a bizarre self-appellation, Zhao Nan paid it no mind. He gently stroked the top of Ye Anya's head and looked ahead, saying, "Let's go. Prepare to teleport into the city."

Ahead lay the village through which Zhao Nan had teleported to Listening Wind City when he first arrived.

Oysis's ability to fly also belonged to the category of skills, and within a safe zone, flying was likewise restricted. Otherwise, Zhao Nan would have chosen to land directly on the village's teleportation point rather than at the village entrance.

Taking a few steps forward, just as he was about to enter the village's safe zone, a hundred-odd players suddenly walked out uniformly from ahead, each of them gripping their weapons tightly with a menacing aura, blocking his path forward.

This was clearly not part of some quest.

That aggressive momentum was unmistakably directed at Zhao Nan.

These hundred-odd players blocked the entire village entrance layer by layer. Zhao Nan could not help but shout in a low voice, "Get out of the way!"

"Zhao Nan, there is a matter we need you to explain!" Among the front circle of players, a mage hurriedly spoke in a loud voice, unable to conceal the anger on his face.

"I have no time. Whatever the matter is, we'll talk about it later," Zhao Nan frowned and said, "Let's talk after returning to the city."

"Hmph, you're the city lord. Once you enter the city, you can mobilize the city guards; what more is there to say?" Another tall warrior immediately said with disdain, "We won't give you the chance to go back!"

"Move aside!"

Yet no one yielded. Zhao Nan shouted again, "How have I ever offended any of you?"

The mage sneered, "Murderer! That's enough!"

With that, the mage suddenly pulled a crystal out from his bosom and tossed it onto the ground. The crystal emitted a sheet of light membrane upon which figures flickered. It vividly recorded the scene from not long ago where Zhao Nan and Finina successively executed Huang Kun and his eight companions. Furthermore, it also recorded the scene of Zhao Nan collecting the other party's bracelets after their deaths.

However, this footage only showed the latter half of the killing, omitting the preceding sequence where Huang Kun and his eight companions initiated the siege and blockade.

Zhao Nan's first reaction was that someone must have been hiding nearby at the time. Moreover, judging by the clarity of the footage, the distance was quite far, which was why the video captured only images without sound. Zhao Nan thought to himself: It seems I really was plotted against... And it is a succession of schemes, designed to drive me to my death.

Since the process of the murder had been recorded by someone with ulterior motives, it was hardly strange that these people had been instigated to come seeking revenge.

These people were presumably close affiliates from Huang Kun and his eight companions' original guild.

"What else do you have to say?"

The mage shouted coldly with grief and indignation, "Just because you are the city lord, because you saved Listening Wind City, does that mean you can kill people at will? You established the Listening Wind City prison, recruited a patrol squad inside the city, and prohibited malicious PK, yet outside the city, you engage in malicious murder and loot-grabbing! You are simply out of your mind!"

Judging from the recorded footage, it indeed looked precisely like a plot of murder and robbery.

Zhao Nan remained silent. At this moment, words failed him, and he could not be bothered to explain the details, as there were more urgent matters waiting for him to handle in his heart.

Zhao Nan let out a sigh and tried to make himself appear calm as he said, "I'll say it once more: whatever the matter is, we'll discuss it after returning to the city, and I will give you an explanation later. Now, do not block my path."

The warrior roared, "He wants to escape! Don't waste your breath with him—a life for a life! Kill him to avenge Boss Huang!"

"Kill—!"

"Avenge them—!"

"Charge!"

Zhao Nan was already feeling vexed, having barely calmed down along the way, and now, caught in someone else's scheme, an unnamed fire of anger surged up from within his heart.

Facing the skill attacks simultaneously initiated by dozens of ranged classes among the hundred-odd people, Zhao Nan swung his staff to release two crystal-ice walls to buy a brief moment of obstruction, then suddenly shouted, "Oysis!"

Roar—!

A dragon's roar shook even the water inside a well at the village entrance into ripples. Under the influence of 'Dragon's Might,' the attacks of these hundred players paused simultaneously.

At that very instant, a stream of grey mist spewed from the Soul-Devouring Staff, enveloping a radius of fifty meters entirely!

Soul Roar!

Against this pure mental attack skill, very few people were capable of resisting. Everyone's heads felt as though they were about to split apart, and several sage-class players hastily gritted their teeth, preparing to release skills that would clear negative statuses.

Under normal circumstances, sages possessed a higher resistance to mental attacks than other ordinary classes. But just as those sages began to cast their skills, a terrifying thing happened to them!

The skills were unexpectedly prohibited from being used at that moment.

"Ding... Affected by freezing, you are in a skill silence state, and your speed is reduced by two hundred percent!"

With great difficulty, everyone forced their eyes open to look, only to find that after the grey mist dissipated, the surrounding area had drastically turned into a deep shade of azure...

Maintaining the Ice Domain with one hand, Zhao Nan shouted angrily, "Get lost!"

With his other hand, he pointed the Soul-Devouring Staff toward the sky, causing two massive magic arrays to appear as terrifying fireballs plummeted!

The hundred-odd players were unable to use their skills and could only rely purely on their own defense to withstand the attacks of these fireballs. What was even worse was that their speeds had all been reduced by two hundred percent!

Wailing collectively, being hit by fireballs in the chest or arms was tolerable enough, but taking direct hits to the face or groin was no laughing matter!

The Meteor Fire Rain lasted for a relatively long time, but the Ice Domain consumed 500 mana points every single second. Even with the Source of Mana, he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

Zhao Nan snorted coldly, pulling Ye Anya with one hand while halting the Ice Domain. Taking advantage of the fact that the Meteor Fire Rain's effect had not yet dissipated and while everyone was hastily casting skills to either defend or dodge, he unleashed a whirlwind to propel himself up into the sky, gripping Oysis's claw with one hand.

Then, swinging his body with a momentum toss, he vaulted past the blockade of the crowd and landed on the edge of the village.

Without even glancing at the hundred-odd players who were just coming to their senses, he strode at a run toward the village's teleportation point.

Although there were many people blocking him, if he was determined to kill them, it was only a matter of time. However, this was clearly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. If he really went on a killing spree, he would be playing right into the hands of the mastermind.

At this moment, having let someone easily escape despite a blockade of a hundred people, none of their expressions looked particularly pleasant.

"Let's give chase! Even if he escaped back into the city, he still committed murder after all, and we have evidence. We won't let him deny it!"

"Right, let's enter the city and gather more people! No matter how powerful he is, can he really turn the world upside down?"

"Let's go!"

"We can also notify others inside the city via mail in the meantime!"

"Good!"

After exchanging a few words, the hundred-odd people hurriedly rushed to the teleportation point and teleported back one by one.

Until the very last person left, the teleportation point grew quiet and normal once more. This place was naturally remote to begin with, and not many players teleported from Listening Wind City.

However, after a short while, a figure draped in a black cloak covering their face was seen walking slowly into the teleportation point, activating the teleport crystal.

"Individual strength exceeds expectations... Zhao Nan. I originally planned to stall him for a bit longer... He seems to be in a rush about something... Finina is also gone... Strange."

Shortly after, the teleport crystal flashed with light, and the black-robed person directly teleported away as well.

...

Inside the plaza of Listening Wind City, a teleport crystal flared brightly as Zhao Nan pulled Ye Anya's small hand and stepped out.

Many people were currently using the teleport in the plaza, and someone spotted Zhao Nan, calling out cheerfully, "Hi! Where is the City Lord going?"

"Whoa, where did this pretty little girl come from?" Someone immediately joked.

Ye Anya's face flushed red, but the person holding her palm seemed completely oblivious, walking briskly out of the plaza.

Amidst their rapid advance, Ye Anya held her small notebook up right before Zhao Nan's eyes.

"Where are we going??"

"The temple."

Zhao Nan's reply was as brief as Ye Anya's question.