Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Mage Who Rode the Dragon (Part One)

The most powerful individual in Dongyuan City...

Duan Tianlang frowned deeply, his heart stirred. "‘The End of the World’..."

This guild had always been shrouded in mystery, with very few ever having contact with them. It was rumored that their members never wore the guild’s insignia, and that there were only a handful of them... Yet, these few were the first to conquer the level 10 standard dungeon.

Duan Tianlang strained to recall everything he knew about "The End of the World." He had joined the "Guardian Knights" guild quite some time ago, but had spent most of his time leveling up in the level 10 standard dungeon and hadn’t paid much attention to matters outside.

His rise to the position of guild leader of the "Guardian Knights" was only possible after the news of Nanyang Sheng’s death. Thanks to the popularity he amassed by leading parties through the dungeon time and again, he was pushed into the role.

During the mutated dungeon run, Nanyang Sheng died, and only one person survived.

According to this survivor, it was Ximen Yu from "Purgatory" who had killed several of his companions, and even Nanyang Sheng might have fallen by Ximen Yu’s hand. Of course, members of "The End of the World" guild were also present at the time, so they were also suspects.

After the dungeon ended, the "Guardian Knights" gathered a large number of members to confront "Purgatory."

Faced with their accusations, Ximen Yu simply stated that he wished the accuser would step forward and face him directly.

But suddenly, the accuser vanished—he not only left the guild but stopped responding to any messages. Apart from being certain he was still alive, there was no way to find him.

Thus, the incident fizzled out. However, the discord between "Guardian Knights" and "Purgatory" only deepened. It wasn’t until the current monster siege that Duan Tianlang sought out Ximen Yu, and under the pressure of the monsters, proposed a temporary alliance.

"That mage, or was it the swordsman?"

Duan Tianlang knew quite a bit about the city’s first mid-tier guild, which boasted both a terrifying mage and a swordsman of unfathomable skill. He had seen, with his own eyes, these two almost single-handedly wipe out two full regiments of "Blood Shadow" in the dungeon!

He had also spotted Zhao Nan at the time, but bowed his head slightly to avoid drawing attention.

...

Ximen Yu shook his head and replied quietly, "At this stage, I don’t think anyone can match that mage... Of course, I mean in a one-on-one fight. But as for who’s stronger between the mage and the swordsman, that’s harder to say."

Duan Tianlang’s expression froze. Ximen Yu’s words seemed contradictory—what did it mean to be the strongest? Shouldn’t the strongest be without equal?

As if sensing Duan Tianlang’s confusion, Ximen Yu chuckled softly. "They’re lovers."

Lovers...

Duan Tianlang fell silent at once. He knew Ximen Yu was teasing him, but now wasn’t the time to argue. He hurriedly asked, "So, you trust him... I mean, them, that much?"

"I only believe what I’ve witnessed myself..." Ximen Yu swung his staff.

A massive net of lightning rose from the ground, enveloping the monsters in the sky above. He spoke in a deep voice, "And I believe all the more that the greater the risk, the greater the reward."

"Let’s just hope you don’t fall to your death," Duan Tianlang sneered.

Though he sneered, there was no real contempt. To stake everything on another’s word in such circumstances took enormous courage. Ximen Yu was no fool—otherwise, "Purgatory" wouldn’t have become the largest guild in Dongyuan City.

"A bet’s a bet... let it be my way of repaying a favor," Duan Tianlang sighed, gritting his teeth as he launched another all-out assault.

He still remembered the face of the man he’d met leaving Haidien’s Armory. It was thanks to the information from that man that he’d acquired a hidden class...

...

Though it was called a sewer, after the great catastrophe, its structure was nothing like before. The tunnels were no longer narrow; they had become broad and spacious. Zhao Nan had arrived at the destination, directly beneath the entrance to the city wall.

Because he could ride Eurysis, the longest route naturally fell to him.

"Zhao Nan, we’ve arrived!"

Soon, Gao Mingyang’s voice came through the channel.

"Fenina? Xu Feng, what about you two?" Zhao Nan asked quickly.

"Almost there... I can already see the place you mentioned!" Fenina replied.

"Hmm... Just got in position," Xu Feng reported.

"Good, begin the assault—use your ultimates," Zhao Nan commanded in a steady voice. "Remember, there’s no law here. No one will charge you with destruction of city property!"

With that, he tapped the Sighing Staff to the ceiling above, and two massive dragon heads of flame roared out, crashing fiercely into the rocky vault. The tremendous noise echoed through the tunnels, thunderous and terrifying to any who might have heard it!

Bringing down the city walls—this was a tactic Dongyuan’s players had devised during the second monster siege in history.

After surviving the first siege, the players of Dongyuan City realized that even within the safety zone, death was never far away. They began to understand a crucial point: if the city was to remain a haven, it needed to be properly defended.

Flames raged, and the ground trembled in response.

Above, the city walls at Dongyuan’s four massive gates began to shake strangely. The giant stones, sturdy enough to withstand the sharpest monster claws, now crashed down one by one. The monsters continued to surge forward, oblivious, as if relishing this rare chance to besiege the city—stones or not, they pressed on undeterred.

Boom—boom—boom.

One stone, then dozens, then hundreds fell, soon blocking the passage completely... The monsters that had already entered didn’t look back, or they would have noticed: the tidal wave of monsters behind them had been cut off!

"We did it!"

"Mission accomplished!"

"OK!"

Voices rang out in "The End of the World" guild channel. Zhao Nan had already emerged aboveground and, seeing the blocked city wall, let out a sigh of relief.

He glanced at the time—5:15. There were still forty-five minutes until the end of the siege.

He raised his left hand to his ear and, after a moment, asked quietly, "What’s the situation now?"

"Soul Crystal’s HP has dropped below 2,000..." Ximen Yu’s voice was as calm as ever, just stating the facts.

They’d already spoken once via telepathy.

"With the four entrances cut off, the pressure should ease."

"Only forty-five minutes left," Ximen Yu said after a brief silence, his voice slightly raised.

Zhao Nan could hear, on the other end, the intense sounds of battle and the shrieks of monsters. He exhaled and said, "Understood... I’ll head over soon."

"Truthfully, you alone won’t make much difference," Ximen Yu said wryly. "Even with all our people, there’s only so much we can do."

"Whether we succeed or not, we’ll only know by trying."

Zhao Nan ended the telepathic call, furrowed his brow, and patted Eurysis lightly. The sky dragon obediently lowered itself.

"Everyone, I’ll go ahead. Hurry through the sewers and join me as soon as you can!"

...

...

"This won’t do, we’ve spent too much."

"We... We can’t hold out any longer! The Soul Crystal’s HP is almost gone!"

"Fifteen hundred, fourteen hundred! Down a hundred points in a minute!"

"The flying monsters are increasing..."

"We... I don’t want to die!"

"God..."

"There is no god! You idiot, if you don’t want to die, stand up!"

"I can’t... I don’t have any strength left! I can only..."

"Run for it..."

Run... but where could they run? Only by gathering everyone together would there be a slim chance of breaking through the monsters’ siege.

Some could go no farther, their healing potions depleted, their bodies covered in wounds. With no healer among them, they could only collapse to the ground, staring in despair at the circling, swooping monsters above, silently awaiting the end.

Roar—!

At that moment, a mighty roar thundered from the sky.

A dense flock of flying monsters suddenly, over a small patch of sky, ceased their wingbeats in unison and plummeted straight down...

^^^^^^^^

PS: Chapter Two ends here...