Chapter 452 (1/2)

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I cautiously proceeded forward while stepping across the rocks on the valley floor. The map was displayed as red in my interface, meaning that the mobs here were considered dangerous for someone my level. Although my Defense and HP had increased drastically as of late, it would be embarra.s.sing to capsize in the gutter due to a moment of carelessness.

……

Beside me, the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf let out a low, angry growl and stared down a certain direction with its blood-red eyes.

Not long after, a black panther rushed into view and stared at me and the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf with greed. It had long teeth that were covered in saliva.

The Level 130 shadow-rank monster had incredibly high Attack. It also had a pa.s.sive that increased its attack speed by 40%, making it a highly-offensive with ridiculous DPS.

But the only thing the panther's sudden appearance elicited in me was a smile. Level 130 shadow-rank mobs were nothing to me now.

I locked onto it and activated Thunderous Charge!

Whoos.h.!.+

I blitzed toward the mob like a lightning arrow, leaving behind lightning afterimages along my path. Once the black panther was stunned, all it could do was stare at me with its black eyes and growl.

I executed War Crush and Desperate Gambit at the same time. The mob couldn't dodge my skill while it was stunned, so of course War Crush and Desperate Gambit was the most damaging combo I could dish out.

6465!

6123!

6092!

8974!

The somewhat fragile black panther lost nearly thirty thousand HP in one go, not to mention that the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf hadn't been idle all this time. Not even a shadow-rank mob could withstand this level of attack.

Five seconds pa.s.sed, and the black panther finally got to unleash its first attack. However, I easily defended against it with Guard before ravaging it again. Together with the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf, I killed the Level 130 shadow-rank mob almost without taking any damage at all!

”Roar roar roar…”

The black panther let out a death groan and collapsed to the ground. It didn't drop any item. After stripping it of its skin and stuffing it into my bag, the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf and I continued forward.

I didn't have to walk far before I noticed a simple camp fortified by rocks at the valley entrance. It didn't look like it was made by a beastman, and there was an azure banner with a Chinese redbud on it hanging in front of the camp. I recognized the symbol immediately. That's the banner of Floating Ice City!

Pleasantly surprised, I walked into the camp and saw seven or eight human NPC soldiers. The leader of the group wielded a sword and was staring at the deeper parts of the valley, sighing. ”G.o.ddammit, we missed our best attack opportunity because the bad weather wouldn't let up for an entire week. How are we going to report this to Lady Ziyan without the beast horns we were tasked to collect?”

Ziyan? That was another familiar name. If I remembered correctly, Ziyan was the corps commander of Princess Karinshan's Frost Army and a beautiful woman. This also meant that the NPCs before me were soldiers of the Frost Army.

Even a person with poor senses could see that this was clearly a quest. I consciously moved closer to the NPCs and showed them the Sky City emblem on my shoulder, saying, ”My lord, I'm an adventurer from Sky City, and I once stayed at Floating Ice City for a time. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

”Oh?” The scout captain looked at me and said, ”Young warrior, as you may have noticed already, we are currently trapped in this place. The valley is filled with terrifying animals, especially those violent Fireblade Warhorses. Sigh, we were supposed to carry out Lady Ziyan's orders and gather the beast horns of 100 Fireblade Warhorses to create the Fireblade Sword, a sword with fire magic imbued in it. However, we quickly discovered that these monsters were exceptionally violent, wild and powerful. Despite our best efforts, we lost a dozen or so companions and had no choice but to garrison ourselves in this place.”

I patted my chest and declared confidently, ”Well, I'm here now. Just leave whatever tasks you need completed to me!”

”Very well, I will leave this dangerous quest in your hands, young warrior!” The scout captain patted my shoulders before saying seriously, ”Your task is simple. Head deeper into Fireblade Valley and find the Fireblade Warhorses. Kill them and get 100 Fireblade Warhorse Horns to me. Bring them back to me for a very generous reward!”

Ding~!

System Notice: Do you accept the quest ”Fireblade Warhorse Horn”? (Current Quest Rank: S)

Wow, it's an S Rank quest? I'm absolutely pumped now!

I accepted the quest and began to turn around. However, the scout captain wasn't done yet. ”Wait, warrior from distant lands. Before you go, I have a gift for you!”

”Oh? What is it, captain?”

The scout captain took out a cyan-colored, cylindrically-shaped gem from his pockets and pa.s.sed it to me. ”This is a Sealing Stone. If you encounter a Rare Fireblade Warhorse during your journey, try reducing its HP to 20% or below before using the Sealing Stone on it. Right now I'm in dire need of a high-level warhorse, so if you can bring me a Fireblade Warhorse I promise to grant you an even greater reward!”

Overjoyed, I grabbed the Sealing Stone without hesitation. It was because the item allowed me to tame a mount even if I wasn't a mounted player. I still couldn't equip it, but I could sell it for an exorbitant price. How wonderful was that?