Chapter 271: Explosion Necklace (1/2)
I rose to my feet while cupping the Frost Snowball’s petals in my hands. ”Alright, let’s go grab our reward!”
Everyone crushed a return scroll and teleported back to Floating Ice City’s square immediately. Before we set off, we repaired our equipment and restocked our potions just in case someone tried to PK us on our way. Then, we moved out of the city and ran toward the Blood Dance Legion’s camp.
About half an hour later, we arrived at the edge of Eternal Song Forest.
He Yi seemed a bit hesitant as she stared at the imposing undead structures just ahead of us. Gripping the Abyssal Sword, she asked, ”Hey, can anyone tell me if it’s safe to enter that encampment? We are players of the human faction, right?”
Lin Yixin nodded. ”That’s true. Let’s keep an eye out. It’d be humiliating if we got killed because we didn’t consider something so simple!”
I let out an involuntary laugh. ”Relax, no one would touch a hair on all of you while I’m around.”
He Yi curled her lips before saying, ”Why do I feel like your phrasing is quite strange?”
Suddenly, Lin Yixin pointed a finger at NPC camp and said, ”Look, an NPC cavalry is heading our way!”
It was none other than the Shadow Dance Elite Cavalry under Xue Wei. If there was one thing I was certain about these powerful undead knights, it was that they would be of great help to the Violet Empire when the latter was formally established once more. I highly doubted that we would be able to do anything if they decided to attack us.
Clang!
I pulled out the Purgatory Sword and ran forward to meet them. The Skydusk Cloak flapped behind me as I charged myself with imposing air.
……
When the cavalry saw me, some of them immediately got off their horses and greeted me respectfully, ”You’re back, my lord! Princess Sophia and Lord Xue Wei are all waiting for you. Please seek them out with your companions as quickly as possible. Lady Wind Singer’s injuries are getting worse and worse as we speak!”
”Mn!”
I nodded at him before calling out to the girls. ”Quickly!”
”Alright!”
We were able to enter the camp safely with the elite cavalry leading at the front. A large group of undead was surrounding the commander’s tent including Sophia and Xue Wei.
I walked up to them and found Xinran floating above the ground. She seemed to be supported by the light shining from the overlapping magical formations beneath her body. It looked like the great witch doctor had erected them to extend Xinran’s life as much as possible.
”Have you completed your mission, young warrior?” the great witch doctor asked shakily after he saw me.
I immediately took out the Frost Snowball from my bag and passed it to him. ”Is this what you were looking for?”
”Mn!”
Princess Sophia nodded gladly. ”This is a joyous occasion indeed. Thank you for completing a near-impossible quest, warrior. Come and receive the reward you deserve! May the glory of the undead be with you always!”
Ding~!
System Notice: Congratulations, you have completed the quest [Frost Snowball]. You have gained 240000 EXP, 4000 gold, 4500 Reputation and the quest reward: ”Explosion Necklace”!
……
Huh? There’s an equipment reward?!
Pleasantly surprised, I opened my bag and found a dark gold necklace lying inside it. Heavens, my luck today really was extraordinary. I wasn’t expecting to get a Dark Gold–grade equipment as a quest reward!
I checked its stats and wasn’t disappointed. It was a Dark Gold–grade necklace!
Explosion Necklace (Dark Gold–grade)
Strength: +54
Stamina: +48
Tactics: +12
Passive: Increases user’s Defense by 7%
Level Requirement: 85
……
My eyes grew as wide as saucers. I thought I was pretty lucky to get a Dark Gold–grade necklace already, but these stats were even better than what I imagined initially!
Not only did it give a lot of stat points, it also boosted the wearer’s Defense by 7% and Tactics by 12. No warrior could do without Tactics if they desired to become a mighty Famous General!
Since ancient times, which famous general wasn’t a master of the pen and the sword?
Xiang Yu’s martial prowess was unparalleled during his time, and the tactical skills he displayed during the Battle of Julu were so famous that it formed the Chinese idiom we knew today as ”break the cauldrons and sink the boats”. Zhao Yun was a powerful general who could fight his way in and out of an army single-handedly, and he was also smart enough to devise strategies that won him every battle he fought. Four times Yue Fei led offensives into northern China, and each time he was successful due to his martial and tactical prowess. No famous general who had their names immortalized in the annals of history was a slouch.
It was no different inside a game. No amount of good equipment and level could help you if you couldn’t strategize to save your life. Long story short, Tactics was very important the further you got into the game. Whether a player could become a commander of multiple armies depended heavily on how much Tactics they had.
The higher one’s Tactics stat was, the stronger their General Skills would be. During the late game, high-level players could form a hundred-man party or even a thousand-man party. If you had a couple hundred Tactics points, a high-level Encourage could easily double or even triple your party’s offensive power. It was powerful to say the least!
I switched out the Silver-grade Chaos Necklace I had been wearing and equipped the Explosion Necklace. My stats immediately rose drastically.
ID: Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand
Class: Undead Swordsman (Silver Swordsman)
Level: 85
HP: 5060
Attack: 727~1315
Defense: 1325
Magic Resist: 1175
Reputation: 50350
Tactics: 54