Chapter 524: The Nine Lost Dragon Domains (1/2)

The moment I appeared in Dark Moon City, I heard a melodious ring—

Ding~!

System Notice: All players, please be informed that a scout party of the human alliance has discovered a region filled with power energy at the far reaches of the Dragonbone Mountain Range. The magi speculate that it’s a sign of the power of the World Tree waning, and the powers of hell growing restless. A tectonic shift has brought the ancient Dragon Domain to light once more, and the soldiers of the Silver Moon Alliance are surrounding it. The new map called “Nine Lost Dragon Domains” will be spawning in the China server in 57 minutes. The domain filled with mysterious energy awaits the adventurers that will brave its dangers!

……

Nine Lost Dragon Domains?

I took a moment to check the official website and found that information regarding this new map had already been revealed. Nine Lost Dragon Domains was a large-sized map that was split into nine connected areas. Each domain contained a giant dragon that had been slumbering for tens or even hundreds of millennia, and because they were completely isolated from the world, the only thing they knew upon waking was murder. The players could kill these bosses and collect 9 Divine Dragon Scales to receive a handsome reward.

I opened the map and set my destination marker to Nine Lost Dragon Domains. It was a bit far away from Dark Moon City, but I could definitely reach it in an hour. I was glad I wouldn’t miss the opening.

I hid my ID and took off with the Heaven-stealing Sword in my hand.

As I ran across the forest flora at top speed, I discovered many Sky City players traveling in the same direction as I was. They were obviously gunning for Nine Lost Dragon Domains, but they seemed unaware that the map’s recommended level was 100 or above. At least 50% of the participants were unqualified to challenge the new map.

I reached the blood red zone about forty minutes later. The area was jampacked with players, and columns of cavalry NPCs could be seen patrolling all over the place. Also, the soldiers of Silver Moon Alliance had the area completely surrounded. It looked like even Karinshan was wary of this Nine Lost Dragon Domains.

I couldn’t see the map clearly because it was hidden behind a blood-red fog. The zone was also blood-red on the minimap, signifying its danger for the average players. That wasn’t a problem for me, however. I far preferred my mobs to be high-level and challenging than otherwise.

……

Amused by his monologue, I walked up to him and asked, “How do I enter Nine Lost Dragon Domains?”

The NPC shot me a glance before his gaze was attracted by the Sky City emblem on my shoulder. He opened his mouth and said, “Why… Why do I feel like I’ve seen you before? Ah, forget it. Anyway, you need to find an entrance to enter Nine Lost Dragon Domains, and the closest one from here is about one kilometer away to the west. You can’t miss it because it’s guarded by countless soldiers.”

I nodded in thanks. NPCs were pretty good at giving directions at least.

I ran toward the entrance the NPC pointed me to, and it wasn’t long before I found a small valley that was filled with challengers. The Nine Lost Dragon Domains were a huge maze of sorts, and no matter which entrance you chose, you would always arrive at Wood Dragon Domain first. Players must then find the next entrance somewhere inside the Wood Dragon Domain to travel to the next zone. There could be some convoluted obstacle we needed to overcome before we could access the entrance, but there was no telling what it was until we saw it for ourselves.

“Lu Chen, over here!”

It was He Yi calling out to me on the Snow Domain Windchaser. She was pretty eye-catching even if the crowd hadn’t parted in front of her. When I got close to them, I saw Beiming Xue, Murong Mingyue, Chaos Moon and many more familiar faces.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yep!” He Yi nodded. “It’s ridiculous how many people are planning to enter Nine Lost Dragon Domains isn’t it? It’s probably because of that rumor about collecting all nine dragon scales to exchange for godlike equipment from Princess Karinshan. I wonder if it’s actually true…”

I smiled. “It’s probably just a rumor, and an exaggerated one at that. I’m definitely looking forward to the experience and loot we’re going to get though.”

Gui Guzi walked over with his spear. “Of course. However, Nine Lost Dragon Domains refreshes once per week and a player can only enter the map once during this time, meaning that all is lost if you are killed inside…”

He Yi smiled. “That’s why we need to stick together and avoid getting separated. Otherwise, it’s entirely possible for the enemy forces to defeat us one by one.”

I looked around for a bit before asking, “I think we’re missing Xu Yang, Li Chengfeng, and High Fighting Spirits.”

“Don’t worry, they’re coming soon. We’ll head in after everyone has arrived!”

“Okay!”

I voiced out my ambition, “Some of the giant dragons in this Nine Lost Dragon Domains have to be Earth Rank or above, right? I can’t wait to fight them and get a second Earth-grade equipment!”

Beiming Xue giggled. “Cool your horses, big bro. We’ll be lucky to kill three or more bosses considering that every expert in China is vying for this map. Besides, there’s almost no chance anyone is going to collect all nine dragon scales by force. It’s much more likely that the dragon scales will be split between the bigger guilds, and those who want to collect them all must spend an exorbitant amount of money to buy them…”

I nodded. “You’re absolutely correct.”

It was at this moment Li Chengfeng, High Fighting Spirits, and Xu Yang finally showed up. Almost a thousand of us were gathered at this entrance, and everyone was an elite of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls.

In total, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had dispatched almost three thousand players to this place. For other guilds, their total player count was only higher. Forget killing mobs, I was actually worried that the map wasn’t big enough to fit all of us, and that we would have to tread on literal bodies when we were inside.

……

Time passed bit by bit. Everyone was staring at the timer on the UI and waiting for 9 am to arrive.

Finally, a crisp ring entered everyone’s ears, and the fog before us suddenly condensed into a gigantic red door. When it creaked open on its own, a terrible stench washed over us like a whirlwind, stunning everyone for a second.

The first floor of Nine Lost Dragon Domains was the Wood Dragon Domain. Players would be descending further and further into the underground as they moved past the floors. As of now, no one had a clue where the entrance to the next floor was, but as long as we stayed alive, it was only a matter of time before we found it. There were almost 20 entrances all over the place, so the players’ restlessness had lessened a little.