Chapter 353: Slaying the Enemy's Chieftain
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Assassins excelled in stealth attacks. Emerging from their stealth mode, they would acquire an additional 30% damage over their initial damage output. With two weapons to wave around, they could also stun players of any professions, at similar levels and similar grade of equipment. As long as they weren’t dealing with tankers, no one else stood a chance against them!
But, when engaging in a boss battle, the attack speed of the secondary weapon was too rapid, resulting in the extremely small amount of damage output due to balancing algorithm of the game. The faster the attack rate of the weapon, the lower the damage output of the weapon. So, when they are attacking a boss with extremely high defense, they would basically be like ants trying to bite into the hide of an elephant! From this point of view, defense points would always nullify their attacking power, so they could only depend on superior equipment grades and excellent player skills, along with proper mana management to cover for this weakness.
This secondary weapon dagger [Snake’s Spur] actually had a special effect that ignores 500 defense points, prior to identification! At the current stage of the game, regular Violet-Platinum bosses had about 2,400 defense points, and after being smashed with 5 layers of {Cripple Defense}, they would be left with only approximately 1,200 defense points. With the special effect of this dagger, the defense points should be deducted further down by 600 points or so, leaving only 400 to 500 defense points on the bosses. This would definitely allow the wielder to unleash quite an astounding amount of damage!
This dagger was ideal!
"Humph, that ‘cold’ labeled one has the advantage, this time!" Han Ying Xue curled her lips as she threw the dagger over to Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang was wise enough to not get himself caught in the middle of a fight between two women, men usually die horribly when in such positions!
[Mask of the Shadowy Death] (Violet-Platinum, Leather Armor)
Defense: 48
Vitality: +564
Strength: +161
Agility: +378
Equip: Reduces the cool down time of {Take Aim} by 1 second.
{Unidentified}
Required Level: 80
Although leather armors could be used by both thief and hunter professions, the special effect clearly favored hunters. Of course, some rich ‘thieves’ would spend a fortune to get their hands on this equipment. The special effect aside, this fine piece of equipment would still be a Violet-Platinum equipment!
Zhang Yang kept the [Mask] into his backpack as well. He would leave the decision in the hands of those two hunters.
With the quest completed, the two of them retraced their steps, but the turbulence of the black river was streaming rapidly all the way down, making it impossible for them to go up the way they came down from. Feeling helpless, the both of them finally gave up and took out their [Teleportation Scrolls].
Zhang Yang was thinking of killing himself and directly reviving at the Graveyard. But once he thought about the possibility that he might end up in an unknown Graveyard, deep down the abyss, he decided against it. Who knows, if it really happens, then he would have died for nothing, and only bring more trouble to himself!
It was just a journey back to the White Jade Castle, and he had to at least identify the [Goblin's Head Lobber], if he intended to use it for battles in the future.
[Goblin’s Head Lobber] (Yellow-Gold, One-handed Axe)
Attack: 1,131 - 1,531
Attack Interval: 2.6 seconds
DPS: 512
{Level 2 Socket 1}
{Level 2 Socket 2}
Equip: increases critical rate by 2%.
Required Level: 80
After inserting [Gemstones] with the [Runestones] that he acquired from Han Ying Xue, Zhang Yang’s attack instantly rose to 2,577 - 2,977.
Then he made some fine repairs on his equipment before he teleported back to Thunderstorm Castle. He then summoned Whitey and headed towards the Grand Canyon of Eternal Night in a hustle.
It was another long journey that took about seven hours, before Zhang Yang finally arrived at the White Stone Peak. It had been a long while since he last visited this place, so the monsters on the mountain had respawned. Zhang Yang went up to the hillside and switched to his [Dark Enigmatic Sword], and then he cleared out all of the non-elite monsters along his way. After that, he activated {Dig} and went all the way up to the mountain and stood right before Kent.
He dug out his [Titan Chest Plate] out and shoved it over to Kent, "I have completed the quest!" He felt that he had already repeated this sentence many times over already.
Kent was filled with surprise while he received the [Titan Chest Plate] from Zhang Yang, and then he put his hands on the equipment and stroked it like his ‘precious’, revealing his obsession towards the relic. After a long while, he finally opened his mouth and said, "Young man, I’m impressed with your capability! Not only did you manage to recover the [Titan Chest Plate], you also managed to complete the quest in such short time! I can’t help but to be impressed by you!"
‘Ding! You have completed a quest: Recover the Titan Chest Plate, acquired 5,000,000 experience points! Quest rating: Perfect! The rating will be calculated into the final quest rewards!"
What the hell, the system was actually planning to keep the rewards from the players until they completed the entire quest? Why must the system learn from those crooked businessmen, trying to delay when it came to giving their ‘employees’ their salaries!
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Kent, we can now go get that sun of a beach, Kazalo, can’t we?"
"Yes, with this piece of [Titan Chest Plate], I shall be able to withstand against his [Star-Devourer], and we shall be able to finish him once and for all!" Kent was agitated with excitement, and he let out a trembling roar at the top on the mountain and said, "My brothers and sisters, it’s time to follow me on a heist that you have never seen before!"
"Roar!" all of the thieves in White Stone Peak shouted and roared in unity, their voices thunderous enough to pierce through the heavens!
"Let’s move out!" Kent turned to Zhang Yang, and then he summoned a battle horse with shiny armor all over its body. This battle horse was so much taller than the regular military horses. The moment it appeared, the continuous clopping of horseshoes against the ground and the heaving stream of air coming right out of it’s nose gave an intimidating presence. It almost seemed to be breathing flames
‘Ding! Kent Joseph has given you a quest: Slay the Chieftain of the enemy, accept or decline?’
What a handsome horse! If Wei Yan Er would ever have the chance of seeing it, that little girl would definitely abandon her own mount for this one!
Zhang Yang accepted the quest and quickly summoned Whitey.
[Slay the Chieftain of the enemy] (Difficulty: S-Rank)
Description: Kent Joseph has invited you to hunt down the ‘Cancer’ of the Grand Canyon of Eternal Night, Kazalo, and restore true peace to the people of the Grand Canyon of Eternal Night! Warrior, the time to boil your blood with justice and fight for a righteous cause, is now!
Completion: Slay Kazalo 0/1
With a long roar, Kent came down from the mountain on his horse at an extreme speed, just like a bolt of lightning. Without much effort, he reached the bottom of the mountain.
As Zhang Yang charged down from the mountain, he could see the thieves were already lining up in a position of a large formation! The formation was incredibly neat, at a level that could be compared to the official army! By the looks of it, Kent had spent his fortune and time just to plan an attack to take out Kazalo, during all these years. He had managed to turn these ‘Scattered sands’ into a strong ‘Castle’! It was unbelievable that he could actually train up a bunch of thieves into such a disciplined army!
"Brothers and sisters, today, we shall carry out a heist that history has never seen before!" Kent stood at the front of the formation on his horse, while holding a huge axe in his hand. His aura was really intimidating and pressurizing. He waved his axe and said, "We shall go head on against Kazalo and his army and end this once and for all! As long as we kill them all, the Great Canyon of Eternal Night shall be ours to claim!"
"Kill!"
"Kill them all!"
"I want women and money!"
The thieves were roaring out like an army of madmen.
It was indeed, killing two birds with one stone! Using a bunch of thieves to engage with a bunch of real bandits, it would not matter whichever side dies, it would still be great news to the regular people in the Great Canyon of Eternal Night!
"Now, charge!" Kent turned his horse around to face his army, and then he pointed his axe eastward and said, "Brother and sisters, fortune and fame are just ahead of us, for the taking! Charge! Charge!"
"Charge forward!"
Shoof!
At least tens of thousands of thieves got on their horses, following Kent, and charged towards the east! The stomping of the horseshoes from the army stirred up dirt and dust into the air, and from afar, it was like the forces of nature itself were attacking!
Zhang Yang patted the head of Whitey and followed the army of thieves. It was fortunate that they were only two times faster, compared to the regular speed of a player’s sprint. Therefore, Whitey should probably be able to catch up to them with ease.
But Zhang Yang did not charge at the front. It was obvious that there would be a large-scale battle coming right up, so he did not intend to serve himself as one of the ‘cannon fodders’ that would be blown to bits in the front lines.
After charging forward for about an hour, Kent led the army to the front of a castle. The facilities of the castle seemed quite complete. [Magic Cannons] were installed right on top of the castle wall. Even a Violet-Platinum grade boss would be blown to bits if he or she ever tried to penetrate the defense line of the castle with brute force!
Kent realized the threat, and he immediately gave the command for his army to halt. Then, he raised his left hand and bellowed, "Bring out the catapults!"
Rolling out one after another, three large-scale catapults appeared right in front of the army, and all of the catapults were the sizes of large trucks. The thieves cooperated with professional efficiency as they moved rocks that were as large as millstones and loaded them onto the catapults.
Zhang Yang was left with his jaws and eyes opened wide. How did the three catapults miraculously appeared in the battlefield? It was so fake! He had not seen them when they were charging to the enemy! Could catapults be kept in backpacks, now?
"Release the catapults!" Kent shouted loudly, and with ‘Ki ki ki’ sounds, the three large rocks shot out like shooting stars, flashing through the sky, and flying towards the wall of the castle!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The distance between the castle and Kent’s army was about 300 to 400 meters long, but Zhang Yang could still feel a slight tremble across his feet as he stood by and watched the spectacular scene!
Boom! Boom!
The catapults were shooting out a series of ‘cannonballs’ towards the direction of the castle. In just a short while, the walls of the castle were devastated by the assaults from the catapults. Quite a number of the [Magic Cannons] were blown into pieces, along with the wall!
That is the weakness of the [Magic Cannon]!
Although the attack power of the [Magic Cannons] were immense and terrifying, they did not have the range of the catapults! So they would just ‘sit’ there, waiting for the catapults to blow them up into pieces!
After a while, the castle side had also begun using their catapults to defend themselves, shooting large rocks towards Zhang Yang and the army. The rocks were huge, that when they landed on the army, a large number of the thieves were blown away!
The first stage of the war would be to see the effectiveness of the ranged weapons. After a period of exchange, most of the [Magic Cannons] had been obliterated. The catapults had ended up crushing each other, so all at once, the battlefield no longer had any terrifying siege engines left!
Kent charged at the front of the entire army and waved his axe around, and roared, "Brothers and sisters, after this battle, fortune and treasure await!"
"For gold!"
"For beer!"
"For women!"
"Kill!" Kent roared intensely.
"Kill ---" All of his army followed and let out their thunderous battle cries!
"Kill!"
"Kill ---"
"Charge!" The tens of thousands of thieves followed Kent closely as they charged towards the castle!
Zhang Yang was not hot-headed to the point that he would follow them in the front lines. Although the [Magic Cannons] had mostly been cleared out, there were two of them remaining! These ‘toys’ could inflict a total damage of 200,000 to all the targets within the range in a single shot. The total health points he had, even while mounted, was not enough to survive that! He simply laid back and continued enjoying the dramatic scene!
Furthermore, one player could not do much in a large-scale battle. He wouldn’t make much difference!
Boom!
The [Magic Cannons] that still remained on the wall had begun to open fire at the thieves, as expected! Streams of white lights shot across the army. Whether the ones struck were elites or normal monsters, they were instantly vaporized!
Fortunately, after waves of assaults from the catapults, the [Magic Cannons] had settled down into their long periods of cooldown! The last thing the game needed was a rapid-firing cannons with infinite ammunition!
Kent was born to be brave, so he charged on without any sense of fear and was the first to arrive at the gates of the castle. With a few swings of his axe, he destroyed the gate of the castle with brute force! He really was a great general!
Zhang Yang was envious of what he saw, hoping to emulate that sort of image, one day, and lead his guild to war! Be it ‘Territory Sieges’ or ‘Monster Attacks’, it would have great effects on their morale! Zhang Yang shouted and patted the head of Whitey, and quickly followed the army!
The moment they entered the castle, the map instantly switched to a smaller map. The map showed that the interior design of the place was like ‘Stromgarde Keep1’ from World of Warcraft, but unlike the one in World of Warcraft, the castle interior was not ruined, and the design of the place was extremely grand, where the roads were made of white jade! The place looked just like a palace! Unfortunately, at the moment, it had been reduced into another bloody battlefield. The thieves had already engaged in deadly battles with the mercenaries. Blood was spilled everywhere on the streets, and the roads were filled with bloody, mangled corpses!
Zhang Yang was trying to locate the whereabouts of Kent, because a boss like this would be like a firefly in a dark place. He would be the center of attraction, and the center of the plotline! It was the best option for Zhang Yang, since he did not know what to do at the moment!
As expected, he saw the man’s shadow flashing by! Kent was riding on his battle horse while spinning his axe around, blowing the surrounding enemies away. It did not matter if the enemies were cut into half or chopped to death, blood would just spill and departed limbs from the body of the enemies were flying around. It was war, after all.
He was really a powerhouse NPC in the cinematic mode, compared to the ‘Cannon Fodder’ who had a low attack of 5!
Zhang Yang tapped on Whitey’s head again and aided them in killing their enemies. His main quest was to slay Kazalo. Although it was not necessary for him to be the one slaying Kazalo, he should at least inflict some damage to the boss! Otherwise, he would fail the quest and get nothing in the end!
The two bosses were bound to clash anytime soon, his best option was to hang on to Kent like a fly!
The mercenaries definitely outnumbered the thieves, but there is a Kent on the thieves’ side! This Yellow-Gold boss was impressively strong and intimidating! With a swing of his axe, most of the enemies were instantly sent to their afterlives! The situation for the thieves was like a pillar of rocks in the midstream of a river that supports the bridge! Not only did it prevent the thieves from breaking formation, it also gave them the advantage over the battle!
The thieves were marching forward steadily, slowly pushing deeper into the castle.
Zhang Yang stayed right behind Kent, where he would activate his {Horizontal Sweep} and his {Blast Wave}, just to get some experience points. Whenever the special effect of the [Dark Enigmatic Sword] got triggered, the damage values looked awesome!
The two sides were depleting their number of fighters in a very swift manner. As Kent was going forward, following the path ahead, he managed to push on into a spot on the highest location of a building in the castle. It was a tower that was about 13 floors high, and it was exceedingly ‘thin’, about the square area of 3 to 4 houses.
Kent had finally stopped moving because there was a very powerful person standing right in front of him!
[Kiev the 3rd] (Yellow-Gold, Humanoid)
Level: 84
HP: 1,680,000
Defense: 1,500
Kiev was a middle aged man with a lean and skinny body, wearing tights that covered most of his body. He held sharp swords in both of his hands, and he looked like he was an ‘Assassin’.
"Joe ---" Kiev let out a loud roar and pointed a sword at Kent, "So it was the bastard who has been a pain in the *rse all these years! Now, you dare to show yourself on our doorsteps! Good, very good! Then I, Kiev shall be the one who breaks every single one of the bones within your body!"
Kent also roared and said, "Pitiful bandits, taking all the people’s money! You didn’t just do a lousy job protecting the people, you actually stole from them! You worthless sh*ts, die! Just die!"
The two bosses roared at each other, and they engaged in a fierce battle.
Zhang Yang had also charged forward and smashed five layers of his {Cripple Defense}. Then he continued to unleash all his attacks onto the enemy boss as well!
Although two bosses were the same grade, Yellow-Gold, it was really obvious that Kent was far superior. One boss that was only a mini-boss of his organization, while the other boss was a powerhouse. Although the amount of their health points were the same, that’s where their similarities ended!
Kiev was brought down on his knees in just short amount of time!
1. Stromgarde Keep - a ruined capital city in a Kingdom in World of Warcraft.