Chapter 680: The One Ring
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Malindor!" Zhang Yang roared and dove downward. He jumped off the fiery bird before the Phoenix could reach ground level. He sustained a little fall damage but got up and immediately grab Malindo's shoulder. "You were once a human like us all! Do you wish for the fall of the earth?! Do you wish for all that is living to fall to evil!?"
"What do you know!? I'm doing this for my sister!" Malindor snarled at Zhang Yang. The ring in his finger gleam with a bright radiance.
The ring was so weak in battle, yet it possessed powerful protection powers. The attack that should have killed Malindor had failed to do so, for he had used The One Ring. Even if the Dark Riders does not make an appearance, it would be hard to even kill Malindor alone.
"You would allow the Darkness to swallow earth. This is the price you would willing to pay? Just to save your sister?! If you have even the slightest decency in your soul, you would know that it is wrong! Your sister would be greatly disappointed in you!" Zhang Yang continued trying to wake him up. "The needs of the many is far greater than the needs of you! Do you wish to let your sister see her one brother becoming a demon!?"
"Woah. Zhang Yang might have the potential for Hollywood. He's got them gifts, yo!" cried Fatty Han.
Malindo staggered a little. The ring in his fingers started to dim down a little.
Zhang Yang took this chance to attack. He commanded the Phoenix to attack and dealt 92,122 damage to Malindor, instantly killing him.
Everyone sighed with intense relief. Malindor was extremely difficult to defeat. If Zhang Yang had not tried to use words to sway him, Malindor might have just used The One Ring and escaped!
"URGH! ARGH! ARRRGHHH!" When Zhang Yang thought it was over, Malindor's body jerked. Whether he was dead or not, his eyes flung open and glowed. Dark light blasted out of his eye sockets as he screamed in horror. Dark smoke gushed out of his mouth and solidified into a humanoid outline. It shared the same appearance as Malindor and was equipped with razor sharp nails.
[Malindor's Vengeful Spirit] (Elite, Spectre)
Level: 155
HP: 4,650,000
Defense: 6,280
Melee Attack: 40,070 – 50,070
Skills:
[Echo Scream]: Howls and deals 100% melee physical damage to all targets within an area in front of the caster.
Note: Malindor was unable to rest in peace, as he was unable to let go of her sister.
Once the Vengeful Spirit formed, it lunged itself at Zhang Yang at a sonic speed.
"Malindor! I'd promise you! I will save your sister! In the name of Queen Serena, I will make sure that she will live a happy life!" Zhang Yang roared as he lifted his shield to block his attack.
"Lies…You…lie…Cannot believe…Empty…promise…" Malindor's mouth was not moving, yet his demonic voice could be heard echoing through the place.
"Little Yang, waste no time. Kill him again." Fatty Han drew his arrow back and shot the spirit, dealing powerful damage despite having high Defense. Everyone else joined in the attack and quickly attacked the spirit until it was almost dying.
"STOP!" Zhang Yang shouted and stopped everyone else from attacking the near-dead Vengeful Spirit.
"Look at this! If we want to kill you, we can do it easily! I understand you. Trust me. I do. We understand your pain. We can kill you and end this fight right here, right now! But we choose to understand, to empathize you! I-No! We give you our word. We will save your sister!"
Malindor's Vengeful Spirit staggered. Right then, he knew that the party had the ability to finish him off easily and erase his existence. He could no longer lie to himself and chose to surrender. "Believe…you. Sister…love…so much…"
"Rest in peace. You sister will be saved. I promise."
"Promise…"
'Ding! Malindor' Vengeful Spirit has a quest for you: Save my sister! Will you accept it?'
Everyone accepted the quest and nodded at Malindor.
The black clouds on Malindor's Vengeful Spirit started to glow brightly with a warm yellow light. The malicious spirit in his soul was cleansed and turned the adult, hostile being into a young boy. Malindor smiled innocently in his white spirit form and slowly floated to the sky before scattering into particles.
Malindor turned into a Spectre for he was unable to let go of the will to save his sister. Now that he was able to entrust the mission to Zhang Yang, Malindor had set himself free and was able to release himself and depart for the afterlife.
"The RING! THE RING! I bet it's a Celestial tier!" Wei Yan Er jumped at Malindor's dead body once the spirit had disappeared. Malindo's defeat had given the party only one drop, which was a deep crimson ring that ended up in Wei Yan Er's possession.
[The One Ring] (Quest Item)
Description: Forged in the fires of Sunfall Volcano. Possesses absolute power over evil.
The little girl was astonished. The ring was not an equipment!
'Ding! The Shadow Demon Souron has found the ring in your possession. He has dispatched a large force to reclaim the ring! Make your way back to General Turkin Han with haste, for the war will soon erupt!'
Everyone in the party received the system notification.
"Well. Let's go, then." Zhang Yang jumped on his Phoenix pet and soared to the sky with haste. Everyone else followed speedily and followed Zhang Yang back to Hannier Valley. In just 2 hours, Zhang Yang and the party had arrived and they spoke to General Turkin Han.
"I had doubts that you cannot make it back alive! Hah! You have proven me wrong! Well done, brave ones!" General Turkin Han was surprised when Wei Yan Er handed over the ring to him and praised the entire party.
'Ding! You have completed the quest: Fight for The One Ring! Obtained 20,000,000 experience points!'
Even though the quest nor the boss fight had any equipment rewards, 20 million experience points made it all rather worthwhile.
"The Shadow Demon Souron will send a large army to have this ring back," said Turkin Han. "Hm. In that case, the defenses of Souron's lair will be left bare! Brave adventurers, I plead to you all. For all the beings that live and breathe, please take the ring with you and defeat the Shadow Demon at his own lair! Defeat him and cast all of his evil followers into the abyss!"
'Ding! General Turkin Han has a quest for you: Strike the Heart. Will you accept it?'
Accept!
'Ding! You have received an item: The One Ring!'
After everyone accepted the quest, Zhang Yang, as the party leader took the ring from General Turkin Han. At then, The One Ring's true powers was revealed to the world.
[The One Ring] (Celestial, Ring)
Vitality: +30876
Strength: +3889
Dexterity: +3889
Intelligence: +3889
Spirit: +3889
Equip: Increases damage dealt and healing rate by 15%
Equip: Absorbs 3,374 damage on attack.
Use: Nullifies certain power of the Shadow Demon Souron. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Range: 30 meters.
Level Requirement: 300
Special: Level Requirement reduced by 300 Levels.
Note: The One Ring will only be active in the Castle of Souron. It will disappear from the world after the Shadow Demon is defeated.
A real Celestial tier equipment!
Even Zhang Yang, a man that came from the future, had never laid eyes on a real Celestial tier equipment!
The ring was extremely beautiful for its glow radiant with everchanging colors of the rainbow.
"Argh! Too bad the ring can only be used in Souron's Castle!"
"And it will be deleted after the quest ends!"
Everyone was saddened by the fact. As a result, they took turns equipping the ring just to get a chance of it.
"Hehe! Noob tank! This ring belongs to me now!" Once Wei Yan Er got hold of the ring, she ran away and put up a defensive guard.
Fatty Han laughed manically for a while and said, "Little Yan Er, the ring cannot simply be taken like that? Are you trying to upgrade yourself from an aunt to a wife?"
"Pfft! Eat dirt!" Han Ying Xue stabbed Fatty Han with her blunt staff.
Zhang Yang was fine with Wei Yan Er holding the ring. Since the ring was just a tool, it would not have a long-lasting effect. In fact, based on the ring's description, the strongest aspect of the ring was the HP boost. Without {Vitality Aura} Zhang Yang would have 35,498 Vitality point. The ring's Vitality boost was extremely high! However, the Strength value was not as strong as everyone thinks it would be. Without {Strength Aura}, Zhang Yang would only have 10,319. It is true that the ring could boost Zhang Yang's damage by a notch. but not to an overwhelming extent. Whoever holding the ring would only contribute to the overall party DPS. He would only need to control the aggro, and he was good at it.
Hence, after equipping the ring, the little brat had gained a massive boost to her HP. Her attack was raised up to be on par with Zhang Yang. However, despite both of them dealing the same amount of damage, Zhang Yang had the tanker additional aggro generation skill, hence, he was not afraid of the little girl going OT on him during a boss fight.
While others would also have liked have to have the "feel" of using a Celestial tier equipment during a boss fight, they had failed to win over little Yan Er's heart.
"Little brat, I'm fine with you taking the ring SELFISHLY, but don't forget to use the ring's special effect. Even though it is unknown, based on the lore and the description, it will be important to decide our victory during the boss fight!" said Zhang Yang. He was really afraid that the little brat might get over her head during the battle and forget to use the ring's effect.
"Relax…Chill!" said Wei Yan Er as she patted her chest with confidence. Han Ying Xue had taken the chance and startled the little girl by rubbing her chest and said, "Tch…I thought I saw some curves there. My mistake, it's still as flat as an ironing board."
The little girl was infuriated and started twisting and kneading at Han Ying Xue's chest forcefully. Naturally, while Han Ying Xue was fighting off the little girl, Fatty Han, Lost Dream, and Endless Starlight were rooting for Wei Yan Er.
General Turkin Han gave Zhang Yang a piece of leather skin map which displayed a long pathway that was a detour that had lengthened the journey to Souron's Castle. However, as he had mentioned earlier, the pathway was meant to be longer for it was an alternate pathway that could help the party to completely avoid the army of Souron.
"Brave ones, I wish you good luck! May the Goddess of War favor you all! With our current battle strength, we are completely outmatched by 1000 to 1. However, that doesn't mean that we would not fight. We will stand ground and fight to buy you some time. Once the Shadow Demon is killed, all of his followers will be sent back to the abyss. The world will be saved only if you can kill the heart of evil!" General Turkin Han saluted.
Zhang Yang saluted back. The party then took off to the sky with their mount and continued their journey to kill the demon.
According to General Turkin Han's explanation, the army of Souron would have flying units patrolling in the sky, including Wyverns. Hence, Zhang Yang and his party would have to avoid using the main pathway of the castle to avoid being detected. If they are found, they would be forced to fight on land by the dragons and would be killed by the overwhelming numbers of soldiers.
"Say…even monsters would have flying mounts. Why didn't Malindor just get himself straight to Sunfall Volcano by flying straight there? Wouldn't it be easier and fast!?" said Endless Starlight as he discovered the massive plot hole.
"…Well, there had to be some stories and dramas…opportunities for us to get quests…"
"Yeah! If the enemy is so smart, all the main characters in the story would not even survive for a single day!"
"Then again, since The One Ring have such a powerful anti-evil energy thingy, the Wyvern might have reacted badly when the ring is close to him!"
"…In that case, he could have just rented the Griffon taxi service!"
"…"
"Are you done talking c*ck?"