Chapter 158 – Entering Cruel Leaf Valley
Translated by: Deception, GGP
Edited by: Manvender, Zdog, Video, Noah
This chapter was sponsored by Justin Gills and M.R! Thanks!
“Wan Er, Dong Cheng, you finally came!” Giving a cheerful laugh, I walked over to greet them.
Wan Er gently carried a red iron umbrella on her shoulder and was emanating a nice fragrant aroma. The curves near her mouth lifted upwards in a beautiful way as she spoke, “Yeah, we walked thousands of miles to get here. You’ll have to excuse us for our tardiness~”
Waving my hand, I said, “No worries, I just wanted to congratulate ourselves for this pleasant collaboration. Let’s hope for a smooth time while carving our way through the [Five Barbarian Barren Mountain] and completing the SS ranked mission!
Dong Cheng Yue snickered, holding her staff, “There won’t be any chance of failure. After all, we have Ba Huang City’s number 1 Swordsman, Xiao Yao Zi Zai. This SS ranked mission will be a walk in the park with you, won’t it?”
I was a little apprehensive, “That’s enough Dong Cheng, I’m no longer the 1st ranked Swordsman of Ba Huang City. Jian Feng Han, Yan Zhao Warrior and General Li Mu are now the top 3 Swordsmen. I can no longer compete for the number 1 spot.”
……
“Oh, what a rare sight. Xiao Yao Zi Zai is being modest, am I hearing things right?”
Finally the beautiful Healer behind Dong Cheng Yue stepped forward to say something but I was too distracted by her beauty to notice her words. Her Healer’s staff moved in her hand as she stepped forward and made herself known. I briefly saw the guild emblem identifying her as the deputy leader of [Emerald Porcelain]. Her beautiful eyes stared into mine as I finally took notice of her words, “I’ve learned long ago about the melee Healer of Ba Huang City called Xiao Yao Zi Zai. I had also heard that Xiao Yao was incredibly handsome and as expected, the rumors are true …. No wonder you were able to steal away female fans from Jian Feng Han…”
I was pretty embarrassed, “Miss Yuzi Chengshuo, don’t label me like that! I haven’t stolen any fans from Jian Feng Han. Instead, I’m a lonely Swordsman that been repeatedly chased down by [Wrath of the Heroes], that’s all.”
“Lonely?”
Yuzi Chengshuo laughed, “To be able to gain the attention of two beautiful women like Cang Tong and Cang Yue and then the assistance of Yue Qing Qian and Yue Wei Liang from [Prague]. How could anyone call a person like that lonely? Hmph, spare me that thought, or I’ll look down on you for it!”
Gently waving to hide my embarrassment, “Then, let’s not talk about such a useless topic and prepare ourselves for the Cruel Leaf Valley. Let’s have everyone get familiar with one another; everyone behind me … are people from my guild, Zhan Long.”
Everyone started to introduce themselves one after another. Darling Duck raised her Healer’s staff and asked the beautiful Yuzi Chengshuo, “Your Lv 6 [Heal], how much does it heal per cast?”
Thinking hard for a moment, Yuzi Chengshuo replied, “Uhm, around 50% of the maximum health, I’d say. It generally heals around 1350 health per cast. Does that answer your question?”
Darling Duck stuck her tongue out in sadness, “Wow…that’s a lot more than what I can heal. My Lv 5 [Heal] doesn’t even reach 1000 health…”
“That’s fine, we’ll make a great Healer team together. Whatever BOSS we fight against will have a hard time killing our tank. After all, our tank is not only just a damage taker but he can also deal high damage and heal himself as well.”
……
While they talked, Matcha came up to me and whispered, “Boss, both their levels are already really high. Yuzi Chengshuo is Lv 53. She’s really strong…”
“Don’t be too sad about it, Cang Tong and Cang Yue are Fan Shu City’s players. They have a faster level rate than we do so their levels are expected to be much higher than ours. Besides, Yuzi Chengshuo is the deputy leader of [Emerald Porcelain]. She wouldn’t have a hard time finding someone to train with her.”
“I understand.”
“Ah?” Wan Er saw me talking to Matcha, and walked towards us with a complex emotion within her beautiful eyes. “This must be the beautiful Strawberry Matcha. You are the newest member of Xiao Yao’s studio?”
I answered in place of Matcha, “Yea, she’s called Xue Rou, Zhan Long’s newest member! Matcha, this is Cang Tong. In real life, she is my friend Wan Er. Come, get to know her!”
Staring at Wan Er blankly, she held out her hand with a nervous smile, “Hello there, Miss Wan Er…”
Wan Er gripped her hand firmly before leaning close to whisper, “Li Xiao Yao is a pervert, so you must be careful Matcha! Since you’re one of the members of his studio, it’ll be very likely he might try something!”
My face turned violet, “Miss, please don’t insult me in my presence.”
Matcha took no notice of what I said, and instead stared wide eyed at Wan Er, “How…how do you know Boss is a pervert?”
Wan Er eyes twinkled unusually brightly as she gave Matcha a single expression. Looking away into the valley, she waited for a few seconds before saying, “Just the other night, when we went out to eat, it was too late for us to return to the school. So we went off the campus and booked a room in a nearby hotel. I thought I was going to be safe, but I didn’t think that Li Xiao Yao was that type of guy …. Wuwu, he is a sheep dressed in a wolf skin! Oh wait, that’s not right … He’s like a wolf wearing a sheep’s skin…”
Matcha was completely overwhelmed by this new source of knowledge. Nervously staring at me, she said, “Boss, are you really this type of person … Wan Er … did that really happen…?”
Wan Er’s face turned red, “Ah no, I escaped into the night by jumping out the window!”
Matcha stared at her blankly. “…”
“…..”
No longer putting up with her, I grabbed Wan Er’s arm, “Damn it, you’re coming with me to the front to clear the wave. Don’t feed false information to my studio members, otherwise how would I appear to them in the future?”
Wan Er giggled as she was being led away by me; lowering her voice, she said, “Hmph, when Zhan Long recruits people, you just have to recruit a girl as pretty and gentle as her; you recruited her on purpose didn’t you?!”
Waving my hand, I answered, “That was unintentional. When we were recruiting people, Matcha was the only one who applied. We urgently needed someone to join, so it was only natural that she got the job!”
Wan Er turned and looked at me with a sudden smile. Carrying her umbrella, she cheered, “Come on then. Let’s go clear the way!”
……
In Cruel Leaf Valley, the leaves were quite sparse. This valley is within the borders of Jiu Li City, however it is just as close to Fan Shu City and Ba Huang City. The terrain was a little complicated, as the whole valley’s interior was filled with pale plants with sharp leaf blades. Looking out over it, the place looked deathly still.
Unsheathing my Frost Rain Sword, I walked in front of Wan Er while summoning Baby Bobo. I looked into the distance and saw the remains of an ancient chariot that had collapsed in the valley. The wheels had long since rotted, leaving behind rusted nails and the bones of horses and warriors alike were strewn across the place. After tens of millions of years, the scene was still vivid enough that I could faintly hear the drums of war sound and the clashing of swords striking against each other.
“This place was an ancient battlefield!” I exclaimed to myself.
Wan Er looked across at me, “I’m not blind, I can see that…”
Scratching my nose, I said, “Don’t make fun of the dead!”
“Haha…”
Dong Cheng Yue in the air yelled, “Be careful guys, a monster just appeared north of us…”
“Oh?”
Wan Er and I looked over to where Dong Cheng pointed and sure enough, a pile of bones were slowly crawling together. Soon, it became a skeleton soldier with a rusty mace. It seems as if as soon as we got close, the dead begun to rise and fight on this ancient battlefield once more-
【Northern Frontier Undead】(Elite rank monster)
Level: 55
Attack: 780-1110
Defense: 800
Health: 6000
Skills: 【Combo】【Iron Blade Sweep】
Description: A Northern Frontier Undead, these elite soldiers were once a part of the Northern Frontier Barbarian Tribes. After being defeated by Ran Min’s army, these soldiers were left to die in foreign lands. Their Undeads refused to depart from the lands and guarded the battlefields for a new enemy to fight for eternity. They are savage and ruthless and always prefer to kill their enemies quickly.
……
“It’s coming!”
I took out my Frost Rain Sword in front of me and under my foot, a surge of energy rippled through my body, signifying the casting of [Turmoil Sword] and increasing my attack power by 10%. Feeling my whole body warm up from Yuzi Chengshuo’s [Encourage], my attack was increased again by another 6%! Feeling like I was at the peak of my power, I charged straight at the Northern Frontier Undead. With golden hexagrams signifying a Lv 4 [Combo], I struck at it’s shoulder–
894!
871！
842！
911！
My wrist turned once more, and the Frost Rain Sword shook as the [Fierce Ice Blade] struck. A bright cyan ray of light pierced down from the clouds and met my blade. It was a fatal strike!
4484！
Not only was it a fatal strike, it was also a critical strike and killed the Lv 55 Elite Monster instantaneously!
……
“Damn…”
Yuzi Chengshuo looked at me astonished, “What … what kind of attack damage do you have, to have a single attack do 4484 points of damage … Even if it was a critical blow, this is really too much damage. Xiao Yao, exactly how high is your attack? This is abnormal, even terrifying. I’ve never seen a fighter from Jiu Li City who can do the same amount of damage as you…”
Wan Er explained the strike in detail, “Chengshuo, his blow triggered a fatal strike, so it’s no wonder he did that much damage. Otherwise, it should have only done about 3000 points of damage.”
Chengshuo looked even more frightened upon hearing that, “That was the result of a fatal blow? How splendid … but doesn’t have that many superior swords yet. Only the Frost Rain Sword, the currently number 1 weapon on the list, is a Superior Tier sword… Hold on, are you saying that Xiao Yao is the owner of the Frost Rain Sword?!!”
Wan Er smiled sweetly, “Of course, Chengshuo. Why else would I invite Xiao Yao to come on this SS ranked mission?”
Chengshuo gave a small nervous chuckle, “I had thought that he was a special person to you…”
With a “peng”, Wan Er’s face flushed red, “That … that wasn’t the reason…”
“Whatever the case is, let’s continue onwards! We’re about to enter the Five Barbarian Barren Hills!”
“Yea…”
……
As we traveled onwards, we killed hundreds of Northern Frontier Undeads and eventually our team advanced to the depths of the valley. On a side note, Matcha was extremely happy from the voyage; the amount of experience she was getting from all of the monsters was far richer than her usual grinding spots and she quickly became the fastest leveler in our group.
Standing deep within the entrance of the valley, I took a look at the coordinates, “If we move forward 50 meters, we’ll be at the entrance of the Five Barbarian Tomb!”
Wan Er nodded her head in excitement, “Let’s go!”
My Purple Dawn Boots started to glow slightly with the signs of flames, so I took the lead farther into the tomb while my Fire and Ice Cloak billowed behind me. Even the Ancient Tablet on my back started to glow faintly. Walking around the mountain pass, I was immediately stunned by the sight before me–
The primitive forest we had just traveled through suddenly had an ancient building pop out of nowhere! A giant head of a stone wolf appeared alongside it and approximately 5 meters below the stone wolf, a stone statue stood. A sword was propped within its hands but the head had already fallen off. The sword itself, had an engraving, saying “Here lies the Heavenly Prince Ran Min!”
……
“We’re here!” Wolf clenched his dagger with excitement.
I looked up to see the post, “Where is the entrance?”
Pulling my hand, Wan Er pouted, “Well, there’s a hole under the stone, so it must be the key hole! Come on, put the key in so we can go in!”
“Got it!”
Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out the wrapped key. With a “hua,” the giant key was retrieved and all of the men looked shocked at my package. “My god! What a long and wide key! Where does it go?”