THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 5 - Season 8 Episode 69

In the Stoneclaw Mountains:

A long-abandoned city rested in a circle of mountains. Tens of thousands of corpses belonging to both players and Half-orcs surrounded and littered this city.

Several hundred players stood at the city’s entrance. They were all out of breath and covered in fresh blood.

“Flame Blood, revive the healers first. We’ll continue after some rest,” a man wearing deep-blue chainmail and carrying a longbow on his back commanded.

Flame Blood, whose white robes had long since been stained red with blood, immediately began reviving the fallen healers.

“Guild Leader, the respawn rate is simply too fast. We’ve only managed to clear out these Half-orcs after so much trouble. If we don’t hurry and enter now, entering the city will become far more difficult,” Daybreak Fog said anxiously, a tired expression on her face.

To enter this ruined city, Heaven’s Burial had dispatched all of their elites, over 20,000 players.

Only after several hours of fighting had they eliminated the Half-orcs surrounding the ancient city. Overall, they had sacrificed over 20,000 elite players to deal with the tens of thousands of Elite Half-orcs, a Great Lord ranked Half-orc, and five High Lord ranked Half-orcs. If they did not venture into the city now, all the regret in the world would not help them when the monsters respawned.

“It doesn’t matter. Even if they respawn, that Level 45 Great Lord won’t be a problem. At most, we’ll have to deal with those High Lords again. If we want to complete this quest, we need to stabilize the situation outside the city. Otherwise, we’ll die,” Singular Burial, who was the man in the deep-blue chainmail, responded calmly. “We’ve been here for several days already. Now that success is in sight, it is important that we do not rush. As long as we complete this quest, Heaven’s Burial will become Star-Moon City’s overlord. Both Ouroboros and the Star Alliance will have no choice but to submit.”

Currently, players throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom and surrounding countries drooled over the Stoneclaw Mountains. These Guilds watched Stone Forest Town, which was under Zero Wing’s control, enviously.

However, nobody knew that…

The person responsible for activating the Stoneclaw Mountains was Heaven’s Burial’s Guild Leader, Singular Burial.

“But now that Zero Wing has stabilized its position in Stone Forest Town, it is only a matter of time before the Stoneclaw Mountains become their backyard. Will this quest really help Heaven’s Burial become Star-Moon City’s overlord?” Lightning Blade questioned doubtfully.

Singular Burial had been keeping a tight lid on the quest’s information. Nobody else knew what the quest would award.

Based on Lightning Blade’s understanding of God’s Domain, there shouldn’t be a quest that could allow a Guild to dominate over a city.

“Zero Wing’s backyard?” Singular Burial sneered. “It’s just the Stoneclaw Mountains. So what if we give it to Zero Wing?

“Since this quest is almost complete, I’ll explain. Do any of you know why there are so many Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains? Although other countries have their own Regional Dungeons that provide Magic Crystals, none of them are as saturated as the Stoneclaw Mountains.

“This ancient city is the reason. This city contains a treasure that is capable of condensing Mana naturally. Hence, the Stoneclaw Mountains’ monsters have a much higher chance to drop Magic Crystals.

“If we can get our hands on that treasure, even without grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, any monster we kill within a certain radius of the item will drop Magic Crystals. Moreover, the drop-rate will be the same as it is in the Stoneclaw Mountains.

“Do you think I would pay so much just to clear a ruined city if not for such a treasure?”

When Daybreak Fog and the others heard Singular Burial’s explanation, they were stunned.

The monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were too strong. Not only were these monsters hard to kill, but they were also harder on weapons and equipment than monsters elsewhere. If monsters in other maps could also drop Magic Crystals with the same probability as the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they would be able to farm Magic Crystals much faster and more efficiently than in the Regional Dungeon. Moreover, it would cost less to farm elsewhere.

Even if the other Guilds put more effort into farming Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they would be miles behind Heaven’s Burial.

As long as they had a sufficient stock of Magic Crystals, Heaven’s Burial could rise to power.

“Alright, get some rest. We’ll enter the city when we’ve recovered,” Singular Burial commanded.

—

While Heaven’s Burial’s members were preoccupied with their secret quest, the various large Guilds throughout Star-Moon Kingdom desperately tried to level up, getting themselves ready to challenge Level 40 large-scale Team Dungeons.

To ordinary players, Level 40 was still far out of their reach. To the various large Guilds, however, they would reach it soon.

Level 40 could be considered a new beginning.

At Level 40, players could use Mounts, doubling their mobility. As a result, their leveling and questing efficiency would double as well.

However, purchasing a large number of Mounts for its members was unrealistic for a Guild. Having a Guild Mount was more reasonable. Hence, Guilds needed to focus on constructing a Stable. However, Stable Design’s drop-rates were abysmal. Only 100-man Team Dungeons had a somewhat higher drop-rate. Hence, the various large Guilds were desperately preparing to raid Level 40 large-scale Team Dungeons in the hopes of obtaining a Stable Design sooner.

For a time, Guilds were in a frenzy to raid large-scale Team Dungeons.

—

Time quickly passed. Three days had gone by before anyone had realized it.

During this period, Shi Feng led Zero Wing’s main force all around the kingdom, hunting for Great Lords. If they did not find any, then they would kill Field Lords and High Lords until they had finally exhausted the Magic Amplification Scroll. Shi Feng had also completed his quest.

All ten Inferno Gold ingots were accounted for.

Meanwhile, the team had climbed in levels.

Originally, the average level of Zero Wing’s main force was Level 33. Now, the lowest among the team was Level 37. Blackie, Fire Dance, and the other upper echelons had even risen to Level 38. Throughout all of God’s Domain, they had the highest Levels.

Currently, the number one player on Star-Moon Kingdom’s Ranking List was only Level 35. Although there was only a difference of two levels, the EXP gap was massive.

As for Shi Feng, he had reached Level 39. He was only one step away from Level 40.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng’s Magic Amplification Scroll was now useless. He could no longer summon a Tier 3 Demon to assist them in battle. Otherwise, they would have continued leveling at this speed.

Aside from levels, they had also obtained a massive stock of materials and Level 50 equipment. They had filled Shi Feng’s bag completely, transferring the overflow into Aqua Rose’s bag.

They had more than 40 pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment and several hundred pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. Contrary to what they had expected, they had obtained less than 100 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. If they sold these items on the Blackwing Auction House, it would definitely shake God’s Domain’s major powers.

Currently, while the various large Guilds struggled to reach Level 40, Level 50 top-tier equipment was already on display…

It’ll be a little rushed, but fortunately, we’ve completed the quest. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the time. He had five hours remaining before his appointment with Phoenix Rain. Immediately, he said through the team chat, “Everyone can head back to the city. Aqua, take your team to get some rest. In three hours, meet up in Star-Moon City’s Teleportation Hall.”