After Xinran left, Cloudway staggered toward me and gave me a knight"s salute. He said solemnly, "Thank you for everything, honorable adventurer. It is because of you that Vanished G.o.d City avoided a destructive fate. Now that I have returned to life, I swear I will fight for the fate of all humans. Speaking of which, I must return to my city and rally an army to take out the remainder of Ovia"s troops lurking in the forest!"

I nodded. As I picked up Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger"s head from the ground, I said, "We"ll be returning to Sky City as well. I"m taking this with me and trading it for a reward from Princess Karinshan. Is that okay with you?"

Cloudway smiled. "Of course. May we meet again someday, friend!"

"We will!"

"Goodbye!"

……

After we bade the proud human prince goodbye, we pulled out our return scrolls and teleported back to Sky City. Lian Xian and Murong Mingyue were already waiting for us at the plaza. Since this quest was a main quest, I was certain that it would reward us with Luck, the most important stat a player could possibly receive in the entire game. Speaking of which, of all the things that were reset during Lin Yixin"s account deletion, her Luck was the only thing that wasn"t. Shusheng and Ling Xue were the ones who helped to fight for this result. Everyone here was a smart man or woman, and we all knew what we could give up and what we must fight to preserve to our last drop of blood, sweat and tears.

Swhoos.h.!.+

It felt like it had been a long time since I last saw Sky City. I immediately saw Lian Xin and Murong Mingyue waiting not far away from the teleportation formation.

"You"re finally back…" Lian Xin said with a smile.

The first thing I did after walking up to her was to drop the Thunder G.o.d Scepter in her hands. "Here. b.l.o.o.d.y Finger dropped this after he died."

Lian Xin froze like a statue when she saw the weapon. A long while later, she finally returned to reality and blinked at me in disbelief. "This is for me? An Immortal-grade scepter?"

"Duh?"

"Hehe! Thank you!"

She equipped the weapon, and a new s.h.i.+ny scepter popped into the hands of our little Phantasm of Stars. With this, Lian Xin"s Magic Attack would become even better than it was before.

"Let"s go. It"s time to search for Princess Karinshan and turn in the quest!"

"Mn!"

With the four girls and the new Purple Ying Sword by my side, I stepped onto the paved roads of Sky City with my equipment l.u.s.ter fully turned on. I was going to log out right after I turned in the quest, so I couldn"t care less about keeping a low profile right now. Plus, there was no one in the city who was a match for me, not to mention that I was accompanied by the Fruit Knife G.o.ddess, the Dark Archer, the Phantasm of Stars and the super wet nurse. Who could possibly pose a threat to us?

We reached the palace entrance. The NPC guards were going to stop me, but when I showed them my n.o.ble status—it was a reward from Princess Karinshan herself—they immediately dropped to their knees and said, "Welcome to the capital of Silver Moon Alliance, honorable viscount!"

I nodded and led the girls into the palace. The royal court wasn"t too far away, and we arrived at our destination after crossing a couple of bridges and forests. We weren"t stopped even throughout the short walk because of my n.o.ble status. It was pretty nice.

We saw Princess Karinshan when we arrived at the top of the stairs. She was standing in her martial attire with her hand clasped atop the hilt of her sword. She was looking at a giant sand table with tiny models representing Sky City, Wind City, Vanished G.o.d City, Dawn City and more.

Karinshan pointed at the edge of Dawn City and said, "The enemy nations are growing quite active as of late. We will need to reinforce the Fortress of the Iron Halberd with another twenty thousand troops! Also, send a message to the regent of Vanished G.o.d City and order them to reinforce the borders facing toward b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain with another one hundred thousand troops. It is only a matter of time before war reaches them. That brutal tyrant, Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger, has been wanting to destroy Vanished G.o.d City for a long time now!"

However, Commander Ziyan of the Frost Army said with a frown, "Your Majesty, that old fool has been resisting the alliance"s orders again and again. Do you remember the time we ordered them to supply five hundred thousand units of army provisions when we were defending Dawn City? It"s been three years already, and we still haven"t seen a wink of those army provisions! I suspect that selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.d is plotting something against the Silver Moon Alliance, hmph!"

Karinshan simply smiled and said, "It"s just human nature. Everyone wants to build up their military strength if they can. I understand your sentiment, but we absolutely cannot risk losing a powerful ally over something so trivial. If they still refuse to obey our command, we"ll just have to take action ourselves. Stark, you will take two hundred thousand troops with you, pa.s.s through Ice Skull Fortress and secure b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain. If Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger"s ploy succeeds, we will all be in danger."

The fierce Stark answered immediately, "As you command!"

……

By now, the girls and I had reached the center of the hall.

"Who dares enter the meeting hall without permission?" a civil officer yelled at us.

Chiang!

I unsheathed half of the Purple Ying Sword, and the noisy guy shut up immediately. I had silenced him without even saying a single word.

Princess Karinshan broke into a smile when she saw me. "Oh, it"s you!"

I gave her a nod of acknowledgement and said, "Long time no see, Your Majesty."

She let out a chuckle behind her palm. "Yes, it truly has been a while. Seeing that you"ve come all the way here, you must have something to report, am I right?"

"Yes."

I nodded and started my story. "My companions and I were exploring b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain when we encountered Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger. However, we were able to kill him thanks to Xinran"s help. I have brought his head here in hopes of receiving a reward from you, something more material than last time, if you don"t mind…"

"Excuse me?" Karinshan"s mouth fell open. "You… you killed Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger? But… but he"s a Purgatory Sovereign! He"s not someone even I can fight with all my power!"

This time, a man clad in fiery red armor and the commander of Scarlet Wolf Army, Lintus spoke up. "Yes. A Purgatory Sovereign is practically as strong as a G.o.d. How could a couple of adventurers possibly slay such a fearsome foe? Young warriors, your strength is commendable, but it"s just impossible to kill someone like Ovia…"

A couple of sneering n.o.bles immediately joined in on the insult as well. "Haha, I bet these r.e.t.a.r.ded adventurers must"ve killed a couple of bandits and thought that they were one of the Nine Sovereigns, Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger himself! Have you ever seen his face before? Hahaha, what a joke!"

"These people sure love to look down on other people…" Lin Yixin muttered at the side.

I took out Ovia"s head and sent it rolling across the floor until it reached Karinshan"s feet. The princess"s expression immediately broke into shock and disbelief. "It"s… it"s actually true…"

Ziyan was equally stunned. "How is this possible? How could a handful of adventurers… possibly kill a Purgatory Sovereign?"

I replied, "I told you, it was only thanks to Xinran"s help!"

Karinshan nodded in acknowledgement. "I see!"

All the martial and civil officers present at the meeting hall looked stunned beyond belief. Those who ridiculed us earlier now turned red with embarra.s.sment.

Princess Karinshan smiled and walked up to us. She then planted her sword on the floor and declared, "By my right as the supreme commander of the Silver Moon Alliance, I thank you for killing a devil and earning us a huge victory. Please receive the honor and rewards you deserve!"

Ding~!

System Notice: Congratulations, you have completed the Divine Rank main quest "The Betrayal of b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld"! You have gained 700 million EXP, 200000 gold, 15000 Reputation, 5 Luck and the quest reward: "Divine Martial War Boots!"

……

G.o.d d.a.m.n, a pair of boots? I looked at my Level 135 Earth-grade Stormy War Boots. I definitely should"ve changed them a long time ago. I wonder what grade these Divine Martial War Boots are?

I opened my bag and saw the dark gold–colored boots right at the very first slot. When I brought up its stats screen, I was immediately overwhelmed with joy—

Divine Martial War Boots (Immortal-grade, Outstanding★★★★★★)

Defense: 2750

Magic Resist: 2500

Strength: +800

Stamina: +820

Agility: +750

Tactics: +60

Pa.s.sive: Increases user"s movement speed by 175%

Pa.s.sive: Increases user"s physical attack power by 40%

Skits: 12

Outstanding Property: Divine Void Step. Increases user"s movement speed by 75%, and attack speed by 20%

Level Requirement: 175

……

It was truly a reward worthy of this quest"s difficulty. The stats were far higher than anything I had ever seen from a pair of boots before. The Divine Martial War Boots boosted my movement speed by a total of 250%, my physical attack power by 40% and my attack speed by 20%! My Stormy War Boots were practically trash compared to it!

I immediately equipped them and admired the sight of my stats soaring. h.e.l.l yeah!

That wasn"t all. After all the experience I received from multiple rewards, my level had skyrocketed to 178. Sky City"s Heavenly Ranking had changed yet again—

……

This put us, or Beiming Xue to be exact, at a conundrum though. After landing the killing blow on Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger and receiving the quest reward, Beiming Xue became the first player in China to hit Level 180. This meant that she could undergo her seventh cla.s.s promotion quest now if she wanted to!

As for me, I was the second runner-up and behind only Beiming Xue and Lian Xin. The amount of experience we got from our adventure in b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain was so much that even our priest, Murong Mingyue, had entered the Top 10!

……

I checked the time and suggested, "It"s nighttime, and it"s been a while since we ate anything. Why don"t we log out and eat dinner first before you complete your seventh cla.s.s promotion quest, Beiming? Your health is more important than this…"

Beiming Xue nodded obediently. "Mn. I"ll listen to you, big bro!"

So I looked at Murong Mingyue and said, "Please tell Eve to log out as well, sis. It"s never good to tire oneself too much. Yiyi, you should eat dinner and go to bed soon as well. We all need a good rest after that epic battle!"

"Yes!" Lin Yixin nodded in agreement. "At least we managed to clear this map. We even saved all the players in Vanished G.o.d City!"

"Yeah. Good job everyone. Now, time to log out!"

……

While Lin Yixin was running back to the inn to log out, I recalled something and said, "Oh right, speaking of Vanished G.o.d City, I need to ask Stranger of Three Lifetimes to help out with something."

"What is it?" Beiming Xue asked while blinking.

I grinned, but chose not to reveal the answer. "It"s a secret. You"ll know it when it"s time…"

"Pooh! Only children act all cryptic and mysterious, big bro…"

"What the f.u.c.k, who taught you that?"

"Stranger of Three Lifetimes!"

"...”