Chapter Twenty-Four: The Force Behind the Scenes

When the wind wall was shattered directly by Qu Zheng, "Dreaming with the Wind" caught a clear glimpse of the figure who had broken through, and his pupils immediately constricted.

He had never imagined that Qu Zheng possessed such ability. For a stealth-type player to engage in close-quarters combat and defeat a sword-type player who walked the path of both offense and defense was undoubtedly a slap in the face. Yet, what should have been impossible had been achieved, and it was undeniably shocking—this was not an advantage of class, but a dominance of operation.

"Sword Wind Startles the Clouds!"

"Dreaming with the Wind" brandished his three-foot blade, and terrible sword light shot out in rapid succession toward Qu Zheng. The sharp wind brushed past, ruffling "Dreaming with the Wind's" temples, but at that moment, Qu Zheng activated "Overclocking Mode." He stepped back slightly, twisted his body, and tilted to evade the attack. His dual daggers, now wielded like swords, flashed as he performed a drawing motion, dashing past "Dreaming with the Wind" in an instant.

"Ghost Dagger Triple Slash, Six-Fold Strike!"

After activating his "Ghost Dagger State," most of the skills Qu Zheng unleashed were akin to those of a sword-type class. In his dual-wielding state, Qu Zheng unleashed a barrage of alternating thrusts; though he executed only three sword slashes, he generated six sharp arcs of light, each imbued with lethal intent.

After the sword light shimmered six times, the curtains fell behind "Dreaming with the Wind." Qu Zheng danced his dual blades with elegance, his movements as fluid as flowing water as he sheathed his daggers into the pouches at his waist.

At this moment, the wind wall surrounding "Dreaming with the Wind," which had been flickering behind Qu Zheng, completely disintegrated and quietly dissipated. Sharp sword light continued to flash around "Dreaming with the Wind," accompanied by a rapidly depleting health bar. Finally, with a look of sheer shock in his eyes, "Dreaming with the Wind" watched his HP drop to zero; his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground, kneeling before falling flat.

"My ears can finally enjoy some peace and quiet."

Qu Zheng scratched his ear, a look of rare annoyance appearing on his face. Seeing that Ye Yu had already finished his own battle and was waiting, he heard Ye Yu laugh, "It’s truly rare to see such an expression on you. It seems that guy died because he talked too much—even more of a chatterbox than you, and certainly not as handsome."

"Looks like you've got it handled, Third. With your brain’s precision, a guy like that could never stand against you."

Qu Zheng shrugged, a smile appearing on his face as his mood improved upon hearing Ye Yu’s words.

Ye Yu nodded in response. "Naturally, I was faster than you. But speaking of which, your custom talent skills seem to be specifically tailored for your 'Ghost Dagger State,' right? It’s as if every attribute of the state has been fully enhanced; even the skill damage exceeds the scope of a level 40 character. In a one-on-one duel, many physical melee classes would likely suffer at the hands of such a custom talent skill."

Qu Zheng offered a helpless, bitter smile. The fact that Ye Yu could discern the existence of an enhancement tree for the "Ghost Dagger State" based on a single battle was a testament to Ye Yu’s own prowess.

When using the "Ghost Dagger State," Qu Zheng essentially jumped from a stealth-type to a sword-type class. By sacrificing some of his own health and defense to boost his output, he utilized the "Ghost Dagger State" for quick, decisive strikes. Such incredibly high damage output completely suppressed a sword-type player who relied on a balance of offense and defense. How could a level 40 balanced sword-type player hope to contend with damage evaluations that exceeded the level 40–50 range?

Ye Yu was also well aware that Qu Zheng’s weapons were equipped with supplementary attribute stones that boosted armor penetration and damage calculation, along with powerful special effects like "Armor Piercing." With such a state skill in his arsenal, Qu Zheng transformed his otherwise singular stealth-type profession into something diverse, breaking the limitations of being easily read by other players.

By this time, Huang Hong had finished dealing with the elite members of "Saints of the World" and "War Song." Those who weren't on the verge of death were already lying on the ground. The remaining stragglers, either critically wounded or near death, had retreated from the "Everlasting Affection" guild territory. Although they were elites, they were players who had mostly run dungeons and lacked actual PvP experience. For someone who had been through the crucible of PvP, suppressing such "clumsy birds" was no difficult task. The key lay in Huang Hong’s custom talent tree, which included enhancements for one-versus-many scenarios.

"What a headache. This clash has landed me in a 'Red Name' state."

Ye Yu looked at Huang Hong’s ID and said helplessly. He hadn't expected Huang Hong to take the initiative, but because Huang Hong struck first to kill the opponents, it had intimidated the elite guild members; otherwise, it wouldn't have been good if more of them had joined the fray.

"It’s fine. Wait twelve hours, and the Red Name status will vanish," Huang Hong said with a laugh, though a bitter expression remained on his face. He continued, "I really admire 'Old Hu' for being a Red Name player who kills so often. I’m truly curious how strong his combat power was on the old server."

In "God's Lament," killing players without having a prior conflict (which would turn names yellow) resulted in an immediate "Red Name." Each kill increased the Red Name value; once a certain threshold was reached, the ID would turn red. Eventually, time would begin to count down to reduce the value. Old Hu, however, was the type who killed players so frequently that his ID was a dazzling, deep crimson, which was hard to reduce through time alone.

Because "God's Lament" was built upon a Wuxia worldview, its PvP design was arguably the most perfect in the industry, and the mechanics were constantly being refined. The killing mechanics mirrored the Wuxia genre; when a player’s Red Name reached that deep crimson state, they would be hunted by local government officials if they stepped into a safe zone for too long.

"The three of us have finished our part. It seems only that guy is left now," Huang Hong said, looking toward the figure of "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" in the distance.

Luo Feng and the others were support-type players, so they stayed back to cast buffs, while Luo Wei protected Luo Feng and Tan Cong. Fortunately, thanks to Luo Wei, unnecessary trouble was avoided.

Compared to the battles fought by Ye Yu and his group, the fight between "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" and "Two or Three Idle Chats" was quite intense. It had reached a white-hot stage, shifting from the depths of the "Everlasting Affection" guild territory to the streets, where black flames and white frost were inextricably intertwined.

As the battle dragged on, "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" seemed to lose his initial caution, his expression relaxing to the point where he looked as if he were merely toyed with "Two or Three Idle Chats." Meanwhile, "Two or Three Idle Chats," who had initially been able to suppress "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" through various means, was now struggling, appearing as if he were on the verge of collapse.

"I’m starting to wonder if this guy is going easy on 'Two or Three Idle Chats.' It really looks like he's just playing with him," Luo Feng said, his brow furrowing as he watched the heated battle.

Ye Yu nodded. "It certainly seems that way, though I didn't expect him to be toying with 'Two or Three Idle Chats'."

"A war of attrition is 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's' greatest trump card. The longer the battle lasts, the stronger his combat power becomes. Don't forget, he’s currently standing within his own Shadow Domain. Fighting him inside his domain is already a disadvantage; if you can't end it quickly, the outcome is obvious," Huang Hong said with a frown.

Ye Yu smiled. "That's because he has the capability to toy with a player like 'Two or Three Idle Chats,' and he can do it quite easily."

At this point, thanks to the duration of the fight, "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero's" health had recovered to ninety percent. Conversely, because "Two or Three Idle Chats" had been constantly scorched by the black flames, he was suffering from a burn effect. While his health hadn't been depleted too severely, his mana—after such a long engagement—was nearly exhausted.

"I thought you were something special. Turns out it's all just talk. You’re even more pathetic than the other two. I really don't understand how they could have been so blind as to help you," "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" said, clutching his pitch-black spear-halberd, a mocking arc curling his lips.

"Two or Three Idle Chats" stood panting, exhausted. Because he was using a "God's Lament" headset, his brain was directly connected, and he was now suffering from mental fatigue.

"Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" ignored the panting "Two or Three Idle Chats" and looked toward Ye Yu not far away, laughing, "I’d say the forces you brought have been completely wiped out, wouldn't you? I told you, when those guys made their move, the forces you brought were truly an eyesore."

"How can this be!" "Two or Three Idle Chats" turned his head to look toward Ye Yu, and upon seeing the scene, a look of profound shock appeared in the depths of his eyes. Clearly, he had never expected such an outcome.

"I’m curious, what can you do now?"

Hearing the mocking tone of "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero," "Two or Three Idle Chats'" expression twisted slightly. "You bastards, how dare you do this!"

"Two or Three Idle Chats'" face was savage. Although his tone remained aggressive, he had lost his greatest backing now that Ye Yu’s group had defeated the forces he had brought. He looked at "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" and said coldly, "Do you have any idea who you've offended?"

"What does it matter who I've offended?" "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" shook his head with a laugh. "It’s just the 'First Power,' isn't it?"

"Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" thought to himself that in the current "Xuantian" server, the only group capable of making "Saints of the World" kneel and turning "War Song" into a vassal was the "First Power." Yet, "Two or Three Idle Chats" never imagined that the very people who had dismantled his forces were the ones capable of clashing with the "First Power," and that the faction they belonged to could rival it as well.

"Since you know it's the 'First Power,' how dare you act this way? Are you not afraid of bringing a greater catastrophe upon your guild?" "Two or Three Idle Chats" roared. He wasn't afraid of "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero," the Witch King, but rather that the "First Power" would take out their frustration on him for failing his mission.

"Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" didn't speak. He thought to himself: *You have no idea what I've experienced, which is exactly why I'm no longer afraid of a guild like the 'First Power.'* As he thought this, the Witch King shivered slightly as he looked at Ye Yu’s group. In comparison, he preferred to cooperate with them.

"So what if it's the 'First Power'? As long as I want to, one day I'll drive them into the abyss." "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" held his black spear-halberd, pointing the tip at "Two or Three Idle Chats," who was kneeling on one knee.

Huang Hong seemed to respond to the sentiment, shouting, "Sooner or later, we'll beat them into a pulp!"

Ye Yu shook his head with a bitter laugh. "It seems that back in the 'Ancient Palace of Mount Tai,' you’ve become just as much of a blockhead as 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero.' Aren't you afraid of getting struck by lightning for acting so arrogant?"

Luo Feng nodded with a smile, "Before you do things like this, do us a favor and tell people we don't know each other—that we only met by chance."

Hearing this, Huang Hong nearly tripped, his face twitching as he looked at Ye Yu and Luo Feng. "You two!"

"Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" interjected, "Isn't it a bit too late to pretend we don't know each other? From the moment we started communicating, our relationship became inseparable. Hahahaha!"

Ye Yu and his group smiled at this, offering no reply, which was clearly an acknowledgment of the fact.