Chapter 6: Just You Wait
Within the territory of the Duoyin Kingdom, vast stretches of green wheat fields extended as far as the eye could see. It was currently summer, with several months still to go before the harvest season. Several scarecrows stood upright in the fields, and windmills were built atop the distant granaries. The scenery was like something out of a painting.
The prosperity of the central region was evident from the wheat fields before him. Compared to the center, the far north was bitterly cold, the domain of the Ice Lord, the ruler of the Ice Descendants and the absolute master of the far north. On the southern side of the continent lay the Aier Great Forest, where the Elf race lived, ruled by the Elf Queen.
In contrast to the prosperous central region, the mineral-rich far north, and the stable south (Aier Great Forest), the eastern part of the continent appeared somewhat barren. This area was dominated by mountains and swamps, where Barbarians, Dwarves, and Dragonmen lived, earning it the name Eastern Swamp.
These territories comprised the lands of the Six Tribes Alliance. The Human race, Ice Descendants, and Elf race were powerful, while the Barbarians, Dwarves, and Dragonmen were less favored.
On the western side of the continent stood Chimney Mountain, the territory of the Chaos Legion. This was almost a desolate land. Despite having numerous volcanoes, the climate here was not warm, with snow cover year-round. Even during the warmest season, the snow on the ground never completely melted, turning into muddy slush underfoot. This climate was worse than the bitter cold of the far north.
Volcanic ash drifted in the sky, and the ground underfoot was half-melted snow. In such a climate, there were almost no natural agricultural yields. Even with artificial cultivation, the returns were meager. The harsh environment, coupled with the constant internal wars between the Ancient Tree Men and the Demon Ghosts, made the level of misery imaginable.
If it weren't for the formidable combat power of the Grey Orcs and the fact that the Ancient Tree Men were natural war behemoths, these four races would have been wiped out long ago.
Looking at the wheat field before him, Su Xiao couldn't figure out one thing: how did the border war sustain itself given the dire conditions over at Chimney Mountain?
Chimney Mountain faced the central Duoyin Empire directly, with the Ice Descendant warriors from the far north on its left and the threat of the Elf Queen from the Aier Great Forest on its right—fighting one against three. The current situation was that the Chaos Legion at Chimney Mountain was being ground into the dirt, nearly flattened, yet they stubbornly refused to surrender. Major battles hadn't erupted for over a decade, but small-scale skirmishes never ceased.
Su Xiao felt that the Six Tribes Alliance was trying to control the Chaos Legion's population, using their resource advantage to slowly drain them dry.
Putting these thoughts aside for now, Su Xiao began to examine the newly appeared Battle Merit Ranking. The rules of this ranking were simple and brutal. The reward for first place was very tempting, the rewards for 2nd to 5th place were also good, and ranks 6 to 100 rewarded 4 True Attribute Points.
A total of 527 Contractors had entered this world. Most of them had come specifically for the Battle Merit Ranking, while about a quarter had been randomly matched into this world.
No one had earned any Battle Merit yet, but in the unranked list, Su Xiao saw quite a few familiar faces, such as Mu Xiao, whom he had bombed with Apollo, the crazed Beast Gasco, and Gulu, who had just acquired the Night Walker Set.
Besides these acquaintances, there were three people who required caution. First was Huishenshi. Su Xiao wasn't sure if this guy was manipulating a puppet or if his true body had entered this world. If it was a puppet, he would need to kill it as quickly as possible. If Huishenshi's true body was here, then he couldn't act rashly. Without a 90% or higher probability of killing the other party, Su Xiao wouldn't make a move easily.
Apart from Huishenshi, the other two were Yanhuoshi and Yueshitu. Su Xiao had heard of Yanhuoshi. It was said that this guy was originally a fire-type Mage Lord, but as his rank increased, his skills became more and more skewed. His mastery of magical abilities was mediocre, but he was extremely adept at creating psychic bombs. As Yanhuoshi's skills grew more eccentric, his methods of creating explosives became more advanced. To this day, Yanhuoshi could turn anything he touched into an explosive, including an enemy's body.
The last one, Yueshitu, was a Contractor from Apocalypse Paradise, an incredibly powerful Summoning Class. It was said he was essentially a mobile army.
Compared to these opponents, Su Xiao was more interested in the rewards for first place and 2nd to 5th place. If the rewards weren't tempting enough, he wouldn't focus on earning Battle Merit.
First Place Reward: Dragon Hunter Set (Holy Spirit Rank Set, 3/3, can be forged into 1/1. After forging, set effects remain unchanged, individual equipment bonuses disappear).
2nd to 5th Place Reward: Origin Stone (Special item, the rank determines the quality of the Origin Stone).
Seeing the rewards for first place and 2nd to 5th place, Su Xiao quickened his pace. He needed the Dragon Hunter Set. At this stage, he felt that the Dragon Hunter Set would provide a greater immediate boost than the Void Tree Fruit. The latter was more beneficial for long-term development. In terms of overall value, the Dragon Hunter Set couldn't compare to the Void Tree Fruit.
Even if he didn't secure first place, the rewards for 2nd to 5th place were still tempting. An Origin Stone could sell for 5500 to 8000 Soul Coins in the Trade Market.
Regarding the issue of joining a faction, Su Xiao's faction was already locked in. Given his identity as a War Demon, no matter where he went, except back to Chimney Mountain, he would be besieged by that faction's forces. His current reputation made this clear.
Duoyin Kingdom Reputation: -185200 points (Blood Feud).
Elf Race Reputation: -197620 points (Blood Feud).
Northern Border Reputation: -149370 points (Deadly Grudge).
Dwarf Race Reputation: -168000 points (Blood Feud).
Barbarian Reputation: -152770 points (Blood Feud).
Dragonman Tribe Reputation: -176500 points (Blood Feud).
Su Xiao took out his compass, confirmed his bearings, and continued on his way. He first needed to reach the border of the Duoyin Empire, then bypass the battlefield to reach the Black Ring Fortress at Chimney Mountain.
The scenery along the way was quite pleasant. With his team's speed, they reached the border of the Duoyin Kingdom around three in the afternoon.
As soon as they reached the border, a faint smell of burning hung in the air. This was likely the odor produced by some kind of fuel after a high-intensity explosion, probably from a war weapon.
Half a kilometer into the border zone, Su Xiao saw that the lush green grass came to an abrupt end, burned to black ash. Stepping on it produced a faint crackling sound.
Just then, a loud boom came from the distance. A massive fireball appeared in the sky, a fiery orange color close to the hue of magma. Su Xiao estimated its diameter to be at least several hundred meters.
Another loud boom, and the giant fireball in the distant sky exploded. Burning embers rained down, scattering like flowers scattered by a goddess, creating a spectacular scene.
[Tip: The Hunter has entered the war zone.]
[Chaos Legion · High Lord ability, activated at 30% (After completing Main Quest · First Ring, this temporary ability will be fully activated).]
[High Lord Ability: Can summon the Ancient Horn and command the Ancient War Soul to blow it. The horn's sound will affect a 5-kilometer radius. All Grey Orcs, Ancient Tree Clan, Snake People, and Demon Ghosts within this area will be summoned by the horn's sound and converge towards the Hunter's location.]
[Tip: This ability has a cooldown of 1 natural day.]
Duoyin Empire, Royal Capital, inside a candy shop.
A little girl in a Gothic dress had a candy in her mouth, puffing out her cheeks. She was currently squatting on the back of a Contractor, whose back heart had been pierced, clearly killed in one hit.
"Dragon Hunter Set? A Holy Spirit Rank melee set? With the Night Walker Set, even if I got the Dragon Hunter Set... I'd just have to sell it."
Gulu stood up. Suddenly, a thought struck her: if she obtained the Dragon Hunter Set, she could also sell it to Su Xiao. Wouldn't that be...
Thinking of this, Gulu couldn't suppress the smile on her face. After confirming no one was around, she muttered, "Just you wait, Daddy... Pfft, pfft, pfft. Just you wait, Bai Ye!"