This chapter is sponsored by: Martin Lücking, Dare kasali and Colin Speakman
Chapter 46 – Now this is difficulty!
Translated by: Sephilia
Edited by: Erza and Rango(Neru)
TLCed by: Zaza
Splitting up to carry out their assigned operations, Ye Kong, Li Qie and Li Ge accompanied Yue Yang towards Yu Long Valley at a frantic pace after leaving the starting portal of the floor from Chen Xi Town.
Yu Long Valley had no relation to dragons whatsoever.
It was a dangerous mountain valley, with tall ridges as sharp as knives, winding over a distance of 50 kilometres.
The rock walls had innumerable spikes with weirdly-shaped rocks and cliffs, making it impossible for warriors to travel through via the peak of the valley. Simultaneously, there were innumerable Level 3 Rock Eagles living at the peak of the valley. Trying to ride a flying beast through the ridges would be akin to courting death.
The base of the valley was the only way to pass.
However, on its surface lived a large amount of Giant Demon Worms, estimated to be more than 10,000. There were over a thousand different species of these grotesque Demon Worms. Although they could not be considered strong, they were still able to display a surprising amount of strength by utilising the special terrain of Yu Long Valley. Nobody was able to completely eliminate them. Not only that, the reproduction rate of the demon worms were extremely scary. In merely 10 days, even if human warriors completely cleaned up the surface of Yu Long Valley, new Demon Worms of all sizes would come crawling out of their underground worm nests and from the cracks in rocks to reclaim their territory, and it would be as densely packed with Demon Worms as though nothing had ever happened.
Without a way to permanently eradicate the Demon Worms, the Warrior’s Guild decided to just let this place be the first trial for warriors.
“Oh, damn!” When they reached the entrance of Yu Long Valley, Yue Yang saw the valley full of Demon Worms and could not help but knit his eyebrows.
Of course, with his current strength, he was not scared of these Demon Worms.
However, these Demon Worms were grotesque to the point of making people feel nauseated. Their shapes were extremely weird, and they were highly aggressive. It caused Yue Yang to feel like puking just from looking at them. This was not strange at all. Regardless of who it was that saw the dense sea of Worms, they would definitely feel creeped out.
Ye Kong had proposed two ways of getting past Yu Long Valley .
The first one was to pass through with all the other warriors. By lighting a long torch, they could drive away the Worms who were scared of fire and advance step by step. The others would follow the safe route cleared by the person in front while trying not to provoke the large swarm of Demon Worms while exterminating the few that blocked their path. Thus, they would slowly but safely pass through Yu Long Valley. If one were to find a cooperative party, then they would be able to pass through safely within the span of two days.
The second method was the stupidest, craziest but at the same time the fastest method. This method required them to run frantically, rushing past the Demon Worms without stopping.
“Although the first option is extremely safe, it would take up too much time. Furthermore, camping in Yu Long Valley at night is the most dangerous thing to do. We would have to find a hiding hole, otherwise at night, there would be 10 times as many Demon Worms as in the day. There could even be many powerful Level 3 Worms roaming about. The chance of us being eaten is extremely high. Although the second method looks to be extremely dangerous at first glance, the reactions of the Demon Worms are slower in the day as the sunlight causes their vision to become extremely poor. If we target their sense of smell and use something with a strong scent to attract them, then clean up the few Demon Worms that block our path, the chances of passing through are higher… The only downside to this is that this method requires a huge amount of stamina. The 50 kilometre Valley is actually littered with uneven mountain rocks which will drain our stamina. We can’t rest in between and we have to rush through in one go to prevent a group of Worms from chasing after us. We would also miss the hiding hole situated at the centre of Yu Long Valley. We have a high chance of losing our lives in the latter half of Yu Long Valley due to a lack of stamina to carry on…”
Ye Kong looked towards Yue Yang as he said this.
He was not worried about his body that had been starved for a few days, as he had grown accustomed to it. Ye Kong was more worried about whether this guy that was called trash as the third son of the Yu Clan had enough stamina to pass through Yu Long Valley in one go.
Li Qie and Li Ge glanced at each other. they were also worried about this issue.
Both of them approved of rushing forward in one go when looking at it from a fighter’s standpoint. This was so the Demon Worms could not react fast enough to them, minimising the amount of unnecessary battles.
Conversely, if they were to walk slowly and allow a large group of Demon Worms to surround them, it would instead be a highly disadvantageous situation for them. The question was, whether Yue Yang would pick the second method. After all, he was the client and held the final choice. Ye Kong was afraid that he had not explained it clearly enough, and added, “If we were to choose the first method, then we would have to prepare all the necessary items. We would also have to find other parties who wish to pass through Yu Long Valley and work together to advance; However, if we were to pick the second option, we could start instantly as the Demon Worms are at their weakest in the afternoon. But now, we’ve already missed the optimal timing… The fastest run through Yu Long Valley was five hours, we would have to be faster than that. Otherwise, when the sky darkens, we would be in an extremely dangerous predicament.”
Yue Yang felt that even if the tragic guy who had learnt martial arts were to run through this fifty kilometre mountain road, he would have no problem, not to mention his current self.
He decided to go with the second option.
Ye Kong hastily nodded his head saying, “Since I’ve learnt some techniques passed down in my family, there is no problem with my stamina when running. I’ll give everyone half an hour to gather up what you need.”
Ye Kong and the Li brothers gulped nervously.
Although they were hoping for Yue Yang to choose the second option in their hearts just now, Yue Yang had actually decided to do it. They felt that this was akin to him betting his life on it. The Li brothers immediately lay down to rest at their current spots. They were preparing to recover their strength to the peak within half an hour.
However, Ye Kong did not do this. He instantly ran towards the nearest provision shop and bought various necessities with the advance pay that Yue Yang had given him from the shopkeeper. Ten minutes later, he brought a large bag of items back along with a piece of good news. Two days ago, a few groups of strong parties had cleared this trial and slaughtered a good amount of Demon Worms. There were slightly less worms than usual crawling about right now.
In Yue Yang’s eyes, even if the Demon Worms were ten times less, there were still too many of them to count.
However, Li Qie and Li Ge’s morale was greatly bolstered by this news. Although they knew that this would not help much, hearing good news was always better than hearing bad news.
“Do you want to leave the Ironback Demonic Wolf here to be cared for? No matter how docile it is, seeing the mountain packed with Demon Worms will probably cause him to turn tail and flee while leaving you behind.” Ye Kong quietly advised Yue Yang to keep Hui Tai Lang here while sprinkling ‘Insect Repelling Powder’ on him.
“No need. I’ll just let it be if it runs away. After all, this is a test for it.” Yue Yang randomly gave Hui Tai Lang a flying kick.
If Hui Tai Lang ran away after merely looking at the Demon Worms, what was the point of keeping it?
Ye Kong saw Yue Yang kicking his beast around leisurely and was dumbfounded. He had never seen a warrior who would hit his own beasts. Wasn’t he afraid that this Ironback Demonic Wolf would run away? However, when he saw the comfortable expression of Hui Tai Lang after he was beaten up. He had never seen a beast that lacked so much dignity before. Could it be that this wolf was a naturally born masochist?
As Yue Yang’s group prepared to rush through Yu Long Valley, the party members who were discussing on going through the valley together were dumbfounded.
Two group leaders shouted first, “Oi, are you preparing to send yourselves as dinner for the demon worms?”
Someone also cried out, “Mad, these four guys have gone mad.”
“It’s afternoon now, the sun is about to set. It’s impossible for you to run through Yu Long Valley in five hours. Even if you’re lucky and don’t meet any Level 3 Nest Spiders and Bird Eating Mantises, or large groups of Level 2 Giant Black Iron Ants and Devil Masked Centipedes, it’s impossible for you to rush through Yu Long Valley in one go. With its being 50 kilometres long, along with it’s complex terrain, I’d estimate that you’d be dead tired even before you’re halfway through.” A few of the warriors that set up stalls tried to convince them with good intentions, “Stay and team up with everyone to clear the trial, after all, that’s the safest way to do it.”
“There are less than a hundred warriors who try to run past Yu Long Valley. But those who can safely make it through number less than ten. You’d better think about this carefully.” Even the Silver Armour Guard Captain who watched over the mouth of Yu Ling Valley advised Yue Yang not to be impulsive.
“You guys can stay…”
Yue Yang spoke to test the reactions of Ye Kong and the others.
If Ye Kong and the Li brothers hesitated, Yue Yang would immediately leave and not trust them ever again. Even if they were only hired, they had to retain at least a bit of loyalty. After all, it would be impossible to entrust a mission to people who fled without hesitation in the face of danger. This world had weaklings and Yue Yang would not deny their existence, but he would not choose weaklings to be his companions, even if they were only temporary.
The reaction of Ye Kong and the others was to reaffirm their determination. “No, we have been hired by you. As long as you make the decision, even if it were for us to die, we would carry it out.”
The Li Brothers did not say anything, but their resolute attitude showed it all.
Looking at Yue Yang’s party rushing towards Yu Long Valley, almost every warrior was shaking their heads. “These four idiots are as good as dead.”
However, the Silver Armour Guards captain opposed this notion. “No, they might succeed.”
The crowd did not understand.
To this, the Silver Armour Guards captain said something inscrutable. “The look in their eyes was similar to those who succeeded in the past. They were filled to the brim with confidence.”
“Bullshit, confidence doesn’t represent everything!” The warriors were sweating after hearing this.
“Having confidence doesn’t guarantee success, but you will definitely fail if you lacked it.” The guard captain threw another phrase at them.
“Che, who wouldn’t know how to spout big ideals?” Nobody believed that Yue Yang’s party could make it safely across Yu Long Valley. Everyone felt that these four people would at the very most run out of stamina halfway and fall onto the ground, becoming snacks for the large swarms of Demon Worms.
Two days later.
After the mercenaries had gone through a nightmarish battle, everyone passed through the trial of Yu Long Valley with many injuries, and reached the outer region of Star’s Domain. However, they discovered that Yue Yang and the others who ‘had already died’ were comfortably lying beneath the large tree at the Mercenary Guild’s doorstep, enjoying a glass of icy cold malt beer. This result shocked everyone: “You didn’t die?”
“Do you think that dead men can drink beer?” Yue Yang was speechless.
With regard to running through Yu Long Valley, they did not even consider it to be a difficult task to accomplish. There may have been a risk of losing their lives for Ye Kong, Li Qie and Li Ge, but to him as an Innate Ranker, running past Yu Long Valley was like taking a stroll through his own garden, just that the distance was longer and the terrain rougher.
Yue Yang had immediately checked with the Warrior Guild about Yue Bing when he came here.
She was fine, and there was no danger to her life.
This young lady had gone alone to the ‘Black Stone Labyrinth’ in Star’s Domain to complete her Refining mission, and it would take at least three days before she could come out. Although this let Yue Yang feel relieved, he had started to feel extremely bored at the same time.
“I’ve decided. I’ll participate in the Refining mission as well.” Yue Yang felt that passing the days like this was too boring. On the first they came, they went sightseeing around the outer regions of Star’s Domain, and familiarised themselves with the various information within this level of the Tong Tian Tower. There was nothing else to do on the third day, which had made him unable to take it anymore. Since Yue Bing would take three days to return, Yue Yang made the choice to participate in the trial as well.
“What?” For Ye Kong and the others who had experienced the good life for 2 days, it felt like thunder had struck when they heard this.
“Cough, cough, you need at least one contracted beast to participate in trials. In Xing Yu, you have to use beasts to pass the trials. Even if you know martial arts, it’s useless. Uncontracted beasts like Hui Tai Lang here can’t participate.” Ye Kong originally did not plan to offend Yue Yang, but there was no choice. After all, this was the cruel reality.
“Contracted beasts? Who said that I didn’t have them?” Yue Yang was angry that they were still thinking of him as garbage.
“Your contracted beast is…” Ye Kong did not harbour any hopes. If even just Hui Tai lang, a Bronze Ranked Ironback Demon Wolf could not be contracted, he estimated that the beasts that Yue Yang could form a contract was very few. Even if they were contracted, they would be extremely weak.
“Thorny Flower.” Everyone fell when Yue Yang said this.
“Using a Thorny Flower to pass the trials of Star’s Domain? This difficulty, my god! I would rather run through ten Yu Long Valleys!” The crowd wanted to smash their heads against the wall after hearing this.
“What is difficulty? Now this, is called difficulty.” Ye Kong was crying.