Chapter 271 – Golden Dragon Horn
“Follow my instructions. Order all your Mages who have area-of-effect magic, especially those with the Fog spell, to target that place over there!” Nie Yan pointed at the location of the Golden Dragon Horn.
Sleepy Fox was slightly taken aback. Just what was Nie Yan planning? If they unloaded all their area-of-effect magic over that area, wouldn’t they stand even less of a chance at snatching the loot? Even so, neither he nor Fa Lan had the slightest hesitation. They passed down Nie Yan’s orders.
The Mages from Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine cast their area-of-effect spells as the magical energy in the atmosphere fluctuated violently. Fire and lightning fell from the sky, causing embers and sparks to fly in all directions, while a dense fog expanded outward.
The area surrounding the Golden Dragon’s corpse was submerged in flames, lightning, and fog, shrouding the center from view.
None of the players from the second-tier guilds understood what was going on. But after seeing such a frantic bombardment of magic, all of them backed off in a scurry.
With the loot out of view, these players couldn’t help feeling restless in their hearts.
Nie Yan stealthed and activated Adjudicator of God before dashing straight into the the fog of lightning and flames.
The raging flames and crackling lightning disappeared upon touching the barrier around Nie Yan, unable to harm him.
This was the magic immunity effect of Adjudicator of God!
Nie Yan’s vision was greatly limited in the fog, occasionally blinded temporarily by flashes of light. He couldn’t get a clear view of his surroundings. All he could do was go off his memory, stumbling his way through until he believed to be in the right spot, then crouching down to search.
He was pleasantly surprised when a golden shimmer caught his eye. This was the twinkle of an item drop! He reached out his hand and picked up what felt like a horn. It was slightly curved, and he could feel its rough texture.
It’s the Golden Dragon Horn!
Nie Yan placed the Golden Dragon Horn in his bag and continued his search. After a while, he found all four pieces of equipment on top of some other item he couldn’t identify. But there were quite a few of scattered about, and he didn’t hesitate in taking everything.
Demonified Lords usually dropped a lot of items. This time, he had earned big.
After doing a second sweep to confirm he hadn’t missed anything, he quickly made his way out. He didn’t wish to risk dying by dallying until the duration of Adjudicator of God was almost up.
Nie Yan emerged from the dense fog and regrouped with Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan without attracting any unwanted attention.
“I’ve collected the loot,” Nie Yan informed.
Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan wore incredulous expressions. They were still waiting to receive further instructions from Nie Yan. They believed he wouldn’t take action until after the barrage of spells ended.
The bombardment of area-of-effect magic had never ceased, not even for a single second!
“I have a skill that grants immunity to magic,” Nie Yan casually explained.
Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan finally understood why Nie Yan had asked them to order their Mages to cast area-of-effect magic. It was for the sake of cover, allowing him to secretly take away all the drops. Like this, they wouldn’t attract everyone’s ire.
“What dropped?” Sleepy Fox asked. Nie Yan had previously agreed to leave the four pieces of equipment for him and Fa Lan to divide up evenly.
Demonified Lords were guaranteed to drop at least Sub Legendary-grade equipment, after all!
“A Golden Dragon Horn, four pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment, and some miscellaneous items. As per our agreement, the equipment is yours. As for the other drops…” Nie Yan stared at his bag as he trailed off.
“Forget about that, just show us the equipment,” Sleepy Fox said impatiently. He was itching to see the properties of the four pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment.
Nie Yan couldn’t help but inwardly snicker. If Sleepy Fox knew the value of these drops, he wouldn’t have passed up on them. Anything that dropped from a Demonified Lord was bound to be good, including the miscellaneous items.
Fa Lan couldn’t help but wryly smile. Sleepy Fox really was a bit too impatient. But since he had effectively been spoken for, he didn’t raise the issue. Besides, two pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment was already extremely good. He had nothing to complain about.
Nie Yan shared the four pieces of equipment in chat. All of them were Level 40. One piece was for Warriors, two for Mages, and one for Paladins. Their properties weren’t bad, roughly on par with his Blackbright Chestpiece.
With the equipment given to Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan, all sides could be considered to have received their fair share.
Apart from the Golden Dragon Horn, Nie Yan also obtained 60 Golden Dragon Scales which was a crafting material. He could use them to create Legendary-grade equipment or enhance the defense and magic resistance of existing equipment. A single Dragon Scale was worth no less than a single piece of Sub Legendary-grade equipment!
Nie Yan examined the Golden Dragon Horn in his hand. Except for the gold colour, it greatly resembled a goat horn. It had a very coarse texture, and was covered with a delicate, veined pattern.
Golden Dragon Horn (Legendary)
Requirements: 600 Strength, 30 Willpower
Description: This item allows the player to form a contract with a Golden Dragon.
Properties: Summon a Baby Golden Dragon. It has a chance of learning Dragon Magic when levelling up.
Baby Golden Dragon
Level: 0
Attack: 32–33
Attack Speed: 21
Defense: 30
Strength: 30
Dexterity: 20
Intelligence: 2
Movement Speed: 22
Growth Rate: 15
Restrictions: Can only be used by a member of the Righteous Faction. Bound to owner.
Note: Item effects are applied immediately upon entering the player’s inventory.
The owner of the Golden Dragon Horn could summon a pet Baby Golden Dragon. This type of pet could level up. The Growth Rate determined the potential of the pet; 5 was ordinary, 10 was very rare, and 15 was heaven-defying.
A pet with a Growth Rate of 10 would generally be sold for upwards of 3,000 gold. As for those with a Growth Rate of 15, they usually couldn’t be bought. If your Influence in Calore reached 50, you would be given the opportunity to buy such a pet. However, it was very expensive. Even 10,000 gold wasn’t nearly enough.
Pets with an Innate Ability like the Baby Golden Dragon were even more expensive.
Levelling up a pet was an extremely time-consuming affair. Nie Yan decided he would think of a way to level it up later on.
Nie Yan recalled the Evolution Crystal in his bag. He wondered what would happen if he fed it to the Baby Golden Dragon.
He shifted his attention to the Golden Dragon Scales.
Golden Dragon Scale (Legendary Crafting Material): This item can be used to create Legendary-grade equipment. An Advanced Tailor can sew this item into a piece of armour to increase its defense by 20%, magic resistance by 30 points, and poison resistance by 30 points.
An item that boosted a piece of equipment’s defensive capabilities by so much was very rare. After all, it was only a supplementary item. It would be a waste to use it on any gear lower than Sub Legendary-grade.
Nie Yan had 60 Golden Dragon Scales altogether. He planned to slowly use them as he needed.
He calculated his earnings. Despite not participating in the battle against the Golden Dragon, Asskickers United had still come out with the Golden Dragon Horn and 60 Golden Dragon Scales. This trip to Sinful Gorge was extremely worthwhile. As for Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine, they had over 500 players each die to the Golden Dragon. So at best, the Sub Legendary-grade equipment they obtained would make up for their losses.
The barrage of magic settled down and the fog cleared out. The players from the second-rate guilds looked toward the center, only to discover it was completely empty. There was no trace of the Golden Dragon Horn or equipment.
“What the hell, is this a bug!?”
“Where did the Golden Dragon Horn go?”
The players were in an uproar and cursed up a storm.
The loot had vanished under everyone’s watch. How could they not feel unwilling?
Confused and puzzled, they momentarily stood in a daze. The Golden Dragon Horn and equipment were right there just a moment ago. There was no way someone could’ve snatched away the loot under the bombardment of spells, right?
Yet the drops had disappeared, leaving not even a single trace.
This was too depressing.
Could Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine have been the culprits behind the disappearance of the loot? After all, they were the ones who suddenly started bombarding the area around the Golden Dragon’s corpse for seemingly no reason.
However, the problem was that there was no proof! Not to mention they were far weaker than Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. Even if they wanted to make the accusation, none of them had the guts. All they could do was acquiesce.
“Over 200,000 players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame are heading towards Sinful Gorge!” a subordinate quietly informed the guild leader of Dark Hero.
The Dark Hero guild leader’s eyes widened in alarm. He quietly withdrew his forces from Sinful Gorge.
The second-rate guilds began withdrawing one after the other. They understood another huge battle was about to break out. In order to avoid being caught in the crossfire, they quickly left.
Guo Huai updated Nie Yan with a piece of important news. 200,000 players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame had just arrived at the boundary of Sinful Gorge. They were just outside the passageway!
“This fast?” Nie Yan muttered in surprise. This vastly exceeded his expectations. He previously believed any signs of movement from Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return would be immediately noticed and reported to him by Guo Huai. This was why he didn’t feel too anxious. However, it appeared they had somehow managed to stay under the radar.