023 Gazing Toward the Capital!

The next day, when he logged in, Chen Feng boarded the Shapeshifter and headed to Zone 25 to begin exploring the map.

At first, Chen Feng had wanted to take on the epic quest in the Dark Desert, but Atlantis said they were short-handed for map exploration. On top of that, their levels were still low, making it a troublesome undertaking. With Barrow, that bone-white sand scorpion, still there as well, the Dark Desert would be too easy a place to ambush them in.

If they wanted to do the Dark Desert epic quest, Barrow had to be dealt with first; otherwise, the three of them would never dare attempt it. For the time being, Atlantis set the quest aside, planning to finish it after they had leveled up.

The epic quest meant nothing to Chen Feng. He shifted into raven form and flew across Zone 25, looking for any treasure chests he might be able to pick up.

Zone 25 was a broad plains region, vast in territory, with many major cities scattered throughout it. The largest of them all was Iron King City. This main city was twice the size of an alliance capital, its walls rising more than a hundred meters high, looking for all the world like a steel fortress. It earned its name partly because of its immense scale and formidable defenses, and partly because iron ore was abundant in the surrounding lands.

This city was the largest tribal orc stronghold in Zone 25. Its lord, Clinton Barsa, was a famous orc shaman who had once killed four human commanders by himself. Throughout his military career, he often used one line to instruct the warriors of the tribe: "Only heads may be broken, never feet in retreat."

Iron King City was an impregnable fortress. Even if players reached level 60, they still could not take it. Chen Feng had taken part in four player-organized assaults on major cities before, and no matter what method they used, none of them could seize a city. The one he remembered most vividly was the siege involving as many as one hundred thousand players. Every trick imaginable was thrown at the walls, and in the end, when Clinton Barsa appeared, half that army had already been wiped out.

If he wanted to conquer Iron King City, Chen Feng felt the only chance was to assassinate Clinton Barsa first. Otherwise, once that man showed himself, it would be a nightmare. Even a dragon's descent could do nothing against him, and that alone revealed just how monstrous the city lord's power truly was.

Chen Feng did not dare approach Iron King City. Even with his ability to fly, if he were discovered, the tribal wyvern riders would be dispatched, and then he would have no choice but death. For now, he only dared stand on a hill two thousand meters away and gaze at the capital, feeling the grandeur and majesty of its towering walls.

"This city will be mine someday."

Chen Feng already possessed a city token. As long as he could bring this city down and kill Clinton Barsa, he would be able to claim this super fortress famed for its defenses. Rumor had it that a special super-tier unit was hidden within the city, but no one had ever conquered it, so nothing had been confirmed.

Right now, even taking a single stronghold was difficult, let alone a massive main city like this. Chen Feng knew full well that capturing such a mighty fortress would not be easy. It would be no less difficult than completing the Ring of Darkness. Yet in his eyes, the moment he saw the city, he fell in love with it. Since the decisive battle in the future would require either a stronghold or a main city, he chose this one.

Arcane Missile!

Suddenly, a pale violet missile streaked in from behind. Chen Feng immediately used Wild Shift to escape.

He had not expected an ambush here. Clearly, staying in place without stealth had been a huge mistake; someone passing by had spotted him. If they knew he possessed the Ring of Darkness, they would surely act.

"Quick reflexes," said a thin man in a pale violet robe as he stepped out. Chen Feng was now in stealth, and the man could not see him. But he was certain Chen Feng had not gone far. By showing himself, he might even draw a counterambush.

Hidden Chamber?

Seeing the arcane mage who had appeared, Chen Feng did not recognize the man himself, but he had heard the player's ID before. This was the super mage known as the strongest arcane spellcaster in the Mexico region. He was neither a dual-specialization class nor a hidden class, just a single arcane talent build, yet he had mastered arcane magic to an extraordinary degree.

Trying to blow up his Ring of Darkness?

Chen Feng was not sure he could bring the man down. He still was not very familiar with this class. If it had been his warrior account, he would not have feared him at all. But in the current situation, things had become a little dangerous.

Hidden Chamber had come out openly, which meant he had some way to avoid Chen Feng's ambush. Having spent nearly two years roaming the open world map, Chen Feng knew just how perilous this was.

The reason the other side had failed to find him this time was most likely range, combined with the fact that Chen Feng had shifted areas immediately after entering stealth. Hidden Chamber could not locate him.

Chen Feng was in no hurry to expose himself. There was no reason for him to trade blows with this man. Even if he won, all that would drop would be mage gear, useless to him. If he lost, however, he would lose the Ring of Darkness. He was not about to fight such a pointless battle.

"He ran off," said an elf hunter as he emerged from the trees. His mini-radar could no longer detect Chen Feng's position, and in his view Chen Feng had already slipped away.

The arcane mage knew Chen Feng had not fled, only that he was still nearby. "It looks like he's a clone alt of Duan Chenfeng from the China region. I think he must be wearing the Ring of Darkness."

Indeed, Chen Feng had forgotten to equip the Ring of Darkness earlier. After the ambush, he immediately realized his mistake.

That hardly made him blame himself too much. After logging in, he had come straight to Zone 25, and because the ring had been transferred over from his warrior account, it had simply remained in his bag. Meanwhile, the Shapeshifter account, once transformed into a raven, had more than enough survival ability, so he had forgotten to put it on.

After the elf hunter came out, a shield warrior and a holy priest also stepped forward. Chen Feng felt relieved that he had not attacked earlier; otherwise, he would likely have been surrounded by a whole group by now. Especially after being marked by a hunter, stealth would not have mattered at all. If Chen Feng guessed correctly, they probably still had a rogue teammate hiding somewhere.

"It would be great if we could make this guy drop his Ring of Darkness," the shield warrior said regretfully. They had encountered a Ring bearer and still failed to kill him, letting him escape.

"Hidden Chamber, if you could get Duan Chenfeng's ring, you would definitely be able to complete that artifact," the holy priestess said with equal disappointment. In the Mexico region, they could not obtain a ring of their own, so they had originally planned to go into the open world map and farm rings from other national regions. They had not expected to meet one here, only to have him slip away.

The arcane mage merely smiled. "No rush. There are plenty of rings; we can collect them slowly. Besides, Duan Chenfeng is formidable. Even Barrow is not his match. I do not expect to loot a ring from him."

"No way, Duan Chenfeng is that strong?" The holy priestess found it hard to believe. Anyone whom Hidden Chamber rated so highly had to be a top-tier existence in the game world. Hidden Chamber had been the silver medalist in the previous Olympic Esports Tournament; those he called experts were all people who truly belonged in that sphere. Her reaction was understandable.

The arcane mage slid his staff into the strap behind him and habitually brushed the dust from his robe. "Peter and Atlantis both said so, so it should be true. If not for an accident at the time, Barrow might have been killed on the spot by Duan Chenfeng."

After a brief pause, he looked at the others. "Duan Chenfeng's survival ability on the open map is extremely strong. Just like earlier, even when he could have ambushed me, he did not make a move. Part of that may be because he thought it was not worth it, and part may be caution. When we're on the open map, avoid clashing with others whenever possible, or we may end up being ambushed ourselves."

Hidden Chamber also pointed out that the hunter should not have come out so early, and the others should have been prepared for a possible counterambush at any time. The human rogue should not have been searching for Chen Feng's position alone. In Hidden Chamber's view, everything they had just done could have been exploited by Chen Feng for an ambush.

Fortunately, Chen Feng had not been on his warrior account. If he had been, with that account's explosive burst, it would have been very easy to strike, eliminate a target in one wave, and then flee.

After putting some distance between himself and the group, Chen Feng transformed back into a raven and searched the surrounding area. He wanted to see whether there might be any quest related to Iron King City nearby. There had to be a reason why that city lord, Clinton Barsa, was so powerful.

Animal corpses?

Arriving in a patch of woodland, Chen Feng found small animal carcasses scattered everywhere. Killing these creatures would give players no experience, and no one would be bored enough to slaughter them across the open map. Besides, if they died, they would respawn quickly and would not remain here this long. For such a situation to suddenly appear, there had to be some quest available.

Following the direction in which the corpses had fallen, Chen Feng flew into the forest and finally landed on a wooden hut's window. Inside, a dwarf was conducting various experiments on the table, and the room was filled with small animal carcasses.

"Who's there? A raven?" The dwarf noticed Chen Feng, picked up a potion, and turned around, only to gape in astonishment when he saw that it was a raven.

Chen Feng resumed human form and asked, "Sir dwarf, what are you doing here?"

"Barbarian, can't you see I'm conducting experiments? I'm preparing plague poison to kill all those orcs." The dwarf set the potion back on the table and then hurried back to work.

"Poison the orcs? You mean the orcs of Iron King City?" Chen Feng felt a spark of hope. The nearest orc stronghold here was Iron King City, so it was very possible he could receive a quest from this NPC.

"Yes. Those hateful orcs seized our dwarven Iron King City and drove us to extinction. I want them to pay the price, a bloody price!" Remembering how his people had been driven away and slaughtered, the dwarf's expression immediately grew grim.

Getting a quest was not as simple as finding an NPC. One needed a bit of performance; otherwise, it was difficult to secure the NPC's task. Sometimes, speaking to an NPC in different ways would yield different quests. Chen Feng understood this somewhat, so he clapped his hands and said, "Those hateful orcs—I have been trying to kill them too, especially that butcher Clinton Barsa."

"You know Clinton Barsa?" The dwarf looked surprised.

"Clinton Barsa is the lord of Iron King City. I came here this time hoping to find a way to kill him, but my strength is far too limited. I can't even get inside Iron King City..." Chen Feng displayed his helplessness. Surely there would be a quest now, right?

Upon hearing this, the dwarf immediately said, "Barbarian, we can work together to drive those hateful orcs out."

"We are too few, and Clinton Barsa possesses overwhelming power. Even if we had a hundred thousand men, we might not be able to break Iron King City." Chen Feng knew Clinton Barsa's strength. That man could instantly obliterate more than twenty thousand players. He was absolutely monstrous. If they did not kill him first, there was no hope of taking the city.

The dwarf snorted coldly. "Clinton Barsa merely stole our dwarven divine weapon, the Sword of Thunder. If we can steal that artifact back, then there will be no need to fear him."

The Sword of Thunder?