Chapter 30: The Hidden Boss!

Morning Breeze was logged into Warrior, leveling up, for there was nothing else to do in the Land of Death and Bones. Killing monsters there was tough without a team, and the constant threat of ambushes loomed overhead. As for hunting the evil dragon’s treasure in the White Bone Dragon’s territory, Morning Breeze found that far too dull—better to train here instead. Outrace couldn’t command Morning Breeze, so he had to send others to search.

Leading a massive swarm of bat troops, Morning Breeze began honing his control over his units through wild monster hunts. Data King, due to an emergency, hadn’t made it to the Land of Death and Bones; upon logging in, he too started training his units. His command ability was formidable, and he quickly caught up in leveling his troops. Still, losses happened. Encounters with other players in the wild often led to clashes—troop-on-troop battles were frequent. Once a unit died, it was lost forever; resurrection was impossible—a true tragedy. As for why players fought upon meeting, it was all about the troop equipment. Killing a player with troops guaranteed at least one piece of equipment as loot. Few could resist when spotting a player with a scant force.

However, anyone seeing Morning Breeze with his vast army of high-tier bat troops would steer clear. To command so many advanced units at once, his badge rank must be exceedingly high; few would dare attack, and those who could escape would count themselves lucky.

Training alongside Cheng Xue, who wielded demon drakelings and leopard troops, their monster-killing speed was astonishing. The demon drakeling, a divine beast, leveled at a stunning rate; the smaller spawned drakes could pull monsters and hold them in place. With no healing available, unit health recovered slowly, so avoiding unnecessary damage was crucial. Cheng Xue’s ice elementals were also effective at drawing monsters, and the bat troops’ health was less of a concern, as their attacks restored vitality, and their agility made the leveling process simple.

“Let’s head back to town; someone’s nearby!” After dispatching that wave of monsters, Morning Breeze recalled his troops. In these tense times, he wanted no accidents. Without his magic ring, a single misstep could spell disaster. Though he didn’t fear the others, Cheng Xue’s presence complicated things—returning to town was safest.

Once the pair had left, a crowd soon converged on the spot, but Morning Breeze and Cheng Xue’s tracks had vanished. The five great guilds’ plan to encircle Morning Breeze had failed once more—dealing with him was, as expected, near impossible.

How dull, unbearably dull!

Simply playing the game no longer held much interest for Morning Breeze; leveling up and collecting good gear no longer satisfied him. Only battling experts brought any real thrill. A glance at his friends list showed few who could match him now. Switching to his alternate account, Morning Breeze returned to town, picked up the Magnetized Ring of Gravity, and teleported to the edge of the Land of Death and Bones, intent on ambushing Dark Bat.

Finding someone wasn’t so easy. Alone in the Land of Death and Bones, Morning Breeze wandered, unsure of his target’s location or numbers. Finding the solitary Dark Bat wouldn’t be easy. After half an hour, he hadn’t found Dark Bat but spotted Golden Dragon slaying a group of level 45 mobs—perhaps he’d found a prime leveling spot and was idling there.

A paladin—what a tragedy.

Blinding and Garrote were both difficult to use; controlling a paladin was hard, and Shadow Assassination required stealth and only paralyzed for two seconds. No matter which control skill, the paladin could activate invulnerability and hearthstone away. How could he kill Golden Dragon? His single-target burst was strong, but without powerful control, Morning Breeze simply couldn’t kill the paladin.

Unable to kill a lone target? For the mighty Bone Dragon to be so helpless—how pathetic.

Still, boredom prevailed—he was determined to kill Golden Dragon at least once. Morning Breeze simply waited for the paladin to use Hand of Protection, Divine Intervention, or Divine Shield. After any one of these, a forbearance effect would prevent the use of the other two for a minute. In that minute, killing Golden Dragon became much simpler.

The problem was, Golden Dragon never needed to use those abilities—not unless absolutely necessary in the Land of Death and Bones. Golden Dragon knew that Outrace, Morning Breeze, and Shadow Corner could strike at any time, so he never showed his hand.

As Morning Breeze idled, Outrace called in, “What are you up to?”

“Hunting for a chance to kill someone.” Morning Breeze was bored to death; while everyone else hunted for clues to the evil dragon’s treasure or strategies to defeat the Bone Dragon boss, he was out for blood.

Noticing Morning Breeze online on his alternate account, and that he was in the Land of Death and Bones, Outrace guessed he was bored and looking for a fight. Death Mantis and the others weren’t fools; those unable to face Morning Breeze had banded together, denying him any easy kills. Morning Breeze was notorious for roaming the lands, a veritable murder maniac. Many suspected he was the legendary Blood Dragon.

“Raven, could you be any more bored? We’re all searching for the evil dragon’s treasure, and you’re out killing people? What if you get killed in return?” Outrace was exasperated. Morning Breeze wasn’t suited to pioneering; when idle, he just went out looking for fights. Why not take it to the arena instead of murdering in the wild?

“I wish someone could kill me for once, but neither Serpent nor Dark Bat has that in them!” Morning Breeze kept his eyes on Golden Dragon, who stubbornly refused to use his trump cards.

Outrace had no solution—Morning Breeze was a born killer. He changed the subject: “That Ice Chest is probably out of reach. Even Serpent and his crew can’t manage it. We can’t waste any more time here, but after everything so far, going home empty-handed isn’t an option. I have an idea—take a risk and join forces with Death Mantis and the others to kill the Bone Dragon…”

“Sounds good!” Morning Breeze didn’t even ask why; Outrace’s plan felt right. He was eager to escape this rut. As for the dangers of cooperating—if three legendary beast gods turned traitor, it would be a deadly trap. But Morning Breeze didn’t care; he was the most likely to turn on the others.

Outrace had considered it. At this level, killing the level 66 Bone Dragon was nearly impossible, but two teams together just might manage it. There were five legendary beast gods here; with cooperation, there should be no issue.

Quick to react! Outrace had expected to explain further, but Morning Breeze agreed instantly. Clearly, they were kindred spirits—no explanations needed.

When Outrace announced it on team chat, Monk immediately objected: “Outrace, we just fought those guys twice—will they really cooperate? Aren’t you worried they’ll betray us mid-fight?”

Many shared Monk’s concerns. They wanted to finish the quest, claim the treasure, and keep leveling, but partnering with that bizarre team, facing three legendary beast gods—how could they counter that?

“In my book, Outrace’s motto is: there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests! We’re all trapped here; Serpent’s team is stuck too. Neither side can finish the quest, so we’re just wasting time. If this drags on, we’ll fall behind in levels and lose our edge. Cooperation is our shared goal.” Outrace was firm—his decisions were to be carried out. “Are we afraid of them? Don’t be ridiculous. If we join forces, maybe they should be afraid of us!”

Hearing this, the team began to feel it was possible. With Outrace involved, surely the other side had reason to be wary, and since he’d initiated the alliance, the opposing team would be extra cautious.

Convincing the team was easy for Outrace; had Morning Breeze tried, it would’ve been much harder. He lacked Outrace’s commanding presence and could easily be brushed aside, even denied gear.

Outrace added Morning Breeze, Shadow Corner, Soul of the Abyss, Death Mantis, Dark Bat, and Serpent to a shared chat and laid out the alliance: “I don’t see a problem—after all, we’re all rivals with a common quest and no direct conflict. Cooperation should be quite enjoyable!”

“Outrace, we’re enemies—now you want to cooperate? What if this is some trap?” Dark Bat was cautious, well aware of Outrace’s cunning. If there was a trap, it was more likely to come from Outrace than from Death Mantis. Outrace’s reputation was formidable.

Serpent knew Outrace never acted without motive; he always schemed. Fair or minor-benefit alliances weren’t his style. Still, with both sides stuck and entry to the Land of Death and Bones so difficult, this was the only viable option.

“What’s there to fear? You three are legendary beast gods; we have only two. Your side is full of experts, ours just a handful. Are you really afraid I’ll set a trap and wipe you out?” Outrace knew they wouldn’t agree easily, even if this was their only option.

“Afraid, indeed!” Serpent was confident, but Outrace’s schemes were legendary—sometimes you’d be sold out and not even realize, still counting his money for him.

“Why fret? I’m sincere about this alliance. If we can’t be friends, it’s even harder to remain enemies. We can be rivals for a while, then switch to allies—and perhaps become even more formidable adversaries in the future. No matter what, I, Outrace, promise not to turn on you.”

Death Mantis felt Outrace was no major threat to him; it was Morning Breeze’s explosive power that was truly terrifying. “Just because you won’t betray us doesn’t mean others won’t!”

Though he didn’t name names, everyone knew he meant Morning Breeze. If he turned, he could wipe them out in no time.

“It’s not like I haven’t killed you before. Does a celebrity like me really need to pick this moment to do it? Our side is down a legendary beast god, and yet I’m suggesting this alliance. Are you that scared of dying? Or just afraid of me?” Morning Breeze’s words left them all speechless.