Chapter 316 – I’ll Raise the Flag with you!

I spent the next three days almost entirely inside the game. I killed quite a few Purple Tier BOSSes and finally grinded my level up to 71. Raising my level after 70 was extremely hard, but since I had already raised all of my skills to Lv 8, I had already achieved my main goal. Rise of the Heroes comprised of one-on-one fights, so each individual’s skills were critical. For example, at Lv 7, my [Combo] attacks 4 times, but at Lv 8 it attacks 4-5 times, with a high probability that there are 5 attacks. This made it more unbeatable.

The Flaming Tiger God had also been raised to Lv 71. It had 2840-3350 attack, 2130 defense, and with [Flame Armor], its defense had increased to over 4000. The chances of the Flaming Tiger God being injured while this skill was in use were very low, unless it was attacked by a high level player like Jian Feng Han. Thus, the tiger now had the ability to survive independently. In addition to that, its attack range was terrifying. This little tiger would be my major ace in the Rise of the Heroes Tournament!

Based on the rules of the tournament, every time someone participated, all of their BUFFs would be wiped; this implied that I wouldn’t be able to use the [Kill for Blood]’s 50% increase. My base attack would only be 3885, unable to rise any further.

….

On the third morning, I went online at 9 o’clock, since the tournament was going to start at noon.

Carrying the Emperor Qin’s Sword, I stood in front of Ba Huang City’s North Gate plaza. In the distance, National Beauty was crowded with buyers looking to buy our products. After flipping through the details, I saw that close to 11M RMB was exchanged from selling yesterday’s equipment. Of that, 90% was given to the players that were selling their equipment and only 10% went to the store, but that was still quite a decent amount. All of the funds went to [Zhan Long]’s treasury, which currently stored more than 5M RMB. As the days went by, [Zhan Long]’s time of fortune was also nearing.

With a “beep”, I received a message from Matcha, “Boss, [Zhan Long] has advanced all the way to a Lv 4 guild with 17% experience. How’s that? Impressive, right? We’re only 83% away from becoming a Lv 5 guild……”

I opened my inbox and replied, “Yup, impressive. Keep it up! Also, how’s our [First Division]’s set-up going?”

Matcha’s eyelashes fluttered as she smiled and said, “Yesterday, as we were looking for a Guild Creation Tablet, [Prague]’s Windy Walker obtained one and was willing to sell it to us. I discussed the price with him and we settled for 200,000 RMB. If Boss just agrees to the exchange, then [Zhan Long’s First Division] should be done setting up. Also, we haven’t decided on the Guild Master for the [First Division]. Boss, who do you think it should be?”

TL Note: We are changing the format of the First Division guildnames, from this dayforth it shall be [Guildname’s First Division]

I thought for a second, then said, “[Zhan Long: First Division] will be the strongest division outside of our main guild. The Guild Master needs to have a certain amount of prestige and needs to be someone we’re very close with… Do you have any suggestions Matcha?”

“Actually, the best person to be the Guild Master of [First Division] is General Li Mu. His reputation is definitely high enough, and he’s bros with you and Wolf, so you don’t have to worry about trust. It’s just that he’s the boss of the Valiant Bravery Group, so his position can’t be easily changed. What do you think, Boss? Who’s a good choice to be the Guild Master?”

I muttered to myself for a long time before I said, “Let’s give it Wang Jian then. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and his strength isn’t far behind Li Mu’s. Moreover, he’s Valiant Bravery’s trump card. What do you think of him becoming the Guild Master?”

Matcha smiled broadly and said, “Yup, not a bad choice. Are you going to tell him then?”

“Yep!”

……

Opening my phone, I called up Wang Jian——

“Brother Xiao Yao?” Wang Jian chuckled and said, “Why do you have the time to talk? Don’t you have to prepare for the Rise of the Heroes Tournament?”

I wryly smiled and said, “Wang Jian, we’ve already created [Zhan Long: First Division]. It’s Ba Huang City’s 119th guild. Cough, right now, all we’re missing is a strong and capable Guild Master. Matcha and I discussed it, and we felt that you were the most suitable candidate. You… are you willing to lead the brothers of [Zhan Long: First Division] to make their mark on Ba Huang City and become a great guild?”

Wang Jian was stunned and gasped, “This… Brother Xiao Yao, I’ve never thought of myself as a Guild Master. I’m afraid that I don’t have the capabilities to become one. You know that I would rush to the front-lines of a battle without a single complaint, but if you want me to lead or command an army, I’m afraid that I won’t be competent enough……”

“No problem. How would you know without even trying?” I patted my chest and said, “When I first created [Zhan Long], I had never thought that I would be a Guild Master either, but hasn’t everything turned out well thus far? We’ll just settle it like this, and you will be our [First Division]’s Guild Master. Matcha will contact you and give you the Guild Creation Tablet, as well as the funds necessary to create a guild. We’ve also prepared 1000+ people to join; you just have to take care of inviting them to the guild and leveling the guild up.”

Wang Jian chewed it over for a bit before finally nodding with a smile, “Okay. Since Brother Xiao Yao thinks so highly of me, I won’t disappoint you! But… I need around 50 of Valiant Bravery’s brothers to go with me and keep up the front, or else it’d be very hard to rush levels with just some noobs…”

I nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s not a problem. Then it’s set!”

“Okay!”

……

Like that, I stood on Ba Huang City’s plaza. Not long after, Matcha handed the Guild Creation Tablet and funds to Wang Jian. After a few more minutes, a guild named [Zhan Long: First Division] was created; its Guild Master was Wang Jian. He had a few of [Zhan Long]’s experts as the Vice Guild Master, elders, and team leaders. As expected, it was Ba Huang City’s 119th guild. Now that everyone’s levels were getting increasingly higher, the Guild Creation Tablets weren’t very hard to obtain, especially since Gold Tier and Purple Tier BOSSes were all over the place. Ba Huang City was already in a situation where 119 big and small guilds struggled for power. Super guilds like [Vanguard] and [Prague] had already made 3-7 divisions. [Zhan Long]’s growth rate was actually relatively slower.

However, there was no need to rush. I just wanted quality members. Being like [Flying Dragon] or [Wrath of the Heroes] who only wanted a large number of players for bragging rights wouldn’t do. [Wrath of the Heroes: First Division] had close to 1000 people, whereas [Zhan Long]’s main guild only needed to send 100 of our elites to eliminate them all!

Wang Jian stood in the plaza to invite people. On his shoulder was the insignia of [Zhan Long: First Division]. Li Mu laughed as he picked up his sword and strode over, saying, “Brother! Congratulations on becoming Guild Master!”

Wang Jian’s face was full of helplessness as he said, “Don’t tease me, boss. Brother Xiao Yao had only entrusted the position to me because it was a critical moment. Did you think I would have readily left the main guild?”

Bai Qi clapped a hand onto Wang Jian’s shoulder and chuckled, “Do it well. We’re going to miss you over at the main guild. Besides, when the [First Division] rises up, he might assign someone else to become the Guild Master and when you come back to the main guild, you will still be our popular team leader…”

Yue Qing Qian pursed her red lips and said, “What are you talking about? How is a team leader as popular as a Guild Master?”

Li Mu laughed, “A team leader of [Zhan Long] is different. Look at One Second Hero, that bastard. He’s been asking to become a team leader everyday, but Guild Master is totally ignoring him……”

In the distance, One Second Hero leaned against a wall and felt a shiver. Lifting his head, he muttered to himself, “Why do I feel like people are badmouthing me behind my back?”

Li Mu teased, “Brother, don’t misunderstand. We aren’t badmouthing you behind your back. We were saying it in front of your face!”

One Second Hero lifted his arm to pull out the spear on his back. It glinted coldly in the light as he said, “Looks like you don’t love me anymore! Brother Li Mu, don’t bother wasting your words anymore, and pull out your sword! I’m going to raise the flag!”

And thus, [Zhan Long]’s second best Knight and second best Swordsman began dueling in the arena. One minute and twenty-one seconds later, One Second Hero knelt to the ground. Although his attack and defense were pretty good, One Second Hero’s maneuvers were still incomparable to Li Mu’s. Thus he was defeated by the continuous damage from [Icy Spear], which whittled away at his health. Even after drinking a Lv 10 potion, the damage could not be repaired. By the time Li Mu had won, he still had 44% of his health left, enough to show that he was truly superior.

The two bastards gave a great opening scene; the area began to fill with the sound of clashing blades. It was Old K v.s. Song Han, Yue Qing Qian v.s. Thousand Suns, Matcha v.s. Dancing Forest, Yue Wei Liang v.s. Wang Jian. Each had their winners and losers, and the environment for competition was better than ever. It allowed the members to warm up right before the Rise of the Heroes Tournament, as everyone and their opponents were compatible in terms of strength.

……

“Brother Xiao Yao!” Wolf picked up his dagger and walked over with a smile, “Today at 12, the Rise of the Heroes Tournament will officially begin. The three big cities will be participating, and over 7M people will be present. In other words, you’ve got to win 22 times in a row to seize one of the top spots….. and the top 32 will be selected today. Tomorrow will be the fight to determine the champion. Today, however, you will have to fight around 17 rounds. It’s a test of stamina, so you need to eat more for lunch……”

I couldn’t help but smile, “You guys are the ones that need to eat more. My body’s fine; there’s nothing wrong with it. Besides, my appetite is great… Little Wolf, you need to step it up and work on getting into the top 32. If you just get into the top 32, then you’ll basically be qualified as one of the top Assassins on the Chinese Server……”

“Eh, top Assassin……”

Wolf waved his dagger, then laughed out loud, “I don’t even dare to have that big of a dream; the number of expert Assassins is just too high. My equipment, pet, battle tactics and skills aren’t even top notch. Last night, when I was practicing with Yue Qing Qian, we dueled 17 times. I only won 4 of those rounds, and I was only able to win because I had landed some critical hits in succession……”

I clapped him on his shoulder in encouragement, “All in all, I wish you the best of luck and hope that you’ll be among the top 32 in tomorrow’s tournament!”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best. You too, Brother Xiao Yao, you must also get into the top 32. Within [Zhan Long], the only one who wields an incomparable strength worthy of the champion title is probably you.…..”

I nodded and said, “Yup, I will do my best. However… we’ve only established ourselves in Ba Huang City; this Rise of the Heroes Tournament is for the entire country. Jiu Li City’s and Fan Shu City’s elites will appear. This isn’t any minor challenge; there are too many experts among the three great cities…..”

“Yea, let’s all do our best in these battles, and leave with no regrets!”

“Alright!”

……

At 11 o’clock, I went offline and took the two beauties to go eat some Korean cuisine. Wan Er’s and Dong Cheng Yue’s cheeks had become flushed from the spiciness of the food. They had no choice but to participate in the Rise of the Heroes competition burning hot!*

(Editor Note: Pun intended. Literally implying their sexiness)

I stood below the girls’ dorm, watching as Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue headed up the stairs.

“Rise of the Heroes, let’s work hard and make it into the top 32!” I whispered into the distance with a smile.

At that moment, Wan Er suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around. She jogged over to me and gave me a hug as she sweetly chimed, “Here, let me give you some encouragement…”

I was stunned. Not far from us, the secret bodyguard uncle who was previously sipping his tea calmly, “Pu” spat his tea out onto the bushes when he saw the young miss hugging me.

Wan Er’s lips widened into a smile. She let go and patted my chest, “Hurry up now! Good luck!”

“Yup.”

I stood there stunned; the warmth of her two mounts still lingered on my chest from when she had hugged me. Suddenly, my heart started beating violently. Happiness rushed through my chest, and I felt like all of my efforts would not go to waste.