The Northwest Sand Sea.
This was the edge of the area where Lu Ran and his group used to be.
Nanami looked travel-worn, her cloak completely covered in sand and grit.
Having come to Longxia from the Island Nation, this was her first time experiencing the torment of the wind and sand.
She threw back the hood of her cloak.
Nanami gazed into the distance, toward the seemingly calm area of the sand sea.
She opened her map to double-check her location.
Then, she murmured thoughtfully, “They should have entered from here.”
On the map, the forbidden area ahead was normally grayed out.
But now, there was a relatively straight, bright line cutting through it, revealing the terrain.
This meant someone had ventured deep into the forbidden zone, synchronizing the world’s data map as they went, which caused this change.
What was once seen as a path for the strong.
Had now become a marker exposing Lu Ran’s movements.
“Phew…” Nanami exhaled softly and whispered, “This is the right place, no doubt. On this trip, I have to move as fast as possible to kill that Necromancer. There’s no room for even a moment’s hesitation. I told you, don’t make any mistakes, or else…”
The rest of her words were naturally meant for Yamata no Orochi.
As soon as she finished speaking.
Thump!
Nanami’s heart felt like it was being viciously squeezed by something.
In an instant, her face drastically changed, turning pale as paper. She nearly collapsed to her knees, her body trembling as if seized by spasms, gasping heavily for air.
Her health points began to visibly drop.
But she wouldn’t die.
When her health fell to one-third, it stopped.
At the same time, a deep, sinister, and ancient voice echoed in her mind: “Watch your attitude. You are my servant. I don’t have to follow your orders. Helping you kill someone now is only to fulfill the deal between us, and nothing more.”
Nanami’s face was deathly pale.
After catching her breath a few times, she gritted her teeth and said, “I was out of line. I’m sorry. I just wanted to stress how important this matter is.”
Fortunately, Yamata no Orochi didn’t continue to give her a hard time.
It just fell silent for a few seconds.
Then it asked, “What now? Go deep into the sand sea? Find that Necromancer?”
Nanami shook her head.
She said, “No. The sand sea area is a forbidden zone. The monsters there have levels that are way too high.”
Even though Yamata no Orochi wouldn’t be bothered and could stroll through the sand sea easily, this creature was unwilling to be controlled by Nanami for long periods and rarely came out. And Nanami herself had a very high chance of dying in the sand sea.
Even summoning Yamata no Orochi required a brief moment, and that short gap would be enough for Nanami to get killed.
“We’ll wait right here. The path through the forbidden zone is the same path that Necromancer took. He’s still staying in the main Dwarf city for now, not going anywhere else. Otherwise, the path would have changed. When he comes out, we’ll kill him the moment he appears!” Nanami said thoughtfully.
After speaking.
She sat down right on the ground, staring fixedly toward the sand sea.
She was determined to wait him out.
The position here was high, so she could also spot anyone coming out right away.
And right now, the only person who could come out of the sand sea would definitely be that Necromancer.
At the same time, Nanami deeply recognized the huge gap between herself and that Necromancer.
He dared to go deep into the forbidden zone and stay in the Dwarf Kingdom, something she, Nanami, would never dare to do.
But it didn’t matter.
On this trip, she had paid an enormous price, selling her own soul and body to form a reverse contract with Yamata no Orochi. She would surely be able to kill that Necromancer.
But what she didn’t know.
Was whether her actions to kill the Necromancer were for the sake of the Island Nation, or for herself.
Longxia, Imperial Capital.
Yu Qingcang turned off his communicator with Liu Xinxin.
He sat contentedly on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.
He squinted at the sunlight outside the window, a cup of tea in his hand, looking completely relaxed.
This was the first time Yu Qingcang had felt so calm and at ease before the annual cross-server war.
He didn’t have to worry at all about the war’s situation or Longxia’s ranking.
His former concerns about Lu Ran had long since vanished.
“Lu Ran is already level 42 now… well, actually, that kid is still solo-farming those evil spirit griffins, so his level is still rising. He’ll probably unlock new skills and affixes soon,” Yu Qingcang murmured to himself.
He had already gotten the latest updates on Lu Ran from Liu Xinxin.
Although this leader of the Tian Dao Alliance usually didn’t hang out with Lu Ran and the others.
His concern for Lu Ran was no less than anyone else’s.
Then, Yu Qingcang continued organizing his thoughts:
“His new level 40 affix is ‘Surpassing the Master,’ which gives all his summoned creatures a tenfold boost.”
“Tsk tsk tsk… The name of that affix is actually pretty fitting.”
“An ancient golem with over a million health, and there are tens of thousands of them.”
“Plus over a hundred thousand skeleton soldiers… that’s really something.”
“Lu Ran now, forget about the Tian Dao Alliance, even if all four major guilds joined forces, they couldn’t do anything to him.”
“Same goes for other countries. There’s absolutely no way anyone could kill Lu Ran now.”
“Oh, right, that Nanami is offering herself up. I wonder how that’s coming along.”
…
As he spoke.
Yu Qingcang opened the world map, selected the kill zone, and looked at the path Lu Ran and the others had taken.
He muttered, “The path is clear, the location is obvious. That Nanami has probably already delivered herself. Not bad. The top Onmyoji of the Island Nation, she’s naturally pretty and has a great figure. Lu Ran can do whatever he wants with her. And Yamata no Orochi is a pretty big help too. Oh, and Lu Ran also has the Nature Elves supporting him in battle, and the Dark Elf Queen by his side…”
The more he listed things out, the more Yu Qingcang’s understanding of Lu Ran’s combat power was completely refreshed.
It was terrifying!
In just twenty days,
Lu Ran had grown from a newly awakened, rookie Necromancer into something this terrifyingly powerful.
“There are only ten days left until the cross-server war. I’m really looking forward to it,” Yu Qingcang said. He could hardly wait for the war to begin.
The days of Longxia sitting atop the global rankings, dominating the world, were coming.
And at that time,
It would also be when Lu Ran stood at the peak of the world.
At the same time.
The appearance of the second Saint artifact, one forged by the Dwarves, had sparked heated discussions across various countries.
The Eagle Country, which had been quiet for a while, naturally took notice as well.
But after going back and forth with Longxia several times, they were severely weakened. The loss of their high-level combat professionals had even made it harder for them to continue farming the Black Dragon Mountain Range.
Now, they definitely didn’t dare to act rashly.
In the meeting room.
The atmosphere was very tense.
More congressional leaders were present than before.
They looked around the room.
One of the leading officials asked, “Neil left several days ago. Any news? Is he dead or alive?”
Someone immediately responded, “The day before yesterday, Neil led his people into Longxia. Cross-border communications are shut down, so we can’t contact them, but they’re definitely all still alive.”
Hearing this, the leader’s expression eased slightly.
Then he continued, “Since they’ve already infiltrated Longxia, why haven’t they made a move yet? Is it that hard to find one person?”
The other guild leaders and those present didn’t dare to speak.
But each of them thought to themselves, ‘No kidding, do you know how big Longxia is? Do you know how many people live in Longxia? You think finding one person is easy?’
The leader seemed to realize his question was a bit foolish.
So he changed tack and asked, “Where did they infiltrate Longxia?”
One of the men quickly replied, “The northwestern region, the Death Valley of Kunlun Mountains.”
