“What do we do now? Dragon Xia is already unstoppable.”
Eagle Sauce meeting room.
For the first time, the leaders came in such full attendance.
Everyone, big and small, showed up.
They couldn’t afford not to take this seriously.
This was no longer just a matter of Eagle Sauce seeking revenge against Dragon Xia.
It was about the national war—this wave was basically a lost cause. And after that? If Dragon Xia was tough enough, Eagle Sauce would probably be finished too.
“Sigh, how did things end up like this when everything was going fine?”
“Originally, Eagle Sauce was the first in the world to clear the Black Dragon Mountains and obtain Black Dragon equipment.”
“All we needed to do was develop steadily, keep farming dungeons, and strengthen our class holders.”
“When the national war came, what could Dragon Xia possibly do against us?”
“No, no, that’s not right. Even if we didn’t go after Dragon Xia, it was inevitable that Dragon Xia would dominate the global equipment rankings this time.”
“But at the very worst, we could still be second place in the national war—and think about how many resources that would be!”
“Now look at us—forget Dragon Xia, we probably can’t even beat Sakura, John Bull, or the Bear.”
…
The leaders sighed and wore grim expressions.
“But we’ve lost a huge number of high-combat class holders at Dragon Xia’s hands.”
“The five guild masters were also killed by that necromancer.”
“On top of that, Neil took a large group of high-combat class holders and died in Dragon Xia.”
“Our first tier is basically gutted.”
“And now, Dragon Xia has inexplicably dominated the global equipment rankings.”
“Isn’t this… isn’t this the death of us?”
“Given the tense situation between us and Dragon Xia, they’ll probably use the national war to come after us.”
“And the worst part is—what happens after the national war? How do we protect ourselves??”
…
The various guild masters didn’t dare speak.
They didn’t even dare let out a peep.
These guild masters were all elected later on, but they were half-baked at best.
With so many high-combat class holders dead, they’d been forced into their positions.
But how could people like them have the qualifications or courage to challenge Dragon Xia?
They couldn’t win. Absolutely couldn’t win!
Now was the time to think about the aftermath.
“Maybe we should send someone to sue for peace? There’s still time—the national war hasn’t started yet. As long as we show enough sincerity, it should be fine. Sacrifice some resources and interests, and once we’ve developed, we might be able to take back what we lost. But if we tough it out, we might really be finished.” Someone proposed.
If this were the past.
The moment such words were spoken, the leaders would have unleashed a torrent of abuse.
But now, the leaders fell silent.
A few seconds later.
The head leader nodded and said, “It’s a solution—the only one we have right now. Let the foreign ministry take over. Make sure our sincerity is sufficient!”
…
Eagle Sauce had already begun preparing to sue for peace.
And similarly.
The matter of Dragon Xia inexplicably dominating the global equipment rankings had already sparked heated discussion across every country worldwide.
All nations were on edge.
Among them, some smaller countries weren’t actually that nervous.
They were fence-sitters—whoever was strong, they followed. At a time like this, of course they should send envoys to pledge allegiance to Dragon Xia.
As for Eagle Sauce—forget it. Their high-combat class holders were all dead.
Although Sakura had been playing it steady, everyone worldwide knew about the blood feud between Dragon Xia and Sakura—a sea of blood, a deep hatred!
Now that Dragon Xia had a chance to rise, Sakura would absolutely be sent running with their tails between their legs!
To side with Sakura at a time like this would be courting death!
The ones suffering the most were actually some other countries.
They had all been competitors with Dragon Xia in the past. Although they didn’t have the same entangled grudges as Sakura and Eagle Sauce, they weren’t exactly on friendly terms either.
Now, Dragon Xia had risen abruptly—what a headache!
But not all countries were preparing to submit.
Some larger countries had never fought Dragon Xia or had any friction with them—at least not recently.
So they instinctively believed.
When the national war came, it wasn’t certain who would come out on top!
Even if Dragon Xia had a mysterious necromancer, he was just one person—they weren’t particularly concerned.
It was understandable.
After all, if you’d never fought Lu Ran, you couldn’t comprehend how terrifying he was.
For a class holder, the instinctive assumption was that the other side was just an individual class holder with strong personal combat power—nothing more.
And having that mindset meant their endings were destined to be tragic.
Because Dragon Xia.
Didn’t just want victory in the national war.
They wanted to unify the entire globe!
At this moment in Dragon Xia, the imperial capital had calmed down somewhat.
The instant the equipment lost ownership and could be picked up freely, countless people began scrambling for it.
Soon, all the equipment was snatched up.
Then, everyone began trading with each other—the entire area around the imperial capital became a free market.
Even the wild monsters that should have spawned here were bewildered.
The ring outside the city was a low-level monster zone.
The moment they spawned, there was practically no room to stand—the surroundings were packed densely with class holders.
The instant they popped up, people rushed over and hacked them to death!
Meanwhile, Lu Ran and his group had already arrived at Canglong Ridge.
Although it was near the imperial capital, it was actually quite far—deep in the mountains, with Fragrant Hills to the left and primordial jungle to the right.
“Canglong Ridge is quite large. The monsters range from level fifty to sixty—it’s considered the edge of the forbidden undeveloped zone. Nobody comes here to level up.” Yu Qingcang explained.
Although level fifty to sixty monsters gave decent experience, it wasn’t as comfortable as dungeon monsters.
Plus, once you got familiar with a dungeon, the efficiency and safety were greatly guaranteed.
But here…
Liu Xinxin then explained:
“Canglong Ridge only has one type of monster—the Rotwood Canglong.”
“The Rotwood Canglong’s level is random. Guild Master Yu just mentioned it—it fluctuates randomly between level fifty and sixty.”
“Although it’s called the Rotwood Canglong, it’s not actually a dragon.”
“It’s a strange creature with a lion’s body and a dragon’s head.”
“They’re extremely fast, attack proactively, and have a huge aggro range.”
“In the past, quite a few high-combat class holders were beaten to death here by swarms.”
“Because if you’re not careful, you’ll draw the aggro of a large group of Rotwood Canglongs and get surrounded.”
“In a rushed fight, with positions shifting, you pull more and more monster aggro.”
“So basically nobody comes here to level up. It’s indeed a good place to test your Abyssal Bone Dragon.”
…
Lu Ran listened to Liu Xinxin’s explanation.
He looked up.
The entire Canglong Ridge was full of pits and bumps. Although the terrain was high, it was very rugged, with dense forest covering it.
“Indeed a good place.” Lu Ran nodded.
But he didn’t rush to summon the Abyssal Bone Dragon.
Instead, with a thought, he first released Si Luoluo.
“Si Luoluo, go scout around and see if there are any class holders training in there. If not, we’ll start testing the skill.” Lu Ran said thoughtfully.
“Okay.” Si Luoluo nodded.
The next second, she turned into a black streak of light and disappeared from the spot.
