044 Death Knight

World Announcement: Congratulations to player "Outlet" for successfully synthesizing the first legendary enhanced weapon, [Hammer of Storms].

Just as players were feeling their most exhausted, this world announcement suddenly popped up. The system voice was heard clearly by every player, repeating three times, instantly jolting everyone awake. Emergency lines for gaming teams across the world began to buzz as organizations scrambled to gather their professional players and equipment analysts to hold meetings within the game.

If the attributes of the Brotherhood Sword were considered top-tier, then the attributes of the Hammer of Storms were truly heaven-defying, reaching the level of a divine artifact. Now that the Holy Angel team in the German region had produced such a weapon, other teams could no longer sit idly by. If they didn't catch up on synthesizing high-end gear, their professional players might still be stuck with gold-tier equipment while others wielded legendary sets. Most analysts were still struggling between silver-flash and gold-tier gear, with very few having even touched epic-level equipment; this world announcement was a slap in the face to them all.

"Sorry, the Olympic gold medal is mine! — Outlet." Players had three chances to broadcast messages within half an hour of receiving a world announcement. Outlet really didn't know the meaning of keeping a low profile, openly declaring his intent to take the Olympic gold.

Just as professional players, analysts, and gossip reporters from the forums were scrambling to figure out how Outlet obtained this legendary enhanced weapon, another world announcement appeared.

World Announcement: Congratulations to player "Duan Chenfeng" for successfully triggering a mutation synthesis and obtaining the legendary story-mode weapon, [Frostmourne].

The dark hours before dawn had just been pierced by a flash of light that woke everyone up, and now the rays of the sun had fully risen. Another world announcement had emerged—this time a mutation synthesis, the most powerful form of gear crafting, which had triggered a story event.

"Shorty, the Olympic gold medal isn't necessarily yours! — Duan Chenfeng." After the world announcement, Chenfeng posted a message.

"Fuck! Crow, I thought you wouldn't have a chance to get on TV! It looks like the gold and silver medals belong to you and me. — Outlet." Outlet had originally intended to use his world announcement to promote his team, but just as he was crafting his words, Chenfeng had spoken up. He had to hit back.

"Shorty, you can have the silver medal; the gold is mine! — Duan Chenfeng." Chenfeng and Outlet were locked in a standoff, wasting their rare promotional opportunities by chatting through world announcements.

Did they know each other? Did they agree on a time to synthesize their gear together? Then announce it together, and chat on the world broadcast together? Arrogant, domineering, and crafty—these words perfectly described them. The quiet morning was suddenly buzzing because of these two. Those who knew them sent messages of congratulations, asking how they managed the synthesis and hoping to see the design blueprints.

"Fuck! I should have synthesized mine too!" Stan had been calculating the probabilities for both of them, working out the best synthesis schemes. He was the busiest one, yet both of them succeeded and produced legendary equipment, leaving him filled with envy, and perhaps even jealousy.

[Frostmourne]
Legendary, Two-Handed Sword, Bound
Requirement: Lich Body
(Temporary Level: 34)
Damage: 598—722
+40% Resistance
+68 Strength
+68 Constitution
Special Skill: [Army of the Dead]
Special Effect: When Blood Strike absorbs enemy HP, gain an additional Blood Shield effect, absorbing damage equal to 20% of your maximum HP for 20 seconds.
Special Effect: Every 5 seconds, Frostmourne gains a Frost Charge effect; attacks are guaranteed to be critical hits.
Special Effect: Global cooldown reduced by 0.5 seconds, movement speed increased by 30%.
Divine Ranks: "Blood Infusion," "Frost Infusion," "Unholy Infusion"
Description: The moment you pick up Frostmourne, you are a Death Knight!

This weapon was not just heaven-defying because of its stats; it provided Chenfeng with the opportunity to become a god-tier class. Chenfeng had five class quests in his log, and completing them would allow him to become a Death Knight—a god-tier class with Berserker attributes!

Upon obtaining Frostmourne, Chenfeng automatically learned the god-tier skill "Lich Body." At the same time, his race and skills underwent significant changes. Originally a Blue Thunder Elf, all his damage had been converted to lightning damage; that effect was now gone, having evolved into a racial quest.

[Search for the Ancient Elf]: Racial quest. Find the bloodline of the Ancient Elves and become an Ancient Elf. Quest duration: None. Reward: Ancient Elf race.

The most mysterious race on the Aglas continent was the Ancient Elf, a race capable of rivaling dragons. Chenfeng hadn't expected the god-tier skill "Lich Body" to change him so much. It seemed the skill wasn't just about the skill itself, but the various effects it brought.

[Blood Strike]: Blood skill. Gather blood power to deal 180% attack damage to the enemy and restore 20% of your maximum HP. Cooldown: None. Cost: 1 Blood Rune (Converted from Blood Strike).
[Howling Blast]: Frost skill. Summon a freezing gale to strike the enemy, dealing 240% attack damage to enemies within a 20-meter range and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 8 seconds. Cooldown: None. Cost: 1 Frost Rune (Converted from Whirlwind).
[Unholy Assault]: Unholy skill. Use the power of the netherworld to bombard the enemy, dealing 200% attack damage and reducing the healing effect received by the enemy by 50% for 8 seconds. Cooldown: None. Cost: 1 Unholy Rune (Converted from Furious Strike).

The lightning and blood runes originally provided by Chenfeng's talent stone were now converted into Blood, Frost, and Unholy runes, each with a 10-second cooldown. This meant Blood Strike, Howling Blast, and Unholy Assault could each be used once every 10 seconds.

For Chenfeng, this conversion was an upgrade, though it had both pros and cons. The benefit was that all three skills became much stronger; the downside was that the cooldowns were effectively set to 10 seconds. Through his enhancements, Chenfeng had reduced his Blood Strike to 8 seconds, or even 4 seconds when he had plenty of rage. Whirlwind and Unholy Assault had originally been 6-second cooldowns. Enhancement always comes at a price; the skills had simply changed their form of expression.

Death Knight! This was the first time Chenfeng had heard of a Death Knight. It seemed no one had turned into this class before. For now, Chenfeng had only converted some of his skills into those of a Death Knight; he was still a long way from truly becoming one.

The 20% attribute reduction from the Ring of Sin was nullified under the effect of Lich Body. It appeared that the hidden effect of Lich Body was incredibly potent—any dark debuff effects had no impact on him.

[Lich Body]: God-tier skill. Temporarily transform into an Undead Lich for 12 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: None. (Note: It is best not to use this in front of Alliance and Horde NPCs.)

Transforming into an undead, one certainly couldn't use it in front of Alliance NPCs, but why not in front of Horde NPCs? Chenfeng was puzzled, as the Horde had undead races too. He couldn't think of an answer for the moment, so he set it aside. Now that he had a legendary two-handed sword, he only needed one more to be able to switch between single-handed and two-handed configurations.

With Frostmourne and Lich Body, and his three converted skills, Chenfeng felt that he was temporarily without an equal. With one last world announcement opportunity remaining, he sent it out.

"Accepting challenges from anyone in the world at the District 23 Arena. As long as you provide an equivalent stake, you can trade for anything on my person. — Duan Chenfeng." An arrogant declaration—challenging players of any level from across the world. Chenfeng didn't know if he would have that capability in the future, but he felt he had it right now.

"Same here! — Outlet." No sooner had Chenfeng spoken than Outlet chimed in.

Arrogant! Extremely arrogant! Even if they had synthesized a legendary weapon, did they have to be this brazen? If Chenfeng was challenging players worldwide to quickly collect high-end gear and materials, that was one thing, but Outlet simply saying "Same here" to suggest he had the same capability made it seem as if they considered themselves invincible.

A quiet morning, usually the time for laziness after an all-nighter, was suddenly boiling over because of the gear synthesis and the world announcements. Players gathered in District 23 to watch the spectacle; they wanted to see just how strong players with two super-legendary weapons could be.

The names Duan Chenfeng and Outlet were now famous. Every gaming forum and magazine would use them as material for hype. In the eyes of the public, they were previously known only as the Ring Bearers, but now, because of a legendary weapon, they had become the focus of players worldwide.

There were only five orange-tier weapons in existence, making them incredibly rare. If not for Chenfeng's intervention, there would likely have been only three. One could imagine how hard it was to obtain orange-tier gear. As for synthesizing it, one had to use materials with a value far exceeding the equipment itself to have a high probability of success, along with precise methods.

Chenfeng and Outlet arrived at the arena, waiting for challengers. Weren't the mental entities of the Cobra organization supposed to be powerful? They were welcome to come; Chenfeng wasn't afraid of them at all.

"Duan Chenfeng, I want your Ring of Magic!" As expected, the impulsive Mad Virus was the first to challenge him. He had been killed by Chenfeng's dirty tricks before, and his Hammer of Storms fragments had been looted. He wouldn't be satisfied unless he killed Chenfeng and Outlet once. Chenfeng and Outlet rarely moved about on the main map, so now that they had set up an arena, wasn't that just asking for death?

"My Ring of Magic has devoured six other rings, making it equivalent to seven. You look like a pauper; what do you have to wager against me?" Chenfeng looked down on him, stepping on Mad Virus's ego right to his face. If it came to wealth, Chenfeng couldn't match the Cobra organization, but when it came to equipment, they definitely couldn't keep up with him.

Stung by Chenfeng's words, Mad Virus's face darkened. His ring had only devoured two others—it was just a three-ring aggregate. He couldn't compete with Chenfeng.

"Hmm, your purple axe seems like it might barely pass as my third-choice backup weapon. Let's do this: bet that piece of junk axe of yours plus your ring as the stake, how about it?" Chenfeng wouldn't miss the chance to fleece a mental entity of the Cobra organization. If he lost that purple axe, he wouldn't even have the equipment to play with Chenfeng anymore.

"Fine!" Mad Virus was already imagining how Chenfeng would die. Chenfeng had escaped last time, but he wouldn't this time. Mad Virus's three clones tried to get him to think carefully—given Chenfeng's cautious nature, if he dared to gamble, he must have a backup plan.

This kind of wager had no official arbitration. If the opponent refused to pay up after losing, there was nothing to be done. Knowing his character, Chenfeng said, "I, Duan Chenfeng, come from the Frost-Snow Guild of the Great China Region. I have the skill, the gear, and the guild. You're a loner with no guild, no gear, and no skill—you're like a beggar. What if you lose and don't pay up?"

"I am a member of the Cobra organization!" Mad Virus was humiliated by Chenfeng again, and this time he blurted out the name of his organization. The Cobra organization had some reputation in the game, and it was very mysterious; the fact that this guy claimed to be from it was truly surprising.

When Arcane Mage and the others arrived and heard Mad Virus say this, they knew he had fallen into a trap. How could he report the name of the organization? The reason the Cobra organization was mysterious was that no one knew who its members were. Now that he had revealed his affiliation, hadn't he just told Chenfeng and Outlet exactly who was hunting them?

"Cobra organization? You don't look half as fierce as a cobra. I'd believe it if you said it was a Reptile organization. I won't accept this guarantee." Chenfeng finally let Outlet know what kind of opponents were hunting him; only a crazy person like Mad Virus could be this stupid. In fact, the negative effect of his schizophrenia was that he was too violent and impulsive, even after all this time.

Reptile organization? Not only was Mad Virus furious, but other members of the organization wanted to kill Chenfeng. The organization's name could not be tarnished like that. If they stopped Mad Virus now, the organization's prestige would plummet. This fight had to happen, and Arcane Mage had to ensure Chenfeng accepted the challenge.

Finally, Arcane Mage messaged Shadow Corner to come out and act as an arbitrator. Shadow Corner was speechless; he didn't want to offend the Cobra organization, but he only agreed after chatting privately with Chenfeng. "Mad Virus is my friend, and Duan Chenfeng is also my friend. I will act as the arbitrator. If either side refuses to pay after losing, I will make up the difference with equipment of equal value."

"OK! I'll give Shadow Corner face and fight you." Chenfeng no longer had the caution that kept him from the main map; he was now quite domineering. "I'll give you the advantage—you choose the map!"