Chapter 38: Turning the Tables on the Seven Thieves!

“Those who stand in my way shall die!”

With a thunderous roar, the Blood Dragon’s cry echoed across the entire Qingfeng Plateau, sending chills into the hearts of the players from the top ten guilds lurking nearby. No one had expected that this Blood Dragon would slay wave after wave of players from the Divine War Guild in just moments. Even the elite squad of professional players from the Divine King team had been instantly wiped out by the Blood Dragon’s might.

Even Meteorfall, with his “Keen” ability, couldn’t evade the Blood Dragon’s furious strike—who could possibly dodge such an assault? The players of the Divine War Guild were already terrified. If even the professional players were annihilated in an instant, what hope did the rest have? With his ultimate abilities fully unleashed, the Blood Dragon didn’t even need to glance at his rage meter; he simply unleashed his most brutal skills indiscriminately. For a savage execution move like Furious Slash, whoever was struck would die without exception!

Interception!

Furious Slash!

After slaying more than half the Divine War Guild’s players, the Blood Dragon had no intention of continuing the slaughter—the remaining players were too scattered, and continuing would only waste time, giving the surrounding top ten guilds a chance to close in and encircle him, which would be troublesome. Chenfeng knew his Blood Dragon was terrifying when the ultimate was active, but he was also keenly aware of the dangers of being surrounded by a horde of players, especially if he got crowd-controlled. Though the Blood Dragon had high resistance to status effects, a continuous barrage of sneak attacks and cheap shots from rogues could still control him.

Time to make an escape!

Chenfeng had no desire to lose the Arcanite Axe here; it was time to get out. Although the area was swarming with top ten guild players, many had been thoroughly intimidated by him and might not dare to give chase.

Ambush!

Not long after Chenfeng had run about 500 meters, a rogue attacked from behind. Chenfeng was all too familiar with such ambushes. He sidestepped the attack, and as soon as the rogue's strike missed, he countered with a Bloodthirst, then brought down the Blood Dragon's Axe, killing the rogue instantly.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and loot the equipment dropped by the Divine War Guild!” Chenfeng messaged Reporter Bro, who had inexplicably neglected to pick up the loot. What was the point of his killing spree if the spoils weren’t collected?

“Got it!” The ever-diligent Reporter Bro, who had been preoccupied filming, started collecting the loot after Chenfeng’s reminder. The Divine War Guild players were still paralyzed with fear, some even contemplating chasing after Chenfeng, never imagining someone would dare to collect their dropped equipment right in front of them.

Dodge!

Missed attack!

Seven rogues came at Chenfeng in succession, hoping to control him. Three of their stabbing daggers were dodged, and though one did land, it failed to put Chenfeng into a stun. As soon as the rogue’s attack failed, Chenfeng responded with a Thunder Strike, knocking three rogues out of stealth and depriving them of their ability to use further ambush skills.

Bloodthirst!

After their failed assault, all seven rogues tried to flee. Chenfeng caught one and immediately used Bloodthirst, finishing him off with a clean off-hand strike. This Bloodthirst also triggered a free Whirlwind, allowing Chenfeng to unleash three Whirlwinds in a row without consuming rage or activating the global cooldown.

The Blood Dragon quickly exchanged the Arcanite Axe in his main hand for the Blood Dragon’s Axe in his off-hand with the sleight of hand, advanced rapidly, and finished off the three slower rogues with Whirlwind, killing them effortlessly.

Charge!

Heroic Strike!

Intercept!

Furious Slash!

Swiftly, Chenfeng hunted down the last two rogues who had split up to escape. The leader of the Seven Rainbow Rogues, however, possessed the skill “Vanish,” allowing him to slip into stealth and narrowly escape death.

“Who else dares approach?” Chenfeng’s roar made all the rogues in the vicinity freeze in their tracks. Some hunters had intended to swarm him, but seeing the Rainbow Guild’s renowned Seven Rogues slaughtered so easily, none dared step forward. Still, they followed from a distance, hoping a rogue might somehow manage to control the Blood Dragon, opening an opportunity for a kill. Yet, even as Chenfeng entered the Tomb of the Hill Giants, no rogue dared make a move, and in the end, he escaped unscathed.

The leader of the Seven Rainbow Rogues, Purplecoat Rogue, stood rooted in place after exiting combat. In all his years of gaming, he had never felt such murderous intent—the kind that suffocated him, as if death itself loomed just behind. When his dagger struck Chenfeng and Chenfeng turned to glare at him, if not for his quick reflexes in activating Vanish, he would have been the first to die.

“Purple, did you get him?” The Rainbow Guild’s leader messaged.

Purplecoat Rogue immediately called him back. “Guild Leader, not only did we fail to ambush him, but the Blood Dragon killed six of us in an instant…”

“Killed six of you? All seven of you couldn’t control the Blood Dragon? What happened?” Rainbow Guild’s leader, Star of Heaven, was dumbstruck. The Seven Rainbow Rogues were the guild’s trump card assassins—anyone who dared provoke the Rainbow Guild usually met their end at their hands, often needing only one of them to succeed. This time, all seven had struck in hopes of securing the Arcanite Axe, only to be slaughtered, six dead, in a counterattack…

“Guild Leader, this Blood Dragon’s killing aura is overwhelming. I suspect he might be an assassin in real life. Even though I barely escaped, sweat was pouring down my back—the way he stared at me was terrifying…” Purplecoat Rogue’s hands still trembled. When his dagger struck Chenfeng, that bone-chilling glare nearly killed him on the spot, and only his quick reflex to vanish had saved him.

Star of Heaven felt a headache coming on. Many had speculated the Blood Dragon was a pro gamer or a special forces soldier, but now, the possibility of him being an actual killer seemed plausible. No one knew who this Blood Dragon really was, only that he was frighteningly strong. After this failed ambush, who knew if the Blood Dragon would target the Rainbow Guild specifically? If so, they might really need to mobilize their pro team to deal with him.

The footage of the Blood Dragon’s massacre on Qingfeng Plateau was soon uploaded by Reporter Bro, under the flamboyant title, “Those Who Stand in My Way Shall Die—Brother Dragon’s Counterattack Against the Ten Guilds.” The video began with the Blood Dragon’s opening bombardment, featuring a dramatic close-up of him killing the pro player Meteorfall, and ended with the Blood Dragon’s domineering roar: “Those who stand in my way shall die!”

Though Reporter Bro went to collect the Divine War Guild’s dropped loot after, he kept the camera focused on the Blood Dragon, capturing Chenfeng’s counter-slaughter of the Seven Rainbow Rogues, which made the video all the more exhilarating.

“Seriously, the top ten guilds got counter-killed and the guy even escaped. What a disgrace!” After watching the video, viewers immediately began to mock. The top ten guilds always boasted of their elite players, yet here they’d been routed by the Blood Dragon—truly a humiliation.

“Swift as the wind! Brother Dragon is unstoppable!” Watching Chenfeng unleash carnage in the midst of an encirclement and then calmly slip away, intimidating all the hunters and rogues nearby, many viewers were genuinely impressed. Even with the Arcanite Axe and the Blood Dragon form, they couldn’t imagine pulling off such a feat themselves.

“Wow, Meteorfall is such a letdown, getting one-shotted by Blood Dragon’s Furious Strike. Time to find a new idol!” Many of Meteorfall’s fans, shocked to see their hero killed so easily, felt embarrassed. Once, Meteorfall had been as mighty as the Blood Dragon now was—how had he become so fragile when faced with the Blood Dragon?

…

The forums erupted like a nuclear blast from the video uploaded by “Brother Dragon’s Exclusive Reporter,” as arguments flew left and right. Usually, Blood Dragon footage was recorded by random players who happened to have their recording function on in Green Forest Valley, always from their own perspective—never had there been such a clear, third-person capture of the Blood Dragon’s movements, starting precisely as his attack began. Any player with half a brain could tell this Reporter Bro definitely knew the Blood Dragon personally.

Several of Reporter Bro’s friends revealed that he had managed to add the Blood Dragon as a friend and would be uploading exclusive videos of him from now on. When “Brother Dragon’s Exclusive Reporter” instantly shot to a million followers, other reporters were green with envy, all eager to know how he’d made contact with the Blood Dragon, but Reporter Bro refused to say a word.

After entering the Tomb of the Hill Giants, Chenfeng logged off and switched to his Shapeshifter alt to level with Wu Kuang and the others, giving no further thought to his counterattack against the ten guilds.

“Jerk Wind, I strongly demand we find a pretty healer!” Monk, a powerful monk capable of both tanking and damage, felt it beneath him to play the healer’s role and insisted on recruiting a professional healer.

Transformed into a giant bear, Chenfeng gleefully kited a pack of monsters, leaping about. Hearing Monk’s complaint, he agreed, “Monk, why don’t you go recruit a healer?”

“Jerk Wind, have you ever heard of a DPS recruiting a healer? You’re the tank, so you should find a healer who suits you.” Monk felt that while Chenfeng’s tanking skills were top-notch, he lacked some basic tanking common sense. Monk could easily find a healer for himself, but finding one who truly complemented Chenfeng’s style was much more difficult.

“So much trouble! Monk, you tank, I’ll heal!” Chenfeng found the matter annoying. Was it really so complicated to find a healer? In truth, it was—an elite tank could never do without a healer who understood them inside and out.

Hearing Chenfeng try to foist the tank role onto him, Monk was flustered. “I’m DPS!”

“DPS, my ass! You clearly have tank talents and can both tank and dish out damage!” Chenfeng’s own warrior was a supreme hybrid capable of both, and he was sure Monk, with his dual talents, could do the same.

“My Brewmaster talents are just to make DPSing safer, not to actually tank,” Monk protested, but quickly changed the subject, “Jerk Wind, we’ve been grinding for two hours. It’s already 11:30. Time to hit the Orc Outpost!”

Ever since Chenfeng had led Monk to clear the Orc Outpost and scored him a pair of level 20 platinum boots, Monk had insisted on going every night. Now, a number of pro players and veterans had also caught on to the trick of raiding the Orc Outpost right at the midnight respawn, though not many knew about it yet.

“Let’s go! Tonight, let’s check out the Orc Stronghold!”