046 The Ring of Power!

Capture the king to capture the bandits first! That much is true, but how many can actually accomplish it? As the guild leader, Divine War Tianyi was surrounded by numerous protectors, making it nearly impossible for a rogue to get close. Killing him and escaping afterward seemed even more unlikely. Yet Morning Breeze was determined to kill and run, especially since he had a white gold coin in his backpack—death would mean dropping it.

As he drew near to Divine War Tianyi, Morning Breeze slowed his steps. Approaching a target couldn't be done hastily; though he was stealthed, it was still difficult to avoid detection by others. Having worked as an assassin with supernatural abilities for years, Morning Breeze knew well that people possessed an instinctive sense of danger. Avoiding this "danger sense" required specific techniques; he tried to blend in, becoming just another passerby in this environment.

[Bloodied Chain Assault]: Combo skill. For two seconds, assault the enemy with claws in a frenzy, each hit dealing 120% attack damage, with each subsequent strike increasing damage by 10%, and gaining two combo points. Attacks from behind deal an extra 30% damage. Requires stealth and Wild Panther form. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Energy cost: 50.

Suddenly, he rushed behind Divine War Tianyi, activating the skill in an instant—his claws slashing in a mad flurry. The damage from this skill depended on the player's manual speed; if fast enough, the two seconds could inflict damage rivaling ultimate skills.

-756

-798

-805

...

Even against Divine War Tianyi, clad in gleaming silver armor, Morning Breeze's lethality was formidable. Claw-type weapons usually had lower damage, but Morning Breeze's were of epic grade, far from weak. Each strike added an extra 150 points of damage, making for an astonishing burst. In less than two seconds, Divine War Tianyi fell. Morning Breeze didn't hesitate—he immediately activated the "Wind Serpent Step" attached to his claws and darted away like a wind serpent.

After escaping, he used Wild Instinct Shift to teleport a short distance before entering stealth again. Only after he had vanished did those beside Divine War Tianyi notice he'd been slain. No matter how arrogant he once was, Divine War Tianyi would not be logging in again soon.

"Your guild leader has been killed." The first to react was a professional player from the Gale Seekers guild, his tone calm but inwardly shocked. Someone had killed and escaped right under his nose without so much as catching a glimpse—clearly, this expert was no less skilled than the pros, a god-tier rogue.

"The guild leader was killed?" The new vice-leader of Divine War, Divine War Dawn, checked upon hearing the news and found the guild leader truly had fallen. The thought that the leader, just three seats away, had been killed without his noticing was a shock—he wouldn't even have known if he hadn't been told.

World Channel—"King of the Jungle": The leader of Divine War, Divine War Tianyi, is dead. The other two guild leaders, you're next!

Having accomplished what many deemed impossible, Morning Breeze sent a bold message on the world channel, crushing the morale of Divine War. Many of its players checked the guild interface and, sure enough, saw Divine War Tianyi's name grayed out.

"To take the head of a general amidst thousands—this King of the Jungle is incredible! Announcing it on the world channel, even bolder than Divine War Tianyi!" exclaimed a player watching the epic battle near Wind Serpent Valley. Just moments ago, Divine War Tianyi had been all swagger—now, he'd been instantly slain in the midst of war.

"Kid, I've got my eye on you! Watch out for revenge from Divine War, Nightshade, and Gale Seekers!" Arrogance comes at a price, but they admired Morning Breeze's nerve. If all three guilds hunted him, he’d have a tough time leaving the main city. But what they didn’t know was that Morning Breeze had always been bold—he never feared being hunted.

“Ha! Divine War Tianyi just got one-shot—serves him right!” The notorious Divine War Tianyi often led his elite squad to wipe out anyone he disliked, monopolizing leveling areas and clearing out rivals. Seeing him killed and forced offline was a satisfying turn of events.

...

Morning Breeze’s single world channel message threw everything into chaos, especially among Divine War's members. One Blood Dragon was enough trouble; now another powerful player had just one-shot their leader. Loss of command and plummeting morale slowed the three guilds' advance considerably.

Having slain Divine War Tianyi and sent his message, Morning Breeze turned his attention to the loot—a ring dropped from his victim. Made of diamond and inscribed with mysterious runes, it was exquisitely translucent.

[Blood Magic Ring]
Scattered artifact, right-hand ring, always drops upon death.
Requirements: none
+5% lifesteal
Passive: 10% chance to be immune to all attacks
Enhancement: Fuse with two other rings, inheriting their abilities.
Devour: Absorb other magic rings to enhance all attributes.
Description: Every space linked to the continent of Ogras possesses a single magic ring.

“A magic ring artifact!” Morning Breeze’s eyes widened in disbelief. This was the legendary magic ring—each country only had one. In his previous life, such rings were a symbol for professional players, exceedingly rare—now one had fallen into his hands.

There were many scattered artifacts in the game; some could be found after entering the big maps, like the Divine King’s Crown Jewels—collecting all six granted a class-matching artifact. But the magic ring was unique: only one per national server, and they could devour each other to grow even more powerful.

That China’s sole magic ring had fallen to Divine War Tianyi—who knows where he’d gotten it. Now, Tianyi must be beside himself with grief; to have lost the Chinese server’s magic ring! Turning into a crow, Morning Breeze perched atop a tall tree to check the game forums for any news about the Blood Magic Ring.

“Thunderstrike Squad Officially Declares War on Divine War—Hand Over the Magic Ring and Be Spared!” Thunderstrike, long known as the eternal runner-up, rarely issued direct challenges. Their post recounted killing the Blood Lord and having the ring drop, only to be ambushed by Divine War’s elite. Though some pros were among them, with no skills and low health, how could they withstand Divine War’s numbers? In the end, they were wiped out and the magic ring was lost.

Having just acquired the ring, Divine War Tianyi got word from a spy that the Stormcloud Guild was making a big move, seemingly to slay a world boss, so he hurried over. Who could have guessed he’d lose the legendary ring before even seeing the boss?

“The leader’s magic ring was dropped by King of the Jungle—find him!” Receiving a real-life call from Zhang Tianyi, Divine War Dawn panicked. Having angered Thunderstrike and lost the magic ring, it was a double disaster. But how to find a stealthy rogue in this vast crowd? All he could do was alert the elite squad to be on the lookout.

“Avenge the leader—slay the Stormcloud and Snowfrost players!” Divine War Dawn roared. All he wanted now was to kill as many Stormcloud and Snowfrost members as possible, hoping the ring might drop again, or at least to seize the boss and recoup some losses.

Divine War’s players went berserk. The entrance to Wind Serpent Valley wouldn’t hold much longer. If it were only the leader’s death, morale might have faltered, but the loss of the magic ring set their fury ablaze. The world boss likely wouldn’t survive. The boss dropped excellent loot—possibly silver or even gold grade—but at this level, gear wasn’t that powerful, though some rare materials could drop.

Had the magic ring not dropped, Morning Breeze would have continued his ambushes on the Nightshade and Gale Seekers’ leaders. But now, showing himself would make him everyone’s target. He simply decided not to go out again, flying back to the altar in Wind Serpent Valley and perching atop a tree to watch the boss fight unfold.

“Red Dragon, it seems Divine War Tianyi’s artifact magic ring was dropped by that crow!” The barbarian weapon warrior, Stormcloud Iron Barrel, was well informed; news of the ring’s drop had spread.

“Artifact magic ring?” Stormcloud Red Dragon hadn’t heard of it before, but the idea of an artifact appearing so early in the game seemed unlikely. Then he recalled Blood Dragon wielding the legendary Orkin Axe and considered it might be possible.

“Yeah, supposedly it’s the only ring in the Chinese region. Its stats aren’t too impressive yet—it needs to devour rings from other regions to grow stronger,” Iron Barrel explained. True, no overpowered artifacts would appear so early, but some rare and special gear might.

The white gold coin had already made Red Dragon eager to kill Morning Breeze; now, the magic ring cemented his resolve. “Boar, get ready to coordinate with Iron Barrel to shoot him down. I suspect his flight form is temporary and will be canceled if attacked.”

“Best make it quick—Divine War could break through at any moment,” Stormcloud Boar replied, curious to see what the region’s sole magic ring could do.

While the others were still fighting the Wind Serpent King boss, Red Dragon and his companions began to make their move. Morning Breeze, always alert, noticed Red Dragon’s approach and guessed their intention. He remained still, watching the boss fight, noticing a hunter and a weapon warrior also drawing near.

“Seems these fools are eager to die,” he mused, pretending to be unaware, waiting for them to make the first move. That way, he could counterattack in legitimate self-defense.

System message: Player “Stormcloud Boar” has attacked you. You may defend yourself and attack him and his team without accruing any crime points for five minutes.

An arrow from Stormcloud Boar struck Morning Breeze in crow form, instantly reverting him to his humanoid self. Immediately, he shifted into wild panther form and vanished from sight.