Chapter 449 - Changes in White Fog Canyon

Chapter 449 - Changes in White Fog Canyon
After its discovery, only a few elite players had willingly explored White Fog Canyon’s outer region. At this moment, however, players had flooded the area.
The Warfire Set Equipment’s appearance had even attracted players from other countries, and they all had rushed to the canyon to grind for the set, causing a sharp decrease in Battle Monkeys’ numbers in the outer region. As a result, the danger had also greatly decreased.
Moreover, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys in the outer area were only Level 22. By now, many players in White River City had already reached Level 20, while elite players had reached Level 22 or higher. Hence, White River City’s players had also come to the canyon to grind for the Warfire Set Equipment.
Although the Warfire Set Equipment had an extremely low drop-rate, to the degree that only a few pieces had dropped thus far, everyone was still determined to grind in White Fog Canyon.
Their first reason was that of the high EXP from the canyon’s monsters. As a result, they leveled much faster in the canyon than if they grinded monsters elsewhere.
The second reason was that all monsters within the canyon possessed a fixed chance to drop the Warfire Set Equipment.
Both the high EXP and the top-tier Set Equipment were sorely tempting to players. Even though the risk of grinding in White Fog Canyon was very high, players still rushed to the canyon in droves.
“Cloud, you really have a lucky touch. Other parties have not obtained anything over these past few days, yet, we have two Warfire set pieces,” a thinly-built male Ranger said as he looked at the red-haired beauty beside him. Laughing, he continued, “I heard that the set’s price has increased again. Now, someone’s offering to buy individual pieces for 8 Gold per piece. We can get 16 Gold with the two we have. If we trade that for Credits, that’ll be 170,000 to 180,000!”
“If we sell the set pieces for 180,000, we could get 30,000 each. That’s more than six months of my salary! God’s Domain really is the best place to make money!” another middle-aged Cleric wearing mage robes exclaimed.
“You guys… All you can think of is Credits. God’s Domain only launched recently. Things will get even more intense later on. If we convert the Gold Coins into Credits, we will suffer a huge loss. Even if we plan to convert them into Credits, haven’t you guys seen the messages on the forums? There are people who are willing to buy each Warfire set piece for 100,000 Credits; two pieces mean 200,000,” the Shield Warrior, Virtuous Cloud, laughed faintly. At this moment, she, too, was excited.
During this period, many parties spent their time grinding monsters in White Fog Canyon. Even so, the Warfire Set Equipment rarely dropped. From the news they had heard, only one or two pieces dropped each day.
Originally, their party was on the brink of despair. However, after killing a Level 24 Special Elite ranked Armored Battle Monkey, a Warfire set piece dropped. The following day, after killing a group of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, another piece dropped. Instantly, they rose from the pits of hell to heaven.
One piece was sufficient to recover their initial costs. With two pieces, they could make a fortune.
With the Gold Coins they could earn, they could upgrade equipment. They could replace what they currently wore with some Secret-Silver Equipment. At that time, they could grind for the Warfire Set Equipment more efficiently.
“The new system upgrade is really a bastard. If the new combat system had not reduced our strength, we might have had a chance of claiming another set piece given a little time,” the middle-aged Cleric said.
The other party members nodded, agreeing with the man’s words.
It was extremely difficult to use combat skills at the moment. Moreover, the newly-implemented Skill Completion Rate had left them speechless. Other than one or two, their skills were all below 50%. They could only display less than 60% of their previous strength. Fortunately, White Fog Canyon was not as dangerous as it had been. Otherwise, they would have been in a lot of trouble.
“We can’t do anything about the game’s system upgrade. Moreover, everyone else is in a similar situation,” Virtuous Cloud consoled. “Now that we have obtained two Warfire set pieces, as long as we sell them, we can replace our equipment with a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. Everything will be fine, once we upgrade our combat power.”
“That’s right. White River City is a good place to do that. Compared to our city, there is more high-quality equipment available here. I heard that the Starstreak Trading Firm is even selling Secret-Silver Equipment. There are also the Mana Armor Kits that can raise one’s Attributes significantly.”
While Virtuous Cloud’s party chatted with each other, a team of roughly 20 to 30 players appeared on the small path leading to White Fog Canyon’s entrance. These players all wore sneers, and the IDs they displayed were crimson, proof they had already killed many players.
“Seeing your joy, you guys must have had a bountiful harvest, right? Why not share it with us?” the Level 24 Berserker leading this team of Red Names asked mockingly. The man was Cold Laughter, and he sported a wide grin as he focused on Virtuous Cloud’s party.
Virtuous Cloud and her party members immediately readied their weapons, their expressions turning grave.
Due to their previous excitement, they had forgotten about the horrors in White Fog Canyon.
Although the danger of monsters had decreased, the danger from other players had skyrocketed.
Monsters’ drop-rates in White Fog Canyon were a lot higher than the outside world. Even if players did not obtain the Warfire Set Equipment, they could still make a hefty profit from selling the other equipment that dropped. Hence, many elite players had come to grind. As elite players, their equipment was definitely high quality.
Compared to grinding monsters, it was far more profitable to kill elite players. If one were lucky, high-quality equipment might even drop from the dead player’s bag.
As a result, the number of players dying in White Fog Canyon was terrifying.
Just as Virtuous Cloud’s party thought about turning to escape, another several dozen players emerged from behind them.
Virtuous Cloud’s team was immediately flustered.
If the other side only had a dozen or so players, they could attempt to take them on. After all, they, too, were elite players. However, their enemies had over 50 players on their side. With just the six of them, they were outmatched.
“It isn’t easy for us to guard this road. I won’t mince words. I will let you guys pass if each of you hand over the best piece of equipment you have and 20 Silver Coins. If not, you will all die here,” Cold Laughter grinned as he fiddled with the greatsword in his hand.
After Cold Laughter spoke, the Red Names blocking the road promptly unsheathed their weapons. If Virtuous Cloud’s party refused, they would burst into action.
Currently, most players were around Level 20. Elite players, in particular, had higher levels. If they died, not only would they lose a piece of equipment, but they would also have to spend several days recovering their losses. Nobody wanted to deal with that.
Hence, Cold Laughter had proposed a suitable condition.
“Although you outnumber us, don’t forget that you are all Red Names. Even if you wipe us out, with our strength, we will take one or two down with us,” Virtuous Cloud said, unfazed. “At most, we will lose one level and one piece of equipment. However, if a Red Name dies, they will lose two or three levels, maybe even three or four, and a majority of the equipment they are wearing.”
Virtuous Cloud’s words had undoubtedly generated some hesitation among the Red Names. After all, nobody could guarantee that they wouldn’t be the pitiful player who Virtuous Cloud’s party killed. However, none of the Red Names were shaken. On the contrary, they smirked arrogantly at the smaller party.
Their expressions somewhat surprised Virtuous Cloud.
Before Virtuous Cloud could figure out what was going on, Cold Laughter sneered and said, “Stop trying to play tricks. I’ll count to five. If you don’t hand over the equipment and money, we’ll take it ourselves.”
“Everyone, be careful. In a moment, I’ll clear a path towards the forest to our left. If we can reach the forest, we should be able to shake them off once inside,” Virtuous Cloud hurriedly said.
Just as both sides prepared to take action…
A black hole suddenly appeared in the air. In the next moment, six people fell from the black hole, landing between Virtuous Cloud’s and Cold Laughter’s groups.