Chapter 2003 - Famous in Purple Thorns

Chapter 2003 – Famous in Purple Thorns
Crimson flames devoured the forest outside of the Elemental Altar. When the expert players gathering herbs nearby turned to look, they were stupefied.
They weren’t surprised by the burning forest, but by the eight-meter-tall Flame Dragon that flew above the inferno. The Dragon’s wingspan was over 20 meters, and its flaming body illuminated the dark, smokey sky.
“A Dragon?”
“Crap! That’s a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species! Isn’t this area only supposed to have up to Level 75 monsters?”
“Is some kind of event taking place over there?”
Curiosity filled these experts as they watched the Flame Dragon. They began to head towards it to investigate. Events were commonplace in God’s Domain, and if players could complete them, they could receive bountiful rewards.
Lying in the sea of fire was the Steel Puppet’s heavily damaged body.
As expected of a Bronze Combat Puppet, it certainly wasn’t easy to destroy. Anticipation filled Shi Feng as he gazed at the destroyed Steel Puppet.
He had his own Guardian Puppet Design, and as long as the Candlelight Trading Firm nurtured enough Master Lifestyle players and collected the necessary materials, he’d start producing his own Bronze Combat Puppets.
Like other war weapons, a force required a certain number of Combat Puppets to display their true potential. Had Sin Realm arrived with three or four of these constructs, Shi Feng would’ve found it difficult to escape, much less win the fight.
Multiple Combat Puppets were necessary due to their overly-monotonous attacks. Dodging and deflecting their attacks was simple, but if enough of these attacks targeted a player, even peak experts would fall.
A single Bronze Combat Puppet was already capable of displaying such power. Shi Feng found it truly hard to imagine what kind of power ten, or even a hundred, Bronze Combat Puppets could exhibit. Taking down Guild Towns would be child’s play.
As Shi Feng recalled the Fire Spirit and prepared to leave using the Seven Luminaries Ring, he noticed two golden lights from beside the Steel Puppet’s remains.
Irontooth’s loot? Shi Feng approached curiously.
However, he was astonished after picking up the two items.
One of the items was a pair of Level 55 Secret-Silver ranked plate armor boots, and the other was a gemstone block within a steel frame.
Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment was considered top-tier at this stage of the game. Even first-rate Guilds had a very small number of such items. Shi Feng assumed the boots had dropped from Irontooth.
However, Irontooth wasn’t the origin of the gemstone block. Rather, it had dropped from the destroyed Steel Puppet.
The Steel Core!
This had been the Steel Puppet’s power source, a must-have item when producing Combat Puppets.
Combat Puppet’s power sources were the most difficult part to produce. Even Intermediate Master Forgers had an incredibly low success rate when forging them.
With this, I’ve just earned a free Combat Puppet. Shi Feng grinned at the undamaged Steel Core. Now, he only needed to construct a Guardian Puppet’s frame and insert this core.
Fortunately, while a Bronze Combat Puppet’s power source was difficult to produce, the other parts were not. Basic Master Lifestyle players could easily handle the rest.
After Shi Feng stored the Steel Core, he teleported to the Icefire Mountain Range with the Seven Luminaries Ring.
After some time, the Tier 2 Assassins that had been busy collecting herbs quietly snuck onto the battlefield. However, upon seeing the fallen Steel Puppet and its surroundings, they were stunned.
“What a huge robot!”
“What’s going on?”
“What happened here? The terrain has been utterly destroyed!”
Once the crowd recovered from their shock, they noticed a player’s corpse lying near the Steel Puppet. However, when they saw the player’s appearance, they were flabbergasted.
“Sin Realm’s Irontooth? Why is he here?”
“This can’t be real, right? Irontooth is one of Sin Realm’s seven great experts! He’s the lead MT of Sin Realm’s main force! How could he have died here?”
“Hold on. There are traces of another player, but they seem to have teleported away with a Return Scroll or something.”
“Did they kill Irontooth?”
When the crowd considered the possibility, a chill ran down their spines.
Some of the players immediately posted what they had found on the Purple Thorns Kingdom’s official forums, and the matter caused a sensation among the kingdom’s general populace.
“Amazing! Someone actually killed Sin Realm’s Irontooth!”
“But who would be so bold?”
“Irontooth died near Glory Town. Crocodile Breaker also died in the town earlier. It must be Ye Feng’s doing. There’s no way this is a coincidence.”
“He killed two of Sin Realm’s great experts so soon after arriving in the kingdom? Amazing! Ye Feng is simply awesome!” “Sin Realm definitely won’t let Ye Feng off the hook now.”
“Sure enough, Zero Wing is immensely powerful. It seems that our kingdom is going to get interesting.”
The Purple Thorns Kingdom’s population couldn’t help but marvel at Zero Wing’s strength. Despite being alone, Shi Feng had been responsible for the downfall of two of Sin Realm’s great experts. It was clear how powerful Zero Wing was through these consecutive achievements.
While Shi Feng’s first success might have been luck, could the same be said about his second?
For a time, the name ‘Ye Feng’ became well-known to the kingdom’s players. Independent players that had feared Sin Realm now began to apply to join Zero Wing.
Meanwhile, news of this matter reached Sin Realm’s Residence in Purple Thorns City.
“What did you say? The Steel Puppet has been destroyed?” Lone Beacon’s eyes twitched when he heard his subordinate’s report. A frosty aura enveloped the Guild Leader’s office. “That Steel Puppet had Tier 3 defensive capabilities. How could a Tier 2 player possibly destroy it?”
“It’s true, Guild Leader. That Ye Feng used a treasure to summon a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species,” Feather Hunter, who reported to Lone Beacon, explained.
Since he had only been tasked to track Shi Feng, he hadn’t fought alongside Irontooth. Instead, he had observed the situation from afar, escaping Shi Feng’s detection. Even so, he had broken out in a cold sweat while he had watched Shi Feng slaughter his Guildmates. He had also been relieved that he had refrained from joining the battle.
“A Tier 3 Archaic Species? How generous of Zero Wing!” Lone Beacon was astonished by the news. He had never heard of such a treasure, yet Zero Wing had spent it on a player that wasn’t even one of the Guild’s Vice Guild Leaders. However, Lone Beacon quickly calmed and continued coldly, “People are starting to look down at us since we haven’t expanded our territory beyond the Purple Thorns Kingdom. And now, even a measly Guild like Zero Wing dares to pick a fight! Notify everyone in the Guild! From now on, they are to kill every Zero Wing member they come across!”
Understood!” Feather Hunter nodded sharply.