After Zhang Shiyao killed the Dark King, aside from the basic materials, the drops also included a Dark Grimoire (B Rank) and an Undead Hero Summoning Card (B Rank)—which left Bai Qiu completely speechless.
Undead Hero Summoning Card [B Rank]
Description: Summons an absolutely loyal undead skeleton at level 1. It can be leveled up, equipped with weapons, item cards, and gear, learn skills, and even comprehend Noble Phantasms. Its attributes can be enhanced up to B Rank at most.
However, one thing must be noted: Undead Heroes are unique and cannot be replicated. If they die, reviving them requires paying an extremely heavy price.
Undead Grimoire [B Rank]
It contains the vast majority of skills possessed by undead creatures, even including transcendent-level skills. Only those with high dark-element affinity or undead beings themselves can use it…
This item was even more bizarre.
It was like a compendium of skills, documenting all kinds of abilities used by undead lifeforms—but it couldn’t be directly learned, nor did it provide any useful stat bonuses.
Want to learn from it? Sure! But the prerequisite is having sufficient dark-element affinity.
Only then can you study the skills like flipping through a book.
As for how much you can learn—that depends entirely on your talent…
The items Zhang Shiyao obtained could be described as absurdly high quality, but for now, they offered no real boost to their combat strength—in fact, they were more like a burden.
Bai Qiu let out a sigh.
Feeling that he could finally move freely again, he raised his hand and recalled the Sword of Hatred, then said to Zhang Shiyao, “Alright, let’s head back. Today’s not suitable for any more monster grinding.”
Zhang Shiyao nodded, and together they returned to Zone 2225 through a magically constructed passage.
Zhang Shiyao was relatively fine.
As a support attacker, she had stayed at a safe distance the whole time.
Her only real consumption was mana, which had already partially recovered over time.
But Bai Qiu was a different story.
His body was covered in wounds and blood.
Although most of his external injuries had healed thanks to healing potions, fully recovering to peak condition would still take him seven to eight hours.
The moment they entered Zone 2225, all the players and the Sanctuary’s [Supporters] gathered around them.
“Clap clap clap…” First came the applause.
“Welcome back, great hero!!” Then came the perfectly synchronized chant—like… yeah, this was definitely rehearsed in advance!
Bai Qiu: “???”
Zhang Shiyao: “???”
Wait… seriously?
Bai Qiu felt this had gone beyond being introverted or not—he genuinely hadn’t expected so many people to come out and welcome him.
Fortunately, the awkward spectacle ended quickly.
The blue-haired, blue-eyed woman with fin-like ears stepped forward and said:
“Thank you for your hard work, great hero who saved us. I am one of the [Supporters] here—Shui Yunji. I am mainly responsible for selling potions and providing treatment… You look severely injured. Please, come with me!”
With that said, she pulled Bai Qiu toward the Sanctuary’s Black Tower.
The surrounding players consciously made way.
Perhaps it was because Bai Qiu truly looked badly injured—this wasn’t the time to be popping champagne…
Although Bai Qiu wanted to say that his external injuries had basically healed, seeing the huge crowd gathered around him like it was a superstar’s concert, he held back.
Zhang Shiyao followed along as well—she had no desire to deal with so many players…
After watching Bai Qiu enter the Sanctuary’s Black Tower, the surrounding players began celebrating once again—celebrating his victory, and celebrating the fact that they had lived through another day!
…
Meanwhile, the main force from Zone 2227—its commander-in-chief sat atop a large rock in the wilderness, smoking a cigarette as he stared at a message from his superiors in silence.
“The crisis in Zone 2225 has been resolved. Turn back immediately! Also, you may unlock areas along the way, but do not use the teleportation device to return!”
He looked at the map.
At this moment, they were only a little over ten kilometers away from Zone 2225, while the return distance to Zone 2227 was over thirty kilometers…
As for going to Zone 2225 first and then using the teleportation device to return? Impossible.
Calculating at 45 kilometers, that meant 45 Sanctum Coins per person.
He had brought nearly a thousand people—teleporting all of them back would cost tens of thousands of Sanctum Coins, enough to buy an entire set of D-rank equipment!
The reason their organized group could afford Bai Qiu’s C-rank equipment and skill books was precisely because they scrimped and saved in their daily lives…
…
While Bai Qiu went into the Black Tower for treatment, the people of Zone 2225 sprang into action.
Players with life-oriented professions began lighting fires and cooking.
Combat players with nothing to do started moving tables and chairs.
Those who were neither combat players nor chefs began performing talents.
For a time, the whole area became lively and festive…
Just after 11 a.m., the forces from Zone 2227 finally arrived in grand formation.
They were supposed to have arrived before 11.
However, the roads outside had been completely devastated.
Hundreds of buildings had collapsed, leaving behind nothing but ruins and devastation.
There were even patches of dark-red flames burning eerily on the ground, showing no signs of extinguishing…
As a result, the entire force had to twist and turn through the wreckage before finally reaching the area.
When they saw the lively, singing and dancing crowd in Zone 2225, they were momentarily stunned.
The contrast was just too great—utter devastation outside, while inside the Zone it looked like a full-blown celebration!
Wu Tao was now the sole person in charge of Zone 2225.
Seeing this nearly thousand-strong formal force, he didn’t dare neglect them and immediately stepped forward to greet them.
“Hello, I am the commander-in-chief of the support force, Chu Yuanzhong.” Chu Yuanzhong clearly knew of Wu Tao, so he took the initiative to step forward and shake hands.
After a brief, meaningless exchange, Chu Yuanzhong led his group toward the teleportation device atop the Sanctuary’s Black Tower.
Once everyone had finished unlocking it, they hurriedly prepared to leave.
Originally, he had wanted to meet Bai Qiu in person.
But after hearing from the surrounding people that Bai Qiu was seriously injured and not in a condition to be disturbed—and with the rumors spreading from one person to another—Bai Qiu was practically described as if he were hanging on by a single breath…
So in the end, he had no choice but to give up.
Besides, it wasn’t urgent—they from Zone 2227 already maintained contact and trade relations with Bai Qiu anyway.
“Everyone, it’s perfect timing. Why not stay and have a meal? I’ll have the kitchen prepare more dishes right away!” Wu Tao politely urged when he saw Chu Yuanzhong about to leave.
“No, no. We still have a mission this afternoon, so we need to head back now. Besides, we’ve already eaten,” Chu Yuanzhong declined.
He obviously understood this was just a polite formality.
“Then why not just use the teleportation device to return?” Wu Tao asked, puzzled.
“Uh…” Chu Yuanzhong hesitated, then after thinking for a moment, coughed lightly and said, “Well… if we walk back, we can farm monsters along the way. That’s also part of our mission!”
“I see! That’s a pity then. You’ve really worked hard—next time, you must come and have a meal!” Wu Tao said, deeply impressed.
“Definitely, definitely,” Chu Yuanzhong replied.
Then he shouted loudly, “All units! About-face! Return to Zone 2227!”
Watching the troops leave in such perfect order, Wu Tao was deeply moved.
He silently vowed to himself that he would work hard to properly lead Zone 2225 in the future.
Only after Chu Yuanzhong and his group had completely disappeared into the distance did Wu Tao reluctantly turn around.
Looking at the crowd behind him, he said:
“Play the music—keep dancing.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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