CHAPTER 603

【 HUH? WHERE ARE ALL THE EQUIPMENT? 】

—

Being in this state was exhilarating, almost intoxicating in its thrill.

Jiang Shang had never imagined that combat could bring about such a rush of joy in him.

It was not that he disliked fighting.

Rather, Elven Kingdom offered a game so rich and vibrant that combat were only one facet of its charm. While the incredibly free and lifelike combat system could send one’s blood surging, Jiang Shang, who favored role-playing and open-world exploration, cherished even more the moments of simply living within the customs and scenery of this fantasy world.

He loved sitting in a warm tavern, sipping amber ale while listening to a bard weave gentle melodies…

He loved taking the form of a Wind Wolf, bounding effortlessly through vast, whispering forests…

He loved leaning against the trunk of the World Tree, watching as the radiant crimson sun slowly climbed above a boundless ocean of clouds…

Every scene, every breath of wind, made him feel as though he had truly stepped into another world, and that feeling was addictive in its own quiet way.

Compared to those simple yet profound pleasures, battle, though undeniably thrilling, had always held a lesser place within his heart.

But today’s battle felt really different.

After being empowered by the blessing of the Goddess, Jiang Shang felt as if he had truly become an invincible hero, rampaging unhindered through the battlefield full of demons.

Such feeling of being unstoppable was beyond exhilarating.

Those demons that once required his full strength to defeat now seemed like the weak goblins found in the beginner ruins, with them collapsing instantly before him in his transformed form as the Golden Wind Wolf King.

Even the demon king who had been chasing him earlier had now become the prey, hunted down by him and another player who had likewise entered the ‘Godwarden’ state.

At this moment, Jiang Shang and the other similarly chosen awakened players stood like unshakable pillars at the very front, becoming the rallying point for the entire army.

They were the blades that pierced straight into the heart of the demon horde, cutting a bloody path through the cavern’s chaos and darkness.

Behind them surged a large crowd of Iron and Silver-ranked players. Faces flushed with excitement, these trailing fighters cheered loudly as they swept across the battlefield, finishing off demons that had been maimed but not slain by the pseudo-awakened players, while occasionally hurling spells at the demon king’s retreating form.

Of course, most of those spells either went wide or landed with such feeble force that they could not harm the enemy at all.

Jiang Shang paid them no mind.

Even when other players seized the moment to kill steal or leech experience as he carved a path through the demon horde, he felt no annoyance at all.

It was not because he was being particularly generous.

The truth was that in his current “Awakened” state, such petty gains no longer held any meaning for him. His power had reached a point where, even while in pursuit of the demon king, a single misstep or casual swing from him could crush a demon that would normally demand considerable effort to bring down.

In this state, the act of killing demons had become almost mechanical as each enemy he felled were immediately reduced to nothingness.

Yet, even with the severe 90% penalty on rewards, his sheer efficiency allowed his personal contribution score to skyrocket at a staggering pace, as though no restriction could possibly contain it.

The battlefield scoreboard was flooded with kill notifications, becoming a spectacle of carnage dominated almost entirely by the fourteen “Awakened” players. In fact, the only other username to appear often enough to be noticed aside from them was that of the most powerful player in the entire server, “Boxlunch.”

The same held true for his team’s chatroom. The feed at this point had essentially become his own personal highlight reel, filled line after line with automated messages like “Player Jiang Shang has slain a Lesser Demon” or “Player Jiang Shang has slain a Greater Demon.”

The battlefield scoreboard told the same story. Jiang Shang had already clawed his way to the top, locked in a fierce exchange of points with several other Awakened players, each one fighting tooth and nail for a spot in the coveted top three positions.

Battlefield points served as the official metric for campaign performance. Each enemy slain granted a certain number of points, and players with high rankings at the end would receive generous rewards.

These rewards included vouchers worth 100,000 Artifact Repair Points, Silver-rank advancement slot opportunities, and special prize pool lottery tickets.

The number of points gained depended on the enemy’s strength, and while awakened players suffered a 90% penalty reduction, their overwhelming power still allowed them to outpace everyone else with relative ease.

Jiang Shang’s own totals rose like a flood. His battlefield points surged, his contribution score climbed, and his name sat proudly near the top of the campaign rankings for all to see.

Every update was accompanied by the murmurs of admiration and in some cases, thinly veiled envy from those trailing in his wake. Jiang Shang could feel his vanity and sense of achievement swell to their peak.

After all, who would not be pleased at hearing others exclaim “Amazing!” while watching them play?

Yes, he knew his current dominance only came as a result of receiving the buff granted by the Goddess, but luck was also a form of strength, was it not?

Besides, the sensation of cutting through enemies like a hot knife through butter was downright intoxicating—like stepping straight into the role of a novel’s overpowered protagonist.

Temporary or not, being in this state was nothing short of bliss.

Of course, Jiang Shang had to admit, the newly triggered background music was phenomenal.

It was stirring and full of adrenaline.

He had already decided that once the match ended, he would immediately search online for this track.

Elven Kingdom was known for its outstanding music, and whenever a new piece appeared, players would quickly record and upload it. Although Jiang Shang had been too absorbed in the fight to start recording the piece himself, he was certain someone else was already ripping it at the moment.

These idle thoughts, however, did nothing to slow him down.

His focus remained razor-sharp as he pursued the demon king through the chaos, blades flashing and demons falling in his wake.

Just after cleaving down another Greater Demon, a new system notification blinked into view before his eyes:

【You have obtained: Divine Artifact Repair Voucher ×1】

Jiang Shang’s steps faltered for a fraction of a second. Then a grin spread across his face, his eyes lighting up.

“Haha, lucky me!” he laughed, his voice almost drowned out by the swelling music that carried him onward.

In large-scale campaign events like this, slain enemies always had a chance of dropping these rewards, and Jiang Shang had no doubt this one had come from the Greater Demon he had just defeated.

A quick glance revealed the voucher was worth 50,000 repair points.

Jiang Shang chuckled and continued his chase.

Fifty thousand was an excellent amount. Normally, even a Silver-ranked player would need several days of grinding to amass that many points. Only the most hardcore players—the kind who could play from sunrise to midnight—might hope to earn it in a single day.

As the background music shifted again, the transformed Jiang Shang crushed the head of another Greater Demon between his jaws, finally catching up to the fleeing demon king.

It was an intermediate Gold-rank demon king, humanoid in form, with two sharp horns jutting from its head and an ugly, twisted visage.

Although the demon king’s strength still exceeded Jiang Shang’s, unlike before, he was now also at the Gold rank.

As such, Jiang Shang felt no fatal threat from it.

With a long, resonant howl, Jiang Shang pounced.

His razor-sharp claws clashed against the massive sword in the demon king’s hands, sending a shower of sparks into the air.

The force of the two high-ranking expert’ strikes rippled outward, shaking the ground and etching fine cracks across its surface.

The golden giant wolf and the demon king’s figures crossed and turned. At that moment, another roar sounded from behind the demon king.

A tall figure, radiating golden light, appeared at the demon king’s flank. Raising his greatsword high, he brought it down with force.

“Hey, big guy—take your grandpa’s sword!”

The shout came as another Awakened player finally caught up to Jiang Shang.

Since receiving the Goddess’s divine favor, this player had been the closest to Jiang Shang’s position, and the two had naturally fought side by side, cutting down demons as they chased the demon king.

To Jiang Shang’s surprise, the newcomer was no stranger. It was actually Demacia, a well-known member of one of Elven Kingdom’s top guilds.

“Wait, isn’t that Demacia? He got the Goddess’s Divine Favor too?”

“Tch, don’t tell me that punk with his shitty luck actually received the Goddess favor…?”

The voices from the rear carried a mix of disbelief and envy.

Jiang Shang, on the other hand, brightened at the sight. In his Awakened form, Demacia’s explosive afro hair blazed with golden light, like a walking beacon amidst the chaos.

“Brother Demacia, hold him down for me! I’m about to use my ultimate. We’ll finish this together!” Jiang Shang called out.

“Haha, leave it to me!” Demacia answered with a laugh, swinging his greatsword in a wide, forceful arc.

Hoisting his greatsword in one hand, he gave the demon king a mocking middle finger, whilst uttering a string of strange syllables Jiang Shang could not understand.

“￥%￥##…”

Hearing it, he blinked in confusion.

The demon king, however, reacted instantly. His body stiffened, and his face twisted into a mask of pure fury, as if Demacia’s words had struck a nerve deeper than any blade could reach.

With a roar that shook the air, the demon king abandoned his retreat and barreled forward, greatsword raised high, charging straight at Demacia.

Demacia’s defense had always been notorious—absurdly tough under normal circumstances.

Now, with the Goddess’s Divine Favor coursing through him, he was like a wall of living steel… or, as some less poetic players might say, like a stone in a latrine, impossible to break.

Laughing heartily at the demon king’s reckless fury, Demacia planted his feet and met the charge head-on, his greatsword swinging to meet the oncoming strike.

The two collided in a brutal melee, as each blow sent shockwaves through the battlefield.

Jiang Shang’s eyes narrowed.

This is my opportunity!

Steadying his breathing, he halted and began chanting an incantation in his mind.

A fearsome energy gathered around him, swirling into a vortex that spilled from his mouth. It slowly expanded, condensing into a dark-cyan sphere of light that pulsed with raw power.

Winds howled violently through the area, their sharp whistle slicing through the air as they whipped his silver fur. The surrounding magic grew restless, almost agitated, responding to the surge of elemental force.

This was an advanced wind-element spell—[Fury of the Wind’s Roar].

It was a racial talent unique to Jiang Shang in his Golden Wind Wolf King form under Divine Favor, a perfected evolution of the third-circle spell [Wind Element Shot] he often relied upon in his normal state.

The two spells shared the same foundation, but the differences were vast: a longer casting time, far heavier mana consumption, and exponentially greater destructive power.

Knowledge of the spell had come to him effortlessly, as if etched into his mind the moment he received the Goddess’s blessing.

As the wind element converged and the sphere’s deadly energy condensed further, even the demon king began to feel the danger pressing in.

He shot Demacia a furious glare, then broke away in an attempt to flee.

“Haha, trying to run? Too bad—it’s far too late!” Demacia bellowed with a booming laugh.

Letting his greatsword fall to the ground, he lunged forward, wrapped both arms around the demon king’s leg, and locked him in place—layering himself with one defensive spell after another until he became an unshakable wall.

The timing could not have been more perfect.

Jiang Shang’s preparation was finally complete.

With a thunderous roar, the majestic golden wolf unleashed the spinning dark-cyan projectile straight at the demon king.

The orb spiraled forward, whipping up violent winds and surging magic, before striking the demon king square in the chest.

With a deafening explosion, the resulting tempest it unleashed was even more ferocious than before, scattering players and demons alike as if they were weightless leaves in a storm. The dark-cyan sphere shattered into countless blades of wind, each one twisting into a razor arc that shredded through flesh and armor without mercy.

The demon king’s upper body was ripped apart in an instant. What remained quivered once, then crumbled into ash that scattered into the air.

【Player Jiang Shang has slain a demon king】

A golden notification flashed across the scoreboard for all to see.

For a few stunned seconds, the battlefield went silent. Then came the voices from everyone else.

“My god… what was that spell? That was an instant kill!”

“So this is what a Feral Archdruid can do after reaching Gold rank?!”

Jiang Shang’s lips curled into a slow, satisfied grin.

In truth, it was not that Feral Archdruid were inherently that strong, but that the transformation talent he had awakened—Wind Wolf King—was exceptionally powerful.

The magic he just used was the unique skill of the Golden Wind Wolf King.

For Feral Archdruids, transformation talents were entirely luck-dependent. Draw a poor one, and you were practically useless.

As the last traces of his spell faded, so too did the strength surging throughout his body. Golden light shimmered around him. Bathed in that soft glow, his Golden Wind Wolf King’s form began to shrink and dissolve, until once again he stood as an elf amidst the settling dust of the battlefield.

Jiang Shang made his way toward the spot where the demon king had fallen. There, Demacia stood completely unscathed, grinning from ear to ear as he scooped up the gear the boss had dropped.

Noticing Jiang Shang’s approach, Demacia casually flicked the demon king’s massive greatsword into his spatial ring and announced with a perfectly straight face, “We split the gains evenly. You landed the kill, so this equipment is mine.”

Jiang Shang gave a small nod.

Even with the heavy 90% penalty, the contribution points from slaying a demon king were enough to give him a satisfying reward, so he had no reason to haggle over loot he did not even need. The gear was neither exceptional nor suited to his style anyway.

Still, curiosity got the better of him.

“By the way,” Jiang Shang asked, “what exactly did you yell at the demon king earlier? The moment you said those strange words, that boss lost it completely.”

Demacia’s grin widened into something almost mischievous.

“Heh, well I just ‘greeted’ his entire family—in demon language.”

Jiang Shang: “…”

“…Wait, you actually speak demon language?”

“Eh, not really. I only know that one line. Learned it from a shady black market merchant. Works like a charm for provoking bosses in the Labyrinth Dungeon. Those old fogies really go berserk every single time they hear it.”

Jiang Shang: “…”

He gave Demacia a long, unreadable look.

“Demacia Bro, you really are… something else.”

“Enough chit-chat. Let’s get back to farming monsters.”

Jiang Shang drew his staff and strode off to hunt other demons. His transformation skill was still on cooldown, so he had to rely on standard Druid abilities for the time being.

Meanwhile, Demacia happily pocketed the last of his spoils before bellowing a laugh and charging headlong back into the demon horde.

༺⟐༻

As time went on, the battle slowly approached its conclusion.

When the six demon kings was finally overwhelmed and buried beneath a relentless barrage of spells, the last and most powerful of their kind seemed to realize the tide had turned.

Whilst letting out a low, rumbling roar that echoed through the cavern walls, the last surviving demon king led the surviving demons into the depths of the cavern, vanishing from sight.

With their departure, the oppressive power of the Abyss began to fade away. The heavy, suffocating aura that had blanketed the battlefield gradually dissipated, replaced by the faint stirrings of relief.

On the scarred and devastated ground, the silence lasted only a moment before cheers erupted, swelling into a victorious roar that filled the surroundings.

Amidst the celebratory shouts still ringing through the cavern, sparks of light began to shimmer across the field once again as magical arrays traced into existence beneath the feet of all the Chosen Ones.

Soon radiant light engulfed their bodies, lifting them gently from the ground before they dissolved into countless motes of gold. One by one, they vanished from the caverns, their forms carried away as if by the will of the Goddess herself.

When the final mote faded, every Chosen One was finally gone.

The demons were gone as well, their presence erased as if the battle had been nothing more than a grim dream.

Only the dwarven forces remained, standing among the shattered terrain. Their faces shone with triumph, eyes reflecting the lingering glow of the statue of the Goddess of Life, whose brilliance was now slowly dimming.

“We… actually won…”

Tonglu’s voice trembled, the weight of disbelief mixing with joy as he looked at his comrades, all cheering and embracing in celebration.

Turning his gaze to the statue of the Goddess of Life, still faintly aglow with divine radiance, Tonglu straightened his posture and spoke with renewed determination.

“Your Holiness, it is truly possible! If we can summon those elven Chosen Ones a few more times, we will be able to completely suppress Barolte’s seal!”

His voice then softened, tinged with emotion.

“These elven Chosen Ones are indeed a breed of true warriors… but I wonder how many of them fell in battle against the demons just now. Watching them die one after another… I could not help but feel ashamed.”

At this, the high pontiff’s expression shifted into something unreadable. He glanced at Tonglu, lips parting slightly as if to speak, yet after a brief hesitation, he closed them again.

Instead, his gaze wandered toward the deeper reaches of the cavern, and after a soft cough, he said, “Let us return and rest for now. Once we replenish the offerings we needed to summon the Chosen Ones again, we will venture deeper into the Sealed Lands.”

“Understood,” Tonglu replied solemnly.

Without delay, he began organizing the other dwarves to clean the battlefield. The priority was to recover the bodies of fallen dwarves and gather the equipment dropped by the demons.

Although demonic gear was often crude and unpleasant to use, its materials, once purified, could be repurposed into high-quality crafting components that the dwarves valued greatly.

However, as Tonglu swept his gaze over the scene, he suddenly froze mid-step.

“…Hm?”

His brow furrowed. “Where… are all the equipment?”

The battlefield was barren, unnervingly so.

There were no scattered equipment nor even a single demon corpse in sight.

Worse still, the bodies of the fallen dwarven warriors had been stripped of all arms and armor, left clad only in their underclothes as if some unseen scavenger had already picked the whole field clean.

Tonglu: “…”

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