Chapter Fifty-One: The Talon of the Divine Eagle

The massive experience from the boss's defeat allowed me to level up in one exhilarating surge. Beside the boss’s corpse, gold coins and equipment piled like a small mountain, and in the midst of it all, I discovered a dark, obsidian token.

At the same time, Dragon War’s body lay exposed before Snow Night and his companions. Snow Night, the God of War, was furious—his lungs nearly bursting with rage. It was no wonder; I had snatched the boss from him, gaining not only a share of the experience but also the right to collect the spoils dropped by the boss. Anything dropped by dead monsters would not be concealed by the corpse or wreckage. When I jumped off Dragon War and ran over, I saw at least three pieces of equipment among all the loot next to the boss’s body, each shining with a dazzling, multicolored glow. These were surely treasures.

Snow Night, God of War, bellowed in wrath, "Kill him!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than several melee fighters charged at me. But Dragon War blocked their path, absorbing a barrage of attacks. Those assailants soon turned yellow-named, indicating their aggression, but not a single blow managed over fifty points of damage—Dragon War’s 2,500 defense was no joke.

This was exactly the outcome I wanted. While I continued gathering loot, I ordered Dragon War to strike back at once. Dragon War obeyed, lifting his black sword and smashing it down. Most of Snow Night’s followers wore blue or red equipment; even Snow Night himself was clad in a mix of purple and green gear at best. Dragon War cut them down like wheat, and his flaming breath was even more devastating—where it swept, all perished, leaving not a blade of grass. The spectacle left Snow Night’s party speechless.

In no time, the hundred-plus attackers were wiped out by Dragon War, and the remaining players dared not approach. They knew Dragon War’s strength was beyond their ability to contend.

Snow Night, God of War, called out, "Hey, Mighty Dragon, we Snow Night have no deep grudge with you. Why did you take our boss?"

I coughed lightly. "Brother, wasn’t this boss taken from Yanhuang by you? Now I’ve taken it from you—what we’re doing is exactly the same. We’re just competing for the prize."

Snow Night pressed, "How about this: you take the gold, we’ll take the equipment. What do you say?"

I replied, "I want both the equipment and the gold."

Snow Night, God of War, snapped, "Don’t go too far! If you offend us, Snow Night, you won’t be able to survive in Dragon City!"

I said, "If you dare, come for me."

"Master, this guy is stalling for time. I see a lot more people coming this way. Once they arrive, it’ll be bad for us. Master, what should we do?" Dragon War asked.

"I understand," I said. After picking up the third piece of equipment, I climbed onto Dragon War, but suddenly he vanished into thin air, and I fell to the ground, bewildered.

"Boss, I used a skill to recall his summoned beast. He won’t be able to summon it for the next three minutes. Let’s kill him now!" shouted a Snow Night player.

Damn, what kind of skill was that—to forcibly recall another’s summoned beast? Hearing this, Snow Night, God of War, shuddered, then raised his long sword and roared, "Kill him! Kill him! Kill this bastard!"

I cast a longing glance at the remaining equipment and coins a few meters away, then without hesitation summoned the Hurricane Wolf King. Mounting it, I unleashed a spiral hurricane to clear the way, and the wolf king leapt over Snow Night’s head, sprinting more than ten meters away in an instant.

All the Snow Night players unleashed attacks against me as I fled, their leader cursing in fury.

Countless arrows and magical elements rained down from above and behind, but I pressed low against the wolf king’s back as it demonstrated astonishing evasion skills. It zigzagged, weaving between scattered rocks, dodging left and right, leaping and twisting. Most attacks missed, exploding harmlessly around me.

Dodging a huge boulder, I saw a jumble of rocks ahead—a perfect hiding place. Delighted, I urged the wolf king forward, but felt a series of stings on my back as my health plummeted, system alerts flashing urgently. While fleeing at full speed, I kept gulping healing potions, and the wolf king dove into the rocky heap, finally tumbling to safety.

Pressing a hand to its body, I rolled off and slipped into the cover of the rocks, crouching against the stone wall as I recalled the wolf king. Magic and arrows continued to strike nearby, but I was safe for the moment.

Breathing a long sigh of relief, I burst into laughter. Stealing the boss truly was exhilarating—a thrill like snatching food from the tiger’s jaws. Under their very noses, I seized the boss’s experience and three fine pieces of equipment. Beyond their negligence, I couldn’t deny that luck played a huge part.

I downed a large bundle of healing potions, letting my health slowly recover, then inspected the equipment—it was all unidentified. Carefully, I packed the dangerous prize into my inventory, then stood and ventured deeper into the rocky maze.

As I snuck away, Snow Night, God of War, was on the verge of madness.

"Quick, chase him down! Kill that bastard! Don’t let him get away!" he hollered through the team channel, veins bulging and his face contorted.

It was truly a setback. After costly efforts to track down the boss, and snatching it from Yanhuang’s hands—at the expense of seagull’s allies—he had hoped to profit from this battle and strengthen his position. Yet at the last moment, someone single-handedly swiped the prize right under his nose, turning his hard-won loot into another’s windfall. If word got out, how could Snow Night ever show his face again? The humiliation was unbearable. If Snow Night, God of War, were a mage, he would have blasted everything around in a frenzy of spells.

But, unfortunately, he was a warrior—so he vented his rage by hacking wildly with his great sword. When his fury finally subsided and he heard the pursuit team report that I had vanished into the depths of the rocky maze, he sensibly ordered everyone to cease the chase—hunting an enemy in such a labyrinth, teeming with players, was suicide.

"Old Red, did you record that bastard just now?" Snow Night, God of War, asked, struggling to contain his anger as he opened a channel to a teammate.

A voice replied, "Boss, I never turned off my camera skills from the start. There’s no way I missed anything—heh heh heh!"

Hearing the inappropriate laughter from the other end, Snow Night, God of War, could only sigh, "See if you can capture his avatar. I want to skin that wretch alive!"

In his heart, Snow Night, God of War, swore: This grudge will not go unavenged!

...

By now, I had already used a town portal scroll and returned to Dragon City.

Once back, I couldn’t help but take out the three stolen pieces of equipment, examining them again and again. Among them, there was a pair of gauntlets, a piece of leather armor, and a mage’s robe. Sadly, I hadn’t managed to grab the black token—a bit of a regret.

Though they hadn’t been appraised, all information was marked with question marks, names included, but the multicolored glow they emitted assured me that these were no ordinary items. I knew I had truly struck it rich this time!

With a heart full of joy, I hurried to the Equipment Appraisal Center in Dragon City.

After paying the steep fee of 500 gold coins, I received two items, my hands trembling with anticipation.

My greedy eyes fell first upon them.

Eagle’s Claw

Grade: Silver

Defense +100

Attack +50

Strength Specialization +5

Agility Specialization +10

1% chance per attack to ignore defense

Additional Skill (1): Invincible Black Fist—Consumes 50 mana to deliver a powerful punch, stunning the target for 0.5 seconds, cooldown 10 seconds.

Additional Skill (2): Intercepting Hawk—Consumes 200 mana per second to summon a hawk by your side, intercepting ranged physical attacks. Hawk lasts 10 seconds, cooldown 10 minutes.

Requires level 40, 50 points in Agility Specialization, Archer exclusive.

Silver-grade gloves, a marvelous item—the added skill completely disables the archer’s attacks. Unfortunately, it’s only usable by archers; I’ll have to give it to Xiao Xi later.