579 Crusading Army

“Join the crusading army?” Shi Feng began pondering silently.

He did indeed want to go and take a look at Gloomy Valley, with his goal for going there being the Chapter of Darkness. After all, there might be some sort of connection between the Chapter and the Bible of Darkness. However, he had intended to go there by himself.

There was only a single Chapter of Darkness. With so many people wanting to obtain it, how was he supposed to get it if he went with a group?

It was also unlikely that everyone would give him the Chapter of Darkness.

Hence, the only way for him to obtain it was to move alone. That way, he would not have to share the Chapter with others.

Based on the information he had gathered earlier, there was no need to defeat the Great Lord Noya to get the Chapter of Darkness. The Great Lord was simply guarding the Chapter of Darkness. Hence, Shi Feng could just steal the Chapter. There was no real need for him to conquer the Great Lord. The difficulty of obtaining the Chapter of Darkness this way was undeniably much lower.

Moreover, he had already succeeded in carrying out similar feats in the past.

Previously, he had stolen an Imperial Heirloom from the Anubis’s Gatekeeper, a Great Lord ranked monster.

Afterward, he had also snatched the God Crystal from a Tier 4 Mythic Creature, the Orc King Tresik.

The first theft was difficult, but the subsequent one was easy.

Currently, he had much more confidence in stealing an item from a Great Lord.

“That’s right, join the crusading army. To be precise, I am asking you to join our Third Party,” Discipline Paradise said, his eyes filled with sincerity.

Hearing Discipline Paradise’s words, all the players inside the bar could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng, envious expressions appearing on their faces.

The crusade this time was not something just anyone could participate in.

As it was a crusade against Gloomy Valley, the number of players they could bring was limited. Naturally, they would only allow elites to participate in it. That way would increase the chances of success considerably.

Meanwhile, in District Five, only the top ten ranking parties received direct admission into the crusading army. Everyone else had to go through a test, and only the best could join the crusade.

There were many players in District Five. Meanwhile, only a total of 100 slots were allotted to District Five for the crusade. Among them, 60 were already assigned to the top ten parties, so everyone else would have to fight for the remaining 40 slots. One could just imagine how intense the competition would be.

Now, Shi Feng could join the Third Party directly and participate in the crusade without having to compete over those 40 slots. This was practically a gift from the heavens.

As long as the crusade succeeded, the 100 players participating in it would receive a bountiful harvest, particularly in terms of Contribution Shares for the Shelter. How could this situation not make others envious?

“Discipline, how can you be so underhanded?!” Ironwrist suddenly called out. “Even if Brother Ye Feng is going to join the crusading army, he should be joining my Seventh Party, not your Third Party! I only invited you over to discuss matters relating to the Dark Den!”

When Ironwrist had gone looking for Discipline Paradise earlier, he had told the Guardian Knight everything about his encounter with Shi Feng. However, he had not expected Discipline Paradise to actually play such a card.

No matter how one looked at it, Shi Feng was a Maverick with frightening strength.

Although the crusading army this time had gathered the power of multiple Districts, after the crusade succeeded, the number of Contribution Shares awarded would be based on each party’s performance in the crusade. In other words, the party that was the most helpful during the raid of the Great Lord Noya would receive the most Contribution Shares once the Great Lord was defeated.

Most importantly, the party that received the highest Contribution Shares had priority in choosing from the loot.

If Ironwrist could get a Maverick like Shi Feng to join the Seventh Party, his party’s strength would no doubt soar. At that time, the number of Contribution Shares they could obtain was self-evident. Hence, he was doing everything he could to befriend Shi Feng.

“This is not a ‘first come, first served’ thing. Moreover, regarding this matter, I won’t back off even if you’re my friend,” Discipline Paradise said in a righteous tone. “Also, it will be of great help to Brother Ye Feng if he joins my Third Party.”

Suddenly, Discipline Paradise and Ironwrist began arguing with each other over Shi Feng.

“What is this situation? Can someone tell me who that Swordsman is?”

The scene of two District Five big shots arguing over an unknown Swordsman stunned the players drinking inside the bar.

“Great help?” Shi Feng could not help but ask, “May I know what kind of help Brother Discipline is referring to?”

“The Chapter of Darkness!” Discipline Paradise sent a whisper to Shi Feng. “This item serves a huge purpose for Shelters. However, it is also closely related to the Dark Den. From the information I gathered, the Chapter of Darkness is a key meant to open the Dark Den. Since Brother Ye Feng wishes to go to the Dark Den, you will naturally have to obtain the Chapter of Darkness.

“However, the Chapter of Darkness is in the Great Lord Noya’s hands. If one wishes to obtain it, they will have to either kill or steal the Chapter from the Great Lord. Only, the latter option is practically impossible. The only feasible method to gain the Chapter is to kill the Great Lord.

“As long as Brother Ye Feng joins our party, we will definitely have a chance to become the top contributing party in the crusade. At that time, we can choose the Chapter of Darkness as our reward. I will then use the Chapter of Darkness to open the Dark Den for Brother Ye Feng. What does Brother Ye Feng think about this?”

“So that’s the case.” Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. Nodding, he said, “Alright, then. I’ll agree to your proposal. However, I wish to change the conditions a little.”

“Change the conditions?” Discipline Paradise asked, slightly worried. “What conditions? You can’t be wanting the Chapter of Darkness itself, right?”

The Chapter of Darkness had only two functions: empowering the magic array of a Shelter and opening the Dark Den.

To a Maverick, the first function was obviously useless. This was also the reason why Discipline Paradise had come looking to cooperate with Shi Feng.

“Rest assured, I don’t want the Chapter of Darkness. Only, if I manage to obtain the Chapter of Darkness by myself, what will you use to exchange for it?” Shi Feng asked secretly.

“Obtain the Chapter of Darkness by yourself? How can that be possible?” Discipline Paradise asked, stunned.

“I am only saying ‘if,’” Shi Feng laughed.

“If you manage to get the Chapter of Darkness by yourself, I will definitely provide you with sufficient remuneration—Taboo Skills, Curses, top-tier equipment, whatever—as long as you are willing to exchange it.” Discipline Paradise did not know what was going through Shi Feng’s mind, but if he could obtain the Chapter of Darkness, it would be of great help to their party. Hence, he was willing to pay any price for it.

Shi Feng was slightly stunned after hearing Discipline Paradise’s words.

“Exchanged Taboo Skills can be traded?” Shi Feng asked softly.

Discipline Paradise nodded. “Of course. Only, the price required to do so is somewhat high. However, for the Chapter of Darkness, I am willing to pay six Tier 1 Taboo Skills.”

“Six?” Shi Feng shook his head. “If I obtain the Chapter of Darkness, I want to exchange it for a Tier 1 Taboo Skill for every class, as well as the activation of the Dark Den.”

“Can you really do it?” Discipline Paradise asked in surprise.

A Tier 1 Taboo Skill for every class, this price was indeed frightening. Even for Discipline Paradise, this was a very steep price. The Chapter of Darkness was merely a Dark-Gold item with a somewhat special function. In truth, it was worth only seven or eight pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment.

Meanwhile, the value of a Taboo Skill was no less than a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. Since there was a total of twelve major classes, that meant a total of twelve Taboo Skills—equivalent to twelve pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment.

Dark-Gold Equipment was considered a luxury item for any party. If one had to give away twelve pieces all of a sudden, any party would feel a sting in their hearts.

However, compared to this painful price, what Discipline Paradise was most concerned about was whether or not Shi Feng could obtain the Chapter of Darkness.