Chapter 165.2: Battlefield Map

Chapter 165.2: Battlefield Map

Yang Qiu summoned his undead horse and headed to the southwest wall of the city, a known location among high-level black mages. He looked up and shouted to announce his visit to the Lord of Fear and took out a well-wrapped gift, then waited patiently.

Moments later, a hidden door creaked open in the seamless city wall. An imposing figure in armor, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a man save for the singular horn on his forehead, stepped out.

This demon gatekeeper might pass for human during a cursory glance, but any such illusion was quickly dispelled by his towering stature, dwarfing even Yang Qiu, who was quite high up on his steed.

With practiced ease, the demon took the gift from Yang Qiu, speaking in the articulate common tongue of the main material realm, "Human black mage, His Lordship is preoccupied with dealing with enemies and cannot grant you an audience. Please, attend to your own matters."

The Realm of Fear was a favored haunt for black mages, and the gatekeepers here were well-versed regarding their visits.

"I mean no intrusion upon His Lordship. I've seen the forces of Calamity," Yang Qiu responded with a nod and a smile. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to establish a small outpost not far from the main battlefield, to lend our strength to His Lordship's cause."

It was a common practice for black magicians to "drop by" the demon realms, seeking to sharpen their skills without any expectation of remuneration from the demons.

The gatekeeper, no stranger to such requests, replied nonchalantly, "Proceed as you wish, black mage. But be warned, should your outpost face any troubles, we cannot spare any forces to come to your aid."

"Such audacious demands are far from my intentions," Yang Qiu assured with a broad smile, well aware of the demons' nature. "I only seek a token from Fear Army to prevent any unfortunate incidents of friendly fire."

"Hold for a moment," said the gatekeeper, not his first time entertaining such a request, before retreating and closing the door behind him.

Ten minutes later, the concealed door opened once again, and the towering gatekeeper reappeared, handing Yang Qiu a crystal pulsating with a violet glow. "Imbue your forces with a trace of my lord's essence, and you shall avoid any misidentification."

Gratefully accepting the Fear Crystal, Yang Qiu presented a personal gift to the gatekeeper. This was wisdom passed down by elder mages; never request extra favors without offering a gift in return.

Even the specifications for gifts when visiting the demon realms had been summed up by black mages

If it was just seeking a few summons, gifting an exquisite accessory like silver would be enough.

For a longer stay (some black mages would spend months or even years in the demon dimension realms), higher value gifts such as gold jewelry, fine art (paintings, statues, etc.), or delicate silk products would be fair.

If seeking the gatekeeper to pass a message, drinks, food, silver The price didn't have to be that great, but manners were a must.

The demon race might be rough and brutish, but exquisite ornaments and works of art from the material realm were rather popular here.

"Jia Luo!" Orange Cat howled in anguish.

Unfortunately, Jia Luo didn't hear Orange Cat's angst as the two groups of players were teleported (summoned) away when the count was met.

A red moon in the dark sky, a seemingly endless expanse of barren earth, a towering mountain in the distance, and a steel city almost integrated with the massive formation.

The roar of the wind brought with it the faint sound of fighting and killing, as if some terrible beast was in its death throes, and there was also a shrill cry not like that of a living person ringing in air.

Tang Jia ran out of the cave where they were teleported to, her jaw dropping when she saw such a magnificent battlefield scene that could never be witnessed in any other game. "Whoa Such a big map. This is the OtherWorld version of Aoshan?"

Blossoming Strokes also came out, muttering to herself as she surveyed the surroundings, "I imagined the map would be small since only groups of 25 are allowed in How can even a 40-man group be enough for such a large map?"

"Since 40-man groups can't enter, there must be a reason why too many aren't allowed in," Qin Guan explained calmly. "Perhaps it's stickers in the distance, while the actual scenes aren't too large. Many online games do this."

"Stickers" Unceasing Entropy mumbled as she stared at the mountain and massive steel castle on top.

It was indeed impossible for such an exaggerated building to appear in realitycompared with the castle, the Burj Khalifa was like a simple building that could be built by a contractor team with a simple high school education. Unceasing Entropy couldn't imagine how such a fantastical building could be built by human power.

"Indeed, I'm overthinking." Unceasing Entropy exhaled lightly.

"What did you say, Qingyue?" Tang Jia vaguely heard something and turned over.

"Nothing, the wind is too strong," Unceasing Entropy said, following the crowd out. "Eh, where's Sis Ying and Jia Luo?"

Unceasing Entropy halted and tiptoed to look around

Yang Ying and Jia Luo were still in the cave and hadn't come out.

"Sis Ying, Jia Luo, keep up!" Unceasing Entropy hurriedly went back to urge them.

"Coming, coming. Wait!"

Seeing the reason her two companions were dawdling in the back, Unceasing Entropy nearly laughed out. "Don't pick at that amethyst, it's just a map decoration! How can something that we aren't able to 'Identify' be taken away!"