Chapter 118 Chapter 117-Arrival at Sunset Mountain(2nd update, Cheer me with Power Stones!)
Emma cradled the "Woodmist Warchant" in her hands, her eyes welling up.
"Johnny... This is too valuable, isn't it a waste to give it to me?"
The young girl's voice was a bit choked.
No woman would not be moved when the man they liked gave them a gift.
Especially a gift as precious as this.
Emma might be a casual player, but it didn't mean she didn't understand the value of these pieces of equipment.
She had participated in two auctions and had seen with her own eyes how astronomical the prices of equipment of this level could be at the auction.
Now, John refused Blue Sea's request to buy without hesitation and personally gifted this piece of equipment to her.
Emma was moved beyond words.
At this moment, she was surrounded by a sense of immense happiness.
Her face was filled with joy and relaxation.
John chuckled and said, "How could it be a waste? Our lovely Emma is so beautiful, she definitely deserves a flashy and cool set of equipment to match."
"Don't worry, I'll find some complementary equipment for you later, to help you become stronger quickly."
Emma hugged John's arm, laughing heartily.
At this moment, Blue Sea and others couldn't bear it anymore.
Blue Sea stepped forward and joked, "Brother Galewind is indeed a gentleman who cherishes the fairer sex. Such valuable equipment, just giving it away. If I were a girl, I'd definitely fall for you too."
Before John could reply, Adam cut in, "Give it a rest, even if you went for gender reassignment surgery and threw yourself at Brother Galewind, he still wouldn't want you."
The crowd burst into laughter, filling the place with merriment.
After cleaning up the battlefield, everyone set off again.
They traversed the entire Twisted Grove, heading towards their destination, Sunset Mountain.
With the death of the Shadowcrawler Matriarch, the Chaos Mist that covered the entire Twisted Grove was gradually dissipating.
Their vision was becoming clearer.
Walking on weathered bones, the only sound was that of their footsteps, everything else was silent.
During the journey, Adam frowned and said, "These abyssal creatures are truly terrifying, they've killed all the life in the entire Twisted Grove. As we've been traveling, we haven't seen a single living creature."
John, who was still leading the way, calmly replied, "It's not surprising. The Abyss is a symbol of chaos and slaughter. They don't revere life, only conquest."
"That's why there are natural barriers like Sunset Mountain, separating the Abyss from the human settlements."
Blue Sea added, "Brother Galewind is right. I completed a task before, and learned some ancient secrets of the Godslayer continent during the process. Apparently, there have been several large-scale wars between the Abyss and other races, each one resulting in a bloodbath."
John sighed, "Such a war is not far from us now..."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
"However, it's a good thing that we're just players, merely passers-by on this continent. For us, these wars are actually opportunities to rapidly increase our power," Adam reflected.
"The truly pitiful and respectable ones are the local NPCs on this continent, after all, they only have one life..."
John remained silent.
But in his heart, he wondered: Are we really just passers-by?
Knowing many secrets, John was well aware that what was happening on the Godslayer continent would eventually become closely related to their everyday lives.
That's why John always stuck to one principle.
Accelerate the exploration process in the game.
Gradually bring the power within his body back to reality.
Only by becoming stronger himself, would he have the ability to change the tide when danger arrives in the future.
Everyone hurried on their way with their own thoughts.
They quickly left the confines of the Twisted Grove.
Through the dense jungle, the sprawling Sunset Mountain, stretching tens of thousands of miles, instantly appeared in their sight.
"My God... what a beautiful view..."
Everyone was so stunned by the sight before them that they stopped in their tracks.
In the distant horizon right in front of them, there were towering mountains, one after another, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The sky was as red as fire, with clouds floating above the peaks, merging into one, like an inverted red ocean.
"I finally understand... why it's named Sunset Mountain..."
Someone in the crowd couldn't help but murmur.
Even Adam and Blue Sea, who were typically stoic and had seen many grand sights, were unable to resist being captivated by the beauty before them.
Only John remained as calm as ever: "Don't get too enamored with the scenery. This is not a tourist destination, danger is the dominant theme here."
His words instantly pulled everyone's attention back to reality.
"Brother Galewind is absolutely right. However, we can't ignore the beauty of our journey..." Adam started to say but suddenly stopped.
Because they all saw a scene that terrified them. nOVE-lb/1n
A group of winged Pegasus took to the air from deep within Sunset Mountain, seemingly preparing to feed in an area with lush grass.
But as they flew over a certain peak, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the air.
A monstrous black dragon, hundreds of meters long and covered in scales, took to the sky, flapping its enormous wings.
It struck like black lightning, diving straight into the herd of Pegasus.
Blood rained down instantly.
The Pegasus screamed and scattered, but none were faster than the dragon.
One by one, they were eaten.
The crushed flesh and blood fell from the sky, a tragic sight to behold.
John and his party watched from a distance, the hellish scene playing out before them.
Almost everyone held their breath, their bodies rigid with fear.
Many swallowed hard, their faces filled with horror.
"This... This is too terrifying, right?" Blue Sea's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The colorful glow around those Pegasus, they looked high level, yet they had no ability to fight back against that dragon."
"Is this the terror of Sunset Mountain?"
John squinted, answering in a nonchalant manner, "You're overthinking it. We're still only at the outskirts of Sunset Mountain. The real danger isn't what we just saw..."
Blue Sea and Adam exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of horror in each other's eyes.
The black dragon they had just witnessed, hundreds of meters long, had already given them an unparalleled sense of pressure.
If this is not considered real danger, then what kind of monsters are lurking deeper within Sunset Mountain?
Are they going to have the opportunity to witness the legendary demi-god level creatures on this trip?
The dragon's roar was still reverberating in their ears.
After hunting down the herd of Pegasus, the satiated dragon didn't immediately return to its nest but lingered in the air over the peak.
Its wings spread out, casting a giant shadow.
Despite the distance, everyone could feel the overwhelming pressure it emitted.
Only John remained expressionless.
"I wonder what level this dragon is. It seems pretty terrifying, huh?" Someone mumbled softly.
John suddenly turned around, smiling faintly, "Don't worry, we'll know its level soon."
The group turned pale.
Adam, his face grave, asked, "Brother Galewind, you're not planning to challenge this dragon, are you?"
John casually replied, "Challenge? Not exactly... But our goal on this trip involves this creature. It's not something we can avoid..."
"What do you mean?"
John nodded, "Exactly, that dragon is the Corrupted Dragon, Beyvis, mentioned by the Shadowcrawler Matriarch. Don't forget, we took on a side quest before. The key to completing it probably lies with this creature."
Everyone shivered at his words.
Even Adam and Blue Sea were no exceptions.
If they had known beforehand that the side quest would involve such a terrifying creature, they would never have agreed to Werewolf Seer Master Likexei's request, even if it killed them.
Blue Sea, clutching at straws, asked tentatively, "Brother Galewind, how do you know this dragon is Beyvis? There might be other dragons in Sunset Mountain, right?"
John simply smiled without answering Blue Sea's question.
How did he know?
The reason was simple.
Even from a distance, John could smell the abyssal stench emanating from the dragon.
The scent of chaos and corruption was unique to dragons from the abyss.
Furthermore, if John was not mistaken, the mountain where the dragon was hovering was the location of the Cholera Land mentioned by the Shadowcrawler Matriarch.
The answer was self-evident.
Seeing everyone's fearful faces, John waved his hand and said calmly, "Don't panic too much. Monsters of this caliber are not uncommon in Sunset Mountain. They're just intimidating in appearance. This dragon is not much stronger than the Shadowcrawler Matriarch we encountered earlier."
John's words made everyone want to cry but without the tears.
Wasn't the previous Shadowcrawler Matriarch strong enough?
Without John, they would have been annihilated.
Adam and Blue Sea, the two guild leaders, were quick to come to terms with it.
Indeed, if the sky were to fall, there would be someone taller to hold it up.
If Galewind was this confident, then what did they have to worry about?
They'd dealt with the Shadowcrawler Matriarch before, hadn't they?
Dealing with that Corrupted Dragon would probably take just a couple of moves, right?