Chapter 48: Heart of Thorns Acquired! Six Alliance Players Walk Straight Into the Trap!

Swifthoof Kalen, the player with that ID, wasn’t laughing.

He frowned and transferred all the resources into his inventory.

"Fifty thousand? Have you guys forgotten the auction announcement posted on the World Channel this morning? The four-star Unit Altar Stone has a starting bid of a full million basic resources."

"It’s already been more than two hours since the alliance issued our quota this morning, and we’ve only collected fifty thousand. We’re still nowhere near the target."

The laughter abruptly died.

"Then... Kalen, what are you suggesting?"

Swifthoof Kalen stood up, his eyes gleaming.

"My goal was never to get a little extra resource support in the first place."

He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.

"What I want is access to the alliance’s four-star unit barracks."

"Think about it. Right now, with our two-star troops averaging Lv.10, we can already sweep through these minor lords. What would happen if we replaced them with four-star troops?"

The others swallowed nervously.

Four-star troops.

Just how powerful would they be?

"But..."

Hooded Rigg scratched his head.

"We’ve already cleared out all the small lords nearby. If we venture farther out, we won’t even be able to reach many territories in a single day. Where are we supposed to get that many resources?"

Nobody spoke.

Suddenly, Swifthoof Kalen seemed to think of something. He slapped his thigh hard.

"I’ve got it!"

"Do you remember the golden thunderclouds that appeared in the sky on the second night?"

The others froze.

Everyone on the Newbie Continent had witnessed those golden thunderclouds that night.

"Didn’t people on the World Channel say there was some kind of treasure involved?"

Swifthoof Kalen’s eyes lit up.

"Those minor lords don’t have much in the way of resources anyway. Instead of wasting our time hunting them down, why don’t we head over there and take a look?"

"If we actually find some valuable items, wouldn’t it be even better to hand them over to the alliance when we return?"

The six exchanged glances, each seeing the same greed reflected in the others’ eyes.

"Let’s do it!"

"Move out!"

Swifthoof Kalen swung himself onto his centaur mount and pointed his iron spear north.

"Forward!"

With a loud commotion, more than a thousand troops rose to their feet and followed the six lords toward the golden thunderclouds in a massive procession.

...

"Achoo!"

At that very moment, John, riding on a dragon’s back, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

He rubbed his nose and frowned.

"Why do I feel like someone’s talking behind my back?"

Ahead of him, the purple dragon that was Ophelia had coiled itself around an Ancient Thorn Mother Tree standing dozens of meters tall.

The entire tree was covered in dark red thorns, and a red, fleshy growth resembling a heart bulged from its trunk.

The Dragon Lady unleashed a blast of World-Ending Dragonflame, and purple fire crackled as it engulfed the entire tree.

-3723!

-2146!

-3117!

The Ancient Thorn Mother Tree immediately let out a piercing shriek, its vines lashing wildly through the air.

"My lord!"

Ophelia’s voice rang in his ears. "Finish it off!"

"On it."

John didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand and activated his newly learned spell.

Lightning Bolt!

Dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead. A pale bolt of lightning crashed down with a deafening BOOM, striking the pulsating Heart of Thorns dead-on.

-12841!

A massive damage number flashed into view.

The Ancient Thorn Mother Tree convulsed violently twice before its vines went limp. Its entire body withered at a visible rate, eventually shrinking into a charred husk.

[You have slain the Ancient Thorn Mother Tree (Lv.19 · Boss)!]

[Lord Tyrant has reached Lv.17!]

[All-Attribute Growth: Health +1,000, Constitution +10, Agility +10, Spirit +10, Strength +10.]

[Item Acquired: Heart of Thorns ×1.]

[Resources Acquired: Iron Ore ×8,000, Wood ×12,000, Gold Coins ×20,000.]

John exhaled, plucked the still-hot Heart of Thorns from the tree, and tossed it into his inventory.

"Job done."

He patted the dragon’s neck and gave the next order.

"Next, head to the spatial rift."

After speaking, John lowered his head and checked the legion interface.

The marker to the southwest was flashing as well.

That was Bladeborne and Sylvie’s team.

They were clearly making good progress too. Under Sylvie’s management, the amount of resources in his inventory was increasing at an explosive rate.

Ophelia lowered her head. The purple dragon spread its wings, swept John up onto its back, and took to the sky.

Raistlin had already disappeared from his original position with a wave of his staff and a single teleport.

The wind howled past John’s ears at high altitude.

Lying against Ophelia’s neck, John looked around and suddenly realized that something about the Dragon Lady was different today.

Previously, whenever she carried him into the air, she’d immediately dive at full speed, as though she were desperate to throw him off her back.

Today, however, her flight was remarkably steady. Even the movement of her wings was much gentler. At one point, she had even tilted her neck slightly to shield him from the oncoming wind.

The corners of John’s mouth involuntarily curled upward.

It seemed Sylvie had really gotten under Ophelia’s skin that morning.

Even the usually aloof Dragon Lady was behaving differently now.

Competition really does make a difference.

John thought to himself with satisfaction.

Perhaps sensing the unmistakable smugness radiating from the person on her back, Ophelia’s dark golden slit pupils suddenly narrowed.

And then—

"ROOOAR!"

The purple dragon suddenly kicked against the air.

A sonic boom exploded behind her with a resounding BANG. Her enormous body shot forward like a purple arrow released from a bow.

John nearly flew off her back and desperately wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Ophelia! I’m going to fall off!"

...

Six hundred kilometers away.

The six alliance players and their more than a thousand troops had finally reached the vicinity of the golden thunderclouds.

Before them lay an endless sea of dense fog.

They couldn’t see a territory, let alone anything beyond a few steps. Even the troops following behind them had disappeared into the mist.

"Damn it! What the hell is this?"

Hooded Rigg’s sand spider units stumbled through the fog, and he couldn’t help complaining.

"Why is there so much fog here?"

Swifthoof Kalen gripped his mount tightly and narrowed his eyes, trying to peer into the mist.

Truthfully, he was feeling a little nervous himself.

But whenever he thought about gaining access to the four-star barracks, he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

"Since we’ve already come this far, what is there to be afraid of? We’ve got plenty of men. Just follow me. Let’s go inside and take a look."

With that, the group steeled themselves and plunged into the fog.

The centaurs took the lead, while the sand spiders and scarabs formed the two flanks.

The six lords were surrounded by all kinds of troops as they stumbled forward, one step at a time.

Just then, Swifthoof Kalen, who was leading the way, suddenly let out a surprised exclamation.

"Huh? There’s something up ahead."

Swifthoof Kalen urged his mount closer. The moment he got a clear look, cold sweat broke out all over his body.

A densely packed "wall" stood in the fog.

It was made up of countless skeletal soldiers wearing iron helmets, with ghostly blue flames burning inside their hollow visors.

Each skeleton held an iron spear more than two meters long. The spearpoints all faced outward as the soldiers stood motionless in neat, overlapping ranks, forming a complete circle.

"They’re Spearmen."

Swifthoof Kalen swallowed nervously. He was just about to order a retreat when he realized that the skeleton soldiers weren’t moving at all.

He cautiously reached out and pushed one of them.

THUD!

The Spearman fell to the ground.

"Hah!"

Swifthoof Kalen immediately scoffed, his confidence returning in an instant.

"I thought they were something dangerous. Turns out they’re all bark and no bite!"

"They look intimidating, but they’re just lifeless props?"

The others relaxed as well and burst into laughter.