Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Matter on the Side

By the time he made out the thing before him, Night Feather already knew this eavesdropping was likely to be discovered.

The broad, powerful frame, the swift gait, and the terrifying stealth creature that prowled this region at night could only be a Night Beast Werewolf, a formidable nocturnal monster found in the level 50 to level 55 wilderness zones.

Night Feather and the others had not been spotted at first, but they had become so absorbed in listening to the conversation just a breath away that they never noticed the Night Beast Werewolf roaming behind them drawing near.

And once they were attacked by the Night Beast Werewolf, it naturally drew the attention of the others, exposing the hiding place where they had been concealed.

"Who is it!"

At once, Proud and Wild sprang to his feet and glared back at the figures leaping up out of the bushes behind them, barking furiously.

Because they were in this region, Night Feather and the others had switched off the display of their IDs and guild information when they approached, so the others could not identify them.

However, on the other side, the burly player in the cloak stamped his foot, raised his left hand, and a flame appeared in his palm. Deep in his eyes, a murderous rage flashed, and he quickly launched six attacks toward Night Feather and the others.

Seeing this, Huang Hong frowned slightly. With his long spear in hand, he turned and swept it out in a broad arc. Crimson radiance curved like moonlight as it met the six incoming fire attacks.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

The clash of powers lit up the faces of Proud and Wild, the burly cloaked player, and the others nearby. Standing within each other's line of sight, Huang Hong used the firelight to see the other side's features in complete clarity.

At that moment, Night Feather sensed what was happening behind them. With a swift turn, he struck out with his left palm. Purple radiance rippled outward in concentric waves, and a violet palm imprint shot forward with dazzling brilliance, instantly causing the group to vanish from those people's view.

When Proud and Wild and the others saw the light fade and found Night Feather's party gone, their expressions darkened. They looked uneasily at the broad-shouldered player in the cloak and asked, "What should we do?"

But after a brief silence, the player replied, "Proceed according to the original plan. They have hidden their information, which means their levels are clearly not above ours. Otherwise, in these zones, they would never choose to conceal it. They are probably just worried about being attacked by other players. They are no threat, and they will not be the first to make a move."

After hearing that, Proud and Wild thought about the forces these people might belong to. If they really could stand against them, there were only a handful of factions in all. Players grinding in these wilderness areas hid their information precisely because they feared attacks; if they were not afraid, there would be no need to hide anything.

Then the group searched the surroundings, erased every trace of their presence, and headed toward a teleport point not far away.

"I think that guy who hid his information has a point. We really won't be the first to act. The Profound Heaven server is already a muddled mix of all kinds of people. Since Old Hu was able to pay a huge price to come in as a new player, then of course other players from old servers can do the same, as long as they are willing to pay. Still, they assume we are the weaker side, and that is not necessarily a bad thing."

At that moment, Luo Feng thought it over and spoke up.

Meanwhile, Qu Zheng and Tan Cong joined forces and easily finished off the Night Beast Werewolf. With the equipment Night Feather's group currently had, they could be said to stand at the very forefront of the Profound Heaven server, so taking down monsters in a higher-level wilderness zone was not especially difficult for them, especially when dealing with only one at a time.

"It doesn't matter. I never planned to meddle in this sort of thing anyway. And once you start meddling, who knows what kind of trouble it could lead to? The consequences could be unimaginable."

Huang Hong shrugged and spoke quite bluntly. It might have sounded heartless, but since it had nothing to do with them, there was no need to go sticking their hands into affairs whose depths they did not even know.

"Even if we wanted to help, we couldn't. We don't even know where their guild headquarters is," Tan Cong said with a faintly helpless tone.

Luo Wei nodded as well. "To help with something like this, we at least need to know the people involved. Otherwise, if something goes wrong later, it will be very hard to deal with. Our guild may be one of the strongest now, but the Profound Heaven server is already extremely mixed. We have no idea whether there are other players who entered the game the way Old Hu did."

"All right. In any case, let's keep farming experience for now and build up as much as we can while the double bonus is still active. Once the server cap increases, we'll be able to widen the gap quickly. And by then, when our levels are higher, even if we are the ones out front, no one will be able to do anything to us."

Night Feather spoke with great composure.

The others nodded in agreement. Yet from the way things looked, it seemed that Night Feather himself had been stirred by those words as well, and he clearly had some intention of getting involved.

So the six of them continued grinding experience in the wilderness. By the end of the night, and even into the game's second day, they were still at it. By then, the experience they had accumulated was enough to bring them to level 48, only two levels away from 50. It looked close, but in truth that distance was still considerable.

Because of the experience they had amassed, the monsters in the area where they were leveling had already risen to level 50 and above. What had seemed easy yesterday when they fought the Night Beast Werewolf one on one now became far more grueling when they faced groups of monsters together, and Night Feather's group was forced to fight with considerably more effort.

"Third Brother, if it weren't for our equipment, we might not even be able to stay in a level 50 wilderness zone for very long. Negative status effects appear too easily here, and if this goes on, even if we take turns fighting, there still won't be enough time to recover, and we'll end up in a fatigued state."

Luo Feng noticed this as well and spoke up directly.

Night Feather nodded. "After we finish the wilderness tasks we have on hand, let's stop and rest for a while before continuing. Once today passes, tomorrow the server cap will rise, and then we'll see."

"All right."

"I've been waiting for you to say that for ages. Fighting like this has nearly drained me dry."

...