Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  At that moment, Little North finally realized that the person before him was the man with the incredible lightness skill and whom Little North had been unable to catch while they were in the mass grave.

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone?!

  "Is there a quieter place that is situated in a remote area?"

  Happy did not acknowledge recognizing All-powerful Medicinal Stone. Instead, he looked around warily and whispered in a volume that only the two of them could hear.

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone pretended to not have heard anything and increased his speed while he walked toward Immortal Fox Village.

  "Come with me."

  Immortal Fox Village was filled with people. There were players moving all around the area, and they were all in groups. The village was incredibly crowded.

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone moved very quickly. He squeezed through the crowd and approached a small and worn down house like a loach.

  Happy, with his attentive eye, noticed that when All-powerful Medicinal Stone went through the crowd, his hands seemed to have vanished into two unfortunate people's Universe Bag for a while.

  He… just could not break away from his bad habit.

  But Happy said nothing. He just sighed and followed All-powerful Medicinal Stone into the worn down house.

  There was an herbalist in the house, and he appeared to be around sixty-seventy. His hair was white, and he had a hunched back. He was old and clumsy, coughed nonstop, and the house was filled with a medicinal fragrance.

  There were players who would enter sometimes and leave right after they bought some medicinal tablets. However, compared to the very popular blacksmith's shop and armor shop, the herbalist's shop was incredibly quiet.

  "Just the two of you?"

  When there were only three people in the house, All-powerful Medicinal Stone cast a glance at Little North and his zombie puppets. "What about the other helper you mentioned?"

  "He'll be here soon," Happy answered.

  In truth, when he was not too far away from Immortal Fox Village, he had already sent a messenger pigeon to Thunderous Battle, who said that he had arrived a long time ago. He had been level-grinding outside and would arrive in the village soon.

  "Which subordinate sect did Class One Hall set over here?"

  Happy was not entirely certain that events would progress the same way as they did in his previous life.

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone pondered for a while to recall the information he learned while listening around.

  "As of now, I know that Fallen Feathers Sect belongs to them. Their sect master is Situ Luoyu. He has a high-tier martial art at Grandmaster Realm, and there are more than fifty powerful players with high-tier martial arts in the sect. Every single night, they rush to Fox Cave and try to clear it."

  "Only fifty?" Happy frowned.

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone nodded.

  "Situ Luoyu never allows those without high-tier martial arts to join the raid."

  "Smart." Happy s.u.c.k.e.d in a sharp breath.

  "What other sects are there?"

  "Perpetual Sect, Chivalry Sect, and other sects of various sizes who aren't part of the main trio. There are simply too many of them. The total number of sects here is over one hundred. There has been an especially great increase in the past few days.

  "I heard that this is because someone from Perpetual Joy Sect has obtained a key to enter the third level. Once they go there, they can meet Yao Hua and his wife, and they can kill them to obtain the divine vessels."

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone chuckled coldly. "Once that information spread out, the sects in the cities nearby who had never come before began to send a lot of people to die. Today, we might need to line up in a long queue to actually enter Fox Cave."

  Happy's heart tensed!

  The key to the third layer?

  He also had one of those keys! He had intended to use his key to cause strife between Chivalry Sect and Class One Hall once he entered the second layer, but perhaps he had not used it for a long time, the system had automatically respawned a second key.

  His plans had to be changed.

  Happy frowned and pondered over it for a while.

  "We won't go to the third layer. Medicinal Stone, tell us the situation in Fox Cave."

  It was not the time for them to stretch their claws toward the third layer of Fox Cave just yet.

  "Alright."

  Medicinal Stone knew that it was the first time Happy and Little North came to Immortal Fox Village. He nodded and immediately began to explain the situation to the duo. He told them everything about when Fox Cave was opened to the players, where the entrance was, and the things they would encounter once they entered the place. He explained everything in great detail.

  Since Happy knew about the situation inside even better than Medicinal Stone, he only pretended to listen.

  But Little North was so excited that he nearly left his boots.

  It was especially so when he heard that they would definitely be attacked by a large skulk of foxes once they entered Fox Cave. Every single night, there were countless players dying inside. Only those with great body fortification techniques could somewhat last in there, but only for a little while. Little North became even more excited when he heard that, so much so that his eyes sparkled.

  "There is a chance that the White Foxes in Fox Cave will drop a high-tier martial art manual called Heaven's Illusory Claw. Aside from this, there is also a chance that they will drop a high-tier lightness skill manual called Fox Monster's Phantasmal Shadow. One Heaven's Illusory Claw can be sold for two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, and a Fox Monster's Phantasmal Shadow is worth one million and five hundred thousand taels of silver crumbs. If you can get even one manual, you'll be rich!"

  Chapter 186 - Four-man Party

  Thunderous Battle arrived!

  While Happy, All-powerful Medicinal Stone, and Little North talked about Fox Cave, a man with a stern expression and a black cloak strode in. He was covered in dust, and there were specks of blood on his body and saber. He looked wild and untamed, just like the martial artists of the land. He walked into the apothecary and drew close to them with a grin.

  "Hey there, famous person, we meet again!"

  "Big Brother Thunder." Happy got up and hugged Thunderous Battle with great excitement. They thumped each other on the c.h.e.s.t, and Happy said, "It has been ten days since we last saw each other, and you've become sturdier than ever."

  "Duh. You weren't there to lighten my burden, and I've been lurking around the ancient tomb every single day. I've almost turned into a Stone Giant by now!" Thunderous Battle laughed, but his gaze landed on the two people beside Happy, and he hesitated for a moment. "These two are…"

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone appeared alright, but the zombies who stood behind Little North had fierce and ferocious expressions on their faces. They were rather terrifying.

  Happy quickly introduced them. "This is Thunderous Battle, he's a friend I got to know in Yangzhou! Come, let me introduce you to them. This is my friend, All-powerful Medicinal Stone. He's a disciple of Marvelous-handed Sect." All-powerful Medicinal Stone took off the human skin mask at the opportune moment to reveal his real face. Thunderous Battle was astonished by the sight.

  "A human skin mask? This is good stuff that's ranked in the top ten of the Divine Weapon Rank!"

  "Hehe." All-powerful Medicinal Stone could only smile in a friendly manner before he put the human skin mask on his face again.

  Thunderous Battle naturally knew that the divine vessels that managed to make it into the Divine Weapon Rank were mostly items that players had obtained from the precious brocade boxes from the Emperor's Birthday Quest. Naturally, he did not dare underestimate the strange man, and he nodded in greeting.

  Happy made introductions. "Little North, disciple from Corpse Sect, a Corpse Controller."

  "I'm Big Brother Happy's lackey." Little North reacted incredibly quickly. Before
]Thunderous Battle could say anything, he had already taken the initiative to shout, "Big Brother Thunder, please take care of me in the future!"

  The human and two zombies put their fists in their palms, which created an incredibly bizarre scene.

  "Hah… you're far too polite."

  Thunderous Battle naturally knew that Little North had said that because of Happy, so he smiled in answer. The boy was certainly someone who could have a high standing in the game because of the two zombie puppets that had an extraordinary presence.

  However, he was still a little shocked!

  He knew that Happy had fought alone after he left Yangzhou's ancient tomb. With his great strength as well as intellect, he defeated numerous guilds and toyed with many people. His successes built his fame, and he had climbed to the top three on the Famous People Rank!

  But he did not expect that Happy would also get to know such powerful friends.

  There was no need to say anything about All-powerful Medicinal Stone. He was a loner who was not affiliated to any sect or clan, but he still managed to get a brocade box, which was enough to tell just how extraordinary he was.

  However, Thunderous Battle still felt that he could not quite calm down.

  He had thought that once he pushed his Infinite Sword Technique to Grandmaster Realm, he would be the second best in the party aside from Happy, but based on what he saw right then, there was a good chance that he might end up holding back their party...

  Once they got to know each other, the four of them sat down, and All-powerful Medicinal Stone began making explanations as well as providing a detailed plan of their trip into Fox Cave.

  "First, we must make sure that our defenses are strong! It's only then that we'll be able to survive under the onslaught of the fox monsters' attacks." All-powerful Medicinal Stone reminded them repeatedly. "Fox Cave only opens once every day, when the moon is full.

  "The players who enter first usually all die without a doubt! But if we don't move once we enter and don't bring the fox monsters' attacks onto ourselves, we can just wait for more people to enter. Once a certain number of people are inside, we can charge together!"

  None of the other three said anything.

  Little North and Thunderous Battle nodded together and put to memory all that he said.

  "But it'll be more troublesome if we want to clear Fox Cave over the next few days." All-powerful Medicinal Stone changed the topic, and his tone became incredibly solemn.

  "Every day, there are players who enter Fox Cave first because they don't know what goes on inside. I don't know whether they're intentionally creating chaos or whether they really don't know what's going on inside, but there is always someone who will start moving around recklessly once a certain number of people gather inside Fox Cave. They will lure a large skulk of fox monsters to the entrance. Every single time, hundreds of people die before the combined forces gradually clear out all the fox monsters in the hall."

  "Over the past few days, many guilds have chosen not to enter Fox Cave the moment it opens." All-powerful Medicinal Stone frowned. "The sacrifices at the start are too great. Even major guilds cannot afford to lose so much manpower. Hence, many sects and organizations have begun to talk things over in secret. When Fox Cave is opened, they will first clear the area outside!"

  "Clear the area?!"

  Happy scowled.

  "That's right." All-powerful Medicinal Stone nodded. "To prevent others from intentionally causing chaos, when they enter Fox Cave, all those who aren't members of their guilds must leave the area around Fox Cave. They are not allowed to enter after them."

  "Even though this is just to reduce risk, as long as this rule is kept, players who don't have any sects or organizations can forget about gaining a footing in Fox Cave. Even if they enter later on, it's quite likely that they'll be targeted by the big guilds," Happy said, and All-powerful Medicinal Stone nodded in agreement to his words.

  He then spoke in an even more solemn tone. "That's right. Once we enter Fox Cave… the four of us will be in a very dangerous situation."

  They all fell silent.

  They had all rushed over from far away places. Even though their main goal was to get to know the heroes in the game, that did not mean that they wanted to fight against multiple sects and organizations. At the end of the day, they were just four people.

  "If we can't enter Fox Cave, then how are we supposed to have fun?" Little North blinked in a daze and spoke without thinking.

  Happy cast Little North a glance before he said languidly, "It's not hard to solve this problem. I have three solutions."

  "Hmm?"

  "Tell us, quick."

  "The best plan is to search for a random sect and join them temporarily. When we leave, we can just quit the sect, and problem solved."

  "That's… not too good, right?"

  All-powerful Medicinal Stone and Thunderous Battle frowned to show that this was not a good idea.

  It would be easy for them to join, but leaving just like that was a little unacceptable, especially when it would definitely hurt someone's feelings.

  "The not-so-good plan would be to work together with all players who are not in any sect in Immortal Fox Village. While I was on my way here, I saw quite a number of people who didn't have any sects. They should be able to fight against the people who are there to clear the area. But… that would be too flashy, and at that time, I might not be able to execute my plan smoothly."

  'That's right. If too many people who are not from any sects are clumped together, we might end up giving rise to the greatest conflict and bring about the most chaotic slaughter in Fox Cave. It would throw the order in Fox Cave into chaos, and it wouldn't be good for any party involved.'

  "Then… what about the worst plan?"

  Happy did not say anything for a time. He pondered over it for a while before he s.u.c.k.e.d in a deep breath and said four words in a soft voice. "We establish our might."

  The three people before him were all stunned.

  "What?"

  "If the best plan will end up with us not being able to form any good connections with other sects, and the not-so-good plan will require a lot of planning to succeed, then the worst plan will naturally be for us to use force!"

  Happy spread his arms with a wan smile. "Since the first two methods aren't going to work, we can only use force to subjugate the others."

  The trio were rendered speechless. Their expressions instantly filled with shock.

  Chapter 187 - The Grand Situation in Fox Cave

  The ratio of time in World of Martial Arts was 2:1 to the time in the real world. A day in the real world was equivalent to two nights and days. Hence, night came very soon. The moon climbed above the trees and illuminated Immortal Fox Village so brightly that it looked like it was day.

  Once Happy and his party walked out of the apothecary, the people in the village began to move, and the traffic became extremely great. The four of them moved with the bustling crowd headed to Fox Cave, which was not too far away from the village.

  There were plenty of people in the crowd who still did not know that the sects had decided to work together to clear the area. They walked in groups of three to five, and their faces were full of excitement. They did not know what sort of nightmare waited for them.

  When they arrived at the edge of the forest outside Fox Cave, they found that their path forward was blocked!

  "The cave is full now! Those at the back, please wait, don't try to push forward anymore."

  "Damn it, there are even more people today."

  "We're seriously unlucky. I wonder if there will be anything left after we go in. If I knew about this, I would have started queuing up since noon."

  Quite a number of players in front consciously stopped moving. They began to discuss matters on the spot.

  Happy and his party looked at each other, but they did not stop moving forward. They squeezed their way through the crowd, which was still not very packed at that
moment, and arrived at the edge of the forest. It was only there that they felt the crowd pushing at them.

  The edge of the forest was filled with people. Human figures could be seen packed closely to each other, and there were even more people standing on the trees. They hid everything that happened inside the forest. From what the group could see at first glance, it did seem like they could not enter the place.

  However, once they looked more closely, they saw that the players at the edge of the forest and on the trees had emblems from various sects sewn on their c.h.e.s.ts. They were all gathered together and guarded different spots to form a defensive circle that refused most of the people outside the forest.

  However, once many people participated in such a matter, there would naturally be people who would reveal some secrets. Besides, when there were so many sects involved, there would almost always be some people who believed themselves to be above others and who loved to boast.

  "Stop shoving people! If you come any closer, I'm going to hit you! Stand by the side! Fox Cave won't be open to the public today, please go back."

  If the person who had his path blocked had not been concerned over the party members standing behind the person who blocked him and staring at him fiercely, he would have definitely flown into a rage. At the very least, he would have mouthed back and thrown a tantrum.

  But that sect had almost one hundred members standing together. The ones with more members might even have hundreds of people standing together. If they were all packed into a forest, a normal player who had to face them would definitely be lying if they said they felt no pressure.

  Of course, there were also some who were impatient, anxious, and had the d.e.s.i.r.e to show their strength. They jumped out from the crowd, kicked the air a few times, and flew above the crowd. They headed to the edge of the forest. Clearly, they intended to resort to trickery to be the first to enter Fox Cave.

  "Get lost!"

  Light rays of different colors shone. They struck the player who flew above the crowd at the same time.