Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  The purplish red horse Happy possessed had belonged to a Mystical Realm bandit leader, and while it was quite a good mount, it could only be considered a horse that was among the top of the low-class high-grade mounts.

  The purplish red mount was much more beautiful and bigger than normal mounts, but there was a certain disparity in quality compared to a real famous horse. It was also much more inferior compared to Hoof Shadow, which was a horse that was the top of the crop and had intelligence that was comparable to that of a human.

  Hoof Shadows had been owned by every single good player in Happy's previous life, because a Hoof Shadow's speed was simply unparalleled. It was a symbol of status, wealth, and position in the game.

  However, to Happy, the true and most important value of Hoof Shadow was not in those things.

  When they were near an ancient tomb that was around fifteen miles away from Wuhu, Thunderous Battle and Happy looked at each other and shared an understanding smile. The two of them had gotten to know each other and became quite good friends because of an ancient tomb. Even though they were not near Yangzhou, the surroundings of the ancient tomb were done by the same developer, and it gave off a familiar feeling. It made the two men sentimental.

  The trio did not enter the ancient tomb. Instead, they stopped outside a rather wide forest that did not have many trees.

  Thunderous Battle looked around and could not help but lament in great pity. "I once ran into a Hoof Shadow. That horse is just too beautiful, and I fell in love with it at first glance, but a pity, it was just too fast. At that time, I only had a low-tier lightness skill, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace. It left me in the dust."

  "Yup." Happy nodded.

  In truth, even the current Thunderous Battle would be unable to catch up to a Hoof Shadow despite having Fox Monster's Phantasmal Shadow. There were very few people who could capture a Hoof Shadow, and most of them had to rely on numbers and encircling tactics to achieve that.

  "Big Brother Thunder, you met a Hoof Shadow before?" Little North was clearly a loyal admirer of Hoof Shadows. When he heard about it, he became excited again, and he asked repeatedly about where Thunderous Battle had seen it.

  "I saw it in Yangzhou. At that time, I was on my way to an ancient tomb as well."

  When he said it, surprise and bewilderment suddenly appeared on his face, and he looked at Happy. He felt that he had figured out something and had a faint inkling as to why Happy had brought the two of them there.

  Little North also caught it, and his eyes lit up.

  "An ancient tomb AS WELL? Does that mean that Hoof Shadows often appear near ancient tombs?"

  "It should be. That's my guess as well. Big Brother Thunder isn't the only one who's seen one before. I met one near an ancient tomb too, and a few of my friends had similar experiences. That's why my guess is that there is a higher chance to run into Hoof Shadows near ancient tombs."

  "So that's why you had someone help us figure out our fates with fortune today?"

  "Yup." Happy nodded and pointed northwest.

  "Let's walk around first. There are quite a lot of players in the area. We might be able to get some information."

  Even though fighting against Stone Giants had not become the trend, there were many players who had already placed their attention on the area. They took a fancy to the Stone Giants' sturdy and durable bodies and focused their attention on using them to practice their martial arts. While the trio talked to each other, they often noticed players hurriedly entering the ancient tomb.

  "The three of us should split up to search. It'll be faster that way. We'll set the time limit to half an hour. When you find one, don't alarm it. Send a messenger pigeon and wait for the rest. Then, we'll make our decision! If we don't have anything after half an hour, let's meet up in this place."

  While Happy spoke, he tapped on a spot on the map. Once Thunderous Battle and Little North memorized it, they decisively split up outside the ancient tomb.

  Happy did not leave immediately, because he had an even better method to search for Hoof Shadows.

  All the people in World of Martial Arts knew that Hoof Shadows had great stamina, and when they ran, they left no tracks, even when they ran on snow. They would never leave behind obvious tracks for players to notice and capture them. However, a Hoof Shadow fan who appeared in the later stages of the game had followed them for a whole month and captured multiple Hoof Shadows. In the end, he found a very clear sign that Hoof Shadows left while moving around.

  However, grass with raindrops or dew were hidden and were easily overlooked. It was also very difficult for players to notice and differentiate them. As for fresh fruits, since players could also eat them and even use them to restore a bit of their stamina, players would usually pick them when they noticed them, and they were even rarer.

  That was the reason why the Hoof Shadow fan required such a long time to notice it.

  Of course, that did not mean that Hoof Shadows would definitely appear next to grass with dew or raindrops. Instead, players could determine whether there was a Hoof Shadow near the area based on whether the grass had been touched.

  With stubborn and unyielding spirit, the Hoof Shadow fan had become the Hoof Shadow King that everyone was envious of. He specialized in selling Hoof Shadow Horse Plates along with Phantasm Body Movement Skill, which countless martial artists were crazy over. Because of it, he became a millionaire whose wealth was second only to Wandering Know-it-all's in one go! However, once the players' overall abilities increased later on, Hoof Shadow King's secret was discovered, and he gradually faded into obscurity.

  Happy's goal was not to obtain a Hoof Shadow.

  A top-class high-grade mount was very tempting, but Happy was a person who pursued absolute strength. When he had to choose between his prestige and increasing his abilities, he would definitely choose Phantasm Body Movement Skill without any hesitation.

  He looked around, and soon, he fixed his gaze on a green pasture.

  After rushing over there, he quickly looked over the green and soft grass known as carpet tip from left to right. He paid attention to whether there were any signs of it being eaten before. When he noticed nothing, he quickly went to another side.

  There was a pattern to searching for Hoof Shadows. There were not many meadows near ancient tombs, so if he did not find any signs of them and there was no commotion nearby, he just needed to head to a remote and deserted region. He would definitely find one there!

  After searching for a period of time, a messenger pigeon suddenly landed on Happy's shoulder!

  His spirits lifted, and he quickly took out the letter and spread it out.

  There was only one sentence on the letter, along with some coordinates.

  "Knew it, he found it!"

  Happy summoned his purplish red horse without hesitation and jumped on it. With a snap of the reins, he headed to the coordinates stated in the letter.

  A few miles away from Happy was the ancient tomb. A handsome horse with black and incredibly shiny fur was standing there. All sorts of venomous insects and centipedes were crawling all over its body. The horse tried to shake them while whining. It looked incredibly pathetic, and its resistance grew weaker with each passing second. The light in its eyes became dimmer, and it looked like it was near death's door. It even seemed like it would die at any moment.

  "Enough! Take it away!"

  With that order, thirty or so players with hostile faces standing further away puckered their lips, opened an item that looked like a pot, and let out a strange whistle.

  As if the venomous insects had received some command, they swiftly stopped squirming about and invading the black horse's body. They split into dozens of groups and crawled into different pots like tidal waves.

  Chapter 222 - Discovered Five Venoms

  "Stop!"

  When the near-dead Hoof Shadow was about to be taken away by the group of disgusting people who played with venomous insects, a glo
omy shout suddenly came from above the ancient tomb.

  In shock, the group looked up at the same time.

  There was an unfamiliar young man standing atop the ancient tomb. He was looking down at them.

  There was a black zombie and a gray zombie with terrifying appearances standing beside him. The young man could see all of them from where they stood, and he did so with gritted teeth.

  It was the first time he saw players who used such methods. The usage of venomous insects, centipedes and snakes was so disgusting that even Little North, who partied with dead people, could not quite accept what he saw. It was especially so when he noticed that the group had used those disgusting creatures to kill the animal he wanted to have the most—Hoof Shadow!

  Once he released a messenger pigeon, Little North could not help but roar in anger in an attempt to stop the group from taking away the Hoof Shadow. He simply could not accept the handsome horse being taken away by such despicable people regardless of whether he looked at the matter from the point of view of his party or his own personal reasons.

  "Who are you?"

  A man with a hook nose walked out from the group with a mighty presence. He cast Little North a cold glare before he looked at the two zombies beside him. A brief flash of remembrance rose swiftly in his eyes before it disappeared.

  "It's none of your business who I am!"

  No matter what, Little North was a person with a high-tier body fortification technique. He also had a Mystical Realm zombie with him, so he had become very confident in himself. Even though he felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of going up against a group of mysterious players who toyed with venomous insects, he was not afraid.

  At that moment, the man with the hook nose who seemed to be the leader of the group seemed to have recognized Little North. His gaze darkened, and he quickly gave an order to his companions around him.

  "Ignore him, take away the Hoof Shadow and go!"

  "How presumptuous!"

  When he saw the group of people going to the Hoof Shadow once they got out their weapons, Little North flew into a rage and jumped down from the top of the ancient tomb. His Mystical Realm zombie attacked first like a heavy missile. With a loud bang, it shot into the crowd, and its astonishing momentum forced the people to temporarily move back to avoid its charge.

  At the same time, a faint purple barrier of light swiftly appeared around Little North. He activated Illusory Spirit Body.

  The Mystical Realm zombie puppet acted like a door god with Little North. They stood to the left and right in front of the Hoof Shadow and blocked the group, effectively protecting Hoof Shadow behind them.

  This action made the players absolutely livid.

  With cold and dark gazes, they raised their scimitars, which were in the shape of a crescent moon and covered in a faint layer of black light. Clearly, they had poured their qi into their weapons, and the atmosphere instantly grew so tense that everyone were ready to jump at each other's throats. The conflict would erupt from the smallest spark!

  If the hook-nosed man had not warned everyone not to act rashly in a low growl, the group would have been unable to hold itself back and killed the blundering fool who suddenly appeared and destroyed their hunting plan.

  "What's the meaning of this? Don't go thinking that you can do whatever you like just because there is someone supporting you!"

  The hook-nosed man's face turned even darker! He was shocked by Little North's sudden appearance, and he wondered whether his other companions from Fox Cave were also nearby. While he shouted his questions, he looked around in search for the other members of Little North's party. He did not dare to attack rashly.

  Corpse Controller Little North was ranked at the 53rd place on the Famous People Rank because he had two terrifying and unique zombie puppets as his lackeys, because he followed Happy around and killed quite a number of famous players, and also because he had recently went up against someone who seemed to be Dongfang Bubai's successor. As of then, he was very famous and easy to recognize.

  In truth, Little North was also caught in a rather awkward situation.

  If ignoring the fact that he could not accept the way they dealt with Hoof Shadow, his actions looked very similar to those of certain unreasonable people who would killsteal others for loot. Even though he had not taken the last step, his actions already implied that he wanted to killsteal them.

  Hence, when he heard the hook-nosed man's righteous accusations, Little North's face turned red, and the aura of the two zombie puppets beside him (the Blessed Realm zombie had joined later) wilted a little. They were no longer as domineering as before.

  "Um…"

  However, Little North was not an obstinate idiot. He had also showed great spontaneity when he ambushed Happy in the mass grave in the past. He could randomly fish out a reason to get himself out of trouble.

  That was why he did not feel so terribly embarrassed and regretful that he would want to die because of that question. A thought struck his head, and he immediately became confident. "What's the deal with those venomous insects just now?"

  The group was rendered speechless. After a short period of being dumbfounded, however, everyone felt so angry that they wanted to vomit blood!

  'You jumped down in such a grand manner to stop us from killing the Hoof Shadow just for this? Bro, do you have a few screws loose in your head? Do you actually think we're three-year-olds?'

  The hook-nosed man's face turned even darker. There were even a few moments when he nearly could not stop himself from releasing his black widow. But when he remembered that there was a person that even his hall master had requested them to avoid supporting the youth, he could only squash his anger.

  "I am Spirit Crusher, Vice Sect Master of Five Venoms. The venomous insects you saw just now is one of the insect herding arts we learned. Brother, we have been waiting around for two days and two nights to hunt a Hoof Shadow. If it is convenient for you, please do not stop us, or else, even if all of us have to die here and we have to bring it up to the forums, we will do it. We will not just swallow this humiliation."

  Even though the hook-nosed man had a hostile expression, he tried his best to mediate the situation and did all he could to not show the fierce presence of a sect. Instead, he used the threat of the public to indirectly place pressure on Little North.

  He was right, of course, and young people did care about their reputation quite a lot. It was especially so for people who had some fame. They would take care of their reputation quite a bit.

  Little North was immediately put on the spot because of his words.

  It was especially so since he had learned that the group had already begun to record their exchange. He took care to think of his words and actions even more and laughed at the sky before he tried to mediate the situation.

  "You've been scouting around for two days and two nights? Oh, it must have been very hard for you, but I'm really sorry, my boss and my party have also been chasing after a Hoof Shadow for a long time. I wonder if it's this one."

  When he said it, he cast a glance at the nearly dead Hoof Shadow lying on the ground as if he wanted to check whether it was the right horse.

  The group's expressions darkened!

  "So, you're saying that you're here to steal our loot!"

  The Five Venoms Sect Members behind the hook-nosed man could no longer hold themselves back. After Little North had so unreasonably and shamelessly interfered and blocked their group by himself, the anger in their hearts burned like a raging tornado. They wanted to release their insects to bite him to bits!

  "Snatch? How would I dare to do that alone?" Little North giggled and said, "What I'm saying is that you should not attack yet. Once my boss arrives, I'll listen to him and see how he wants to handle matters!"

  "Damn you!"

  "Do you think all Hoof Shadows are yours? Since when are you people the ones who decide this?!" The group was filled with righteous indignation.

  "It's not yours
either." Little North placed his hands on his c.h.e.s.t and looked at the sky while acting like a rascal.

  When the hook-nosed man looked at Little North's actions, he knew that things were not good. The "boss" he spoke of had to be that person. There was no doubt about that. After all, not long ago, they had even fought against Dongfang Bubai's successor together. Judging by Little North's actions, he seemed to want the Hoof Shadow. The hook-nosed man grew tense, and he quickly began to weigh the situation.

  Should he snatch that Hoof Shadow and become enemies with Happy, or should he...

  The hook-nosed man's expression changed rapidly. It was clear that he could not come to a decision.

  Chapter 223 - Five Venom's Plot!

  Just when Spirit Crusher had a hard time coming to a decision, a young sect member beside him drew closer to him and whispered into his ear, "Boss, I have a suggestion…"

  "Go on."

  Spirit Crusher did not even need to turn his head around to know that the person who spoke to him was also a core member of Class One Hall. He usually had a lot of ideas, so could he have something good at that moment too?

  The person smiled. "Think, our hall master might have asked us not to attack Happy, but she didn't say that we can't attack when we're bullied! Besides, based on what I know, Happy has never taken the initiative to seize a human player's loot. Even his brocade box was seized from a bandit. Every time he kills and attacks, he will make sure that he stands on the side of reason."

  "Are you saying…" Spirit Crusher's eyes brightened slightly, because he had a vague idea as to what the core member wanted to say.

  The core member's smile grew brighter. "Since Happy has always walked down the path of justice, we'll just use justice to deal with him so that he won't be able to attack us!" When he said that, he swept his gaze over Little North. "After all, our battle replay is almost ready, so why don't we kill Corpse Controller Little North and get Hoof Shadow as well as Phantasm Body Movement Skill?

  "If Happy really wants to come at us for justice, we will have proof that we are standing on the side of reason. At that time, no matter what reaction Happy has, he will not be able to get anything good out of the situation. We can kill two birds with one stone!"