Chapter 193 – The Legion Leader’s Tribulations (Part 2)

Fang Zheng didn’t rub his eyes hard because he trusted that he wasn’t seeing things. This confidence didn’t come from the unique Lusong Hammer, the only one of its kind in the entire server, nor from the DPS Healer build that sacrificed everything for damage output. After all, the Lusong Hammer could be obtained, and other healers could also pursue DPS builds. Moreover, from his current maximum zoom-out perspective, he couldn’t even see the finer details of the equipment. But a figure with the ID “No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains” floating above its head—even if it were blown apart like dandelion seeds across the world, there wouldn’t be a second one!

If he remembered correctly, No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains belonged to White Chapel. However, the White Chapel members who entered the Flagship were Scholar Lu and Mocha. Had there been a regime change mid-game?

Fang Zheng was utterly confused, but his opponent had already sent a “friendly greeting”—

[Legion Zone 007] Mocha: Healer or zombie, if you’re not dead, make a sound.

Fang Zheng was even more baffled. 007 was indeed his battle lobby number, but where had Mocha come from? Legion Zone PvP allowed spectators—was this a bystander?

[Legion Zone 007] Milk is Mom: With such an elegant appearance, of course, it’s your Ghost Server Legion Leader~~~ If it were Birdy, he wouldn’t be standing here exchanging pleasantries—he’d have already attacked with Ghostly Claws~~ But the fact that you’re asking means we’re starting to look like a couple, doesn’t it? How annoying~~~\(≧▽≦)/~~

[Legion Zone 007] Mocha: First, your emote betrays your true feelings. Second, I don’t think wearing nothing but a pair of loud floral swim trunks counts as “elegant.” Therefore, you’ve made me angry, so I’ve decided to stop wasting words on you.

With that, “No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains” swung his hammer and charged!

Fang Zheng felt deeply wronged. Who could explain the logical connection between Mocha’s “therefore” and his previous two points?! Wait, floral swim trunks?!

But the situation left no room for thought. Mocha’s closing statement and No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains’ fierce attack were seamless. If Fang Zheng didn’t dodge, there was an 80% chance he’d get stunned. Though the Lusong Hammer only had a 3% stun chance, in No Birds’ hands, it might as well be 100%—its frequency defied logic!

Fang Zheng immediately pressed the hotkey to buff his Resistance and Defense—healers weren’t as specialized in buffs as Blesscallers, but they still had a couple of skills. This was muscle memory, ingrained from long hours of gameplay, requiring no conscious thought.

With Fang Zheng’s input, his character decisively raised a hand… and pulled an arrow out of thin air, shooting it straight at No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains, who promptly turned into a sluggish, icy-blue figure. Holy shit, was this Plants vs. Zombies?!

Fang Zheng was about to slam his keyboard when it belatedly dawned on him—this was an Assassin skill, Frost Arrow!

The innocent keyboard was spared, but it didn’t matter. No Birds had already closed the distance. Without even needing to get close, a Zephyr Jinx flew across the screen, and half of Fang Zheng’s HP vanished!

Hold on a second! Since when could Zephyr Jinx take out half a health bar?! Even if No Birds was a DPS Healer, this was beyond brutal… No, now wasn’t the time for that. There were more pressing questions, like why a healer had an Assassin skill like Frost Arrow… NONONO! That wasn’t even the first question. The real first question was—why did Mocha say he was wearing floral swim trunks?!

Wait, shouldn’t “Why is No Birds in the Legion Zone?” be the top priority? Sorry, but internal issues took precedence over external ones. Outsiders could wait.

Fang Zheng had been using the maximum zoom-out perspective since entering the Arena. At this distance, everything except character IDs was a blur, and even then, he’d only checked his opponent’s ID. Now, with a creeping sense of foreboding, he finally glanced at his own two-word ID—Mad Lad.

Zooming in, the bare-chested Mad Lad and the aforementioned floral swim trunks came into crystal-clear view.

Fang Zheng’s mind was in complete chaos. He had no idea why, despite entering the PvP arena as himself, the account he was controlling had somehow become Mad Lad, who was supposed to be in the Sky Arena. Nor did he understand why No Birds, who wasn’t even the Legion Leader or Deputy, was here. Though the two incidents seemed somewhat related, he couldn’t think straight anymore—his world had become a sea of flowers, a Hawaiian-themed explosion of patterns that filled his vision whether his eyes were open or closed.

No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains didn’t seem interested in admiring the floral scenery with him. After leisurely finishing his cast, he sent Fang Zheng to the afterlife with a Crimson Lotus Holy Fire.

[System] Milk is Mom has died in the Legion Zone, losing 30 points.

The interface returned to the battle lobby list, and Milk is Mom’s score dropped to 880. Though the number was auspicious, Fang Zheng couldn’t muster any joy!

[System] Brave sailor, you have not yet read this zone’s navigation guide. When venturing out, be careful!

…Don’t you think that warning’s a little late?!

Tears streaming down his face, the Ghost Server Legion Leader scoured the interface until he finally spotted the faintly blinking “Navigation Guide” in the corner. Choking back sobs, he clicked it open—

[Brave sailors, welcome to the Legion Zone of Legion Island! This is a grand masquerade ball—a bloody battlefield of close combat!

Rules are as follows:

Victory grants +40 points.

Defeat deducts 30 points.

Disconnecting or force-exiting mid-battle counts as a loss.

Additional Notes:

1. Assigned accounts are randomly selected from the ten most active legion members (based on online time over the past three months).

2. All account parameters—gear, skills, and hotkey setups—are locked to their state as of February 14 at midnight.

Players cannot modify anything or access inventory items, except what’s already in the quick slots.

No battle actions affect the real account data.

3. Once inside the Legion Zone, players cannot return to the Pirate Zone or Sailor Zone, regardless of score changes.

4. If a player’s score drops to 0, no further points will be deducted for additional losses.

[Fight well, masked warriors!]

At last, Fang Zheng understood how he’d died.

First, the devs had set a trap with that emotional legion retrospective, luring newly arrived commanders into a surge of passion. Most would be dazzled, while a vulnerable few like Fang Zheng would be moved to tears. Naturally, they’d rush to join a battle, as if their entire legion was cheering them on. This seamless transition left no room for players to realize they should check the zone rules. The PvP mechanics also led them to assume it was a simple win-or-lose affair. In the end, commanders were blindsided by their new, unfamiliar accounts, left completely flustered.

Of course, a pro gamer shouldn’t be one-dimensional. Even if they specialized in one class, the difference between their main and secondary roles should only be “extremely skilled” versus “very skilled.” Fang Zheng considered himself on the cusp of pro status. Even without reading the rules, suddenly being handed an Assassin account would, at worst, require a brief adjustment period—hardly enough to break him. That is, unless said Assassin had stripped down to nothing but a cosmetic pair of swim trunks with zero stats…

Did you think you were the fucking Hulk?!

No amount of stomping or chest-pounding could vent his frustration. Unable to hold back any longer, Fang Zheng made a call.

The other end picked up quickly, though the voice was hushed, as if the speaker was struggling to breathe: “The Legion Leader calling me… is the sky raining blood…?”

Fang Zheng pressed the phone tightly to his ear, nearly flattening it, before finally making out the words: “Are you dying? You sound like you’re on your last breath.”

A faint chuckle came through, still barely audible: “Fishing… can’t be loud… scares the fish…”

Only three days left in the event, and instead of grinding points like mad, he’s out fishing?! The world of the rich was beyond comprehension. TAT

As if sensing his confusion, Jiang Yang quickly explained: “Got depressed from gaming… came to the reservoir to clear my head…”

That made sense. Fang Zheng was in the same boat: “I’m also depressed. Very. Depressed.”

Jiang Yang: “So you called for comfort?”

Fang Zheng: “No, just to ask you a question.”

Jiang Yang: “Loved you once.”

Fang Zheng: “Goodbye.”

Jiang Yang: “Wait, wait! Just kidding! Ask away.”

Fang Zheng: “Why did you strip down to nothing but cosmetic swim trunks when you entered the Lover’s Constellation zone?”

Jiang Yang: “How’d you know? Must’ve been so stylish someone screenshot it, hahaha!!”

Damn it, now he’s not worried about scaring the fish?!

Fang Zheng: “Doesn’t matter how I know. I just want to know what you were thinking.”

Jiang Yang: “The Sky Arena is pure PvP. Everyone there would be in their best gear.”

Fang Zheng: “So?”

Jiang Yang: “So I went the opposite way to stand out.”

Fang Zheng: “And then?”

Jiang Yang: “Then people would notice me, and I’d feel good.”

Fang Zheng: “…”

Jiang Yang: “After that, I’d put my top-tier gear back on, get noticed again, and feel good again.”

Fang Zheng: “…”

Jiang Yang: “But once I got in, I realized everyone went straight into duel lobbies. No chance to show off the outfit… kinda regret it…”

Fang Zheng: “Happy fishing. Bye.”

Before the call, Fang Zheng had wanted to kill Mad Lad. After the call, he wanted to make Mad Lad wish he were dead.

Now he understood the source of Birdy’s exhaustion.

The only consolation was that, according to the rules, the system randomly selected from the ten most active accounts, so the odds of drawing Mad Lad again weren’t high. Still, gaining 40 points for a win but losing 30 for a loss was quite the swing. Even with a 50% win rate, the score would trend upward, but PvP matches were quick. A hundred-point fluctuation could happen in just 10-20 minutes. And since dropping below 900 wouldn’t send players back to the Sailor or Pirate Zones, there were only two choices: play it safe and enter Lover’s Constellation at 900, or stay and gamble.

Fang Zheng wasn’t a particularly competitive player, and 900 points weren’t bad, so after hanging up, he seriously considered just moving on to Lover’s Constellation.

This deliberation lasted until he refocused on his screen and saw the flood of messages in World Chat—

[Legion Zone] X: LMAO Ghost Server, y’all are hilarious. First the Deputy strips, and now the Legion Leader’s taking a turn? Which zone’s your Assassin in? I gotta meet this guy hahaha [Image][Image]

[Legion Zone] King of the Gods: You really do see everything if you live long enough. Dutch Chamber of Commerce, you must’ve one-shot him, right?

[Legion Zone] X: The Legion Leader was taken out by Mocha in two hits. The Deputy was mine—dude was slippery, took forever to finish him off.

[Legion Zone] Silent Hill: How come I never run into such fat sheep?!

[Legion Zone] X: Maybe he couldn’t take the heat and fled to Lover’s Constellation.

[Legion Zone] Silent Hill: Nope, still on the leaderboard.

[Legion Zone] Deep Mountain Old Well: Leader, leader.

[Legion Zone] Silent Hill: ?

[Legion Zone] Deep Mountain Old Well: Never mind, let’s just keep PvPing.

[Legion Zone] Silent Hill: Hah, what, you think you can beat me now?

[Legion Zone] Deep Mountain Old Well: No, no.

[Legion Zone] Silent Hill: If you did, that’d be great—means you’ve improved. But this is too funny, let me enjoy it first.

[Legion Zone] Deep Mountain Old Well: Leader, speaking from experience… you really shouldn’t provoke Milk is Mom…

…

[Megaphone] Deep Mountain Old Well: ♪ Hand in hand, one step, two steps, three steps, four, looking at the sky~ ♪ ♪ Watching XP, one point, two points, three points, four, forming a line~ ♪

[Megaphone] Milk is Mom: ♪ Don’t tease me like this~ ♪ My face will turn into a red apple~ ♪ Don’t cling to me like a koala~ ♪ I’m not ready to be your friend~ ♪

…

After reading all the spam, Fang Zheng, breaking from his usual habit, didn’t retaliate in World Chat. If everyone saw him as easy prey, then he wasn’t leaving!

He clicked “Apply for Battle,” and the map and opponent slowly loaded.

Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow. Talk about fate—though he’d never met this person, their ID followed the same pattern: [Outer Flame] Milk Bottle of the Gods.

The opponent lamented—

[Legion Zone 099] King of the Gods: Ugh, if only it were the Assassin.

Fang Zheng understood the sentiment, but sorry, he wasn’t here to strip. That “stylish” job could stay with Mad Lad. Right now, this fully geared Demon Refiner was the healthy, upstanding representative of the Ghost Server Legion!

Damn it, could you at least let me finish my monologue before attacking?!

As Milk Bottle swung his hammer and closed in, Fang Zheng wasn’t worried. As a healer himself, he knew exactly what that gear set entailed—it was pure healing gear. Even if the opponent used a single-target skill, let alone Crimson Lotus Holy Fire, Fang Zheng could tank three hits without issue!

The key now was summoning 438’s pet!

Where’s the hotkey, where’s the hotkey… Found it!

Just as Fang Zheng was about to celebrate, something about the healer now right in front of him felt off… No, that wasn’t healing gear—it was DPS gear with a similar appearance! Because this orange-tier set was rare, Fang Zheng had misjudged it at a glance. But the hammer in the opponent’s hand was unmistakably a healing hammer. DPS gear with a healing hammer was even more absurd than Mad Lad’s swim trunks. Fang Zheng couldn’t fathom why any healer would pair them—unless the hammer was actually a DPS weapon disguised as a healing hammer!

No wonder the guy had rushed in without hesitation—he was running a full DPS build!

Demon Refiners were squishy. A Five Animals Play + Willow Leaf Blade combo from pure DPS gear was no joke! Realizing this, Fang Zheng abandoned the pet summon and instead hit the shortcut for 438’s support bar—his peripheral vision told him it held one HP potion and one MP potion.

Milk Bottle’s dual strike landed right on time!

Fang Zheng’s hotkey press was perfectly timed too!

Except… being his first time on 438’s account, Fang Zheng had misclicked!!! TAT

But Milk Bottle’s dual strike had also missed, resulting in a clean MISS!

Fang Zheng’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe Lady Luck was smiling on him.

King of the Gods was equally stunned, unable to comprehend such a basic mistake.

The only one who saw the truth was a spectator who’d stayed silent until now—

[Legion Zone 099 Spectator] Grave Sweeping Scroll: First time seeing someone dodge attacks like this. What a pro!

[Legion Zone 099 Spectator] Silent Hill: I take it back—this is no sheep. This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

[Legion Zone 099 Spectator] 17 Moon Street: Just got here. What’s going on?

[Legion Zone 099 Spectator] Grave Sweeping Scroll: [Image]

17 Moon Street opened the screenshot, which showed the battle log—

[Combat] Milk Bottle of the Gods used Willow Leaf Blade.

[Combat] Milk Bottle of the Gods used Five Animals Play.

[Combat] Refined Into a Demon 715 gathered.