Sword Among Us

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 chest, 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.

He then shifted his gaze to Little North, who was very young, but incredibly eye-catching.

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.

As for Little North, he was a player with the mysterious identity of a Corpse Controller. He might appear to be young, but he was most likely not weak. With such a group, it was no wonder that Happy had the courage to come and explore Fox Cave, a place that multiple guilds coveted.

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.”

The trio still remained silent.

“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?”

All-powerful Medicinal Stone gave up on the second method.

Happy did not say anything for a time. He pondered over it for a while before he sucked 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.