Chapter 255 – Legendary Battle and Dragon Gate List Update

Deep within the wilderness, the Crimson Mist drifted.

Deadbone enveloped himself with the power of his Concept, minimizing his presence to the lowest. Even when stepping into the Land of Filth, he could avoid drawing the attention of the low and mid-level monsters around.

Until he truly made his move.

Hum—

He spread out his Death Domain, stripping away its additional effects and retaining only the most fundamental and pure power of the domain.

An invisible force of the domain influenced the surroundings.

Using the domain as a medium, Deadbone quietly sowed the power of draining life. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds—like a plague gradually accumulating. By the time the high-level monsters within the domain sensed something amiss… Deadbone abruptly detonated this hidden power.

In an instant, the life force of hundreds, even thousands of monsters in the Land of Filth collapsed like a breached dam. Within a mere two or three seconds, they fell to the ground, their skin and flesh rotting away, leaving behind piles of white bones.

Even now, the entire Land of Filth remained tranquil.

Deadbone withdrew his power and reached out to press his hand against the Root of Filth.

Dozens of seconds later, he collected the gift from the heavens and walked out as if nothing had happened.

Along the way, this was already the third Root of Filth he had purified.

His primary purpose for this journey was reconnaissance, but whenever he encountered a Root of Filth that he had the ability to cleanse, he would take action.

He had also discovered several resource-rich Treasure Lands. Once the Crimson Mist disaster month ended, he could lead his troops to occupy these Treasure Lands.

“There are still a few areas suspected to harbor powerful monsters.”

After all, Deadbone was not a god. Venturing deep into the wilderness for reconnaissance, he treaded carefully, as if walking on thin ice. He was acutely aware of his own weakness and knew he absolutely could not afford to be careless.

He slowly mapped out the terrain, marking the suspected danger zones and transmitting the information back to the territory.

This way, by deploying War Falcons as scouting eyes along the necessary routes, they could receive advance warnings in case of unexpected events, avoiding being caught off guard.

He thought.

Suddenly, the surrounding monsters, as if receiving some command, swarmed toward a certain direction.

Intense rumbling vibrations echoed from afar.

The earth trembled, and cracks spread across the ground.

Deadbone sensed the energy in the world becoming chaotic, surging like a tsunami and converging toward a specific area.

He looked into the distance, the soul fire in his eyes blazing.

Two small black dots hovered in the distant sky.

They were not flying creatures but two figures standing in the firmament as if rooted to the ground.

The figure on the left appeared to be a swordsman, holding a sword in one hand, standing proudly in the world.

The figure on the right was much taller, clad in radiant Treasure Armor and wielding a massive flail. Through the parts not covered by the armor, glimpses of his green skin could be seen.

As Deadbone stared, information appeared before him.

「Goblin Prince: ???」

「Rank: ???」

This was a monster, so its basic information could be seen, a rule of the Eternal World.

Deadbone avoided direct eye contact, observing only with his peripheral vision while completely suppressing his aura, becoming as lifeless as a pile of dried bones and debris.

In the distance, over ten kilometers away.

Summoned by the Legendary Realm monster, the surrounding monsters surged toward the human swordsman like a tide. Their eyes grew increasingly crimson as they roared and bellowed in fury.

The fastest to charge were a group of flying monsters.There were many varieties. Harpies, Gargoyles, Lightning Soaring Dragons, Fear Bats, and so on. Though the assortment was chaotic, their combined momentum remained ferocious, dark and dense like a cloud mass.

The monsters on the ground also fearlessly launched their Charge.

“These disorganized minions are meaningless no matter how numerous they are.”

The human swordsman merely extended one hand, forming a finger-sword gesture.

In the next moment, the heavens and earth hummed, suddenly becoming incredibly moist. As the human swordsman swung his Sword, azure Sword radiance wrapped around the surrounding elemental forces, swelling tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold in mere moments, transforming into several vast celestial rivers suspended in the sky.

The rivers surged, winding and flowing.

Several mighty celestial rivers rampaged through the four directions, engulfing and sweeping all surrounding monsters into their currents.

Even powerful Third Order and Fourth Order monsters struggled within the celestial rivers, unable to break free, gradually drowning.

But at this moment, the Goblin Prince made his move.

His weapon was a flail, already massive and menacing, its golden hammerhead swelling a hundredfold mid-swing like a golden meteor crashing down.

However, the flail-meteor’s descent gradually slowed, veiled in a faint mist.

The mist exploded violently in mid-air, several dull yet thunderous booms echoing within the white-hazed area.

After a moment—

Boom—

One of the water celestial rivers collapsed, half transforming into mist that condensed into droplets, which then gathered to form countless inverted water Swords, arrayed like soldiers before and beside the human Legend.

The remaining half poured down in a torrential rain, quickly forming ponds and streams upon the earth.

The Goblin Legend’s flail was sent flying back, while behind him, several hundred-meter-high mountains cracked audibly, one peak nearly completely severed.

At this moment, Deadbone saw clearly.

The mountains weren’t real mountains, but Domain mountains.

The Goblin Prince leaned against mountain ranges, with endless peaks surrounding him as his Domain field.

While the human Legend tread upon celestial rivers, transforming the surroundings into his water Domain.

At first glance, both celestial rivers and mountains suffered damage in this clash, but while the mountains remained fractured, the collapsed celestial river reformed into water Swords and earthly rivers.

The rivers endured.

With Deadbone’s vision and understanding of Domains, he could directly discern…

The celestial river Domain far exceeded the Goblin Prince’s Domain in scale.

Yet even the Goblin Prince’s rolling mountains radiated at least three to four kilometers around.

Far surpassing his own Death Domain.

They were completely different magnitudes!

Deadbone had considered upgrading his Death Domain further, but it seemed restricted by heaven and earth… before reaching the Legendary Realm, his Domain could never expand beyond a few hundred meters no matter what.

Though through spatial shifting and inversion of his Domain, its effective influence often extended several kilometers.

Not only was the scope larger, the Goblin Legend’s Domain felt more tangible—Deadbone hadn’t initially noticed the two Domains had been colliding all along.

“The Legendary Realm is too powerful, truly too powerful.”

“If I faced a Legend…”

No matter how he strategized, his chances of victory remained vanishingly small.

He was indeed still too weak.

…

“Compared to the Celestial River Sword Saint, this Prince is somewhat weaker.”

The Goblin Prince glared furiously.He had stepped into the Legendary Realm far earlier than this human Sword Saint. Several years ago, when he first crossed blades with the Celestial River Sword Saint, he had firmly suppressed his opponent, even coming close to obliterating this trusted subordinate of the Boulder City Lord.

However, it seemed this human Sword Saint had obtained some high-level Legacy. By their second encounter, the Goblin Prince realized the Sword Saint had ascended to the epic life level, earning the title of Celestial River.

At that point, he was already at a slight disadvantage.

And now…

The surging celestial river crashed against the mountain ranges, its sword radiance dazzling. The Goblin Prince could see no path to victory.

“Damned humans, damned Taixuan Alliance!”

“This prince will return!”

Two Domains thundered against each other.

The celestial river trembled, mountains shattered, thousands of water swords filled the sky, and meteors fell from the heavens.

Deadbone couldn’t clearly see the subsequent battle, only witnessing rolling energy tides sweeping across, blotting out the sky as continuous roars echoed.

He faintly glimpsed a brilliant blue sword aura splitting the firmament, cleaving a mountain in half.

After a long moment, the sprawling mountain ranges had vanished without a trace.

The Celestial River Sword Saint gazed at the ravines scarring the earth and the Crimson Mist drifting around him. Without another word, he continued pursuing deeper into the territory.

Half an hour later, Deadbone finally emerged from his deathly still, skeletal state and let out a soft sigh.

…

Stone Ridge Town.

After a day and night campaign involving numerous major battles and the annihilation of countless monsters, the Mad Blade City Lord and his expedition force returned triumphant.

Players throughout the fortified town cheered and celebrated in jubilation.

They all understood the threat of the Foul Nest – those who didn’t were quickly enlightened by other players’ vivid descriptions.

If the Foul Nest were allowed to grow stronger, Stone Ridge Town might become indefensible.

In that case, they’d have no choice but to desert, executing a strategic retreat, with the worst-case scenario being death in battle.

Now, they could finally rest easy.

Some veteran Lords regretted their decisions, grumbling, “If I’d known it would be this easy to conquer, I wouldn’t have made excuses to stay behind in Stone Ridge Town. Damn it!”

The returning Mad Blade City Lord and other powerful figures had suffered remarkably few casualties, with only a handful of Third Order commanders having fallen.

This was practically no loss at all!

The Fishing Old Man and Stone Ridge Town’s Lord Cui Long welcomed the Mad Blade City Lord and his party, hosting a victory banquet.

The entire town buzzed with lively, joyous atmosphere.

But Mad Blade and Azure Wave looked around, still failing to spot Lu Liu, Uta, and the others.

They turned to Stone Ridge Town’s Lord Cui Long and asked, “Where are the other reinforcement experts?”

Cui Long: “???”

Reinforcements? What reinforcements? Weren’t you the only reinforcements for Stone Ridge Town?

Mad Blade and Azure Wave slowly formed question marks in their minds.

They’d been careless!

They hadn’t exchanged contact information with Lu Liu, assuming they’d definitely meet again in Stone Ridge Town, where they could properly get to know the Lords behind Lu Liu and Uta.

Who would have thought they wouldn’t encounter them here.

Within several hundred kilometers, there were no other military outposts besides Stone Ridge Town.

Even if the powerful reinforcements were just passing through the area and didn’t need to be stationed in Stone Ridge Town, they’d still need to return to town for rest and supplies, right?

During the Crimson Mist disaster month, it was practically impossible to remain in the wilderness for extended periods.

The Mad Blade City Lord pondered. Mad Blade found himself unable to reason it out.

The Fishing Old Man also obtained firsthand information from the Demonflame King Rider.

“Mysterious powerful reinforcements?”

“The reinforcements from Boulder City just arrived at Stone Ridge Town, and there aren’t any super experts among them capable of instantly annihilating Fourth Order monsters. During the Crimson Mist disaster month, it’s rare for Lords to travel far from their territories.”

The Fishing Old Man contemplated this mystery.He suddenly recalled the Dragon Court Competition not long ago.

As an old Senior of the Taixuan Alliance, even if he hadn’t reached legendary status, he remained a high-ranking member with considerable access to information.

“If it’s Tianyuan… deploying all his Generals, it’s not impossible.”

“But to forcefully eliminate over a dozen Fourth Order BOSSes… have his Generals grown to such an extent? These youngsters are truly impressive,”

No wonder Tianyuan dominated so thoroughly during the Dragon Court Competition.

With such a formidable General under his command, who could possibly stand against him?

Being able to cultivate such a General was also a testament to Tianyuan’s capability… The Fishing Old Man felt a sense of aging. Oh, but he was already old to begin with.

After getting no answers from Lord Cui Long, Mad Blade and the others couldn’t help but seek information from the Fishing Old Man, this old Senior.

This powerful reinforcement might very well have been summoned by this old Senior.

Never underestimate the connections of an old Senior.

The Fishing Old Man smiled, “You’ll have a chance to meet them in the future.”

So who exactly is this powerful reinforcement?

Old man, please don’t speak in riddles!

…

Although the identity of the mysterious Lord remained an enigma, the combat prowess of the two super-powerhouses Lu Liu and Uta was vividly imprinted in the minds of every Lord present.

Perhaps unforgettable for a lifetime.

These two were undoubtedly top-tier figures among the Fourth Order, having cultivated overwhelmingly powerful trump cards that ordinary Fourth Order Peak experts couldn’t hope to match.

It was possible they might never attain such combat prowess in their entire lives.

The next day, at Boulder City.

Compared to the somewhat tense atmosphere in important towns like Stone Ridge Town, Boulder City remained as calm as ever, largely unaffected by the Crimson Mist disaster month.

Within the city, many players with insufficient strength, unable to leave the city, could only take on odd jobs, wander around the city, or brag with other players.

“The new Dragon Gate List is out!”

“So soon? Wasn’t the last one released just over ten days ago?”

“The Dragon Gate List isn’t updated on a fixed schedule. The frequency depends on changes in the rankings. If the rankings change rapidly, updates become more frequent, and vice versa…”

A veteran player explained to the newcomers, “You rookies still have much to learn. Since you’re idle anyway, why not buy a copy of the Dragon Gate Commerce News to read?”

Not far away, a queue had already formed in front of the First Hand Commerce shop.

For the vast majority of players, Fourth Order Peak experts were absolutely unreachable. Many didn’t even understand how powerful Fourth Order Peak truly was.

But that didn’t stop them from enjoying the gossip and reading the news.

Though Fourth Order Peak might be distant, reading the Dragon Gate List made it feel closer, didn’t it? This was called cultivating the demeanor of a powerhouse in advance.

Some players placed the Dragon Gate Commerce News in front of their troops that hadn’t yet developed spiritual wisdom.

“Look more, absorb some of that powerhouse Qi.”

Other powerful players made it their lifelong goal to appear on the Dragon Gate List, striving and pursuing relentlessly.

They examined the list more carefully and could understand the battle achievements described.

“Demonflame King Rider moved up six places in the rankings. He’s been on the Dragon Gate List for years, right? One of the longest-standing members. It seems he’s on the path to becoming a legend.”

“Among the new entrants on this list is ‘Crimson Dragonkin,’ ranked 93rd, affiliated with Tyrant Dragon Territory… Wait, Tyrant Dragon Territory… isn’t that the rising territory that was only established two or three years ago? Truly worthy of being called a rising star!””It is said that among the newcomers, the strongest is the Limitless Lord, but he likely has no public battle records, so he hasn’t made the list.”

Veteran players heatedly discussed this, their eyes scanning the list from bottom to top.

Suddenly, they spotted two names marked with a “New” label near the top of the rankings.

“Making it into the top fifty on their first appearance?”

「NO.49: Giant Spirit God」

「Battle Record: Defeated a charging Fourth Order Mountain Giant head-on with human strength, and swept through armies, annihilating over a thousand elite monsters in a short time.」

「Affiliated Territory: Unknown」

“That title is pretty audacious!”

But after reading the battle record, the veteran players fell silent. They were well aware of the terror of Mountain Giants. Even a Dragon wouldn’t dare confront a charging Mountain Giant head-on.

Yet this Giant Spirit God not only dared to do so but seemingly crushed it with a single blow? What immense power!

But why not call him Giant Strength God instead?

However, compared to ‘Giant Spirit God,’ another newly listed powerhouse made everyone exclaim, “Holy shit!” and “This can’t be real!”

「NO.23: One-Punch Martial Maniac」

「Battle Record: With a fist that shakes heaven and earth, he can slay a Fourth Order BOSS in one punch, and once slaughtered 16 Fourth Order BOSSes within 30 seconds, displaying an invincible demeanor.」

「Affiliated Territory: Unknown」

Veteran Players: “???”

Is this battle record even reasonable? Do they think we’ve never seen a Fourth Order BOSS before?!

How could Fourth Order BOSSes be killed like chickens?

But this Dragon Gate List is certified by First Hand Commerce, so there’s no possibility of falsification.

Fourth Order Peak experts who haven’t made the list aren’t necessarily weak; some just lack public battle records.

But those who have made the list are undoubtedly extremely powerful, with the makings of legends.

This is the credibility of the Dragon Gate List.

Somewhere, Tyrant Dragon held the latest Dragon Gate Commerce Report, looking at his own subordinate who had made the list, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Although Tianyuan Bro’s Frost Dragon, the Blue-haired Girl, and the Black Armored Epic would probably make the list with suitable battles to showcase them, they haven’t made it yet.”

Rounding it off, it meant he, Tyrant Dragon, was one step ahead.

However… when Tyrant Dragon saw the battle records of powerhouses like ‘Giant Spirit God’ and ‘One-Punch Martial Maniac,’ he couldn’t help but stare in astonishment.

“My Taixuan still has plenty of strong individuals.”

(End of Chapter)