Heavenly Alliance

The dungeon can only be entered three times a day. Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng had already completed their three entries and could only wait until tomorrow to continue.

Next, Ye Luo needed to collect some dragonfly wings to refine Gale Pills, while Yan Hua Yi Leng planned to wander around Novice Village to see if she could pick up any quests.

After bidding farewell to Yan Hua Yi Leng, Ye Luo headed towards the South Gate of the game. As he walked, he muttered to himself, "With my and Yan Hua's strength, entering the dungeon is no longer a challenge. I've already collected my full set of equipment, and Yan Hua has also collected hers, except for the Flying Snow Robe. There's no real need to farm for equipment anymore."

"Fortunately, the experience from the dungeon monsters is quite good, and there's extra experience upon completing the quests. Plus, the male ants and the queen ant dropped Jade Poison Beads, which is much faster than farming Demonized Scorpions," Ye Luo said, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "The Tier 3 Jade Poison Bead's attributes are already quite powerful. I wonder what the Tier 4 ones will be like."

As he was thinking about these things, Ye Luo's communicator rang. He answered, and Zhi Yue's sweet voice came through, "Brother Ye, you and Sister Yan Hua really did get the first kill, and you've broken records one after another. Congratulations! Sister Feng is all smiles and says no one will be able to break your records anymore."

Hearing Zhi Yue's delighted tone, Ye Luo could guess that their gains were good. He asked, "Yue'er, how are things? Did you get any good equipment?"

"Hehe, of course! We got two Bronze-grade equipment pieces during our first dungeon run. Of course, they're much worse than your and Sister Yan Hua's masks and medals," Zhi Yue said, her laughter growing louder as she mentioned their gains. "We also completed our heavy armor and cloth armor sets, significantly increasing our strength. We also obtained a few Jade Poison Beads, including two Tier 2 ones. Now, almost all of us have a Tier 2 Jade Poison Bead."

Hearing about Zhi Yue's gains, Ye Luo was also happy for her. Then, remembering something, he suggested, "Yue'er, I suggest you go farm Demonized Scorpions and try to upgrade your Tier 2 Poison Beads to Tier 3, because the attributes of the Tier 3 Poison Beads will change dramatically."

"You don't need to arrange that. Sister Yan Hua already told us," Zhi Yue replied, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Sister Yan Hua told us that with Tier 3 Jade Poison Beads, we can go to Novice Village and kill level 20 monsters. Our levels will increase rapidly then, and we might even make it onto the rankings soon."

"Then keep up the good work," Ye Luo encouraged her before closing the communicator.

Just as Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng parted ways, more than a dozen players quietly followed them. Ye Luo was communicating with Zhi Yue at the time and hadn't noticed.

However, being well-trained, he sensed something unusual after closing the communicator. He didn't pay it much mind and continued towards the South Gate of Novice Village, glancing back at the people behind him with his peripheral vision.

"Twelve people, mostly around level 15, with various classes. And there are three faint killing intents, so there must be Assassins in stealth," Ye Luo instantly assessed the situation and then started paying attention to the IDs above their heads. "Heavenly Calamity, Heavenly Grief... most of these IDs start with 'Heavenly'. They should be from the same guild."

"Looks like I've become quite famous recently. They're planning something against me," Ye Luo gave a wry smile. Then, remembering something, he quickly contacted Yan Hua Yi Leng. "Yan Hua, is anyone following you?"

Although he knew Yan Hua Yi Leng was a rare master, she was still a woman, and Ye Luo naturally worried about her safety.

A minute or two later, Ye Luo's communicator rang, and her voice, as usual, was cold. "No. Are you being followed? How many people? What are their levels?"

"Around fifteen people. I don't know yet if there are any Assassins hidden further away. Most of them are around level 15," Ye Luo sent all the information he had and then asked, "Do you know of any guilds that start with 'Heavenly'? All these people's IDs start with 'Heavenly'."

"Yes, I know. Heavenly Alliance. A notorious guild that makes a living by robbing players and also takes on assassination missions. While their strength isn't comparable to professional assassin organizations, they are still quite troublesome," Yan Hua Yi Leng quickly replied to Ye Luo, adding, "Heavenly Alliance is infamous, but they are ranked thirteenth among Chinese guilds and have managed to survive several joint attacks from larger guilds, which speaks to their strength."

"Infamous, huh? That settles it," Ye Luo said calmly, a hint of killing intent in his tone. "I was just thinking of testing my PK skills in the game. Practicing on them would be perfect."

"Do you need me to help?" Yan Hua Yi Leng's tone remained completely steady.

"No, I can handle it myself," Ye Luo replied decisively.

"Alright, contact me if you need support." Yan Hua Yi Leng was even more decisive, then added, "Remember not to get a red name, or it will be too troublesome. You won't be able to enter Novice Village for a long time, which will affect our leveling."

After saying this, Yan Hua Yi Leng decisively closed the communicator without waiting for Ye Luo's reply.

"Sigh, indeed. Getting a red name and being killed by guardians when entering the village is a bit troublesome," Ye Luo sighed lightly, then his tone shifted. "Then I'll just have to let them make the first move. With my current defense and HP, I should be able to withstand a few of their attacks."

"Yan Hua has no one following her. It seems they don't dare to make a move against her, probably fearing she's a player on the celebrity rankings, and they might not want to provoke Misty Pavilion," Ye Luo muttered, his eyes then chilling. "So, they think I'm easy to bully. Heh, they really think I'm a pushover."

With that thought, Ye Luo arrived at Toad Hill outside the South Gate. Calculating the time, the Toad King should have respawned long ago. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the Toad King around. He must have already been killed by someone else.

"It seems outsiders have already obtained the Jade Poison Beads. I wonder when they'll discover the secret of the Jade Poison Beads," Ye Luo mused. Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt something unusual around him. He knew an Assassin had activated the [Backstab] skill, but he wanted others to make the first move, so he didn't dodge. He only slightly adjusted his position.

A pain shot through his back, and a yellow damage number of '105' appeared above Ye Luo's head. He was also stunned for 1 second.

"Ding~!"

System Notification (Personal): Dear player Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, you have been maliciously ambushed by 'Heavenly Assassin'. You can retaliate freely within 10 minutes. Killing 'Heavenly Assassin' and their team members will not incur red name punishment.

"Ding~!"

System Notification (Personal): Dear player Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, you have been maliciously ambushed by 'Heavenly Demon'. You can retaliate freely within 10 minutes. Killing 'Heavenly Demon' and their team members will not incur red name punishment.

"Ding~!"

System Notification (Personal): Dear player Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, you have been maliciously ambushed by 'Heavenly Heart'. You can retaliate freely within 10 minutes. Killing 'Heavenly Heart' and their team members will not incur red name punishment.

Three consecutive system notifications indicated that Ye Luo had been ambushed by three people, clearly the three Assassins he had sensed earlier.

The three Assassins took turns using the [Backstab] skill, their skill rotations perfectly timed. They kept Ye Luo stunned in place, their coordination seamless and skillful, clearly something they did often.

Although they had stunned Ye Luo, the attack power of these three was a bit low, only dealing about 100 damage each. This was not a significant issue for Ye Luo, who already had nearly a thousand HP.

Assassins were faster than Knights and the like. Moreover, the Assassins were closer to Ye Luo, and with his deliberate positioning, he didn't give the Knights a chance to use [Charge]. With a [Slash] and a normal attack, he struck one of the Assassins.

That Assassin was fully invested in agility, had a nearly complete set of equipment, and even had some equipment emitting a bronze glow. It was quite good. His defense barely reached 180 points, but it couldn't withstand Ye Luo's attack. Just the [Slash] alone dealt 400 HP damage to him, and then a normal attack emptied his HP bar.

After that, without waiting for the other Assassin to escape, he used the [Combo Attack] skill. Three sword shadows flashed, and another Assassin turned into a white light and died.

After doing this, Ye Luo's attack was on cooldown, but he didn't wait to be attacked. He moved quickly, distancing himself from their encirclement. He casually swallowed a mutated Major Blood Recovery Pill, and with his powerful recovery, his HP quickly returned to 900, making him quite safe.

"Damn it, this guy's defense is extremely high, at least 250 points, and his HP is also much higher than our estimated 550 points," Heavenly Heart, who was still alive, had a pale face. He realized they had encountered a tough opponent this time.

"Heh heh, this means he has some very powerful equipment. Bronze-grade equipment only adds strength, which means his equipment is even better than Bronze," Heavenly Jie chuckled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Hmph, he's just one person. Although his attack is a bit high, he can't possibly withstand the attacks of more than ten of us."

"That's right," Heavenly Shang nodded. He looked at another player and commanded, "Heavenly Fate, Heavenly One Blade, you are Knights with full vitality builds, high HP and high defense. He can't instantly kill you. Chase him and use Charge, cooperate with Heavenly Heart to stun him to death. Heavenly Snow, Heavenly Rain, remember to heal."

Upon hearing this, Heavenly Heart charged forward. As an Assassin, he was slightly faster, and his [Backstab] skill was about to be off cooldown. As long as he got within 5 meters of Ye Luo, he could activate the skill to stun him. Then, Heavenly Fate and Heavenly One Blade could catch up and continuously stun him until he died.

"Heh, these guys were instantly killed by me, yet they still dare to chase me. They're quite bold," Ye Luo chuckled inwardly and then glanced behind him. "Heavenly Heart attacked earlier, and his [Stealth] skill is on cooldown, requiring 20 seconds to activate. However, [Backstab] is almost off cooldown. He probably wants to stun me so the Knights can charge me. But Assassins are slightly faster. If they are more than 10 meters away, the Knights' [Charge] cannot be activated. Thus..."

While fleeing, Ye Luo calculated these factors, and a clear strategy gradually formed in his mind.