Feiyue Yilainuoke, leader of the Crimson Shadow Ashes Organization.
The Crimson Shadow is a group of twelve members. The leader, Feiyue Yilainuoke, and the second-in-command, Crimson Shadow Weiermila, are a husband-and-wife team, both of whom are Epic- level Transcendent. The other ten members are all Legendary -level. They are a sharp sword of the Ashes Organization, responsible for carrying out classified missions.
All this information came from Gustavo, Lancelot had it all deeply imprinted in his mind, which is why he was able to recognize Yilainuoke's portrait immediately.
What puzzled him was how this guy got in.
Could it be that the Golden Star is actually the Ashes ' stronghold?
The moment this thought crossed Lancelot's mind, he felt a chill run down his spine. If he were to barge into someone's lair, things would get really messy; walking right into a trap would be Hell.
But soon, he shook his head self-deprecatingly, "I'm really obsessed. If this really is the Ashes Organization' lair, how could Yilainuoke be so openly listed on the wanted list? And the intelligence provided by the World Will didn't mention anything about it. This is strange."
"Forget it, I'll figure it out when I run into this guy." A sharp glint flashed in Lancelot's eyes. According to the intelligence, Feiyue Yilainuoke's strength was around Epic Tier Two. If he unleashed his full power, he should be able to fight against him.
Furthermore, given that the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark, we might be able to kill them here.
"The only thing to consider is whether the Crimson Shadow is fully present, and how many of them died at the hands of the Golden Kingdom."
The wanted poster clearly states that unidentified thieves infiltrated the palace with the intention of stealing the [Hunter Treasure Tree]. They were repelled by the palace guards but suffered heavy losses. The poster does not specify the exact number of casualties.
"The Hunter Treasure Tree? It must be the Golden Maple Tree, right?" Lancelot guessed to himself, gaining a deeper understanding of the human strength of the Golden Star.
To repel the Crimson Shadow, there must be Epic powerhouse, and this is only within the royal palace...
"It seems I can't get the essence of the Golden Maple Tree by brute force; I'll have to use some cunning," Lancelot thought to himself.
"What does the unfamiliar hunter need?" an aged voice rang out. Lancelot looked up and saw that the speaker was an old man wearing a leather hat.
"I lost my hunter's badge while hunting magical beasts. Could you please get me a replacement?" Lancelot asked, tossing over a silver coin. This coin was a high-value currency in the Golden Kingdom, used almost exclusively by elite groups like hunters.
The old man grasped the silver coin, rubbed it between his fingers to confirm it was genuine, and then smiled knowingly. "Of course, your situation is quite common. Could you tell me your name? Also, do you have your name registered with the Hunter Guild?"
"No, I am a wild hunter named Lance!"
"I see. Okay, Mr. Lance, I've already had someone go and get you a replacement hunter's badge. Is there anything else you need?"
"A bottle of ice-cold beer. Also, do you have any books here?"
"Books? Uh... yes, I have some in my personal collection, they're in the storage room, over there. Feel free to pick one out, it's free." Although the old man found the hunter's request for books a bit odd, he was very generous and handed Lancelot the key directly.
Lancelot flicked another silver coin at him, saying, "I won't let my friend suffer a loss."
The old man took the silver coin without refusing, but his gaze towards Lancelot softened considerably.
Holding an ice-cold beer, Lancelot chugs it down while squatting by the door of the storage room, engrossed in reading a book, completely oblivious to the noisy surroundings.
He read very quickly, one book after another, devouring them in a short time, and soon he had read through all the books in the storage room, gaining a detailed understanding of the current situation on Golden Star.
Thirty thousand years ago, before the catastrophe struck, the Golden Star was exceptionally prosperous, a paradise for Transcendent beasts, where the sky and earth were filled with wildness and grandeur.
At that time, the bloodline sorcerer profession of Golden Star was renowned throughout the entire plane, producing many Demigod powerhouses.
However, with the sudden disaster, 99.99% of life on the surface of Golden Star was wiped out, and only a very small number of forces escaped, but their foundations were severely damaged.
Faced with the cosmic storm that swept across the entire galaxy, these forces were unable to return and had no choice but to migrate to other planets.
As time goes by, the tenacity of life gradually becomes apparent.
Plants were the first to adapt to the harsh environment.
Although the ecosystem of Golden Star has been destroyed, the natural elements are still very abundant, and the plants are growing vigorously, gradually repairing the ravaged world.
As vegetation once again covered the land, the number of evil monsters increased, and they grew and expanded rapidly.
Severely corrupted by demonic energy, the evil beasts lack intelligence but are exceptionally brutal and grow at an extremely rapid pace, gradually becoming the dominant race on the Golden Star.
Humans have tenaciously survived in this world overrun by monsters.
Fortunately, the Golden Star contains a wealth of ancient ruins, and humans, who are adept at learning, quickly acquired some Transcendent knowledge through these ruins.
But when they wanted to take up a certain profession, they were devastated to find that not only beasts, but also humans were corrupted by demonic energy, and their physiques had become completely different from those of 30,000 years ago. None of the Transcendent systems left in the ruins could be used.
However, without Transcendent individuals, it is impossible to fight against evil monsters, to gain a foothold, let alone revive ancient glory; even survival would be a problem.
Desperate situations are where a person's potential is most unleashed.
In the harsh environment, the people of Golden Star in the post-disaster era, generation after generation, have been experimenting and innovating based on the Transcendent knowledge left behind in ancient ruins.
After countless deaths, finally, a Transcendent profession, the "Warcraft Hunter," was born, modeled after the Bloodline Warlock but with many modifications.
Since humans have mutated and cannot cultivate, then we will plunder them.
Kill the monsters and seize their power.
And so, hunters were born. They awakened and became Transcendent beings by hunting magical beasts and absorbing their blood.
Having been corrupted by demonic energy for tens of thousands of years, every human has a very high resistance to demonic energy and can withstand the blood of violent demonic beasts.
After the emergence of the hunter profession, the number of human Transcendent exploded in a short period of time.
Furthermore, many support-type Transcendent professions also emerged based on the Hunter profession, the most typical being the Alchemist.
And so, over thousands of years, generations of Transcendent human ancestors have blazed trails, constantly pushing the ceiling of the hunter profession higher and higher.
Now, the most powerful hunters possess combat strength comparable to those of Peak Epic powerhouses.
Of course, this was calculated by Lancelot based on records in books, but its accuracy is at least 80%.
Unfortunately, due to the extreme brutality of monster blood, hunters generally have short lifespans.
Even the most elite hunters only live to be 125 years old before dying of old age.
Yes, it's almost impossible for Epic powerhouse to die of old age at just over a hundred years old.
Normal Epic life forms have a lifespan of at least two to three thousand years, and some long-lived species, such as elves and giants, can live for tens of thousands of years.
A hundred years is as short as a shooting star.
But this is the current state of the hunter profession.
Moreover, due to the violent demonic blood within them, hunters often go berserk, especially in their later years, when the proportion of those going berserk increases significantly.
Therefore, many old hunters choose to leave their hometowns alone and venture into the wilderness teeming with monsters, heading towards their Fate through Slaughter.
Lancelot was deeply saddened upon learning this.
In fact, the humans of Golden Star have done an excellent job, pioneering a completely new Transcendent system and pushing it to such a height. Even with the help of ancient ruins, one can only imagine how terrifying the talent and genius of those pioneers were.
In the outside world, if they followed the normal path of Transcendent, even the threshold of Demigod probably wouldn't stop these pioneers.
"However, the fact that the hunter profession has developed to this point today is probably largely due to the Golden Mother Tree..." Lancelot squinted, pondering to himself.
As is well known, Golden Maple Tree possess exceptional energy conduction properties and are virtually immune to rejection by the physical body, exhibiting extremely high compatibility.
The Hunter System grows and thrives by absorbing tyrannical demonic blood. The Golden Maple Tree can undoubtedly greatly alleviate the conflict between demonic blood and human blood, significantly reduce rejection reactions, and increase the probability of successful awakening.
"No wonder it's called the Hunter Treasure Tree; if my guess is correct, it truly deserves the title."
"Tsk, it's only because the monsters lack intelligence that they could have attacked en masse, destroying the Golden Mother Tree. That would have broken the hunters' backbone, and everything would have been over!"
Lancelot thought strangely.
On the Golden Star, humanity's greatest enemy is the evil monsters.
In terms of overall strength alone, Warcraft is a hundred times stronger than humans.
This is not an exaggeration at all.
Let me just mention one point.
Warcraft has Demigod- level beings, while humans do not.
If it weren't for the fact that monsters lack intelligence, don't know how to cooperate, and instead kill each other, humanity would never have had the chance to develop, let alone, more than a decade ago, sweep away all nations, establish the increasingly prosperous Golden Kingdom, and unify the human territory.
"None of that concerns me. The most urgent matter is to find a way to obtain the essence of the Golden Mother Tree... Crimson Shadow has already proven that force is impossible, but if we use strategy, the Steel Feather Cloak's ' Replication ' ability can be very useful. If I become the leader of the Golden Kingdom, wouldn't I be able to dispose of the Golden Maple Tree at will?"
His thoughts began to wander, and Lancelot's ideas gradually became more and more outlandish.
From burglary to becoming king, the leap is nothing short of a bungee jump in space.
However, Lancelot felt that his idea was very feasible.
The difficulty lies in how to become king.
They directly kidnapped the victim and then repackaged it under a different guise as a "Replication"?
It doesn't seem like that will work.
That's practically no different from brute force.
Although the Golden King wasn't particularly strong, his guards were no pushovers, and the royal family also had many experts.
The success rate of directly kidnapping the Golden King is too low.
Since the existing king was not suitable, Lancelot quickly shifted his attention to the future king.
Isn't the crown prince also a ruler?
Besides, maybe if I become a prince, I'll be able to get close to the Golden Mother Tree. Then, when no one's looking, I can grab a handful and run. There's no reason why that little Feiyue Yilainuoke can escape while this big lump of flesh can't, right?
Yes, this plan is feasible!
With a renewed sense of purpose, Lancelot continued to work out the plan.
The Golden King had eight sons, the most outstanding of whom were the eldest prince Yadunisi and the second prince Adelia.
Both are hunters.
Today, humanity has developed a monster breeding industry, specializing in cultivating beasts with low levels of demonic blood ferocity, which are then supplied on a large scale to the offspring of the military and political leaders.
Hunters awakened by the blood of these artificially bred magical beasts are generally much weaker than normal hunters, and their potential for development is incomparable.
However, this thing is very safe.
For nobles who didn't intend to become hunters but still wanted some self-defense capabilities, it was the perfect choice.
As for the army, ordinary soldiers don't need to be too strong; what matters more is their organizational ability, and artificially bred demon blood is sufficient.
That said, the eldest prince absorbed artificial demon blood, so he was weak, but his maternal clan was powerful, with a huge political group behind him, and he was favored by the Golden King, after all, he was the eldest son.
The second prince was different; although his background was not weak, it was far inferior to that of the eldest prince's maternal clan.
The difference lies in the fact that the second prince himself has quite good talent for cultivation. He is not only a legitimate hunter, but also grew up in the military camp from a young age. His talent for commanding troops is outstanding, and he has made great contributions to the establishment of the Golden Kingdom.
It can be said that 60% of the territory of the Golden Kingdom was conquered by the army led by the second prince.
With his distinguished military achievements and generous and magnanimous personality, the Second Prince is undoubtedly a strong contender for the Golden Kingdom, second only to the First Prince.
The other six offspring, compared to these two, were all lagging behind and hardly needed any attention.
The key question now is whether to target the eldest prince or the second prince.
In terms of difficulty, it's definitely easier to defeat the weakling prince.
But there's a problem.
The eldest prince is suspicious and difficult to approach, and since he spends most of his time in the capital, it's also difficult to make a move against him.
The second prince was different. He liked to befriend heroes from all walks of life, especially famous hunters. Not only was he easy to approach, but his love of hunting also gave Lancelot more opportunities to strike.
As for strength, the second prince is probably only at the peak of the Peak Legendary, at most just entering the Epic. Lancelot is fully confident in dealing with him.
"Very well, you are the target, Second Prince Adelia!"
Lancelot slapped his thigh and made a decision.
"The plan begins. First, find an outstanding hunter to replace him, and then have him participate in the Second Prince's guard selection!"
The Second Prince's residence recruits elite servants year-round, with renowned hunters given priority in the selection process.
Lancelot planned to use this channel to get closer to him.
After finishing the last sip of beer and letting out a burp, Lancelot swayed to his feet, walked to the counter, and tossed a silver coin over. "Give me this month's hunter rankings."
From the birth of the Transcendent profession of hunter, the "Hunters' Union" came into being. Its initial purpose was to build a communication platform, which greatly improved the efficiency of hunters in hunting monsters, both in terms of intelligence and resources.
As hunter groups expanded, the Hunters' Union also grew larger, with a more complex internal structure.
Putting those aside for now, every month, the Hunters' Union compiles a list after gathering information from all sides.
Similar to a leaderboard.
The specific rankings are based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as reputation and strength, making them quite accurate and highly authoritative. Many hunters compete with each other for this list.
Lancelot's desire to be on this list wasn't for his own benefit; that was meaningless to him. His purpose was, of course, to select suitable targets.
Soon, the old man handed him a rolled-up piece of parchment.
Upon opening, a list of names came into view.
The top spot on the leaderboard belongs to the current president of the Hunters' Union, the White-Robed Knight, Jarvan, who is also the strongest human. He once faced Demigod beast head-on, and although he was defeated after only a dozen or so moves, it was still quite astonishing. Lancelot estimated that this person's combat power was definitely at the peak of the Peak Epic level, or even exceeded it.
Jarvan is definitely not a good choice; we can't beat him.
His gaze swept across the list, and Lancelot quickly locked onto a target.
Nulong Jiedun.
He is ranked 89th on the Hunter Ranking.
Born into a military family, he was extremely passionate about combat.
After the establishment of the Golden Kingdom, the army was no longer allowed to graze freely, and the number of battles was greatly reduced. The main task was to clear out the monsters roaming within its territory.
As for fighting off the powerful monster invasion, that's mainly the Hunters' Union's task.
Therefore, Jiedun, who was passionate about fighting, quickly resigned from his military post and became a free hunter, active on the front lines of life and death.
Based on the rankings, it is speculated that Jiedun's strength has reached the peak of the Peak Legendary, touching the bottleneck of the Epic.
At this stage, in accordance with the development of the Hunter System, a large number of Golden Maple Tree are needed as auxiliary materials.
The resources produced by the Golden Maple Tree are mainly controlled by the royal family and the Hunters' Union.
Seeking resources by allying with the second prince seems like a good excuse, and perhaps that's what the Nulong Jiedun himself was thinking too.
"The nickname ' Nulong' is related to dragons. The demonic blood that Jiedun absorbed most likely came from dragon-type magical beasts. Coincidentally, I also have Dragon Clan blood within me, so our auras match. If we fight, I won't be detected as abnormal..."
With that in mind, Lancelot began asking the old man for information about the Nulong Jiedun.
As a bartender, the old man dealt with hunters from all over the country year-round, so he had many information channels and was well-informed, and quickly gave an answer.
Three days ago, the Nulong Jiedun appeared in Green Plain City.
Upon hearing this news, Lancelot stuffed all the remaining silver coins he had into the old man's pocket, exchanged them for a simple map, and then left the tavern.
Two days later.
About 120 kilometers north of Green Plain City, in the swamp, a battle had just ended.
Beside the enormous monster corpse stood a small giant, shirtless, with bulging muscles, and a height of three meters.
He had a pair of dragon horns on his head, a very thick beard, and piercing eyes, giving him an aura that seemed capable of shaking everything.
It was the Nulong Jiedun that Lancelot was searching for.
"The demonic blood within me is becoming more active. I must hurry up and complete the guild missions to gather resources for a breakthrough, otherwise sooner or later I will be unable to suppress this power." Nulong Jiedun frowned slightly.
Just then, a clicking sound echoed in my ears.
"Who?!" Nulong Jiedun turned around abruptly, his pupils burning like magma, and the Demon Pattern covering his body instantly turned fiery red, with waves of heat rolling outwards.
"So it's fire attribute, huh? What a pity. It would have been so much better if it were lightning. But it's alright, I can still manage to disguise it Flame of the Heart..."
Calm words came from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint the enemy's location. The implication of these words made Nulong Jiedun even more wary; the newcomers seemed to be far stronger than himself.
"Who are you? What brings you here?" Jiedun asked, scanning his surroundings warily.
"You don't need to know who I am. I'm about to throw a punch. If you can take it, I'll leave. If you can't, how about I borrow your identity?"
"Identity?" Nulong Jiedun was stunned, not understanding the meaning behind the visitor's words.
However, the other party didn't seem inclined to explain.
The next second, a feeling of death that sent chills down the spine of the Nulong Jiedun surged into his heart.
His body instinctively made him cross his arms and block in front of his chest.
Almost simultaneously, an indescribably dazzling bolt of lightning violently entered the vision of the Nulong Jiedun, leaving a scorching, burning mark on his retina.
Hold head high!!
An extremely fierce dragon roar resounded through the forest, its sound waves rolling, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Enveloped in countless bolts of lightning, a figure was sent flying backward.
His once robust body now resembled a rag doll, with cracked skin and blood flowing out like water.
The super suppressive force field, combining "Haki", "Sanctuary" and "Electromagnetic Field", directly stunned the Nulong Jiedun.
In a single move, a Legendary Peak was instantly killed.
Lancelot himself was stunned.
"Am I... already that strong?"
Yes, with the Steel Feather Cloak, Lancelot's combat power had already surged from 3500 Dale to a new level, so it seemed reasonable that he could defeat the raging Nulong Jiedun with a single punch.
"Sigh, it's not my fault. You didn't offer your identity willingly. Next time, remember to back down earlier." Lancelot said as he walked over and picked up the Nulong Jiedun.
If Jiedun heard him, he would roar at the top of his lungs, "You fucking gave me a chance to speak, didn't you?!"
Lancelot, of course, wouldn't care about these details.
He found a secluded valley, threw a punch, and a bottomless crater appeared on the ground.
Carrying the Nulong Jiedun, Lancelot leaped down.
The pit is about 800 meters deep, and the powerful spiraling force has made the pit walls very solid, so there is no need to worry about it collapsing.
As he fell to the bottom of the pit, Lancelot reached out and released his Steel Feather Cloak, enveloping the Nulong Jiedun.
After being tempered in the World Furnace, the basic material composition of the Steel Feather Cloak is vastly different from before.
The current Steel Feather Cloak is actually just a bunch of "particles". These particles can be combined at will and imitated in various ways based on the "Replication" rules.
After activating the "Replication" ability, the surface of the Steel Feather Cloak emitted a faint light, and soon it detached from the body of the Nulong Jiedun and burrowed into Lancelot's chest.
Then, a miraculous scene unfolded. Like a ripple spreading across Lancelot's body, a nearly identical Nulong, Jiedun, appeared on the spot shortly afterward.
Whether it's skin color, body shape, physical features, or even the more subtle aura, life fluctuations, or soul fluctuations, it's exactly the same as the Nulong Jiedun.
"No, not just in appearance, but also in inner strength..."
Lancelot murmured, extending his hand. A crimson flame appeared in his palm—the power of the Nulong Jiedun, "Nulong's Fire."
Now, however, they are being controlled by him.
"To be precise, it's not a change in my body. This power comes from the Steel Feather Cloak. It uses the ' Energy Reserve ' equipment effect to Replication the Nulong's body energy, thus providing it for my use. As for my own energy, it lies dormant deep within my body, and I can access it at any time..."
"This is absolutely unreasonable!"
Lancelot sighed.
Even he, as the owner, was astonished upon experiencing the power of the Miracle- quality equipment.
No wonder it's called a "Miracle"—this is only a four-star equipment. Will it be able to Replication other gods when it reaches seven stars?
What comes after ten stars?
It should be noted that only artifacts of Miracle quality with a rating of ten stars or higher can be called Miracle Creation.
Despite remaining powerful, it is difficult to break free from the constraints of the Astral Realm rules.
Lancelot shook his head to calm himself.
Looking at the sleeping Nulong Jiedun, Lancelot thought for a moment and then took out another syringe.
"A super-potent sedative, enough to keep you asleep for a month." With a chuckle, Lancelot injected the potion into the body of the Nulong, Jiedun.
He never intended to kill the man; he wasn't like Gustavo.
We are the Earth Guardian, the Astral Realm Police, the Lawful Faction within the Lawful Faction. How could we do something so utterly reckless with human life?
Let him sleep it off; that will be enough.
Having done all that, Lancelot clapped his hands, looked up at the sky, and said, "Very good. Now, it's time to go see the second prince..."