Chapter 271: The Golden Earth Dragon’s Horn

“Follow my command. Have your mages who can cast area-of-effect spells target their magic there, especially fog-type spells!” Nie Yan pointed toward the location of the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn.

Ban Xing De Hu Li was slightly astonished. What was Nie Yan trying to do? Casting area-of-effect spells in that direction would make obtaining the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn even less likely, wouldn’t it? Nevertheless, both he and Falan followed Nie Yan’s instructions and issued commands to their mages capable of area-of-effect spells.

The mages began casting their area-of-effect spells. The air became violently chaotic with magical elements as streams of fireballs rained down on the central clearing, creating sparks upon impact. Additionally, numerous lightning spells caused flashes of electricity and thunder. Moreover, thick fog spread across the battlefield.

The corpse of the central Golden Earth Dragon was soon engulfed in flames, lightning, and fog. What was happening at the epicenter was completely obscured from view.

Players from more than ten guilds had no idea what was going on. Witnessing such violent magical onslaughts, no one dared to rush in and risk death, so they all retreated.

Unsure of the condition of the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn and other items, which were now out of sight, they felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

Nie Yan entered stealth mode and swiftly moved toward the area, activating Divine Arbitration to enter the zone where flames, lightning, and fog converged.

As the roaring flames and crackling lightning reached Nie Yan’s body, they immediately dissipated without causing any harm.

Divine Arbitration had a magic immunity effect!

Nie Yan advanced through the violent magical storm. Visibility in the area was very low. Occasionally, bursts of light flared before his eyes, but he couldn’t see his surroundings clearly. Relying solely on his prior memory, he reached approximately the right location and began searching the ground.

A bright golden light caught his eye. He felt a surge of joy, believing it was the glow from one of the items. Reaching out, he felt a long, curved object with a rough texture in his palm.

This must be the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn.

Nie Yan placed the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn into his backpack and continued searching. He found one item, then two, three, four. Additionally, there were numerous flat objects whose nature was unclear. Without hesitation, he scooped them all up and placed them in his backpack.

Demoted bosses usually dropped many items. This was a big haul.

After confirming there was nothing left behind, he hurriedly ran out, making sure not to be caught when the Divine Arbitration effect ended.

Nie Yan emerged from the dense area of spells and stealthily blended into the crowd of players from the Bull Tribe.

“I’ve got the items,” Nie Yan told Ban Xing De Hu Li and Falan.

Ban Xing De Hu Li and Falan wore expressions of disbelief. They were still waiting for Nie Yan’s next command, expecting he would at least wait until the area-of-effect spells ended before collecting the items. They never imagined Nie Yan would tell them he had already succeeded.

The violent, unceasing area-of-effect spells were still ongoing!

“I have a spell immunity skill,” Nie Yan explained.

Now Ban Xing De Hu Li and Falan understood. No wonder Nie Yan had instructed their forces to unleash area-of-effect spells—to create a diversion, allowing Nie Yan to retrieve the items secretly. This way, they could obtain the items without attracting suspicion.

“What did you get?” Ban Xing De Hu Li asked. They had previously agreed that he and Falan would receive four items from Nie Yan, each getting two.

Items dropped by demoted bosses were at least of the sub-legendary level!

“One Golden Earth Dragon’s horn, four sub-legendary items, and some miscellaneous materials. According to our previous agreement, the four sub-legendary items go to you, and the remaining materials…” Nie Yan looked into his backpack as he spoke.

“Forget the materials, just send me the attributes of the four sub-legendary items,” Ban Xing De Hu Li said eagerly, impatient to see the attributes of those four sub-legendary items.

Hearing Ban Xing De Hu Li say to forget the materials, Nie Yan secretly chuckled. Those miscellaneous materials were all valuable items, after all, dropped from the Golden Earth Dragon.

Falan smiled wryly. Ban Xing De Hu Li was indeed too hasty. Since Ban Xing De Hu Li had said not to take the miscellaneous materials, he wouldn’t mention them either. Contentment brings perpetual happiness, and receiving two sub-legendary items was already quite good.

Nie Yan sent the attributes of the four sub-legendary items. They were all level 40 items: one for a warrior, two for mages, and one for a paladin. Their attributes were quite decent, comparable to Nie Yan’s Obsidian Leather Armor.

With these four sub-legendary items divided between Falan and Ban Xing De Hu Li, the loot-sharing was completed.

Besides obtaining the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn, Nie Yan also acquired sixteen Golden Earth Dragon scales. These were legendary-grade crafting materials that could be used to forge legendary equipment or sewn onto existing gear to enhance defense and magic resistance attributes. Each dragon scale was worth as much as a sub-legendary item.

Checking the attributes of the two newly acquired items, the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn resembled a curved ram’s horn. Made of an unknown material, it was entirely golden in color with a very rough texture and intricate patterns engraved on its surface.

Golden Earth Dragon’s Horn (Legendary): Requires Strength 600, Will 30.

Item Description: This is a token of the Golden Earth Dragon, allowing the bearer to form a contract with one.

Item Attribute: Holding this item allows the summoning of a level 0 Golden Earth Dragon hatchling (can level up). Golden Earth Dragon Hatchling: Level 0, Attack 32-33, Defense 30, Strength 30, Agility 20, Intelligence 2, Movement Speed 22, Attack Speed 21. Growth Rate: 15, with a certain probability of acquiring dragon magic upon leveling up.

Usage Restriction: This item is limited to Lawful Good users and binds upon use.

Note: The item takes effect immediately upon being placed in the backpack.

Carrying the Golden Earth Dragon’s Horn allows summoning and recalling the Golden Earth Dragon hatchling, effectively providing a pet space. This Golden Earth Dragon hatchling can level up, and a pet’s growth rate determines its quality. A growth rate of around 5 is considered normal, around 10 is considered excellent, and 15 is considered extraordinary.

Generally, a pet with a growth rate of around 10 might be sold for two or three thousand gold coins at an NPC. As for a pet with a growth rate of 15, such pets are usually not available for sale. If one’s reputation with Carol City reaches 50, one might purchase an extraordinary pet with a high growth rate, but the price is exorbitant, justifiably described as priceless.

Moreover, the Golden Earth Dragon has a special attribute, a certain probability of learning dragon magic upon leveling up, which significantly increases its value.

Leveling up a pet is a very time-consuming process, so he would have to figure out how to handle it later.

Nie Yan thought of the mutated energy crystals in his backpack. He wondered what would happen if he used them to modify the Golden Earth Dragon hatchling.

Next, he looked at the obtained dragon scales.

Golden Dragon Scale: Special item, legendary-grade material. Can be used to forge legendary-grade equipment. High-level tailors can sew Golden Dragon Scales onto equipment to increase armor by 20% defense, 30 magic resistance, and 30 poison resistance.

Being able to boost defense by 20%, magic resistance by 30, and poison resistance by 30 all at once—such an inlay material is exceptionally rare, especially as an auxiliary component. If embedded into sub-legendary or legendary-grade equipment, the enhancement effect on the gear is self-evident.

With as many as sixteen Golden Dragon Scales, Nie Yan could use them gradually.

All things considered, Nie Yan had the best deal. In this battle against the Golden Earth Dragon, the Bull Tribe had contributed almost nothing yet obtained a legendary-grade Golden Earth Dragon’s horn and over a dozen Golden Dragon Scales. It was an incredible haul. As for the Holy Roman Empire and the Ka’lan Temple, during their fight against the Golden Earth Dragon, they had lost over a thousand players, with each guild suffering losses of more than 500 players. The sub-legendary-grade equipment they obtained could at best only compensate for their losses.

The area spells in the center gradually subsided, and the guild members looked forward. Where was the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn?

“Damn, is there a bug?”

“Where did the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn go?”

A wave of unrest and curses spread among the players from over a dozen guilds.

The Golden Earth Dragon’s horn had vanished before their very eyes. Who would be happy about that?

They were perplexed. The Golden Earth Dragon’s horn had clearly been there moments ago. With such dense area-of-effect spells, no one could have rushed in and taken it. Who could have ignored so many area-of-effect spells and snatched the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn away?

Yet the Golden Earth Dragon’s horn had indeed disappeared, leaving no trace.

This was extremely frustrating for them.

The sudden and intense magical assault from the Holy Roman Empire and the Ka’lan Temple was highly suspicious. But could they really accuse the Holy Roman Empire and the Ka’lan Temple solely based on their abnormal behavior?

They had no evidence! Moreover, their strength was far inferior to the Holy Roman Empire and the Ka’lan Temple. They lacked the courage to provoke a conflict, so they could only accept their bad luck.

“The Triumph Empire and the Radiant Holy Flame have twenty thousand troops marching toward the Sin Domain Canyon!” a team member whispered to the leader of the Dark Ranger Guild.

The leader of the Dark Ranger Guild’s expression slightly changed, and he quickly led the Dark Ranger Guild players to withdraw.

One by one, the guilds departed. They understood that a dispute was about to erupt here, and to avoid being caught in the crossfire, it was best to leave quickly.

Guo Huai sent a message to Nie Yan, informing him that the Triumphant Empire and the Holy Flame of Light had gathered over twenty thousand people and were entering the Valley of Sin! They had already reached the entrance of the valley!

“How come so fast?” Nie Yan asked in surprise, this exceeded his expectations. He had thought that once the Triumph Empire and Radiant Holy Flame started moving, he would receive a message from Guo Huai, so he wasn’t worried at all. Unexpectedly, the Triumph Empire and Radiant Holy Flame arrived so quickly.