Chapter 59 – Gato the Lion King

Since the majority of the player base was too low level, very few players were able to reach this destination, which led Nie Yan to believe his actions were far from prying eyes.

However unbeknownst to him, in an area not far from the cliff face he overhung, a group of ten or so players were hunting mobs. The strongest among them reached Level 6 while the lowest was Level 4. Even their highest level member was still a level lower than these Lions, thus none of them dared to penetrate too deeply into Violet Dream Hills.

Although they received three hundred percent bonus experience for killing these Level 7 Lions, it was offset by their numbers. Moreover, their expenditure was too great. In the game's current state, even a single Basic Health Potion was an expensive luxury. Yet they were consuming these potions at a ludicrous rate. Were it not for the fact that their profits were somewhat decent after recently picking up a Leo Shield and a few fur pelts, they would have long stopped hunting these high health hard-to-chew monsters.

"Bladelight, let's leave after another hour or two. We should have enough Lion Pelts by then," said the Priest to the Level 6 Fighter at the front of the group.

The Fighter named Bladelight raised his shield and blocked an incoming Lion's attack. Brandishing his sword, he countered with Heroic Strike and kited the Lion as the Mages whittled its health away. Once its health fell below a certain point, he finished it off with Whirlwind Slash.

"Alright, we'll leave in an hour then. Since we've already got a Leo Shield, it'd be perfect if the Leo Armour dropped as well," Resplendent Bladelight nodded and replied. He unhurriedly collected the items that dropped from the monster's corpse.

"That's impossible. I read online that the drop rate for Leo Armour is one in five hundred," said an Elementalist who walked to his side. He and Resplendent Bladelight were the only Level 6s in their team.

His character was named Hei Zhuo (Black Amazing). The two of them could be counted as experts in the game. Although they were friends, neither was willing to admit they were weaker than the other. In terms of skill, Bladelight was superior but Hei Zhuo's influence in their guild was higher. Their guild was named Unhindered and was established using both of their names. Since Bladelight wasn't interested in the management aspects of the team or guild, Hei Zhuo naturally took on this role. Under his leadership, not only did Unhindered become a successful guild, it became somewhat famous as well.

"What? The Leo Shield's drop rate is only one in a thousand yet we still managed to get one anyway." Bladelight rebuked.

"That's only cause you got lucky…" Hei Zhuo's complexion paled. Bladelight's tone made him somewhat speechless and angry; however, he still managed to mumble out a few words in reply.

"If I can equip the Leo Armour, I'll have the highest defense out of any player in the game!" Bladelight said in a confident tone.

Egotistical prick… Hei Zhuo thought in disdain. His expression, however, did not betray his inner thoughts.

He and Bladelight, on various occasions, competed in sparring matches in the arena, though the difference between them was clear. Out of ten matches, it'd be considered amazing if he could even beat Bladelight in two of them.

Bladelight was famous, quite skilled, and he was well-respected among players in several professions. In truth, Unhindered was established solely on his reputation alone. Thus, Hei Zhuo had no choice but to rely on Bladelight. However, as the guild continued to expand, Hei Zhuo's authority over it grew as well. As a result, he was slowly inching out Bladelight in terms of position within the guild.

As he and his team prepared to continue their hunt, Bladelight happened to gaze over at the distant cliff face and was surprised to discover a player jumping off its peak. Jeez… I'm seeing stranger things by the day. People are even committing suicide in video games. Can't this guy be a little less morbid? However, to his astonishment, that player's falling speed continued to decrease, to the extent where they were unlikely to die even if they hit the ground.

"Guys, look at the cliff face over there!" Bladelight exclaimed in an amazed manner.

"Hmmm, why?" Hei Zhuo asked as he inadvertently looked to the side, whereupon his expression immediately froze. He also noticed Nie Yan. At that moment, he saw Nie Yan shoot out something from his hand and suspend himself in midair, whereupon he took out a crossbow and began firing below.

"What the heck is doing?" The surrounding members stared blankly.

"Amazing, this guy can even think of a strategy like this! Haven't you guys figured it out? He's killing monsters!" Bladelight straightened his back and replied. The player overhanging this cliff deeply interested him. For being able to figure out such a unique method of killing mobs, this certainly wasn't an average player.

"That item on his hand should be the Silk Spinner Ring!" Hei Zhuo recognized this item because he was knowledgeable of most equipment in the game.

"If we also had this Silk Spinner Ring, could we also be like him and hunt monsters like that?"

"No, even if we had that ring, we still wouldn't be able to. Unless we have equipment with the Featherfall ability like him, the force of the fall would likely snap the web line," Bladelight replied. The Silk Spinner Ring was already quite a rare accessory that held considerable value. There was even less of a need to discuss equipment with the Featherfall ability which happened to be rarer. These two unique items couldn't necessarily be bought even if one did have the money. Yet for the sake of hunting monsters, this person obtained both? Just who the hell was he?

"Damn! I'd like to be able to kill monsters like that. If I never have to worry about being attacked while firing bolts, I'd be able to rise several levels in no time!"

"Not necessarily. The number of mobs in his range is limited. His levelling speed won't be that high because the mobs don't respawn fast enough at the rate he's killing them. After clearing all the mobs in his range, he'll have no choice but to go back," a somewhat knowledgeable member of the team voiced their opinion.

Hei Zhuo didn't utter a single word while listening to his teammate's discussion. They couldn't penetrate too deeply into the area because the nearer they approached that cliff, the higher the mob density. Since they didn't dare to get anywhere near that area, they would never know what sort of monsters that player was hunting.

"ROAAAR" The deafening sound travelled all the way from the cliff face to where they were standing. The surrounding members paled as they all looked on in horror.

A robust Lion leapt five meters into the air and threw itself at the cliff face. The pounce was quite powerful and ferocious, even managing to shake the cliff face on impact. Yet no matter how high that Lion leapt, it was far from being able to reach Nie Yan. Its body halted on the cliff face and involuntarily slid off. All the while, Nie Yan dangled calmly in midair and steadily fired more bolts.

"It's the Elite-class monster, Gato the Lion King!" Hei Zhuo shouted, his voice cracking in astonishment.

Each member of the group looked at each other in dismay and shock. Gato the Lion King, even if they were to form a twenty-player team right now, they still wouldn't be able to kill this Lion. Yet this Level 7 Elite-class monster was currently being turned into a pin cushion as it was slowly shot to death by a single player overhanging a cliff. When they thought of this, they felt resentment boiling up inside of them, perhaps even more so a feeling of envy and jealousy.

"Can we rush in and steal the equipment from him after he kills it?" one of the members asked.

"Impossible. We simply don't have any means of going there, unless Guild Leader Hei Zhuo can call a bunch of people over here. However, the losses we would suffer far outweigh our potential gains."

"Ah… Forget it then."

As Bladelight, Hei Zhuo, and the others contemplated, the earth violently trembled. The vibrations they felt on the ground resembled a stampede. Each of their faces paled, and they quickly looked into the distance. What they saw was a giant dust cloud rising into the air and several hundred Lions running in their direction. The Lion King's roar had stirred up the Lions in the vicinity!

"We're done for! Everyone, retreat immediately!" Hei Zhuo shouted in alarm, but it was already too late. The stampede of Lions had discovered their presence. At that moment, they were simply awaiting their impending doom.

Bladelight realized how difficult it would be to escape, so he raised his shield to welcome the enemies.

Meanwhile, the perpetrator of this disaster was hanging leisurely over the cliff face. He didn't need to expend much strength. All he needed to do was steadily fire his crossbow. The bolts that were fired all had the additional property of dealing bonus on-hit damage. Even if it was the Level 7 Lion King, it still had no more than five or six thousand health. Under his steady fire, it soon had less than half of its health remaining.

The Lion King's aggro was fully on Nie Yan but it was incapable of attacking him. Thus, there was nothing it could do. Since it only knew physical attacks, all of its abilities were related to raising its physical damage. Even when it leapt at its highest, it only reached six or seven meters while its opponent was suspended twenty meters in the air.

Killing monsters that surpassed him in level became much simpler with these bolts that dealt bonus on-hit damage. Each and every bolt would deal real and genuine damage.