C148 Cold Crow Ridge Five Dragons County!

This mission was reserved exclusively for the village chief, a role with the sole privilege to undertake it, rendering it invisible to others.

Given the substantial reward, Chen Guo had no reason to decline and promptly accepted the mission.

With the mission in hand, Chen Guo utilized the Flying Thunder God Art and instantly appeared beside Zhou Tao, where four others were already gathered.

They were faces Chen Guo knew well: Zhou Tao, Jiang Yan, Liang Kuan...

And two others whose names escaped him, but given Chen Guo's stature and position, remembering their names wasn't necessary.

"The village chief has arrived!"

"This is a tough mission, but with the village chief here, we've got this!"

"With the village chief on board, we'll breeze through this mission!"

Zhou Tao and the others beamed at Chen Guo's arrival, their spirits visibly lifted.

Their assigned side mission, "The Lament of the Five Dragons," posed a significant challenge. Despite their considerable abilities, they couldn't be certain of their safety.

For trial challengers, perishing in the myriad of maps and missions was all in a day's work, and not even the elite were exempt.

However, the involvement of a legend like Chen Guo turned what was a highly challenging mission into a near certainty.

Their warm reception of Chen Guo was well justified.

Once known as "Boss Guangcheng," Chen Guo's new moniker, "village chief," felt more personal following the establishment of Flame Dragon Village. Thus, Zhou Tao and the others, along with most villagers, had taken to affectionately calling him "village chief."

Chen Guo surveyed the surrounding landscape.

A vast snowy expanse stretched out before him, with the piercing north wind lashing at their faces like a flurry of knives.

The world around them was vast and desolate, with a towering snowy mountain rising into the clouds ahead. Atop the mountain, numerous enormous, dark green birds soared.

These birds built their nests on the summit and along the sheer cliffs, creating structures as large as human dwellings. Their eggs were scarcely smaller than those of large dinosaurs.

Each of these massive, dark green birds was the size of a truck, their wings flapping with the majesty of a dragon. Thanks to the system's intel, Chen Guo had learned the names of these formidable creatures.

"Level 41, Normal Cold Crow, with a combat strength of 200,000!"

"Level 50, Elite Cold Crow, boasting a combat strength of 400,000!"

It was clear there were two distinct types of Cold Crows, one twice as powerful as the other. For the average trial challenger, neither would be an easy opponent.

Chen Guo inquired, "So this is Cold Crow Ridge? The Cold Crow Grass I'm after is found here?"

Zhou Tao confirmed with a nod, "Exactly. I've managed to gather three stems of Cold Crow Grass already, which was no easy feat. Without my ability to fly and dodge those fearsome Cold Crows, I doubt I would have succeeded. But it's worth the effort; this Cold Crow Grass is a high-tier, fifth-rank spiritual herb."

As he spoke, Zhou Tao handed over three stems of the black Cold Crow Grass to Chen Guo. The herbs released a refreshing scent and felt cool to the touch.

"Rank 5 Spiritual Herb, Cold Crow Grass: Useful for crafting potent elixirs. When used directly, it allows transformation into a Cold Crow form for 100 seconds!"

Chen Guo accepted the Cold Crow Grass with satisfaction and stated, "I never take things without giving something in return. Here's a golden treasure chest as compensation for your efforts."

With that, Chen Guo produced a golden treasure chest and handed it to Zhou Tao, who was effusive with his thanks, though he kept his gratitude understated.

Chen Guo was known for his fairness, and his willingness to trade a golden treasure chest for the Cold Crow Grass only deepened the respect others felt for him. Despite his considerable power and status, he refused to exploit others, consistently upholding his reputation for fairness—an impressive feat indeed.

Chen Guo then posed another question, "Regarding the mission 'The Lament of Five Dragon County'... we need to defeat the boss, Ansu. Does anyone know his whereabouts?"

Zhou Tao spoke up, "Ansu is likely deep within Cold Crow Ridge, a place we've yet to explore. In the upper right corner of this map lies the ruins of Five Dragon County, and beneath those ruins, a vast underground city awaits—akin to something out of a storybook. The primary reward for completing the 'Lament of Five Dragon County' mission is the key to that city, and it's a mission we simply can't afford to abandon."

Reflecting on the astonishing rewards he had earned from his last adventure in Doonatel, Chen Guo inwardly acknowledged the richness of resources within such tales and the importance of not forsaking them.

"If I'm not mistaken, the crux of this mission hinges on the Cold Crow Grass," Chen Guo pondered aloud.

"Cold Crow Grass?" came the chorus of puzzled voices.

With a serene smile, Chen Guo clarified, "The Cold Crow Grass has a unique effect—upon use, one can transform into a Cold Crow for a full hundred seconds. The standard approach to this mission would likely involve gathering a significant quantity of the grass, assuming the guise of a Cold Crow, and infiltrating their ranks to locate Ansu. Once we find him, we'll need to lure him to a secluded spot to execute him. Otherwise, the sheer number of these formidable Cold Crows would overwhelm any ordinary team."

Here, the average Cold Crow boasted a combat strength of 20,000, while the elite ones soared at 40,000. They swarmed the rugged mountain ranges, densely packed in flight. Engaging even one could potentially draw the wrath of the entire flock—a risk not even a team of legends would take lightly.

Scratching his head, Zhou Tao remarked, "Village Chief, your wisdom is truly unparalleled. So the plan is to blend in as a Cold Crow, huh? With so many monstrous creatures, a direct attack could easily spell disaster. Are we really going to disguise ourselves as Cold Crows to infiltrate?"

Chen Guo's smile broadened with confidence, "With me here, there's no need for disguises or sneaking around the flock. It would be a shame to let such a bounty of Cold Crows go to waste. I'll take to the skies with my sword, clear them out, and then we can focus on Ansu."

Zhou Tao raised his thumb in admiration, "The Village Chief is as fierce as ever!"

"Village Chief is invincible!"

"Village Chief is unstoppable!"

Everyone else also gave a thumbs up in agreement.

Chen Guo's combat strength had soared to over two million. They were confident that with his formidable power, he could easily wipe out the Frost Crows without breaking a sweat.

Despite the surprisingly high combat strength of the Frost Crows, they were no match for Chen Guo; in comparison, they were insignificant.

Chen Guo proposed, "I've got an idea. Our Flame Dragon Village is still short of 100 trial challengers above level 30, right? How many more do we need to reach that mark?"

Zhou Tao responded, "We're 24 short. These 24 are mostly above level 20. By tomorrow night, they should hit level 30. We're making good time as it is."

It was clear that Zhou Tao had an intimate understanding of the goings-on in Flame Dragon Village.

Chen Guo wasn't satisfied, "But we need to speed things up. Go fetch those 24 and bring them into our fold. I'm going to take down a slew of Frost Crows later and they can piggyback on the kills to rack up some points. Once we've dealt with the Frost Crows, they're sure to surpass level 30."