Chapter 18: Please Call Me Big Cannon Brother

Soon, Ye Hen arrived at the main street of Mingsha Town. After purchasing some bread and water from the apothecary, he walked straight toward the northern part of the town.

Ye Hen hurriedly left the town, unaware that two assassins, pretending to be deep in conversation at the town entrance, glanced at him suspiciously.

Once Ye Hen had walked further away, one of the assassins, a short figure named Xuewu Xiaoji, suddenly activated his voice chat, "Judge Boss, I've spotted the one who killed the red player, Ye hen... Yes, just him... Right, we won't lose track of him... Qingtian Boss is coming over? Got it, I'll stay in touch with him."

After hanging up the call, the two assassins activated their stealth skills and followed Ye Hen from a distance of about 100 meters. The terrain here was flat with wide visibility, so they dared not follow too closely. Their mission was just to keep track without losing him, and soon, Xuewu and Qingtian would arrive with reinforcements to deal with Ye hen.

The two assassins cautiously kept their distance from Ye Hen. Once their stealth skill was about to expire, they would act as if nothing had happened and continue their journey. To their relief, Ye Hen was so focused on his path that he didn't look back once as he left the town.

After more than ten minutes, Ye Hen finally slowed his pace. He was entirely focused on grinding experience, unaware of the fact that he was being followed. It wasn't that he was careless; everyone has moments of oversight.

This was a desolate desert area with open terrain, perfect for leveling up against the level 8 Sand Slope Wolves. Ye Hen chose this spot because, while the wolves had strong attacks, their health and defense were relatively low compared to other high-level monsters, making them easier to kill. Of course, if he couldn't withstand their powerful attacks, all that would be meaningless.

As Ye Hen surveyed his surroundings, his brows furrowed slightly. He spotted a powerful player single-handedly fighting a Sand Slope Wolf. What surprised him even more was that this player was a priest!

The priest, dressed in pristine white robes, was battling a Sand Slope Wolf. First, he cast Judgment to draw aggro, and then his silver staff glowed faintly as he cast a precise attack on the wolf— it was the rare skill, Mind Blast!

Ye Hen was stunned. Mind Blast was one of the highest damage-dealing skills for priests. Even after the game had been out for half a year, very few priests had mastered it. Yet this player had already learned it within a few days of the game's release, which impressed Ye Hen and reminded him just how many skilled players there were.

The powerful priest noticed Ye Hen from several dozen meters away but only glanced at him briefly before continuing to focus on the wolf. Ye Hen could tell from the priest's positioning and skill timing that this was someone with excellent technique, just like himself.

"Looks like I have to put in more effort," Ye Hen muttered, casting one last glance at the priest before rushing toward a nearby Sand Slope Wolf. If this priest had already learned Mind Blast, it meant he was at least level 6.

---

Sand Slope Wolf

Health: 1000

Attack: 80

Defense: 20

Backstab!

Ye Hen quickly performed a Backstab, then pivoted to dodge the wolf's retaliation, dropping low to land a Bone Shatter into its muscular, sandy-colored thigh.

System: You inflicted a 2-second paralysis effect on the Sand Slope Wolf.

-90, -40, -26. The critical hit damage showed, and his intermediate dagger proficiency significantly boosted the damage, including the combo bonus that added 20% extra damage to the total.

The Sand Slope Wolf lost 14% of its health, but the damage wasn't done yet. Taking advantage of the wolf's paralysis, Ye Hen's Bull Horn Dagger struck the wolf's abdomen with deadly precision.

Lunge! -50, -36 damage. The second combo hit appeared, and the wolf's health rapidly dropped.

System: Dagger Proficiency increased to Intermediate 10%.

With the wolf still paralyzed, Ye Hen performed another Lunge, the sharp blade sinking deep into the wolf's body.

"Howl!" The Sand Slope Wolf let out a horrific scream, raising its claws and charging at Ye Hen.

The wolf's attack speed was fast, and Ye Hen's expression turned serious as he dodged the strike, then retaliated with a Backstab to its back.

The wolf howled in agony and lunged at Ye Hen with reckless abandon. Ye Hen knew better than to challenge the wolf's sharp fangs and sidestepped, retreating a few steps.

As the wolf leaped at him once more, Ye Hen executed a high-difficulty maneuver that made the powerful priest curse under his breath. Just as the wolf was about to land on his chest, Ye Hen suddenly crouched, his knees sinking into the hot sand. His Bull Horn Dagger shot upward, piercing the wolf's abdomen.

"Damn, who is this guy? Could it be Black Funeral? But didn't Sister Yue say Black Funeral was in the Gran Kingdom?" The priest muttered to himself, confused. He had just witnessed a remarkable display of skill and suspected Ye Hen might be the number one assassin in the professional player rankings.

The priest quietly observed Ye Hen's battle, growing frustrated as he realized the Sand Slope Wolf hadn't even landed a blow on the assassin. When had such a powerful player emerged? "No way, I need to go check this out."

Ye Hen collected the materials from the fallen wolf and suddenly turned around, locking eyes with the priest behind him. As a rogue, Ye Hen's first instinct was always to prepare for a fight whenever a stranger approached.

"Hey, buddy, may I ask who you are? I've never seen you before," the priest said, studying Ye Hen curiously. Given Ye Hen's impressive skills, the priest assumed he was someone well-known.

"I've never seen you before," Ye Hen replied nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh..." The priest was momentarily stunned. While he wasn't at the very top of the professional rankings, he was still a well-known figure in the online gaming world. "Are you sure? Think carefully, you should have seen me."

"I told you, I haven't seen you before," Ye Hen responded with the same indifferent expression. The priest might have been famous, but Ye Hen honestly had never encountered him.

"Are you really sure?" The priest's tone grew impatient, his disbelief showing. "With your skills, you don't know any of the top ten players?"

"You're crazy," Ye Hen said, growing annoyed at the priest's repetitive questioning.

The priest chuckled and said, "Haha, looks like you really haven't seen me!"

Seeing the priest laughing like a fool, Ye Hen raised an eyebrow and asked irritably, "What's your name?"

Though Ye Hen knew many experts by name, he rarely paid attention to their appearances. In his past life, he mainly stayed near Mingsha Town, so he wasn't too familiar with famous players. Still, he had seen many posts about top players, even if he never bothered clicking on them.

The priest seemed to have been waiting for this question, striking a pose, flipping his short hair, and loudly declaring, "Please call me Big Cannon Brother!"

Ye Hen blinked. He wasn't shocked by the absurdity of the name, but he couldn't help but ask, "Is it really you?"

"Big Cannon Brother" was one of the most legendary players in the online gaming community, known for staying in the top ten of the professional rankings for a long time. He was the only priest to ever make it into the top rankings. Ye Hen had always imagined Big Cannon Brother as a burly, middle-aged man, so it was hard to reconcile the name with the young, reserved-looking priest in front of him.

"What's wrong, don't I look cool? You think Big Cannon Brother is handsome?" The priest asked, fixing his hair again.

"No," Ye Hen replied seriously, "I'm just disappointed by your appearance."

Big Cannon Brother frowned. "Damn, that's harsh."

Ye Hen shrugged, "I'm just speaking the truth."

"Seriously, you have no sense of humor," Big Cannon Brother said, watching Ye Hen's unamused face. He felt an impulse to kick him but suppressed it, instead grinning slyly. "Hey, do you want to team up and hunt wolves? Together, our leveling efficiency will be way better than just 1+1."

Ye Hen thought for a moment and nodded. His main goal now was to level up to level 8 quickly, and having a priest to heal him would save him time from eating bread.

System: You have joined Big Cannon Brother's team.

Ye Hen checked the team interface. Big Cannon Brother was level 6, not the highest, but definitely among the top priests in the game.

"Ye hen, nice name," Big Cannon Brother said, nodding approvingly. "But why are you still only level 4?"

Ye Hen glanced at him indifferently. He didn't feel like explaining and quickly charged toward another Sand Slope Wolf. The last thing he wanted was to explain why his level was so low. Would he have to tell him he accepted an A-level mission?

TL Note:

I hope you're enjoying the translation! If you like my work and would like to support me, feel free to leave a tip at my Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/sheinzo. Any support is truly appreciated and helps me continue improving my translations. Thank you so much for your kind support!