Chapter 12: Tears of Sorrowful Light

After hearing San Nei’s words, Li Bin couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. Indeed, the Black Moonstone Guild had anticipated every possible outcome. What could Li Bin do alone? What he needed to do now was to find his own City Core and leave this land of strife before the Black Moonstone Guild fully occupied the Bloodthirsty Wasteland.

Just as Li Bin was packing up to leave, he heard the clear sound of footsteps approaching from the distance. His heart tightened, fearing that Honghong Niu and his men had caught up, and he quickly signaled the Forest Pursuers to ready themselves for battle.

Soon, a squad of soldiers appeared before Li Bin. At a glance, he saw they were not minotaur guards under Honghong Niu’s command, but rather a group of human guards clad in chainmail, draped in purple cloaks, each wielding a flail the size of a human head.

Yet, Li Bin did not underestimate them just because they were only first-tier human soldiers. After all, any unit appearing here had likely been trained by their master to at least level six.

Receiving no system notification, Li Bin naturally thought of the figure adept at advanced illusions. He waved his hand, and the Forest Pursuers behind him raised their composite bows in unison.

“Please don’t attack; I am not your enemy. I mean no harm,” said a boyish-looking child who stepped out from behind the guards. He wore a crimson priest’s robe trimmed with gold, a jet-black, square-headed hammer at his waist, and thick leather gauntlets on his hands. At least ten auxiliary spells shimmered across his body, making him appear dazzlingly radiant.

Behind the boy followed a burly man, holding aloft a battle standard. The flag depicted in detail the image of a golden eye shedding a single tear, cradled within silver angel wings. On his back, the man carried a two-handed greatsword taller than himself, its ancient floral engravings catching Li Bin’s attention.

Upon seeing the greatsword, Reed seemed to recall something as well, and the atmosphere grew tense.

At last, the boy broke the silence with a smile. “Let me introduce myself. I am the VIP player Tear of Sorrow (provided by Reader Joy-of-Death), Human Inquisitor, level 3/4. Well, I’m here on a quest. Could you tell me if this is the Silver Dragon’s Tomb?”

Before Li Bin could reply, Reed stepped forward and fixed his gaze on Tear of Sorrow. “Is your quest the Silver Dragon Slayer?”

“Yes, how did you know?” Tear of Sorrow jumped up in excitement. “Gao Bo, bring the ancient sword here! This must be the place!”

At his words, the burly man behind Tear of Sorrow planted the battle standard into the ground and drew the two-handed greatsword from his back. Meanwhile, more guards emerged from the depths of the passage, escorting six human priests toward them.

“Hold on. As someone who arrived first, may I ask what’s going on here?” Li Bin stopped Tear of Sorrow and inquired.

“Of course. Actually, it’s simple. To live in Big Sister’s city, I took on a long-term quest…” As he instructed his men to set up an array over the dragon tomb, now riddled with pits from Li Bin’s excavation, Tear of Sorrow explained.

It turned out that Tear of Sorrow had been dragged into the game by a less-than-reliable cousin and was abandoned at the start. If not for the help of a kind and adorable older girl, he would have been stranded who knows where. To repay her—and, truthfully, to pursue her—he took on this long-term quest. The two-handed greatsword carried by Gao Bo, his steward, was the primary quest item: a silver dragon-slaying sword forged specifically to kill silver dragons. Tear of Sorrow’s quest was to use this sword to slay at least fifty silver dragons.

“You must be joking. Those are dragons—real dragons!” Li Bin exclaimed. “A single dragon is at least a level 20 creature. How could you possibly defeat one?”

“No, only level 13,” Reed interjected. “Lesser silver dragons are level 13. At level 14, they choose their profession. I’ve heard of the Silver Dragon Slayer Sword—it gains attributes with every silver dragon slain. Once fifty silver dragons are killed, the sword becomes powerful enough for a new player to easily defeat a level 20 high dragon.”

“Fine, but what are you doing at the Silver Dragon’s Tomb?” Li Bin asked helplessly.

“Part of the preliminary quest. My steward Gao Bo said that to kill silver dragons, you first have to destroy their tombs. Otherwise, they’ll escape to the tombs when near death, and we won’t be able to obtain proof of their demise,” Tear of Sorrow replied in all seriousness.

Hearing this, Li Bin sighed inwardly. With this development, the chances of finding dragon tombs would drastically decrease, making the soil from the tombs in his possession even more valuable.

Time passed swiftly as they chatted. Soon, the priests under Tear of Sorrow’s command finished setting up the magical array. Gao Bo plunged the Silver Dragon Slayer Sword heavily into the center of the array, and Tear of Sorrow poured a vial of silver-red liquid over the blade.

From outside the array, Li Bin and Reed watched Tear of Sorrow’s every move. As the silver-red liquid seeped into the soil, black smoke began to rise from the Silver Dragon Slayer Sword.

Both Li Bin and Reed felt the range of the dragon tomb rapidly shrinking, being absorbed into the sword.

“What is that?” Li Bin asked.

“Silver dragon’s blood. It has instant healing properties and is a rare alchemical ingredient. That boy poured it onto the tomb to activate the power within the sword and destroy the dragon tomb,” Reed explained calmly, though a flicker of excitement shone in his eyes.

Seeing Reed’s reaction, Li Bin suspected that if he hadn’t shown up, Reed might have joined Tear of Sorrow’s team.

After a moment’s thought, Li Bin said to Reed, “Go and ask Tear of Sorrow if he’s interested in a long-term partnership. After all, we share a common goal.”

A flash of excitement passed through Reed’s eyes as he hurried over. By this time, Tear of Sorrow had already had his steward, Gao Bo, put away the Silver Dragon Slayer Sword. Hearing Reed’s proposal, Tear of Sorrow nodded enthusiastically.

“You want to take on the silver dragons too? That’s wonderful! Why don’t we form an alliance—a coalition against the silver dragons?” Tear of Sorrow grasped Li Bin’s hand eagerly. “For this quest, I don’t even plan to build a city. When my forces need a base for supplies, perhaps you could provide…”

Li Bin could only offer a wry smile. He had intended to take advantage of the boy, but in the end, he was the one outmaneuvered.

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