Chapter 129: The Sword and the Rose

Murong Shanshan was utterly astonished. "Doesn't that make this skill invincible? Mages and priests who possess this skill would be impossible to fight."

"That's not necessarily true," I replied, swinging my sword at the boss again to explain. "The biggest flaw of this skill is that it only reflects the first few magical attacks. Experienced mages will certainly use small, rapid-fire spells to break the reflection immediately. For instance, wind-type magic like 'Wind Blade Barrage' only deals a few dozen points of damage per hit, making it perfect for dismantling the reflection."

"That’s true. It seems this skill isn't something one can learn from a trainer, either. I'm the first one I've seen with it. I must keep this a secret; it could be a trump card in future guild wars."

I smiled and remained silent. The boss in front of us finally finished its display of power, its attack speed slowing down once more. At the same time, its health had dropped to a point where it was barely visible.

"It's almost over!" Lu Xuehan called out from behind.

"Time to finish this! Wrap it up!" Murong Shanshan swiftly unleashed a sword beam.

This boss, whose health pool had seemed bottomless, finally collapsed like a small hill. A pile of shimmering items scattered across the ground. Lu Xuehan rushed over, and Xu Lin and Xin Yu, who had been observing from a distance, quickly hurried over as well. With such a massive haul, there had to be some purple-tier equipment. Given the boss’s level, which was at least level 60, there might even be orange-tier gear!

Murong Shanshan blinked, then lightning-fast, snatched an item from the ground and tossed it into her bag. Although she was quick, I still caught a glimpse—it was a white sheet of parchment: a Guild Creation Token!

"I'm heading back to town. You guys can split the rest of the loot among your guild!" With that parting remark, Murong Shanshan vanished back to the city.

Lu Xuehan and I were both stunned. Murong Shanshan had finally gotten what she wanted!

"Lin Fan, take a look at the gear. Sister Lin and Xin Yu are here, too," Lu Xuehan said with a smile.

I hurried to pick up the equipment from the ground. There were five pieces of gear in total, two skill books, and nearly 2,000 gold coins. I have to admit, the bosses in "Moonlight" are certainly not stingy.

[Temptation Bow] (Bow – Purple Equipment)
Attack: 280-375
Stamina: +51
Agility: +52
Intelligence: +42
Use: Attacks have a certain chance to knock back the opponent, interrupting their spells and skills, and stunning them in place for 2 seconds.
Additional Special Skill: Sprite Fire
Required Level: 40
...

I drew a sharp breath. The attack power of this level 40 bow was actually significantly higher than that level 42 purple axe, and the bonus stats were incredibly powerful. Being able to interrupt skills and spells while pinning an opponent for two seconds was perfect for a long-range archer. The bow’s name was even similar to Xin Yu’s, so it was clearly destined for her.

I continued to check the remaining gear—

[Dark Power Guard] (Armor – Purple Equipment)
Defense: 232
Stamina: +54
Strength: +55
Agility: +48
Intelligence: +42
Additional: Has a certain chance to absorb the opponent's attack damage to restore your own health.
Required Level: 40
...

Another piece for me. This level 40 purple armor had a defense of 232; my previous blue armor only had 110, and Murong Shanshan’s level 30 purple armor only had 124. This piece’s defense was off the charts. Ordinarily, a level 40 purple armor with 180 defense would already be considered quite good.

I finally had my fourth piece of purple gear, excluding my necklace and ring! I equipped it immediately, and my stats shifted dramatically: my defense hit 627, and my health reached 3,700.

Still no orange gear. Let's see what else there is—

[Goddess's Embrace] (Cloak – Purple Equipment)
Defense: 102
Stamina: +52
Intelligence: +54
Agility: +36
Additional: Increases physical defense by 10%.
Required Level: 40
...

A very nice cloak for a mage; it would be perfect for Xu Lin, whose vitality wasn't very high.

I finally gave up hope; it seemed there would be no orange equipment this time. Looking at the remaining two items, they were, as expected, nothing higher than blue tier.

A blue mage's leggings and a pair of blue mage boots. I gave the purple gear to Xu Lin, the top-tier purple bow went to Xin Yu, and I kept the purple armor for myself. There were also two skill books: one was a high-level skill for thieves, and the other was a passive skill for swordsmen—Ice-Cold Sword!

[Ice-Cold Sword]: Swordsman passive skill. Attacks have a certain chance to trigger an "Ice Spike" effect, dealing massive damage to the target and nearby enemies, with an added frost effect.
...

Damn! This was a hit! No matter how you looked at it, this skill was a super-powerful finishing move!

I learned it immediately. A new icon showing several ice spikes appeared in my passive skill bar. It showed a 5% trigger rate. That was at level one; as the level increased, the trigger rate should improve.

I couldn't help it—I was itching to try it out!

I needed to find a place to test this new skill. Scanning the surroundings, a few level 45 monsters were looming nearby, eyeing us hungrily.

I dashed forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes!

"Whoa, really? Lin Fan, did a piece of purple gear scramble your brain?" Xin Yu said with a giggle, patting her ample chest.

Xu Lin stared at Xin Yu’s purple longbow, drooling slightly while laughing, "Not at all, he probably just wants to test his new skill."

Two minutes later, I had to admit that my luck wasn't great for anything other than looting gear. With the 5% trigger rate of Ice-Cold Sword, I had to strike nearly 50 times before it finally activated—

Several ice-blue spikes erupted from the blade of my Dark Sword, piercing through the chest of the monster and striking the others behind it. The primary level 45 target lost more than half of its health instantly; a rough estimate put the damage at at least 2,000.

The monsters behind it didn't fare much better. The damage from the ice spikes drained over 1,000 health from them, and the frost effect coated their skin in a thin film, slowing their movement and attack speed, turning them into fish on a chopping block.

Xin Yu and Xu Lin watched my performance with smiles, while the group Murong Shanshan had brought had already returned to the city, likely having received her notification.

Before I could finish off the monsters, a clear system prompt rang out—

System Notification: Murong Shanshan has established the "Sword and Rose" guild. The server will undergo maintenance from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM tonight. Please log off accordingly; we are not responsible for any losses caused by maintenance.

Murong Shanshan really had managed to establish the guild before Blood Red!