Online Game: Evil Dragon Against The Heaven - 175
“Oh la la! Master, something bad seems to be happening!” Guo Guo swayed her little head, glancing back and forth while gleefully exclaiming. Then, leaning close to Ye Tian Xie’s ear, she whispered in her sweet and coquettish voice, “That uncle in strange clothes is so scary. He has a terrifying skill called… Glory of the Mercenary King! If he’s defeated within one minute of reappearing, there’s a 50% chance it’ll activate. Then he’ll revive from the dead, and all his comrades will resurrect too!”
Ye Tian Xie: “!!”
“Oh la la! Master is so unlucky… Eh? Waaaaah! Master, look, look, look! They’re already starting to get up! How scary… Should we run away first?”
As Guo Guo pretended to scream in panic, the fallen Mercenary King, supporting himself with his sword, began to rise slowly from the ground. At the same time, those who had been defeated earlier—Sword Soul, Spear Soul, Blade Soul, Shadow Soul, Bow Soul, Summoning Soul, Flame Soul, Thunder Soul, Wind Soul, Earth Soul, Soul of Unmoving, and Soul of Holy Word—also began to stand up, one after another.
Thirteen pairs of eyes from different directions locked onto Ye Tian Xie.
Through the Evil Dragon’s Eye, Ye Tian Xie saw the information clearly—they hadn’t just revived. Even their health bars were fully restored!
At this moment, Ye Tian Xie wanted to shout four words: “You son of a—!”
Glory of the Mercenary King—a skill terrifying enough to claim lives if triggered. Its effect wasn’t about attack, debuffs, or support. It resurrected all members of the Heaven’s Soul Mercenary Group, including the Mercenary King himself!
Just imagine: after painstakingly defeating one enemy after another, overcoming increasingly difficult obstacles, and finally slaying the final boss… only to find every enemy revived and now joining forces to attack you. The despair such a scene would bring was unimaginable.
What made Ye Tian Xie grit his teeth even more was that the skill’s activation condition required the Mercenary King to be defeated within one minute! To prevent the activation of this unknown hidden skill, Ye Tian Xie had intentionally chosen to finish him as quickly as possible, ensuring he had no opportunity to unleash it. Ironically, this approach had directly triggered Glory of the Mercenary King.
That said, the activation condition had its own rationale. For ordinary players, defeating the Mercenary King in under a minute was impossible. A 12-player team averaging Level 20 simply couldn’t accomplish such a feat. Therefore, this desperate scenario would never arise. However, if someone or a team did manage to defeat the Mercenary King within one minute, it would signify extraordinary combat strength—strength that also meant they were qualified to face this harrowing challenge.
For typical players, the final enemy was merely a Level 20 Lord Boss. But for the powerful—or extraordinarily powerful—players, triggering Glory of the Mercenary King was a possibility. Could this hidden skill be a branch of the quest?
As Ye Tian Xie pondered, a notification sounded in his ears.
【Ding… You have successfully triggered the hidden branch of the system quest 《Relic of the Mercenary King》—Glory of the Mercenary King. You will face an assault from all resurrected members of the Heaven’s Soul Mercenary Group. If you manage to defeat them, you will receive an additional reward. Good luck to you.】
The system notification provided the answer and somewhat eased Ye Tian Xie’s indignation. This was indeed an exceptionally difficult-to-trigger hidden branch, with a difficulty level several times greater than the original quest. But the greater the challenge, the richer the 《additional reward》 promised by the system was likely to be. The four words, 【Good luck to you】 perfectly encapsulated how terrifying the upcoming enemies would be.
The initial shock faded quickly, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Ye Tian Xie’s face.
Thirteen enemies—ten Level 20 three-star elites and three Level 20 Lord Bosses, each of a different profession. Their combined strength far surpassed enemies of the same level and rank.
It was an unprecedentedly luxurious and powerful lineup.
The smile on his lips gradually disappeared, and his heartbeat slowed as he regained his composure. When his gaze sharpened, the pressure weighing on his heart dissipated swiftly.
Since entering the world of Destiny, Ye Tian Xie had encountered countless thrilling experiences.
In the beginner village, without a class and with stats inferior to those of ordinary players, he had chosen to attempt the Abyss Trial, which no one could pass. In the third trial, he had faced twelve Level 10 three-star elites simultaneously. Compared to them, the current Level 20 three-star elites were much less threatening.
After over half an hour of struggle, he had miraculously cleared the trial unscathed, single-handedly defeating all twelve three-star elites.
The final stage of the Abyss Trial had pitted him against a Level 20 Lord Boss capable of killing him in an instant. Using every possible advantage, Ye Tian Xie had unleashed his abilities without reservation, dancing on the edge of danger. Time and time again, he narrowly evaded death, ultimately emerging victorious.
Before that, he had encountered his first Immortal Spirit Beast, a foe no player could possibly defeat. Yet, with his skill and Destiny’s Hour, the impossible had become a reality—he had slain an Immortal Spirit Beast alone.
So now, why should he be nervous or afraid? What reason did he have not to defeat them?
What was a Heaven’s Soul Mercenary Group? What did it matter that all thirteen of them were gathered? They might be the Heaven’s Soul, but he… he was Ye Tian Xie!
Still as a silent pond and fast as a thunderstorm, Ye Tian Xie’s body transitioned from absolute stillness to full motion in an instant—a burst of speed beyond the limits of an ordinary human. His first target was Soul of Holy Word, whose healing, resurrection, and support abilities posed the greatest threat.
The moment he moved, it was as if an invisible string had pulled at all thirteen opponents’ nerves. Their gazes, focused on Ye Tian Xie, grew colder. The heavy pressure momentarily slowed his advance. Shadow Soul vanished into stealth; Bow Soul raised his silver bow; Summoning Soul lifted his hands; Soul of Unmoving and the three warriors charged toward him. Meanwhile, the four mages’ bodies glimmered with magical auras of different colors.
The only one who didn’t act was the mercenary group’s leader. Shield in one hand and sword planted in the ground, he stood motionless, his sharp eyes tracking Ye Tian Xie’s every move—eyes that seemed alive, brimming with vitality.
Soul of Holy Word and Soul of Unmoving were positioned closest to the Mercenary King. As the group’s strongest defenders, one guarded in front of the king while the other held the rear. Their proximity naturally made them Ye Tian Xie’s initial targets. Sprinting forward, Ye Tian Xie swung a Dragon Fissure Slash toward Soul of Holy Word, who teleported away to avoid the attack. However, Ye Tian Xie had anticipated this move. At the exact moment of the teleport, his Dragon Shadow Slash activated, following Soul of Holy Word’s movement and piercing through his body. Turning swiftly, he unleashed another Dragon Fissure Slash with full force.
-1341, -1320.
As Ye Tian Xie landed two consecutive strikes on Soul of Holy Word, a cold whistle of an arrow slicing through the air reached his ears, while Soul of Unmoving’s shield crashed toward his body.
Around him, the four mages completed their chants, unleashing a storm of spells: lightning from above, flying boulders, walls of fire spreading across the ground, and horizontal gusts of wind, all converging on Ye Tian Xie’s position in the span of a second.
Faced with the combined pressure of the shield’s impact, the arrow’s whistle, and the simultaneous magical assault, Ye Tian Xie was forced to leap backward repeatedly to evade the onslaught. As he regained his footing, a cold dagger suddenly appeared from the shadows, stabbing toward his back.
Bang!
Already aware of Shadow Soul’s movements, Ye Tian Xie preemptively struck with Destiny’s Hour, landing a heavy blow on Shadow Soul. Missing his attack, and having already experienced Ye Tian Xie’s devastating power, Shadow Soul didn’t hesitate to retreat into the darkness.
Meanwhile, healing light enveloped Soul of Holy Word, instantly restoring all the health he had just lost to Ye Tian Xie’s attacks.
The three warriors closed in, joining Soul of Unmoving to form an impenetrable wall in front of Soul of Holy Word and the Mercenary King. After being revived by Glory of the Mercenary King, their intelligence seemed vastly improved. The synergy of the group had evolved to terrifying levels: warriors and shields engaging in melee, the archer providing ranged pressure, the assassin striking with bursts of damage, the mages bombarding with spells, the summoner unleashing endless summons, and the Soul of Holy Word healing and supporting relentlessly.
In an instant, Ye Tian Xie felt the pressure around him skyrocket.
This group, equipped with perfect professions and powerful abilities, wasn’t like the mindless rampaging Berserk Bull he had encountered in the beginner village. With the Mercenary King as their core, the souls of the Heaven’s Soul Mercenary Group seemed to have awakened. While their strength was far from what it had been in life, their coordination and teamwork had returned in full force.