The Undead Vanguard and a Timely Aid

Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue arrived at the Mage Guild, seeking an audience with the Guild Master. He had just returned, and upon hearing their request, promptly ushered them in.

Upon seeing them enter, Guild Master Harick immediately spoke. “My subordinates have informed me,” he began. “It’s my fault for not making prior arrangements. The teleportation array is already active, and if people like us approach it, it will alert the Undead. Furthermore…”

He then cast a glance towards the Imperial City at the center. The Imperial City was not yet open to players, so while Ye Jue knew a city lay there, Lin Shenyue had no idea what Harick was looking at. She assumed he was concerned about the situation in Vermilion Bird City.

Harick pondered for a moment before finally asking, “I heard you also destroyed a node of the teleportation array?”

Seeing Ye Jue’s subtle nod, Lin Shenyue replied, “Yes, we accidentally discovered that the defenses at that node were higher than the others. We seized the opportunity to destroy it, but since we alerted the enemy, we didn’t attempt another strike.”

Harick nodded in agreement. “You did very well. Your ability to destroy a node significantly reduced the number of Undead warriors, and we will address this thoroughly later. Our immediate priority is to stop this catastrophe.”

“What should we do?” Lin Shenyue inquired.

Harick frowned. “It has been a long time since we last encountered Undead warriors. First, you must gather information on their vanguard troops. Once collected, hand it directly to the steward.

“Our high-ranking officials will be departing soon, so this task will fall entirely to you.”

[Do you accept the quest: Investigate the Undead Vanguard?]

“Yes.” “Yes.”

Lin Shenyue affirmed, “Understood. We will investigate thoroughly.”

Harick nodded. “Further actions will be communicated by the steward. For now, you should proceed with your investigation without delay.”

Lin Shenyue did not linger after Harick dismissed them. She understood that at such a time, it was best to leave promptly to avoid incurring the NPCs’ displeasure.

As Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue exited, they saw someone approaching them. The person drew near and said, “I am Arry, the steward here. You can come to me later; I will assign you quests.”

Lin Shenyue nodded in understanding. “Alright, we will find you after completing the quest.”

The steward nodded and departed. Lin Shenyue then asked, “Where do we go now?”

Ye Jue considered for a moment. “I’ll take you to have a look first. The Undead siege will begin soon. Although our experience gain time for today is used up, I’ll help you familiarize yourself with the area.”

As he spoke, he sent a message to Divine Wind, who had just logged on.

Lin Shenyue nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “The Undead are considered dark-aligned, aren’t they?”

Ye Jue chuckled. “Yes, but to guard against high-damage light-aligned magic, they’ve already preemptively added defensive arrays against light magic to their magical formations. Therefore, your skills will only deal 100% damage to the monsters, not the usual 200%.”

Lin Shenyue nodded, indicating her comprehension. The two then arrived at the city gate, finding it under strict guard. Hundreds of soldiers stood at attention, facing the area outside the city.

Some Undead forces were already present outside the city, and numerous players were engaging them. The initial Undead troops were relatively weak and few in number, allowing even newly level 10 players to defeat them by teaming up.

Killing Undead granted 50% more experience than monsters of the same level, and these kills were recorded. The more Undead one defeated, the greater the rewards received upon final settlement.

Ye Jue surveyed the area outside the city. “Let’s go,” he said. “The initial monsters aren’t strong. We need to kill some to gather specific information about them.”

Lin Shenyue nodded and followed Ye Jue out of the city gate. The soldiers at the gate glanced at them. “Two brave warriors, unusual activity has been detected ahead. Please be careful when leaving the city.”

Lin Shenyue replied, “Thank you for the warning. We will be careful.”

The soldiers exchanged glances, then, under Lin Shenyue’s puzzled gaze, one asked, “Could we trouble you with something?”

Lin Shenyue paused, then quickly realized this was a quest offer, likely due to her high charm attribute leading to elevated initial favorability. She immediately responded, “Please tell us what you need. We will do our best to complete it.”

The soldier looked at Ye Jue, then returned his gaze to Lin Shenyue. “It’s like this: most of us on duty here are from a small town ten kilometers southeast of Vermilion Bird City. Due to the current situation, we cannot return. Could you please deliver a message to our families and check if they are safe?”

Lin Shenyue looked at Ye Jue, who immediately messaged her in the party chat: [I haven’t been to that small town.] In truth, that town no longer existed in Ye Jue’s previous playthrough; it had apparently been destroyed for some reason at the beginning of the first expansion pack.

Lin Shenyue considered it. “Yes, we will go, but the journey is quite long. Is there anything we can use for transportation?”

****

The soldiers exchanged glances, and finally, a person who appeared to be a junior captain stepped forward. “I can temporarily lend you our horses for a period,” he said. “However, we hope you can complete the task as quickly as possible. After all, if something were to happen and we lacked horses, our superiors would likely hold us accountable.”

Ye Jue was surprised that the NPCs were willing to lend them warhorses. Military horses were considered excellent mounts in Divine Realm, as they were linked to the kingdom’s army and very difficult to acquire. One typically needed to pay a high price and have military connections.

Mounts, like equipment, had a tier system, but they were much harder to obtain. Even in the late game, many players only had silver-tier mounts. A warhorse, being a silver-tier mount, was considered top-tier for the early game.

The soldiers led two horses over, and Lin Shenyue checked their attributes.

[Military Warhorse (Silver-tier): Speed +150%, HP +10% in combat, Physical Attack +10%, Physical Defense +10%. Special: Charge. The warhorse’s speed increases by an additional 150% for 5 seconds, after which its speed drops to 50% of its original. Cooldown: 1 minute.]

Ye Jue stepped forward. “But neither of us knows riding skills.”

The soldier captain frowned, then after a moment of thought, replied, “I can give you riding skill books, but this will serve as an advance on your quest rewards. We will provide additional rewards later. However, if you fail the quest, we will reclaim the skills.”

Ye Jue was secretly delighted. Riding skills were not easy to acquire, requiring complex procedures that no one had discovered or had the ability to complete at this stage of the game. They usually became available around level 15.

He was surprised that a mere level 10 quest could yield such a skill book, but judging by the reward, the quest would likely not be simple.

Lin Shenyue expressed her gratitude. “Thank you very much.”

The soldier captain waved a hand. “It’s nothing. We just hope you can complete the mission quickly and bring back information soon so we can rest easy.”

“We will,” Lin Shenyue affirmed.

After learning the riding skills, Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue mounted their horses and departed from the city gate.