Scourge Messenger

Chapter 319 As an Enemy
Yan Qing and Murong Hui walked along the side of the road, with two dragon servants flying beside them, basically shielding them from most shooting angles from behind and to the sides.

"Is he an assassin?" Yan Qing asked.

“Impossible. If the assassin’s surveillance skills were that bad, I would have discovered him long ago.” Murong Hui was chewing on a spicy snack she had just gotten from the nostalgic convenience store, her mouth greasy from the food. “He should just be an ordinary person.”

The "ordinary people" that Murong Hui mentioned were not truly ordinary people. Those who could enter the Demon Gathering Land were at least messengers from powerful clans in the North.

Compared to someone with Murong Hui's background and strength, they do seem quite 'ordinary'.

"Coming for you?"

"If they harbor ill intentions towards me, then their strength is far too weak. But if they have good intentions towards me, they shouldn't be sneaking around following me. They should be speaking to me openly and honestly. Although I am the aloof and noble head of the Murong family, I am not the kind of person who keeps people at arm's length."

Murong Hui sucked out a spicy strip with her mouth.
"So they definitely had malicious intent, but it wasn't aimed at me... at least not entirely at me."

"That's me."

Yan Qing was not surprised at all that he was being targeted. There were just too many reasons. Any one of his tokens was at least a third-rank rare treasure. He could control two dragon servant puppets. He was a masked outsider. Even his close relationship with Murong Hui might make him a thorn in the side of some people. Don't be fooled by Murong Hui's carefree attitude. When she said that she was the darling pearl of the North, Yan Qing did not question her at all. At most, he corrected her by saying that she was a black pearl.

"Would you mind if I took action?" Yan Qing asked.

“No.” Murong Hui shook her head: “If you still won’t give up after seeing me with you, you’re definitely not my friend. If you’re not my friend, and you’re also my enemy, then you’re my enemy too.”

She clenched her fists: "Even if everyone in the Guiding Lands is your enemy, I will stand with you!"

Yan Qing's face darkened: "Why should I become enemies with everyone in the Demon Gathering Land?"

"But I want to try being an enemy of the whole world!"

"You've read too many novels about the Primordial Daoist."

Yan Qing raised his bracelet and selected a puppet card:

"Second-stage mechanism - Self-destructing Grand Transport Dragon Cart"

Attack Power: 200

Health: 50

"Trait - Deathrattle - Thunder Bomb: Causes a large-area explosion that deals 800 damage."

Yan Qing now has two dragon servants, one ascended and one primordial. Yan Qing naturally replaced the primordial dragon servant with the "self-destructing dragon chariot". Then, a dragon-headed war chariot made entirely of bronze suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Yan Qing turned around and pointed to the house where people were hiding in the distance: "Crash it."

Whoosh! The Grand Transport Dragon Chariot spewed forth billowing flames, its surface cracking with lava-colored fissures as if about to explode, as it roared across the street and crashed into houses. Yan Qing vaguely heard panicked screams and saw people attacking the Grand Transport Dragon Chariot from the windows.

Oh no, we're doomed.

Although the Grand Dragon Chariot only has 50 health, the houses have no attack power. Collapsing the houses will not cause the Grand Dragon Chariot to lose any health. On the contrary, the attack launched by the opponent is the key to triggering the self-destruct deathrattle.

With a deafening roar, all the houses in a small area nearby were destroyed. Although 800 points of damage is not high, if the defensive token of a low-level courier is not rare, it may not be able to withstand the instantaneous burst of 800 points. Even if the victim survives, they will at least be severely injured.

Yan Qing didn't care whether they lived or died, nor did he intend to negotiate or reason with them. He was simply using this to show his attitude: anyone who dares to extend their claws should be prepared to have them chopped off.

He never intended to play it safe. Although his strategy focused on developing his strength within the Thieves' Den, his tactics were always unbridled. To be more precise, Yan Qing only dared to step out of the Thieves' Den when he was certain he could act with impunity.

After all, playing games can be tense, exciting, and even life-threatening, but in reality, Yan Qing would only willingly step into dangerous situations if he were completely out of his mind. He won't participate in any activity he's not absolutely certain of success with!

“They should have learned their lesson now,” Murong Hui said. “Unless they can gather a group of third-tier combatants like the assassin group that killed me, they will definitely not dare to target us again.”

"So what if they can gather a group of third-tier combatants?" Yan Qing casually selected a puppet card to replace the already defeated Great Fortune Dragon Chariot: "In the Land of Gathering Demons, we are invincible."

Before entering, Yan Qing was absolutely certain that there were no enemies in the Demon Gathering Grounds, capped at level 39, that could threaten his life (excluding demons that wouldn't attack him proactively). After entering, Yan Qing was even more certain that he was at the top of the food chain. Even disregarding Bingzi Jiaolin, the Ascended Dragon Servant in Yan Qing's possession—capable of resurrection, summoning a soul dragon upon death, and being affected by the "resurrection" mutation—was at least equivalent to the combat power of four fearless third-tier demons. If he could take it out, he could crush Pingcheng Military Town several times over!

So what if Yan Qing exposes his combat strength? Anyway, Foundation Establishment cultivators can't get in. Yan Qing can just find a door to go out and return to the Thieves' House. Even if he causes chaos in the Demon Gathering Land and makes enemies of everyone, what can they do to Yan Qing?
No, I've been influenced by Murong Hui. Why am I making enemies of everyone for no reason...?

Passing by the Blessing Wheel, Yan Qing tried his luck again, but this time his luck wasn't so good. The reward was "randomly obtained a mechanical puppet."

"Second-stage Mechanism - Blue Flame Dragon Motorcycle"

Attack Power: 500

"HP: 500" "Traits: Windfury, Armable, Rideable: The first attack in each battle will attack twice; can be [Armed] on other mechanical puppets; when the messenger is driving the Blue Flame Dragon Motorcycle, it is equivalent to gaining the [Armed] bonus."

[Armed] is a special effect that only appears on mechanical puppets. It adds puppet cards to other mechanical puppets, and all attributes and traits are also added. For example, if you [Armed] the Blue Flame Dragon Motorcycle onto any mechanical puppet, the latter will gain an additional 500/500 and the Windfury trait.

The "rideable" feature is quite interesting. Yan Qing can not only drive the Blue Flame Dragon Motorcycle, but also gain the 500/500 and Wind Fury traits? If a particularly powerful rideable mechanical puppet appears later, wouldn't the player be able to transform into a Gundam?
Yan Qing's heart was pounding just thinking about it. Although he had only stayed for two days and only seen a small part of the puppet system, he had already fully experienced the charm of this limited-time dungeon. If he didn't have to rush back to participate in the fourth thief quest, he would have liked to stay in the Demon Gathering Lands for a few more days to experience the various puppet builds.

Just as Yan Qing was fantasizing about unleashing his third power, Susanoo, and wreaking havoc, Murong Hui reminded him, "As far as I know, there shouldn't be any more Dragon Servants around here. We'll have to go further away to find some."

"Will it take a long time to walk?"

"No need, just follow me." Murong Hui blinked. "With Sister Hui leading the way, would you be allowed to take a wrong turn?"

They arrived at an unremarkable house. Yan Qing looked over but didn't notice anything amiss until Murong Hui punched the wall and smashed it open. Only then did he realize: it was a secret room without doors or windows!

Inside the secret chamber was a deep blue vortex door. Murong Hui took the lead, pulling Yan Qing along, as if afraid he would be timid. She held his hand tightly and said, "Trust me, don't be afraid, come with me!"

Passing through the vortex gate, they arrived at another dark chamber. Murong Hui kicked a hole through the wall and pointed to the white bone Ferris wheel in the distance, saying, "Look, we've traveled from the south of the Demon Gathering Land to the northwest in an instant! Aren't you amazing, Sister Hui? You even know about secrets like teleportation portals!"

The Bone Ferris Wheel, as the most obvious landmark, is perfect for determining one's location. Yan Qing glanced at the teleportation portal; he wasn't surprised that the Demon Gathering Land had a teleportation mechanism. After all, the Demon Gathering Land was vast and complex, and if there weren't shortcuts for fast travel, players would probably collectively bombard the forums and criticize the developers.

He glanced at Murong Hui, whose face clearly said, "Praise me!" and said helplessly, "Yes, yes, you're the best."

"I didn't mind you calling me Murong Hui before, but what should you call me now?"

Yan Qing ignored her and said, "Quickly lead the way to find the Dragon Servant."

"Just call out to me, or I won't lead the way." Murong Hui shook his arm. "Even the little fox calls me Sister Hui. You can't be a loner."

"Oh, little Hui."

Murong Hui was taken aback: "What did you call me?"

“Hui-meimei, Hui-meimei, Hui-meimei, what’s wrong?” Yan Qing raised her eyebrows: “You don’t look older than me—at least not in your mental age.”

Murong Hui let go of his hand, and shook her head twice as if she were drunk, her weasel-like ponytail spinning like a ribbon, lost in thought.

"Don't call me that anymore!" She suddenly used the Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger on Yan Qing, pursing her lips as she said, "At most... at most you can only call me that in private! Alright, let's go find the Dragon Servant!"

Yan Qing watched Murong Hui suddenly quicken her pace and walk away, thinking to herself, "This naughty cat... could it be a pure-hearted monster with high attack and low defense?"

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening roar came from the east. Yan Qing and Murong Hui looked over and could vaguely see the smoke and dust from the collapsing buildings.

"That's the east gate of the Demon Gathering Land, the direction of the camp entrance. This level of destructive power is at least third-tier, and there's more than one..." Murong Hui asked in surprise, "Many third-tier messengers have come in? Why?"

She paused for a moment, then suddenly leaped more than ten steps, and before Yan Qing could say anything, she suddenly turned back and ran towards the east gate of the Demon Gathering Land, pulling Yan Qing along with her.

"Murong Hui, what are you doing?!"

"It's the little fox!"

"what?"

"I can feel it, the little fox is over there!"

"A feeling? A reconnaissance token? A professional trait?" Yan Qing hadn't noticed Murong Hui's talent in reconnaissance before.

Murong Hui shook her head, biting her lower lip, and said, "I just can feel it. Every time the little fox forces herself to be close to me, I suddenly feel very sad... so it must be her!"

If anyone else had said this kind of metaphysical thing, Yan Qing would have thought they were just making up excuses to fool her. But when this little rascal, whom she had only known for less than two days, said it, Yan Qing felt it was incredibly convincing... She was just that kind of eccentric person who relied on her emotions to act domineeringly.

"Let me go." Yan Qing took a deep breath.

Murong Hui asked, puzzled, "If I don't hold your hand, you definitely won't be able to keep up with me... Aren't you planning to come with me?"

“I can catch up with you if I change my boots.” Yan Qing took out “Wanderer’s Rain Boots” from his storage ring. “Since you’re in such a hurry, let’s get there as fast as we can.”

(End of this chapter)