76: The Secret of Demon Dragon Mountain

"Ding! You have killed the Mountain Overlord of Demon Dragon Mountain above your level. Experience +1, war merit +5,000."

As the System's voice rang out, a hint of joy appeared on Lin Yue's face.

Finally... the Mountain Overlord is dead.

"Ding! You have slain the Lord-tier Boss, the Mountain Overlord of Demon Dragon Mountain. A Server-wide Announcement is about to be made. Would you like to hide your name?"

"Hide."

"System: Congratulations to the hidden player for slaying the Lord-tier Boss, the Mountain Overlord of Demon Dragon Mountain. Rewards: Fame +30, Gold +100, free attribute points +30. This announcement is made to the entire server. May all players keep up the good work."

"System: Congratulations to the hidden player for slaying the Lord-tier Boss, the Mountain Overlord of Demon Dragon Mountain. Rewards: Fame +30, Gold +100, free attribute points +30. This announcement is made to the entire server. May all players keep up the good work."

...Lin Yue didn't reveal himself this time, mainly because he didn't want other NPCs to know for now. The players had already guessed most of it anyway; who else besides the White Emperor would have the strength to take down a Level 40 Lord-tier Boss at this stage?

Xuanwu City.

Inside the City Lord's Manor, the Butler poured a cup of tea for Wang Chongshan.

"My Lord, Demon Dragon Mountain was wiped out in less than two hours. Could it have been the White Emperor's doing?"

"It likely couldn't be anyone else. Divinity isn't something an ordinary Adventurer can obtain."

Wang Chongshan took the teacup, took a sip, and set it down again. In the next moment, a sharp light glinted in his eyes.

"You deserve credit for recommending him for this matter. Once I take office as the Lord of the Royal City, your rewards will certainly not be lacking."

"Thank you, City Lord."

The Butler knelt on the ground, overflowing with gratitude.

"Don't thank me yet. Stand up, I have something to tell you."

Seemingly thinking of something, Wang Chongshan beckoned to the Butler.

The Butler immediately stood up and leaned in to listen.

"Take a hundred Imperial Guards and some gifts to Demon Dragon Mountain immediately. Thank the White Emperor properly on my behalf."

Wang Chongshan's words stunned the Butler, who was left confused.

"My Lord, hasn't the reward already been given? Why prepare another one specifically? Besides, there's no need to mobilize a hundred Imperial Guards; I can handle this matter alone."

"No, you don't understand. Now that I've seized the initiative, it's very likely I'll become the Lord of the Royal City. But don't forget, the other seven City Lords aren't pushovers. Why do you think Demon Dragon Mountain was so hard to deal with?"

"We must win over an expert like the White Emperor, and we should also take this opportunity to drag out the forces behind Demon Dragon Mountain."

Wang Chongshan's eyes flickered as he revealed the hidden truth behind the situation in a single sentence.

Only then did the Butler realize that the City Lord had seen through everything long ago... At the mountain peak.

Lin Yue began to clear the battlefield.

Most of the drops were Level 30 to 40 common equipment and Materials, along with several Skill Books, but they were of no use for now.

There were also some potions and gold coins.

For Lin Yue, these were negligible at the moment.

The main forces of the entire mountain stronghold were Warriors and Archers; Mage and Assassin classes were relatively rare, so Lin Yue had little use for their gear.

The only thing worth mentioning was the war merit.

He had obtained a total of nearly 60,000 war merit points.

Opening the Guild panel, he saw that the Guild Rank had already risen to Level 4.

"Ding! White Jade Capital has been promoted to Level 2. All members' health +1%."

'Ding! White Jade Capital has been promoted to Level 3. All members' attack power +1%.'

"Ding! White Jade Capital has been promoted to Level 4. All members' critical hit rate +1%."

The higher the Guild Rank, the greater the bonuses members could receive.

However, because leveling up was relatively easy in the early stages, the attribute increases were also limited.

But even so, these were percentage-based attribute increases.

It wasn't very apparent at this stage, but as time went on, these percentage boosts would become increasingly terrifying.

Unfortunately, Demon Dragon Mountain had actually inflated its numbers. If there really had been a hundred thousand bandits and he had killed them all, the war merit would have been enough to raise the Guild directly to Level 5.

Level 5 was a threshold for Guilds.

Every five levels, the Guild's bonus attributes would receive a significant minor boost.

After putting away all the dropped items, Lin Yue was about to head further inside to find the entrance to the Instance.

But suddenly.

He looked behind him.

Fifty meters away from Lin Yue, three armored figures appeared.

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird.

They wore green, white, and red standard-issue armor, each emblazoned with the patterns of their respective Divine Beasts. Anyone with eyes could tell who they were.

"You three, may I ask what brings you here?"

Lin Yue narrowed his eyes and turned around. The three of them looked similar to the guard commanders of Xuanwu City.

Two men and one woman were looking at Lin Yue with cold sneers.

"Adventurer, was it you who wiped out Demon Dragon Mountain?"

The man in the Azure Dragon armor looked at Lin Yue with hostile eyes, seemingly unable to believe that Lin Yue had done this alone.

"Who else?"

Lin Yue waved his hand dismissively, not caring.

"Since Shi Chong died at your hands, then you can go to the grave with him."

Without another word, the Qinglong Commander drew his spear, intending to attack Lin Yue.

"Don't be reckless. He was able to kill Shi Chong, so he must be very powerful. We might not be a match for him."

The Zhuque Commander immediately stepped in to stop the Qinglong Commander, while the Baihu Commander also offered some words of caution.

"Could it be that the bandits of Demon Dragon Mountain were set up by your three main cities together?"

Lin Yue found it amusing; this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

"Adventurer, there are some things you'd best not pry into. Let's just say we didn't expect Xuanwu City to send an Adventurer this time. To the victor go the spoils; such is the way of war."

The Baihu Commander sighed.

"Let's go. This time, Xuanwu City has the upper hand, and we can't stop them anymore. Even killing this Adventurer would be useless. Let's return and report."

The Baihu Commander waved his hand. Seeing the state of Demon Dragon Mountain, the situation was already beyond salvation.

"Are we really just going to stand by and watch Wang Chongshan take power?"

The Qinglong Commander was still unwilling to give up. Their plot had failed, and Azure Dragon City had suffered heavy losses.

Shi Chong was an expert from Azure Dragon City, the Mountain Overlord of Demon Dragon Mountain, and also a personal friend of the Qinglong Commander.

"Don't think you're the only one who lost people. We lost many as well."

The Zhuque Commander spoke sharply, her face full of resentment.

Her Zhuque City had stationed twenty thousand Archers on Demon Dragon Mountain.

"Stop complaining here. Go back and report, and let fate take its course."

"Easy for you to say. Shi Chong alone was worth ten thousand men. How am I supposed to explain his death?"

"Didn't my White Tiger City also lose many Warriors? What's the point of telling me this?"

...Listening to the three commanders argue, Lin Yue crossed his arms, finding it quite interesting.

The three main cities had each stationed troops at Demon Dragon Mountain within Xuanwu City's territory. They were publicly labeled as 'bandits,' but in reality, they were there to prevent the City Lord of Xuanwu City from rising to power.

After all, how could a City Lord who couldn't even wipe out a group of bandits be fit to enter the Royal City and claim kingship?

No wonder Wang Chongshan had never been able to clear out Demon Dragon Mountain; it turned out the other main cities had teamed up to screw him over.

"Stop talking! Leave quickly, someone is coming!"

Suddenly sensing something was wrong, the Baihu Commander immediately shouted.

"You're not going anywhere."

In the next moment, the Butler arrived at the mountain peak with a hundred Imperial Guards.