122: Chapter 122 First Breakthrough of the Main City! Divinely Bestowed Equipment: The Investiture of the Gods!

Boom—!!!

As that pitch-black feathered arrow accurately struck the energy hub at the top of the clock tower, a thunderous explosion that eclipsed heaven and earth instantly erupted.

The ancient clock tower that had stood for a hundred years turned into powder in an instant. A violent energy shockwave swept outward in a ring from the tower's center. The indestructible light-cyan light curtain that originally shrouded Black Wind City now resembled a mirror struck by a heavy blow; countless cracks spread crazily, finally disintegrating completely amidst an ear-piercing shattering sound, turning into billions of sparkling yet lethal energy fragments that fell like a torrential rain.

Before the dust had even settled, a slender figure had already stepped through the smoke and haze.

Qin Ji held a longbow, his black robes fluttering in the whistling wind. His war boots stepped on the rune stone slabs scattered across the ground, making a crisp crunching sound. Every step he took felt as if he were treading upon the pulse of the entire city.

There was no overwhelming counterattack of arrows as imagined, nor was there a formation of heavy armored infantry waiting in readiness.

The entire Black Wind City was eerily quiet.

On the terrace of the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. He watched helplessly as that black figure entered the broken city gates as if entering an uninhabited land, his heart twitching violently.

"Damn it... damn it!!"

He whipped his head around. The elite personal guard that should have been stationed around the City Lord's Mansion was now nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but even the several commanders he relied on most on a daily basis seemed to have vanished into thin air; he couldn't find even a ghost of them.

"Those bastards, did they all run away at the critical moment?!"

The City Lord gritted his teeth, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. As the lord of a city, he naturally had trump cards and means to perish together with his enemies. But when he met those purple-gold pupils in the distance, a chill from the depths of his Soul instantly extinguished all his Battle Intent.

That was not a human gaze.

It was the indifferent and high-and-mighty scrutiny of a hunter watching its prey.

Even the nine Silver Generals of the Wo Family were slaughtered like chickens by this man. If he fought recklessly, he might not even leave behind a whole corpse.

"While there's life, there's hope... let that old fogey Abra take the fall for this!"

The City Lord made a prompt decision, directly pulling out a fixed-point teleportation scroll from his spatial ring and crushing it ruthlessly. As silver light enveloped his body, his figure completely vanished into the air a second before Qin Ji stepped into the City Lord's Mansion square.

Qin Ji stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over the residual spatial fluctuations, a mocking curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"He runs quite fast."

He didn't give chase.

His goal was never to kill a Puppet-like City Lord, but the symbolic significance of capturing this city, as well as the staggering rewards that were about to be obtained.

At this time, outside Black Wind City.

Countless players lurking in the shadows watched the wide-open city gate, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.

"Holy crap... it's really broken?!"

"That's a main city! Not only does it have a city-protecting array, but also tens of thousands of NPC guards. Snow Emperor just... went in alone?"

"Did you guys notice? The guards on the city walls seem to have disappeared. Is there some hidden plot?"

The world channel instantly exploded, with countless messages frantically flooding the screen.

However, what made players across the server even more crazed was a bright red server-wide announcement that followed immediately.

[Server-wide Announcement! Congratulations to player "Snow Emperor" for successfully capturing the Star Kingdom's main city—Black Wind City! As the first player in the entire server to capture a main city, the following rewards are specially granted: 1,000 Free Attribute Points, 1 God-Gifted Equipment Treasure Chest, and 50,000 Reputation!]

[Server-wide Announcement! Congratulations to player...]

The announcement repeated three times, like three nuclear bombs dropped into a calm lake.

The guild leaders of various major guilds, who were currently fighting tooth and nail in the wild for an elite monster, all froze in place.

"One thousand free attribute points?! I only get fifty points for leveling up ten times!"

"And God-Gifted equipment? What grade is that? A Divine Artifact?!"

"Crazy... can this game even be played like this? Attacking a main city gives such insane rewards. Brothers, grab your gear, let's go try it too!"

"Don't go to your death, you upstairs! That's Snow Emperor! Do you have the ability to break an array with a single arrow like Snow Emperor?"

...

Qin Ji stood in the empty hall of the City Lord's Mansion. Hearing the pleasant System notification sounds in his ear, even with his composure, his breathing couldn't help but grow a bit heavy.

One thousand free attribute points!

In his previous life, this would have been enough to drive any top expert insane. This was equivalent to gaining the attribute growth of two major ranks out of thin air!

Without hesitation, he added all one thousand points to Attack Speed and Movement Speed.

He felt his body suddenly lighten, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. The dust floating around him became extremely slow in his eyes—a direct feedback from the massive increase in neural reaction speed.

But what truly made his heart pound was the treasure chest in his backpack, emitting a nine-colored divine light.

God-Gifted equipment.

In the ten years of his previous life, the God-Gifted equipment he had seen could be counted on one hand, each held by true titans. His current only "book of life and death," while also God-Gifted, was a special item and not conventional equipment.

"Phew..."

Qin Ji calmed his agitated emotions and, with a thought, opened the treasure chest directly.

Buzz—

An ancient, desolate aura instantly filled the entire hall.

It wasn't the sharpness of clashing metal, but a sense of weightiness as if it carried the long river of history. As the light dissipated, a scroll that was neither metal nor jade, with a mysterious yellow hue throughout, floated quietly before him.

[investiture of the gods] (God-Gifted · Unique)

Equipment Requirements: Exclusive Binding (Snow Emperor), cannot be dropped, cannot be stolen, cannot be traded, cannot be destroyed.

Basic Effects: All Attributes +500, luck +10.

God-Gifted Special Effect—[Enslavement of Gods]:

You can forcibly record the Souls of killed non-player units (including but not limited to NPCs, wild monsters, demigods) into the investiture of the gods.

Reshaping: Recorded Souls will have their Physical Body reshaped, restoring all the strength and skills they had at their peak during their lifetime.

Absolute Loyalty: Reshaped units maintain absolute loyalty to the holder and will never betray.

Divine Position Limit: Current recording limit: 0/365.

Rules: Once recorded, they cannot be changed or replaced. If a recorded unit dies completely (Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering), that slot is permanently lost.

Durability: Indestructible.

"..."

Qin Ji looked at the attribute panel before him, his pupils shrinking violently. His fingers gripping the longbow emitted a slight bone-popping sound due to excessive force.

This...

He was about to take off right where he stood!!

How was this just a piece of equipment? This was clearly an invincible legion carried on his person!

Three hundred and sixty-five slots!

If he could hunt three hundred and sixty-five gods, or three hundred and sixty-five max-level BOSSes, and record them all into the investiture of the gods, then who in this world could stop his arrow?!

Even the once-invincible ragnarok guild from his previous life would have to kneel and sing of submission when facing such an undying and indestructible army of gods!

"A pity..."

After the wild joy, an exquisitely beautiful figure flashed through Qin Ji's mind.

Goddess of Ice and Snow.

If he had obtained this investiture of the gods before killing that Divine Thought Clone, did it mean he could now have a god-level thug by his side? Although it was just a Clone, it still had the word "God" in it!

"However, there's plenty of time."

Qin Ji licked his somewhat dry lips, the ambition in his eyes growing wildly like weeds. "Since I have this thing, future BOSS battles won't just be as simple as getting equipment drops."

He flipped his hand and put the investiture of the gods into the deepest part of his backpack. This thing was not only a trump card, but the Foundation for dominating the God Domain in the future.

Just then, a faint spatial fluctuation rippled beside him.

Luolin Muye's figure emerged from thin air.

The younger brother of the Grand Marshal had a Face so dark it could drip water. He glanced at the surrounding mess, then at the unscathed Qin Ji, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Here is the equipment evolution scroll you wanted."

He casually threw a parchment scroll, his tone stiff. "The King has already ordered the lifting of the blockade against you. Black Wind City's teleportation array has been opened for you. Now, leave here immediately, right now!"

Qin Ji raised his hand to catch the scroll, scanned its attributes, and after confirming they were correct, a characteristic, harmless smile appeared on his Face.

"Just walk out like this?"

"This is a Directional Teleportation Talisman; it can send you directly out of the Black Wind City area." Luolin Muye handed over another Talisman, clearly not wanting to look at Qin Ji for even a second longer.

Qin Ji took the teleportation Talisman and toyed with it in his hand twice, but had no intention of using it.

"To be honest, Mr. Luolin, I don't quite trust you."

Qin Ji looked up, his eyes burning. "What if the landing point of this teleportation Talisman is the crater of some extinct volcano, or an ambush you've set up? Wouldn't I be walking right into a trap?"

"Snow Emperor!!"

Veins popped on Luolin Muye's forehead, his voice suddenly rising. "The King also needs Face! Since he promised to let you go, he won't play tricks with these small means! Don't push your luck!"

"Face is worthless in the Face of profit."

Qin Ji remained unmoved. Instead, he took a step forward and lowered his voice, like a street vendor haggling in a market. "How about this, to compensate for the fright I've received along the way, give me one more heart of the lord, and I'll leave right now without looking back."

"You..."

Luolin Muye was so angry his whole body shook, his finger pointing at Qin Ji trembling. "You are the most greedy and shameless Adventurer I have ever seen in my life!"

"It's not that I'm greedy, it's that you've met too few people, Mr. Luolin, and haven't seen much of the world."

Qin Ji spread his hands righteously. "I captured a main city but didn't take a single brick or tile. Asking for just one heart of the lord, isn't this a very reasonable mental distress fee?"

Luolin Muye took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.

He knew that if he didn't satisfy this bringer of calamity now, this guy really could stay here and refuse to leave, and might even really go after Black Wind City's Foundation.

"Take it! Get out!!"

Luolin Muye squeezed three words through his teeth and fiercely threw a crystal emitting a faint light at Qin Ji.

Clap.

Qin Ji caught it steadily.

[heart of the lord (Common)]

Although it was only of the poorest quality, it was enough for those rebel forces in the Black Wind Mountain Range who desperately needed proof of identity.

"Thanks, Mr. Luolin is generous."

Qin Ji quit while he was ahead, stowed the items, turned around, and walked toward the city exit, waving his hand with his back to Luolin Muye. "Give my regards to Your Majesty the King. If there's a chance next time, I'll visit the Royal Capital."

Watching Qin Ji's departing figure, the killing intent in Luolin Muye's eyes almost solidified, but he ultimately did not make a move.

Outside Black Wind City.

Seeing Qin Ji walk out swaggeringly, the players and factions who were still waiting and watching finally couldn't hold back.

"Snow Emperor is out! The inside must have been cleared!"

"Charge! Black Wind City has no defenses now, go in and loot!"

However, just as the players were still hesitating about whether they would Face a reckoning from the Star Kingdom later, a group of dark shadows dressed in night-walking clothes and holding short blades suddenly lunged out from various dark corners of the city.

Night Walkers!

This underground force, which had been lurking in the shadows, finally bared its fangs the moment Qin Ji tore open Black Wind City's defenses.

Sounds of slaughter and screams instantly erupted within Black Wind City.

Fire surged into the sky.

Qin Ji stood on a high slope and looked back at the city plunged into chaos and the flames of war.

The setting sun was like blood, stretching his shadow very long.

He didn't linger at all, turning and speeding toward the Black Wind Mountain Range. Those purple-gold pupils shone brightly in the twilight, just like an ancient Vicious Beast that had just finished a full meal, coldly watching the collapsing order behind him before plunging headlong into the deeper darkness.