Game’s Dogma

Drako Yau made some arrangements for his companions. Danting, Greenstone, Idyllic Poet, Windstrider, and himself were a fixed squad, while others could freely challenge other dungeons at their discretion. This also exposed their fixed squad’s weakness: their lack of supporting classes. Leaving it all to Greenstone was putting too much burden on him.

The greatly anticipated dungeons went live the next day.

Everything was chaotic to say the least. Blood and gore took over the four dungeons’ respective entrances. Whenever Eastern and Western players came into contact, a battle was inevitable. They no longer held back like they used to and went straight to combat.

No one kept track of the casualties of the war, nor did the higher-ups of both servers instrument an all-out attack on the other party. This so-called war was merely a prelude; to the higher-ups, this degree of skirmishes was acceptable as their focus now was to investigate the dungeons.

Drako Yau’s squad chose the Beastmen Territory dungeon for no particular reason. Meanwhile, Zephyrwolf’s squad consisting of Sasaki, Yim Ho, Man Hing Yau, and Dumbgirl headed for the Dark Elven Village.

Drako Yau and his companions’ journey to the dungeon was smooth sailing. The fiery red mask decorated with a white dragon and the fluttering blood-red cloak were an iconic combination in both the East and the West. Everyone knew him, so no one was foolish enough to challenge him. They, as mortals, shouldn’t be involved in battles between the godly fighters.

As the Western players steered clear of Drako Yau, he and his companions also reciprocated their sentiment by not taking action even when Eastern players were getting killed. Their target was the dungeon, after all. They wouldn’t make too much of an impact in a brawl between tens of thousands of players, while that would delay their progress for far too long to make it worthwhile.

They feigned ignorance of the ongoing battles and continued forwards until they entered the dungeon. The Western players also heaved a sigh of relief once they vanished; having such a terrifying squad of enemies nearby was rather stressful.

Darkness awaited them in the dungeon. The sole visible object was a large screen that displayed various murals. As different murals showed up, a solemn voice narrated a corresponding story.

“Long, long time ago, the human race didn’t dominate the world. It was the era of gods and demons, and mankind served as their petty subordinates, sometimes slaves.”

The mural had a white and a black figure at the left and right top corners respectively. The former had huge, white wings and stood in the air. Similarly, the latter also had wings, though it was black instead. The pair of white and black created a stark contrast as if they were innately opposing forces like day and night. Small dark spots were packed densely beneath the two levitating figures, and Drako Yau figured they were humans who served the two races.

“The gods and the demons were equally powerful. Due to their opposing nature, war raged on with no end in sight.” 

The mural was now swarmed with white and black, with countless winged creatures brutally slaying their opposing counterparts. Racial wars were the cruellest of all wars. Only one of the two races could survive.

“The king of the god race, Michael, was a talent beyond this realm. Under his leadership, the god race attained victory after victory against their archenemy.”

The mural flashed again. Daylight took over two-thirds of the mural, forcing the black winged creatures into retreat. A particularly notable winged creature stood among the whiteness. It held a western longsword, and its wings were lined in gold.

Drako Yau shuddered. It was exactly the story Chris had spoken of in his hut, the story about the origins of his God-Slaying Demon Extermination Armour. However, the mural narration passed over the existence of the armour. According to Chris, Michael only became so powerful and could deal a heavy blow to the demon race because he received the God-Slaying Demon Extermination Armour.

“Desperation took over the demon race. They put their last resort into action and created a transcendent magic array, Thousand Demonic Soul Formation.”

Another flash of the mural revealed countless old black creatures fiddling with something. In the next mural, countless souls ascended into the skies as the narration continued.

“The Thousand Demonic Soul Formation consumed souls of the demon race. The more demons sacrificed, the more powerful it was. The demon race sacrificed hundreds of millions of their brethren to fuel the magic array and baited the over-confident Michael into their trap.”

The black souls condensed into a cage and wrapped tightly around the white creature with gold-lined feathers.

“The god race, now without their leader, suffered heavy casualties from the demon race’s counteroffensive. Apart from Michael, the god race’s four great elders also fell into captivity. The demon race easily wrecked the rudderless god race, who could only surrender to linger in misery.”

“From that day onwards, darkness and desolation took over the world. Vegetation ceased to thrive, and light ceased to exist.”

The darkness shrouding their sights soon dissipated. Drako Yau saw that his companions were still in a daze, yet to recover from the dungeon lore narration.

At that moment, a system notification rang in their heads.

“Enter and investigate the Beastmen Territory.”

Drako Yau furrowed his brow and thought, Four dungeons and four elders? Is it a mere coincidence?

He shook his head and said, “Let’s go.”

After countless training sessions to build their chemistry, the squad immediately took their usual formation without requiring any orders. Danting stood at the forefront as the scout; he was the most suitable candidate thanks to his mobility and high damage output. Drako Yau stood ahead of Idyllic Poet, Greenstone, and Windstrider as their guards. The squad was spaced out just enough for Idyllic Poet and Windstrider to lay cover fire for everyone.

Beastmen Territory, as its name implied, was a region controlled by beastmen. Numerous tents were placed all over the encampment, comparable to a large tribe. The five advanced through the encampment, but they encountered no monsters even after a while. 

Just when they were pondering if something was wrong, a monster came out of a tent and crashed into them. It had the silhouette of a human, but it was far sturdier and had a semi-bestial face. It held a crude sword and gave off an intimidating aura.

Once the beastman saw them, it immediately howled loudly.

“Ding! The beastmen are now aware of intruders. Difficulty raised.”

Drako Yau glared at it coldly and ordered, “Kill it.”

Danting opened his left palm and conjured the silver teleportation array. He leapt into it and appeared behind the beastman, swinging down the Divine Martial Sword as he descended. Windstrider also unholstered his pistols and was ready to fire.

Drako Yau simply stood there to observe their surroundings while his companions engaged the enemy. It was just a single beastman. Rather than fighting right away, he had to prepare for unexpected situations.

Exploring a new dungeon was always the most challenging part. Players had no idea what they should expect, and slight negligence could easily end in their annihilation. Once guides became available, the dungeon’s difficulty would plummet.

While Windstrider and Danting were dealing with the beastman, two other beastmen emerged from nearby tents and charged toward the other three in the rear. The two spear tattoos on Drako Yau’s forearms glowed, and a spear appeared in his hands the next moment.

For the others who were seeing the Cryoflame Spear for the first time, the way he summoned it and its appearance surprised them greatly. The spear was a spectacular weapon for sure; the two dragons, forged in red and blue gems, coiled in alternate directions, each holding a blade in their widened jaws.

Drako Yau calmly faced the two incoming beastmen. Flowing flames surged from his hand and spread across the entire spear, showcasing the now-visible dragon scales. The blue half of the spear remained unaffected, however.

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