Chapter 64: First Encounter with the Iron Armor Clan

The leader of the trio was a man with a topknot, wielding a Wu Shidao, dressed as a ronin.

The man was lean, practiced two-sword style, carrying one sword in hand and another long Wu Shidao strapped at his waist.

His two henchmen: one was a bald, muscular man with bare torso, his fists wrapped in boxing bandages—clearly a close-combat player.

The other wore a mage's robe, holding a two-meter-long blue metal staff; the staff had sunk deep into the sand when planted, heavy indeed—likely a dual-cultivation player.

The three shared one trait: each bore three strands of resentment, all originating from players.

As the trio's leader, the ronin spoke in the tone of a seasoned veteran: "I'm Zhan Gui, deputy leader of the Iron Armor Clan's C-rank dungeon raiding squad; these two are my subordinates. As long as you follow our orders, a mere C-rank dungeon poses no real threat."

After speaking, the ronin displayed part of his attribute panel to the group.

His level read 19; his two subordinates were both level 18.

Seeing their levels and hearing the name "Iron Armor Clan," everyone couldn't help but show fear.

The Iron Armor Clan was somewhat notorious in the Wasteland Realm—not revered, but at least despised by all.

Overall, the Iron Armor Clan ranked only mid-tier among second-rate factions, yet even some first-rate factions with weak backgrounds dreaded encountering them.

The reason was simple: Iron Armor Clan players entered the Abyss Game not to clear dungeons, but to hunt players.

Other factions built their abilities to survive in dungeons, gather intelligence, and defeat dungeon bosses.

The Iron Armor Clan was different—they chose skills specialized for humanoid targets, especially players.

It was like a group of PvP players infiltrating a world of PvE players.

They were terrible at fighting BOSSes, but excelled at assassination, ambushes, and coordinated manhunts.

Once provoked, they clung like a persistent infection, relentlessly pursuing members of the target organization until forcing surrender or exorbitant compensation.

Precisely because of this toxic playstyle, they once boldly declared on the public bounty board: anyone who cleared a dungeon they claimed as theirs would be declaring war on the Iron Armor Clan.

Seeing the fear in their eyes, the ronin nodded approvingly and said:

"You clearly haven't entered a high-difficulty dungeon before. Let me tell you, there's a world of difference between C-rank and D-rank dungeons—you can't just hide like a rat in a hole and wait it out."

"If you want to survive, you must use every useful thing you have—skills are just the bare minimum. Your real-world profession, personal strengths, even your body and last scraps of HP must be fully exploited."

Seeing the assistants already tense, the ronin ordered like a commander:

"Since you're all newcomers, I'm the most suitable to lead. To better understand you, introduce yourselves one by one."

The introductions began with the assistants from Wanghai City.

The five assistants introduced themselves in the same order as when they sparred with Zhao Yan.

The first was the masked man who had experienced Manba's Iron Elbow; he maintained mystery before Wu Chang and other newcomers, but couldn't fake it for these three veterans.

"I'm Tie Mian. My ability is Golden Bell Shield. I'm skilled in hand-to-hand combat, excel in close-quarters, can take hits and dish them out."

The bald puncher snorted, picked up a seashell, flicked it with his thumb—it struck Tie Mian's chest, knocking him back two steps until he sat on the sand.

The bald man mocked, repeating: "Can take hits and dish them out."

Tie Mian got up, angry but dared not retaliate, only bowed his head and stepped back two paces.

The second, who had concealed his level, had already slipped away.

The third was a girl around twenty, still youthful, pure and cute—clearly a student.

Her alias was Cangshu; she possessed two life skills: foraging and cultivation. Her combat style was defensive, with three skills: Iron Wall, Charged Parry, and Shield Slam.

Hearing her skill set, the bald puncher's eyes lit up.

"Boss, this is my type—like my first love."

Cangshu shuddered under his gaze and ducked behind Wu Chang.

The fourth in line was a young man, twenty-six or twenty-seven, alias Jifeng; he had been the first to speak to Mianhua earlier.

Jifeng's skill set followed the assassin path: Stealth, Camouflage, Recon, and Assassination—agile and unpredictable in offense.

The fifth was a professional woman in business attire, alias Linghu.

Contrary to Cangshu's youthful vibe, Linghu's appearance was flawless: tailored office wear and meticulously applied makeup accentuated her sultry charm and curvaceous figure.

Linghu was a pure magic user, possessing healing and several offensive spells, but her physical combat was terrible—even Zhao Yan holding back barely made her last long.

Just as Wu Chang prepared to speak, the bald puncher blurted: "Boss, this one's my type too—like my first love."

Wu Chang: "..."

You son of a bitch, does everyone look like your first love?

Was your first love a Chameleon or Mystique?

He tried to continue his introduction to cut off the bald man's madness, but the bald man cut in:

"I don't care about the rest of these nobodies—I'm taking them over there to chat about life."

With that, he leered and strode toward Cangshu and Linghu.

Wu Chang couldn't tolerate this bastard anymore—he was about to activate Zhenwo to teach him a lesson.

Fighting all three with his avatar, he had little chance—but after a surprise strike, fleeing with Electric Flash Lightning Step wouldn't be hard.

As he considered whether to use Huosui or Palm Thunder, a flash of light appeared—a flying sword hovered before the bald man's neck.

One of the two players brought by Mianhua removed his hood, shedding his previous dull appearance—he now looked sharp-eyed, clean-cut, and strikingly handsome, the classic hero from a wuxia novel.

"Enough!"

The flying sword pressed against his throat; the bald man dared not move, pleading with his eyes toward his boss.

The ronin narrowed his eyes and asked: "Jian Zong?"

"You've got some sense."

"Are you from the Administration?"

"Yes."

As a Chinese person, who wouldn't dream of gaining transcendent power in the Abyss Game and becoming a sword-immortal who rides the wind?

But sword-immortals aren't easy to become; in the Wasteland Realm, those with flying-sword abilities are few, and the most famous is the hidden class—Jian Zong.

The Sword Sect is the pre-advanced class for sword cultivators in the next layer of the Abyss; the class-change items are extremely hard to obtain, and the number of players who possess the Sword Sect class can be counted on one hand.

The most famous among them is the Management Bureau's new-generation genius player, Sword Star.

Rumor has it that Sword Star broke the Management Bureau's record for clearing a Rank-A dungeon at the lowest level; to clear a Rank-A dungeon, one's level cannot be below 20.

Add to that a hidden class, and even three level-20 players together might not necessarily fare well against Sword Star.

Seeing the other side admit it, the Wanderer immediately switched to a different face.

"What a misunderstanding. I never expected you all to be members of the Management Bureau. Our Iron Armor Regiment has always cooperated with the Management Bureau's work — we're the Management Bureau's staunch supporters. This really is a flood rushing into the Dragon King's temple."

After distancing the three men's behavior from himself, the Wanderer shifted his tone and probed: "I wonder what arrangement you have, bringing a bunch of newbies to a Rank-C dungeon? If you need anything, we'll definitely cooperate."

Sword Star's expression turned slightly awkward. After a moment of silence, he said stiffly: "We're on a team-building outing."

The Wanderer was stunned for a beat, but didn't expose the lie, and flattered: "The Management Bureau truly is a top-tier faction — even newbies' team-building has to be at a Rank-C dungeon. With you here, I suppose the three of us won't be needed."

Sword Star flicked a finger, recalling the flying sword that had been resting on the bald man's neck.

"As you wish."

"Then we'll brothers take our leave first." After saying that, the Wanderer led his two subordinates back to a corner of the safe zone.

After driving off the three Iron Armor Regiment men, Sword Star turned to look at Wu Chang and the others and said sincerely: "I'm sorry. This time, it was because of me that you all fell into danger. It was also because of me that you were matched into the high-difficulty dungeon, Quiet Town. Rest assured — no matter what happens, I will bring all of you out safe and sound!"

Having witnessed the scene of Sword Star, alone with one sword, driving back three fierce men of the Iron Armor Regiment, hearing Sword Star's words now instantly gave everyone a powerful sense of security.

Especially for Hamster and Spirit Fox, who had been about to be molested by the bald man the second before, Sword Star's appearance was like a ray of light appearing in a desperate situation.

As for why they had fallen into that desperate situation — don't worry about that for now.

In any case, every helper except Wu Chang became an instant fan of Sword Star.

As for Wu Chang, he was even happier about Sword Star's appearance than the others.

Hey, here comes someone volunteering to take the blame.

Since Sword Star has already said so much, then being matched into this Rank-C dungeon has nothing to do with him! Sword Star looked around, and after a brief silence, spoke:

"Quiet Town's difficulty is extreme. To clear it, everyone must work together with one heart. I happen to have some intelligence on Quiet Town here — please everyone listen carefully."

(End of this chapter)