Chapter 387
William remained unaware that there was an ugly contender vying for the title of the Handsome God.
Of course, even if he did know, William had no reason to be concerned. When it came to looks, he never claimed to be second-best.
With that kind of self-assuredness, he was confident to a fault.
After all, the talent for handsomeness was unheard of, let alone witnessed.
At this moment, he was savoring the snow and sharing a drink with Kieran Time inside the house.
Their eyes met, filled with mischief.
But when he saw the ring on Kieran's finger,
William couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
Thank you, Blue Frost Empire!
It was beyond belief.
Inside that 200 Meter in Length, 200 Meter in Width and 200 Meter in Height space ring lay 10 million Gold Coins, 300000 magic crystals, 30000 magic crystal shards, secret silver, mountain copper, gold essence, purple gold, and various other rare metals, all amounting to 10000 kilograms!
The value of those items alone could equip 30000 soldiers in Dawn City with top-of-the-line Dark-Gold Rank equipment.
And there was more.
The Blue Frost Empire had also included a blueprint.
A Floating Boat!
Unbelievable.
As William perused the construction requirements for the Floating Boat, he muttered curses under his breath about how The Blue Frost Empire truly knew how to spoil people. The blueprint for the Floating Boat was the stuff of dreams for many kingdoms and powers.
However, the cost of constructing such a marvel was astronomical and could potentially bankrupt Dawn City.
It appeared that The Blue Frost Empire's generosity came with a catch, forcing Dawn City to invest heavily in building Floating Boats, thereby slowing down its overall development.
Nevertheless, William was savvy enough to tally the items he had received. While he offered his thanks to Kieran Time on the surface, he secretly stowed away the Floating Boat blueprint in the deepest recesses of his space ring. He wanted to prevent himself from succumbing to the temptation and getting bogged down in building such a colossal behemoth.
Let's make it clear.
Dawn City lacked the necessary assets worth a billion Gold Coins or sufficient magic energy crystals. The Floating Boat was off-limits for now.
This superstrategic weapon, with its incredible speed, formidable defensive capabilities, and the ability to deploy magic cannons everywhere, was an imposing prospect.
However, there was a catch.
To make proper use of such a weapon, a significant number of supporting magic airships and highly skilled Professionals were required to fend off any potential attacks by Legendary and epic giants. Otherwise, the Floating Boat, despite its power, would be a sitting duck.
"I think it's getting late. Your Highness, you should rest early. I'll take my leave!" Kieran Time conversed with William for a while and noticed that the more he talked to him, the more he liked him. It was an odd sensation.
So, Kieran decided to slip away early to avoid any nighttime mishaps.
However, William caught his arm and smiled. "No, I'd like to introduce you to an apprentice!"
"Hmm?" Kieran looked at William with curiosity. He thought that as an old man, he might experience something beyond the ordinary, but the second part of William's statement put his mind at ease.
Then,
Old Leather entered abruptly. When he and Kieran locked eyes, he rushed over to Kieran, knelt before him, hugged his legs, and tearfully exclaimed, "Teacher, you are the teacher I've longed to meet. Thank you, Your Highness, for your introduction and the teacher's approval. From this day on, I shall be your apprentice, and you shall be my teacher…"
While William grinned like a fool,
Kieran Time raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers.
Time reversed.
William felt as though time had slowed before him. Old Leather's words and his kneeling stance played out in reverse, retreating behind the door as if a separate timeline had rewound itself.
William, witnessing this scene, stared at Old Leather in astonishment. It was an incredible display of power.
This old man possessed an extraordinary ability.
Kieran narrowed his eyes, about to say something.
Old Leather reappeared.
He coughed up blood, entered the room, knelt before Kieran, and resumed his previous position of hugging the teacher's legs while repeating the same words.
The prince arched an eyebrow.
Kieran Time raised his eyebrows in curiosity. He glanced at William, then at Old Leather, who was covered in cracks and bleeding. He sighed, "Your time manipulation talent is quite remarkable, but you are a warrior, and I am a magician."
Old Leather's ears were bleeding, but he clenched his teeth and continued, "No matter what the teacher instructs, I will study diligently, whether it's magic or any other subject."
Kieran studied Old Leather closely. His ability to manipulate time indicated exceptional talent in that area.
During his time in The Blue Frost Empire, Kieran had encountered many students at the School of Magic with time manipulation talent. However, he had never considered teaching any of them. After all, their growth potential was limited to becoming Grand Enchanters or mages at best.
For Kieran, who aspired to become a Sage, teaching an apprentice who couldn't even attain a Legendary status was unappealing and beneath him.
So Kieran hesitated for a while before saying firmly, "The Fairy Queen has tasked me with imparting knowledge about time here. Attend the classes with the others. If you excel among your peers, I may consider taking you as my apprentice in the presence of William William."
"Thank you," Old Leather said with a grateful smile.
After Kieran Time left, Old Leather's body exuded blood from every pore.
The prince patted him on the back and asked, "Are you going to die?"
"My time reversal ability backfired," Old Leather explained weakly.
"Well, you're not dying. Don't waste the Water of Life."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Old Leather replied, lying motionless on the bloody floor.
NPCs and players were different.
William, as a player with a template, could easily enjoy the thrill of leveling up through experience. He could continuously upgrade himself after acquiring new skills.
However, the vast majority of NPCs, even those with exceptional talent, needed guidance from mentors.
The r
arer their attribute talents, the more they required skilled teachers.
Space and time talents were no exception.
Burned Cinder, Diablo, and others possessed talents in attributes like fire or gold, but these were fairly common talents. They could acquire knowledge or experience from various sources to enhance their skills.
They had no need for mentors.
But Old Leather, with his time manipulation talent, was different.
When William brought him to Dawn City, he disrupted Old Leather's learning experiences. As a result, his cultivation progress had been slower than that of Burned Cinder and others. Therefore, it was necessary to find a mentor for him.
There were many Legendary Professionals with expertise in time manipulation.
But since they had the opportunity to encounter Kieran Time, there was no reason to pass it up.
Much like Bernice Frost, the Fairy Queen and a Sage level figure, who recognized Kieran Time's uniqueness and tasked him with teaching time manipulation to representatives of the three races within the city.
Time passed.
Until the final day of the war arrived.
William announced to all players that the Dawn Mercenary Regiment would become the vanguard army and would attack ten Orc Empire steel fortresses the following morning.
Upon receiving this mission, players began to discuss it amongst themselves.
But they showed no signs of fear.
Because they were used to it.
Whenever William assigned a war-type mission, they would willingly offer their heads.
So, when they examined the mission rewards, they knew exactly what they had to do.
Everyone was gearing up for the epic battle the next day.
However, the pureblood Elves from other races found it hard to believe.
Why, you might wonder?
Because of the mission objectives set by William.
It was something quite unconventional.
It wasn't about capturing a fortress, killing a certain number of enemies, or holding a fortress wall for a specific duration. Instead, it revolved around consuming a specific quantity of arrows, artillery fire, magic projectiles, and even heavy crossbow bolts.
This seemingly perverse and bloodthirsty mission objective didn't elicit any objections from the group of Chosen Ones.
It was a testament to the Lord of Dawn, William Blackleaf's effective rule.
In reality, the players didn't mind risking their lives, as long as they could recover their losses through experience and equipment gains. Their primary concern was not losing ground.
Various siege strategies started appearing on the forum, and one of them stood out as particularly intriguing.
It was Chu Liuqiu's Assault Strategy.
Hello, everyone.
William's mission might seem like a suicide mission, but the actual goal is to capture the fortress.
Of course, I won't reveal how to capture the fortress, but I can provide some insights on how to approach death.
We have a total of six resurrection chances. For the first two deaths, there's no need to equip any gear. Just put on some simple clothing and carry a basic weapon.
The idea is to appear vulnerable to the orcs to potentially provoke them into rushing out for a face-to-face confrontation with our vanguard army!
At the same time, this strategy can help deplete the fortress's artillery and arrow supplies!
During the first two deaths, the defending orcs may not realize our true intentions, given their natural inclination to engage in combat.
However, beyond the second death, they might catch on. Nonetheless, the orcs are known for their aggression and might not change tactics right away.
But even after dying twice, we will have only lost some experience and outdated equipment, while earning money from the mission rewards.
For the third and fourth deaths, if any of our comrades possess a second set of equipment, they should switch to the outdated gear and continue battling the orcs.
The key is to maintain a rhythm of death, keeping the cost of death low, while allowing the orc army to perceive our strength without scaring them off.
Remember, if a comrade dies early, they should choose to resurrect at the flag Point rather than resurrecting in place. We should regroup and charge together,
The fifth and sixth deaths are the most crucial charges!
At that Point, we will equip all our gear and engage in a fierce battle with the orcs.
At the end of the post, many players wondered why they should engage in a fierce battle.
Chu Liuqiu suddenly introduced a hidden task.
Once the players in Dawn City consumed a specific amount of arrows and artillery fire, a coordinated assault would be initiated by the regular army.
This information was meant to be revealed at the appropriate time.
As for why William had shared this hidden task with Chu Liuqiu,
I want players to grasp the gravity of this mission through him alone.
Since he's just an NPC, he can't directly devise strategies for killing players. But Chu Liuqiu is a strategic genius!
Not only for the victory in Dawn City but also for the success of hidden and main tasks, he'll do his utmost to ensure players cooperate with the regular army and develop a synergy.
As time passed, morning arrived.
The orc's 18 military fortresses were aligned in a straight line, each no more than 10 kilometers apart. No one intended to bypass these fortresses to assault the Black Great Wall.
However, it was during the early morning when the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon that the countless orcs, waiting for battle, spotted a dark line gradually emerging on the snowy plain.
It was an endless army.
That's the Dawn City's force.
It seemed like a disorganized group of players.
A player suddenly roared and charged forward.
Ten more players rushed toward the ten military fortresses, lacking any semblance of order.
The orc commander in the fortress was baffled, as were the frenzied soldiers of The Blue Frost Empire.
The Chosen One seemed even more reckless than the craziest of soldiers.