In the Bamboo Grove, the battle raged on fiercely. However, after the higher-ups left, the momentum of Proud Heroes was no longer as strong as before, completely suppressed by the three major guilds.
At this moment, Ao Shi Tianxia and his group returned with gloomy expressions and immediately issued a retreat order. The BOSS had been snatched, so there was no point in continuing the fight. However, as they retreated, Ao Shi Tianxia gave the presidents of the three major guilds a vicious look and said, "Just you wait, Proud Heroes will settle this score with you!" With that, he led the remaining members away.
The members of the three major guilds were dumbfounded. Why did they suddenly run away in the middle of the fight? The guild leaders exchanged confused glances, unable to understand the situation.
Just then, a team member rushed over and said, "President, the BOSS has been snatched!"
"What! Who took it..." Turbulent Hero exclaimed.
Cold Moon glanced at the spot where Wu Shaochen had just stood and saw that it was already empty. Understanding dawned on her, and she said to the other two, "It must have been Dustless who took it!"
The two of them realized this as well and quickly looked over, but Dustless was nowhere to be seen. Their faces turned as dark as coal. They had been fighting tooth and nail here just to snatch the BOSS, only to have it silently taken away by someone else.
"So what do we do now?" Endless Starlight said dejectedly.
"What else can we do? Let's go back. The BOSS has been taken, so why stay here?" Turbulent Hero said angrily. After all that effort, they ended up doing all the work for someone else, which was infuriating.
"Silver gear is up at the Auction House!" Cold Moon suddenly announced.
"Silver gear!!" The two quickly opened the Auction House to see that the top item was a piece of Silver gear, the Azure-scale Armor, in bidding mode with 30 minutes left.
"So extravagant? Selling Silver gear?" Endless Starlight exclaimed.
"If it's not needed, why keep it? This gear was clearly dropped by the BOSS just now. Who knows how many pieces of Silver gear dropped? His equipment was already good, and now it's probably even better," Turbulent Hero sighed.
"There's no need to compare with him. He's just a monster. Let's focus on developing ourselves. Proud Heroes definitely won't let this go, so we need to be prepared," Endless Starlight said.
"Yeah, but Proud Heroes suffered a huge loss this time, so they won't be able to make a move against us anytime soon. We should take this opportunity to develop," Turbulent Hero agreed.
The two nodded. Originally unrelated, the three of them had come together under the pressure from Proud Heroes, but it was merely a strategic alliance. As they looked at the Silver gear in the Auction House, each had their own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Ao Shi Tianxia, walking along the road, was so angry at the sight of the Silver gear in the Auction House that he nearly ground his teeth to dust. To him, this was a blatant insult, as he believed the gear was rightfully his, yet it was being auctioned off by someone else.
"This gear is mine, and no one else can have it," Ao Shi Tianxia said fiercely.
Wu Shaochen listed all the Black Iron gear, including the Bear King Greaves he had replaced, at 20,000 each. He put two Bronze pieces and one Silver piece up for auction in bidding mode.
Feeling pleased, he continued towards the Rocky Forest. With less than three hours until midnight, he planned to grind for a bit longer before returning to town to tackle the War God dungeon, which could only be challenged once a day after midnight.
The Rocky Forest was a mountainous area made entirely of rocks, with not a single plant in sight. The rocks were of various strange shapes, hence the name. In real life, this place would surely be developed into a scenic spot.
Wu Shaochen headed straight to the depths of the Rocky Forest, where his target, the level 22 Stone Ape, awaited. Initially, he had planned to fight level 21 Stone Monkeys, but after leveling up from the BOSS fight and enhancing his talent, he decided on the level 22 Stone Ape.
The Stone Ape's attack was only 550, unable to break Wu Shaochen's defense. With 55,000 health and 350 defense, these stats were manageable. The main issue was the Stone Ape's passive skill, which had a chance to petrify the target for two seconds. This was a bit troublesome, as he disliked control effects, especially since he only had one skill to break free, with a long cooldown of five minutes.
After selecting his target, Wu Shaochen summoned the Silver Great Wolf to share the experience from a distance and began grinding. There were far more Stone Apes than Jungle Tigers, with them scattered everywhere. Unfortunately, their skills were too troublesome, preventing him from mass grinding, so he had to take it slow.
In Jinling City, countless people were drooling over the Silver gear in the Auction House. The price of the Azure-scale Armor soared, surpassing 200,000, with major spenders determined to win it. At this stage, having a piece of Silver gear was a huge boost. Due to the Silver gear, the two Bronze pieces Wu Shaochen listed received few bids, not even reaching 100,000. If he had known, he wouldn't have listed them together.
Not only in Jinling City, but players in other main cities also heard about the Silver gear auction in Jinling City. Unfortunately, the teleportation arrays between main cities hadn't opened yet, so they could only look on enviously. The Jinling City area channel was already buzzing because of this gear.
"Silver gear, huh? Proud Heroes barely managed to kill a Silver BOSS. How could they bear to sell the Silver gear?" an uninformed player commented in the area channel.
"You're behind the times. The BOSS wasn't killed by Proud Heroes; it was Dustless who took it down. Since he doesn't need it, he's selling it."
"No way, really? Dustless is amazing!"
"The Silver gear's attributes are so good. After seeing it, I can't stand looking at my blank slate equipment anymore. I feel like taking it off."
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Ultimately, the Azure-scale Armor was sold for 260,000, while the two Bronze pieces only fetched 120,000 each. The Black Iron gear, priced at 20,000 each, sold out completely. Grinding Stone Apes, Wu Shaochen paused to check the auction notifications. Seeing over 520,000 in earnings, he smiled. The money came so easily.
Wu Shaochen continued grinding until midnight, killing 268 Stone Apes in over two hours. If not for the troublesome skills, which often left him petrified by several Stone Apes in succession, he could have doubled that number. Despite sharing experience with the Silver Great Wolf, Wu Shaochen's level rose to LV18: 66310/100000, and the Silver Great Wolf reached nearly level 17.
Even at this level, Wu Shaochen's leveling speed remained fast, mainly because he fought higher-level monsters with high efficiency. So, leveling up in two hours was still achievable.
Checking his talent and Immortal Body, his talent reached the 540-point limit, and the Immortal Body gained 268 health points. With the 40 health points from leveling up and title bonuses, his total health increased to 6868. During this time, he obtained two Black Iron gear pieces, which he listed for 20,000 each at the Auction House. The price of Black Iron gear had stabilized between 10,000 and 20,000, with most selling for just over 10,000. However, the attributes of Black Iron gear dropped by level 22 monsters were superior to others on the market, so many people were willing to buy them at 20,000 each. After all, the main city had millions of players, and the demand for gear was immense.
"It's midnight, time to head back for the War God Secret Realm," Wu Shaochen muttered to himself. He then used a Town Return Scroll to head back, finally returning to Jinling City without any unexpected events.