Chapter Thirty-Three: A Small Setback

  "Warrior brothers, today I've brought all the elites from the guild, do you think we can make a charge for the death mode speed ranking?" Chi Lian Huo sent a private message to Zhang Yang.

  Zhang Yang couldn't help but laugh and replied: "You're also being too greedy, just one thousand gold coins and you want me to help you get on the list?"

  Chi Yan's face turned red with embarrassment as he smiled and said, "If you can really get on the speed ranking list, I'll give you another 10,000 gold!"

  Compared to server-wide announcements, a mere 10,000 gold coins are nothing!

  Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "You probably don't know the conditions for getting on the speed ranking chart yet?"

  "Huh? Didn't you just break the record and get on?" Chi Lian Huo asked back in confusion.

  "There are two cases. First, if the speed chart already has a record, then it's indeed possible to get on the chart by breaking the original record. Second, if there is no record on the speed chart, like our current situation, then you need to meet two conditions at the same time to get on the chart!"

  "Firstly, this score must exceed the record at the first pass! Secondly, it must also exceed the time limit set by the system!"

  "What's more, there is also a time limit set by the system?" Chi Lian Huo really didn't know.

  "That's for sure! Otherwise, you'd spend a whole day passing the first level and then improve your score by one minute each time. Isn't that equivalent to infinitely farming the leaderboard? You know, refreshing the speedrun leaderboard comes with rewards like runestones, socketing gems, and other goodies. The system wouldn't be so generous to you otherwise?"

  "Oh!" The Red Lotus Fire finally understood.

  "So the system sets a pretty high threshold, you have to break this record, and only then will the system recognize that your score is qualified to be on the speed ranking chart! Like Banga Hole, the limited time for getting on the speed ranking chart is 30 minutes!"

  "Only this much time today?" Even as the leader of the Red Lotus Fire Assembly, he couldn't help but blurt out a curse.

  "So, let's just honestly gear up, and when everyone reaches level 15, we'll all be in full bronze equipment. That's when we can try to challenge the extreme time limit!"

  After listening to Zhang Yang's explanation, Chi Lianhuo also gave up and did not dare to hope for a high ranking on the speed chart in the short term.

  "Chairman, shall we begin?" Absolute Defense said with a proud tone, taking down the shield from his back and drawing out the hammer at his waist. His gaze swept over Zhang Yang with a hint of provocation.

  Zhang Yang was confused and didn't know where he had offended this person. He wasn't someone who feared trouble, so he immediately glared back with a cold eye.

  Absolute Defense feels very wronged!

  He is the MT (main tank) of Lost Paradise, and in the guild, who doesn't address him with a respectful "Absolute Brother"? Whether it's his monster-pulling skills or reaction awareness, which one isn't top-notch? Even when he was playing other games, he kept receiving many invitations from large guilds, offering high salaries to poach him. If not for his affection for Qing Si Ru Xue, he would have left Lost Paradise, a mid-sized guild at best, long ago!

  But yesterday, he felt deeply humiliated!

  Their guild leader actually abandoned him and went with a wild team to fight the copy, saying that they had discovered a powerful tank and wanted to investigate!

  What is this? With him as the number one tank in the universe, does Lost Paradise need any other tanks?

  However, the result that followed was even more infuriating! That wild team not only cleared the hard mode but also took down the death mode!

  Absolute Defense was furious, such a big show-off thing, and he didn't even get a share! He absolutely refused to admit that his level was inferior to the tank in that wild team, thinking that the opponent was just extremely lucky, that's all!

  Last night, Chi Yan gave him a shield and told him to go fight in Death Mode the next day.

  Absolute defense! As soon as he saw the shield, he was immediately convinced! This is a bronze artifact! The most awesome shield in the current game stage! He didn't even need to think about it, and he was sure that this shield was a product of Death Mode's Banga Cave!

  But why didn't the shield warrior, called War Defense, in that team get this shield? As a tank, a shield is the most important defensive gear, how could he miss it!

  The only explanation is that the war general was just a soy sauce man, not worthy of this shield! So he would rather take the shield down and give it to him than assign it to that person.

  Absolute defense the more I think about it, the more reasonable it feels. When Chi Yan explained that they would be playing death mode together with Zhan Yu and Mo Fan, he secretly made up his mind to thoroughly humiliate that lucky guy! That little scoundrel actually hugged the thighs of their team leader and mixed into a first clear of death mode, something even he hadn't achieved yet!

  He repeatedly flashed the thick earthenware shield and retracted it, absolutely defensive. This was intentionally provocative to Zhang Yang: "Look, this shield is in my hands, what are you? Look, take a few more glances, you'll just end up with envy!"

  Zhang Yang was even more puzzled, why did this person take the shield he had forged and show it off in front of him? What does this mean? Hmm, should be a problem with his brain! Forget it, what's the point of arguing with someone who has a problem with their brain, isn't it just a waste of energy?!

  "I'm going up, Qing Si, add me in!" Absolute Defense **pounced on the monster heap, and finally didn't forget to give Zhang Yang a disdainful look.

  "Is there something wrong with this guy's brain?" Zhang Yang couldn't help but send a private message to Chi Lian Huo.

  Chi Yan's flames: "......"

  However, the absolute defense can become the MT of the lost paradise, and it is also a good hand at pulling groups. The guardian knight is born to be a good puller, and the six monsters are all pulled by the absolute defense without any signs of running around. But after all, the absolute defense is not Zhang Yang, it relies entirely on skills and armor to withstand the monster's attack, and in death mode, the small monsters are originally fierce, his blood bar suddenly becomes like a roller coaster, jumping up and down, making two healers busy spinning around.

  Zhang Yang took a look and simply watched the commotion on one side. What's the big deal? Just casually hit it and that's it.

  The elite is indeed elite, the efficiency of killing monsters is completely different from yesterday's wild team. Even if Zhang Yang didn't make a move, the six small monsters were quickly defeated, but the blue bars of the two healers were also completely consumed, and they had to sit down to eat some snacks to replenish their magic values.

  "Warrior, will you accompany me on a task later?" Qing Siluo quickly recovered her magic and walked up to Zhang Yang's side, saying in a sweet voice.

  "Qīng sī, what task do you want to do? I'll accompany you, that's all!" said Jue Dui Fang Yu immediately, he had feelings for Qīng Sī Ruò Xuě for more than a day or two.

  Zhang Yang shrugged, meaning that someone was accompanying him, so he wouldn't waste any more time. Although it's said that one shouldn't let their youth be wasted, but having experienced the vast ocean, he now wholeheartedly thinks of expanding his own strength to provide a reliable arm for Lin Yu, what other leisurely and elegant pursuits are there!

  Her blue-black hair was like snow, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed. She turned her head back and glared at Absolute Defense with a fierce gaze.

  He was absolutely furious and couldn't understand the situation, but what made him even angrier was that not only was the kid a hoodlum, he had also hooked up with his woman! What can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?!

  In the midst of Zhang Yang's confusion, he was suddenly elevated from a "playboy" role to that of a rival in love by someone.

  "Let's keep moving forward!" Chi Yan Huo also didn't notice the undercurrents between Absolute Defense and Zhang Yang, directing his team to continue advancing.

  Door god.

  "Warrior, you and Absolute Defense take turns!" Chi Yan Huo knew that Zhang Yang alone could tank the entire Death Mode, but he had brought the main tank along, so it would be a waste to let him idle around!

  "Hmph, I'm the guild leader, and I can handle it alone!" With his absolute defense since equipping that shield, his confidence had skyrocketed to extreme levels, and now no one on Earth could stop him.

  Zhang Yang made an inviting gesture.

  Absolute Defense let out a cold snort and stepped forward with his warhammer at the ready.

  "Bang bang bang", after a flurry of chaos, Chi Yan Huo hastily shouted: "Zhan Yu, hurry up! It's definitely going to collapse! Quick, increase the healing intensity!"

  Han Baozi burst out laughing.

  Zhang Yang drew out his war blade and charged forward with a single arrow step, stunning one of the monsters before starting to chop at it. After the monster woke up, he followed up with another taunt, and after two seconds, the hate was basically stabilized.

  When Zhang Yang saw that Zuo Yi's left hand was holding a shield identical to his own, he was taken aback. How did he also have one?

  To save time, Zhang Yang didn't even bother to use Absolute Defense against the small monsters and quickly cleared them out. He soon arrived in front of Old One. Absolute Defense finally witnessed Zhang Yang's prowess, that hatred was truly astonishing, making him feel like his own existence was completely superfluous.

  After knocking down the black claw, he was even more shocked! Zhang Yang, with a dozen "dead eyes" on his head, didn't let the BOSS hit him once, and his control over the timing of movement opened up new possibilities for absolute defense. It wasn't until then that he realized tanks could be played like this too! From then on, he became silent, only focusing on quietly killing monsters.

  Because the team is much stronger than yesterday, Zhang Yang's equipment has also been greatly improved. After the team defeated the hidden BOSS, they didn't wipe out once, of course, there are always some deaths that can't be avoided.

  As agreed earlier, as long as there was equipment that Zhang Yang could use, it would be given to him first. Zhang Yang didn't stand on ceremony either and took four pieces of bronze equipment away.

  Lord's Helmet (Bronze Equipment, Armor)

  Armor: +6

  Vitality: +12

  Strength: +6

  Agility: +2

  Required level: 10

  Crimson Cloak (Bronze Cape)

  Vitality: +3

  Strength: +2

  Required level: 10

  Warrior's Cuirass (Bronze Armor)

  Armor: +6

  Vitality: +12

  Strength: +8

  Required level: 10

  Amber Signet Ring (Bronze, Ring)

  Vitality: +3

  Strength: +2

  Equipment: Each successful dodge attack has a certain chance to increase strength by 20 points for 10 seconds. This effect cannot be stacked.

  Required level: 10

  "Forty-seven minutes!" Chi Yan calculated the time, "Zhan Yu, let's upgrade our equipment a bit more and practice our tactics until they're flawless. We should be able to compress the clearance time to within 30 minutes, right?"

  Zhang Yang changed into his equipment while saying, "Mm, there's hope."

  "Haha, let's continue with the hard mode, so as not to waste your precious time, great master!" Chi Lian Huo said. If they couldn't even beat the hard mode with the equipment they got from the death mode, it would be too embarrassing.

  "Alright, goodbye then!" Zhang Yang and Han Paozi left their teams separately.