CHAPTER 295: IT’S TIME

"Bastion of the Condemned and Radiant Wellspring, huh..." Damon checked out his progress again. Along with his four elements-packed crimson lance, these three would currently be the strongest skills in his arsenal.

It was almost ironic that, despite being an unholy being himself, his skills ultimately condemned his people. But it did not matter. "This will work out well when I pay a visit to the Blood Lands." Damon grinned. Bloodlands were full of the Unholy and the Undead, and these two would be perfect when he had to face a large number of enemies.

He could already picture it, stepping into the corrupted gravefields of the Blood Lands, where necrotic fog hung like curtains over desecrated ruins, and ghoulish armies clawed their way out of crimson soil.

And in the center of it all, him, a vampire glowing with sanctified light, tearing through the legions of the damned not with shadow or death magic, but with radiance, holy energy so pure it seared the air itself.

"I’m going to stain the Blood Lands with holy fire." Damon clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. The super ten had shown him what they were capable of, and now he was slowly gearing up to show them what he was capable of.

"Oh. That reminds me. It’s almost time, isn’t it?" Damon sat down quietly as the last couple of minutes he had left in the training zone quickly passed by. It was log-in time for everyone again, and today there was a good show waiting for him.

As the final seconds of the time dilation room ticked away, Damon calmed himself and prepared for what was about to come next.

The moment the seal broke and the temporal chamber began to unwind, Damon’s surroundings shifted. Light shimmered, the distortion collapsing inward, and in a heartbeat, he was back inside a normal chamber inside the Blood Hall. He was disoriented for a minute or so, but he quickly regained his composure.

Damon stretched his hands and legs and then walked out of the chamber to the main hall. His three followers were already there, waiting for him. Ellora was busy chatting with Varnyx, and the two of them were staring daggers at Kaelthorn. Obviously, she was recounting everything that had happened to the old vampire.

Riven looked sheepish and nervous and started sweating as soon as he saw Damon walking.

Kaelthorn just stood blankly without any expression on his face. He knew his time outside the prison was coming to an end, and this time he had nothing to show for it. Despite his overwhelming prowess and taking plenty of shots, he couldn’t even land a scratch on the new lord. That did not sit well with him.

Damon was going to deal with him today, but not yet. He had bigger things going on today. He wanted to watch the spectacle unfold first.

He sat down comfortably on the throne that belonged to the Lord of the Blood Hall and opened up the auction system interface and the world chat system interface.

As soon as the interfaces loaded, they lit up with motion, flickering with bids, bursts of chatter, and aggressive speculation. The auction house had entered its frenzy window, and the world chat... the world chat was exploding!

Lines upon lines of scrolling text flew by as players across Earth Online scrambled to weigh in on the biggest drama of the hour.

The Valemire City Auction House had actually displayed a legendary item on the bulletin board!

The auction house employees had also gone above and beyond to promote the auction. In many cities across various kingdoms, loud announcements were made. Trumpets blared in-game, magical screens hovered in public squares, and gold-inked flyers were distributed by NPC heralds.

Even those who didn’t care about auctions were now paying attention because the item in question wasn’t just any item. It was a legendary item!

Legendary items were almost non-existent within the game world. One had to go to the ends of the world in order to obtain a legendary item. There were no quests leading to them. No treasure chests dropping them. They were as rare as virgin women in a brothel.

News of the appearance of a legendary item spread like wildfire!

This made even the NPCs excited about the auction. Not to mention, the players. A single legendary item could change the fate of entire guilds. So every single player in the game was glued to the auction house notification. The players were discussing it fervently everywhere.

"What?! A legendary item? No way! This has to be the first one since launch, right?"

"A legendary item!? Are we sure this isn’t some April Fools patch event!?"

"No joke. I just checked the listing myself. It’s real."

"Anyone know what it is? I’m offering a huge bounty for any info—DM me!"

"We don’t care what it turns out to be. The Obsidian Star Guild is ready to throw mountains of gold at it!"

"Obsidian what? Never heard of you. This is clearly going to be a showdown between the real titans. If you’re not ready to burn through a few million gold, don’t even show up."

"A million? My guild’s entire treasury couldn’t cover that if we sold our souls and our mounts."

"Heh. Sell your souls to whom? The Blood God? Maybe he’ll loan you a couple of coppers out of pity."

"The Blood God better not show up for this. If he gets his hands on a legendary item, I swear I’m uninstalling."

"Fool! What Blood God are you talking about? The top guild, Battle Crusaders, would be the one taking the item home!"

"Blood God is the current city Lord of Niera City. Who else has achieved something like this in the game so far? He is definitely going to win this bid!"

"Retard, are you sucking his cock or what? Shut the fuck up! Blood God is just a fucking nobody who ran into a bunch of piles of lucky shit. He is nothing big!"

"Ho Ho! I sense jealousy here!"

"You can all shut up. Final Guardians will be the one taking the win this time!"

***

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