After Xuan Cang finished speaking, he stepped out of the crowd and walked, one step at a time, up to the Shura Adventurer Party.
His frigid aura pressed down on every member of the Shura Adventurer Party present, and not one of them dared to respond.
They all knew Xuan Cang's temperament all too well.
When Hekati had first arrived at Cold Wind City, something similar had happened. Dissatisfied adventurer parties had challenged Xuan Cang, and even a party of a hundred had ended with not a single survivor—all of them killed by Xuan Cang alone.
The gap in combat power between them was simply on a different level entirely.
"I heard the Shura Adventurer Party used to be the number-one party in Cold Wind City, and your party leader was called a monster—single-handedly able to suppress the city's other two great guilds, with experts filling your ranks. How come this is the level you're at now?" Xuan Cang glanced at the silent members of the Shura Adventurer Party. "Looks like rumors are just rumors. I've been in Cold Wind City for quite some time now, and I still haven't seen your so-called party leader. Seems like your party leader is just like the rest of you—too scared to come out. And yet you still dare to call yourselves Cold Wind City's number-one party. Absolutely disappointing. Then again, for a backwater place like Cold Wind City, how could any real experts possibly appear?"
The members of the Shura Adventurer Party heard this, and their expressions grew even darker.
They had nothing with which to refute him. Xuan Cang's strength was plain for all to see—he was one of the very top experts in all of Cold Wind City.
Even if their party leader and the other experts of the party were present, they might not necessarily be able to beat the current Xuan Cang.
"Leave the items here. We're leaving!" The Berserker leading the Shura Adventurer Party gritted his teeth and gave the order.
Facing Xuan Cang, they had absolutely no confidence.
If they were going to trade the lives of all fifty party members just for the Frost Giant Ape's drops, that would be an incredibly foolish decision as a party leader. And when they died, they would drop equipment—the losses would far exceed whatever the Frost Giant Ape had dropped.
With that, the Shura Adventurer Party's Berserker leader turned and led the others away.
"Hold it! Who said you could leave?" Xuan Cang suddenly called out.
"We've already left the items. What more do you want?" The Berserker leader, Feng Ran, said with a flash of anger.
"I noticed several Mythril Rank pieces on you lot that look quite nice. As it happens, our Hekati is short on fifty-level Mythril gear. I've already come all this way—you don't expect me to have made the trip for nothing, do you?" Xuan Cang chuckled. "Hand over five Mythril Rank pieces as my trouble fee, and then you can go."
The members of the Shura Adventurer Party heard this, and rage blazed in their eyes.
This was absolutely outrageous!
They had already chosen to back down, and now he wanted five fifty-level Mythril Rank pieces? That was practically asking for their lives.
It was true that the mainstream player level in Cold Wind City hovered around fifty, but fifty-level equipment was extremely scarce. Even fifty-level Iron Rank gear was worth a fortune, let alone Mythril Rank equipment.
A single fifty-level Mythril Rank piece was worth far more than the Frost Giant Ape's drops. Five Mythril Rank pieces would be worth more than the drops of over twenty Frost Giant Apes combined.
Even though the Shura Adventurer Party was Cold Wind City's number-one party, they didn't have many Mythril Rank pieces. As for this fifty-person party, all of their fifty-level Mythril Rank equipment combined only amounted to a dozen or so pieces.
"What, not willing? Then you're forcing my hand?" Xuan Cang swept his gaze over the Shura Adventurer Party members, his eyes turning cold.
The Shura Adventurer Party's side was seething with fury, staring daggers at Xuan Cang.
"Boss Feng Ran, let's just fight them! The worst that can happen is death—anything's better than giving up five Mythril Rank pieces!"
"That's right! There's no way the fifty of us can't take down one guy!"
…
The members of the Shura Adventurer Party all voiced their outrage in party chat, agreeing they would rather fight Xuan Cang to the death than meekly hand over five Mythril Rank pieces.
"Fine! We give it everything we've got! Even if we can't take him down, we'll knock out a few of his teeth!" The Berserker leader Feng Ran thought it over and decided they were right.
After all, Xuan Cang was only a level-52 Berserker—the exact same level as him. Their weapons and equipment were much stronger than before. It wasn't as though they couldn't put up a fight against the current Xuan Cang.
With that, the members of the Shura Adventurer Party drew their weapons, ready to surround and attack Xuan Cang.
"Going to make a move?" Xuan Cang looked at the battle-ready Feng Ran and couldn't help but scoff. "Perfect—I'll use you lot to warm up!"