As a squad of guards emerged from the gates of Dragon Heart City, the members of the War Blood Adventuring Party watched
The twelve-man NPC squad was level 150 and third-tier — never mind that their level was nearly thirty above any third-tier player in the Divine Realm; their very status as Dragon Heart City guards was more than enough to cause Shi Feng's group serious trouble.
After the system's major update, the NPC guards in these cities were no longer the rigid, robotic enforcers they used to be, executing every rule to the letter with absolute impartiality.
Instead, they had become humanized, capable of dancing along the line of rules — sometimes strict, sometimes lenient. Either way, everything they did fell within the boundaries of what was permitted, and players had absolutely no recourse.
"Vice Captain Xinyu, let's see how that Black Flame acts cocky now!" said Can Guang Ru Xue, a level-123 member of the War Blood Adventuring Party, watching the guard squad approach Shi Feng's group with a cold smirk. "Even if he's a fourth-tier Class and can one-shot Vice Captain Caomu, he'll still have to keep his head down here!"
"Black Flame is no ordinary man. If he truly has the patience to endure, just the status of a fourth-tier Class would be enough to keep even these Dragon Heart City guards from pushing too hard." Mo Xinyu shook her head and said slowly, "Everything depends on what Black Flame does next."
For someone like Shi Feng, a guild leader, endurance was practically a basic requirement. If he really had the patience to hold back, their little schemes would be hard to pull off.
After that, all they could do was hunt Shi Feng down outside the city, just as they had once done against Ziwei of the Blade of the
"He's always been arrogant — he probably can't hold back," said Can Guang Ru Xue. "Even if he manages to suppress himself for a moment, the instant he shows even a hint of resistance, or shows any disrespect to Lord Sablaide, we'll crush him!"
"Let's hope," said Mo Xinyu, secretly hoping Shi Feng would lose his temper — which would make everything so much easier to handle.
As the guard squad arrived in front of Shi Feng and his group, the surrounding players couldn't help but stop and watch.
"What's going on with these guards? They actually came out on their own?"
"Wait — that assassin looks like Shenying, the Vice Captain of the Blade of the Firmament!"
"No way — someone from the Blade of the Firmament dares to walk right up to them? Are they looking to die?"
It didn't take long for players on the scene to recognize Shenying, and every one of them could hardly believe it. The War Blood Adventuring Party had already put out a city-wide bounty on the Blade of the Firmament's members — walking in now was practically a sheep walking into a tiger's jaws.
"Those NPC guards came straight for them. They're done for."
"This NPC is a world-class troublemaker. Last time I got interrogated for over two hours straight. If I hadn't handed over a Magic Crystal, I probably would've been stuck waiting several more hours before I could get in."
"With War Blood hunting down the Blade of the Firmament's people so aggressively, these guards are probably members of the Hidden Hand Society. There's no way a few hours of questioning will settle it — they'll keep pushing until someone says the wrong thing, and then toss them into the dungeon…"
The players on the scene couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy at the guards' proactive appearance — but that was all it was. After all, when you lived under someone else's roof, you had no choice but to bow your head. Resist, and there would be no surviving.
And it wouldn't be a simple three-day lockup — it would be fifteen days!
As the surrounding players whispered among themselves, the twelve-man squad of guards had already surrounded Shi Feng and his group.
"There's a lot of unrest in Dragon Heart City right now, and our superiors have ordered us to increase inspections to prevent anyone from causing trouble. You lot look suspicious, and you're wearing black cloaks to hide your identities. Remove the cloaks and come with us!" the lead guard, a burly man, said with a cold sneer at Shi Feng and his group. "Don't worry — the investigation will be quick. A dozen hours at most, and we'll be done. Won't keep you long."
"Oh, and just to be safe, you'll need to open your spatial backpacks for inspection first. Can't have anyone smuggling contraband into the city, now can we?"
After the lead guard finished speaking, the other guards all laughed.
"That's right, go on and open them up. Don't worry — we won't take anything. We'll just pull everything out for a quick look."
"Exactly, just a quick inspection! This is all for the safety of Dragon Heart City!"
The NPC guards began to taunt Shi Feng with amusement, but Shenying's face had turned ashen. He hadn't expected these Hidden Hand Society NPCs to be this ruthless.
A player's spatial backpack was their most private possession and their greatest secret. If the contents were exposed, setting aside the immediate danger, simply revealing one's trump cards was more than any player could afford.
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but we have no intention of entering Dragon Heart City," Shenying said flatly, refusing outright.
A backpack inspection was absolutely out of the question. Putting aside himself, even Shi Feng as guild leader would never permit it. To put it bluntly, these guards were clearly trying to force a confrontation.
The only option now was to abandon the idea of entering Dragon Heart City.
But after Shenying's refusal, the burly lead guard simply laughed.
"Whether you come in or not doesn't matter. The fact that you don't want to enter Dragon Heart City proves you've got something to hide — which means you need to be inspected even more. You'd better open those spatial backpacks now, or don't blame us brothers for getting hands-on!" The burly guard had seemingly anticipated Shenying's refusal, and he raised his hand without hesitation.
In an instant, the other eleven guards gripped their weapons, each one radiating a bone-chilling killing intent.
However, just as the guards drew their weapons, Fan Muran stepped forward and produced a bronze-colored token from his backpack.