Chapter Twenty-Four: Woma

“President, where are Mizuhara and her group?” While Li Ren and the others were cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the equipment that had fallen, Li Ren also took the opportunity to collect the blood essence. At that moment, another group finally caught up to them.

Falling Moon pursed her lips, and Cang Yue, their main shield warrior who had just arrived, glanced at the women collecting gear and the corpses strewn across the ground, her face filled with disbelief.

A group of mages and priests without any close-combat protection—how could they possibly stand against a well-equipped party? What’s more, this was a total wipeout, and they themselves hadn’t suffered any casualties!

“This... was this the work of the Gale Direwolves? Impossible! The Gale Direwolves wouldn’t just ignore you, and besides, Mizuhara’s group isn’t that foolish,” Cang Yue muttered, unable to wrap her head around the situation, making wild guesses in her confusion.

“Well, you’ll have to ask our very own Bone Brother here, who’s no less impressive than the Gale Direwolves,” Falling Moon replied, nodding toward Li Ren, who was quietly collecting blood essence while the others were distracted.

Catching Falling Moon’s gesture, Li Ren quickly stowed away his little side project.

He had to admit, among the female players organized by Falling Moon, the number of beauties was truly overwhelming. Being surrounded by such a flock of charming ladies, Li Ren found the experience both delightful and torturous—words could hardly describe it.

“Hey, what kind of gear are you wearing? You’re incredible!” Cang Yue walked up to Li Ren. As a shield warrior, she naturally placed great importance on defensive equipment.

Li Ren wasn’t wearing any special gear at all, so he could only reply, “Just regular equipment. I have a bit more health, and Falling Moon’s healing timing was just right, that’s all.” He spoke calmly. Though Cang Yue looked skeptical, she didn’t press further, much to Li Ren’s quiet relief.

“We’ve killed Mizuhara’s group again and knocked them down another level. They’re bound to hate us to the bone now—not to mention all the gear they dropped. This is just too much fun,” Soft Water giggled, looking at the pile of equipment on the ground, while everyone busied themselves picking it up.

Li Ren silently took the opportunity to gather a fair amount of blood essence, storing it all in his backpack without merging it.

He studied these kind-hearted yet capable women in front of him, who, though they didn’t love conflict, weren’t afraid of it either, and quietly considered his next move.

“We got so much gear from killing them this time. Pick out whatever you like—it’s all thanks to your efforts,” Falling Moon said, piling up the equipment she’d collected in front of Li Ren and inviting him to choose freely.

Li Ren looked at the jumble of equipment and, after a moment’s thought, picked out a set of armor and a shield—at least he wouldn’t be running around half-naked anymore. The rest he handed back to Falling Moon.

“These will do—they look pretty good,” Li Ren said as he changed into the gear, finally looking a bit more like a proper player. He couldn’t help but make a joke about it.

Falling Moon no longer bothered to comment on Li Ren’s eccentricities.

“By the way, what are your plans next? I feel a bit bad we’ve dragged you into our mess twice now. Still, I must remind you: Mizuhara’s group is quite influential around here, and rumor has it they have backers. You’d better be careful,” Falling Moon warned him in earnest.

Li Ren pondered for a while. Seeing that no one else was around, he lowered his voice and spoke to Falling Moon, “I can help you establish a guild. In return, I need you to do something for me. How about it?”

“What? A guild?” she exclaimed.

“That’s right,” Li Ren replied nonchalantly.

At first, Falling Moon seemed excited, but she quickly calmed down. “If you want to use the Guild Charter to make us do something against our principles, that’s out of the question!” she said firmly.

Li Ren shook his head helplessly. “Let me put it this way: once you have a guild, you won’t have to worry about Mizuhara’s harassment anymore, and you’ll be able to grow rapidly, right?”

Without hesitation, Falling Moon answered confidently, “Of course. Our former guild was one of the top guilds. We’re just starting over now, and everyone is scattered, but with a guild, it’s only a matter of time before we regroup. As for Mizuhara’s lot, they’re nothing more than small-time thieves.”

Li Ren nodded, reassessing her potential—she was certainly promising.

“In that case, I think I can help you set up a guild,” Li Ren said, fixing his gaze on her.

“I told you, we won’t go against our principles!” she insisted, unwavering.

Li Ren chuckled. “Don’t worry. I just want you to help me find someone and gather information about him. Nothing more.”

Falling Moon seemed to sigh with relief. Establishing a guild was of immense importance to them. As someone who’d led a major guild in other games, she knew full well that even at higher levels, obtaining a Guild Charter would be extremely difficult.

Given this opportunity, of course she would try her best, and if the request was only that minor, or even a bit more, she wouldn’t refuse.

Li Ren glanced around. “These are your core members, right?”

Falling Moon was puzzled by the sudden question but nodded. “Yes.”

“Pick out a group you trust completely, ones who won’t leak secrets. I’ll take you to get a Guild Charter now!”

“Our members would never—wait, what?! Now?!” Her voice rose involuntarily, drawing surprised looks from the others. Embarrassed, she hurriedly led Li Ren a few steps away before continuing.

“Did you say you’re going to get a Guild Charter now?”

“That’s right.”

“Impossible!” Falling Moon scoffed. “We’re not as lucky as Zorro—there’s no way it’ll just drop for us.”

“Did I say anything about it dropping by chance?”

“Huh? But you know, Guild Charters only have a chance to drop from bosses in level 50 zones! We’re nowhere near strong enough to handle that!” She was beginning to think the world had gone mad.

Li Ren shook his head. “Trust me. If I say I can take you there, I have the means. All you need to do is assemble your most trustworthy people, and follow me. Remember—absolute secrecy!”

If they could get a Guild Charter at their current strength, it would make anyone envious. Despite having no assurance, Falling Moon realized the gravity of the opportunity. After a brief moment of thought, she selected twenty players from their group—Cang Yue, Soft Water, and others among them.

She then sent the rest off to level up and hunt monsters, taking her twenty chosen followers and leaving the Azure Plain with Li Ren, heading toward Seran City.

Upon entering the city, Li Ren eyed the greatsword-wielding guards with some apprehension. But aside from a couple of glances, the guards did nothing, much to his relief—the effect of his Fraud Ring was truly remarkable!

The portal, serving as the gateway between cities, was immense, with a whole squad of sword-wielding guards maintaining order. No one dared cause trouble there.

Guided by Li Ren, the group used the portal to travel to Sentinel City, the easternmost player city. The teleportation fee alone cost them a hefty sum, but at this moment, no one cared.

After Falling Moon explained their purpose to the twenty players, each was filled with excitement and disbelief, and no one questioned further along the way—much to Li Ren’s satisfaction.

The Guild Charter dropped in the Woma Temple, which could only be reached by passing through the Beastman Forest. The monsters around level forty they encountered en route were swiftly dispatched, thanks to Li Ren’s aggro management and the group’s attacks—it was effortless. With his direction, they made their way straight to the Woma Temple.

According to legend, the Woma Temple was once a shrine for the gods, later overrun by dark monsters and now a monster stronghold. Two bosses resided within: the level 55 Woma High Priest and the level 60 Woma Lord.

Guild Charters would only drop from these two.

However, the Woma High Priest spawned randomly throughout the temple, with no fixed location, while the Woma Lord remained deep within the temple’s heart.

Li Ren’s target was the Woma Lord, as searching the vast temple for a randomly spawning priest was simply impractical and far too time-consuming—especially since his companions were twenty levels below the boss. He would have to do most of the heavy lifting himself.

As the first group of players to enter the Woma Temple, they were greeted with the warmest of welcomes.

The moment they pushed open the temple doors and stepped inside, their eyes barely adjusted to the sudden dimness before a horde of monsters appeared before them.

These creatures wielded enormous blades, standing nearly twice as tall as the players. Strange magical markings adorned their bodies, but their bulging muscles made it clear they were not foes to be trifled with.

Falling Moon couldn’t help but gasp at the sheer number of monsters ahead.

“All of you, fall back and just keep my health up!” Li Ren commanded, not intending for Cang Yue to help, knowing that even as a shield warrior, she couldn’t withstand attacks from multiple monsters at once.

Falling Moon’s group quickly reformed their ranks, stacking every buff they had onto Li Ren.

Li Ren looked at the myriad monsters before him, glanced at his own stats panel, and a faint smile played at the corner of his lips.