Chapter 441: A New Ingredient

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After putting away the jade fragment, Gao Peng led his familiars out of the Taklamakan Desert . Along the way, the Treasure Sniffing Rodent held fast to the jade fragment, rubbing its head against its surface and greedily inhaling its smell .

When it was confident that no one was looking at it, the rat gave its new prize a few furtive licks . It couldn't taste anything on the jade . The Treasure Sniffing Rodent blinked in confusion . It continued sniffing the jade fragment with its long snout like a crazed drug addict .

Gao Peng isn't looking at me right now . Neither is the duck with the intimidating tattoos or the centipede who's constantly being pampered by Gao Peng… Here's my chance!

It sank its teeth into the jade fragment . c.h.i.n.k . A pearly white tooth flew out from its mouth .

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent bit its lip and stifled a scream in order to avoid drawing any attention to itself .

They didn't return immediately to Chang'an City . Instead, as they were flying over Hanzhong City, Ji Hanwu ordered the White Dragon to begin its descent .

“We're just dropping by to collect the ingredient that you've been looking for,” explained Gao Peng's grandfather .

Hanzhong City had always been called this since ancient times . This name had been pa.s.sed down from generation to generation for as long as anyone could remember .

Its strategic position was also recognized and fought over by famed military strategists throughout the region's history .

Seeing Hanzhong City as a place of opportunity, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, had sent one of his generals, Han Xin, to conquer the place . During Wei's conquest of Shu, General Xiahou Yuan of the Shu state was cut down by General Huang Zhong in Mount Dingjun . The warlord Liu Bei later declared himself the first king of Hanzhong . The renowned military strategist Zhuge Liang had also stationed his troops in Hanzhong, where he was finally laid to rest at the foot of Mount Dingjun .

Countless myths and legends had surrounded the place for thousands of years . The Cataclysm had also brought about a curious change in the region; there were reports of sounds of fighting coming from Mount Dingjun . There were also sightings of army tents and flags erected near the mountain .

A Lord-tier trainer was sent by the Hanzhong base city to inspect the area . However, he didn't find anything .

“At least, that's the official statement . In reality, the trainer found a flag flying near the mountain . ”

“A flag . ”

“Yes . ”

“Was it a flag that had magically sprung to life?” Many flags had been flown near Mount Dingjun . Some of them dated all the way back to the Ming dynasty .

“Yes, the flag was a monster,” said Ji Hanwu, who then burst into laughter .

“Is it still at Mount Dingjun?” asked Gao Peng .

“No, it's not there anymore . It was subdued by the trainer,” said Ji Hanwu, shaking his head . “We could probably see the flag monster for ourselves later—” Ji Hanwu suddenly stopped, as if a thought had just occurred to him .

Soon, he ordered the White Dragon to land near a mountain villa to the north of the Hanzhong base city .

The mountain villa was built on top of a small hill with a couple of empty tents fluttering around it . The tents inflated like balloons as a gust of wind blew past them . No one seemed to be living in them at the moment . It was as if these tents had only been erected around the villa as mere decoration .

“Kill! Kill them all!!” someone shouted from the top of the hill .

“The King of Han has shown me such generosity . Who am I to betray his good will? I will raze the world to the ground if that is what it takes to repay the King of Han's kindness . So say I!” roared another voice, which sounded like two sheets of metal clanging against each other .

Voices young and old reverberated across the small hill .

“Huang Zhong's hour of glory is upon us . That knave Xiahou will soon taste our blades!”

“I will not disappoint your majesty . I will bring glory to the Han dynasty . ”

Ji Hanwu's mouth contorted into a bitter smile . “Come on . ”

When they finally reached the top of the hill, they could see the mountain villa standing in the middle of the hilltop . In front of it was a wide field, on the edge of which lay a huge turtle that seemed to be a variant of the alligator snapping turtle . Its scales were gleaming resplendently from head to toe .

The alligator snapping turtle was a creature that had been shrouded in mystery even before the Cataclysm . Its claws resembled those of the mythical beasts that had once t.i.tillated mankind's imagination .

However, what caught Gao Peng's eye wasn't the Lord-tier alligator snapping turtle, but the lone flag fluttering in the middle of the field . The flag was about as big as a movie theater's projection screen, with a white base that had black patterns around it . A huge sealing character was written in the middle of the flag .

A projection screen was spread out before the flag on which a war film was currently being played .

The flag was completely enraptured by the film . It would occasionally make the sounds one would expect to hear in a battlefield . “Charge!!!”

The flag was noisily acting out all the scenes in the film that it was watching .

“Hahaha, looks like we have guests . No wonder the weather today is so pleasant . Come in, come in . ” A 30-year-old man stepped out of the mountain villa to greet both Ji Hanwu and his grandson .

Gao Peng glanced at the flag .

[Monster Name]: Military Conferment Flag

[Monster Level]: Level 46 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade]: Excellent

[Monster Attribute]: Metal

[Monster Ability]: Soldier's Bloodl.u.s.t Level 3, War Aura Level 2

[Description]: A military flag that was brought to life by the lingering thousand-year bloodl.u.s.t in Mount Dingjun . Its grade suffered a slight drop due to the short period of time it was able to spend in the pool of bloodl.u.s.t and violent energy . It loves listening to army songs and watching war films and hates pansies .

[Available Perfect Grade Evolutionary Routes]: 1 . Admiral Votive Flag 2 . Steelblood Murderous Flag

[Monster Name]: Land Alligator Turtle

[Monster Level]: Level 45

[Monster Grade]: Normal

[Monster Attribute]: Earth/Water

[Monster Ability]: Fortified Turtlesh.e.l.l Level 2, Fortified Bite Level 2

[Monster Description]: A creature that has awakened its ancestral blood . It has a terrifyingly strong bite . Its sh.e.l.l also provides it with nigh impenetrable defenses . It likes to eat fish . It hates being touched by anyone .

“You seem quite carefree these days,” said Ji Hanwu as he looked around at his surroundings . Not a bad place to live in retirement . “Why are you living like an old fogey out here, anyway?”

“Oh, you know, if I'm going to spend the rest of my days working for the government, I might as well do it on my own terms,” said Lu w.a.n.g with a laugh . The man was the trainer of the two familiars .

Gao Peng took another look at the two familiars' stats . Both of them had quite high levels .

However, Gao Peng and his grandfather already had King-tier familiars at their disposal . They weren't at all familiar with the power levels of familiars beneath King-tier .

Then again, a Level 41 monster wouldn't seem too different from a Level 49 monster to a King-tier familiar, just as a fly wouldn't seem too different from a slightly bigger fly to a spider .

Once Lu w.a.n.g invited Gao Peng and his grandfather into the villa, he hurried into his bedroom and took out a box . He opened it to reveal a golden-reddish jewel, inside which a single drop of blood was kept in stasis .

“I found this when I was trying to subdue the Military Conferment Flag . I have no idea what it does, but my familiars don't seem to like it very much . It's only when I heard that the two of you were looking for exotic ingredients that I remembered I had this with me . ” Lu w.a.n.g handed the box to Ji Hanwu .

“My grandson's the one who likes collecting these things . An old fart like me couldn't even fathom what goes on in the minds of young people these days,” said Ji Hanwu, smiling . He gave the box to Gao Peng .

Gao Peng took the box from his grandfather . With just one glance, he could tell that it was exactly what he needed . He then said to Lu w.a.n.g, “Thanks, Uncle Lu . If there's anything you need, just give me a call . ”