MMORPG: Rebirth of the Legendary Guardian

After giving the princess a few gentle slaps, there was no response. No longer surprised, Zhang Yang let out a sigh, it looked like he had to deliver a ‘True Love’s Kiss’ once again.

”Uh --- ”

Serena uttered a low moan, as the mirage of hers once again projected out in the air, standing right before Zhang Yang. She looked at Zhang Yang and asked, ”Warrior, why haven’t you departed yet?”

Woman, you underestimated me far too much!

Zhang Yang took out the [Molten Core of the Flame King] and the other two quest items, placing them on the floor one after another and said, ”My princess, I have already collected everything as you requested!”

Serena looked at all three of the quest items. Her face broke into a surprised smile. ”Warrior, your bravery and your strength far exceeded my expectations! Thank you. With these ingredients, I can finally create a Soul Vessel!”

‘Ding! You have completed the quest: Soul Vessel, acquired 200,000 experience points! Time to completion: 2 days, quest evaluation: Perfect!’

‘Ding! You have acquired the reward: Furious Boots!’

Zhang Yang immediately looked into his backpack, all he could see was a pair of boots that shone gold, lying there quietly in one corner of his backpack!

[Furious Boots] (Yellow-Gold, armor)

Defense: +40

Vitality: +144

Strength: +58

Equip: Absorbs 116 damage when attacked.

Required Profession: Guardian

Required Level: 60

The set is complete! Zhang Yang was greatly pleased.

”Warrior, I shall being casting a spell to create the vessel, please protect me from every form of interruption!” Serena spoke rather sternly.

Zhang Yang nodded and said, ”My princess, you have nothing to worry about!”

The mirage of Serena opened up both of her hands and began chanting an agonizingly convoluted incantation. Shoof shoof shoof, streams of colorful lights were emitted from both of her hands. All three quest items began floating up one by one, circling around the mirage of Serena. They begin picking up speed, and soon they were a blur around her.

A very long magic progress bar appeared right on top of Serena’s head. Zhang Yang estimated that it would probably take about 2 minutes for her to finish her incantation.

Although Serena had mentioned the possibility of being interrupted, the surroundings remained quiet and peaceful. There was not even a sign of any monsters spawning. Zhang Yang stood idly, as he got bored watching Serena trying to complete her spell.

Shoof! A bright flash of light beamed out, and gradually dimmed down. Serena had finally completed her creation. A small box the size of a palm appeared on the ground. The box was crimson in colour, composed of a material unlike any other. The surface of the box was lined with countless runes.

The mirage of Serena revealed her exhaustion, as she asked weakly, ”Warrior, the vessel for the souls has been completed! The time is now, please bring it into the palace and slay the undead impostor, and activate the Soul Vessel to acquire the other half of my soul! Then, you must bring the Soul Vessel back to me immediately. With a completed soul, I will have enough power to remove myself from the seal!”

‘Ding! Princess Serena has given you a new quest: Retrieve the soul, do you accept? This quest will be linked to the main story’s quest. Complete the main story quest to obtain a luxurious reward!’

Accept!

Still, running into the palace to kill the princess?

Zhang Yang could not help but feel a chill down his spine, knowing that the palace was filled with guards and magic casters crawling all over the place, all level 80 and above! For a little warrior like him who had yet to even achieve level 60, it would be like sending a goat into the lion’s dent! Let’s not talk about assassinating the princess first, getting through the first door of the palace was already a huge problem!

”My princess, the palace is strictly guarded, I am afraid that I cannot even get close to that imposter!” Zhang Yang believed that the game developers would not create an unbeatable quest, so he decided to pry.

Serena nodded her head and said, ”Very good, you did not just recklessly charge into the palace without a plan! Bring this jade pendant along with you, it is a token of my authority, you should be able to enter the palace without facing any obstacles!” She pointed at a jade pendant that was very exquisitely crafted located around her waist, and said, ”Also, remember this incantation. Use it to awaken the other half of my soul and aid you in slaying the undead!”

”An Tu Lama Ke Ni Da...” Serena began to read aloud an incantation that involved a lot of tongue twisters.

Zhang Yang repeatedly practiced the incantation aloud many times. It took a while before he got it memorized.

”Brave warrior, please act swiftly, the further we delay, the more damage that undead being would cause to the kingdom!” Right after Serena finished her sentence, her mirage flickered before shattering.

Zhang Yang took the jade pendant from the waist of Serena before tearing a teleportation scroll up.

He now had the symbol of her authority, he had an incantation up his sleeve, but who the heck would know how strong the imposter was! If she stalled him long enough, the guards would definitely come to tear him up into shreds!

He decided to gather more men, ready to charge in with a force of a thunderbolt to blow the imposter into pieces, before using the City Order of the Tukulo Fortress to shake off his pursuers and leisurely head straight for the Flatlands of the Passing to turn in the quest!

After setting his mind onto it, Zhang Yang immediately contacted all players with the best equipment in the entire guild, commanding them to travel back to the city using teleportation scrolls and gather at the entrance of the palace.

”Noob tank, are we going to revolt with sticks in arms and slay the fatuous and self-indulgent ruler and then flee to Liangshan County1?” Wei Yan Er was shouting in excitement.

”... Little girl, you are changing your tastes again, watching {{Water Margin}} now I see!”

”I’ve long herad about the infamous Zhang Yu, spoken widely in hotels. But I see now that the person does not match the rumour, what a shame!” Wei Yan Er giggled, but she suddenly changed her gaze upon Zhang Yang and said, ”Noob tank, you still haven’t told us yet, are we going to slay the Emperor himself?”

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, ”Not the Emperor himself, but the princess herself!”

”Oh dear me, you really don’t have a soft spot for fair ladies!” Han Ying Xue gave a straight sigh.

”That’s right, instead of killing the princess, why not nab her and make her your mistress of the fortress!”

Daffodil Daydream was much more serious and got down to business -- ”Zhan Yu, the guards in the palace are all level 80 elites, they are so much more powerful than Yellow-Gold bosses that we faced recently. It will already be extremely difficult for us to break into the palace, let alone assassinate the princess!”

Zhang Yang smiled abd said, ”Yes, under normal circumstances, it is impossible to break into the palace! Still, these are rather abnormal circumstances! This is actually a main quest that I received, we have a special item that would allow us to enter the palace and go straight for the princess!”

Just a while later, everyone in the party had finally gathered at the entrance of the palace.

”Let’s go!” with Zhang Yang leading them on the front, the party moved forward.

”Hold it right there! This is a restricted area in the palace, civilians are forbidden from entering, remove yourselves at once!” The eight guards by the entrance of the palace instantly drew their blades, blazing with murderous aura. These guards were all level 80 elite grade units. Any one of them would wipe the floor with the entire party.

Zhang Yang took out the jade pendant that he had acquired from Serena and flashed it before him, speaking in an arrogant manner, ”I am the leader of Princess Serena’s spy squad, instructed by the princess herself to have an audience with her. You dare to deny me entry? Have you gotten tired of carrying your heads upon your shoulders?”

The face expressions of all eight guards suddenly changed, and they hastily stuttered, ”Sir, please forgive us, we did not know of your identity, we apologize for any offense made! However, we have responsibilities as well, we must inspect the authenticity of the jade pendant!”

Zhang Yang handed the jade pendant over to the guards. After the eight guards had inspected it thoroughly, they respectfully returned it back to Zhang Yang and said, ”Sir, we meant no offense!”

Wei Yan Er laughed out loud and said, ”Noob tank, you really are good at acting!”

Zhang Yang waved his hand and said, ”Move out!”

”Sir ---” suddenly, one of the guards stood up front and stopped them, and said, ”I am afraid that entering the palace with this many people is not appropriate!”

”Hmph! This is the direct order of the princess, you dare to defy the authority of the princess herself?” Zhang Yang tried his best at earning an Oscar.

”We dare not! We dare not!” the eight guards bent over while shaking their heads.

Zhang Yang then simply said, ”One of you come forth, quickly bring us to the princess, now!”

”Yes sir! Yes!” the eight guards stared at each other, before one of them stepped out and led the gang forward.

”We actually managed to get everyone in?” Fatty Han whispered joyfully.

The gang followed the NPC moving forward, and as they were moving forward, they encountered many layers of security, but as long as Zhang Yang shoved Serena’s jade pendant in their faces, they proceeded without any obstacle. After just a short while, the party had arrived at the deepest spot of the palace, at the Royal Chamber of Star and Luna.

This was the bedroom of Princess Serena, named after her nickname -- ‘The Star and Lunar Princess’!

”You can return to your post now!” Zhang Yang waved his hand at the guard that led them here.

”Yes, sir!” that NPC immediately turned around and left.

The Royal Chamber of Star and Luna was styled in European inspired architecture, with 24 huge pillars supporting the whole large palace. Looking from afar, they could see a lady in a fancy palace dress, sitting on a throne. The chamber was empty, with only a dozen guards guarding the entrance of the chamber.

”Who’s there, who dares trespass the Royal Chamber of Star and Luna to disturb the princess, kneel on all fours now!” A general wearing a golden armor pulled out his sword and stopped Zhang Yang and the others by their way forward, standing in an imposing, powerful stance.

[Captain of the Guards, Rhodus Ryan] (Yellow-Gold leader, Humanoid Creature)

Level: 80

HP: ???

Defense: ???

Zhang Yang slammed the jade pendant which was given by Serena right onto the face of the captain and snarled angrily, ”I am the princess’s secret guard, who are you to be threatening me?”

The poor NPC was immediately shaken from head to toe. After measuring the pendant with his own eyes intently, he quickly returned the jade pendant back to Zhang Yang. He had his head bowed down, with both of his hands holding the pendant up to Zhang Yang, saying, ”I was not aware of your identity, please forgive me!”

”You and your men can remove yourselves away from here now, what I have to say are only for her ears!” Zhang Yang continued his ploy.

”Sir, I am afraid that does not go…according to procedures?” Rhodus Ryan had doubt on his face.

Zhang Yang immediately raged on and said, ”You dare to defy the order of the princess?”

Rhodus Ryan turn his head towards Princess Serena who was sitting quietly in the sacred chamber, he revealed a fearful expression on his face. Ever since the princess had come back from her expedition three years ago, she had become a totally different person, known for striking her guards dead on a whim!

He instantly bent over and said, ”As you wish, Sir!”

With a wave of his hand, Rhodus Ryan and his subordinates immediately retreated

And now, the only thing left was the final blow!

TL Notes:

1. Liangshan County (Chinese: 梁山县; pinyin: Liángshān Xiàn) is a county in Shandong province, China, where many individuals who revolted against their rulers and stayed hidden there for their own safety. The area is the setting for the classic novel the {{Water Margin}}.