Sword Among Us

Even mounts were divided by grade in World of Martial Arts.

Usually, the more handsome a horse was, the higher its speed, stamina, defense, its teamwork with its master, and other aspects would be.

When a normal horse was placed beside a high-grade mount, it would appear inferior and look like a dwarf. When players saw high-grade mounts, they tried to avoid having their low-tier mounts stand beside them so that they would not be affected by their presence and feel inferior.

However, high-grade mounts were also classified into different classes.

The purplish red horse Happy possessed had belonged to a Mystical Realm bandit leader, and while it was quite a good mount, it could only be considered a horse that was among the top of the low-class high-grade mounts.

The purplish red mount was much more beautiful and bigger than normal mounts, but there was a certain disparity in quality compared to a real famous horse. It was also much more inferior compared to Hoof Shadow, which was a horse that was the top of the crop and had intelligence that was comparable to that of a human.

Hoof Shadows had been owned by every single good player in Happy’s previous life, because a Hoof Shadow’s speed was simply unparalleled. It was a symbol of status, wealth, and position in the game.

However, to Happy, the true and most important value of Hoof Shadow was not in those things.

*****

When they were near an ancient tomb that was around fifteen miles away from Wuhu, Thunderous Battle and Happy looked at each other and shared an understanding smile. The two of them had gotten to know each other and became quite good friends because of an ancient tomb. Even though they were not near Yangzhou, the surroundings of the ancient tomb were done by the same developer, and it gave off a familiar feeling. It made the two men sentimental.

The trio did not enter the ancient tomb. Instead, they stopped outside a rather wide forest that did not have many trees.

Thunderous Battle looked around and could not help but lament in great pity. “I once ran into a Hoof Shadow. That horse is just too beautiful, and I fell in love with it at first glance, but a pity, it was just too fast. At that time, I only had a low-tier lightness skill, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace. It left me in the dust.”

“Yup.” Happy nodded.

In truth, even the current Thunderous Battle would be unable to catch up to a Hoof Shadow despite having Fox Monster’s Phantasmal Shadow. There were very few people who could capture a Hoof Shadow, and most of them had to rely on numbers and encircling tactics to achieve that.

“Big Brother Thunder, you met a Hoof Shadow before?” Little North was clearly a loyal admirer of Hoof Shadows. When he heard about it, he became excited again, and he asked repeatedly about where Thunderous Battle had seen it.

“I saw it in Yangzhou. At that time, I was on my way to an ancient tomb as well.”

When he said it, surprise and bewilderment suddenly appeared on his face, and he looked at Happy. He felt that he had figured out something and had a faint inkling as to why Happy had brought the two of them there.

Little North also caught it, and his eyes lit up.

“An ancient tomb AS WELL? Does that mean that Hoof Shadows often appear near ancient tombs?”

“It should be. That’s my guess as well. Big Brother Thunder isn’t the only one who’s seen one before. I met one near an ancient tomb too, and a few of my friends had similar experiences. That’s why my guess is that there is a higher chance to run into Hoof Shadows near ancient tombs.”

“So that’s why you had someone help us figure out our fates with fortune today?”

“Yup.” Happy nodded and pointed northwest.

“Let’s walk around first. There are quite a lot of players in the area. We might be able to get some information.”

Even though fighting against Stone Giants had not become the trend, there were many players who had already placed their attention on the area. They took a fancy to the Stone Giants’ sturdy and durable bodies and focused their attention on using them to practice their martial arts. While the trio talked to each other, they often noticed players hurriedly entering the ancient tomb.

“The three of us should split up to search. It’ll be faster that way. We’ll set the time limit to half an hour. When you find one, don’t alarm it. Send a messenger pigeon and wait for the rest. Then, we’ll make our decision! If we don’t have anything after half an hour, let’s meet up in this place.”

While Happy spoke, he tapped on a spot on the map. Once Thunderous Battle and Little North memorized it, they decisively split up outside the ancient tomb.

Happy did not leave immediately, because he had an even better method to search for Hoof Shadows.

All the people in World of Martial Arts knew that Hoof Shadows had great stamina, and when they ran, they left no tracks, even when they ran on snow. They would never leave behind obvious tracks for players to notice and capture them. However, a Hoof Shadow fan who appeared in the later stages of the game had followed them for a whole month and captured multiple Hoof Shadows. In the end, he found a very clear sign that Hoof Shadows left while moving around.

They also needed to eat, and when there was no one around, they would eat grass with raindrops or dew on it, as well as fresh fruits.

However, grass with raindrops or dew were hidden and were easily overlooked. It was also very difficult for players to notice and differentiate them. As for fresh fruits, since players could also eat them and even use them to restore a bit of their stamina, players would usually pick them when they noticed them, and they were even rarer.

That was the reason why the Hoof Shadow fan required such a long time to notice it.

Of course, that did not mean that Hoof Shadows would definitely appear next to grass with dew or raindrops. Instead, players could determine whether there was a Hoof Shadow near the area based on whether the grass had been touched.

With stubborn and unyielding spirit, the Hoof Shadow fan had become the Hoof Shadow King that everyone was envious of. He specialized in selling Hoof Shadow Horse Plates along with Phantasm Body Movement Skill, which countless martial artists were crazy over. Because of it, he became a millionaire whose wealth was second only to Wandering Know-it-all’s in one go! However, once the players’ overall abilities increased later on, Hoof Shadow King’s secret was discovered, and he gradually faded into obscurity.

Happy’s goal was not to obtain a Hoof Shadow.

A top-class high-grade mount was very tempting, but Happy was a person who pursued absolute strength. When he had to choose between his prestige and increasing his abilities, he would definitely choose Phantasm Body Movement Skill without any hesitation.

He looked around, and soon, he fixed his gaze on a green pasture.

After rushing over there, he quickly looked over the green and soft grass known as carpet tip from left to right. He paid attention to whether there were any signs of it being eaten before. When he noticed nothing, he quickly went to another side.

There was a pattern to searching for Hoof Shadows. There were not many meadows near ancient tombs, so if he did not find any signs of them and there was no commotion nearby, he just needed to head to a remote and deserted region. He would definitely find one there!

After searching for a period of time, a messenger pigeon suddenly landed on Happy’s shoulder!

His spirits lifted, and he quickly took out the letter and spread it out.

There was only one sentence on the letter, along with some coordinates.

“Knew it, he found it!”

Happy summoned his purplish red horse without hesitation and jumped on it. With a snap of the reins, he headed to the coordinates stated in the letter.

A few miles away from Happy was the ancient tomb. A handsome horse with black and incredibly shiny fur was standing there. All sorts of venomous insects and centipedes were crawling all over its body. The horse tried to shake them while whining. It looked incredibly pathetic, and its resistance grew weaker with each passing second. The light in its eyes became dimmer, and it looked like it was near death’s door. It even seemed like it would die at any moment.

“Enough! Take it away!”

With that order, thirty or so players with hostile faces standing further away puckered their lips, opened an item that looked like a pot, and let out a strange whistle.

As if the venomous insects had received some command, they swiftly stopped squirming about and invading the black horse’s body. They split into dozens of groups and crawled into different pots like tidal waves.