Chapter 7: The Masked Baron

  "The Masked Baron." Bai Cangdong didn't dare reveal that he was just an ordinary person without a title, or else even if his own combat strength wasn't inferior to any of the barons, the barons could use their three major privileges to threaten him and force him to submit.

  Every person with a noble title has three major privileges: exemption, trial and punishment. These three major privileges can only be used on people with lower titles than themselves, and can only be used once within twelve hours. Even so, no one dares to ignore these three major privileges.

  Immunity: Exempt from all damage caused by units with a lower rank than yourself.

  Judgment: Immobilize someone of a lower rank than oneself, making them unable to move and unable to use any martial skills or longevity techniques.

  Sanction: A punishment from the gods that greatly reduces an enemy's power, speed, and physical strength to a level lower than one's own.

  The greater the difference in rank, the stronger the power of the three major privileges, making it impossible for those with lower ranks to do anything but obey those with higher ranks. This is the fundamental nature of the ranking system.

  No one doubted Bai Cangdong's words, after all, someone with skills like Bai Cangdong couldn't possibly not be a baron. So no baron dared to use the three major privileges on him.

  "Your Excellency is probably not from our Doulou City, right?" Du Changlong asked again.

  "It's on our way here, I didn't expect to encounter the Undying Altar in this world." Bai Cangdong replied.

  "That's unfortunate, but since we've come this far, please work with us to think of a way to rush up the altar of immortality, shatter the crystal of eternal life, and let everyone be saved."

  "That's right."

  Bai Cang Dong found a place to sit down, and the crowd was in an uproar. Some people suggested that everyone should charge towards the altar together to see if they could break through the ghostly group and rush up to the altar. Others suggested that they should divide into several small teams and charge towards the altar from different directions, causing the ghostly group to disperse and making it easier to rush up to the altar.

  Bai Cangdong listened for a while and roughly knew that nearly a thousand splitting ghosts had gathered at the altar, relying on the hundred or so people here, among whom only about half possessed the power of a baron, they couldn't even get past the splitting ghost group, let alone kill their way up to the altar and shatter the eternal crystal.

  "That won't work, our strength is far from enough to confront the ghost group head-on, and in the end we can only be killed." Du Changlong said loudly.

  "What should we do then, just sit here and wait for death?" someone said in a cold voice.

  "I do have a way, I have a suit of armor here that is extremely sturdy. Even if it's the mutated Split-Head Ghost, it won't be able to leave a mark on it with a full-force blow. As long as you wear this armor, you can ignore those Split-Head Ghosts and directly rush up to the altar to duel with the Split-Skull Ghost."

  "Why didn't you say so earlier?" Everyone was overjoyed.

  Du Changlong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Unfortunately, this is only a half-body armor, which can only protect the upper body and arms. The head and lower body are not protected, so I can contribute this armor. If everyone has other equipment that can match it, they can also be contributed together. Putting them on one person will give him a chance to rush up to the altar, kill the ghost of beheading, and shatter the eternal crystal."

  "Brother Du is right, I have a bull horn helmet here, although it's not as good as Brother Du's armor, but those beheading ghosts' axes are also useless against it, so I'll contribute it."

  "I have something here..."

  Everyone contributed their own equipment, and before long, they had actually assembled a very luxurious set of baron-level equipment, with six weapons alone.

  In the end, when it came time to choose who would wear this suit of armor and rush up to the altar, the crowd began to argue.

  With this set of equipment that is considered abnormal at the Baron level, many people have the confidence to rush up to the altar and kill the Split Skull Ghost and shatter the Eternal Crystal. Then the problem arises.

  The person who shatters the Eternal Crystal can obtain a special title, which has privileges that ordinary titles do not have. Even if you reach the rank of Marquis or Duke, without having shattered the Eternal Crystal, you will not have this title and its privileges. Therefore, many self-proclaimed powerful Barons here want to become the one who rushes up to the altar and shatters the Eternal Crystal.

  Bai Cangdong stood by, watching with a cold eye as those several barons who were very confident in their own strength openly and secretly vied for the armor, each wanting to put it on and rush up to the altar.

  He didn't think much of the armor and didn't believe the Skullcutter would be that easy to deal with.

  However, since someone is willing to be the pioneer, he would rather watch from the side to see the true strength of the Splitting Ghost.

  A crowd of people argued for half a day, and finally most people agreed to let a man with the title "Duke of Knife Shield" wear that suit of armor and rush up to the altar to smash the Crystal of Eternal Life.

  The Baron of Blades also promised that after shattering the Eternity Crystal, he would return all arms to their original masters.

  "Although the armor is enough to withstand the attack of the splitting ghost, in order to save the physical strength and time of the knife shield baron, we still divided into eight small teams according to the original plan, and rushed towards the altar from eight directions at the same time, dispersing the attention of the splitting ghost group, so that the knife shield baron can rush up to the altar more quickly." After a pause, Du Changlong said again: "Of course, our main task is to disperse the attention of the splitting ghost group. Everyone should pay attention to their own safety and retreat immediately if the situation is not right. Safety first."

  Everyone agreed and soon, under Du Changlong's arrangement, they were divided into eight small teams. Bai Cangdong was assigned to the team in the northeast, with over a dozen people. They took a detour for half a day, killing many lone Split-Head Ghosts along the way, and finally arrived at their destination before the designated time.

  "Oh no, so many splitting ghosts!" Bai Cangdong looked from a distance and couldn't see the altar at all. The area around the altar was filled with groups of splitting ghosts, their numbers were astonishing.

  "Can Baron Blade Shield really rush over?" a commoner in the squad exclaimed.

  "There shouldn't be any problem, no matter how many Splitting Ghosts there are, they can't hurt the Knife Shield Baron with that set of perverted-level armor." Another person chimed in to comfort him.

  "It's time, let's go." With a single order from Shi Quan, the temporary captain of the squad, everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and charge towards the altar.

  Eight squads charged towards the altar from different directions, and the group of beheading ghosts was suddenly thrown into disarray. The Baron of Knives and Shields, clad in luxurious armor, took advantage of the chaos to charge towards the altar. Along the way, he effortlessly slaughtered over a dozen beheading ghosts that blocked his path with the support of his powerful equipment, while those ghosts couldn't even scratch him. The crowd's morale was greatly boosted by this sight.

  The Baron of Knife and Shield was as fierce as a tiger, holding a knife and shield to quickly rush towards the altar. The beheading ghosts who tried to stop him were either knocked flying by his shield or had their heads chopped off by his large knife. No one could stop his footsteps, and everyone cheered loudly, fighting even harder against the beheading ghosts around them.

  Baron Blade Shield bravely broke through the blockade of the beheading ghost group and actually rushed onto the altar.

  On the black-red altar covered with runes, a light column shot up to the sky from the center of the altar. At this time, a splitting ghost was resurrected from the stone pillar at the edge of the altar. The three-meter-tall, blood-red body, holding a giant axe like a demon god, stared at the knife-shield baron who rushed onto the altar with a pair of eyes as red as blood.

  "Damn you, go die!" The Baron of Knife and Shield spat a mouthful of saliva, let out a loud roar and charged towards the skull-splitting ghost.

  The giant body of the splitting ghost was not clumsy at all, its movements were as swift as lightning. The Baron of Knives and Shields had just seen it swing its giant axe when the axe was already in front of him, and it came crashing down on his head.

  Unable to dodge in time, Baron BladeShield could only grit his teeth and use his shield to forcibly block the giant axe's blow.

  "Boom!"

  After the earth-shaking loud noise, the Baron of Knife and Shield was cut back dozens of meters. The large shield, which was considered a top-notch item among barons, had a crack that ran through the entire shield, almost splitting it in half.

  Everyone who saw this scene was shocked and exclaimed, and the Baron of Knifeshield was even more pale, such an extreme shield, was actually scrapped by the Skullsplitter with just one axe, the strength of the Skullsplitter far exceeded everyone's expectations.

  But Baron Blade Shield had no way out, and could only throw away his shield, grasp the knife with both hands, and charge forward with a hard scalp.

  The ending was cruel, the armed suit that everyone had high hopes for couldn't withstand the slash of the giant, and was chopped into a mess like tofu.

  The Baron of Knives and Shields only managed to throw out the big knife in his hand, leaving a minor wound on the arm of the beheading ghost, before being chopped into pieces by the chaotic axe, with blood splashing everywhere on the altar.

  Everyone felt their scalp numb and legs weak, the ferocity of the beheading ghost left them desperate. The martial prowess of the Knife Shield Baron was already among the top in the crowd, but with that luxurious equipment, he was actually chopped down by the beheading ghost in just a few moves, instantly plunging everyone into the depths of despair.

  "It's all over, everything is finished, we will all die here!"

  "Even the strongest armed forces are useless, it's not even a fair fight, the Splitting Ghost is absolutely a Viscount-level terror existence."

  Everyone's soul was lost, and they even forgot to escape for their lives. Even if they escaped now, what would be the use? In the end, they could only be killed, and if they couldn't rush up to the altar, everything would be in vain.

  Bai Cang's eyes, like fire, stared intently at the beheaded ghost on the altar, its gaze concentrated on the wound caused by the long knife thrown by the Knife Shield Baron.

  "A baron-level armament can injure the Skullsplitter, indicating that its physical resilience is not particularly high. The silk sword should be able to kill it, but the Skullsplitter's speed is simply too fast. With my current speed, even using Blade Step, I may not be able to dodge its attacks. A head-on confrontation with it would undoubtedly result in death."

  Everyone was retreating, but Bai Cangdong moved in the opposite direction towards the altar.

  "Now is the only chance, if not, it's certain death." Bai Cangdong understood even more now that the ghost group was dispersed by everyone, he still had a chance to rush up to the altar. If he didn't go now, these people would definitely not have the courage to come again for a second time. At that time, all the ghosts would be gathered in front of the altar, and he wouldn't even have the opportunity to rush up to the altar.

  "What are you doing? Hurry up and escape!" someone from Bai Cangdong's team shouted, seeing his abnormal behavior.

  "Are your ears deaf and your brain addled?" Someone shouted loudly as Bai Cangdong continued to walk towards the altar.

  "Never mind him, let's make a quick escape."

  Deaf to the voices of others, Bai Cao's entire focus was on the altar, every step carefully calculated in his mind. He had to rush up to the altar at top speed while conserving enough strength to deal with the beheading ghost, but unlike the Baron of Knives and Shields, he didn't have a luxurious set of armor that would allow him to ignore the ghost's attacks. His only reliance was on his knife steps, painful knife techniques, and silk sword.

  In the midst of the splitting ghost group, Bai Cangdong floated and drifted like a ghost, his body often passing through the splitting ghost group from unbelievable angles, several times he squeezed past by sticking to the splitting ghost's body.

  To others, Bai Cangdong seemed to have truly transformed into a ghost without a physical body, passing through the group of splitting ghosts that were like copper walls and iron fortresses. Every time he passed by, several splitting ghosts would twitch strangely as if possessed by an evil spirit.

  Bai Cang didn't have the time or energy to waste on the splitting ghosts, each time only stabbing one sword at the blocking splitting ghost, making them feel unbearable pain and unable to pursue, without even having the time to add another sword to kill them.