abide by one's duty

Recognized the wrong person?

Impressive that you can say that with confidence!

Are you not her? Why are you praising her so much?

A wave of silent ridicule swept through the crowd.

"Many thanks for the rescue!"

Despite his verbal rejection, Jiang Han once again expressed gratitude with a courteous gesture.

"Swoosh!"

Glancing at Jiang Han, the person in white no longer spoke. With a flash of cold light, the sharp sword carried them swiftly away, as fast as a flowing light.

Seeing this, Ralph grinned, "Looks like it was a misunderstanding."

"Ralph, something big is happening. She's about to run away. Why don't you chase her quickly?" Atikas shouted as he put away his shield.

Ralph: "..."

She's clearly the Sword God. Are you asking me to chase after her?

Is it to catch up and let her kill me?

"Why don't you go then?" He questioned impatiently.

"My speed is not as fast as the Sword God's. I need you to stop her for me first." Atikas justified himself confidently. "Ralph, let the Sword God know that you became the seventh Devil God on your own!"

"I..."

Ralph blushed, landing on the ground from mid-air, and stared at Atikas with an unfriendly expression, threatening, "Say one more word, and I'll break your dragon!"

Atikas: "..."

*Cough, cough!*

Jiang Han coughed twice, shifting the focus. "With the strength of you two, can't you contend with the Sword God?"

The Sword God is formidable! He acknowledged that. In a previous encounter in the Ice and Snow City, the Sword God's intervention forced an oath from Luo Lei not to harm Jiang Han for two years. It demonstrated the Sword God's strength. However, even with the two Devil Gods and the newly promoted god-level powerhouse from the Dwarven race, the Sword God still didn't seem concerned.

"Though Atikas excels in defense, and I excel in speed, the leader of the Dwarven race should be outstanding in attack." Ralph pondered and said, "The three of us working together might barely match her..."

"!!!"

Jiang Han was stunned. Dongfang Yixin, you're this powerful?

"Hey hey hey!"

Atikas quickly interjected, "Jiang Han, don't underestimate us. As one of the top ten Devil Gods, we are undoubtedly powerful. As for why we can't defeat the Sword God... I can only say it's not our incompetence but the enemy's cruelty!"

"Right!"

Xia Zuo nodded, explaining, "The Sword God has lived for tens of thousands of years. I was fortunate to witness her might on the battlefield. With a single sword strike, tens of thousands of lives perished instantly. Now, she's undoubtedly even stronger!"

"..."

Jiang Han was speechless. Are you all exaggerating about being Sword Gods?

"If the Sword God takes action tomorrow, what are our chances of winning?" Taking a deep breath, Jiang Han inquired.

The other party came all the way from the Eastern Region for a clear purpose. The most likely scenario was that the Sword God would personally appear tomorrow. She knew that if she intervened, the safety of Heart City would be in jeopardy, so she wanted to take Jiang Han away in advance to remove the threat.

She didn't mind revealing her identity at the end for this reason. The reluctance to show her true face might be to avoid the restrictions of the rules. Ultimately, being affiliated with the Light Faction, assisting Jiang Han in the Dark Faction, carried significant risks.

"..."

Silence fell among the group. Dealing with the Sword God alone was already challenging, and if combined with the Dragon God, Chang Feng, and others, the chance of success in a direct confrontation approached zero.

"It seems the key point tomorrow lies in Chang Feng's decision." Jiang Han understood.

Sherrill was surprised, "Given the circumstances, do you still have confidence in persuading Chang Feng?"

He thought that his disciple's plan might change at this point.

"Of course!" Jiang Han smiled and nodded. "I already anticipated that the Light Faction would send additional god-level powerhouses. I just didn't expect it to be the Sword God."

"As long as you're confident!"

Ralph said in a deep voice, "In battles between god-level powerhouses, victory and defeat are easy to determine, life and death are difficult. Atikas, you specialize in defense. If the Sword God acts, leave it to you."

"Am I not going to be beaten badly?" Atikas widened his eyes, finding it hard to accept the sudden heavy responsibility.

"I'll confront the Pope, and Xiazuo, you deal with the Dragon God." Ralph ignored this lively fellow and continued, "Sherrill and Borwen, confront the god-level powerhouse that appears on the battlefield."

"No problem!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Jiang Han!"

Ralph's expression became serious, "Chang Feng... is in your hands."

"Understood!"

...

With all the plans in place, Jiang Han explained the situation to Wei Qianduo again, hoping that Chang Feng would appear tomorrow.

"Don't worry, I gave Chang Feng five thousand gold coins. He will definitely show up tomorrow!" Soon, Wei Qianduo replied, "Don't transfer money to me. Consider it a small favor I did for you."

"Alright!"

Jiang Han replied indifferently. He knew that Wei Qianduo might feel a bit guilty because he wasn't very useful in the mainline task. Strictly speaking, it was their shared mainline task, and they both received the same rewards, except for the additional skill that Ralph taught him.

After that, with nothing else to do, Jiang Han went to nearby leveling spots to gain experience, repeatedly practicing in his mind the possible arguments for tomorrow to ensure nothing went wrong.

...

The next day, the sun was shining brightly.

Standing on the city wall of Heart City, Jiang Han looked around and saw a vast sea of people. Unlike the previous city defense battle in Tianhai Town, the strength of the forces deployed by both sides far exceeded imagination.

"With the current levels of players, attacking a first-tier main city is like sending cannon fodder!"

"I really don't know how the system arranged this event!"

"The weakest wave of troops is at level 60. Damn, I should have given up on participating in the event and gone to collect resources..."

...

Players from the attacking side praised and admired the system's arrangements.

"Ding! ~"

System prompt: Due to your affiliation with Heart City, you have received a side quest [Uphold the Integrity] (Difficulty: A)!

Suddenly, a crisp system notification sounded in Jiang Han's ears.

A side quest now?

Jiang Han quickly opened the quest panel to check the details—

[Uphold the Integrity] (Difficulty: A)

Introduction: Slacking off is not a good habit. Since you have joined the Heart City faction, how can you not represent Heart City in battle?

Quest Requirements: As the second wave boss on the defending side, repel the second wave attack from the enemy.

Quest Rewards: One piece of usable Earth-grade equipment for yourself.

Quest Penalty: If you don't appear, -10 levels, -500 to all attributes.

...

Become one of the defending bosses again?

Jiang Han felt a bit surprised, but

 he wasn't alarmed. With an A-level difficulty side quest, he thought it shouldn't be too difficult to complete. Time passed quietly, reaching exactly ten o'clock.

The event officially began!

"Ding! ~"

System prompt: Please note that the Thunder Legion led by the level 65 dark gold boss [Thunder Knight Benson] will launch the first wave of attacks. Be prepared!