Chapter 68: Treating Gold Like Monsters? Return to Black Iron City!

"It's you? An elder of the Liu family—what are you doing here?" The burly man watched Gu Lang warily; both of them were Gold-rank. He wasn’t afraid, but Gu Lang’s gaze made him uneasy.

"Why are there only a few of you? I thought all you Golds always brought your families along," Gu Lang said with a sneer, scratching his ear in disdain.

"What do you mean by that?" The burly man paused, then a look of realization dawned. "I get it. You’re an elder of the Liu family. Now that Liu Wenhao’s fate is uncertain, you want to take over the Liu family and use me as an example to establish your authority, right?" The man chuckled coldly—he was a Gold-rank tribe chief, ruling a large safe zone in a neighboring city, a veritable overlord in this apocalyptic world. He knew all too well about the power struggles between families during the end times.

"Let me tell you, you want to make an example out of me? Impossible. I could acknowledge you as the new chief, but only if you offer some benefits—" He stopped abruptly as his expression darkened.

Gu Lang unleashed over a hundred ice lances in a single move.

"You brat! Do you really think being Gold means you're invincible?" The man’s figure flashed, golden scales erupting across his body in a manner reminiscent of a pangolin's armor. The scales deflected all the ice lances. He let out a wild laugh and gave the order:

"Everyone, get him! He’s alone—even if he’s Gold, today he dies. Kill him, and we’ll split his flesh among us!" At his command, over a hundred people sprang into action. Among them were Bronze, Silver, and even a few half-step Gold experts. They coordinated seamlessly and surrounded Gu Lang.

Gu Lang merely smiled at the scene. "Twenty-three Silvers in total. Not bad—you’re not exactly weak." He counted them, then glanced behind him. "Your Highness, you can make your move now. They’re not getting away."

All eyes turned as a figure slowly approached, hovering in the air. Her blue gown fluttered around her like falling snowflakes. She was the mistress of the snowy mountains, the Thousand-Year Princess—Luo Xue!

"What… The Thousand-Year Princess? She’s actually Platinum!" The burly Gold man inhaled sharply in terror. He didn’t hesitate—he turned to flee. But he’d hardly moved a few steps before he froze, looking down in shock. His legs had already turned to ice, and the frost was creeping upward. In the blink of an eye, it reached his neck.

"Damn… How are we supposed to play with this?" The Gold man’s final words were a scream as he was instantly transformed into a statue of ice.

The remaining clansmen had no time to react before Gu Lang’s ice lances swept through them, reducing all to shredded flesh.

"Corpse Mutation!" With a wave of his hand, Gu Lang unleashed a Gold-level corpse mutation, transforming the over one hundred corpses on the spot into zombies.

Then he used another skill: "Imperial Command!" Instantly, all the newly created zombies became his followers. Gu Lang weeded out the weak, keeping only the Silvers and the half-step Golds. From that moment, all his zombie puppets were at least Silver-rank—a full one hundred of them! In the past, such a force would have been terrifying, but now that Gu Lang himself was Gold, Silver-ranks were nothing but ants to him. Moreover, there were over a thousand Silvers in the snowy mountains alone. A mere hundred was nothing special.

Gu Lang then swept up all the green glowing attribute points from the battlefield—three hundred and twenty in total. This was far more efficient than hunting zombies. "The main thing is that many Silvers and half-step Golds were slain. Each one of them is worth hundreds of ordinary zombies," he muttered, realizing that killing people was much more rewarding than killing zombies—especially when you had a Platinum powerhouse like Luo Xue, able to treat Golds as mere monsters to be farmed. Without her, he wouldn’t have come out of this battle unscathed, if at all.

"Let’s go. On to the next place." Luo Xue led the way, and before long, they found another Gold.

"Damn you! You were the first to climb the mountain, and now you dare show yourself, wounded as you are?" This was a tall, thin man. He sneered and flung hundreds of silver needles at Gu Lang.

Gu Lang only snorted, stepping back. Luo Xue’s figure appeared in front of him.

"Whoosh!" A terrifying blizzard swept across the area, instantly freezing the Gold expert into a new ice sculpture.

Gu Lang collected the ice statue, storing it in his spatial storage alongside the burly Gold man’s frozen remains.

His skill, Imperial Command, was still at the Gold-rank stage and could only control and direct Silver-level creatures for now. Li Changhe was the exception—he was a Gold who’d gotten there through drug use, but according to the skill’s criteria, he only had Silver-level aptitude.

"Another two hundred attribute points? What a windfall!" As usual, Gu Lang gathered up all the attribute points. Luo Xue watched silently; as a Platinum, she didn’t care for such trifles.

"That’s it—all the Gold experts on the snowy mountain are gone. The Bronze and Silver ranks are busy fighting zombies, suffering heavy casualties; they’re worthless now. Where do you want to go next?" Luo Xue fixed her gaze on Gu Lang, her eyes alight with an indescribable emotion.

Gu Lang chuckled and pointed toward Black Iron City. "Let’s go home for now. Headquarters is too dangerous—we’ll lay low, sort our supplies, improve our strength, then set out again." Luo Xue didn’t object; after all, the next target was headquarters, where Diamonds were rumored to exist—even she felt some apprehension.

Thus, Gu Lang and Luo Xue returned to Black Iron City.

…

"Damn it! Where did all these survivors come from? How are they attacking Black Iron City? And there’s even a Gold-rank among them!" Sun Tian and Sun Hai, the Sun brothers, stood atop the city wall, their faces pale as they looked out at the old man beyond the gates. The man was a Gold-rank, and over a thousand clansmen stood with him.

The old man chuckled coldly, his voice carrying across the distance: "I’ve taken a liking to your city. I’m giving you face—I want to come in and become your new master. Is that so bad for you? Open the gate now, and you won’t have to die."

Sun Hai hesitated, but Sun Tian shook his head firmly. "I already told you—our Lord Gu Lang will be back soon. He’s also Gold. If you anger him, you’ll die for sure today."

Sun Hai, seeing no other choice, echoed, "That’s right—our Lord Gu Lang has killed Golds before. Are you sure you want to mess with us?"

The old man outside the city frowned, clearly wary, but he simply didn’t believe there were so many Gold-ranks in the apocalypse. Besides, this place was so remote and desolate—any Gold-rank here couldn't be that strong.

"Since you refuse a toast and choose punishment instead, don’t blame me for being ruthless." The old man stopped talking and reached a hand toward Black Iron City’s gates.

A fierce wind rose up, swirling into a cyclone that battered the city. The gates shuddered, windows shattered in the gale, and many survivors were swept into the air by the wind, only to crash to the ground and perish.

"Heh, how about now? Are you afraid yet? No one’s coming to save you today."