Who said this card is outrageous?

After losing their most important shield, the Divine Guard's disadvantages became apparent. Ma Qiyun's strength has plummeted, and he can no longer go to those high-level rifts. Even hunting in a level 5 rift like the Gray Nether Rift requires a team.

"I originally spent a lot of money on this trip, having learned that the hide of the Netherworld Giant Rhinoceros in the Gray Nether Rift is a good material for making shields. I'll find a skilled blacksmith, and even if the final product can't compare to the Heavenly Origin Giant Shield, it shouldn't be too far off..."

"Unfortunately, I'm still too unlucky."

Ma Qiyun said this not because he wanted to get the materials of the Dark Erosion Giant Rhinoceros from Zhang Che, but because he realized that he seemed to have been set up again.

He clenched his fists tightly, forcing himself not to show too much anger in front of Zhang Che.

He said it was his first time visiting the Gray Rift, and he thought everything was going perfectly, but he never expected...

Upon hearing this, Zhang Che was at a loss for words, and could only pat the other person on the shoulder as a token of comfort.

……

Time passed second by second, and the two finally finished dealing with all the fourth-tier transcendent creatures that had died on the battlefield.

Considering that Zhang Che might not have much space left, when distributing the spoils, he basically took the most valuable items, leaving the relatively worthless flesh, bones, and other valuables behind.

This is also to ensure that the energy cycle of the subspace itself can be maintained for a long time; otherwise, so many high-level extraordinary beings would be shared, but in the end, there would be no return whatsoever.

Even if the concentration of dark energy here is high, it will eventually be exhausted.

Zhang Che's several [magic pockets] had limited remaining space. In the end, he took about two-thirds of the spoils and gave the rest to Ma Qiyun and the other two.

Ma Qiyun also offered to keep it for Zhang Che until they returned to a safe location.

Although the other two were reluctant, they quickly agreed to their boss's suggestion, but were eventually persuaded to go back by Zhang Che.

"By the way, you just said there were two other people. Do you remember their approximate location?" Zhang Che could only change the subject first.

"of course I remember."

Ma Qiyun answered without hesitation, and then realized why Zhang Chi had asked the question.

"No, no, no, that's too dangerous. Let's hurry and go to a safer place..."

Before Ma Qiyun could finish speaking, Zhang Che interrupted him directly: "Fallen leaves return to their roots. Are you willing to watch them stay in this place and never be able to go home again?"

Human corpses are highly nutritious in the eyes of those supernatural beings. If they don't quickly gather the corpses while the creatures are still disoriented, they will be completely reduced to ashes in the next two or three days at most.

Thinking of this, Ma Qiyun ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it and nodded heavily.

Chapter 322 Suitable Teammates

News of the defeat of the Dark Erosion Rhinoceros did not spread too quickly. After all, with neither the beast alive nor dead, even the extraordinary creatures who had just participated in the battle were unsure whether their leader was truly dead or had escaped with serious injuries.

Therefore, in the short term, no other extraordinary creatures will dare to venture into the territory of the Dark Erosion Rhinoceros.

Thus, when Ma Qiyun and the other two, along with Zhang Che, found the bodies of their two teammates, they were still covered in wounds, but at least they hadn't suffered any further damage and were basically intact.

After quickly collecting the bodies of the two men, Zhang Che led the other three onto the Megalodon airship and sped off towards safe point number six.

……

Three days later, Zhang Che was in the single room assigned to him at the safe point, staring at a pile of materials on the table, deep in thought.

These items were collected by Ma Qiyun's two henchmen from the fallen fourth-tier extraordinary creatures after they defeated the Netherworld Erosion Giant Rhinoceros.

This includes some extraordinary creatures with both water and dark attributes.

Two crystal cores, several pieces of bone and teeth, as well as tendons, skin, etc., are all in very good condition.

This also shows that those two are indeed experts in handling extraordinary materials. In comparison, Zhang Che's previous handling of the spoils of war was simply a waste.

According to Ma Qiyun, those two people, or rather their team, specialized in this kind of work. Their main business was serving powerful individuals who were exceptionally strong and did not want to be bothered by trivial matters such as dealing with spoils of war.

Of course, they also occasionally take on services such as guiding.

Ultimately, profits are made through commission.

Such organizations are not uncommon in places like Nanzhao City; in fact, it can be said that similar organizations generally develop in any city that is even slightly larger.

Back in Qi'an City, Zhang Che spent most of his time making cards and hardly ever went to the Rift, so he didn't have the opportunity to interact with them.

Otherwise, whether it's for dealing with loot or finding a guide familiar with the area, it's a great option.

However, on the other hand, Zhang Che has quite a few secrets and naturally distrusts outsiders. So even if he knew about the existence of this organization in advance, whether he would cooperate with them is another matter.

"From what I've learned over the past few days, Ma Qiyun seems like a pretty good person." Zhang Che pondered quietly for a moment before finally adding his name to the list of potential teammates.

Don't forget that this person has been to the Prosperous Rift several times and has always come out alive.

His extraordinary profession, in particular, certainly added a lot of points to Zhang Che's opinion of him.

Divine Guardians are a special kind of existence with extremely high potential and extremely low potential. Zhang Che had never even heard of them before. It was only after arriving at the safe point a few days ago and making inquiries from various sources that he gradually learned about the specifics of this profession.

As the name suggests, the upper and lower limits of the combat power that the Divine Guards can exert depend entirely on the weapons they are bound to, or more precisely, the strength of their equipment.

Because Ma Qiyun was bound to a powerful piece of equipment, the Heavenly Origin Giant Shield, which was equivalent to a purple-quality card, when he was promoted to the middle-level extraordinary level, the upper limit of his strength was very high.

In actual combat, they can be treated as defensive warriors with a higher level of strength than themselves, such as the Shield Guard.

Therefore, his previous claim to Zhang Che that he had single-handedly withstood an attack by three sixth-tier extraordinary creatures was likely not an exaggeration.

The price is that once the bound equipment is damaged or lost, one's combat power will plummet instantly, returning to the situation three days ago where even dealing with a few fourth-tier extraordinary creatures requires the cooperation of teammates.

Although Ma Qiyun is currently at a low point in his life, his past glory was undeniable. It can be said that as long as he has equipment like the Heavenly Yuan Giant Shield, he can make a comeback at any time.

This is evident from the friendly attitude of the many adventurers at the safe zone towards him.

The reason this person is still all alone and even has to lead a group to the Gray Rift to collect materials to remake equipment is because if you want him to serve you, you have to help him take revenge.

According to Ma Qiyun, he didn't care about being tricked, but he had to get justice for the destroyed Tianyuan Giant Shield and his fallen teammates.

eye for eye!

This one point alone made the forces that originally wanted to recruit him hesitate.

Incidentally, they also wanted to wait until Ma Qiyun suffered some setbacks as a lone wolf before pushing the price down.

But it was only a moment of hesitation. Zhang Che was almost certain that as soon as Ma Qiyun left the Gray Nether Rift, a force would come to discuss terms.

Zhang Che had inquired about the guy who had tricked Ma Qiyun in the past two days. The guy's backing was indeed considerable, but not enough to dominate Nanzhao City.

After analyzing the situation, Zhang Che realized that Ma Qiyun was actually a very suitable teammate.

The problem is that time is very tight right now. If Zhang Che really wants to bring Ma Qiyun into his team, he should try to persuade her before leaving the Gray Nether Rift.

Otherwise, once he leaves this place, many things may be out of his control.

Fortunately, he didn't intend to compete with those powerful forces for people. He just wanted Ma Qiyun to go with him to the Prosperous Rift to get the materials to make the [Jade Wood Spirit].

So there shouldn't be a big problem.

……

"Of course, no problem!"

Ma Qiyun slammed his hand on the table and immediately agreed to Zhang Che's request; the whole process took less than two seconds.

However, before he could finish speaking, Ma Qiyun sat back down with an embarrassed smile and said somewhat awkwardly:

"However, as you know, Brother Zhang Che, I only have an ordinary fourth-tier shield right now. I almost lost my way in a place like the Gray Nether Rift, let alone a place like the Prosperous Rift."

At this point, Ma Qiyun's tone was already a little strained, but she still insisted on continuing to explain.

"It's not that I'm trying to extort money from you, brother. I can write you an IOU for the materials from the Dark Erosion Rhinoceros. As long as you make the new shield, I promise to... uh... I guess that won't work either..."

"Anyway, I'll definitely help with this..."

Ma Qiyun suddenly became somewhat incoherent, and it was only after Zhang Che took the initiative to speak and comfort him that he was finally able to sort out the whole situation.

First of all, he would definitely be willing to team up with Zhang Che, but before that, he had to forge a new shield and then spend about three to six months getting used to the new equipment before his strength could return to its peak.

Only then will it be time to enter the cracks of prosperity.

"Sigh, that's just how Shenbingwei is, there's nothing I can do about it, brother." Ma Qiyun sighed heavily.

Having finally found a chance to repay this life-saving grace, the problem has somehow become his own doing.

Chapter 323 A Different Kind of [Black Rhino Armor]

"Of course I've considered this issue as well," Zhang Che said, a faint smile still on his face.

He never fights a battle unprepared, especially not one as important as this one, which involves his own future safety.

As mentioned before, the entry threshold for the Prosperous Rift is not as high as imagined. As long as Zhang Che is willing to offer a few Tier 4 purple cards as a reward, he can easily assemble a qualified team.

But in reality, it's never just difficult at the beginning, but difficult in the middle, difficult in the process, and difficult in the end.

The dangers hidden in the level seven rifts are never something that a few level five superhumans can ignore. In such a place, even a slight problem could lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

Therefore, a suitable and trustworthy team is what Zhang Che needs.

Of course, strength is also an essential consideration.

“Brother Ma, I know that since you advanced to the mid-level extraordinary realm, you have always taken the defensive path, so I came here to ask for your help this time, and I also prepared a small gift.”

As he spoke, Zhang Che produced a card and gently placed it in front of Ma Qiyun.

The purple patterns on the card's surface were so dazzling.

Card Name: Black Rhino Armor (Water)

Type: Equipment Card

Level: Tier 4

Grade: Purple

Effect: Summons the Water Black Rhino Armor to combine.

Additional skills: Raging Waterfall Peak, Raging Waterfall Slam, Water Raging Waterfall.

Attached equipment: Water Armor Shield, Meteor Gun.

Uniqueness: Badwater

(Note: This is the reflection of water...)

It might be due to the materials used in making the card. When Zhang Che made this card, some of the water-attribute materials came from a group of extraordinary creatures he killed in the Gray Nether Rift, so it inevitably became tainted with the power of the dark attribute.

Moreover, it was dark attribute energy that Zhang Che could not completely remove even after using the anchoring trait.