Looking at this anonymous request, Pei Guang instinctively felt there was a trap.
In most games, such anonymous requests are usually troublesome and difficult, and the rewards often aren't worth it.
But! As a player, how could Pei Guang back down just because a task was difficult, or because the boss was tough?
Besides, if he couldn't beat it now, that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to later.
First, let's go mess with the boss a little. Then, when his level was higher and his equipment better, he could defeat it easily.
With that in mind, Pei Guang stood up and prepared to act.
However, doing this task alone didn't seem right, so Pei Guang decided to call his teammate for help and give this boss a big surprise.
Pei Guang called Stelle to his room. He had originally planned to call March 7th as well, but since March 7th was already preparing to rest for a new day of planet exploration, he didn't want to wake her up.
Pei Guang told Stelle about the information he had received: "Here's the deal. What do you think? Let's go poke this boss and then run away~"
Pei Guang checked the system time.
It wasn't even midnight yet, and both he and Stelle still had one more teleportation left. If they found Duke Inferno before midnight, they could quickly annoy it and run off happily.
Hearing about Pei Guang's plan, Stelle got excited.
"Sounds great! This guy is our enemy. Let's take it down!"
Pei Guang: "Taking it down might be tough. This looks like a late-game boss. Even though we can use the world's mechanics to find it and annoy it a little early, beating it... I'm not so sure."
Stelle: "Doesn't matter, I can't wait…"
Stelle's face lit up with excitement. She was looking forward to how they would poke Duke Inferno.
After a brief preparation, the two of them set off for the target planet. They used the Star Destroyer's cloaking mode to jump into the designated star system and then landed near Duke Inferno.
While Pei Guang was preparing for his little prank, Duke Inferno was making its final preparations to head to Penacony.
As a follower of the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook, it was going to dress up in fine clothes to showcase its elegance, all while bringing destruction to Penacony.
Its plan was to leave in a few hours, although whether it would actually arrive in Penacony on time was another matter. This time, it wanted the Trailblazers to feel the full wrath of Duke Inferno.
At Penacony, Trailblazers wouldn't be able to casually use planetary weapons anymore. Without them, they were like garlic to Duke Inferno: easily squashed.
Trailblazers might have some tricks up their sleeves, but based on its avatar's feedback, their limits were only enough to handle a wisp of its flame. When its true form arrived, the advantage would be with it, and it would easily crush the Trailblazers.
What? The Trailblazers defeated a Lord Ravager? Duke Inferno didn't believe this rumor. Everyone knew the general of the Xianzhou Alliance was an Emanator of Hunt.
Did the Trailblazers have any Emanators? Pfft! None! How could there be an Emanator for Traiblaze when even the Aeons were gone?
Furthermore, Pei Guang's appearance had been too recent.
To Pei Guang, the time since his arrival felt like ten months, but to Duke Inferno, it was a mere month. Plus, no one had spread information about Pei Guang; it was only being discussed in private channels.
So, Duke Inferno had no idea about Pei Guang.
For tr, the advantage was clear!
While it was plotting, Duke Inferno suddenly felt a strange sensation of being watched. This gaze was filled with pure greed, a greed so intense it was the most avid gaze it had ever felt in its life.
"Who's there?"
In the wasteland, Duke Inferno could feel someone watching it. It turned around instinctively, but the desolate land only showed withered plants and broken trash cans—no one in sight.
Its eyes were drawn to two trash cans in the distance. The black gaps in the cans seemed like a crack in the daylight, so enticing.
Shaking its head, Duke Inferno thought it must be imagining things because its home had been destroyed.
After all, how could it be drawn to a trash can? Who in their right mind would be attracted to a trash can?
It thought it was just being overly sensitive. But when it looked around at the barren land, all it felt was pain. This was all the Trailblazers' fault!
"Damned Trailblazers!"
Furious, it turned around.
Thinking about its current situation made it want to tear Pei Guang into pieces, using those pieces as relics.
But as it turned around, Pei Guang and Stelle, who had already sneaked up, were moving towards it behind the cover of the trash cans.
Yes, after reaching the location, Pei Guang and Stelle had begun to use obstacles and trash cans to approach undetected. The intense gaze Ifrit had felt was coming from them.
Stelle, hidden in the trash can, noticed Duke Inferno glance in their direction and then turn away.
She couldn't help but complain to Pei Guang through the internal communication: "Sometimes I just want to point out, this is a huge trash can: no one's really gonna find that suspicious?"
Pei Guang replied: "If you're asking me, then who do I ask? The Leap of Faith doesn't cause a loss of health, and once inside a container, you're undetectable: that's a game mechanic. You'd have to ask the person who first came up with this idea what they were thinking."
Pei Guang wasn't in the mood to complain. As a player, as long as the game mechanics improved his experience, that was all that mattered. If the game was fun, everything else didn't matter.
The two of them slowly approached Ifrit's back. During this time, Duke Inferno turned around multiple times to check, but it never noticed anything unusual.
Pei Guang and Stelle were now very close to Duke Inferno. As they approached, Pei Guang had a bold thought.
While Pei Guang was thinking, Stelle curiously spoke up: "Look at its clothes, they look really good. Even after being burned by its fire, they're completely fine…"
Pei Guang: "Yeah, when I saw them, I felt a little tempted. I think we should take what's ours. Look at that cloak, it'd make a perfect stepping stool. And those glasses, they look really expensive."
Stelle: "I actually really like its gloves…"
Pei Guang: "Oh? You like them? Then go ahead and take them!"
Upon hearing Pei Guang's words, Stelle became excited: "Yay! But how do I take them?"
Pei Guang: "Simple! You provoke it first, and I'll sneak up behind and execute it. If the execution is successful, take whatever you want during the stun. If it doesn't come off easily, just chop it. Then I'll place my weapon in the public storage, and you can do as you please."
Pei Guang gave up on the initial plan for a sneak attack, because the monster looked like a boss. If he attacked first and got detected, things would get complicated.
Instead, he decided to let Stelle attract the attention, and then he'd execute his own sneak attack.
Pei Guang had initially considered using his wooden sword, but since it was too small, he opted to use Stelle's War-Flaming Lance instead.
Stelle: "Okay~"
The two of them conversed while getting closer, and soon they were within a few meters of Duke Inferno.
At that moment, Duke Inferno felt something was wrong. After the first strange sensation of being watched, this time it grew even stronger.
It checked its surroundings but saw no one.
"Strange, is it just my imagination?"
It thought to itself that maybe it was just being paranoid, but as it turned around, it froze.
The two garbage cans that had appeared in front of it caught its attention.