Chapter 35.3
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"Ah!" Zheng Qingyue slapped her forehead, recalling what had occurred during the settlement of the hidden quest.
The reward given by the zombie general after completing the three stages of the hidden quest had been rather decent—a pretty blue-quality dagger with a critical strike bonus effect. Give Me Medicine, who had triggered the quest, intended to play a wanderer class and could make use of the dagger, so he happily kept the weapon for himself. Of course, since it was a quest completed by eleven people, Vanilla Pudding, in order to maintain a sense of fairness, gave out a few hundred coins to those who took part as a share.
Zheng Qingyue herself wanted to become a healer, and her friends Tang Jia and Yang Ying both wanted to play warriors, so there weren't any objections to the reward distribution. However, back then, Brother Lahong visibly wasn't that pleased—he had already formed a team at that time after all, consisting of players who wanted to advance to various classes, and had indeed been covetous of that dagger.
With an understanding of the causation, Zheng Qingyue told the players who trusted her reputation and followed her, "We won't rush over first. Let's wait for them to come to a conclusion before deciding."
After pausing for a moment, Zheng Qingyue added, "Regardless of which side comes out on top, let's not try and snatch the quest. We'll just negotiate with them calmly. If they are willing to let us join, then we'll go together. There's no need for the main rewards, and just a small share would be fine. And if they are unwilling to let us join, we'll just watch the spectacle from the sidelines. How does that sound?"
The more feisty players had long gone to hang out with Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding already. The ones here that played alone were more mellow and hence nodded in agreement. "Alright, Boss. We'll follow your lead."
So, these thirty-odd players found their own spots to sit down and become peaceful spectators.
Ji Tang silently observed the crowd of brainless players in the distance fighting like wild animals, then glanced at the friendly atmosphere among his group that was sitting on the ground and spectating… Hmm, it seems like players are also a diverse bunch.
Near the center of the mass brawl, the former bandits that had seen the bunch of undead start fighting without any reason started to retreat silently.
"…Hal." With some difficulty, Tuttle spoke up, "I suddenly feel… that it isn't a good idea to win over these unreasonable undead."
"I think so too," Finley stiffly agreed.
Hal's facial expressions went through several changes before he gritted his teeth with determination. "Forget it! We'll do it ourselves!"
Regardless of whether they continued with their operation or not, Yang would eventually find out about this chaotic battle. The former Sacred Crows had no way out now!
In the midst of the chaos, a player noticed that the advanced NPCs were leaving and hurriedly shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop! The NPCs are running! The quest will be lost!"
Players engaged in fierce melees turned their heads to look… and it was indeed as the player said! The advanced NPCs, who were supposed to stand by and wait for the outcome of the fight before issuing the quest, had run a short distance away!
Hadn't the reason why everyone engaged in verbal and physical clashes been to secure the quest?! As a result, many hurt players on both sides quickly ceased fighting and anxiously chased after the NPCs who were about to escape.
"Wait, don't go! Give us the quest before leaving!"
The casual players who were watching from a distance grew anxious as well when they saw the advanced NPCs collectively retreating.
"Did they stop interacting with the NPCs for too long?"
"Boss Entropy, what do we do?"
"We'll go around and get in front of them!" Unceasing Entropy said immediately. "These NPCs are heading to the town hall to assassinate Lord Yang. Let's get there first!"
The group of casual players began to move, while the first player that had been chasing caught up to the group of retreating former bandits.
"Issue the quest—!"
The member of the former bandit gang at the rear, who was acting as the last line of defense, had never seen such a scene where hundreds of skeletons charged at him with murderous intent. In a reflexive response, he struck back and slashed the fastest player, turning him into a flash of white light.
"The f*ck!"
Other players who had caught up were dumbfounded as they witnessed the advanced NPCs attacking.
"What's going on? Weren't these NPCs inviting us to revolt against Lord Yang's tyranny together? Why are they attacking us?"
"I don't know! Where's the one who triggered the quest? Does the quest log say anything?"
"There was nothing! Just the dialogue trigger at the start. There's no quest showing on the quest log!" The player, who had "received" the quest on Brother Lahong's side and had been consciously protected and survived the chaos, quickly spoke up now.
"No quest on the quest log?" On Vanilla Pudding's side, Blossoming Strokes, who had also been protected by her teammates and avoided death, turned to Give Me Medicine's friend who had "received" the quest.
"Um, there's none indeed. Only the dialogue where the NPC said that there will be benefits if we help kill Lord Yang," replied the other player.
A number of players immediately felt that something was off…
"Let me test it out!" Without any hesitation, Give Me Medicine picked up a stone and forcefully hurled it at the advanced NPC that was running at the back.
Players and former bandits were all within the same imprint matrix and theoretically couldn't see each other's health bars, but that didn't mean they couldn't attack each other. Otherwise, players wouldn't have been frequently cut down by advanced NPCs.
"Owww!"
The stone struck, causing the advanced NPC to stagger. He then turned around angrily, brandished his blade, and charged at the players…
"We can attack them?!"
"The heck? Are there health bars now?!"
Instantly, many players roared with excitement.
Due to the difference in strength, lack of health bars, and "green IDs representing allies," players hadn't yet realized that they could attack advanced NPCs.
Blossoming Strokes had a feeling something was amiss and wanted to call everyone to discuss it in detail. However, most of the players, with their blood pumping from battle and eager for combat, weren't easily deterred. Regardless of whether it was players on Vanilla Pudding's or Brother Lahong's side, many grabbed their steel blades and rushed forward fervently.
The former bandits, who had never thought much about these "fragile" players, had always restrained themselves due to the imprint matrix's restrictions. But now that they were going against Yang, they naturally didn't care about the rules set by him. Seeing these insane undead overstep their boundaries, the ferocious nature of the former bandits surfaced, and they struck back mercilessly.
To be fair, these former bandits weren't weak. Even the lowest-ranked among them, according to Yang Qiu's "Special Level System," was at least level 3 or higher, making them stronger than the giant rat in the town's south.
However… The reason the demonized rat could still guard the exit even after players had procured weapons and equipment was because it had thick skin that couldn't be penetrated by players' attacks.
The former bandits, on the other hand, couldn't match the defensive power of a demonized creature.
Anthony, who was confident in his combat skills, killed several players in one breath. However, he received an unexpected blow to an unprotected area on his arm, causing him to drop his sword.
"Equipment drop!"
A player among those surrounding Anthony joyfully pounced on the dropped sword.
A nearby player recognized the ID of the player that had snatched up the sword and, upon identifying him as an "enemy," decisively jumped the former. With a single strike, he sent the first player's skull flying and picked up the sword.
"B*stard! What are you doing!"
"F*ck, that's looting!"
"You're asking for it!"
The players that had joined forces to besiege Anthony a few moments ago suddenly turned on each other…
Antony: "???"
Tuttle, being an archer not particularly proficient at close combat, had also received several strikes from the players who outnumbered them and showed no fear of pain or death.
"We can't do this! There are too many of them! Retreat!" he shouted anxiously.
"Retreat! Split up!" Seeing several of his comrades getting hurt made Hal worried as well. "Retreat to the east of town! All of you!"
———
October 13, 6 a.m., Earth time.
Having had a peaceful night's rest back on Earth, Yang Qiu had breakfast at a roadside stall before changing into his mage robes and opening the spatial rift to return to the magic plane.
After appearing back at his post inside the town hall, Yang Qiu saw the state of the room, and his body shook violently.
All the members of the former bandit gang were crouched down inside his office, every single one looking defeated, disheveled, and dirty.
Furniture in the room, including the tables, chairs, cabinets, and other furnishings, had been used to block the entrances. There were slash marks on the door and window frames.
Even through the barricade of furniture and the badly damaged door and windows, the shouts and cursing of players outside could be distinctly heard…
Yang Qiu: "…What the hell are you all doing?"
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"Ah!" Zheng Qingyue slapped her forehead, recalling what had occurred during the settlement of the hidden quest.
The reward given by the zombie general after completing the three stages of the hidden quest had been rather decent—a pretty blue-quality dagger with a critical strike bonus effect. Give Me Medicine, who had triggered the quest, intended to play a wanderer class and could make use of the dagger, so he happily kept the weapon for himself. Of course, since it was a quest completed by eleven people, Vanilla Pudding, in order to maintain a sense of fairness, gave out a few hundred coins to those who took part as a share.
Zheng Qingyue herself wanted to become a healer, and her friends Tang Jia and Yang Ying both wanted to play warriors, so there weren't any objections to the reward distribution. However, back then, Brother Lahong visibly wasn't that pleased—he had already formed a team at that time after all, consisting of players who wanted to advance to various classes, and had indeed been covetous of that dagger.
With an understanding of the causation, Zheng Qingyue told the players who trusted her reputation and followed her, "We won't rush over first. Let's wait for them to come to a conclusion before deciding."
After pausing for a moment, Zheng Qingyue added, "Regardless of which side comes out on top, let's not try and snatch the quest. We'll just negotiate with them calmly. If they are willing to let us join, then we'll go together. There's no need for the main rewards, and just a small share would be fine. And if they are unwilling to let us join, we'll just watch the spectacle from the sidelines. How does that sound?"
The more feisty players had long gone to hang out with Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding already. The ones here that played alone were more mellow and hence nodded in agreement. "Alright, Boss. We'll follow your lead."
So, these thirty-odd players found their own spots to sit down and become peaceful spectators.
Ji Tang silently observed the crowd of brainless players in the distance fighting like wild animals, then glanced at the friendly atmosphere among his group that was sitting on the ground and spectating… Hmm, it seems like players are also a diverse bunch.
Near the center of the mass brawl, the former bandits that had seen the bunch of undead start fighting without any reason started to retreat silently.
"…Hal." With some difficulty, Tuttle spoke up, "I suddenly feel… that it isn't a good idea to win over these unreasonable undead."
"I think so too," Finley stiffly agreed.
Hal's facial expressions went through several changes before he gritted his teeth with determination. "Forget it! We'll do it ourselves!"
Regardless of whether they continued with their operation or not, Yang would eventually find out about this chaotic battle. The former Sacred Crows had no way out now!
In the midst of the chaos, a player noticed that the advanced NPCs were leaving and hurriedly shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop! The NPCs are running! The quest will be lost!"
Players engaged in fierce melees turned their heads to look… and it was indeed as the player said! The advanced NPCs, who were supposed to stand by and wait for the outcome of the fight before issuing the quest, had run a short distance away!
Hadn't the reason why everyone engaged in verbal and physical clashes been to secure the quest?! As a result, many hurt players on both sides quickly ceased fighting and anxiously chased after the NPCs who were about to escape.
"Wait, don't go! Give us the quest before leaving!"
The casual players who were watching from a distance grew anxious as well when they saw the advanced NPCs collectively retreating.
"Did they stop interacting with the NPCs for too long?"
"Boss Entropy, what do we do?"
"We'll go around and get in front of them!" Unceasing Entropy said immediately. "These NPCs are heading to the town hall to assassinate Lord Yang. Let's get there first!"
The group of casual players began to move, while the first player that had been chasing caught up to the group of retreating former bandits.
"Issue the quest—!"
The member of the former bandit gang at the rear, who was acting as the last line of defense, had never seen such a scene where hundreds of skeletons charged at him with murderous intent. In a reflexive response, he struck back and slashed the fastest player, turning him into a flash of white light.
"The f*ck!"
Other players who had caught up were dumbfounded as they witnessed the advanced NPCs attacking.
"What's going on? Weren't these NPCs inviting us to revolt against Lord Yang's tyranny together? Why are they attacking us?"
"I don't know! Where's the one who triggered the quest? Does the quest log say anything?"
"There was nothing! Just the dialogue trigger at the start. There's no quest showing on the quest log!" The player, who had "received" the quest on Brother Lahong's side and had been consciously protected and survived the chaos, quickly spoke up now.
"No quest on the quest log?" On Vanilla Pudding's side, Blossoming Strokes, who had also been protected by her teammates and avoided death, turned to Give Me Medicine's friend who had "received" the quest.
"Um, there's none indeed. Only the dialogue where the NPC said that there will be benefits if we help kill Lord Yang," replied the other player.
A number of players immediately felt that something was off…
"Let me test it out!" Without any hesitation, Give Me Medicine picked up a stone and forcefully hurled it at the advanced NPC that was running at the back.
Players and former bandits were all within the same imprint matrix and theoretically couldn't see each other's health bars, but that didn't mean they couldn't attack each other. Otherwise, players wouldn't have been frequently cut down by advanced NPCs.
"Owww!"
The stone struck, causing the advanced NPC to stagger. He then turned around angrily, brandished his blade, and charged at the players…
"We can attack them?!"
"The heck? Are there health bars now?!"
Instantly, many players roared with excitement.
Due to the difference in strength, lack of health bars, and "green IDs representing allies," players hadn't yet realized that they could attack advanced NPCs.
Blossoming Strokes had a feeling something was amiss and wanted to call everyone to discuss it in detail. However, most of the players, with their blood pumping from battle and eager for combat, weren't easily deterred. Regardless of whether it was players on Vanilla Pudding's or Brother Lahong's side, many grabbed their steel blades and rushed forward fervently.
The former bandits, who had never thought much about these "fragile" players, had always restrained themselves due to the imprint matrix's restrictions. But now that they were going against Yang, they naturally didn't care about the rules set by him. Seeing these insane undead overstep their boundaries, the ferocious nature of the former bandits surfaced, and they struck back mercilessly.
To be fair, these former bandits weren't weak. Even the lowest-ranked among them, according to Yang Qiu's "Special Level System," was at least level 3 or higher, making them stronger than the giant rat in the town's south.
However… The reason the demonized rat could still guard the exit even after players had procured weapons and equipment was because it had thick skin that couldn't be penetrated by players' attacks.
The former bandits, on the other hand, couldn't match the defensive power of a demonized creature.
Anthony, who was confident in his combat skills, killed several players in one breath. However, he received an unexpected blow to an unprotected area on his arm, causing him to drop his sword.
"Equipment drop!"
A player among those surrounding Anthony joyfully pounced on the dropped sword.
A nearby player recognized the ID of the player that had snatched up the sword and, upon identifying him as an "enemy," decisively jumped the former. With a single strike, he sent the first player's skull flying and picked up the sword.
"B*stard! What are you doing!"
"F*ck, that's looting!"
"You're asking for it!"
The players that had joined forces to besiege Anthony a few moments ago suddenly turned on each other…
Antony: "???"
Tuttle, being an archer not particularly proficient at close combat, had also received several strikes from the players who outnumbered them and showed no fear of pain or death.
"We can't do this! There are too many of them! Retreat!" he shouted anxiously.
"Retreat! Split up!" Seeing several of his comrades getting hurt made Hal worried as well. "Retreat to the east of town! All of you!"
———
October 13, 6 a.m., Earth time.
Having had a peaceful night's rest back on Earth, Yang Qiu had breakfast at a roadside stall before changing into his mage robes and opening the spatial rift to return to the magic plane.
After appearing back at his post inside the town hall, Yang Qiu saw the state of the room, and his body shook violently.
All the members of the former bandit gang were crouched down inside his office, every single one looking defeated, disheveled, and dirty.
Furniture in the room, including the tables, chairs, cabinets, and other furnishings, had been used to block the entrances. There were slash marks on the door and window frames.
Even through the barricade of furniture and the badly damaged door and windows, the shouts and cursing of players outside could be distinctly heard…
Yang Qiu: "…What the hell are you all doing?"
"Ah!" Zheng Qingyue slapped her forehead, recalling what had occurred during the settlement of the hidden quest.The reward given by the zombie general after completing the three stages of the hidden quest had been rather decenta pretty blue-quality dagger with a critical strike bonus effect. Give Me Medicine, who had triggered the quest, intended to play a wanderer class and could make use of the dagger, so he happily kept the weapon for himself. Of course, since it was a quest completed by eleven people, Vanilla Pudding, in order to maintain a sense of fairness, gave out a few hundred coins to those who took part as a share.Zheng Qingyue herself wanted to become a healer, and her friends Tang Jia and Yang Ying both wanted to play warriors, so there weren't any objections to the reward distribution. However, back then, Brother Lahong visibly wasn't that pleasedhe had already formed a team at that time after all, consisting of players who wanted to advance to various classes, and had indeed been covetous of that dagger.With an understanding of the causation, Zheng Qingyue told the players who trusted her reputation and followed her, "We won't rush over first. Let's wait for them to come to a conclusion before deciding."After pausing for a moment, Zheng Qingyue added, "Regardless of which side comes out on top, let's not try and snatch the quest. We'll just negotiate with them calmly. If they are willing to let us join, then we'll go together. There's no need for the main rewards, and just a small share would be fine. And if they are unwilling to let us join, we'll just watch the spectacle from the sidelines. How does that sound?"The more feisty players had long gone to hang out with Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding already. The ones here that played alone were more mellow and hence nodded in agreement. "Alright, Boss. We'll follow your lead."So, these thirty-odd players found their own spots to sit down and become peaceful spectators.Ji Tang silently observed the crowd of brainless players in the distance fighting like wild animals, then glanced at the friendly atmosphere among his group that was sitting on the ground and spectatingHmm, it seems like players are also a diverse bunch.Near the center of the mass brawl, the former bandits that had seen the bunch of undead start fighting without any reason started to retreat silently."Hal." With some difficulty, Tuttle spoke up, "I suddenly feel that it isn't a good idea to win over these unreasonable undead.""I think so too," Finley stiffly agreed.Hal's facial expressions went through several changes before he gritted his teeth with determination. "Forget it! We'll do it ourselves!"Regardless of whether they continued with their operation or not, Yang would eventually find out about this chaotic battle. The former Sacred Crows had no way out now!In the midst of the chaos, a player noticed that the advanced NPCs were leaving and hurriedly shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop! The NPCs are running! The quest will be lost!"Players engaged in fierce melees turned their heads to look and it was indeed as the player said! The advanced NPCs, who were supposed to stand by and wait for the outcome of the fight before issuing the quest, had run a short distance away!Hadn't the reason why everyone engaged in verbal and physical clashes been to secure the quest?! As a result, many hurt players on both sides quickly ceased fighting and anxiously chased after the NPCs who were about to escape."Wait, don't go! Give us the quest before leaving!"The casual players who were watching from a distance grew anxious as well when they saw the advanced NPCs collectively retreating."Did they stop interacting with the NPCs for too long?""Boss Entropy, what do we do?""We'll go around and get in front of them!" Unceasing Entropy said immediately. "These NPCs are heading to the town hall to assassinate Lord Yang. Let's get there first!"The group of casual players began to move, while the first player that had been chasing caught up to the group of retreating former bandits."Issue the quest!"The member of the former bandit gang at the rear, who was acting as the last line of defense, had never seen such a scene where hundreds of skeletons charged at him with murderous intent. In a reflexive response, he struck back and slashed the fastest player, turning him into a flash of white light."The f*ck!"Other players who had caught up were dumbfounded as they witnessed the advanced NPCs attacking."What's going on? Weren't these NPCs inviting us to revolt against Lord Yang's tyranny together? Why are they attacking us?""I don't know! Where's the one who triggered the quest? Does the quest log say anything?""There was nothing! Just the dialogue trigger at the start. There's no quest showing on the quest log!" The player, who had "received" the quest on Brother Lahong's side and had been consciously protected and survived the chaos, quickly spoke up now."No quest on the quest log?" On Vanilla Pudding's side, Blossoming Strokes, who had also been protected by her teammates and avoided death, turned to Give Me Medicine's friend who had "received" the quest."Um, there's none indeed. Only the dialogue where the NPC said that there will be benefits if we help kill Lord Yang," replied the other player.A number of players immediately felt that something was off"Let me test it out!" Without any hesitation, Give Me Medicine picked up a stone and forcefully hurled it at the advanced NPC that was running at the back.Players and former bandits were all within the same imprint matrix and theoretically couldn't see each other's health bars, but that didn't mean they couldn't attack each other. Otherwise, players wouldn't have been frequently cut down by advanced NPCs."Owww!"The stone struck, causing the advanced NPC to stagger. He then turned around angrily, brandished his blade, and charged at the players"We can attack them?!""The heck? Are there health bars now?!"Instantly, many players roared with excitement.Due to the difference in strength, lack of health bars, and "green IDs representing allies," players hadn't yet realized that they could attack advanced NPCs.Blossoming Strokes had a feeling something was amiss and wanted to call everyone to discuss it in detail. However, most of the players, with their blood pumping from battle and eager for combat, weren't easily deterred. Regardless of whether it was players on Vanilla Pudding's or Brother Lahong's side, many grabbed their steel blades and rushed forward fervently.The former bandits, who had never thought much about these "fragile" players, had always restrained themselves due to the imprint matrix's restrictions. But now that they were going against Yang, they naturally didn't care about the rules set by him. Seeing these insane undead overstep their boundaries, the ferocious nature of the former bandits surfaced, and they struck back mercilessly.To be fair, these former bandits weren't weak. Even the lowest-ranked among them, according to Yang Qiu's "Special Level System," was at least level 3 or higher, making them stronger than the giant rat in the town's south.However The reason the demonized rat could still guard the exit even after players had procured weapons and equipment was because it had thick skin that couldn't be penetrated by players' attacks.The former bandits, on the other hand, couldn't match the defensive power of a demonized creature.Anthony, who was confident in his combat skills, killed several players in one breath. However, he received an unexpected blow to an unprotected area on his arm, causing him to drop his sword."Equipment drop!"A player among those surrounding Anthony joyfully pounced on the dropped sword.A nearby player recognized the ID of the player that had snatched up the sword and, upon identifying him as an "enemy," decisively jumped the former. With a single strike, he sent the first player's skull flying and picked up the sword."B*stard! What are you doing!""F*ck, that's looting!""You're asking for it!"The players that had joined forces to besiege Anthony a few moments ago suddenly turned on each otherAntony: "???"Tuttle, being an archer not particularly proficient at close combat, had also received several strikes from the players who outnumbered them and showed no fear of pain or death."We can't do this! There are too many of them! Retreat!" he shouted anxiously."Retreat! Split up!" Seeing several of his comrades getting hurt made Hal worried as well. "Retreat to the east of town! All of you!"October 13, 6 a.m., Earth time.Having had a peaceful night's rest back on Earth, Yang Qiu had breakfast at a roadside stall before changing into his mage robes and opening the spatial rift to return to the magic plane.After appearing back at his post inside the town hall, Yang Qiu saw the state of the room, and his body shook violently.All the members of the former bandit gang were crouched down inside his office, every single one looking defeated, disheveled, and dirty.Furniture in the room, including the tables, chairs, cabinets, and other furnishings, had been used to block the entrances. There were slash marks on the door and window frames.Even through the barricade of furniture and the badly damaged door and windows, the shouts and cursing of players outside could be distinctly heardYang Qiu: "What the hell are you all doing?"
