Chapter 216-3: Ecstasy Faction, Welfare Intel (3) |
Yang Xiu crouched down and reached out to pick up a rusted broken sword on the ground. The characters carved on the hilt twisted and translated automatically in his eyes.
[Transdimensional Divine Blessing – Soul Fire Army 1927th detachment warrior – Wufeng.]
Below was an eye drawn in some kind of blood. A parse swept over it, and a piece of information was recorded on it.
[With my blood I fight to defend the glory of the Emperor’s Sign. Where Transdimensional’s will points and the blade’s edge reaches, every drop of blood flows for our faith. If I fall in battle, may the gods protect my homeland. May my sacrifice bring the restoration of rivers and mountains. Though this body is destroyed, faith is immortal. May my soul attend ever at the side of Transdimensional, and may my broken body seep into the earth and brand my loyalty.]
With a light squeeze, the broken sword shattered.
Through the parsed information, Yang Xiu could imagine the ferocity of the war at the time.
Countless warriors like Iceblade and Wufeng went forward to die one after another, trying to resist the terrifying invasion of the Black Tide.
Most died in battle.
Compared to the legendary ancient period, the intensity of Monster World’s war had already been greatly reduced now.
Yet it was precisely because peak level combat power had been spent that countless descending forces poured in, gaining space to grow and rise.
A new round of peak battles was brewing.
It could be foreseen that in the future, peak battlefields comparable to the Calamity War would return again.
Ancient strong races would fall, and wars among new powers would open their curtains.
Of course, there would surely be ancient peak races once again stepping onto the world stage.
For example, the terrifying Black Tide, the force that nearly smashed Monster World, would make a comeback.
For another example, the player legions representing the descendants of the Emperor’s Sign, nominally also one of the ancient forces.
As for forces like the Ecstasy race, Written Word, and the Ancient God race, they were the rising stars of Monster World.
The more he thought about it, the more bitter it felt. From the viewpoint of the Lord of Welfare, the road to the peak was exceedingly difficult.
From the viewpoint of pirated players, even worse.
The Lord of Ecstasy might not even be able to carve out a path to prominence, and grassroots laborers like them could hardly take a single step, perhaps even accompanying the boss to be buried someday.
Attempting to step out of the player perspective, he suddenly realized that the paths forward for other forces were bristling with thorns. Every step could be pierced until the blood flowed.
Predicaments he once brushed aside easily now crowded densely before his eyes.
For Yang Xiu, the hardest challenge of becoming an Ecstasy player was not the trial predicaments, but the change in mindset.
The carefree spirit of the past was gone.
Before, he could decide as he pleased. Now every choice became incomparably difficult, and every attempt might be accompanied by the risk of failure.
This sense of oppression pushed him to learn to think.
This was still with a safety net in his heart, thinking that at worst he could settle at death and return to the village to keep fighting the bully.
If he truly were an Ecstasy player… the mere thought was suffocating, with a future shrouded in darkness.
Now the only problem that worried him was how to protect his teammates.
His safety net was returning to the village. In his teammates’ eyes, the safety net was him.
They placed all their hope and sense of security on him.
This was pressure and also motivation.
He hoped his teammates could grow safely, and best of all, one day break free of the Lord of Welfare’s control and escape back to their own homeland.
Returning his thoughts to the present, he led his squad members to begin exploring the Path of the Dead scene.
Before long, they clashed with Cursed Soldiers.
But the combat process was entirely different from the player days.
Each Cursed Soldier did not decompose directly upon death. One had to pick up black crystals to count as profit, which was quite troublesome.
But as Ecstasy players, they did have advantages.
The Lord of Welfare offered ‘hundred billion’ subsidies. The yield from each Cursed Soldier of the same hunt level was 1.5 times that of the player, without the 30 percent yield tax and with an additional 30 percent yield subsidy, after deducting resource conversion loss.
The rate of increase in net worth under the Lord of Welfare was far faster than when they had been authentic players.
Sometimes he would also give scene-specific missions that, when completed, granted even higher yields.
—
Four days later.
The squad, feeling physically and mentally exhausted, had already completed the hunting quota but still continued the mission.
At this moment, Yang Xiu’s squad was fighting a corrosion core.
Through tacit coordination and the high mobility of assassin skills, they quickly dodged the attacks of the Evil Entities controlled by the corrosion core.
From the rear, Black Serpent occasionally fired key shots to damage the corrosion core.
Just as the battle was about to end, several dozen figures rushed through the fog at extreme speed.
“Boss, player race.”
Hearing the teammate’s warning, Yang Xiu’s heart jolted.
He had not expected a player squad to have explored to this place.
Trouble.
He snapped his head back to look.
The leading figure of the player squad wielded a Force Savage axe. His figure was burly and massive, his entire body wrapped in heavy golden armor, with only his face exposed. His stern features looked carved by blade and chisel, and his eyes burned with a bloodthirsty light under the Bloodburn trait, like a raging savage bull, charging with oppressive momentum.
Five players followed at his side, all shrouded in Vital Qi.
A parse swept over, and the other party’s information surfaced in Yang Xiu’s mind.
[Li Tie (Player)]
Target information:
Star vein combination: Force Savage (level 62), Vital Qi (level 58), Backwind Whip (level 12), Bloodthirst (level 32), Extreme Speed (level 39), Qi Eater (level 45), Unyielding (level 50), Blood Chain Pull (level 23).
Body tempering level: level 9.
Attribute information: …
—
Holy crap.
Originally thinking of a fight, Yang Xiu went dumb the instant he saw the parsed information on the other party.
How could he not recognize Li Tie.
Known in the player circle as Grandpa Iron, an old player from the initial test, commander of the veteran squad.
Record holder who contained five Primordials alone.
A powerhouse at the top of the rankings.
Now as an Ecstasy player, once he confirmed the identity of the other party, Yang Xiu’s heart was instantly filled with fear.
‘How to fight this… fight your mom.’
At this moment Li Tie’s right hand lit up with red light, and Yang Xiu instantly realized that the other party was about to release the Blood Chain Pull trait.
He decisively begged for mercy in the regional voice channel.
“Grandpa Iron, please do not. We are on the same side. Our commander God King and you are old friends. I am currently carrying out a Death Space instance mission. Please do not kill us.”
“Hmm.”
In a charging state, Li Tie jerked his head up.
His gaze swept across the Inherited soul squad and focused on Yang Xiu not far away, with only a crimson flame icon lit above his head.
Even as his brows furrowed, Li Tie’s charge speed sharply dropped.
“Kill.”
Right then, Gargoyle of Yang Xiu’s squad burst forward, taking the initiative to charge Li Tie to absorb the impact.
Yang Xiu wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
Boom.
After a thunderous crash, the two figures slammed into each other. Vital Qi burst from Li Tie’s body and bounced Gargoyle back.
Gargoyle suddenly grabbed Li Tie’s shoulder, wanting to use the backward force to yank Li Tie down.
But Li Tie reacted faster. His right-hand Force Savage axe dissipated. He pressed down on Gargoyle’s right hand, yanked hard, and pulled him in front.
Gargoyle staggered, and an arm like steel clamped his neck. Completely overpowered in strength, Gargoyle was smashed to the ground by that arm pressing down on his neck.
Boom.
Stone chips flew. Before absolute power, Gargoyle’s resistance seemed meaningless.
“Boss, run.”
Sensing something was wrong, Gargoyle’s eyes radiated bloodlust, ready to sacrifice himself to buy time for his teammates to withdraw.
At the moment he was about to fight with his life, a big foot expanded in his vision and kicked hard into his face, booting him back toward his team.
Gargoyle landed and stumbled several steps before steadying himself.
Looking up, his gaze toward Li Tie carried disbelief.
“You guys get busy. We are leaving.”
Li Tie gave his response in the regional voice, then glanced at the Gargoyle whose nose was bleeding and led the members of the veteran squad to continue their charge into the distance.
“So strong. Luckily they do not seem to be here for us, or we would be truly doomed.”
Gargoyle wiped the blood from his nose. Watching the departing backs of the veteran squad, an incredulous look surfaced in his eyes.
“I almost died too.” Black Serpent spoke up at this moment.
Yang Xiu and the others turned to look at Black Serpent. The hand holding her Poison Sting gun was trembling, and an unseen thin blood mark had appeared on her fair neck.
Just now, as she prepared to pull the trigger, a black shadow had swept past from behind, left a cut on her neck with a dagger, and then flickered away to follow his teammates.
Crisis averted, Yang Xiu finally let out a breath.
This was one reason he did not want to run into fellow townsmen.
Not only did they not fear death, there were many powerhouses among them. The strength of their squad was simply not a match for the top players on the rankings.
Fortunately the guild boss God King knew the veteran squad, and the matter was resolved based on the guild leader’s face.
If they had really fought, all his teammates would have died.
As for revenge, he could seek revenge on any external race, even if he lacked the strength to contend for now. There would be chances in the future.
But to seek revenge on his own faction’s veteran squad was undoubtedly delusional.
“Mission over. Head back.”
After this encounter, Yang Xiu completely lost any desire to remain here and continue hunting.
The mission was already complete, and the appearance of the veteran squad proved this area was no longer safe.
—
Primordial Altar.
Just as Yang Xiu was preparing to end the mission and return to Death Space,
Qi Sheng, following Guide’s consciousness, was browsing the task information list in Death Space.
This resource intel had all been collected by the Lord of Welfare over long years of seclusion in an independent space. Although much of it was already outdated, he still decided to copy a set. It might come in handy.
When the time came, he would publish it to players in the form of hidden tasks and let players explore to gather resources.
The Lord of Welfare’s intel was truly fragrant.