Chapter 10
That player, Hongshao Latiao, felt not a shred of guilt for snatching the quest. After all, in a game, stealing quests and killing monsters is perfectly normal.
So when that poor soul with the ID “Claude” stormed back in a fury, he desperately grabbed Sharp Snake’s arm, shouting, “Quick, knock me out!”
Sharp Snake had no idea what was wrong with this guy, but upon seeing the man he had just killed reappear right before his eyes, he rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot.
This trafficker, whose face looked so fierce, was far more cowardly than he appeared.
Hongshao Latiao felt regretful, yet at the same time couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: “This game is just too incredibly well-made.”
Nearby, Claude felt an even sharper pang of bitterness. Just moments ago, he had been on the verge of receiving a quest—perhaps even a hidden one—only to have it snatched away so abruptly.
Thus, brimming with murderous intent, he charged straight at Hongshao Latiao, swinging his wooden sword down upon him.
Because the game was rendered so realistically, actually committing murder within it still posed some psychological difficulty. However, when Hongshao Latiao had previously killed Claude, the latter had been unconscious and unable to resist. Moreover, Hongshao Latiao was a surgeon in real life, so he didn’t face significant mental barriers. After a brief hesitation, he thrust the sword in. He then discovered that although the game felt incredibly real, plunging the wooden sword into a human body didn’t deliver a truly realistic sensation; there wasn’t even the resistance one would normally expect. The bleeding effects were obviously censored as well. By the time the corpse dissolved into skeletal remains, any remaining psychological hurdles vanished instantly.
Moreover, Braised Spicy Strips noticed one thing: the game was made so realistically that, as he watched Claude lunge at him, he could pinpoint his opponent’s vital spots with extreme accuracy.
Therefore, in a direct one-on-one confrontation where neither had learned any skills yet, Braised Spicy Strips once again sent Claude back to the respawn point.
They thought nothing of it; nearby players, seeing the quest was gone, dispersed with mild regret and turned their attention to others on the road, completely ignoring the dispute between Braised Spicy Strips and Claude.
However, the ordinary residents of Kaixi City, witnessing their casual killings—even the notoriously vicious Viper had been scared into fainting—were collectively in a state of sheer terror, with every hair on their bodies standing on end.
Seeing that this group was about to target them next, the people who had just been on the street instantly panicked, fleeing headlong toward their homes without looking back.
This group… is terrifying!
Even the Liancheng Guards hesitated before stepping forward, sternly declaring that killing at will within the city was forbidden, yet they did not actually arrest Hongshao Latiao.
It was evident just how chaotic Caeser City had become.
However, this was also related to the fact that Hongshao Latiao himself had killed outsiders, not residents of Caeser City.
Eagle watched expressionlessly, and just as he was about to speak, Aken’s face suddenly changed. “Young master, watch out!”
The void in front of the tower suddenly trembled, and a figure clad in a black cloak abruptly appeared. Countless condensed ice spikes flew toward Eagle in an instant!
Aken had already leaped into the air, his lean body transforming into a faint shadow as he shot straight upward.
Ice shards rained down like arrows. The moment they struck, Pei Sen swiftly tackled Eagle to the ground. After his recent level-up, all of his stats had improved—not just his ability to cast spells. Especially given his attribute allocation focused entirely on strength; although his agility wasn’t high, his speed received some bonus from his elevated strength. In this burst of effort, he managed to tackle Eagle just in time before the ice shards reached them.
Then, Pei Sen felt a sharp pain across his back. Several ice shards grazed him, leaving behind a few bloody scratches. Though they hadn’t pierced deeply, the extremely low temperature of the ice froze the wounds instantly, preventing significant bleeding.
“Are you alright?” Pei Sen carefully cushioned Eagle’s head with his right hand. Although he had pinned Eagle beneath him during the tackle, if the young noble’s head had hit the ground with a loud “thud” and formed a bump, Lady Mary would surely give him trouble once they returned.
Eagle watched him in silence, his thoughts unreadable.
Pei Sen spoke with regret, “If only I hadn’t insisted on coming out…”
As it turned out, someone really did take the opportunity to kill him.
Eagle remained silent. In truth, his outing today wasn’t entirely for Pei Sen’s sake. Not far away, Atwell’s figure flashed past. Eagle had been investigating him for some time but still hadn’t managed to catch any trace of him. This time, rather than Eagle giving the other party an opportunity, it was more accurate to say this was a prearranged plan to lure the snake out of its hole.
Even if Pei Sen hadn’t acted as he did, Eagle would have been perfectly fine. He had made thorough preparations before leaving home; there was no way the opponent could have harmed him.
After this volley of ice spikes, the mage in the air had already been engaged by Aken. Pei Sen ushered Eagle behind a nearby tower pillar, glancing back to see that most of the servants who had originally stood behind Eagle were now injured by the ice spikes, lying on the ground wailing; one of them clearly would not survive.
Pei Sen’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he pressed his lips together.
In the past, when entering the game, he would have thought of these characters as mere NPCs, never caring whether they lived or died; now, however, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
Because he had already realized that this was not a game world at all; he simply couldn’t comprehend what method the game developers had used to implant him into this realm.
Seeing Pei Sen looking in that direction, Eagle said calmly, “Since they intend to kill me, they naturally wouldn’t care about these servants. Don’t think it’s your fault—” He snorted. “Do you really believe someone like you could wield enough influence to make me decide to come out here? Of course not. I came out today because I’ve grown tired of these flies constantly buzzing around.”
From Eagle’s perspective, those servants meant absolutely nothing to him.
On the continent of Yali, although it might sound as though people like Pei Sen were merely wage earners hired by the estate, in essence, nobles regarded the lives of commoners as utterly insignificant.
Aken and the mage were still clashing mid-air. The mage could hover, but Aken could not; yet his body had already transformed into a faint shadow. If that massive ice shield hadn’t suddenly appeared before the mage, he would have been slain by Aken long ago.
Even though Pei Sen’s current level was still insufficient for him to clearly perceive the dazzlingly brilliant exchange unfolding over there, it wasn’t difficult to discern that Aken’s strength surpassed that of the mage.
Just as Pei Sen began to relax, he noticed the sky subtly darkening, and a chill spread from outside the city walls inward!
Eagle naturally noticed it too. Far from feeling fear, he smiled instead. “What a grand gesture. I lured the snake out of its hole, and now he probably plans to turn my scheme against me, intending to kill me the moment I leave the estate.”
Despite saying this, not a trace of fear appeared on Eagle’s face.
Pei Sen leaned out to gaze beyond the city walls, shuddering at the sight. “Is that… a lich?” he exclaimed in astonishment.
In the worldview of the Yali Continent, necromancers do not exist; therefore, the one commanding the army of skeletons advancing toward Kaixi City must undoubtedly be a lich.
In terms of raw power, this lich probably couldn’t compare to the ice mage hovering in the sky above. The trouble, however, was that the skeleton army consisted of undead creatures. Unless a host of priests from the Church of the Light God appeared right now, there would be absolutely no way to deal with them.
The enemy seemed aware that several powerful protectors surrounded Eagle. The ice mage had already engaged Arken, the strongest among them, while several other figures cloaked in black hurriedly closed in from the alleys of Kaixi City. Calmly standing atop the tower, Eagle watched as the estate’s defenders attempted to intercept these assassins.
The liches’ purpose was likely to completely trap Eagle within the tower, preventing his escape. Moreover, once the experts surrounding Eagle were all occupied, given this young master’s obviously delicate and noble appearance with zero combat capability, he would hardly be able to withstand those white skeletal figures.
When Eagle remarked that their opponent had made a grand move, it was no exaggeration; judging solely from those few cloaked assassins, each one was indeed a terrifyingly powerful expert.
Pei Sen calmly observed everything. He knew his current strength was meager, barely enough to deal with a few skeleton soldiers, which would hardly affect the overall situation. However… his gaze fell upon the players below, who were staring in stunned disbelief at the unfolding events.
Two hundred players were indeed not many. Nevertheless, they were inherently different from ordinary people. Even though they were still on beginner accounts, every single one of them was a swordsman. No matter how weak, a swordsman is still a swordsman; the system had granted each of them at least one basic skill.
Most importantly, Pei Sen was certain that the skeletal army he saw had likely been censored by the system, as it wasn’t particularly terrifying; yet other servants in the manor were still screaming, falling down, and trembling with fear.
This also gave players a slight advantage.
There was no time left for hesitation. Pei Sen stepped forward and, using the tower’s sound-amplifying magic array, shouted loudly, “Kaixi City is the territory of Lord Eagle Langno! These evil and despicable assassins are attempting to attack Lord Eagle Langno! We, the Bix race, are willing to fight to protect Lord Langno! Take up your weapons, slay the invading enemies, and everyone shall receive rewards from Lord Eagle Langno!”
Eagle was completely stunned, having no idea what Pei Sen was up to.
At this moment, Pei Sen heard a pleasant “ding,” confirming his expectations: the game had issued a quest.
“Time-Limited Quest: Protect Eagle Langno and repel the assassins. Time limit: 3 hours. (Actively triggered quest; Quest Rank: A. As the active trigger, you will receive an additional 100% EXP bonus and 1× Rank-A Story Chest.)”
As a veteran player of Bix Cube, Pei Sen was already well-versed in many of the game’s mechanics, such as the various quest trigger modes, which are divided into active and passive. Although he didn’t know why, he thoroughly understood the nature of this game system.
The so-called active quest triggers are actually not difficult at all; you can even trigger main story quests actively!
This game seems to really want players to stir up trouble—the bigger the mess, the better. As long as you cause chaos, it rewards you, and the greater the chaos, the better the reward.
It also strongly encourages players to immerse themselves in this world. Provided the conditions are right, it doesn’t mind players interfering in all sorts of matters, big or small, mundane or significant.
To sum it up in one sentence: the game Bix Cube thrives on chaos and fears nothing more than a peaceful world.
That single “ding” was not only heard by Pei Sen; every new player who had just entered the game less than half an hour ago heard it as well. Excitement swept across everyone’s faces, their emotions running so high they were nearly shouting aloud.
“This is incredible! A major quest on the very first day of open beta! Wow, these special effects and CG are absolutely mind-blowing!”
“Aaaah, where is Lord Langno? Aaaah, they’re all skeletons!”
“Hurry, hurry, stop them! The quest says extra rewards will be given based on contribution!”
“Damn it, don’t steal my mobs!”
“…”
Two hundred players, pumped up as if injected with adrenaline, charged toward the skeletal soldiers flooding into the city, while the native inhabitants of Kacey City had long vanished from sight.
Even knowing that Eagle was their lord, they would absolutely never be willing to fight a terrifying lich for this exalted Lord Eagle.
Yet this baffling group of Bixians, as if heedless of death, clad in tattered rags and wielding worn wooden swords, charged straight into the skeletons’ blades.
This scene not only left the assassins bewildered but also completely baffled the estate guards tasked with protecting Eagle.
Up on the tower, Eagle finally, for the first time… showed an expression of shock.