You Worthless Pieces of Trash!

Bai Xiaowen questioned the Spirit Realm Rules, but received no response.

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment, then turned to the blue-haired girl Bonita and said, "Hey, you can barely be considered a knight, you should know the principle of repaying kindness, right?"

Bonita's blue eyes widened. "How could you... Rescuing a girl in distress is a knight's duty, how could you demand payment like this..."

Bai Xiaowen snorted, "Come on, I'm not some knight. According to what you just said, I'm a 'despicable' necromancer..."

Bai Xiaowen emphasized the word "despicable".

Bonita's face flushed red, but thankfully the mine was dark. She said anxiously, "But I don't have any money..."

There's a chance!

Bai Xiaowen perked up. He had figured out some of the rules for rewards in the Spirit Realm side quests. For quests like this one that marked "unknown rewards," the awakened one had to fight for the benefits after completion.

For example, in the Three Kingdoms Plane World, when Bai Xiaowen and his companion first met Liu Bei, Bai Xiaowen offered guidance from Guan Yu and Zhao Yun as a reward, but this was refused. Later, Bai Xiaowen offered to decipher the Talisman Scripture as a reward, which was granted.

Of course, a powerful figure like Liu Bei, adept at navigating social situations, would know to reward Bai Xiaowen without her even needing to bring it up. As for the dim-witted Bonita, if Bai Xiaowen hadn't mentioned it, she might have simply let it pass by in a daze, rendering the side quest essentially useless except for providing Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi with some combat experience...

In fact, Bai Xiaowen did it casually, it only took a little time and effort.

In fact, according to the normal operation of the Spirit Realm Rules, Bai Xiaowen and his companion should first infiltrate the northern mine to rescue Bonita. Then, Bonita would volunteer to fight alongside Bai Xiaowen and his companion to defeat the bandit Boss Tier Ian. Bonita's participation in the battle is itself a reward for the side quest [Rescue].

Moreover, based on the clues he has gathered so far, Bai Xiaowen has a vague idea that Ian is probably not a boss that must be killed. After all, even if other awakened individuals are one or two levels higher, they may not be able to kill Ian in the presence of two level 7 strength-type Elite Tier bandit guards.

Moreover, Ian blew the bone whistle immediately, and dozens of Elite Tier bandits from the entire mine rushed to his aid. This level of difficulty far exceeded that of S-Tier Elite Tier mission, which was simply too high.

If Bai Xiaowen hadn't possessed the powerful Kusanagi Sword, which allowed him to kill several of Ian's trusted men with two consecutive Orochi Nagi and frighten away the other bandits, it would have been difficult to say who would have ultimately won or lost.

If they rescue Bonita, and the three of them face Ian, this apprentice knight Bonita might just be able to persuade Ian with Mouth Escape words... at the very least, it would make the battle much easier.

However, Bai Xiaowen took an unconventional approach. After forcibly killing Ian, he turned around and rescued Bonita... As a result, Bonita had no reward to give to Bai Xiaowen.

These speculations flashed through Bai Xiaowen's mind for only 0.2 seconds before disappearing. Ian was dead; discussing these things now was pointless.

Seeing that Bonita was trying to fool her, Bai Xiaowen wasn't fooled and decisively said, "If you don't have money, you can use valuables as collateral, like your weapons and equipment..."

Bonita's eyes widened. "A knight's sword is more important than life itself! Even bandits haven't taken my sword! You, you can't be more..."

"Stop, stop," Bai Xiaowen walked closer to the cave entrance, where he could already see the backs of several bandits hurriedly fleeing the cave with small bags on their backs. He turned around and confronted Bonita, "If you don't have enough gold coins, leave your sword and armor... Choose one, apprentice knight."

Li Shuyi tried to smooth things over, saying, "Xiao... Brother, Bonita is indeed very pitiful, and she really has no money. Confiscating a knight's sword and armor is tantamount to taking her life..."

Bonita huddled behind Li Shuyi, nodding frantically.

"I think it would be better if Miss Bonita stayed with us for the time being... Next, we're going to wipe out all the bandits in White Stone Fief, and Miss Bonita can compensate us with battles..." Li Shuyi said.

Bai Xiaowen glanced at Bonita, his face filled with suspicion. "She doesn't seem very capable, otherwise how could Ian have caught her?"

Bonita shrieked, "Nonsense! I'm very good. Among the graduating apprentice knights this year, I've always been in the top ten..."

Bai Xiaowen curled her lip. "Alright then, I'll believe you this once for now. But you have to save me at least once for us to be even. Otherwise, you'll always owe this 'despicable necromancer' a life, understand?"

Bonita pouted, "I don't want to owe you my life. I'll fight hard."

A notification message regarding the Spirit Realm Rules sounded:

"Divine Grace Knight Bonita requests to join your territory. Do you agree?"

"Divine Grace Knight Bonita's Affection Level towards you has decreased; her current Affection Level level is: Normal."

After Bai Xiaowen agreed to accept him, the number of troops on his Lord Panel suddenly changed from 0 to 1, and he also obtained detailed information about Bonita.

[Bonita (Elite Tier Level 4)]

[Race: Human Species / Human Race]

[Class: Divine Grace Knight]

[Attributes: Strength 14, Agility 10, Constitution 15, Spirit 22]

[Skills: Holy Hand, Protective Holy Seal, Divine Grace Descent]

In addition to this basic information, the detailed information includes Bonita's Battle Specialty, as well as attribute descriptions of some of her main equipment (armor and weapons). These are not visible through the "Insight" talent.

To Bai Xiaowen's surprise, Bonita was actually a knight who leaned towards the spellcaster type, possessing "advanced level 5" mastery of light magic, and was also quite good in melee combat, possessing level 4 fighting skills and level 4 One-Handed Swordsmanship.

All three skills are quite good. [Holy Hand] is a short-cooldown skill that can be used as a Life Value spell or a healing spell, making it versatile. [Protective Holy Seal] grants an ally immunity to physical attacks of priority 6 or lower for a short period. [Divine Grace Descent] is an ultimate skill that restores Life Value and strengthens armor for all allies!

"What a steal..." Bai Xiaowen silently gave herself a thumbs up. Divine Grace Knight Bonita was simply a powerful healer, even if she wasn't very bright.

The three arrived outside the mine. The bandit camp was in chaos. Some of the more agile bandits had already slipped away, but most were still busy packing their belongings and preparing to flee. The most fearful were the stablemen, cooks, blacksmiths, and other servants. Unlike the other bandits, they didn't just join any bandit group; they seemed hesitant and indecisive.

Over at the stables, a dozen Elite Tier bandits were vying for a horse, each grabbing one and hurriedly jumping onto it.

However, tragedy struck after only a few steps. With a sudden neigh, the first horse tumbled to the ground, some unknown substance oozing from its rear. The Elite Tier bandit also fell flat on his face.

It was like flipping a switch, triggering a chain reaction. The dozen or so horses following behind all collapsed with diarrhea, and the area around the stable reeked of a foul stench.

"How can we incorporate so many bandits?" Li Shuyi whispered.

"Whether it's forcing someone into prostitution or persuading them to abandon evil and do good, it's all the same two methods: carrot and stick," Bai Xiaowen said confidently, leading Li Shuyi to the wooden gate of the bandit camp. "Killing the bandit Boss Tier, Ian, has already demonstrated our strength. Now, we just need to lure them with benefits, and that should be enough..."

At this point, Bai Xiaowen suddenly raised her voice, and a sharp shout rang out in the chaotic camp:

"You bunch of good-for-nothing scum!"

The chaotic camp fell silent in an instant. Whether they were ordinary bandits packing their belongings, Elite Tier bandits studying the horses, or bewildered bandit servants, they all raised their heads and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Several hot-tempered Elite Tier bandits had already drawn their knives, intending to bleed this ungrateful fellow.

However, upon seeing Bai Xiaowen's hooded wizard robes (a transformation appearance in the eyes of the Spirit Realm), many people were gripped by fear.

"See that? That's the wizard. He killed Boss Ian."

"So fast? I thought even if Boss Ian couldn't win, he could hold out for a while."

"This wizard is terrifyingly powerful. He can unleash Hell flames with a wave of his hand, burning Galben and Yidan to death! Ian is far inferior to him in terms of magical power; it's no wonder he died..."

"What do we do? He's blocking the gate now; he probably isn't planning to let us leave..."

None of the Elite Tier bandits intended to cause trouble, while the ordinary bandits, having heard word of mouth about Bai Xiaowen's "terrifying strength," dared not approach.

Many people set their sights on the low camp fences. Fences of this height were essentially useless to them.

It doesn't matter if the gate is blocked; there are only a few of you, you can't possibly block the entire camp's walls. This was the thought in the minds of many bandits.

After First Strike, Bai Xiaowen began to introduce herself.

"I am Baron Dio Skellboom, the lord of White Stone Town! You bunch of bastards, villains, scoundrels who deserve to rot in the cesspool, listen up!"

"This time, I represent the Empire! To annihilate you!"

"Your Boss Tier, Ian, has been executed by me! A few stubborn fools tried to resist, but they were also burned to a crisp!"

"According to the laws of the Empire, I should have hung you all up and dried out, but White Stone Town doesn't have that many flagpoles!"

"Now, I'm giving you a chance to turn over a new leaf... Accept my reorganization and become my personal guard! That's right, from bandits to guards! From now on, you won't have to live in this stinking, cold cave!"

"Those who are willing to accept the adaptation, get over here and kneel before me!"

Bai Xiaowen suddenly pulled out the heavy money box from his Storage Space and poured out a large pile of gold coins with a clatter.

A series of low gasps rose from the bandits, and there were even faint sounds of swallowing.

Bai Xiaowen's voice, laced with the allure of gold coins, possessed a sinister charm, making it irresistible. "The first ten people to kneel down will receive a reward of ten gold coins. Those who follow will only receive two each... Now begin your selection. Don't force me to retract this brief act of mercy!"

The sound of swallowing saliva grew louder.

One of the robbers, growing bolder, asked, "How do we know whether we should trust you or not? What if you turn your back on us after we surrender?"

"You ants, your life is now in my hands. You have no right to argue!" Bai Xiaowen said sinisterly. "You lowly maggots are not worth my painstaking efforts to fabricate lies. Killing you is as simple as lifting a finger!"

At that moment, a tall, thin robber sneaked toward the fence, intending to climb over and escape. Behind him, several other robbers were also eager to try.

"It seems someone is testing my patience."

Bai Xiaowen revealed a cold smile and suddenly activated [Intimidation]!

Centered on Bai Xiaowen, an awe-inspiring Overawing Presence spread out, and the bandits in the camp felt a bone-chilling fear, unable to move even a finger!

The two-star mutated skill, Intimidation, is almost as useful as Conqueror's Haki, not to mention the added bonus of Bai Xiaowen's lord status. The weaker bandits were directly terrified for nearly ten seconds.

The robber who was trying to climb the fence froze, not daring to move an inch.

Bai Xiaowen raised his hand, lifted the gun, and calmly aimed.

The room was deathly silent, like the suffocating silence before the executioner is shot.

Bang!

Blood splattered between the brows of the robber, and he fell backward!

Bai Xiaowen put away the Desert Eagle and said leisurely, "Now, does anyone still have any objections to what I said?"

In fact, Bai Xiaowen played a trick.

That was a level 6 bandit. Even with Standard Template, his Life Value was over 150 points, and his armor was at least a dozen points. Even if Bai Xiaowen's Desert Eagle hit his forehead, it wouldn't be an instant kill unless the damage from a single hit reached 1/3 of his maximum Life Value —unless it was a critical Critical Hit. With the Desert Eagle's +4 Headshot, a headshot could even kill an Elite Tier bandit instantly.

However, Bai Xiaowen himself is not very agile and has a very low Critical Hit rate. And he has only recently left the combat state, so the Critical Hit rate accumulated by [Ryuji Yamazaki's Fighting Gloves] is only about 5%, which is not enough to achieve 100% Critical Hit.

The reason he was able to instantly kill the bandit was due to the Shadow Assassin's combination of Stealth and Assassination. However, Bai Xiaowen needed to create the illusion that he could easily Overwhelming Crush the bandits, and that taking someone's life was as simple as lifting a finger! Therefore, the Shadow Assassin could not be exposed.

As the robber fell to the ground, Bai Xiaowen used Mind Link to control the Shadow Assassin, causing him to simultaneously lie prone. The Shadow Assassin was Soulkin undead creature, making him even harder to spot under the cover of night.

Bai Xiaowen's boasting was undoubtedly a huge success. Spurred on by the gold coins, a bandit servant suddenly rushed forward and knelt before Bai Xiaowen:

"Great Lord Dio, your humble servant Harvey swears allegiance to you!"