Bountiful Rewards

"As the village chief said, this was his Destiny! With the barbarians invading, Shi Rong, whose strength was terrifying, had not fallen to the barbarians' hands, but instead died at the hands of his own clansmen! How lamentable, how tragic, how laughable..."

After pondering for a moment, Jian Shang suddenly understood why the final battle, which should have been incomparably brutal, had turned out so easy and so strange.

Ye Caiyun's long-range encirclement tactic had certainly been the right choice, but it could not rule out the possibility that Shi Rong had deliberately sacrificed himself. Perhaps Shi Rong even knew that these "Otherworldly Outsiders" could grow stronger by killing them. Since he could not escape the mysterious shackles of Destiny no matter what, he had simply chosen to fulfill the Otherworldly Outsiders instead!

"How lamentable, how tragic, how laughable..."

Having figured it out, Jian Shang could not help but look at Shi Rong with grief and complicated emotions in his eyes.

His upright, stalwart figure, his blood-soaked body, his heroic spirit as he raised his sword to fight...

NPCs were still NPCs. It wasn't that their intelligence was inferior to players' or that they were less human, but because of the invisible shackles placed upon them!

"Kill!"

Though facing the tragic and heroic Shi Rong, Ye Caiyun remained expressionless. She waved her treasured sword and shouted sharply.

"Kill!"

Knowing full well that the gap in strength was worlds apart, the surrounding players still shouted and charged madly toward Shi Rong like a tidal wave.

With four arrows, one spear, and one axe lodged in him, it was already a miracle that Shi Rong had not died. Even if no one attacked him, he would not last much longer. Besides, Shi Rong had clearly set his mind on death.

Faced with the double bounty of reality and the game for killing the final Boss, no one could resist such temptation!

"Hm?"

Watching the excited players swarm forward, Jian Shang took a step ahead. His thick brows furrowed deeply before he forcibly drew back.

Did he pity Shi Rong's tragic heroism? Not entirely!

Did he admire Shi Rong's bold spirit? Not entirely!

Did he fear Shi Rong's terrifying strength? Not entirely!

Jian Shang himself did not know why he had withdrawn his step. Perhaps he lacked confidence in his own strength. Perhaps he knew that even a rotten ship still had three nails. Or perhaps Shi Rong's generosity and tragedy had stirred his heart.

"Whoosh..."

As the crowd surrounded and attacked him, Shi Rong's body swayed. Instead of retreating, he advanced. His sword light was as sharp as falling snowflakes, stirring up waves of flying blood.

His sword flowers danced like snow, while Shi Rong himself fluttered like a butterfly among blossoms. Everywhere he passed, players were sent flying with severe injuries. The lucky ones lost their ability to fight; the unlucky ones died on the spot.

"No way! This was a monster with a Martial Force of fifty? He was still this fierce after suffering such serious wounds!"

Seeing this, the players were stunned.

One had to know that the players who had made it this far were basically the Golden Roc Faction's main fighting force. Many were retired soldiers, and at the very least, all of them were warriors who dared to kill and fight.

Yet, against the gravely wounded and dying Shi Rong, three or four dozen people fell after just one exchange, with more than half of them dying.

"Long-range and close-range attacks! Kill!"

The players present were the foundation and support on which she stood, and they were also the elites of the large force under her command. How could Ye Caiyun tolerate such losses, such wanton slaughter? Her expression darkened as she coldly issued the order.

"But..."

The six-hundred-man commander beside Ye Caiyun looked at the players clustered around Shi Rong and hesitated.

"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child! Don't lose sight of the greater good over minor concerns. If this continues, the casualties will only grow worse! Kill!"

Ye Caiyun glared at the six-hundred-man commander and rebuked him.

"Draw your bows, nock your arrows! Target the Shizhuang village chief! Take aim!"

The six-hundred-man commander's lips moved several times, but in the end, he said nothing. With one command, the fifty elite archers behind him all drew their bows, nocked arrows, and aimed at Shi Rong.

"Fire!"

Fifty sharp arrows rose like a fierce net, covering Shi Rong as he gritted his teeth, held on, and fought bathed in blood.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

"Aah! Aah..."

The sounds of arrows piercing flesh mixed with shrill screams. When the arrow net fell, although the players around Shi Rong scrambled away in panic, more than a dozen were still struck, and seven or eight of them died outright.

In an instant, the ground was soaked in blood, with corpses strewn everywhere. Five or six players screamed in terror or agony, while others struggled desperately.

"Hiss!"

Jian Shang and many other players sucked in sharp breaths, staring in shocked disbelief at the brutal, bloody scene before them.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Sharp, cold light enveloped Shi Rong as he suddenly charged toward Ye Caiyun. Not one of the dense arrows could harm him.

"Everyone, heed my command! Throw your weapons and attack!"

Ye Caiyun's delicate body trembled, but she forced herself not to retreat. Her eyes narrowed as she stared sharply at the charging Shi Rong and shouted her order.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Violent gusts tore through the air as dozens, even hundreds, of spears, axes, arrows, and other weapons rained down on Shi Rong from all directions.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Amid flying sparks, Shi Rong struck away the incoming weapons one after another with lightning speed and forced his way forward. However, these thrown weapons were not arrows; their recoil was far stronger, making his palms ache and his arms go numb.

No! Although Ye Caiyun's tactic was correct and the best strategy, I couldn't become a pawn or cannon fodder who might be abandoned at any moment!

Jian Shang did not immediately follow the order. Instead, he looked deeply at the corpses of the players who had died in vain around Shi Rong, as well as those ignored players struggling and screaming in agony, and secretly made a vow in his heart.

Suppressing himself and thinking calmly for a moment, Jian Shang quickly retreated more than ten meters. His eyes locked onto Shi Rong, who was being bombarded by countless thrown weapons and could barely advance...

He pushed off with his heel, rushed forward, and hurled the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear in his hand like a javelin...

"Screech..."

Weighing fifty or sixty jin, and propelled by his run-up and the force of his throw, its attack power exceeded a hundred jin. With a piercing whistle, it tore through the air and shot toward Shi Rong like lightning.

"Clang..."

"Pfft...

Shi Rong swung his sword backward and struck the spearhead with lightning speed, but he had misjudged the spear's force. Sparks flew with a clear metallic ring, yet he failed to knock the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear aside.

Driven by tremendous momentum, the Pear Blossom Wrought-Iron Spear pierced into Shi Rong's back and passed through his body...

The powerful spear carried Shi Rong forward by inertia. He was then struck in succession by several more spears, swords, blades, arrows, and other weapons, turning him into a hedgehog. Even his limbs were hacked away.

He hit the ground...

Blood sprayed in every direction, and a great cloud of dust rose...

"Ding! Congratulations, player Jian Shang, for killing Shizhuang village chief Shi Rong. Martial Force increased by five points. You have obtained Shi Rong's primary cultivation technique, the Purple Grade technique Cloud Dragon Nine Transformations (Incomplete), and the Blue Grade technique Flying Rainbow Sword Technique. Special rewards: one hundred Merit points and one hundred Prestige points!"

At the same time, the system's loud and pleasant notification sounded in Jian Shang's mind. His body jolted, and he felt as though he had eaten a Ginseng Fruit. His entire body felt refreshed, his spirits surged, his strength burst forth, and it seemed as though he possessed inexhaustible power.

"Purple Grade technique?! Blue Grade technique?!"

Jian Shang's heart tightened suddenly. He nearly shouted in excitement, paying little attention even to the changes in his body.

One had to know that cultivation techniques were divided into seven color grades... red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Purple Grade techniques were already the highest-tier techniques at the current stage of the game, while Blue Grade techniques were worth a fortune and nearly impossible to obtain.

No wonder Shi Rong's Martial Force had not been especially high, yet he had been so ridiculously fierce, like an indestructible cockroach!

"Who killed Shi Rong?!"

Several dozen meters away from Jian Shang, Ye Caiyun frowned deeply as she looked at Shi Rong, who had practically been reduced to pulp. She then asked the six-hundred-man commander beside her, who had the sharpest eyesight.

"Him! The fatal blow was the steel spear he threw. He backed up, took a running start... He was a calm young man!"

The six-hundred-man commander pointed at Jian Shang, who was immersed in the system notification, and analyzed approvingly.

Ye Caiyun frowned and fell into thought. After a moment, she looked at Jian Shang, then at Shi Rong's corpse, and walked toward the corpse.

At the same time, the charming young woman who had previously stood beside Shi Rong walked over like a puppet. She slowly knelt beside him and stretched out trembling hands, wanting to embrace Shi Rong's corpse, yet finding nowhere to begin.

Blood dyed the ground red, soaked through her silk robes, and drowned her heart...

The autumn wind blew bleakly, sweeping dust across the sky.

"My condolences. Dying on the battlefield is the best destination for a soldier!"

Ye Caiyun walked to Shi Rong's corpse, bent down to pick up his treasured sword, and comforted her in a solemn tone. Seeing that the charming young woman gave no response, she turned and walked toward Jian Shang.

"Commander!"

The fragrance that reached him invigorated Jian Shang's spirits. He addressed her respectfully in admiration.

This woman Ye Caiyun was shrewd, calm, and ruthless. She was not simple at all!

"Well done! You truly did not disappoint me! I will report your achievements truthfully, and not a cent of the five hundred thousand reward will be missing!"

Ye Caiyun nodded and said with a smile as radiant as a flower.

Jian Shang smiled faintly, unsure how to respond. Still, the sudden windfall of five hundred thousand did excite him greatly. Then he saw Ye Caiyun extend Shi Rong's treasured sword toward him and say:

"According to the rules this time, spoils obtained through individual combat belong to the individual. But this final Boss was a team achievement, so both emotionally and logically, it shouldn't be enjoyed by one person alone, right?"

Seeing Ye Caiyun offer him the sword, Jian Shang assumed that Ye Caiyun, who used a sword as her weapon, wanted Shi Rong's sword. He could not help but smile and nod.

After all, given Shi Rong's terrifying strength, Jian Shang had not even been qualified to oppose him directly. Killing him truly had been the team's achievement. Jian Shang was not so greedy as to claim all of Shi Rong's belongings, though Shi Rong's weapon was very likely a Sharp Weapon-grade treasure.

Not to mention that he was merely one of two thousand players in the Golden Roc Faction—even if a small group of three or five had taken on a quest and killed the final Boss, there would be no reason for one person to keep everything. Jian Shang was not that insatiably greedy!

"This is a Mid-Grade Sharp Weapon sword. I can make the decision to award it to you. Even if you don't like using a sword, you can still sell it for a million real-world credits! As for the cultivation techniques Shi Rong practiced, you should hand them over!"

Ye Caiyun's lovely face remained dazzling as she held the sword out a little closer and spoke gently.

Jian Shang was stunned, then quickly understood. The cultivation techniques Shi Rong had practiced were Ye Caiyun's true reason for coming over!

As for wealth, given Ye Caiyun's status and position, she surely did not lack it. Divine weapons and sharp weapons were precious, but without sufficient strength, they were not very useful. Only cultivation techniques that could increase one's own strength were the true foundation and the most important things.

It could be said that among everything Shi Rong possessed, aside from Shizhuang, the town-level base, the cultivation techniques Shi Rong practiced were the most valuable.

Perhaps this was precisely the special reward triggered when players seized a town-level base!

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