Preparing to Make a Move

One million!

There were at least twenty or thirty people here.

That meant the Wang Family would pocket twenty to thirty million in one go.

Everyone present had money to spare, but none of them was foolish enough to hand over a million just like that.

So when Wang Renbin finished speaking, the room immediately fell silent.

No one objected, but no one agreed either.

Zhao Xiaomeng said dryly, "Twenty to thirty million for a single Teleportation Talisman. You certainly know how to do business, Young Master Wang."

"You get what you pay for. To obtain this Teleportation Talisman, the Wang Family mobilized over ten thousand players, never mind the other costs. I believe that alone justifies the price."

Wang Renbin smiled faintly.

"One million should hardly be beyond your means. We all know perfectly well why everyone here entered this game.

"If you waste your time here over a measly million, your losses will amount to far more than that as time goes on."

At that, he turned to Zhao Xiaomeng again. "With the Zhao Family's wealth, a million is a drop in the ocean. Xiaomeng, if you can't afford it, consider it a loan from me."

Zhao Xiaomeng's expression shifted at his words.

He was right.

A million was no great sum, not just to the Zhao Family, but even to her personally.

She simply did not want to let Wang Renbin make that money.

But...

Just as he had said, a million was not a major issue. If the bandit crisis lasted another two days, her losses would far exceed that amount.

Not just Zhao Xiaomeng, but most of those present were thinking much the same thing.

After all, anyone who could sit here and gather other players to establish a faction in such a short time had substantial backing.

And so...

They ultimately agreed to his terms.

They had no choice. Circumstances left them at a disadvantage.

With such a trump card in the Wang Family's hands, they were bound to control the situation.

"Stronghold Chief, most of those outlanders have holed up now. Should we make our next move?" Zhang Tieniu asked Qin Shujian in a low voice.

Although he was still a Leader of Liangshan Stronghold, he was now firmly a Martial Entry Third Level expert.

Yet despite his increased cultivation, standing before Qin Shujian subjected him to an even greater pressure than before.

That only deepened Zhang Tieniu's reverence for Qin Shujian.

Qin Shujian rubbed his chin lightly at the question, making no immediate reply.

Over the past three days, nearly four, they had surrounded and killed large numbers of players.

The vast majority of the bandits in Liangshan Stronghold had risen by one level, reaching entering martial second layer.

But quite a few bandits had also died.

As time passed, the first batch of dead bandits had already respawned.

What surprised Qin Shujian, however, was that among these respawned bandits, the few who should have advanced to entering martial second layer had fallen back to entering martial first layer.

Those who had been at entering martial first layer remained there.

This development made Qin Shujian realize something: although Bandits killed by players could respawn, they would lose a cultivation level.

As for why the Bandits at Entering Martial First Layer had not changed...

By his reckoning, that was probably the lowest level a Bandit could fall to.

They would not drop any further.

In other words, over these past few days, all the Entering Martial Second Layer Bandits who had died had been sent back to square one.

Liangshan Stronghold currently has one hundred and thirty-three men. More than a hundred Bandits have died at the players' hands these past few days, leaving only twenty-odd who have survived the whole time.

Of those twenty-odd men, six have reached Martial Entry Third Level, including Zhang Tieniu.

The rest are all still at Entering Martial Second Layer.

As for the Bandits who have died once, most have been sent back to square one. That more or less accounts for everyone.

After silently weighing the gains and losses, Qin Shujian had a rough idea of where they stood.

In just a few days, Liangshan Stronghold had gained so many experts that its strength had already multiplied several times over.

But...

Qin Shujian looked at Zhang Tieniu and frowned. "You must have killed quite a few outlanders these past few days. Why haven't you advanced to the Fourth Level of Martial Entry yet?"

"Stronghold Chief, as you know, we advance by killing outlanders, but if they're more than three cultivation levels below us, killing them has no effect.

"Not a single one of those outlanders has even reached Entering Martial First Layer. How could we advance to the Fourth Level of Martial Entry?"

"Uh... I almost forgot."

Qin Shujian froze for a moment, then quickly regained his composure.

They could only level up by killing players no more than three minor cultivation levels below them.

He had known absolutely nothing about this.

Qin Shujian had been wondering why Zhang Tieniu and the others at Martial Entry Third Level had killed so many players these past few days, yet not one of them had broken through to the Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

At first, he had thought the experience requirement was simply too high.

Now, however, it appeared they had gained no experience at all.

Yet Qin Shujian had never received even the slightest information about what Zhang Tieniu had just told him.

Seeing how naturally the other man took it for granted, he could not help forming a suspicion.

His ability to obtain Life Source, apparently without any cultivation-level restrictions, was completely different from how the other Bandits advanced by killing players.

He was essentially a walking bug.

Then Qin Shujian had another thought.

The other Bandit NPCs should also know whatever Zhang Tieniu knew. After all, there was no difference between them.

That meant that although he was an NPC too, he was fundamentally very different from ordinary NPCs.

Other NPCs could only advance by killing players, and they could only gain experience from players no more than three minor cultivation levels below them. Beyond that range, there was nothing they could do.

He, however, had no such restriction.

He gained Life Source not only from killing players, but from killing NPCs as well, with no level restrictions whatsoever.

Moreover, there were things Zhang Tieniu and the others seemed to know instinctively that he himself did not know.

Because of this...

Qin Shujian once again grew deeply concerned about whether he would respawn if he was killed.

It looks like I really might not be able to respawn like the other NPCs!

Then...

He looked at Zhang Tieniu and said, "Pass down my orders. Tomorrow, every man will launch an all-out assault on Beginner Village 10021. Until then, have the others surround the Novice Village.

"Don't let a single outlander escape during that time.

"But don't kill too many outlanders yet. Just scare them into retreating. Our men should also avoid casualties as much as possible."

By tomorrow, another batch of Bandits would be able to respawn.

That would give them more strength and a greater margin of safety when they attacked the Novice Village.