Chapter 17: The Annihilation of the Desolate Village
He Ting?!
These were the few barely recognizable characters carved into the stone tablet.
Just as Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salty Fish Charge, and the others were feeling puzzled—
"This should be a place name. According to historical records, during the late Han dynasty, there was a Dongxiang in Shanyang County, Henei Commandery, known as He Ting. We are most likely somewhere in Henei Commandery," Chenxi offered her speculation.
Little Bell widened her eyes. "No way, just from those two characters you can guess where we are? And it's just the name of a village! Chenxi-jie, are you perhaps working in historical archaeology?"
Chenxi smiled and said, "I'm not a history major, but I enjoy reading all sorts of miscellaneous books. Plus, I’ve had a good memory since I was little—anything I’ve read once, I can generally remember seventy to eighty percent of it."
So she was a big shot!
All seven of them immediately offered their virtual kneels!
Chenxi’s speculation was not mere guesswork.
Besides the clue of "He Ting" possibly being a place name, the name of the game map was "Luoshui Execution Ground." Luoshui was a tributary of the Yellow River and just so happened to pass through Henei Commandery.
"The town ahead is likely He Ting Town."
"Let’s hurry over and take a look. Maybe there’ll be more clues!"
After walking for about another half an hour, a ruined settlement appeared before their eyes.
Rather than calling it a town, it looked more like a slightly larger village.
At its most prosperous, it probably housed no more than seven or eight hundred households.
Now, smoke and mist blanketed the place. Houses were shattered, walls collapsed, and the whole desolate village was filled with a sense of decay and death.
"What the hell? Where did everyone go?! Are we going to end up coming here for nothing?" Midnight Pig Slayer stared blankly at the town that looked like it hadn’t been touched by human hands for decades.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, "Let’s go inside and see if there are any other clues."
Little Bell shivered slightly. "Do you guys think there might be zombies in there?"
Street Slayer laughed, "Hahaha, what’s so scary about zombies? In games, they’re just little mobs that hand out free experience points."
The eight of them entered the village.
At that moment, a notification rang out in everyone’s mind.
【Ding, your team has completed the task and received 500 points of Essence and 500 Contribution Points as a reward!】
Since the team had eight people, the reward was divided equally, giving each person a little over sixty points of Essence and Contribution Points.
For a level 4 Player like Black-Eyed Rui Ge, it wasn’t much, but for the others—especially the newcomers—it was quite a substantial reward.
"Aiya! I leveled up!"
"I leveled up too!"
Little Bell and Chenxi both reached level 2 at the same time.
Currently, the team consisted of one level 4, three level 3, and four level 2 Players.
Street Slayer said, "That’s it? We finished the task already? That was easier than I thought!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge commented, "The quests in this game are filled with randomness. They seem to be linked to the development level of your territory. Since it's still the very beginning of the game, of course the missions aren’t going to be too complicated."
The group continued to explore the village, hoping to find more useful clues.
"Look! Isn’t that a person over there?"
Midnight Pig Slayer suddenly cried out. Everyone immediately looked in the direction he pointed.
Through the hazy mist, they saw a hunched black figure standing right in the center of the ruins.
【Xu Feng】, Level 6 Elite Unit… Description: ???
"Holy crap, there really is someone! Judging from the name, could he be an NPC?"
The players all got excited.
They had thought the village had long since been abandoned and that their trip here would be for nothing.
Who would have thought that in such a place, there would still be an NPC?
They quickly moved a little closer, keeping the necessary level of caution.
The person stood about 1.7 meters tall, but because of his hunched back, he looked barely over 1.6 meters. His body was extremely thin. He wore a black square-topped hat and a cross-collared robe, with a tattered black cloak draped over it. His appearance somewhat resembled the eunuchs depicted in Han dynasty dramas. But how could a eunuch appear in a place like this?
As they hesitated whether or not to greet him,
The mysterious figure "Xu Feng" slowly turned around.
He looked extremely aged. His skin was deathly pale, crisscrossed with black cracks like parched, sunbaked mud.
Wisps of black smoke continuously seeped from the cracks. His eyes had no sclera, not even eyeballs—only two deep, black holes.
In his right hand, he drew a three-foot-long sword. The blade was wrapped with vein-like fine patterns.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Is it an NPC?"
"Why doesn’t it look like a normal person?"
"Why don’t we just ask and find out? Let me handle this!"
Midnight Pig Slayer volunteered himself and stepped forward to greet the figure: "Hey, fellow villager, have you eaten yet?"
A flash of sword light streaked past.
Midnight Pig Slayer’s fat head was instantly separated from his body.
Xu Feng's strike was so fast that everyone failed to react in time.
"Damn!"
"Old Pig is dead!"
"This isn’t some NPC!"
"This bastard is a humanoid monster!"
The group scrambled backward, hurriedly forming battle stances.
Xu Feng’s face remained expressionless. His throat trembled slightly, emitting a hoarse, chaotic croak, like frogs calling from within a box. "So, minions of the Stars dare to taint the Abyss... You truly overestimate yourselves!"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Who cares?!"
"Get him!"
Chimera Wraith and Little Bell simultaneously condensed flaming arrows.
Although they successfully hit Xu Feng, the moment the arrows struck, Xu Feng dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, instantly teleporting right in front of the Players.
Salty Fish Charge activated Iron Armor Technique and swung his blade down, but Xu Feng moved faster than the eye could follow, slicing Salty Fish Charge’s throat with a single strike.
"Fall back!"
"Get some distance!"
"This guy is an agility-type monster!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge activated Sprint and launched an attack with his short sword.
As a level 4 Ranger, his speed was quite fast. His blade successfully stabbed into Xu Feng’s shoulder, but there was no feeling of having struck a real body.
Because the instant Xu Feng was hit, he again transformed into black mist, appearing behind Black-Eyed Rui Ge in a blink, stabbing straight through Rui Ge’s back, the sword tip protruding from his chest.
-282 (Fatal Critical Hit)!
Black-Eyed Rui Ge fell!
He was too fast!
The remaining five players were stunned!
"Retreat! We can’t beat him!" Mad Blade Old Wang shouted and immediately turned to flee.
Seeing this, the others didn't hesitate either.
They knew very well that their speed was no match for Xu Feng’s, but as long as they ran faster than the others, it would be enough.
However—
Unexpectedly—
After instantly killing three of them, Xu Feng stood frozen in place, completely ignoring the five who were fleeing, as if he didn’t regard them as a threat at all—or perhaps he simply didn’t believe they could escape this place.
Sure enough—
Arrows wrapped in black mist shot from multiple directions at incredible speed.
The moment Mad Blade Old Wang heard the sound of arrows tearing through the air, he immediately dodged.
The others were not so lucky.
"Fuck! I’m gonna die again!"
Street Slayer, struck by three arrows, cursed loudly before collapsing as his lifeforce drained away completely.
Little Bell and Chenxi were also shot through their vital points.
The two had no choice but to obediently lie flat—
Offering up their "first blood" for their Lord.
Chimera Wraith, due to her positioning, was very lucky and wasn’t hit. She immediately locked onto the attackers.
Outside the desolate village, figures suddenly emerged one after another.
Their flesh was withered and pale, their tattered clothes soaked with dark red bloodstains.
Some held longbows, others long spears.
Draped around their necks were yellow scarves—but none of them had heads. Where their heads should have been, there was only a swirling mass of black mist.
【Yellow Turban Headless Fiend Soldiers】, Level 3 Elite Units… Description: Once Yellow Turban rebels who were executed, they have been resurrected as undead fiend corpses due to their undying resentment and obsession, now corrupted by the Will of the Abyss.
A dozen elite monsters?!
This scene could truly only be described as horrifying!
While terrified, Chimera Wraith, being a storyline enthusiast, couldn’t help but feel a surge of intense curiosity.
Could these be the Yellow Turban Army from the late Han dynasty? But how had they turned into this? Was the destruction of this desolate village related to them?
There was no time for further thought.
Over a dozen arrows whistled toward her.
Chimera Wraith was immediately riddled with arrows like a hedgehog and died on the spot!
Mad Blade Old Wang was blocked by two spear-wielding Yellow Turban Fiend Soldiers.
Even though he was a veteran who had survived countless life-and-death situations and was accustomed to licking blood from the blade’s edge, at this moment, he still felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He roared fiercely, raising his broadsword to cleave at the fiend soldiers.
Clang!
Sparks flew!
His broadsword was effortlessly deflected by a long spear.
Mad Blade Old Wang couldn’t even stabilize his stance.
Another spear, moving faster than lightning, pierced through his throat.
All eight players were dead.
The team was completely annihilated!