Absolute Death Game

"I won’t kill you, but there are some things I’d like to ask you. Answer honestly, and if your answers are satisfactory, I’ll spare your life. How’s that sound?" After saying this, Xiao Buli began to inquire about the Black Mountain Camp. Li Wu’s eyes rolled around but he hesitated to speak until he said, "If the hero can guarantee not to kill me, then I’ll tell you."

Xiao Buli replied, "Don’t worry, I’m a man of my word. If I say I won’t kill you, then I won’t. Just tell me."

Still, Li Wu was reluctant, speaking gingerly, "Then, please make an oath, hero."

Xiao Buli thought to himself how much of a fuss this NPC was making, but it also showed intelligence beyond the system’s rules. Making an oath was no big deal for him, as an atheist, making an oath was as simple as drinking water. If an oath could make the other party tell the truth, then it didn’t matter.

"I swear that as long as you tell me the intelligence on the Black Mountain Stronghold, I will not kill you."

Upon hearing this, Li Wu appeared to breathe a sigh of relief, and without much intimidation, he spilled everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

It turns out the lair of the Black Mountain Bandits was only a few miles away from their current location. Just follow the mountain path upwards and there would be three checkpoints along the way, each guarded by a high-level elite commanding dozens of bandits.

Inside the stronghold, there were three commanders. The main commander was a former general of the Black Dragon Legion named Xu Lie, and the other two deputy commanders were his lieutenants, named Mountain Patroller Cui Yuncheng and Fortress Assaulter Du Guang. In addition to them, there was also a Priest, a rather mysterious character, who always hid in a cave, doing who knows what.

It seemed there were four BOSSES in this dungeon, Xiao Buli mused, and then he asked how many players the stronghold was designed for. Li Wu couldn’t give a clear answer.

Xiao Buli had to change the way he asked.

If I were to bring people to assassinate that Xu Lie, how many would I need?

Li Wu thought for a moment and said, "If you don’t want to be detected by the patrollers outside and avoid drawing the attention of a large group of bandits, you can only have a maximum of ten people entering and exiting together."

Xiao Buli mused, "So it’s a ten-player dungeon."

The only experience Xiao Buli had with a ten-player dungeon was from that one time. However, the memory of it wasn’t pleasant. Even with the formidable strength of the Green Dragon Group, they still suffered heavy casualties. Although he, along with Du Yibo and He Suoju, were stronger than the members of the Green Dragon Group at that time, they were, after all, only three people.

The others, like newcomers such as Gu Shaobang, were not much help, and even Qin Dahai, who was relatively strong, was still significantly weaker. Adding all five together, they would only make eight, still two short of a ten-player dungeon.

"Excuse me, hero, may I go now? I promise I won’t report you to the king," Li Wu asked pitifully, but Xiao Buli thought, do you think I’m stupid? He casually swung his sword and killed Li Wu.

System Alert: Violation of oath, your Merit Points have decreased by 50, and you’ve acquired the DEBUFF, ’Oathbreaker’.

Oathbreaker: You have forsaken your oath. As the heavens are my witness, you shall receive the punishment you deserve, Luck -1, Charm -1, duration - seven days.

Seeing the system alert that popped up on the screen, Xiao Buli was taken aback, thinking what the heck, there’s such a thing? Punishment for violating an oath? It was his first time hearing such a thing, as in real life, making an oath was as light as drinking cold water, which made him take some things for granted in the game.

He had forgotten that this was a game set in a fantasy world, and he shouldn’t apply real-world perspectives to it.

(Well, at least this loss is still within an acceptable range.) Xiao Buli thought to himself, at least now he knows another secret about the game that could be useful in the future.

While pondering this, he checked the corpse and found 13 silver coins, along with two other items.

Light Deer Skin Shoulder Guard (Leather Armor - Breastplate): Armor +8, Speed +2, Agility +1.

Item Note: A shoulder guard made from soft deer skin, very lightweight.

This was a nice piece of light blue equipment. Xiao Buli casually put it on, storing his sturdy cowhide breastplate in his bag. Now, the three points in Physique that translated to thirty Health Points did not mean much to him anymore, it was the basic attributes like Speed and Agility that were more important.

The second item was a lantern.

Patrol Lantern (Off-hand Item): +2 to Illumination Distance when equipped.

Xiao Buli’s off-hand had always been empty. He had been looking for an opportunity to learn how to dual-wield weapons, but he hadn’t found one yet. Therefore, he was still only able to equip a single one-handed weapon. Upon seeing the lantern, he became curious and equipped it in his off-hand.

Watching his character on the screen, holding a sword in one hand and a lantern in the other, he couldn’t help but find the sight somewhat amusing. But a game is a game, and since there was no harm, he decided to keep the equipment on for now.

As he thought this, he followed the mountain path upwards and soon spotted a patrolling Minor Monster from a distance. He dared not stealthily attack any further, as the mountain bandits were becoming increasingly numerous. If he made any noise and alerted a large group of bandits, things could turn out badly.

After activating Skimming Shadow Steps, Xiao Buli bypassed this patrol of Minor Monsters and continued onward, quickly arriving at the first checkpoint—a wall of fortification built at a narrow point on the mountain road, complete with two arrow towers. Archers stood at the ready in the towers.

Xiao Buli cast Mind’s Eye, only to confirm that it was yet another battle structure that couldn’t be destroyed.

Given the terrain and the modest troops at his disposal, although a frontal assault could potentially succeed, it would undoubtedly lead to significant losses. After three checkpoints, he might not have any troops left by the time he reached the bandits. It seemed that the stronghold wasn’t going to be an easy target. @@novelbin@@

Utilizing Qinggong to leap over the wall, Xiao Buli pressed on. After bypassing three checkpoints with such stealth, he finally saw a fortress built against the mountain. Its precarious position atop an outcropping of rock made it clear why the Golden Dragon Legion had yet to capture it.

The entrance to the stronghold was extremely narrow, just three to four meters wide, making it apparent that should they actually attack, the fortress would be difficult to capture once its gates were shut, no matter how large the attacking force.

Xiao Buli continued his infiltration, entering the stronghold, which resembled an open-air dungeon. Much like other strongholds, there were groups of Minor Monsters gathered here and there. Clearly, due to the rules of the game, they were not as organized as real-life bandits. If a well-trained group of players methodically cleared the area, they could probably eliminate all of them.

However, if players wished to pass through the exterior walls, they would need to initiate a battle, and once a battle began, these Minor Monsters would likely no longer be so scattered and disorganized.

With these thoughts in mind, he continued deeper into the stronghold, soon reaching the gates of the Inner Stockade, which were radiating blue light, revealing it was indeed a deep blue dungeon. Four Elite Guards stood watch at the doorway.

Xiao Buli passed straight through the light screen and upon entering, a sudden idea struck him. If he used Cloud Thunder Leap within the dungeon, could he possibly leap out of it? For now, this was a question without an answer. He needed to focus on the more pressing matters, so he headed straight toward the heart of the stronghold.

It wasn’t long before he encountered a silver-hued Minor Boss, a Mountain Patroller named Cui Yuncheng, who carried two curved knives, indicating he was a Ranger-type boss. Behind him was a ferocious, banded tiger clad in Armor, known as Iron Claw. Looking at its paws, they were indeed black, fitted with iron claws.

This duo seemed to be aimlessly wandering near the entrance of the Inner Stockade. Afraid of being discovered by the tiger, Xiao Buli took a wide detour around them and continued on. He then saw a giant in heavy Armor drinking alcohol, with a large shield resembling a door and a Spiked Hammer set beside the table covered in liquor jars, indicating that he must have been drinking for a while.

This fellow was also a silver-hued boss, none other than Du Guang.

Xiao Buli kept moving deeper into the stronghold and soon arrived at the doors of a great hall, the only building that looked somewhat impressive. A sign hung above the entrance, reading "Hall of Righteousness."

Xiao Buli stood at the entrance of the Hall of Righteousness, cautiously peering inside. There, sitting grandly on the throne at the center of the hall was a golden-named boss in black Scale Armor, the Cloud Wing Helmet on his head, appearing very dignified—clearly not an ordinary character. It was Xu Lie.

As Xiao Buli hesitated whether to move closer, the boss suddenly shifted his gaze toward him.

Startled, Xiao Buli thought, ’Could the boss possibly have Reveal capabilities?’ Instinctively, he thought of turning to flee, but in the next moment, a mountain bandit scout burst in from behind him.

With one knee on the ground, the scout reported, "Your Majesty, our spy in Black Stone Village has returned with important information to report to you."

Xu Lie snorted in response, "How many times have I said to call me General?"

"Yes, your Majesty. Next time I will be careful, your Majesty. But do you wish to see him or not?"

"What did you call me?"

The scout replied, "Your Majesty, right? Is there a problem, your Majesty?" While saying this, he put on a very serious face, appearing not to remember Xu Lie’s previous instruction at all.

Xu Lie let out an involuntary sigh, not dwelling on the matter any further, and nodded, "Let him in."

Soon, a trembling NPC, an old man, entered from outside.

Xu Lie said, "I hear you’ve got information to report to me."

The old man reported, "Your Majesty, Black Stone Village has built a wall outside the village, blocking the entrance. Moreover, they’ve taken in several refugees from the north, seemingly intending to use them as a shield against you." Find more chapters on NovelBin.Côm

A smirk appeared on Xu Lie’s face. "Ha, truly a bunch of fools who don’t know whether they’re alive or dead. Well, let them become an excellent example." With that, he rose abruptly from the throne, "Pass down my order. Assemble the troops, I will lead an army down the mountain." (To be continued.

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