Absolute Death Game

Xiao Buli was suddenly startled, then overjoyed. Initially, he had thought that he would need to take the offensive, which would almost certainly spell failure for his side. With the less-than-two-hundred people militia of Black Stone Village and Thousand Pines Town, launching an attack on such a well-defended fortress was almost impossible.

But now that the bandits were going to strike first, it actually gave them a chance. If they could counterattack defensively, he felt somewhat sure of success. As long as they could deplete most of the bandits’ strength in a defensive battle and then attack the fortress when it was weak, victory should still be attainable.

Of course, these were just his plans for now, and whether they could be realized still depended on their performance in the actual fight.

The scout had gone out with the orders, and not long after, Cui Yuncheng and Du Guang came in from outside.

"Haha, Boss, this is great. Finally, I have the chance to get out and about. I’m so bored of drinking in the stronghold all day that I’m about to go mad," Du Guang said loudly as he entered, his voice booming.

Cui Yuncheng spoke coldly, "You still have it good. I’m bored to death pacing back and forth at the gate all day. Those adventurers don’t hurry up and come get killed, so that I can have some fun."

Xu Lie laughed heartily, "You two, what am I to say about you? With our strength, do you think any average adventurer dares to come looking for death?"

But then he sighed, "Nevertheless, this kind of life is only for now. If there really are adventurers who can break through from outside the stronghold, then they must be extraordinary opponents. Whether we can withstand them is still up for debate, and at that time, you won’t have the chance to be so bored."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Buli was astonished, thinking it was his first time encountering BOSS NPCs speaking about players behind their backs. He began to listen attentively.

Then Du Guang said, "Boss, don’t be discouraged. If we can take over some territory, occupy more places, maybe we could become a force to be reckoned with. Then we could lure adventurers to grind Prestige for us, to do the quests we offer. Perhaps we could even become a lord of a city, just like Zhang Xiaotian."

Xu Lie nodded, "Exactly. Otherwise, why do you think I’ve been bothering with Black Stone Village for nothing?"

After finishing, his face suddenly twisted into a grimace, "Hmph, I will kill Zhang Xiaotian sooner or later!" Xu Lie said as he pounded the table fiercely.

Yet then he paused, "Damn, I’m daydreaming, aren’t I? With my strength, how could I possibly kill Zhang Xiaotian." @@novelbin@@

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Just as Du Guang was about to speak, Cui Yuncheng pulled him aside and gave him a meaningful look.

Xu Lie’s expression transformed into a grimace again, "Kill or not, I must kill! The Black Dragon Legion and Zhang Xiaotian are irreconcilable!"

Then his expression sank into dejection, "But how can I kill him when I can’t? The Black Dragon Legion was long destroyed, and now I’m but a mountain chieftain. Sigh, why do I always talk nonsense?"

"You may be content being a mountain chieftain, but I’m not! I am Xu Lie of the Black Dragon Four Generals, the Black Mountain General! Waaahhhh!"

"Big Brother!" Du Guang and Cui Yuncheng both grabbed Xu Lie’s shoulders at the same time, finally snapping him out of his mental turmoil. "What’s happened to me? What’s going on?" Xu Lie asked in a daze.

"Big brother, you’re confused again," Du Guang asked, concern evident in his voice.

Xu Lie shook his head, "Never mind, it’s alright now. Let’s not talk about this, we should go out and see if the troops have assembled."

Without further ado, he grabbed the Great Spear from the throne and strode outside. Du Guang and Cui Yuncheng exchanged glances and hurriedly followed him out.

Xiao Buli watched Xu Lie’s constantly shifting expressions like in a Sichuan opera, wondering if this NPC could indeed suffer from multiple personality disorder.

While pondering this, he also followed out of the Hall of Righteousness. The Inner Stockade was too narrow to be a place to assemble troops, so he left the instance directly and arrived at the drill ground outside.

He found a secluded corner to observe from and saw a stream of Black Mountain Bandits coming out from various buildings, converging onto the drill ground within the camp to form well-ordered ranks swiftly.

He counted them; there were approximately three to four hundred in size. His heart couldn’t help but be shocked at the formidable strength of the Black Mountain Camp.

Three to four hundred might not sound like much, but it was a considerable force to behold—a dark tide of men, their equipment average but still far superior to that of the militia. Combined with their disciplined array, high Morale, and fierce appearances, they indeed looked ready for a formidable onslaught.

The more Xiao Buli saw, the more worried he became. He wondered if Black Stone Village would be able to withstand the assault and whether Han Wenhuan knew enough about training troops to make a difference in these few days.

Anxious, he hesitated for a moment but didn’t immediately go down the mountain to send the warning. He decided to continue observing—after all, he could leave at any moment using Cloud Thunder Leap.

The Black Mountain Bandits gathered together, and the three commanding officers emerged from the dungeon. It seemed there were only these three bosses for the Black Mountain Bandits: Xu Lie (Black Mountain King), Mountain Patroller Cui Yuncheng (Black Mountain Vice Marshal), and Fortress Assaulter Du Guang (Black Mountain Vice Marshal).

Apart from these three bosses, there were many deep blue high-ranking elites, all bandit chieftains, numbering seven or eight. As for ordinary elites denoted by a light blue, there were as many as twenty or thirty. These bandit leaders were probably stronger than the regular bandits, which gave Xiao Buli a bit of a headache upon seeing them.

The three bosses stood on the platform. Xu Lie had a satisfied expression, "Good, my brothers have indeed not neglected their training. I declare that today we will attack Black Stone Village! We shall... ... ...

..."

"Hold on, my King!" An elderly voice suddenly interrupted Xu Lie’s speech. Then, a white-haired old man wearing a black robe appeared from behind the large camp. The old man’s black robe was painted with strange symbols in fresh blood, seemingly carrying some religious significance. He looked to be the so-called mysterious Priest, with the name ’Wu Dak (Amara Priest)’, a deep blue high-ranking elite.

His origins, however, were unclear.

Xu Lie appeared rather displeased upon seeing the old man, "What are you doing out here? Are you looking for trouble again?"

The old man sneered coldly, "Heh heh, you should know why I’m here. Attacking Black Stone Village can’t be this casual. Have you paid the Sky Grass tribute?"

Sky Grass tribute? What did that mean? Xiao Buli wondered to himself.

However, Xu Lie’s expression changed at the mention, as if this Sky Grass tribute was a significant matter, "To get you materials, I’ve spent all my money. I don’t have any left to pay the Sky Grass tribute."

The old man replied, "If you don’t have money, don’t send troops. Otherwise, even if you take Black Stone Village, what’s the use? You’ll still have to retreat. Do you want to be punished by heaven?"

After saying that and seeing Xu Lie remaining silent, the old man added, "Though, I do have a solution. If we send troops in the name of my true God Amara, then there’s no need for the Sky Grass tribute."

But Xu Lie just sneered coldly, "Forget it. If your so-called true god gets involved, what’s there left for me? Just go back to mining your stones."

The old man chuckled heinously but didn’t say anything further and turned to leave.

Xu Lie turned to Cui Yuncheng and Du Guang, and said with a gloomy face, "Even though that old man is no good, he’s not wrong. If we don’t pay the Sky Grass tribute, even if we take down Black Stone Village, it’s meaningless. Do you guys have any money on you?"

The few bosses turned their pockets inside out and finally scraped together 100 Gold Coins, which they all handed over to Xu Lie. Xu Lie took the Gold Coins and tapped the air a few times with them. Suddenly, the Gold Coins vanished, but he was left with a scroll-like object. Xu Lie unfolded the scroll, glanced at it, and started to read off of it.

"Black Stone Village is an affiliated village of Black Mountain and should be governed by Black Mountain. Unexpectedly, the village chief is harboring wild ambitions, refusing to submit, and even daring to gather militia to oppose the great Black Mountain army. Unless he surrenders to me and hands over the village chief and other criminals, the village shall be razed to the ground.

A deadline of three days is given under the witness of the heavens."

After he finished, the scroll in his hand turned into a golden light that shot into the sky and disappeared.

As Xiao Buli was curiously observing, a system prompt suddenly popped up on his screen.

System Prompt: The monster siege event has been triggered. In three days, the Black Mountain Bandits will launch a major attack on Black Stone Village. As an ally of Black Stone Village, you have the duty to assist them.

PS: This event is part of the battle campaign task and will determine the direction of the subsequent quests.

Thank goodness! Xiao Buli immediately breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. There was a lot that could be done in three days, so it was time to start preparing earnestly.

It seemed that the Sky Grass tribute was a method to initiate war, but he wondered if he could use it himself.

While pondering, Xiao Buli clicked on the newly unlocked systems and, indeed, found a Sky Grass tribute function within the Leadership system.

This function was only available to lords, who are the owners of a territory, including village chiefs, town mayors, city lords, fortress leaders, etcetera. The Sky Grass tribute required the expenditure of Gold Coins, and the amount demanded varied depending on the reasons behind the tribute.

For instance, if the cause was to resist oppression, only ten Gold Coins would be needed, but if the reasons were less just, more Gold Coins would be necessary.

Considering the relationship between Black Stone Village and the Black Mountain Bandits, if one wished to strike at the bandits, plenty of valid reasons could be found - likely only requiring ten Gold Coins.

Once the Sky Grass tribute was issued, a system prompt would appear, and after a few days, the battle campaign could commence. That’s when fortifications like the arrow towers and outposts could potentially be damaged.

These weren’t explanations given by the system but were deductions made by Xiao Buli himself. However, as far as he was concerned, they were unlikely to be wrong. (