Chapter 29: Lord's Strength
Over an hour ago.
Hang Yu set out with his troops right on schedule.
This was the first time since Twisted Three Kingdoms opened that a storyline event had appeared, making players highly expectant.
Hexi Village was about ten kilometers away.
At first glance, it didn't seem like much, but in reality, it was extremely difficult to traverse, blocked by rugged terrain, river crossings, and a large number of monsters and other dangers.
"Howl!"
A two-headed canine creature, with shedding fur and bright red skin, suddenly leapt out from the bushes.
【Two-Headed Corpse Hound】, Level 4 Normal Unit... Description: Originally just a stray dog, mutated under the influence of the Abyss, now possessing powerful senses and aggression.
The players had no time to react.
Wang Wu instantly killed it from a distance with a single Flame Arrow Spell!
The strength displayed by the NPCs was clearly above that of the players; truly worthy of being the Lord’s confidants.
Although the four NPCs of the territory—Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, and Zhao Liu—had all performed impressively along the way, the Lord had yet to make a move, leaving players to doubt whether he had real skills.
Chimera Wraith obediently picked up the loot.
【Essence +5, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +4, Two-Headed Dog Fang +1!】
"So little!"
"Although the NPCs are strong, the loot they drop is only about a tenth of what we would normally expect—feels like a waste!"
"Why is that?"
"I guess it's because the game designers don't want players to overly rely on NPCs, so they lowered the drop rates for NPC kills to encourage players to fight themselves. After all, this is a Souls-like action game," analyzed a player named Little Brother Ma.
This Little Brother Ma was one of the new players.
Apparently, he used to be an executive at a major gaming company.
At this moment, the two rangers scouting ahead—Lone Boat and Black-Eyed Rui Ge—returned.
"Reporting to Lord, there’s a village ahead. It should be Hexi Village!"
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction.
Of course, he knew it was Hexi Village.
A Lord could monitor real-time territory developments and understand changes among his people through the Lord Core, so when he noticed that Midnight Pig Slayer had been hypnotized, he immediately intervened through the Heavenly Dao Cube and used Midnight Pig Slayer’s mouth to declare war.
Hexi Village was hidden within a canyon, built on higher ground with tall fortifications, giving a strong defensive impression. Nearby were some fields and gardens where flora and fauna seemed to thrive normally.
"Lord, these rebellious peasants seem well-prepared. Allow me to lead the brothers in to test them!" Ye Li Meng volunteered eagerly.
"My great saber has been upgraded to +5. It’s the perfect time to test it on some dogs!"
Street Slayer: "Count me in!"
"I’m going too!"
"We're not afraid of death!"
"Willing to fight for the Lord!"
"Kill! Kill them all! Leave none alive!"
"Let them see the consequences of offending us players!"
"..."
All the players were eager to perform well before the Lord to gain favor.
Hang Yu certainly didn’t mind using players as cannon fodder.
He would’ve loved to throw them all forward to die once or twice first.
But this time, he shook his head and refused.
"No need, I’ll do it myself this time!"
It didn't matter if players died, but if villagers died, it would be a loss, since they couldn't be resurrected!
At the early stage of territory development, manpower was scarce.
Not only were military troops needed for expansion, but laborers for construction were also essential.
Native-born, uncorrupted villagers were undoubtedly ideal recruitment targets!
Chimera Wraith: "Ah, Lord, are you personally making a move? Isn't that too dangerous?"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge quickly added, "Given your noble status, there's no need for you to fight personally!"
It was clear the players had no confidence in their Lord’s strength at this moment.
This was the most important, most central NPC!
If something happened to him, how could the game storyline progress?
Besides, NPCs had low loot rates when killing; players needed to kill personally to feed themselves!
"Although these villagers have shown defiance, in this polluted, twisted world, it's remarkable they remain normal and have cultivated a clean land. At a time when manpower is needed, if they can be persuaded to submit, it would greatly benefit the territory’s development."
So that was it!
Everyone suddenly understood.
The Lord wanted to recruit the hostile villagers.
If they killed too many, it could plant seeds of hatred.
Even if they surrendered under pressure, their loyalty to the Lord would be questionable.
It was best to seize Hexi Village at the lowest possible cost.
"Is that even possible?"
"NPCs in this game can be forcibly recruited?"
"Seems like this whole game is a giant sandbox.
The storylines and characters we encounter are generated based on our choices and development?
Thinking about it, the freedom is absurdly high!"
What was a sandbox game?
It simply meant players could change or create their environment.
But past sandbox games only allowed environmental changes.
Twisted Three Kingdoms included complex interpersonal relationships.
Every intelligent character in the game could potentially become a faction NPC.
The storylines and plots that could branch from this were beyond calculation!
"If there are uncorrupted villagers..."
"There should also be some uncorrupted Famous Generals, right?"
"Could our territory recruit super NPCs like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun?"
"Of course! Although the Lord said most historical figures were corrupted, that means a few remain unfallen, fighting against the Abyss!"
"Whoa!"
"That’s exciting!"
"But forget Guan, Zhang, Zhao!"
"I still prefer Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, Zhen Ji, Cai Wenji, Diao Chan and the like!"
"You dirty old man! Looks aren't everything! Talents like Guo Jia are what our territory really needs!"
"..."
The discussion barely started.
And the topic quickly derailed.
Hang Yu, to prevent players from causing trouble, activated the Heavenly Dao Cube to freeze them like they were in a cutscene.
It began!
Hang Yu walked alone toward Hexi Village.
Powerful magic surged from his body, forming blazing flames that condensed into several arrows.
They streaked across four to five hundred meters like shooting stars, bombarding the village’s sturdy wooden gate.
Boom!
A loud explosion!
The ground trembled slightly!
The thick gate was directly shattered!
This scene left the players completely dumbfounded.
"What the heck?"
"Wasn’t that the Flame Arrow Spell?"
"How could Flame Arrow have that kind of power!"
"Are you kidding me? That was basically a rocket launcher! And you’re telling me it was just a Flame Arrow?"
Chimera Wraith, Little Bell, and other spellcaster players were sure the Lord had indeed used Flame Arrow.
But compared to players, the difference was like night and day—it was basically two different spells!
A normal spellcaster’s Flame Arrow wasn’t even as strong as an arrow shot from a composite bow.
Its armor-piercing and penetration power were actually weaker than physical arrows.
But it carried explosive and burning effects.
Meanwhile, the Lord’s Flame Arrows were comparable to anti-tank rocket launchers!
Why was the gap so huge?
Partly because of skill level differences, and partly because of attribute differences.
Hang Yu had the Lord template.
Each level-up granted him far higher attributes than players.
Several villagers poked their heads out from the top of the walls, pulling longbows and shooting black arrows.
0!
0!
0!
Hang Yu let the arrows fall onto him.
Amid the crisp sound of metal clashing, every arrow bounced off harmlessly—none managed to hurt him at all.
"That's Iron Armor Technique!"
Ye Li Meng, Mad Blade Old Wang, Street Slayer and the other warriors immediately recognized it.
"Lord is OP (voice cracked)!"
"What’s Iron Armor Technique?"
"This, my friends, is true Iron Armor Technique—impervious to swords, spears, and a hail of arrows!"
"Compared to Lord’s Iron Armor, ours should just be called Paper Armor!"
Amid the villagers’ terrified gazes, Hang Yu had already approached.
His feet suddenly wrapped in a green glow, and he became a blur, instantly climbing the wall and weaving through the archers.
Wherever he passed,
Archers fell like dominoes.
Their longbows were snatched away.
Each one had their legs broken, wailing miserably on the ground.
"What is this absurd movement speed? Lord turned on hacks, right?"
Lone Boat said, "No, that’s Gale Step. The Lord’s Gale Step is far stronger than ours, and with attributes way higher than ours, this speed is normal."
"But it’s still crazy strong!"
"The Lord is definitely above Elite Units!"
"Probably already at Commander-level strength!"
"So the Lord was the true pillar protecting the territory all along!"
The players finally realized that the Lord was not weak at all—he was far stronger than they had imagined!