158: sacrifice

The people were dead, their bodies still lying where they fell.

Scattered around the corpses were eight or nine pieces of equipment.

It was only at this moment that Xu Shian truly realized that the penalty for death in the Main City was different!

Reading the text description always fell short; only by truly encountering it now could he appreciate the difference.

Xu Shian picked up the equipment.

Even mosquito legs are meat!

Besides, if he didn't pick them up, was he supposed to let the opposing group retrieve them?

Don't be ridiculous. Xu Shian hadn't even started practicing his Enchanting and Dismantling skills yet!

He would dismantle them rather than leave them behind.

After picking up the equipment, he examined it closely.

There was one Gold-Tier equipment, seven Silver-Tier equipment, and the only Bronze-Tier equipment was a decent accessory!

Outside Thriving Dragon City, not far from where the five people died.

Beside a soul-state [Soul Healer], five souls looked at each other.

The group quickly checked their own status.

“My Gold Dagger dropped...”

“Stop looking at the dagger! Look at your lifespan first... I freaking lost 50 years of extra lifespan immediately!”

The group fell silent. They hadn't prepared, hadn't thought clearly about the possible consequences, and had rushed over on a whim after being tricked by a few words... Afternoon Rain slumped, feeling utterly exhausted.

They were already in soul form, making them look even paler now.

[Jia Zhu Hewai] looked at his losses, a fierce light flickering in his eyes.

“Didn't they say three teams would act together? Why are we the only ones here? Where are the others?”

“Heh heh...”

[Big Head Brother] gave a bitter laugh.

“Looking at this situation, where are these 'other people' supposed to be?”

“We came as soon as we hit Max Level! We didn't even attempt the Black Iron Tier, we just hastily completed a Normal Trial and rushed over!

They freaking tricked us into coming here just to die! What benefit do they get from weakening the Nan Yue Country's strength?”

“Benefit? Perhaps... it's to Eliminate Dissidents!”

“They probably used the same rhetoric on all the high-ranking teams, and only we foolishly believed it...”

Condensed Milk Coffee remained silent for a moment, then urged everyone to cheer up.

“Since things have come to this, let's fight for our own future from now on! As for the Nan Yue Country, we have done our utmost and fulfilled all our obligations!”

“Speaking of which, why didn't we resurrect at the Main City Resurrection Point? What was the point of binding the Resurrection Point in the plaza?”

Hearing Condensed Milk Coffee's question, [Old Saigon] turned to the Soul Healer behind him and attempted to communicate with it.

[Please select a Resurrection Method.]

[Method One: Resurrect within 30 meters of the body at the death location. No extra losses!]

[Method Two: Immediately resurrect beside the Soul Healer, gaining the 'Weakened' status for 30 minutes!]

[Method Three: Spend fifty years of extra lifespan to return to the bound Main City Resurrection Point and resurrect!]

Seeing this exorbitant Death Penalty, everyone was alarmed, realizing that this extra lifespan would probably never be enough!

Having just left the Novice Village, each of them carried hundreds of years of extra lifespan.

But dying once deducts half, capped at fifty years!

Just now, when Xu Shian killed them, they immediately lost fifty years of extra lifespan.

Now, resurrection presented another huge problem.

Should they run back to the corpse to resurrect?

If Shi Chuan was still Body Camping there, that would be another fifty years of extra lifespan gone!

No matter how many lives they had, they couldn't withstand dying like this... The main issue was that when they faced Xu Shian, they saw absolutely no hope of winning.

After using up five lives, the opponent's Health Bar didn't seem to have moved at all.

How were they supposed to play?

Resurrecting Weakened at the Soul Healer was also an option, but they didn't know if Shi Chuan would track them down... They couldn't beat him already, and if one of them was Weakened... “Sigh, in soul form, we can't even spend this extra lifespan in a Sudden Splurge!”

“So, what should we do now?”

The group fell silent for a moment, all turning their gaze toward Condensed Milk Coffee.

Although there was a teammate whose ID was [Lead Brother], he wasn't the real leader; the real Boss had to be Coffee.

Coffee looked at the Minimap and determined their direction.

“Going back to the corpses is impossible. That's too dangerous, like lambs walking into a tiger's den... How about this: I'll resurrect Weakened first, and then immediately click 'Return to City'! If I make it back, you guys should sequentially resurrect and return to the city...”

“Boss, let me go first!”

“How about I go first instead!”

“Stop arguing, it's decided...”

...Xu Shian actually considered Body Camping!

But after thinking about it, he felt it was pointless!

There was truly no need to waste time on a few players who could barely Break Defense.

Moreover, the game was all about timing.

The time was now... Over a hundred people had reached Max Level in the last hour alone.

As time passed, more and more people would hit the Level Cap.

Delaying here for too long would be detrimental to his upcoming First-Kill Activities... He also regretted that the Fishing skill leveled up so late!

If it had been earlier, he would have had plenty of time now.

On the other hand.

Xu Shian still admired this group of five.

Judging by their stats and equipment, they were likely the strongest batch of players in the Nan Yue Country.

After reaching Max Level, they didn't focus on upgrading gear by stalling their level to prepare for the Bronze Trial.

Instead, their first thought was to come over and Drive Away him... No matter how you looked at it, they were true heroes!

Therefore, Xu Shian decided to mercifully let them off the hook. As long as they weren't crazy, he believed they would avoid him from now on!

...[Ding, World Announcement: Congratulations to player 'Shi Chuan' for achieving the First Clear of the Level 20 Dungeon, 'Jungle Ancient City' on hell difficulty, receiving generous rewards. All players are encouraged to continue striving for greater glory!]

[Ding, World Announcement: Congratulations to player...]

It was another triple World Announcement: Level 15 hell difficulty, Level 20 hell difficulty... This pace was exactly the same as when he messed with the mindset of the Waguo players a few days ago!

...The King of Nan Yue Country paced back and forth in the Novice Village.

“Have you contacted Ruan Wenxiong? What exactly is the situation in the Main City now?”

The Minister beside him bowed respectfully.

“They blocked me. I had my subordinates try to Private Message them, but they have now set their accounts to reject Private Messages from strangers!”

*Slap!*

“How outrageous! I thought they were the top experts of Nan Yue? They only completed the Normal Trial, meaning they lack at least 50 Free Attribute Points compared to others, and the gap will only widen later... Hmph, just wait and see how I deal with them later!”

“Your Majesty, what should we do now?”

“Issue a protest to the official government of Xia Country, demanding they immediately recall Shi Chuan, or face consequences to diplomatic relations between the two countries!”

The Minister was speechless.

If that move worked, would Waguo be so frustrated?

Right now, the few things they do every day are eating, sleeping, leveling up, and cursing Shi Chuan... A post cursing Shi Chuan already has tens of millions of comments... Do you see him paying any attention?

He doesn't reply at all.

In fact, just like the Nan Yue Country had no way to control the Condensed Milk Coffee group of five.

Xia Country currently has no way to effectively manage its domestic players either.

Everyone is in the same boat!

“Just protest first. We'll position ourselves as a Tributary State and appeal for pity; the Heavenly Dynasty loves that approach.”

“Your Majesty is wise!”