13: Shameless traitor Cao

The attributes of the black rock ring were quite good, but the required level to equip it was Level 10, so he put it away for the time being.

After killing the Black Rock Leader, Lin Du's experience value reached 90% of Level 8, not far from Level 9.

The blacksmith's hidden quest was complete. Lin Du prepared to return to the Novice Village with the ten pieces of meteorite.

Just as he was about to leave, an ear-splitting dragon roar suddenly echoed from the distance of the stone forest.

Aowuuu—

A black dot on the distant horizon rapidly enlarged.

The black dot transformed into a hideous Black Wyvern that swept over at high speed. The Black Wyvern's wingspan was over twenty meters long, and its pitch-black scales glinted coldly under the sunlight.

As the Black Wyvern drew closer, its powerful dragon pressure made one's hair stand on end.

Lin Du squinted his eyes and saw the situation in the distance clearly.

A Knight Player riding a Black Wyvern was unhurriedly chasing an Archer player who held a black longbow.

The light from the equipment on these two players was restrained, and their player levels were displayed as a series of '???'. With just a couple of glances, Lin Du was certain that these two were definitely top-tier players.

An Archer competing in speed against a Knight was simply asking for trouble.

Even from a hundred meters away, Lin Du could sense the Archer player's panic and helplessness. The Archer fled for his life while loudly arguing with the Knight Player behind him.

"Cao Thief, don't push people too far! I never said I wouldn't pay back the lifespan value I owe you. You have to at least give me some time!"

"You start a fight over the slightest disagreement. Can't you be reasonable!"

The Archer player's face was flushed with anxiety, but his words were useless. The distance between him and the Black Wyvern was rapidly closing.

On the back of the Black Wyvern, the Knight Player whose game name was "Shameless Cao Thief" had a playful gaze. He carried a large halberd on his shoulder, looking down at the Archer player from above.

"Fallen Star, the lifespan value you owe my boss is already over four years overdue. What reason is there left to talk about?"

"According to my boss's rules, being four years overdue means killing you four times as interest. If you don't return the principal within a year, then prepare for permanent death!"

Shameless Cao Thief's words scared Fallen Star until his face turned ashen.

Fallen Star gritted his teeth and stopped in his tracks, raising the longbow in his hand to aim at Shameless Cao Thief on the back of the Black Wyvern.

"Cao Thief, don't force me!"

"Our levels are similar. Do you really think I'm afraid of you? If you really push me too far, I'll take you down with me!"

Hearing Fallen Star's clamoring, Shameless Cao Thief felt as if he had heard the world's greatest joke.

He laughed, his smile filled with disdain.

"Take me down with you? You're not worthy."

"Since you have so much confidence in your own strength, then let me properly experience the power of a City Lord like yourself. Let's see if you actually have the capital to be so arrogant!"

Whoosh—

Before his voice had even faded, the Black Wyvern in the sky suddenly moved. With a flap of its robust wings, its massive body turned into a streak of black light, diving toward Fallen Star on the ground.

Around the Black Wyvern's body, one could clearly see ripples undulating, and a sharp, ear-piercing sound exploded in the sky.

This was the violent sonic boom produced when the Black Wyvern's speed exceeded the speed of sound.

At this moment, the Black Wyvern's speed was several times faster than when it was just chasing him!

Fallen Star was shocked at the sight. His body turned into a blurred phantom as he retreated, while a dazzling purple light lit up on the longbow in his hand.

The quality of this longbow had actually reached the terrifying S-rank.

"Star-Slaying Demon Arrow!"

Fallen Star gave a violent shout, and a brilliant arrow formed of astral power condensed on the longbow in his hand.

The arrow emitted a terrifying aura. Fallen Star pulled the bowstring to its limit with all his might, and immediately, the aura on the arrow gathered even more frantically.

"Go!"

As Fallen Star released his hand, the Star-Slaying Demon Arrow shot toward the Black Wyvern in the sky like a bolt of lightning.

This speed was actually a notch faster than the Black Wyvern!

Sitting on the back of the Black Wyvern, Shameless Cao Thief didn't panic at all. He gripped the large halberd in his hand and slashed at the incoming Star-Slaying Demon Arrow.

"A mere firefly dares to compete with the bright moon?"

"Arc Light Half-Moon Slash, shatter!"

A dazzling silver light erupted from the halberd. A half-moon formed at the tip of the halberd, smashing toward the Star-Slaying Demon Arrow like a falling moon from the nine heavens.

Rumble—

Rumble—

The two terrifying attacks collided, producing a heaven-shaking roar.

In the surrounding stone forest, countless giant rocks were shattered by the aftershocks of the battle, and the gravel and dust on the ground trembled... The battle did not last very long. Shameless Cao Thief's attack crushed the Star-Slaying Demon Arrow with overwhelming force, and then the Arc Light Half-Moon Slash continued its descent toward the terrified Fallen Star below.

"No!" Fallen Star's face was full of resentment.

He frantically channeled what little power he had left, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow once more. A star arrow with an even fiercer and stronger momentum formed on the bowstring.

"Shameless Cao Thief, if you want to kill me, don't think you'll have it easy either!"

"Nine-Star God-Slaying Arrow!"

The star arrow shot out from the bowstring. After this arrow was fired, the surrounding world actually fell into an eerie silence. The star arrow transformed into a brilliant river of stars and shot into the air.

Shameless Cao Thief stood proudly on the back of the Black Wyvern, his face calm and unruffled.

"A mere trivial trick won't stop me!"

Rumble—

The complete form of the Nine-Star God-Slaying Arrow collided with the Arc Light Half-Moon Slash in mid-air.

Fallen Star's expression soon changed again because his ultimate move failed to withstand the Arc Light Half-Moon Slash. A single Arc Light Half-Moon Slash had actually easily broken two of his ultimate moves in succession... "No!!"

"Shameless Cao Thief, you are just the weakest of the Four Knights under that woman Yuan Shu. How can you be this strong!"

"I refuse to accept this!"

As soon as Fallen Star finished speaking, the remaining power of the Arc Light Half-Moon Slash descended.

With the sound of a sharp blade entering flesh, Fallen Star's body was split in two without any power to resist... Fallen Star has fallen!

"You dog, you actually dare to mock my status?"

"So what if I'm the weakest of the Four Knights? Didn't I still insta-kill a little piece of trash like you with a wave of my hand?"

"This is the first time you've died; there are three more to follow. Don't be in a hurry!"

Pah!

Shameless Cao Thief shouldered his large halberd and spat a thick glob of phlegm onto Fallen Star's corpse on the ground. After spitting, he prepared to leave on his Black Wyvern.

At this moment, a voice from the stone forest below suddenly called out to him.

"Please wait!"

Hearing the voice, Shameless Cao Thief halted the Black Wyvern beneath him.

His gaze landed on Lin Du on the ground, and he said casually, "Little rookie, what do you want with me?"

Lin Du calmly watched Shameless Cao Thief. The opportunity to obtain nine years of lifespan value might be right before his eyes.

"I want to make a deal with you!" Lin Du said.

"A deal?" Shameless Cao Thief raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I never make deals with players below Level 100!"

"At your level, who knows when you might die in the mouth of some wild monster. Making a deal with you brings me no benefits; instead, it adds a lot of unknown risks."

With that, Shameless Cao Thief prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Lin Du called out to Shameless Cao Thief again.

"A low level doesn't necessarily mean no value for a deal. Don't you want to hear the content of my deal?"

To obtain nine years of lifespan value in a short period, it was clearly impossible to achieve through grinding monsters and leveling up. He had to use some unconventional means.

The words Shameless Cao Thief just said, as well as the strength he displayed, proved that he must possess a lot of lifespan value.

It wasn't easy to encounter such a wealthy player in the Novice Village. If he missed him, who knew when he would encounter another big shot of this level. Lin Du would never let such an opportunity slip away.

Having been stopped twice in a row by Lin Du, Shameless Cao Thief was clearly a bit impatient. "Little chick, speak up quickly. I want to hear what valuable thing you can provide me!"

Lin Du's gaze fell on the large halberd in Shameless Cao Thief's hand, and an ambiguous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"I know of a hidden NPC who sells an A-rank halberd technique exclusive to your class. I wonder if you're interested?"

Hearing the words "class-exclusive A-rank halberd technique," Shameless Cao Thief's pupils subconsciously constricted, but then he shook his head in disbelief.

"Kid, don't joke around."

"How could a bottom-tier player like you, who awakened the Clown Class, know such secret information!"

"Besides, you probably don't even know what my class is, so how can you talk about a class-exclusive A-rank halberd technique!"

A class-exclusive A-rank halberd technique might only seem to be A-rank, but for a player of that class, its true value was definitely no lower than a general S-rank skill.

Class-exclusive skills were highly compatible with players of that class, and after mastering them, they would explode with several times more power. Such things were rare and hard to come by. Shameless Cao Thief had been in the game for many years and only possessed one exclusive skill... Lin Du saw Shameless Cao Thief's look of total disbelief and felt somewhat helpless, but he would never just let Shameless Cao Thief go like this.

"Since you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?"

"If I can state your class, will you reconsider my proposal from earlier?"

Upon hearing this, Shameless Cao Thief shook his head with a sneer.

"Heh, I have some reputation in this game, and there's quite a bit of news about me out there."

"You saw my game name; it shouldn't be hard to guess my game class."

In fact, Shameless Cao Thief was overthinking it.

Given Lin Du's status in the Ning Family, how could he have the chance to access things related to the internet... Lin Du had truly never even heard of the name Shameless Cao Thief.

Since Shameless Cao Thief was unwilling to bet in this way, Lin Du naturally had other methods.

"If you feel that guessing your class isn't difficult, then how about I try to guess your class talent?"

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