34: Chapter 34 The Protoss Have Arrived!

"Kill that orc! The bounty is mine!"

A Dark Elf wielding twin blades, a dwarf carrying a giant axe, and an Necromancer chanting obscure incantations...

Almost at the same time, they all charged toward Kage as if by prior agreement.

Kage's arrogant face was now filled with terror and disbelief.

He couldn't understand why this scrawny-looking, Level 5 little shorty could actually produce ten gold coins!

"No! Wait! I apologize! I was wrong!"

Kage's roars were drowned out by the roar of skills and the clashing of weapons.

His proud Level 10 status, under the siege of dozens of equal or even lower-level Adventurers, was like a small boat in a giant wave, capsizing instantly.

The Werewolf Warrior leading the charge delivered a backstab, plunging deep into his lower back, dealing massive damage and applying a bleed effect.

The dwarf's battle axe followed closely, whistling with armor-piercing force, sending him staggering.

In the distance, the Necromancer's curse descended. Kage felt his whole body grow heavy as his speed and defense dropped drastically.

"I was wrong! Great Lord! I'll kowtow to you! Please, I beg you to cancel the bounty!"

Kage's voice carried a sob as it struggled out through the gaps in the crowd.

He tried to kneel, but the onslaught of attacks from all directions made even that simple action impossible.

However, Chen You only spared a cold glance at the center of the chaos before withdrawing his gaze.

The opportunity had been given, and now it was gone.

He didn't even bother to see Kage's final fate, because from the moment the system announcement rang out, the orc's end was already set in stone.

It's just...

Chen You glanced at his account balance, which had dropped from 76 gold coins to 66.

*Hiss...*

His heart twinged slightly.

Ten gold coins, ten million huaxia coins.

Just like that... it was spent?

How was he supposed to report this to Director Li when he got back?

"Reporting to Director Li, I spent ten million of the nation's money just to get petty with an orc in a game and make him shut up for an hour?"

"No, this can't be called being petty." Chen You quickly rationalized it to himself.

"This is establishing dominance! It's showing the natives of the Source Realm and the foreign players the style and... financial power of our huaxia civilization."

"Right, this is strategic deterrence!"

Thinking about it that way made it seem much more high-end and grand.

Hopefully, Director Li and the others would see it that way too.

Chen You shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

He walked toward the edge of the training grounds, toward a Garrison Army officer wearing standard armor and a serious expression.

Above the man's head, a golden exclamation mark was exceptionally eye-catching.

This was the real business.

Perhaps it was because Chen You had just one-shotted an elite garrison soldier, or perhaps it was that extravagant bounty.

This officer's attitude was far more respectful than any NPC Chen You had encountered before.

"Respected Adventurer, your strength is admirable." The officer bowed slightly.

"I am the Zhao City Garrison Army Centurion, Luo Yi."

"Thank you for showing us such superb swordsmanship."

Chen You nodded and directly opened the other's quest list.

Two quests were clearly presented before him.

[Daily Quest: Trial of the Garrison Army]

[Quest Description: Sparring with the Garrison Army can help you hone your combat skills while also earning their recognition.]

[Quest Requirement: Defeat a Garrison Army soldier (0/1)]

[Quest Reward: Zhao City Reputation +100, Experience Points +500]

As expected, there were repeatable quests.

And it was a daily, meaning it could only be completed once a day?

Chen You understood. 100 reputation and 500 experience were better than nothing, a decent supplement when there were no other quests to do.

His gaze moved to the second quest.

This was a Main Story Quest.

[Quest: The Wraith Threat]

[Centurion Luo Yi is deeply worried about the wraiths wandering outside the city.]

[Although you have purified the source of wraiths within the city, powerful wraiths are still gathering in the wilderness outside Zhao City. They seem to be drawn by some deeper darkness and are forming a new threat.]

[Luo Yi hopes you can head to the Wailing Valley outside the city to investigate the root of the wraith activity.]

[Quest Requirement: Enter the Wailing Valley dungeon and defeat the final boss.]

[Quest Reward: Experience Points +20000, Zhao City Reputation +3000]

[Quest Level Requirement: LV10]

Seeing the terms "LV10" and "dungeon," Chen You suddenly realized everything.

He finally understood why so many Adventurers from Level 5 to Level 9 were gathered at this training ground.

The main quest was gated at Level 10.

And before Level 10, besides this once-a-day sparring quest, there were likely no other ways to obtain large amounts of experience.

The only way was to grind monsters outside the city over and over, accumulating experience points bit by bit.

The time this would take likely exceeded Chen You's imagination.

Many players here under Level 10 had already passed their newbie protection period!

"newbie protection period..."

Alarm bells rang in Chen You's mind.

He didn't have that much time to waste on boring monster grinding.

He had to find a way to rush to Level 10 in the most efficient and fastest manner.

Unlock the dungeon feature, continue the main story, obtain more information about this world, and... those resources that could cause a qualitative change in the real world.

While Chen You was lost in thought, a blood-soaked Werewolf Warrior squeezed out from the crowd.

One of his arms was unnaturally twisted, clearly having paid a significant price in the melee just now.

But his face was brimming with an excited and greedy smile.

He walked up to Chen You, baring a mouthful of forest-white teeth, and said in a muffled voice.

"Respected Lord, that orc named Kage won't be able to say a single word for the next hour."

[System Notification: Your bounty quest has been completed. The 10 gold coin bounty has been paid.]

Chen You looked at this werewolf. The man's ID was "Blood Claw," and he was LV9, only one step away from Level 10.

He could feel the gazes of all the surrounding Adventurers focused on him.

Those eyes, mixed with awe, greed, and a hint of fear, made him very uncomfortable.

He knew he had been targeted.

Not because of his Level 5 status, but because of the bottomless gold coins in his account.

He was like a rich man walking through a slum carrying a suitcase full of cash.

Even with the newbie protection period, it was inevitable to attract countless covetous glances.

In the distance, many more figures could be seen rushing toward this place.

"Good job," Chen You said flatly, without any further expression.

He then immediately chose to log off.

He would report to Director Li and the others first, and then see how to level up quickly.

Not two minutes after he logged off, a figure riding a white tiger arrived at the training ground.

It was an elf, wearing a magnificent moon-white mage robe embroidered with complex and mysterious silver patterns.

She had the signature pointed ears and handsome face of the elf race, with long silver hair flowing down like moonlight.

Her emerald eyes were like two pieces of transparent jade, deep and calm.

Her level was displayed as LV15, and her ID was Yue Ying.

Race...

Elf God Clan!

The surrounding Adventurers, seeing this elven woman, instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter and retreated one after another.

As if encountering something extremely terrifying, their eyes were even more reverent than when they looked at Chen You.

"Am I late?"

Yue Ying scanned the surroundings and whispered to herself.