15: Chapter 15 Art is an Explosion! Prelude to the Massacre

Night was like ink, shrouding Novice Village No. 9527 in deathly silence.

Qin Ji stood on the slope, his fingertips lightly tapping the hilt of his dragon slaying sword, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound. He was counting down.

"Hoo… hoo…"

A burst of hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the night. An assassin player with the ID "Feimaotui" came scrambling up the hillside, his chest heaving like a bellows from the intense running.

"Is… is it Big Brother Qin Ji?"

Feimaotui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking with awe at the masked man in black before him. Just moments ago, he had received a death order from his boss, "Richest Under Heaven"—if he didn't deliver the items within ten minutes, his salary for tomorrow would be deducted completely; if he delivered them, he would be rewarded with 50 gold coins on the spot.

50 gold coins! That was an average player's income for a month of grinding!

Qin Ji did not turn back, only extending his right hand.

"The items."

Feimaotui dared not delay, hurriedly clicking to trade.

[System prompt: Trade complete. Obtained "Alchemy High-Explosive Gunpowder (Excellent)" × 20, obtained "Intermediate Mana Potion" × 10 sets.]

"My boss asked me to bring a message, he said…" Feimaotui swallowed a mouthful of saliva, saying cautiously, "As long as you can lead him to a first clear, money is no issue. Even if he wants the stars in the sky, he'll go to the NPC shop to ask if they're for sale."

A playful arc appeared at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth.

This Richest Under Heaven was certainly an interesting person.

"Tell him to watch the world announcement in ten minutes."

Qin Ji put away the items, his figure flickering. He was like a black Night Owl, sliding silently into the night, leaving Feimaotui alone in the wind.

...

South Gate of the Newbie Village.

Two guards clad in heavy silver armor were leaning on their spears, yawning out of boredom.

As elite NPCs with a Rank as high as 30, they were invincible gods in the eyes of current players. Even the elite team of the top guild in the server was nothing more than ants they could crush at will.

"Stop! Night curfew, entry and exit are prohibited!"

The guard on the left suddenly shouted sharply, his spear heavily striking the ground, kicking up a circle of dust.

In the darkness, a black-clad figure slowly walked out.

Qin Ji had no intention of stopping; his purple-gold pupils flashed with a chilling cold light under the reflection of the torches.

"Looking for death!"

The guard was furious, his spear striking out like a venomous Dragon, piercing directly toward Qin Ji's throat with the sound of breaking air.

However, Qin Ji's movements were faster than his.

Just as the spear thrust out, a grey bead emitting a rotten stench was flicked out by Qin Ji.

"Explode."

Bang!

The bead exploded in mid-air between the two guards.

A thick, ink-like green poisonous mist instantly spread, shrouding the two guards. The originally indestructible silver armor, the moment it touched the poisonous mist, sounded like plastic being splashed with strong acid, emitting a "sizzle sizzle" corrosive sound while billowing black smoke.

[Armor-Breaking Poison Bead effect active! Target's armor forcibly reduced by 80%! Duration 30 seconds!]

"Cough, cough, cough! Damn it… what kind of Demonic Technique is this?!"

The guard let out a painful roar; his original defense of 500 points instantly plummeted to the bottom.

But this was just the beginning.

Qin Ji flipped his wrist, and three bundles of "Alchemy High-Explosive Gunpowder" specifically tied together appeared in his hand. The fuse had already been lit, the sparks looking particularly glaring in the night.

"Art is explosion."

Qin Ji threw it lightly, then retreated violently.

The gunpowder package drew a beautiful parabola in the air, landing precisely into the cracks of the floor tiles at the feet of the two guards.

Boom—!!!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering loud noise instantly tore through the tranquility of the Newbie Village.

The ground rose and fell violently like waves, and immediately after, countless cracks spread crazily like a spider web. Accompanied by blinding red light, a terrifying shockwave mixed with gravel and severed limbs shot into the sky in a mushroom cloud shape!

The originally smooth bluestone road instantly vanished; the high temperature instantly crystallized the soil, and the air was filled with a nauseating burnt smell and the scent of ionized ozone.

-8500!

-9200 (Critical hit!)

Two huge damage numbers floated up in the firelight.

Even for level 30 elite guards, with their armor reduced by 80%, taking such a load of alchemy explosives head-on meant only being instantly killed.

[Killed level 30 elite guard! Obtained Experience +15000!]

[Plunder successful! Obtained Strength +50!]

[Plunder successful! Obtained skill book: 《Cross Spear Technique (Proficiency)》!]

Before the firelight had dissipated, Qin Ji's figure had already passed through the rolling thick smoke.

The dragon slaying sword in his hand dragged on the ground, the tip of the sword creating a string of dazzling sparks on the broken floor tiles.

"Enemy attack!! Someone is attacking the village!!"

A shrill alarm instantly resounded throughout Novice Village No. 9527.

Players who were still setting up stalls or chatting in the village were terrified, their spirits Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. Countless people poured onto the streets, looking in shock at the firelight shooting into the sky in the direction of the South Gate.

"Holy crap? What's going on? Monster siege?"

"That's not right! The System didn't announce anything!"

"Look! There's someone in that fire!"

Reflected by the firelight, Qin Ji was like an Asura walking out of Hell.

In front, a patrol guard squad that had heard the news blocked the way. A full ten people, all level 30 elites, holding heavy shields and one-handed swords, formed a tight defensive formation.

"Audacious madman! How dare you commit murder in a safe zone!"

The leading guard captain roared, a golden shield light shining on his body—【Divine Protection】.

Qin Ji stopped, tilting his head.

"Safe zone?"

He chuckled, his laughter filled with disdain and madness.

"As long as I am here, there is no safe zone in this world."

Before the words fell, Qin Ji moved.

This time, he didn't use explosives.

The previous explosion had already destroyed the defensive magic circle at the village entrance; now, he could unleash his skills without restraint.

"Thunder Dragon · Descent."

Qin Ji held the dragon slaying sword with both hands, raising it high above his head.

On the sword body, the originally roaming thunder snakes instantly surged, turning into a thick thunder Dragon, roaring and wrapping around his arms.

This was a pseudo-forbidden spell he had forcibly modified after leveling up just now, adding all free attribute points to "Intelligence" and combining it with the 【Thunder Guidance】 characteristic inherent to the dragon slaying sword.

Boom!

A sword slash down.

The thunder Dragon roared out, carrying an Aura that could destroy heaven and earth, fiercely crashing into the shield formation of the guard squad.

There was no stalemate as expected.

In front of Qin Ji's already stacked-to-the-point-of-being-abnormal attack power, the so-called elite shield formation was as fragile as paper.

Sizzle—!

The golden shield shattered instantly, and the thunder light entered everywhere like mercury spilled on the ground.

The ten guards couldn't even manage a scream before they were instantly carbonized by the violent thunder energy, turning into ten charred sculptures, still maintaining the posture of holding their shields, before turning into flying ash in the wind.

[Killed level 30 elite guard × 10! Obtained Experience +150000!]

[Plunder successful! Obtained Physique +300!]

[Plunder successful! Obtained passive: Elementary Physical Resistance (Defense +10%)!]

[Plunder successful! Obtained...]

A series of pleasant System prompt sounds crazily scrolled across Qin Ji's ears.

The pleasure of that power expanding rapidly made every pore on his body relax.

This was why he wanted to slaughter the village.

Monsters in the wild were too scattered, and their respawn rate was too slow. But these guards, with high Rank, good attributes, and dense positioning, were simply mobile attribute gift packages.

"Crazy… this person is crazy…"

The players watching from afar were all scared pale, unable to even hold their weapons steady.

What had they just seen?

A player, single-handedly, killing a whole squad of level 30 elite NPCs with one sword?!

Is this even a game? This is simply a dimensional reduction strike!

In the crowd, a streamer player was shaking, aiming the camera at the back standing in the ruins.

"Family… I think I just witnessed history…"

Qin Ji ignored the ant-like gazes around him.

He shook off the non-existent blood from the sword edge, his gaze crossing the ruins, locking onto the revival altar in the center of the village that was emitting a soft white light.

That was the true core.

Only by destroying the altar would the guards not respawn infinitely, and that old thing, the village chief, would definitely be unable to resist jumping out.

"Since we're playing, let's play big."

Qin Ji took out all the remaining alchemy explosives from his backpack, casually tying them into a huge explosive package, carrying it in his hand like a bag of trash.

The firelight shone on his indifferent mask, surrounded by broken walls and still-burning scorched earth. He crushed a piece of armor fragment that was still smoking under his feet, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the holy and fragile light of the altar in the distance, like a fallen demon god about to destroy the sacred, quietly waiting for the start of the next slaughter feast in this symphony of chaos and destruction.