16: Chapter 16: Kicking the Village Chief Like a Ball! A Desperate Aerial Combo

That bundle of alchemy explosives, regarded as "trash," traced a parabola in the air that was far from graceful but reeked of death.

There was no hesitation, nor was there any time for anyone to react.

"Boom——!!!"

An explosion, even more violent than the last, instantly tore through eardrums. The Resurrection Altar of the Newbie Village, which symbolized safety and order and emitted a soft white light, disintegrated instantly amidst the roar of the alchemy explosives. Countless white stone fragments shot out in all directions like buckshot, instantly turning several players who could not dodge in time into sieves.

【Server-wide Announcement (Novice Village No. 9527): Warning! Warning! Player "Qin Ji" has destroyed the Resurrection Altar! Novice Village No. 9527 has lost its resurrection function! All players who die here will be forced to resurrect in the main city and suffer double death penalties!】

This blood-red announcement felt like a bucket of liquid nitrogen poured over the heads of every player.

Before they could recover from their shock, a terrifying, suffocating pressure suddenly erupted from the Administrative Hall in the deepest part of the village.

"You brat! How dare you destroy my Foundation!!"

Accompanied by an aged yet thunderous roar, a cyan figure shot into the sky like a shooting star chasing the moon, then slammed heavily onto the ruins in front of Qin Ji.

The dust settled, revealing the true appearance of the person who had arrived.

It was an old man wearing a cyan robe with white hair and a white beard. However, he did not look like an immortal sage at all right now; his originally cloudy old eyes were bloodshot, and the Qi surging around his body ground the surrounding rubble into dust.

【Village Chief · Li Qingshan (Area BOSS / Under Seal)】

Rank: LV.45 (Originally LV.90, suppressed by the rules of the Newbie Village)

HP: 850,000

MP: 120,000

Physical Attack: 3,200

Spell Power: 4,500

Skills: ???

Description: Once a powerhouse of the Empire, he lived in seclusion here. Even when suppressed by the rules, he does not need a second finger to crush an ant to death.

This was the ultimate Foundation of the Newbie Village.

Seeing that HP of 850,000, the players watching from afar felt their scalps go numb. At this stage, players generally only had a few hundred HP, and this old man could cause thousands of points of damage with a casual strike; this was simply not an entity that players at this stage could confront!

"Die!"

Li Qingshan did not waste any words; he raised his hand and pointed a finger.

Hum!

The air trembled violently, and Qin Ji felt the surrounding space freeze instantly. An invisible mental storm rushed straight into his mind, attempting to shatter his consciousness directly.

【System Prompt: You have been attacked by "Mental Pierce"! Performing Willpower check...】

This was the absolute suppression of players by high-Rank NPCs—Mental Control. If it were an ordinary player, they would likely have already fallen into a stun lasting several seconds, leaving them at the mercy of others.

However, Qin Ji only frowned slightly.

"Is that it?"

A mocking arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

After killing thousands of monsters and plundering mental attributes countless times, his mental resistance had long been stacked to a monstrous level. That mental shock, which would be enough to turn an ordinary person into an idiot, landed on his Soul, which was as solid as a rock, without even stirring a ripple.

"How is that possible?!"

For the first time, astonishment appeared on Li Qingshan's furious face.

In that 0.1 seconds of him being stunned, Qin Ji moved.

He did not retreat; instead, he stepped and shattered the floor tiles under his feet, his entire body like a black cannonball, rushing against Li Qingshan's pressure!

The dragon slaying sword in his hand dragged a purple-gold afterimage through the air.

"Old thing, your era has passed."

Upward Slash!

This sword strike had no frills; it was purely the ultimate combination of strength and speed.

Li Qingshan subconsciously erected a cyan Protective Aura. This Protective Aura had a shield value of up to 5,000 points and was immune to 30% of physical damage.

But in the face of Qin Ji's overflowing attack power, this tortoise shell was as fragile as paper.

Crack!

The shield shattered upon impact.

The dragon slaying sword, carrying unmatched kinetic energy, struck heavily against Li Qingshan's chin.

Bang!

Accompanied by a dull sound of flesh colliding, Li Qingshan's thin body actually defied the Laws of physics and was sent directly into mid-air by this sword strike!

Floating!

This was the most fatal state in fighting games. Once airborne, you are helpless!

"Get up there!"

Qin Ji's eyes were cold, and his wrist moved at high speed. The dragon slaying sword turned into an airtight web of blades, with every strike accurately slashing at Li Qingshan's soles, waist, and back.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

- 4,500!

- 4,800!

- 9,200 (Critical Hit!)

A series of dense damage numbers erupted from the top of Li Qingshan's head like a fountain.

In the distance, the streaming player "Melon-Eating Onlooker 007" had his mouth wide open, his chin almost hitting his feet.

"Holy crap... holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"

In the livestream chat, the barrage that had been mocking Qin Ji for seeking his own death instantly disappeared, replaced by a screen full of question marks and exclamation points.

"What did I just see? That's a level 45 BOSS, right? It's actually being kept airborne by that fierce guy and can't come down?!"

"Is this really a holographic online game? Is this really not Devil May Cry or DNF? This combo is too smooth!"

"Mom asked me why I'm kneeling while watching the stream, it's because I'm watching God..."

In the screen, Qin Ji was like an elegant god of death.

The angle of every sword strike was extremely tricky, utilizing the stiffness and impact generated by his attacks to forcibly lock Li Qingshan in the air three meters off the ground.

Li Qingshan roared angrily; he tried to adjust his posture and tried to counterattack, but Qin Ji's sword was too fast. Every strike landed precisely on the node where his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated.

"Bastard! I will tear you into pieces!!"

Li Qingshan's HP dropped rapidly, falling below 50% in the blink of an eye.

The BOSS's red-blood mechanism has been triggered!

Boom!

A violent red shockwave erupted from Li Qingshan's body, forcibly repelling Qin Ji's combo. His eyes turned completely blood-red, his originally withered muscles rapidly bulged, and his entire body instantly expanded by a size.

【Warning: BOSS has entered "Berserk" state! Attack power increased by 50%! Attack speed increased by 50%! Obtained Super Armor effect!】

Super Armor!

This meant it could not be controlled and could not be kept airborne!

Li Qingshan landed, letting out a beast-like roar, and the ground under his feet cracked inch by inch. He raised his right hand, and a heart-palpitating black lightning ball condensed in his palm, which he slammed down hard towards Qin Ji.

"Die! Insect!"

This strike, called 【Extinction Lightning】, was Li Qingshan's trump card, enough to instantly kill any tank class at this stage.

However, facing this fatal blow, Qin Ji did not retreat but advanced instead.

He pulled something out of his backpack.

It was an inconspicuous, rusty green copper block.

This was a strange item he had fished out from the mud at the bottom of a dry well in the Newbie Village after killing ten thousand toads. At the time, the System identified it as an "Unknown Ancient Artifact" with no attributes, only a line of small text: 【Cures all fancy tricks】.

Qin Ji had never understood how to use this thing, until just now, when his intuition told him it was time.

"Suppress... for me!"

Qin Ji swung that brick-like green copper block and slammed it right onto Li Qingshan's palm, which was condensing the lightning.

Hum——!

A bizarre scene occurred.

The moment the green copper block touched the lightning, it actually emitted a resonant sound like a great bell. That world-destroying black lightning ball, like a popped balloon, instantly dissipated without a trace!

Even the layer of red Super Armor light on Li Qingshan's body was shattered on the spot by this blow.

"What?!"

Li Qingshan's pupils shook violently, and the madness in his eyes instantly turned into fear.

That was... the suppression of a higher-level Law?!

"Without your Super Armor, you're just a little brother."

Qin Ji sneered, and the dragon slaying sword in his hand erupted with lightning again.

This time, it was the skill he had just plundered from the Guard Captain, powered by his monstrous Intelligence attribute—【True · Lightning Dragon Soars to Heaven】!

Roar!

A thunderous Dragon several times larger than the previous one roared out from the sword's edge, swallowing Li Qingshan, who was in a state of stiffness.

Rumble!

The lightning exploded, illuminating the entire night sky as bright as day.

Li Qingshan didn't even have time to scream; his remaining hundreds of thousands of HP were emptied in an instant.

- 450,000 (Fatal Critical Hit!)

The huge golden damage number almost obscured half the screen.

Li Qingshan's body gradually disintegrated in the lightning, turning into countless points of light and dissipating.

【Killed level 45 Area BOSS "Village Chief · Li Qingshan"! Gained EXP +850,000!】

【Congratulations to player "Qin Ji" for reaching LV.15!】

【Congratulations to player "Qin Ji" for reaching LV.16!】

...

【Plunder successful! Obtained All Attributes +100!】

【Plunder successful! Obtained Special Item: 【Village Building Token (Divine-Grade)】!】

【Plunder successful! Obtained Unique Hidden Class Transfer Book: 【God Slayer】!】

A series of golden lights flashed wildly on Qin Ji; it was the glow of leveling up.

Clatter——

Huge drop!

Countless pieces of equipment and items emitting purple and golden light showered down from the sky like they were free, covering a radius of ten meters centered on Qin Ji.

The whole scene was dead silent.

Whether it was the players in the distance or that streamer, they all looked like ducks with their necks squeezed, unable to make a sound.

Is it over?

That Village Chief who was as strong as a monster, was he just... soloed?

Qin Ji ignored the greedy yet fearful gazes around him. He casually picked up the 【Village Building Token】 that emitted an ancient aura from the ground and tucked the black class transfer book into his bosom.

As for the other golden equipment on the ground?

He couldn't even be bothered to look. It was just trash.

Qin Ji turned around, his purple-gold pupils sweeping over the stunned crowd in the distance. The night wind blew his tattered black clothes, making them flap loudly.

He slowly raised the dragon slaying sword in his hand, the tip pointing directly at the teleportation array leading to the main city in the distance.

That place was the new hunting ground.

Moonlight like water sprinkled over the devastated ruins. Qin Ji stood where the Village Chief's corpse had dissipated, with countless top-tier equipment emitting tempting luster at his feet, but he did not look down; he just turned his head slightly, his gaze piercing through the endless darkness, as if he had already seen those high and mighty gods in the main city trembling on their thrones.