168: Chapter 168 Using the national treasury as compensation? This city lord is unbelievable!

Five streaks of pitch-black light did not dim under the cover of night; instead, they erupted with blinding lightning the instant they struck the city wall.

"BOOM—!"

There were no screams, only the muffled sound of flesh and blood instantly vaporized by intense heat. The five City Guards, who had just been chatting and laughing, didn't even have time to make a horrified expression before their heads exploded like rotten watermelons. Their headless corpses were flung backward by inertia, smashing hard against the tower shields behind them and cracking the sturdy shields with spider-web fissures.

This strike was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a vat of boiling oil.

"ENEMY ATTACK!! IT'S Snow Emperor!!"

A piercing alarm tore through the tranquility of Fuling City. Countless torches flared to life instantly, illuminating the city walls as bright as day.

At the highest point of the city tower, a graceful figure in silver light armor stood leaning against the railing. Fuling City Lord Fu Ling Changyue looked down at the solitary, aloof figure in black robes below the city. Her expression was not panicked like the ordinary soldiers'; instead, it radiated the calm of one long accustomed to high command.

"Activate the City Protection Array. All mage corps to the walls. Focus on defense. Do not seek to kill, only to delay."

Fu Ling Changyue's voice, amplified by magic, spread throughout the city. Immediately after, she played her long-prepared trump card.

"Issuing a city-wide bounty quest: All who participate in surrounding and suppressing Snow Emperor need not kill him. For any form of crowd control effect applied to him, control for one second rewards one piece of elite-grade equipment! Control for ten seconds, Black Iron-grade! And so on, with no upper limit!"

This announcement exploded in the ears of all players in Fuling City like a virus.

Players who had been watching the spectacle, ready to record and post on forums, instantly saw red.

"Holy shit? Did I hear that right? Control for one second gets elite gear?"

"Isn't this basically free loot? Where are the rogue groups? Quick, form parties! We'll be rich if we just stun him once!"

"City Lord Fu Ling is the GOAT! Brothers, charge! We don't need to fight to the death, just touching him counts as a win!"

Where there is great reward, there will be brave men. The fear players once held for the ID 'Snow Emperor' was now completely replaced by greed in their eyes. The city gates swung wide open. Tens of thousands of players surged out like starving wolves released from a pen, howling as they charged toward the opposite bank of the moat.

Qin Ji watched the overwhelming tide of people before him, a playful curve lifting the corner of his mouth.

"Using profit to drive cannon fodder to drain my stamina? A clever tactic."

He raised the longbow in his hand. His violet-gold pupils held not a trace of pity, only the indifference of one looking at lambs for the slaughter.

"A pity. You know nothing of my power."

*Twang—!*

The vibration frequency of the bowstring was so fast it became a continuous line.

Qin Ji didn't use any large-scale forbidden spells. He merely activated 【Rapid Fire】. The terrifying attack speed of one hundred and twenty-four arrows per second wove the released arrows into an impenetrable black net of death in the air.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!*

The arrow rain fell into the crowd. Instead of causing conventional piercing, it triggered an extremely rare special effect—Lightning Chain.

The first arrow pierced a heavy knight's throat. Violent lightning instantly erupted with him as the center, arcing to all targets within twenty yards.

-999999!

-999999!

Golden critical hit numbers connected into a vast golden sea. Over a thousand players at the forefront, who hadn't even touched the hem of Qin Ji's garment, were instantly torn to shreds by lightning and arrows.

【Player 'Mad Blade Third Wave' slain. Strength plundered +12!】

【Player 'I Love Tomatoes' slain. Agility plundered +15!】

【Infamy +1324!】

In that brief second, Qin Ji's originally slightly red ID instantly turned into a dripping dark crimson. His Infamy directly broke a thousand!

"Wha... what kind of damage is this?!"

"We can't even get close! This lightning chains! Healers! Quick, heal!"

"Heal my ass! How do you heal an instant kill? Retreat! Fall back! This money isn't for us to earn!"

The player army, which had been charging with soaring momentum just moments ago, instantly collapsed under this wave of harvest. The front Ranks piled up like a mountain of corpses. Players in the rear were so terrified their legs went weak, desperately trying to squeeze back through the city gates.

On the city tower, Fu Ling Changyue's eyes narrowed slightly.

"So this is Snow Emperor's strength... He truly is a ruthless one."

She watched the fleeing players, a flash of resolve in her eyes. She understood clearly that against a monster of this caliber, ordinary bounties were useless. Stronger medicine was needed—medicine potent enough to drive people mad enough to ignore death.

"Server-wide Announcement: Due to the dire state of the city defense battle, the 'Heroic Spirit Death Benefits' mechanism is now activated!"

Fu Ling Changyue's voice rang out again, carrying a bewitching, magical quality:

"Any Adventurer who falls in this city defense battle, regardless of Rank, will receive: Gold Coins +50, Common Equipment +1, and... free attribute points +1!"

A deathly silence lasted for half a second. Then, the entirety of Fuling City erupted.

Completely erupted.

In this world of 《Divine Realm》, losing a level wasn't terrifying because it didn't deduct free attribute points. But obtaining free attribute points through leveling up was extremely difficult, usually only rewarded upon reaching a Breakthrough in Rank.

Now, dying once actually gave 1 free attribute point?!

What did this mean? It meant that as long as they died fast enough, they could 'farm' attributes through 'suicide'! This wasn't going to their deaths; this was clearly going to 'stock up on goods'!

"Holy crap! free attribute points?!"

"Brothers, I'll die first as a mark of respect! Don't anyone stop me!"

"Daddy Snow Emperor, please shoot me! Quick, shoot me! Aim for the head!"

The situation reversed in an instant.

The players who had been fleeing moments ago, as if injected with adrenaline, turned around one by one with twisted, ferocious expressions and bloodshot eyes, madly lunging toward Qin Ji. Some even stripped off their defensive gear, charging in nothing but their underwear, just to get to their deaths faster.

Qin Ji's hand pulling the bowstring paused slightly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"Using resources from the national treasury to trade for my consumption... This City Lord Fu Ling is rather interesting."

He had to admit, this move was brilliantly played. For players, dying once wasn't a loss; it was a huge gain. This kind of 'suicidal charge' driven by such profit was enough to overwhelm any top-tier expert.

Except for him.

"Want to throw your lives away? Then I'll oblige you."

A cold light erupted in Qin Ji's eyes. The longbow in his hand no longer fired single shots but was drawn to its full extent.

Skill—【Heavenly Fire Meteor】!

It wasn't a mage's incantation-based spell, but a weapon special effect triggered through his bow. Qin Ji had discovered that when his arrows hit units more than 30 Ranks below him, the chance of triggering special effects doubled.

*Rumble rumble—*

The sky abruptly changed color. Countless burning meteors, trailing long plumes of flame, descended upon the dense crowd like a judgment of doom.

Every meteor that fell claimed hundreds of lives.

【Player... slain. Strength +10!】

【Player... slain. Intelligence +8!】

【Infamy +5000!】

Qin Ji stood at the center of the sea of fire, like a grim reaper harvesting lives. Players rushed forward wave after wave to their deaths, turning into beams of white light and vanishing, only to respawn and charge again.

For the players, they were farming attributes.

For Qin Ji, he was also farming attributes.

This was a bizarre 'win-win'. The only loser was Fuling City's national treasury, which was burning through resources at a frantic pace.

"Since you want to play a war of attrition, let's see just how deep the coffers of your Fuling City run."

Qin Ji slowly advanced while continuing to shoot. Every step he took landed on scorched earth and equipment fragments. The Infamy behind him had skyrocketed to a terrifying tens of thousands of points. He was enveloped in a dense Aura of bloodlust, like an Asura crawled out from Hell.

Just then, the ground began to tremble.

Qin Ji's brow raised slightly. His gaze passed over the sea of people before him, looking toward the distant horizon.

There, a dark, dense tide of humanity surged from the direction of the wilderness. It was an army of two hundred thousand players who had heard the news of 'getting rich by dying' and rushed back from the surrounding leveling areas.

Ahead were the City Guards and the suicide squads. Behind were the two hundred thousand returning reinforcements.

He was surrounded.

On Fuling City's tower, Fu Ling Changyue finally allowed a sly smile to appear.

"Snow Emperor, an individual's power ultimately has its limits. My bounty might not attract the truly top-tier experts, but it's more than enough to drive these ordinary Adventurers to overwhelm you."

She suddenly waved her hand, barking an order: "Relay my command! All Archers and mages, exit the city! Coordinate with the Adventurers to surround and kill Snow Emperor! Don't let him escape!"

"Yes!"

The city gates rumbled open once more. Twenty thousand well-trained NPC regular troops poured out in orderly formation, perfectly complementing the frenzied player army.

Qin Ji halted his steps.

He looked around. Everywhere his gaze fell, he saw greedy faces and glinting weapons. The encirclement of over two hundred thousand people was like a giant millstone, slowly grinding toward the center.

But he did not retreat.

The last rays of the setting sun fell upon his black cloak, casting an extremely long shadow. Qin Ji slowly slung his longbow across his back. His right hand clenched empty air, and a massive greatsword emitting a bone-chilling cold materialized out of thin air. He planted the sword with one hand. His violet-gold pupils shone brilliantly in the twilight, just like a primeval Vicious Beast that had just feasted, coldly observing the swarming ants covering the mountains and plains, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.