53: Chapter 53: A mission only a madman would dare to take: hunting down gods with a mortal body!

That slender hand stopped abruptly half an inch from Leona's chin. The blood-red killing intent swirling around his fingertips felt like physical steel needles, stinging her skin.

Leona's tensed back almost snapped at that moment, but the expected pain did not arrive.

Qin Ji withdrew his hand and lightly flicked away non-existent dust with his fingertips. The suffocating pressure dissipated, replaced by a casual, lazy demeanor.

"Speak, my Princess," Qin Ji turned around and casually sheathed the rusty greatsword on his back with a crisp click. "You went through all the trouble to find me in this hellhole; surely it wasn't just so I could admire your dress torn by thorns."

Leona's chest heaved twice as she forced down the instinctive tremor in her heart. She knew the man before her was a double-edged sword; used well, he could slash through the thorns surrounding the throne, but used poorly, she would be the first to die.

"Do you remember our agreement?"

Leona tried to make her voice sound like true royalty. "I have only just returned and have no Foundation. To gain the support of the ministers and nobles, I must present an achievement of sufficient weight."

"Get to the point." Qin Ji didn't look back, his gaze scanning the restless shadows around them.

"In our Star Kingdom, there is a Black Wind Mountain occupied by a group of wicked bandits," Leona spoke faster. "I want you to help me wipe them out. They are a cancer on the kingdom. As long as they are removed, I can..."

"Ding! Princess Leona has issued a mission to you: [Exterminate Black Wind Stockade]."

"Mission Difficulty: Rank B."

"Mission Rewards: Kingdom Reputation +500, Gold Coins ×1000."

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into an undisguised sneer.

"A Level 30 Black Wind Stockade?"

He turned around and looked at Leona as if she were an idiot. "This is your ambition? To have me play house with a bunch of mountain bandits?"

Leona's face stiffened. "With your current strength, this is the safest choice. The Chief of the Black Wind Stockade is a Level 30 Lord monster; he's not easy to deal with..."

"Too slow."

Qin Ji interrupted her, wagging a finger. "Hunting a mere Level 30 bandit den—what kind of great achievement is such a small skirmish? In the eyes of those wily ministers, you'd be nothing more than an upstart who hired a thug."

"Then what do you want?" Leona was somewhat annoyed; this man was far too arrogant.

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

A flash of madness flickered in Qin Ji's eyes. His pitch-black gaze stared directly at Leona, as if he could see through her Soul. "What if I told you I could bring back Grelorlinssen's head for you?"

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Leona's annoyed expression instantly froze on her face, followed by a sudden dilation of her pupils—a physiological reaction to extreme shock.

"Grelorlinssen?!"

Her voice turned shrill from sheer horror. "That sealed Son of the Demon King? That's absolutely impossible! In his sealed state, he is considered invincible. Unless the Seal is broken, no one can harm him in the slightest! And once the Seal is broken, the entire kingdom will be destroyed!"

"Who said killing someone requires breaking the Seal?"

The smile on Qin Ji's face became increasingly eerie. His right hand subconsciously touched the bone-chilling book of life and death in his robes.

To ordinary people, a sealed BOSS was indeed invincible.

But for him, who possessed a weapon of causality, as long as he knew the name, nothing in this digitized world was unkillable.

"Although Grelorlinssen is sealed, his vital signs still exist within the data stream," Qin Ji began to talk nonsense with a straight face, fooling the naive princess. "As far as I know, those Night Walkers in the Demon Den are trying to break the Seal from the outside, causing a crack to appear. That is the opportunity."

Leona stared intently at Qin Ji, trying to find a trace of a joke on his face.

But she failed.

The confidence in this man's eyes was so intense it was frightening—an arrogance that trampled the rules of the entire world underfoot.

"Are you... serious?" Leona's voice was a bit dry.

"I never joke." Qin Ji spread his hands. "You can go back right now and tell those old fogies that you can end the nightmare of the Son of the Demon King without breaking the Seal."

"Don't ruin me!" Leona instinctively took half a step back. "If it can't be done, I will become the laughingstock of the entire kingdom and completely lose my right of succession!"

"I am an adventurer; what benefit do I get from ruining you?"

Qin Ji shrugged indifferently. "Of course, if you don't dare to gamble, then pretend I never said anything. Anyway, you're not the only one who wants to be monarch. I imagine your Second Sister would be interested in this proposal."

At the mention of her "Second Sister," Leona's expression changed instantly.

That was her greatest competitor and the person who most wanted her dead.

If Qing Fuyun really obtained Qin Ji's help...

"I believe you!"

Leona snapped her head up, the hesitation in her eyes replaced by a desperate resolve. "Snow Emperor... no, Qin Ji. I'm staking my life and future on you. I'm going back to tell my father right now!"

Qin Ji nodded with satisfaction. "A smart choice."

Leona gave Qin Ji a deep look before turning and disappearing into the jungle, her back appearing exceptionally determined. For some reason, she had a strong intuition that the decision she just made might truly change a century of the Star Kingdom's history.

...

Having sent away the troublesome princess, Qin Ji could finally get down to business.

He turned around and looked at the dark, deep spider nest behind him.

A dense rustling sound came from the surrounding bushes, and hundreds of pairs of crimson compound eyes lit up in the darkness. It was a swarm of Green Poison Spiders attracted by the scent of a living human.

[Green Poison Spider (Common)]

[Rank]: 20

[HP]: 2450/2450

[Skills]: Cobweb Bind, Venomous Fangs

"Just right, I'll use you to test my skills."

Qin Ji cracked his neck, producing a series of popping sounds.

The next second, a massive Green Poison Spider took the lead and attacked, launching a pale cobweb that draped toward Qin Ji like a fishing net.

Qin Ji neither dodged nor avoided it, letting the web fall on him.

"MISS."

Large white characters floated above his head.

With his current insane defense, a control skill of this level couldn't even reach the threshold for calculation.

Clang—!

The Tetanus Blade was unsheathed.

Without any fancy techniques, it was just a simple, unadorned horizontal sweep.

His terrifying Strength attribute transformed into a physical storm of kinetic energy at that moment. Wherever the blade passed, the air was compressed into visible transparent waves.

Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!

The dozen or so Green Poison Spiders in the front didn't even have time to scream before their bodies exploded into green pulp, looking like watermelons hit by a high-speed train.

[Killed Green Poison Spider, EXP +400]

[Triggered Greedy Grasp: Agility +1]

[Triggered Greedy Grasp: Toxin Resistance +1]

"As expected..."

Qin Ji looked at the attributes ticking up on his panel, the smile on his lips deepening.

Although these low-level monsters gave little experience, they were numerous and possessed specific attribute tags. For him right now, farming attributes was far more important than leveling up.

"Again!"

Qin Ji let out a low shout and charged into the densest area of spiders like a tiger into a flock of sheep.

Lightning exploded.

He formed a hand Seal with his left hand, and chains of purple lightning jumped and conducted through the spider swarm. Every bolt that fell charred a spider; the once damp and dark nest was now filled with the smell of burnt meat.

[Agility +1]

[Agility +1]

[Toxin Resistance +1]

...

Golden notification messages scrolled across the screen like a waterfall.

Qin Ji was like a tireless harvesting machine. Wherever he went, nothing remained alive except for severed limbs and charred corpses. The once ferocious predators were now helpless prey; in the face of absolute crushing power, numbers meant nothing.

...

At the same time.

Star Kingdom, Royal Palace Hall.

A massive crystal chandelier cast cold light, illuminating the hall as if it were day.

Leona stood in the center of the hall, facing the elderly King Abra on the throne, as well as dozens of ministers with varying expressions on both sides.

When she spoke of that crazy plan, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence, followed by an explosion of loud laughter.

"Hahaha! Leona, my dear sister."

A woman in a magnificent court gown laughed so hard she shook; she was the Second Princess, Qing Fuyun. "Have you been wandering outside for too long? Has the wind scrambled your brain? Killing Grelorlinssen without breaking the Seal? Not even the Royal Chief Archmage would dare utter such madness!"

"Princess Leona."

Prime Minister Kesenluo, standing in the front row, stroked his beard with eyes full of ridicule. "It's fine to tell such jokes at home, but to bring them to court is a bit too disrespectful to the dignity of the kingdom."

The surrounding ministers chimed in, looking at Leona as if she were a clown.

Upon the throne, King Abra raised his hand, and the noisy hall instantly fell silent.

"Leona."

The old king's voice was aged and majestic. "A king does not speak in jest. Do you know what you are saying? If you fail, do you know the consequences?"

Leona took a deep breath, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Those mocking gazes were like sharp knives, cutting her to the bone. But at this moment, Qin Ji's confident black eyes appeared in her mind.

He was her only bet.

"Father, Mother."

Leona snapped her head up, her voice powerful and resonant. "Since I dare to say it, I naturally have confidence!"

"Confidence?" Qing Fuyun sneered, pressing closer. "Words are cheap! What if you fail? Are we supposed to be humiliated along with you?"

"Indeed!" Kesenluo added. "There must be a punishment, otherwise everyone will dare to come to the hall and spout nonsense!"

Leona looked at these relatives and ministers who were usually high and mighty but were now showing their ugly sides, and the last trace of hesitation in her heart vanished completely.

"If I fail..."

Her voice echoed in the hall, every word like a nail driven into the floor.

"I, Leona, will voluntarily renounce my right to the throne and be exiled to the Extreme Cold Lands for life, never to return to the capital!"

Whoosh—!

As soon as she said this, the entire room went into an uproar.

The smile on Qing Fuyun's face instantly bloomed; it was the ecstasy of a victor. With one of her strongest competitors gone, the throne was practically in her pocket.

As for that so-called kill mission?

Don't be ridiculous.

That was the Son of the Demon King, whom even the gods were helpless against. Relying on that so-called adventurer? Absolutely impossible!

Abra on the throne gave Leona a deep look, a flash of surprise in his cloudy old eyes. He knew his daughter; if she didn't have an absolute trump card, she would never gamble her political life.

Did that adventurer named Qin Ji really have such great ability?

"Fine!"

Abra slammed his hand on the armrest, his voice carrying through the hall. "Leona, I will give you this chance! If you can really bring back news of Grelorlinssen's death, not only will your right to the throne be preserved, but the Star Kingdom's greatest economic lifeline—the Star Merchant Guild—will also be under your control from now on!"

...

Deep in the Black Wind Mountain Range.

Rumble—!

The last Elite Spider Guard turned to ash in the purple lightning.

Qin Ji flicked non-existent blood off his blade and glanced at his attribute panel.

After this half-hour of slaughter, his Agility attribute had been boosted by over two hundred points, and his Toxin Resistance had reached the level of [Elementary All-Poison Immunity].

"That's about enough."

Qin Ji sheathed his longsword and looked toward the distant, massive mountain shrouded in black mist—the Sealed Land.

He pulled the book of life and death, which radiated Nether Qi, from his robes.

The black cover gleamed eerily in the moonlight, like a grinning ghost face.

"Grelorlinssen..."

Qin Ji's finger lightly brushed over the pages, his lips curling into a cruel arc.

"Although we've never met, for the sake of my attribute points, I'll have to ask you to die."

The night wind howled, whipping up withered leaves on the ground. Qin Ji stood alone at the edge of the cliff. The book of life and death in his hand moved without wind, the rustling of the flipping pages sounding like the low murmur of the Grim Reaper sharpening his scythe, quietly playing in the silent night.