Chapter 28
Chapter 28
…
Qianying froze for an instant.
Zhouyou Shijie’s words completely overturned her understanding of his plan.
She had assumed he intended to use the Damage Challenge to make the gathered adventurers lower the Giant Rock Monster’s HP, then finish it himself and reduce the difficulty of the trial.
Slash! Slash!
Zhou Ming’s sword rose and fell, instantly cutting down the two people in front of him.
The next second, however, the tidal wave of players swallowed him whole.
-1!
-1!
-1!
…
Greedy, murderous faces surrounded Zhou Ming on all sides. Their owners attacked by every means they could devise, no matter how little damage they inflicted.
At the same time, arrows fell like rain and elemental projectiles poured down from above.
“Everyone, get in there!” Gaibang Laoer commanded from the rear. “Anyone here who can provide a screenshot proving Zhouyou Shijie killed them can collect a twenty-yuan compensation payment from the Gaibang Guild!”
“Holy crap, the Gaibang Guild really is loaded!”
“My life belongs to the generous sponsor!”
“Kill!”
…
The melee players who had still been hesitating could no longer restrain themselves. They immediately piled in.
“Even if we only take one HP at a time, we’ll still grind you to death!” Gaibang Laoer’s face flushed with excitement.
With so many independent players helping this time, he would definitely wash away his previous humiliation!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
At the center of the encirclement, Zhou Ming remained completely indifferent. Every attack he made killed someone instantly. His Infamy rose almost every second, and his in-game ID had turned such a dark red that it was nearly purple, an intimidating sight.
“Ding!”
[System: You have killed the adventurer [Half a Time All Night]. Infamy +1!]
“Ding!”
[System: You have killed the adventurer [Too Handsome for the Capital]. Infamy +1!]
…
Throughout the battle, Zhou Ming consumed potions frantically to restore his HP, glancing at his total Infamy from time to time.
166!
“How much do I need before something changes?”
Zhou Ming eagerly anticipated some miraculous transformation from accumulating Infamy.
Because of Flame Demon Lord’s class trait, his Infamy could only rise and never fall. How could he possibly ignore such an unusual mechanic?
He absolutely refused to believe it was a meaningless setting thrown in for no reason. If it existed, it had to serve a purpose.
He had also considered that the Trial of the Seven Sins could not have given him an impossible task.
The trial existed to test him, not stop him!
If it was truly a test, pushing every factor close to its extreme would inevitably reveal a path to victory.
The one crucial factor he had yet to push to an extreme was probably his Infamy.
Zhou Ming continued carving through the crowd like vegetables. Any player who approached died instantly.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
At one point, two thorn-covered vines burst from the ground beside his feet and coiled around his legs.
“Ding!”
[System: You were struck by [Lemon Mint]’s [Vine Entanglement], taking 200 fixed damage and becoming Immobilized for 0.65 seconds!]
“Hm?”
Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes.
At present, Gouge was the only hard-control skill most players could learn. Other abilities, such as an archer’s Stunning Arrow, had level requirements no one could yet meet.
In other words, control skills were exceptionally rare at this stage.
This player had not only dealt two hundred fixed damage, but also immobilized him. That made her a serious threat. If she were allowed to keep attacking, she could eventually kill him.
“That’s powerful!” Gaibang Laoer exclaimed from the distance, both surprised and delighted. “A few more Vine Entanglements and Zhouyou Shijie is dead!”
“Thirty-two meters to your right,” Qianying warned.
“Got it!”
The instant the control ended, Zhou Ming leaped high into the air. Ignoring the countless attacks that failed to penetrate his Defense, he raised his left hand. Fire elements gathered in his palm as he locked onto the target.
[Lemon Mint] (Plant Mage)
She was a female player with a hidden class, holding an emerald-green staff. Concealed within the dense crowd, she appeared completely unremarkable.
“It’s Fallen Sword!” The surrounding players’ hearts tightened.
That move was practically Zhouyou Shijie’s ultimate weapon. They had all seen it in the videos. It was so unreasonable that whoever he targeted almost always died.
“Protect her!” Gaibang Laoer shouted. “Five thousand yuan to whoever keeps her alive!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless priests immediately cast healing spells on Lemon Mint.
“You want to kill me?”
Once Zhou Ming’s attack locked onto her, hiding within the crowd was no longer possible. Lemon Mint had no choice but to face it.
She raised her staff, and an emerald-green barrier appeared around her.
“Ding!”
[System: Lemon Mint has used [Verdant Aegis], creating a barrier that absorbs 2,000 fixed damage!]
“Come on!”
Lemon Mint smiled smugly. “I’ve got 2,600 total HP. You think you can one-shot me?”
Blazing Heaven Sword!
Zhou Ming clenched his raised hand.
BOOM!
A phantom greatsword wreathed in roaring flames instantly appeared above Lemon Mint. Rings of rippling force spread around it as surging fire elements coiled endlessly along the blade. Merely approaching it brought suffocating heat.
Rip!
The phantom greatsword plunged violently downward, pierced Verdant Aegis with ease, and impaled Lemon Mint beneath her frozen, disbelieving stare.
-4,120!
The strike had not even crit, yet its damage exceeded four thousand, instantly eliminating the confident Plant Mage.
And it still was not over.
After Blazing Heaven Sword dealt its fatal blow, a wave of fire swept outward and engulfed every other player within a 20 x 20 meter area.
-603!
-613!
-599!
…
Many fragile classes evaporated inside the flames. Of the survivors left at critically low HP, anyone afflicted with Burn could do nothing but wait for death.
“!!!!!”
The players’ previously soaring morale collapsed. They could not believe what they had just witnessed.
An area-of-effect skill!
How had a melee class obtained an AoE ability before the mages?
Gaibang Laosan stared with his mouth hanging open. “It has only been one day. How did he get so much stronger?”
“Don’t let him scare you!” Gaibang Laoer tried to rally the crowd. “A skill that powerful can’t possibly have a short cooldown!”
“He’s right. That has to be an ultimate!”
One player strongly agreed.
Twenty seconds later…
Blazing Heaven Sword!
Another flaming greatsword descended from the sky and crashed into a densely packed group of players, leaving casualties everywhere.
“Fuck!”
One player’s face turned ashen, as miserable as if he had swallowed something foul.
This monstrous AoE skill killed people far too quickly!
“Tell the brothers who revived in Qingshui Town to hurry back as reinforcements!” Gaibang Laoer urged.
“They can’t!”
One of his subordinates reminded him, “Second Brother, did you forget? Anyone who dies during the Damage Challenge can’t enter Fallen Leaf Plains again for twenty-four hours.”
Realization struck Gaibang Laoer. He looked into the distance and discovered that the enormous Giant Rock Monster had joined the battlefield at some point. Nearly every punch killed several players.
“What… the fuck?!”
Gaibang Laoer’s vision went dark. He nearly coughed blood from rage.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming’s Infamy accumulated at an unimaginable rate.
700!
800!
900!
…
In truth, the number of players he had killed already exceeded a thousand. But whenever an opponent damaged him first, killing that person granted no Infamy.
“Still no change?”
As the players’ desire to fight faded and they began fleeing in every direction, Zhou Ming grew anxious. Maintaining such intense concentration for so long had also left him mentally exhausted.
982… 991… 996…
Increasing his Infamy became harder and harder.
By the time the players around him had thinned to scattered stragglers, all running for their lives, Zhou Ming’s Infamy finally reached four digits.
[Infamy: 1,000]
Whoosh!
As if some threshold had shattered, strands of fire elements mixed with black matter flowed from Zhou Ming’s body and wrapped around him.
A sensation as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring washed over him. Explosive fire elements erupted inside his chest, then poured into his limbs and every corner of his body.
It finally kicked in!
Zhou Ming nearly wept with joy.
Several seconds later, a heavenly system chime rang out.
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! Your Infamy has reached the required threshold. The power of [Flame Demon Lord] has been further released…]
…