Chapter Seventeen: Duel or Brawl

The pale-faced demon was nearly in tears at Chen Hao’s shameless actions. He opened his cloth pouch to show Chen Hao and said, “Brother Chen, you can’t be so unscrupulous. You’ve extorted everything I own from me.”

Chen Hao stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Is that so? Well, demon, you make decent money at the Spring Fragrance House. How about I wait for you while you continue pursuing that promising profession as a brothel manager?”

Grinding his teeth, the pale-faced demon retorted, “You’re ruthless, even worse than Huang Shiren and Zhou Bapi. But, Brother Chen, you’re leveling up just fine—why bother earning money?”

Chen Hao explained, “Wang Wu’s quest is a chain quest. I have to deliver him food every day, spending three silver coins each time. If I miss a delivery, it’d be a shame to lose the chain quest.”

The pale-faced demon sighed in frustration. “Fine, I’ll go.”

If the demon went back to earning money as a brothel manager, he wouldn’t be able to level up alongside Chen Hao, making the chance of reaching level ten and getting the server-wide announcement extremely slim. Chen Hao had scammed him several times since they met, so naturally he wouldn’t let his partner waste time earning money and miss out on leveling up. The suggestion to go back to the Spring Fragrance House was just a joke; he never expected the demon to agree.

But for the sake of Chen Hao’s chain quest, the demon accepted the arrangement, giving Chen Hao a glimpse into his character. Chen Hao thought this partner was pretty good. Laughing, he said, “Don’t be upset, demon. I was just joking. I have a better plan—we can earn money and level up at the same time.”

The pale-faced demon was overjoyed. “What’s the plan?”

After Chen Hao explained his idea, the demon couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “Brilliant—higher than Mount Everest! I’ll go spread the word. If you’re leveling up in the south part of the city, they won’t dare touch you. Brother Chen, head to the west gate, coordinates 237,42, in the rogue monster area and start farming there.”

After Chen Hao left for the west side of the city, the demon found Mo Yu, the well-informed player in Penglai County. In the game, there were players who liked to gather and sell information, and Mo Yu was one of them. He collected all sorts of news and sold it to those in need, sometimes even buying valuable intel to resell.

The demon sold a piece of information to Mo Yu, earning thirty copper coins, then ran toward the west gate. The drama he and Chen Hao had orchestrated was about to unfold, and he didn’t want to miss the spectacular show.

After buying the intel, Mo Yu sought out Slaughter Blade, who was also leveling up in the west side, and said with a smile, “Boss Slaughter Blade, I have the exact coordinates of the person you’ve been looking for. How much is this information worth to you?”

Slaughter Blade had brought nearly a hundred people into the game and was a force in Penglai County. Being beaten by Chen Hao had left him brooding. Hearing Mo Yu’s offer, he didn’t even furrow his brow. “If your coordinates are accurate, I’ll pay you one silver coin.”

Mo Yu shook his head. “Boss, you know the rules for selling information. Pay first, then I’ll give you the intel. If it’s inaccurate, I’ll refund you. I wouldn’t risk ruining my reputation, would I?”

Slaughter Blade’s eyes flashed with menace, but he couldn’t do anything to players like Mo Yu—after all, Mo Yu didn’t level up or hunt for gear, so he wasn’t afraid of being killed, and threats were useless.

With plenty of subordinates and after being killed by Chen Hao and resurrected, Slaughter Blade had spent half a day leveling up and robbing over a dozen players who encountered rare monsters. A silver coin meant little to him. With a cold snort, he tossed Mo Yu a silver coin. “Well, tell me—where is that guy?”

Mo Yu smiled. “Boss Slaughter Blade is decisive. The man’s at the west gate of Penglai, coordinates 237,42. The one who gave me the info said he’s slippery, so you’d better send more men to surround him if you want to kill him.”

After Mo Yu left, Slaughter Blade quickly summoned his crew. Soon, all seventy-plus online subordinates gathered at the west gate. Slaughter Blade hated the guy who dared kill him, so to be absolutely sure, he had his men approach the coordinates from four directions.

Chen Hao put away his broadsword and, holding a wooden stick, fought rogues at a leisurely pace, pretending not to notice when he saw people approaching. Before long, Slaughter Blade appeared a short distance away, gritting his teeth. “Kid, return the bronze bracelet and all your money, and I’ll only kill you once. Then I won’t pursue you anymore…”

Chen Hao chuckled. “You must have forgotten the pain after your wounds healed. This morning, the three of you couldn’t handle me, and now you’re here alone threatening me? You have no idea how to behave.”

“Hahahaha!” Slaughter Blade laughed arrogantly. “Alone? Kid, open your eyes and look around—everyone here is mine. Today, you won’t escape, even if you sprout wings. If you don’t hand over what I want, this won’t be the last time. You’ll have no place in Penglai County.”

Chen Hao’s face twisted in anger as he waved his wooden stick. “You’re shameless, bringing so many people to attack me. If you have guts, fight me one-on-one!”

“Sure, one-on-one or a mob, your choice,” Slaughter Blade sneered. “If it’s a duel, it’s you against our seventy-four. If it’s a mob, then seventy-four against you…”

“Haha, boss, you’re hilarious.”

“This kid actually dared provoke the boss—he won’t survive in Penglai County now…”

Slaughter Blade’s subordinates laughed loudly, making him quite pleased. He raised his head proudly. “Kid, I’ll ask you one last time—are you going to hand over the goods or not?”

Chen Hao, looking heartbroken, waved his wooden stick. “A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. Even if I’m alone, I’ll never yield to you. Bring it on!”

“Take him down!” Slaughter Blade shouted, and his men immediately sprang into action, swarming toward Chen Hao.

Over seventy players, all wielding wooden sticks, charged together, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of real-life gang fights. These risk-free, one-sided battles were a favorite among Slaughter Blade’s crew. Four of the fastest players reached Chen Hao first. Their combat stats were only around ten, but since it was a group attack, they felt no danger and raced to be first.

As their four sticks came down simultaneously, Chen Hao suddenly produced a broadsword. The blade swept in an arc, severing all four sticks, and with another swing, he instantly killed the nearest player.

Chen Hao’s broadsword continued to cut down, each strike claiming an enemy’s life. In moments, he had slain four. The remaining players weren’t frightened; those four weren’t combat experts, so their deaths meant nothing.

Slaughter Blade believed that as soon as his skilled fighters got close, Chen Hao wouldn’t stand a chance. Wanting to savor killing his nemesis himself, he grabbed a stick and charged forward. Watching Chen Hao wield the broadsword, Slaughter Blade couldn’t help coveting it, secretly hoping the weapon would drop when Chen Hao was defeated.