Chapter 22: I Do Not Trust Your Character

The Stone of Three Lives cast a deep, lingering look at Chen Hao, who stood before the statue of the Earth Deity. He prided himself on his cunning, yet he had not anticipated meeting his match this time. His opponent had clearly seen through his schemes and turned the tables, rolling up to the statue, seizing control of the latch that opened the cellar, and in doing so, protecting Wang Wu as well.

A new idea began to form in the Stone of Three Lives’ mind—perhaps he could win this man over. He smiled and said, “Brother, we bear no grudges against each other. This conflict is nothing more than a matter of completing our tasks. Why not let bygones be bygones?”

Chen Hao rested his goose-feather saber across his arms and replied coolly, “I have no objections—on the condition that you forfeit your task.”

The Stone of Three Lives was momentarily stunned, then let out a wry laugh. “I must admit, I didn’t expect you to seize control of the latch. Your close combat skills are impressive. But do you really believe you alone can hold off all my men?”

“You’re welcome to try,” Chen Hao replied with a smile. His hand once more found the latch, and after turning it four full rotations to the left, the statue of the Earth Deity began to revolve, shifting position so that it shielded his back perfectly.

Before leaving the cellar, Wang Wu had told Chen Hao that, should a fight break out in the temple, he could rotate the statue to create a blind spot. With this dead angle, Chen Hao could use the terrain to his advantage, ensuring that at any given moment, he would face, at most, only three attackers. With his combat attribute already above forty, no mere trio of players could threaten him.

The Stone of Three Lives’ face darkened. He loathed the feeling of losing control, and it was clear now that his adversary’s calculations surpassed his own. At this, he finally abandoned all notion of recruiting the man, and with a cold glare at Chen Hao, he spat, “You can’t possibly think you can take on dozens alone.”

With a wave of his hand, three skilled fighters charged at Chen Hao, while several archers loosed their arrows. The Stone of Three Lives had not been the only one to think of archers—his own men included some adept with the bow. Though only three could approach Chen Hao at a time, the archers’ ranged attacks could still play a role.

Without the statue to guard his back, Chen Hao would have been hard-pressed to fend off both the three attackers and arrows flying from all sides. But the temple’s cramped space limited the archers’ effectiveness, and as long as he focused on defending a single direction, his mastery of basic saber techniques sufficed to neutralize their threat.

The three who rushed in each possessed only about twenty points in combat skill, while Chen Hao, wielding Wang Wu’s goose-feather saber, boasted forty-two. With such a disparity, a well-placed strike from Chen Hao was an instant and decisive kill.

The goose-feather saber was a rare treasure; with his first swing, Chen Hao severed two iron rods wielded by his foes. In such close quarters, deprived of their makeshift shields, the three stood no chance. With swift, clean strokes, he dispatched them one by one. In his memories, he had never pursued the combat path, but now, to possess such formidable skill early in the game filled him with exhilaration.

Without needing further orders, three more of the Stone of Three Lives’ men stepped forward, though their combat abilities were even lower than their predecessors. They fell even faster. After two waves of casualties, the Stone of Three Lives signaled for his men to stop advancing and said coldly, “We’re leaving.”

He gave Chen Hao a final look and remarked, “To have such overwhelming combat attributes at the very start of the game—impressive, brother. Until we meet again.”

Chen Hao replied evenly, “Don’t call me ‘brother.’ I find it unpleasant. And there’s no need for farewells: none of you will escape today.”

The Stone of Three Lives’ brow furrowed. “We have no enmity between us. I’ve already agreed to give up the task. One should always leave a line of retreat. What good does it do you to make a mortal enemy of me?”

Chen Hao’s tone was calm. “Give up the task? You don’t strike me as someone who surrenders easily. If I’m not mistaken, your plan is to lead your people out of the temple, then have someone stay behind to keep watch, while you gather reinforcements to cause trouble for Wang Wu and me—or perhaps go directly to the NPC who posted the task and tell them Wang Wu is hiding here, am I right?”

The Stone of Three Lives’ eyes flew wide open in disbelief. He stared at Chen Hao as though seeing a monster. This player was terrifying—he had anticipated his every thought, seen through every move.

This realization made the Stone of Three Lives deeply apprehensive. He had a vague premonition that this man would one day become his most formidable rival. He suddenly recalled his old high school confidant—a genius in his own right, always thinking ahead of others. But compared to the man before him, his friend had lacked confidence, unable to stand by his own good ideas and never amounting to much—nothing as fearsome as this confident, calculating opponent.

The Stone of Three Lives sneered. “You managed to kill so many of my men only because you took advantage of the terrain. If we leave and you pursue, without that advantage, who kills whom is still an open question!”

Chen Hao played with the blade in his hand, grinning. “Counting you, there are twenty-nine of you left. The temple doorway allows only two to exit at a time. When twenty of you have made it out, I’ll finish off the remaining nine. If you turn back to help, I’ll kill a few, then retreat to the statue—there’s nothing you can do to me.”

He grinned slyly. “If you abandon the nine, I’ll dispatch them, then trail after you, picking off one or two at a time. I believe before you make it back to Penglai County, I’ll have eliminated you all.”

The Stone of Three Lives burst out laughing. “A fine plan. But what if I neither leave nor attack, and instead dig in here and wear you down?”

Chen Hao smiled. “That would be ideal. The person originally tasked with bringing Wang Wu her food isn’t me—she doesn’t know the task was posted for me. If all goes as expected, she’ll be here soon. And I forgot to mention: the NPC who is coming is much better at fighting than I am. Once she’s here, I won’t even need to lift a finger…”

This time, the Stone of Three Lives’ expression truly changed. He said icily, “You’ve planned every step—haven’t you? If I truly abandon the task and stop watching you and Wang Wu, will you let us go?”

He had suffered defeat at every turn, and though it rankled, he had no choice but to compromise to avoid greater losses. The early stages of the game were crucial for player development. If he and his men were all wiped out, the leading group would pull far ahead in level—a setback he could not accept.

“No.”

Chen Hao shook his head. “I don’t trust your character. If I let you go, who’s to say you won’t leave spies behind? Besides, I’m rather poor, and I suspect you’re all carrying quite a bit of silver. You might as well hand it over—I could use the cash.”