Category: Doomsday Lord

Once her fears were put to rest, Wang Lu had an opportunity to observe the lobby in detail. In addition to the numerous attendants, dozens of system terminals that functioned like modern ATMs filled the room. A balcony ran across the entirety of the room, looking down on the lobby from the second floor. Wide windows lined the walls of the upper level, allowing you to view the luxurious offices within.

“Ms. Wang, that’s the office dedicated for use by the Financial Manager.” Cheng Yang pointed at a pair of double doors in the center of the second level.

Wang Lu hastily ran up the stairs and into her office. The interior was similar to a modern office with a large wooden desk and several cabinets. The only difference was the lack of electrical equipment and the addition of a system terminal.

Wang Lu sat down in her new plump office chair and reviewed the Bank’s setting and permissions using the system terminal. Aside from a few special settings, she had complete control of the Bank’s inner working.

“You’ve got sixty-thousand Experience Fragments in funding which you can loan to people. Base loans off of soldier paygrades and make sure any loan you give out can be paid back in a matter of days.” Cheng Yang said after Wang Lu familiarized herself with the environment. “I’ll leave it to you to detail the specifics regarding risk and collateral.”

Wang Lu nodded. “Do you have any specific instructions for interest?”

“One percent compounded daily with a minimum payment of one Experience Fragment.”

“Isn’t that a little too high?”

“If this were the old world it would be, but how would we collect a debt from a dead person?” Cheng Yang asked. “The risk involved with loans is much higher than it used to be, and the interest may rise to as much as five percent daily in the future to compensate for that.”

“Ah! What should I do if someone defaults?” Wang Lu asked.

“They can’t.” Cheng Yang said with a sinister grin. “Once the time to pay arrives, the gods’ rules will automatically deduct the cost from them. If they can’t pay their possessions, get taken as collateral, or they are given debt and cannot earn Experience Fragments until its paid. The only exception is if the individual dies.”

Wang Lu was relieved. She hadn’t been sure what kind of authority a bank could wield in this new world, so she wasn’t confident in collecting loans on time.

“Make sure to set up the deposit function as well.” Cheng Yang continued. “Set the interest rate at point one percent compounded daily for now. We don’t want people to invest in a future they might now have.”

Wang Lu nodded. She was familiar with the financial health of the territory and knew most people barely had enough to train and buy potions. Cheng Yang, of course, was an outlier.

“Ah, by the way, I’m going to deposit two hundred thousand Experience Fragments soon. It’ll increase the amount you can lend, but you’ll need to give me two hundred Experience Fragments a day as interest.” Cheng Yang said.

Wang Lu nodded professionally but was shocked by the display of wealth.

Cheng Yang left the office, went downstairs, and deposited his money. Then, he left the Bank.

After depositing the money he had extorted from Yuan Jianzhe, Cheng Yang still had a hundred and ten thousand Experience Fragments in addition to personal loans in excess of twenty thousand Experience Fragments. He kept those to use them while training.

Over the next four days, Phoenix Village developed step by step. Although the number of soldiers hadn’t increased, the quality had.

Around a hundred individuals had leveled up and become Standard-Grade Apprentices. This included all of the founding members of the village. These people were also the various military officials in the army.

The rest of the soldiers had yet to level up. Not because they weren’t working hard but simply because they didn’t have the resources to sustain rapid growth or the time to level up normally.

The situation was starting to improve, however. Using a combination of resource pooling and army provisions, groups of six were managing to scrape together the saving necessary to unlock faster training speeds. Hundreds of people would also take advantage of same-day loans from the bank to train faster as well.

There wasn’t a single soldier in the village that viewed the single Experience Fragment fee for same-day loans excessive. As such, business was booming for the Bank.

The total capital available to the bank had also quadrupled since it was founded. The primary source was the other three hundred thousand Experience Fragments from Yuan Jianzhe, and the rest came out of the daily earning of the territory.

Although it seemed like formally creating a military force was an economic miracle for the village, that was only because most of the costs were long term — the two most expensive of which being bereavement money and equipment.

Low-Grade soldiers weren’t entitled to military-issue equipment, so there weren’t many costs to cover there. However, once they all leveled up, the cost of supplying thousands of people with a full set of Green-Bronze equipment would be staggering.

Cheng Yang also set a high bereavement money rate since he greatly valued the people who gave their lives for Phoenix Village. Luckily, only ten soldiers have died since the beginning of the apocalypse, so the rate didn’t matter.

Various other expenses were sure to crop up and become a bottomless pit. As such, it was essential to amass a certain level of slush funds.

Improvements to the military weren’t the only change over the last four days. The territory accumulated seven thousand units of wood and five thousand units of stone. The class change statues in Phoenix Village’s satellite villages had nearly reached the High-Grade and would soon make progress on achieving the Pinnacle-Grade like in Phoenix Village.

Last Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

“Yoko, check out my system pane! Aren’t I awesome!” Yu Kai proudly declared.

“I could kill you in two hits.” Cheng Yang stated.

“Hey, who asked you to compare us?” Yu Kai was annoyed by his friend’s abrasive words. “Aside from you, I’m the best in the world.”

“What about Liu Wei?” Cheng Yang asked. “Once she levels up, she could kill you with a single word.”

“Well, if I’m not second, then I can settle for third.” Yu Kai said with a laugh.

“You’ll have to compete with Liu Hau for that position.” Cheng Yang sighed. “I’m just trying to make you understand that your not invincible just cause you have a few new skills.”

Yu Kai seemed to be contemplating Cheng Yang’s words. Contemplation and fear were written all over his face.

“Do you really think Liu Hau’s going to surpass me?”

Cheng Yang sighed in response. “Maybe. The Sky God Island Nightmare Difficulty might have a unique subclass as the first clear reward. If that happens and Liu Hau gets a unique subclass, it will be hard to say since he’s faster than you.”

“That rat fucker!” Yu Kai swore.

Although he seemed upset, Yu Kai was secretly happy for his friend. He put on a strong front, but he knew his life was only this easy thanks to Cheng Yang’s protection. Anything that helped the people he cared about survive was a good thing.

Cheng Yang left Yu Kai to play around with his new skills. He had lectured his friend on the dangers of arrogance, but truth be told, it would be hard to find anything capable of killing Yu Kai. Ghost Hunters were world-renowned for having one of the best escape abilities.

He walked over to the Territory Altar and checked the Experience Fragment balance. It was 340,000.

That number shocked Cheng Yang. What loophole had he found?

A few moments later, Cheng Yang discovered the source of the village’s wealth: he had forgotten to set up the military payroll since he was in a hurry to deal with Yuan Jianzhe.

Speaking of the military, Cheng Yang figured he should review the rules surrounding its structure.

Although the military had a few hundred soldiers currently enrolled, each army could only have a maximum of ten people right now. This was because a Private First Class couldn’t form anything bigger than a Low-Grade Army. Cheng Yang chose to model the previous squad system off the same numbers in preparation for this moment.

The main benefit of the Army system was a telepathic link would be created between members of the same army. Right now, each battalion was composed of several armies, but in the future, generals will be able to command hundreds of people fluidly.

As for the salaries, Cheng Yang’s general set the rate at the higher of either the soldier’s military rank or level times fourteen plus twenty. Thus, a Private First Class would receive thirty-four Experience Fragments per day.

Their salary was half of what they could earn before, but their position came with the benefit of subsidized skills, potions, and equipment. Most importantly, they were given paid time off to train and relax. Right now, it wasn’t very often since the military was busy, but everyone could expect a day off once every two weeks.

The generals had also decided on what salaries to provide to officers and other high-ranking military officials. Squadron leaders were paid twice as much, captains three times as much, and generals eight times with deputy positions given twenty percent less.

This meant Yu Kai, Liu Hau, and the other generals had a base salary of two-hundred and seventy-two Experience Fragments. Yu Kai and Liu Hau, in specific, would get four hundred and ninety-six since they were High-Grade Apprentices.

Although it seemed like a lot, nearly the entire paycheck would go towards training consumption. However, now that they had access to the Nirvana Feather, even that wouldn’t be enough.

It could be said that Phoenix Village was too generous with paying its officials. However, this was the deliberate result of Cheng Yang’s original military structure.

He made sure to place everyone with high-rank Innate Abilities in officer positions even at the expense of less talented but potentially better commanders. This was because the commander role wasn’t crucial in the early stages of the apocalypse and because he needed to ensure that the individuals with the most potential received the most care. The system created earlier today was a way to make that unfair process “fair” and official.

Once Cheng Yang paid his soldiers, over a third of the territory’s funds disappeared. Unfortunately, there were still more expenses to deal with; each battalion needed operating expenses covered.

Cheng Yang gave each squad three hundred Experience Fragments for buying potions, which would be paid weekly. Thankfully, the gods’ rules allowed Cheng Yang to set up a recurring transfer directly to an Army instead of a weekly one to the officers.

Cheng Yang grimaced when he saw less than eighty-thousand Experience Fragments remaining. It was heart-wrenching to see his money fly away even if he knew it was necessary.

However, he still wasn’t done. There was one thing left to do: build the Bank and transfer initial capital.

Cheng Yang wanted to build the Bank days ago but didn’t have the surplus Experience Fragments necessary. Now, however, the territory had sixty-thousand Experience Fragments it didn’t need.

A few minutes later, a palatial stone building appeared inside the Inner Village in a flash of light. The Bank was located in between the shops and the Meditation Halls and was detailed with gold, granite, and other precious materials. Its name, “Phoenix Village Money Farm,” was emblazoned on a large polished stone gate using glimmering red gems.

As the territory’s Financial Manager, Wang Lu sense the Bank’s existence as soon as it was created. It wasn’t long before she and Cheng Yang were standing together in the Bank’s lobby.

“My Lord, now that you’ve set up the bank for me, should I start working?” Wang Lu asked in a timid voice, fearing that if she spoke too loudly, she might discover that this was all a dream. Having a safe office job that allowed her to escape the constant fighting of the apocalypse was her ideal life.

“Of course.” Cheng Yang replied with a nod. “I’ve even transferred some Experience Fragments to the Bank so you can start issuing loans tomorrow.”

“My Lord, would it be possible to assign some helpers?” Wang Lu asked with a worried face. “There are several hundred people in the village who might take out loans, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle the workload on my own.”

“You already have all the help you could ever need.” Cheng Yang laughed as he gestured towards the numerous well-dressed attendants in the lobby. “Just let the assistants take care of all the work. You only need to review the Bank’s transaction history and handle any unusual situations.”

“It’s that simple?”

“Did you think it was going to be complicated?”

Last Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

“Damn! That guy was tough!” Liu Hau swore as he tore the arrow out of his chest, “You really can’t underestimate Hard Difficulty instances.”

“Have you been training with Xue Yu like I asked you too?” Cheng Yang scolded Liu Hau. “His skills are even better than mine, so it would do you some good.”

“I haven’t gotten around to it yet.” Liu Hau replied with a cheeky smile. “Now hurry up and open the loot chest. I’m looking forward to what’s inside!”

“It’s going to be something for Rangers, so there’s no need to get excited.”

“Maybe not for this instance dungeon, but the sooner you finish up here, the sooner you can clear the one near Yu Kai’s village. Mine gives us items for him, and his gives us items for me.”

Ignoring his friends babbling, Cheng Yang went over the flagpole in the center of the roof and pulled a small, beating heart out of the nearby chest.

---

Hskad’s Heart
Giving this heart to a Ranger class change statue grants access to the unique subclass Ghost Hunter

---

Cheng Yang was extraordinarily happy with this reward. Ghost Hunter was a fantastic subclass that was even better than Cheng Yang’s for certain activities. Once Cheng Yang allowed Yu Kai to obtain this subclass, he would become a core pillar of strength for Phoenix Village.

After Liu Hau heard what the first clear reward did, he cursed the heavens. “Yu Kai better get me something just as good from his dungeon!”

“Don’t worry. You’ll get a nice subclass eventually.” Cheng Yang teased his friend as they left the instance.

“Koko, try to level up your village today. I’ll transfer you the funds you’ll need later tonight.” Cheng Yang said once they were back in Joyous River Village. “That should help you earn municipal funds on your own.”

Right now, there were only a few square miles of where the territory would earn money from monster kills. This amounted to around a thousand and two hundred Experience Fragments per day. Once the village leveled up, that area would more than double, and so would the territory’s income.

Cheng Yang soon left for Silkworm Mountain but decided to stop by Cloud City safe zone on the way.

Due to the agreement he made with Yuan Jianzhe, he couldn’t take Liu Wei with him. As for why he was going, naturally, it was to collect the debt owed of him.

As soon as Cheng Yang passed through the curtain of light, a terrified soldier recognized him. Shortly afterward, Yuan Jianzhe came out to meet Cheng Yang.

Yuan Jianzhe personally handed over the two hundred thousand Experience Fragments in the first installment with a smile on his face. This was, of course, a facade. If he could, he would have torn Cheng Yang limb from limb.

Cheng Yang smirked when he saw that. He was very aware of Yuan Jianzhe’s character and knew he was counting down the days until he could get his revenge.

After getting his money, Cheng Yang left the safe zone. Although he had bargained for the right to recruit civilians, he was busy today.

It was late, but Cheng Yang still had to clear the Hard Difficulty of Sky God Island before returning to Phoenix Village. While he was there, he would pick up Yu Kai so he could become a Ghost Hunter.

The Hard Difficulty wasn’t very different from the Easy except that the boss took a little longer to kill. It only took Cheng Yang ten minutes to blaze through the instance.

As expected, the first clear reward at the end was a valuable item for Warriors. However, it seemed that Liu Hau would have to wait a while longer to get a unique subclass.

---

Warden’s Wall
This is a skill modeled after the thick hides and hardy constitution of a species that lost their intelligence long ago but were famed as outstanding warriors. It was mass produced for use by prison guards and sealed in crystals.

Grade: Purple Silver
Class: Warrior
Requirements: Standard-Grade Apprentice
Learning Cost: 200 Experience Fragments
Effect: Increases the size of your shield by four times
Effect: Doubles shield Damage Reduction
Penalty: Movement Speed becomes 0
Penalty: Cannot use weapons

---

It was another inheritance gem. This one, however, increased the ability of an army to stop charging monsters.

“Damn, Liu Hau is too lucky!” Yu Kai complained. “He already got a bonus skill, and now he has this as well.”

“Are you kidding? This skill is totally unsuited for Liu Hau. His strongest point is his speed, so this skill is nearly useless to him.” Cheng Yang said with a chuckle. “Besides, you’re even luckier than him, check this out.”

Cheng Yang took out the Haskad’s Heart and handed it to Yu Kai.

“This is awesome!” Yu Kai cheered after he read the system pane.

“We also got a Ranger skill, so come back with me to Phoenix Village.” Cheng Yang said. “Let’s have you become a Ghost Hunter.”

They quickly returned to Phoenix Village, and when they arrived went directly towards the Ranger statue.

Cheng Yang first allowed it to absorb the inheritance gem before forcing Hskad’s Heart into it. With a bright flash, it melded with the statue, and the outline of a brightly glowing heart could be seen even from outside the statue.

Once Cheng Yang was done, Yu Kai powered himself up.

---

Yu Kai
Phoenix Empire Official
Silkworm Mountain Governor
Class: Ranger
Subclass: Ghost Hunter
Profession: Woodworker
Level: High-Grade Apprentice (13.2%)

Age	19	Life Span	200
HP	207.4	MP	207.4
Physical Attack	66.4	Magic Attack	6.9
Physical Defense	10	Magic Defense	5
Attack Speed	8.6	Movement Speed	13

Innate Abilities

• Receive 40% more stats in the Physical Attack attribute when you level up
• Attack Range increased by 30%
• Movement speed is increased by 200%

Skills

• Meditation (High-Grade): Meditate to absorb experience fragments and level up
• Longshot (High-Grade): Increase Attack Range by 40% | Passive Skill
• Quantum Phantom(Low-Grade): Split into two possibilities, once one is attacked, it shatters and when only one is left you fully become that possibility. Every copy can attack with a 50% damage reduction penalty | Cost: 20 Mana | Cooldown: 9 minutes | Duration: 10 seconds | Proficiency: 0.0%
• Spectral Arrow (High-Grade): Imbue your arrow with magic causing it to flicker in and out of existence and deal an additional 120% of your Magic Attack attribute | Damage: 74.7 | Ignore Armor Chance: 10% | Cost: 4 Mana | Cast Time: 0.6 sec | Proficiency: 53% | Ignore Armor Chance: 10%
• Demonic Watcher (Low-Grade): Contract an invisible creature from the abyss that can share its senses with you to spy on living creatures near you | Cost: 50 Mana | Range: 2 kilometers | Proficiency: 6.4%
• Burning Soul (Low-Grade): Using your soul as fuel increase your damage | Damage Increase: 15% | Cost: 2 Mana/Second | Cooldown: 90 seconds | Proficiency: 0.0%

Equipment

• Golem’s Heart (Black Iron): This bow is carved from a single piece of living stone that has long since died | Increase Physical Attack by 4 | Durability: 65/80
• Void Python Bag (Black-Iron): This quiver was made using a baby void python and can hold 200 arrows| Spawns one arrow every 45 seconds | Durability: 78/80
• Gloves of the Boxer (Green-Bronze): Originally a mundane set of hand wraps, they were transformed by the fighting spirit of their owner | Increase Attack Speed by 1 | Durability: 53/60
• Loyal Spirit (Green-Bronze): A product of black magic, this ring has a human’s mana node set into it | Increase Mana by 20 | Durability: 47/60
• Noble’s Shield (Green-Bronze): This badly damaged ring was commissioned by a noble with many mages as enemies | Increase Magic Defense by 1 | Durability: 60/60
• Zephyr Stone (Black-Iron): This necklace contains a friendly wind spirit that can guide arrows to their mark | Increase Attack Range by 5% | Durability: 49/80
• Forlorn Prisoner’s Boots (Green-Bronze): A prisoner fashioned these boots in order to escape but died trying | Increase Movement Speed by 1 and Physical Defense by 1 | Durability: 52/60
• Studded Stygian Leather (Black-Iron): This armor is made from the tough hide of a dangerous bird | Increase Physical Defense by 5 | Durability: 56/80

---

No doubt about it, Yu Kai was a real powerhouse after becoming a Ghost Hunter. His damage had increased, and his skills combined themselves more fluidly. The signature skill of the Ghost Hunter, Quantum Phantom, was especially powerful. It allowed him to confuse and disorient his enemies, and every time he leveled it up, he could produce an additional clone. Maybe in the future, Yu Kai could be a literal one-person army.

Yu Kai’s Demonic Watcher was an upgraded version of the Ranger’s Spirit Eagle skill. It didn’t improve his abilities directly, but it had enormous strategic significance. In an era without GPS, remote detection and pathfinding were only possible using these skills. Its range was short right but doubled every time the ability leveled up.

Last Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

On their way back from the battle with Yuan Jianzhe’s forces, Liu Wei even colder than usual.

“Are you feeling alright?” Cheng Yang asked with a level of sincere concern that starkly contrasted with his previous arrogant attitude.

Liu Wei shook her head and said in a fragile voice: “I know they would have hurt me if I didn’t, but I killed several people.”

Cheng Yang sighed and patted her head. “I know it hurts, but that’s the way the world is now, you’ll get used to it.”

“I already am used to it!” Liu Wei choked back tears when she said that. “I already am! I killed them all, and I felt nothing, and I hate myself for that! It was so easy. They were so fragile. Like puppets with cut strings, not people with lives.”

“It’s okay. I’m proud of you.” Cheng Yang said softly, “You only did what you had to.”

Liu Wei sniffled. “At first they threatened me but after I killed a few the rest begged for their lives. They begged for their lives as I killed them. And I felt nothing.” Liu Wei looked up at Cheng Yang with fear in her teary eyes. “Am I a monster?”

Cheng Yang pulled her into a tight embrace and let her cry on his shoulder. “In this world, we’re all monsters.”

Once Liu Wei finished crying, Cheng Yang felt like his heart had cleared. Although he wasn’t afraid of killing others, it was the first time he had slaughtered so many people at once. Helping Liu Wei work through her fears helped him calm down as well.

Even though his arrogant attitude was just a front, he had successfully forced Yuan Jianzhe into a disadvantageous position. However, Cheng Yang knew this would only delay Yuan Jianzhe interfering with his plans. The next step was to develop Phoenix Village to the point that no one from Cloud City would be able to interfere.

Cheng Yang wasn’t confident he could pull it off, but if he couldn’t, he would have reincarnated in vain.

---

It was around noon by the time Cheng Yang’s original plan was back on track. He had arrived at Joyous River Village a few minutes ago and was now traveling towards the instance dungeon.

It was much further from the village than the Sky God Island instance, which was why it took so long to find. Despite that, it only took half an hour for Cheng Yang to arrive.

“My Lord, what are you doing here? Weren’t you going to go protect The Forgotten Grave?” Liu Hau was currently having lunch with some of his soldiers outside the entrance to the instance dungeon. While he spoke, Liu Hao took large bites from a wolf’s leg roasted to golden perfection.

Cheng Yang sat down next to his friend a stole a chunk of his meat. “I was, but the issue has already been resolved. I forced Yuan Jianzhe, the commander of the safe zone army, to sign a contract with me. They won’t bother us for at least a week or two.”

Cheng Yang gave Liu Hau a summary of the morning’s events while they ate.

“That’s such a shame!” Liu Hau sighed with regret. “Why didn’t you force them up a bit higher? If he said he could pay half a million, he could definitely afford a million! With that kind of money, we’d be able to develop a massive army of High-Grade soldiers!”

Cheng Yang chuckled. “You may think individual strength is important, but if we were too demanding and Yuan Jianzhe started a war, we’d suffer greatly. I’m more concerned with securing this period of peace. We have a lot of talented people, and they need time to grow. In time, our strength will rise, so there’s no need to rush. Once Yuan Jianzhe is ready to fight, we’ll be strong enough to entice his soldiers away from him as mercenaries.”

Liu Hau clicked his tongue. “Why does it seem like your having fun with this? Well, as long as it works, who cares.”

Liu Hau took another bite of his wolf leg. “By the way, are you here to get the Hard Difficulty first clear?”

“Naturally.” Cheng Yang said as he watched his friend finish off his first leg and start another. “I’m glad I ran into you before I went in. Tell me what the instance is like.”

Liu Hau laughed like a thief. “Why don’t you try and guess what it was like, my Lord.”

Cheng Yang cuffed his snickering friend over the head. “My guess is that a ghost was inside that turned you into an idiot! Why are you messing around like a child? Spit it out.”

“The instance dungeon is named The Abandoned Citadel. It has four floors guarded by weird short monsters, the system called Gnomes. There was a boss on the top floor, and after beating it, I picked up something nice.” Liu Hau explained everything to Cheng Yang, but the smug grin on his face never left.

Cheng Yang sighed in relief. He knew there was a good chance Liu Hau would get the first clear since most instance dungeons in the world hadn’t been discovered yet, but he was happy to confirm that.

Disappointed that Cheng Yang wasn’t going to ask him what he found, Liu Hau reluctantly pulled a gem out of his pocket and handed it to Cheng Yang. “It’s a Ranger skill, and it’s pretty good.”

---

Longshot
This was the skill that allowed for the rise of the Highland Gnome Empire under their leader Hskad. During the great war, the Gnomes nearly went extinct and the Demon Duke Bathin finished the job by cursing the remnants of their race to become deformed and lose their intelligence. Before Hskad was fully corrupted by the demon’s curse, she sealed their signature skill in crystal.

Grade: Purple Silver
Class: Ranger
Requirements: Low-Grade Apprentice
Learning Cost: 200 Experience Fragments
Passive Skill
Effect: Increase Attack Range by 10% with an additional 10% per skill level

---

Cheng Yang was satisfied with what he saw when he checked the inheritance gem’s system pane.

Longshot was an outstanding skill. For most Rangers, this would amount to an extra attack or two, but the synergy with Phoenix Village’s Rangers would be incredible. With their superior speed and range, they could kite opponents at the same level indefinitely.

“Good find.” Cheng Yang praised, “This will be useful in the future. Hopefully, we can get some more Ranger specific items from this instance dungeon.”

When they finished their lunch, Cheng Yang prepared to enter The Abandoned Citadel with Liu Hao and Liu Wei. It was at this point that Cheng Yang finally saw the entrance cleverly stuck between three trees that looked like one from a distance.

Cheng Yang reprimanded the gods in his heart. Why was it necessary for you to hide this so thoroughly? It was going to be found and conquered by me anyway, so why bother?

Once inside, Cheng Yang’s group found themselves in the courtyard of a western-style castle. They were next to the gate, and a four-story stone building filled with arrow slits was in front of them.

The instance would have proved quite tricky if not for Cheng Yang’s absurd power. The Gnomes wielded bows and used the topography of the citadel to force intruders to fight their way through a hailstorm of arrows.

Luckily, Cheng Yang could do just that without a problem, so it wasn’t hard to reach the roof of the building.

Once they arrived, Cheng Yang’s group found an unusually large Gnome. Most of the Gnomes were only around one meter tall, but this one was massive!

“My Lord, have you ever seen such a comically large creature.” Liu Hau laughed. “It’s nearly two meters tall, is it even the same species?”

“Perhaps it was raised by giants?” Cheng Yang replied.

“Do you think it’s as strong as a giant?” Liu Hau asked.

“I wouldn’t expect much.” Cheng Yang said, “It uses a bow like the rest of them.”

Gnomes were truly grotesque creatures. They had four bird-like feet and were covered in shaggy hair. Their bodies were almost cubic, with two beady eyes on each side. Their mouth was on the bottom side, and a hard carapace was on the top. In addition, this one held a bow in each of its two pairs of arms.

While they were talking, the Gnome skittered away from them and drew its twin longbows. With the crack of the bowstrings, the battle had begun.

Cheng Yang went all out from the very beginning and froze the monster using Hibernation Chill. At the same time, Liu Hau protected Liu Wei from the monster’s attacks.

The two-second stun was more than long enough for Cheng Yang to reduce the Gnome’s health by more than a hundred and fifty points.

Once the Gnome defrosted, it jumped backward and combined its two bows into one cross-shaped one. Then, it drew a javelin sized arrow and fired it at Liu Hau.

Even though he was a High-Grade Warrior, Liu Hau’s strength paled in comparison to that of the attack he had to receive. Since the start of the apocalypse, he had never stopped training, and now deflecting an attack like this wasn’t a problem.

Before it hit, he lowered his center of gravity and tilted the shield. This allowed him to disperse the force and deflect the arrow into a nearby parapet.

At the same time, Cheng Yang reduced the monster’s health to a critical range.

The Gnome knew it would die when Cheng Yang attacked again, so it put all of its strength into one final struggle.

It drew another javelin, and this time activated a skill as well. When Gnome fired the arrow, it turned into four arrows!

This time, there was nothing Liu Hau could do. He deflected the first arrow. The second threw him off balance. The third knocked away his shield, and the final arrows penetrated his chest and nearly tossed him off the roof.

At the same time, Liu Wei proved her worth but quickly casting Healing Light.

Then, Cheng Yang finished the fight with an Icicle Blast.

Last Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

“Since you’re not willing to complete my other request, let’s make this a straightforward ransom.” Cheng Yang crooned. “You said there were tens of thousands of soldiers in your territory, and I’m going to assume that means around fifty thousand. If we take fifty Experience Fragments from each that comes out to two point five million Experience Fragments. Since you’re being difficult, I’ll round it up to three million. That should be reasonable.”

“That’s far too much!” Yuan Zhao blurted out in barely disguised anger.

Cheng Yang’s smile dropped. “Should I kill all of the prisoners then? You’ve already rejected my first offer, and I don’t give people more than three chances.”

“It’s just that your estimates are off by a bit.” Yuan Jianzhe calmed himself down. “There are far less than fifty thousand soldiers in the city, and most have less than ten Experience Fragments.”

Cheng Yang sneered at Yuan Jianzhe with contempt written all over his face. “How unfortunate, you can’t even pay that tiny amount. How about two million paid in installments? There aren’t fifty thousand soldiers, but you must have at least thirty thousand, right? We’ll do three hundred thousand points a day for seven days and consider the extra hundred thousand as interest.”

Yuan Jianzhe grimaced and carefully explained: “Two million is still a bit high. I’m the commander of the army, but I won’t be able to force the soldiers to hand over everything they have. That’s why half a million is the highest I can go, and the installments need to be much smaller.”

Cheng Yang knew from his past life that Yuan Jianzhe was telling the truth. Although he was the grand commander in name, unless the militia commanders supported his decisions, he didn’t have any power over most of the safe zone’s forces.

“Half a million? That’s embarrassingly small commander, and you call yourself a man. IF that’s all you can muster, I suppose I’ll have to accept it.” Cheng Yang did his best to humiliate Yuan Jianzhe during the negotiations. As for the money? Cheng Yang didn’t care in the first place since that wasn’t his real goal. “However, since you can’t pay, you’ll have to give me something else.”

Yuan Jianzhe wanted to be relieved that he talked Cheng Yang down but couldn’t help but fear what ridiculous demand Cheng Yang would make next.

“I have two new conditions. The first is that I’ll be free to walk around the safe zone and recruit civilians.” Cheng Yang said confidently.

Yuan Jianzhe initially hesitated. Although he couldn’t see what the catch was, he knew there had to be one. But, no matter how hard he looked, it seemed like a standard amnesty clause. The only thing he learned from the demand was that Cheng Yang had a way to perform class change ceremonies without the states in the safe zone.

In the end, Yuan Jianzhe agreed.

“My second demand is that we split Cloud City down the middle. My forces will take the Eastside, and yours will occupy the Westside. You can decide on the three other spaces. Either one of us owns the safe zone, and the other owns the North and South bridges, or we share all three locations. Of course, I’ll still be allowed into the safe zone either way, but I won’t use any of the facilities if you own it.”

This time, Yuan Jianzhe’s internal conflict was even stronger. As far as he knew, the only difference between the East and West was the instance dungeon, but since he had already ceded that, why would Cheng Yang impose a rule like that?

After some time, Yuan Jianzhe accepted that condition as well and chose to have sole control over the safe zone. His main reasoning was that he couldn’t bear to share the resources in the city with another force. The other was to gauge Cheng Yang’s reaction. Since he brought up the bridges, there must have been something he needed to protect on the other side. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been happy with such a lopsided agreement.

“Then it’s decided.” Cheng Yang said with a genuine smile on his face. “From now on, we own our respective areas, and any trespassers we catch will be given the death penalty.”

Yuan Jianzhe nodded after hearing that and added: “Since I’ve agreed to your terms, can you promise to not attack my forced until tomorrow so I can spread these new rules?”

“I can grant you that.” Cheng Yang said quietly, “But keep in mind the consequences of breaking our promise.”

“Of course. Although there are no laws in this world, you can believe in my character. I will not break this promise.” Yuan Jianzhe lied.

“As for me, if I were going to break the promise, I would just kill you now. Isn’t that neat.” Cheng Yang taunted, “Of course, if you want, we can write a contract and sign it.”

Yuan Jianzhe agreed to the proposal, and the two quickly wrote their verbal agreement down on two sheets of paper. Both sides then signed their names and kept one each.

“Alright, now that we’ve settled the matter, I’ll release these prisoners to you and leave.” Cheng Yang said once they were done. “Take those corpses with you. Even if we’re enemies, they deserve a proper burial.”

“Shouldn’t you wait for the people I sent after your companion to return?” Yuan Jianzhe asked while his subordinates helped their captured comrades.

“I don’t think they’ll be coming back, commander.” Cheng Yang said with a smile. “If Liu Wei weren’t able to protect herself, I wouldn’t have wasted time chatting with you.”

As if on cue, Liu Wei appeared from behind some rubble and walked over. However, the twenty people that had chased after her were nowhere to be seen.

“I see, so it was a trap.” Yuan Jianzhe said with a heavy heart.

“A trap?”Cheng Yang asked with a smile wide enough to fit a pie. “Hardly. It’s not my fault you mistook a wolf for a rabbit.”

Yuan Jianzhe fell into deep contemplation once he realized Cheng Yang’s companions were strong in their own right.

Seeing that Yuan Jianzhe wasn’t going to respond, Cheng Yang said: “All right, get out of here. By the way, I’ll visit the safe zone tomorrow to collect my first payment.”

Yuan Jianzhe nodded silently and led his soldiers away. After giving Cheng Yang a deep and pensive look, he came to terms with his first major loss in this lifetime.

He had set out from the safe zone in high spirits but was returning in utter defeat. Not only had he lost the city’s instance dungeon, but he had also lost over a hundred soldiers in the process. Although it wasn’t that many compared to the total number of soldiers under his control, the blow his prestige and authority took was going to be hard to recover from. Additionally, the twenty soldiers Liu Wei had killed were the closest to leveling up, and all had several pieces of equipment.

The worst part was that a single man had caused this whole ordeal.

Once Cheng Yang was sufficiently out of sight, Lao Wu walked up to Yuan Jianzhe’s side and whispered: “Commander, are we going to cede the Eastside of Cloud City to that bastard?”

“Lao Wu, do you think this piece of paper has any value in this world?” Yuan Jianzhe’s voice was filled with bitterness.

“I suppose it doesn’t,” Lao Wu answered.

“That’s right!” Yuan Jianzhe said before decisively shredding the contract. “Cheng Yang taught me a fundamental lesson today: The only thing that matters in this world in strength. Without it, you’ll just struggle in vain. However, think about Cheng Yang’s actions. If he had the strength to, he would have crushed us already. That means there’s still a chance to reverse the situation.”

Lao Wu frowned. “But commander, with his strength, Cheng Yang could still stop any resistance we mount.”

“Why do you think Cheng Yang wanted to control the North and South bridges? Why did he give up on the facilities in the safe zone?” Yuan Jianzhe asked. “It’s simple. There’s something he needs to protect on the other side, and its the source of his strength. If we crush that we can defeat him.”

“What’s your plan, commander?”

“The first order of business will be to redirect our efforts. Cheng Yang demonstrated that having a small group of elites is better than a large group. We’ll focus all of our resources on the soldiers with the highest grade Innate Abilities.”

“What about the money we promised Cheng Yang?”

“We’ll pay him.” Yuan Jianzhe gnashed his teeth. “And in the future, take it back a hundred-fold!”

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Yuan Jianzhe was in a terrible mood.

Initially, he’d assumed that Cheng Yang was at most a High-Grade mage, but that was not the case. He had underestimated his opponent, and now his soldiers were paying the ultimate price. Yuan Jianzhe cursed himself for not being more on guard when he discovered Cheng Yang was alone.

If Cheng Yang’s killing ability were the only thing outside Yuan Jianzhe’s calculations, he would have been prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to destroy Cheng Yang. However, his defense was even stronger than his attack! It was as if he was immune to damage entirely.

As such, Yuan Jianzhe was in a dilemma. Should he call off the attack or not? If he did, would Cheng Yang let them go or hunt them down? His best option was to take Liu Wei as a hostage, but she was already a few hundred meters away.

“Commander, that girl with Cheng Yang looked like she was a civilian. She didn’t have any weapons even though she was covered in equipment.” Lao Wu, who was standing next to Yuan Jianzhe, said. “If you’ll let me, I’ll send out an elite team to capture her. She may have some items to boost her speed, but so do we.”

“Damn it.” Yuan Jianzhe swore. “Do it.”

Mere seconds later, a group of twenty soldiers split from the rest of the group and chased after Liu Wei.

Cheng Yang chuckled when he saw that. After holding a brief moment of silence in his heart for Yuan Jianzhe’s elite soldiers, Cheng Yang focused on the battle.

Although he was winning, the battle was currently in an odd equilibrium. The ranged attackers in the back were regularly cycling through who was in range, creating a constant barrage of projectiles. Additionally, the army had discovered that if they drank a potion right when Cheng Yang attacked, it was possible to survive his Petal Blizzard. Of course, that didn’t work for the ranged attackers, and most soldiers only had one or two potions. So, in the end, it only slowed Cheng Yang down.

As for the soldiers Cheng Yang had captured earlier. They had pressed themselves flat against the ground and started praying. Now and then, an arrow or Magic Missile would fly off course and hit one of them. It was a terrifyingly stressful situation.

---

As the casualties continued to increase, Yuan Jianzhe’s heart wept. Maybe he shouldn’t have attacked Cheng Yang?

How was he going to defeat this human that was more monstrous than any monster?

He’d already seen that a human wave tactic was useless, and he still didn’t know where Cheng Yang’s limit was? He knew a little bit about the leveling system of the gods from the forum, but he had no real way of knowing how much Mana Cheng Yang had. Even if he did, since his soldiers had potions, so would Cheng Yang.

There was also the possibility that Cheng Yang had an item that made his jaw drop: a Spacial Ring. Yuan Jianzhe wasn’t entirely sure if Cheng Yang had one, but Cheng Yang was wearing three rings right now, and Yuan Jianzhe doubted the extra one was decorative.

If he did, then, unless Yuan Jianzhe was willing to sacrifice everyone he brought with him, there was no chance of defeating Cheng Yang.

Should he just throw in the towel? If he did, either Cheng Yang would hunt them down until they reached the safe zone, or he’d have to agree to some very unreasonable conditions. Yuan Jianzhe was unwilling to let either of those things happen.

Even worse than that, his authority and prestige in the safe zone would plummet. Although Yuan Jianzhe wasn’t particularly concerned with his image, there were plenty of rabid dogs that would try and take his place if he gave them an opening.

However, if he didn’t order a retreat soon, his soldiers might desert him. He could already tell that the endless sacrifices with nothing to show for it was wearing his soldiers down.

Even worse was Cheng Yang’s attitude. With his strength, he could have easily walked over and killed Yuan Jianzhe. Instead, he stood in place as if he were waiting for them to surrender.

Yuan Jianzhe’s guess was actually spot on. Cheng Yang considered him more useful alive than dead. If Yuan Jianzhe were to die, he would be able to finish this battle quickly, but the safe zone would descend into chaos as different factions tried to fill the power vacuum. Cheng Yang much preferred Cloud City to hold a single docile tiger instead of a pack of rabid wolves.

One of those wolves was Lu Chenguang, the commander of the second militia. She was a businesswoman, and right now, she was like a shark that smelled blood.

Since her subordinates had discovered the instance dungeon, Lu Chenguang was allowed to join Yuan Jianzhe in clearing it. But, when she arrived, she saw that an enemy had captured those same subordinates. This put her in a tricky situation since the loss of a hundred soldiers would allow the other militia commanders to surpass her.

Now, however, the heavens were smiling down on her and turning her disasters into fortunes. It wasn’t hard to see the dilemma Yuan Jianzhe was in, and only she, Lu Chenguang, could help him resolve it.

“Commander Yuan, do you think you could listen to my humble request. If this battle drags on much longer, all of my captured subordinates will be killed by their allies. Since we cannot easily defeat Cheng Yang right now, I beg you to call for a cease-fire and negotiate for the release of my comrades!” Lu Chenguang pleaded. If Yuan Jianzhe accepted her request, she would be able to secure her militia members’ safety, and it would seem like her opinion was highly valued by the current leader of the safe zone.

It was a shrewd play, and even though Yuan Jianzhe saw right through it, there was no way he could refuse! At least this way, it wouldn’t seem like he was a coward but rather someone who listened to his advisors.

“Cease fire! All soldiers stand down.” Now that he was given an out, Yuan Jianzhe didn’t hesitate to take it.

To the soldiers fighting Cheng Yang, Yuan Jianzhe’s words were the sweetest music. They immediately retreated, and when they did, Cheng Yang didn’t pursue them. He just looked calmly into Yuan Jianzhe’s eyes.

“Cheng Yang, you’ve won this fight. I concede this instance dungeon to you on one condition: you must release the prisoners you captured. Otherwise, I will bring back the tens of thousands of soldiers in the safe zone and utterly annihilate you.” Yuan Jianzhe reluctantly called out.

In response, Cheng Yang just laughed. “The result won’t change whether it’s two thousand or twenty-thousand soldiers. I’ll win, and if I don’t, I can always retreat. In that case, I’ll harass your soldiers from afar and whittle your numbers down until they’re manageable. I wonder, after a few days of that, would your tens of thousands of soldiers even dare to leave the comfort of the safe zone?”

Yuan Jianzhe cursed Cheng Yang in his heart. There was nothing he could do about that bastard until his soldiers leveled up.

“What are your conditions?” Yuan Jianzhe asked through gritted teeth.

“Its very simple, you might become a threat in the future, so immediately kill yourself and disband your army. Then, I’ll release the prisoners.

“That’s not something I can do!” Yuan Jianzhe was barely able to maintain a straight face. If he did that, what would happen to all the civilians in the safe zone? He wasn’t the most charitable person, but he had read some horror stories on the forums and didn’t trust his militia commanders to act appropriately in his absence.

“It seems your not a sincere man Commander Yuan. First, you try to take away my instance dungeon, and then you try and kill me, do you really think you have the right to bargain with me?”

Then Cheng Yang pointed his stave at one of the prisoners and executed him with an Icicle Blast.

“You…” Yuan Jianzhe knew this was the worst day of his life. If Cheng Yang was deadset on the dissolution of the army, there was nothing he could do to stop him from killing all of the prisoners. If that happened, his authority would fall even further than it already had.

Cheng Yang, of course, had no intention to make Yuan Jianzhe accept his unreasonable demand. This was just a way to force the commander to his limits. That way, Cheng Yang could take everything he wanted from him.

“Are we clear now, Commander Yuan?” Cheng Yang asked.

“I simply can not accept that demand. If the army is disbanded, the hundred of thousands of civilians relying on me will be reduced to monster food.” Yuan Jianzhe said carefully. “Please, if possible, name any other condition for their release.”

Cheng Yang grinned. This was precisely what he was waiting for!

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“Commander Yuan, we meet again.” Cheng Yang taunted.

“And you are?” Yuan Jianzhe recognized Cheng Yang but was unwilling to accept that he had lost the initiative.

“Commander Yuan, who knew such a great man had such a bad memory. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already forgotten me.” Cheng Yang wore a mocking smile.

“I should have realized what you represented when I first saw you.” Yuan Jianzhe gave up trying to pretend he didn’t know Cheng Yang, “Who knew you would become such a thorn in my side. So, tell me, are you a human or an NPC?”

“Naturally, I’m a native of Earth, but feel free to think that’s a lie.”

“In that case, there’s something I can’t understand. Do you think you could help me?”

“Of course, commander.” Cheng Yang replied sweetly.

“What relationship do you have with the manager of the Alchemy Tower? Why was he so polite with you?”

“Money.” Cheng Yang replied. “He may not associate with poor bastards like you, but for someone with my wealth, he would lick my feet if I asked.”

“Is that why-“

“Enough bullshit, don’t you think it’s time we deal with the matter at hand?”

Despite Cheng Yang’s provocation, Yuan Jianzhe’s face remained inscrutable. Even so, Yuan Jianzhe couldn’t help but reevaluate Cheng Yang’s threat level when he saw the tied up soldiers.

“In that case, how should I refer to you?”

“My name is Cheng Yang. My subordinates refer to me as their Lord, but you may use my name.” Cheng Yang declared arrogantly.

“Then, Cheng Yang, did you attack my soldiers because you were attracted to that veil of light over there?”

“Why are you being so cryptic, commander?” Cheng Yang asked. “Everyone knows that’s an instance dungeon, so there’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Yuan Jianzhe inwardly sighed. It seems there wouldn’t be an easy way out of this predicament. “Since you already know, lets cut to the chase. My soldiers discovered the instance dungeon and left some people to stand guard while the rest alerted me. While they were gone, your people attacked my guards. Do you have any explanation for your actions?”

Cheng Yang smiled indifferently. He had seen Yuan Jianzhe send out scouts, and since he hadn’t attacked yet, that meant he was still on guard. In that case, Cheng Yang didn’t mind playing around for a while.

“Commander Yuan, are you implying that the instance dungeon belongs to the group that discovered it first?”

“Of course not. What I am saying is that this instance dungeon is unowned land, and thus as representatives of the state, it belongs to us.” Yuan Jianzhe replied. He wasn’t a fool and knew that regardless of the truth, Cheng Yang would insist that he found it first, but he needed to stall until his scouts discovered the position of Cheng Yang’s forces. ” However, I understand that some people no longer consider the power of the state. In such a case, it would belong to the person that found it first.”

“In that case, you should know all about the instance dungeon, right?” Cheng Yang snickered. “Tell me, what is the instance dungeon’s name? What monsters are found inside? How many are there? What appears in the loot tables?”

The barrage of questions gave Yuan Jianzhe an ominous premonition. Was it possible that Cheng Yang found the instance dungeon a long time ago? Was that how he had access to so many pieces of equipment?

“We haven’t explored it yet.” Yuan Jianzhe replied coldly, “But if you are serious about having found it first, why don’t you answer those questions yourself?”

“I could tell you since I’ve beaten it before, but talk is cheap. How would you know if what I was saying is true?” Cheng Yang asked. “I propose that you send a few people inside to check. While they’re in the instance dungeon, I’ll tell you what is inside and when they come out, they’ll confirm my story. How about it?”

Even though Cheng Yang hadn’t given away any vital information, Yuan Jianzhe was able to confirm that Cheng Yang found the instance dungeon a long time ago.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. An instance dungeon is a dangerous place, and I don’t feel like sacrificing weak soldiers. I’m also not a big enough fool to send in my elite forces with an enemy right in front of me.” Yuan Jianzhe said politely.

At the same time, Yuan Jianzhe’s scouts returned, and an aide whispered something into his ear. Seeing this, Cheng Yang knew that their pleasant chat had ended. It didn’t matter. He had planned to settle this with force from the start.

“Since it’s going to be like that Commander Yuan, I assume you’re going to decline any offer I make you. In that case, why don’t you suggest something?” Cheng Yang said with blatant hostility.

“Do you think I must make an offer still? You’re alone, Cheng Yang. Even if you’re strong, you cannot stand against an army of thousands.” Yuan Jianzhe made his way to the back of his subordinates.

“What of your army?” Cheng Yang said with a sneer. “Can two thousand eggs smash a boulder? Since you want to fight, don’t cry why I massacre your soldiers.”

“Don’t throw your life away, Cheng Yang.” Yuan Jianzhe said. “It’s impossible to resist us, and I could use a subordinate like you.”

“Even if you had a few thousand more soldiers, I wouldn’t feel challenged.” Cheng Yang said with a cheeky grin.

Yuan Jianzhe sighed and gave out his orders. “Place Cheng Yang and his companion into custody. If they resist, kill them.”

As soon as he spoke, hundreds of soldiers formed close ranks. Rangers and Mages were in the back with the Summoners in the middle and Warriors at the vanguard.

“My Lord, will you be okay?” Liu Wei asked. Although she had seen Cheng Yang defeat large groups before, the pressure given off by Yuan Jianzhe’s soldiers was enormous.

“Don’t worry. These people don’t pose a threat to me. Stay out of range while I deal with this.” Cheng Yang replied confidently before whispering. “Follow my plan, and we’ll subdue them in no time.”

Liu Wei’s words only bolstered Yuan Jianzhe’s convictions. He was determined to put an end to Cheng Yang’s antics today. As long as Cheng Yang was alive, he would be a thorn in Yuan Jianzhe’s side, so if he couldn’t control him, Cheng Yang had to die.

“Aim!” Once the army reached firing range, a loud voice rang out. Then, the sound of taunt bowstrings mixed with the chants of magic and the growls of summoned wolves.

“Fire!” A shower of attacks rained down on Cheng Yang like an endless torrent. At the same time, hundreds of wolves charged towards him.

Cheng Yang smirked. Was this how Yuan Jianzhe planned to capture him alive? What a joke. Since the army wasn’t going to pull any punches, why should he?

Just like before, Cheng Yang ignored everything and cast Petal Blizzard. This time, the close ranks made his attack even more effective. The razor-sharp petals around the Warrior’s shield as if they were mere decoration before shredding nearly a dozen people.

At this point, Liu Wei knew it was time to complete her portion of Cheng Yang’s plan. She quickly cast Healing Light and ran away. There was no helping it. If she stayed, she’d either die or become Cheng Yang’s Achilles heel.

Even so, she felt horrible, leaving Cheng Yang by himself. Even if this was his plan, it was because she was too weak to be useful in any other way. She silently vowed to get stronger as soon as possible so she would never be a liability again.

Cheng Yang, on the other hand, was having a wonderful time. There were hundreds of opponents, but how many could attack him at any given time? Only a handful of wolves could reach him, and most of the ranged attack missed. Even when he was hit, his absurd Physical Defense meant only one in every few dozen hits dealt any damage.

All that Yuan Jianzhe’s army had accomplished was making its Summoner’s useless by killing their wolves with friendly fire.

At the same time, Cheng Yang was using Petal Blizzard to harvest lives at a terrifying rate.

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“Liu Wei… Ms. Liu. What are you doing here?” Zhao Xun asked while tripping over his tongue.

“It would seem you’ve learned how to address someone respectfully since we last met, Captain Zhou.” Liu Wei coldly replied.

On the surface, Zhao Xun didn’t react, but internally, he was furious. “How dare she talk to me like that just because she’s latched onto some man! That horse-faced bitch!”

“Ms. Liu, there’s no need to exaggerate like that. I may have been slightly disrespectful, but that was just the stress of rescuing you and the other civilians from the jaws of monsters.” Zhao Xun replied, careful not to aggravate Cheng Yang and die pointlessly.

Liu Wei snorted and was about to reply when Cheng Yang cut her off. “Don’t bother arguing with someone like him. Hey, you’re the Zhao Xun she was talking about, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct, sir. You should know-” Zhao Xun shivered in anger but forced it down. When had he, a senior executive of the Lu Gaofeng company, had to grovel in front of an arrogant punk? Even if the company was dead, everyone should still treat him with basic respect! Maintaining a calm facial expression, Zhao Xun soothed his anger. Otherwise, he was confident Cheng Yang would kill him. “What is it you want, sir?”

Cheng Yang pulled a bundle of rope he picked up early out of his ring and threw it to Zhao Xun’s feet. “Tie yourself up. Right now.”

Zhao Xun’s friendly face cracked. “Sir… This, why are you going so far?”

Cheng Yang’s eyes shone with cold anger. “Why can’t I do what I want? I’m warning you; if you wait too long, I’m going to do it, and if I do, I can’t guarantee your safety. You can rest assured that I won’t kill you. After all, I need you alive for what I want to do.”

By now, whispers about Cheng Yang’s identity had reached the rest of the army. At first, the soldiers were curious why their captain would act so cowardly, but when they learned about Cheng Yang’s power, it seemed reasonable. Once they knew, they considered Zho Xun’s behavior as the model of flexibility.

At the same time, a cold sweat covered Zhao Xun. If he didn’t obey Cheng Yang, he would die, and a worse fate would follow if he did obey. Even if Yuan Jianzhe rescued him, he would lose his position as captain. And that was assuming Yuan Jianzhe cared enough to feud with Cheng Yang just for him!

“Last chance. I won’t ask again.” Cheng Yang broke the awkward silence.

Forced to the brink, Zhao Xun threw caution to the wind. “Sir, we’ve never had any problems between us, have we? So why are you pushing me this far?”

Cheng Yang smirked. “Does it hurt to have other leverage their power over you? How ironic. As for a reason, seeing your face pisses me off.”

“Your strong, but what does that matter! There are over a hundred soldiers here, so think about your position carefully.” Zhao Xun snapped. “You might survive, but what about that bitch next to you?”

Cheng Yang’s mouth stretched into a hollow and sinister smile. “Can I interpret that as a threat?”

“Maybe it was, but you could also see it as advice from your betters.” Zhao Xun screamed.

“In that case, I won’t hold back.” Cheng Yang shot forwards like a loosed arrow. The few dozen meters between the few parties seemed more like a few steps to Cheng Yang, who reached Zhao Xun in an instant. Then, Cheng Yang kicked Zhao Xun’s knee, shattering it.

Even though he was a Mage, Cheng Yang’s simple kick hit with more force than a sniper rifle. Against monsters, this didn’t mean much, but against humans like those in Cloud City, Cheng Yang was a god of war.

As soon as Zhao Xun crumpled to the floor, Cheng Yang crushed his windpipe and lifted him into the air with a single hand. Although Zhao Xun couldn’t suffocate to death, that didn’t stop him from experiencing it.

As he choked on his own blood, Zhao Xun came to the terrifying realization that Cheng Yang was a Pinnacle-Grade Apprentice. Each attack dealt three damage so, by subtracting his Physical Defense and accounting for the penalty for unarmed attacks, Zhao Xun was able to calculate that Cheng Yang had eight Physical Attack. And that was as a Mage! Zhao Xun didn’t even dare to estimate how much damage Cheng Yang would do if he used his skills.

Zhao Xun’s subordinates weren’t a part of the army for show. Even though Cheng Yang showed absolute strength, dozens of attacks had already been prepared. Then, the army peppered Cheng Yang with light and arrows.

Cheng Yang just stood there, watching them with cold eyes. At the same time, Cheng Yang pointed his stave at the Warriors charging towards him.

Then, a bloody bouquet bloomed as Cheng Yang’s Petal Blizzard skill tore eight of them to ribbons.

Previously, even though the army knew Cheng Yang was strong, they thought numbers could overwhelm him. Now, all they fear was fear.

“Surrender.” Cheng Yang stared down the rest of the army as he spoke. “Lie down with your face on the ground. If you try to run, I’ll kill you.”

Although they were hesitant, one by one, the soldiers put down their weapons and laid on the ground.

Cheng Yang pulled even more rope out of his ring and threw it at one of the Warriors. “You know what to do. Don’t blame me for punishing you if you’re not fast enough. My patience is wearing thin, and I don’t need all of you alive.”

A few minutes later, all of the soldiers were tied to each other with their hands bound. As for Zhao Xun, Cheng Yang hung him from a piece of rebar with a noose. Despite the pain he was in, Zhao Xun couldn’t even scream.

“My Lord, why did you spare them?” Liu Wei asked.

“They’ll be more useful alive when Yuan Jianzhe comes to bargain with me.” Cheng Yang replied with a slight smile. He was happy that Liu Wei was adapting her mindset towards one that suited the current world.

“Are you going to threaten Yuan Jianzhe with their lives?”

“Their lives?” Cheng Yang laughed, “Yuan Jianzhe won’t care that much about them. They’re just a way to get my foot in the door.”

Liu Wei nodded in understanding.

Less than half an hour later, Yuan Jianzhe arrived with an army of two thousand. Of course, this army was composed of civilian militia members as well as former soldiers.

When he first heard that the instance dungeon had been found, Yuan Jianzhe was ecstatic. However, he wasn’t a fool. If he had found it, the other force hiding in Cloud City most certainly had as well. As such, before leaving, he assembled as many of the Professionals in Cloud City as he could.

Once Yuan Jianzhe saw his soldiers tied up, he knew he had made the right choice. Since there were only two people present, he sent a few people to search the ruins for the enemy’s reinforcement and then walked over to meet Cheng Yang.

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Of course, other than the officially published ways to gain contribution points, they could be earned by performing an exceptional service for the territory.

For example, when Yu Kai helped Cheng Yang annihilate the Spined Eagle and retrieve the Nirvana Feather. Since it was outside of his official duties, both he and the soldier that initially spotted the Nirvana Feather were awarded contribution points.

For exceptions such as that, a special panel was assembled to decide the exact number of contribution points awarded.

There were two points to consider when assigning individuals to the panel. The first was a potential conflict of interest, and the second was the possibility that the member would be swamped with work and unable to leave the territory.

As a solution, Cheng Yang only assigned members of the Imperial Guard and civilians to the panel. Civilians with everything to lose made a good choice since their very life was tied to the village. As for the Imperial Guard, although they were absolutely loyal, they weren’t machines. They were just as smart and dedicated as any human and were perfectly suited to a task like this.

The panel was named The Glory Institute and had eleven initial members. Five civilians and five members of the Imperial Guard with an additional Imperial Gaurd member named Aleix Lukianov as the head.

The next order of business was a discussion about the future development of Phoenix Village and its affiliated territories. Since Cheng Yang was the only one that knew what the future held, it devolved into him lecturing the rest of the group.

After dismissing the rest of the group, Cheng Yang pulled Liu Hau into a side room to ask him a few questions. As Cheng Yang had hoped, his friend had found the instance dungeon near Joyous River Village.

According to Liu Hau, it was well hidden. Three trees had grown in a ring around it, which blocked it from view.

This time, Cheng Yang intended to let someone else complete the first clear. After all, since Liu Hau was a High-Grade Warrior, if he couldn’t clear it with the help of his Standard-Grade subordinates, there was no point in him surviving the instance.

As for the first clear of the Hard Difficulty, Cheng Yang was going to do it tomorrow. After that, he would also get the first clear for the Sky God Island Hard Difficulty.

After Liu Hau left to complete his orders, Cheng Yang and Liu Wei left the village. It was already past nine in the evening, so he needed to quickly hunt some monsters and collect the necessary materials for practicing alchemy.

There were quite a few alchemists in Phoenix Village, but very few of them had the tools necessary to brew potions. As such, it wouldn’t be difficult for Cheng Yang to hire a few of them to gather the herbs he needed. But, that would cause his skills to develop disproportionally. If he later found a high-level material, he might be able to brew a potion to cure regret but wouldn’t be ready to harvest the ingredients for one.

Besides, it wasn’t a time-consuming task. This was because Cheng Yang only needed to harvest a hundred herbs to have the growth of his Harvesting skill equal to that of his other ones.

After sweeping through the surrounding areas, Liu Wei and Cheng Yang returned to Phoenix Village. Now that Cheng Yang needed to spend six hours each day training, he spent nearly the whole night in the village.

Just that one night of practice cost Cheng Yang nearly three thousand Experience Fragments. IT was a price no one else in the world could afford to pay. Even people like Yuan Jianzhe that monopolized a safe zone would be shocked to hear how much Cheng Yang spent.

Once he was finished training, Cheng Yang brewed as many potions as he was able. Then, he sold them to the manager of the Alchemy Tower. When he received over a thousand Experience Fragments, Cheng Yang couldn’t help but thank the gods for giving him such a profitable trade deal.

One by one, Cheng Yang completed his daily tasks. Next, he cleared the Blood-Soaked Cathedral. Then he paid to start new research for each class change statue. Finally, he began to address specific plans, such as clearing the instance dungeon near Joyous River Village.

Unfortunately, Cheng Yang’s day would not go as planned. As soon as he exited the village, a woman blocked his path.

“Fan Wukong? Why are you here?” Cheng Yang’s mood fell as he saw the woman he sent to watch The Forgotten Grave. Although he knew there was only one reason she would be here, he was hoping it wasn’t the case.

“The army found The Forgotten Grave half an hour ago. There are around two hundred individuals, and all of them appear to be Professionals. I left before they discovered the portal’s location, but they were close enough that it was only a matter of time.” Fan Wukong succinctly reported.

“You made the right choice. By the time I get there, they will probably have found it. Alright, reunite your battalion. They’re officially registering at the barracks today. You shouldn’t miss it.”

“What about The Forgotten Grave?”

“Don’t worry, thrashing the army is within my limits. Still, inform the generals that after they’re finished, they should join me.”

“As you command, my Lord.” Fan Wukong bowed before leaving.

“My Lord,” Liu Wei asked, “Are we changing our plans?”

Cheng Yang nodded. “We need to deal with Yuan Jianzhe before doing anything else.”

Once he said that the two set off for Cloud City’s Southern bridge.

By the time the duo arrived at the entrance to The Forgotten Grave, there was a large crowd. No doubt, it was Yuan Jianzhe’s army.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” A voice cried out as Cheng Yang boldly approached the instance dungeon.

Cheng Yang chuckled. “Someone like you doesn’t qualify to know who I am much less stop me from going somewhere.”

The man blocking Cheng Yang’s path had leather armor on, but the standard-issue uniform pants he was wearing identified him as part of the army. Although Yuan Jianzhe was frantically buying equipment for his subordinates, it would be months before everyone had a set. Right now, only half of the army had even a single piece of equipment.

“Liu Wei? What are you doing with that guy?” Before the pissed off soldier could counter Cheng Yang, a voice called out from the crowd.

“Do you know that guy?” Cheng Yang whispered to Liu Wei.

“I do.” Liu Wei said with a complicated expression. She owed the man her life but hated him at the same time. “He’s Zhao Xun, a captain in the second militia. He saved me from the ruins but afterward tried to make me his sex slave. If you hadn’t taken me from the safe zone, I probably would have been forced into that position.”

Zhao Xun anxiously watched Liu Wei explain their history. Since Liu Wei was here, he knew that the man beside her was a monster wearing a human’s skin.

When he first discovered that Liu Wei had escaped his clutches, he had vowed to find the man that took her and make him pay. After learning who that man was, Zhao Xun had prayed that he would never see Liu Wei again.

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Of the several upgrade conditions for Phoenix Village, the hardest to complete was the army requirement.

Finding three Low-Grade Scholars was going to be difficult. Even Cheng Yang still wasn’t at that level, not to mention anyone else.

Unfortunately, Cheng Yang couldn’t use the members of the Imperial Guard. Otherwise, the requirement would be a piece of cake.

On the bright side, the other two conditions were much easier to complete. Of the buildings, only the High-Grade wall remained, and that was just a matter of time. As for upgrading the stores, Cheng Yang had enough supplies to finish that today.

Of course, there was one small problem with the High-Grade wall.

Technically, he could build it whenever he wanted to since it just had to be bigger than the second ring. However, since he could make it as expansive as he was able, Cheng Yang was hesitant to build it hastily.

The most massive third ring built in his previous life had a radius of around six thousand meters. The Phoenix Village of his past life had a third ring with a radius of about three thousand eight hundred meters.

In other words, if Cheng Yang wanted to build a wall to match the one Phoenix Village had in his previous life, he would need to pay for nearly 24,000 meters of fencing.

At a rate of four units of wood per meter, it would take nearly 100,000 units to build. Even if the number of loggers in Phoenix Village doubled, it would take almost a month to harvest that much wood.

Not to mention, it would cost nine thousand Experience Fragments a day to buy the wood from the loggers. That wasn’t an expense the territory could bear at the moment.

Cheng Yang wanted to make full use of the High-Grade fence, so he only planned to build it once all the other requirements were met.

Thankfully, the last condition was the easiest. Putting together a hundred thousand Experience Fragments would only take a few weeks if they solely relied on the surplus from the territory’s daily expenditure. If Cheng Yang counted donations from both himself and his soldiers, he could reach that amount in a matter of hours.

During his contemplation, Cheng Yang used most of the village’s resources to upgrade all of the stores. Once he did, they looked much more spectacular. They were garnished with expensive materials and had grown significantly. Most importantly, their list of available wares had expanded.

Cheng Yang didn’t have time to examine the changes to the stores thoroughly since he had called for a meeting among his top military leaders. This included not just the generals but all of their commanders and captains as well.

As such, thirty people were waiting for Cheng Yang in the pavilion of his Mediation Hall.

“Thank you for taking the time out of your day for this meeting.” Cheng Yang said as he entered the pavilion, “I need to discuss a matter of vital importance to the development of our territory. So, with that in mind, don’t hold back your thoughts. If you have an idea, bring it up.”

Cheng Yang paused to see if there were any questions. After a few moments of silence, resumed talking.

“The generals already know this, but leveling up the village made it possible to create a contribution system using the gods’ rules. However, it has been several days, and we’ve yet to institute one. Let’s settle this matter tonight.”

At this point, several people tried to interject only for Cheng Yang to motion for silence.

“The basis of the contribution system is simple. Any contribution to the territory is quantized and then recorded. Some of you might think that serving in the military on its own is enough to warrant contribution points, but that won’t be the case. In fact, our military isn’t operating correctly right now. In the future, eighty percent of the Experience Fragments soldiers own will go to the territory, and the rest will become funds for the military.”

“Since all of their Experience Fragments will be taken away, why would people still want to be in the military?” Liu Hau hadn’t heard of this policy before and was upset.

“That’s because the military does more than just fight monsters. As long as you’re a soldier, you’ll receive Experience Fragments as a payment even if you did nothing but sit around that day. The exact wages will be determined by rank, and I’ll let you decide the specifics. By tomorrow, I want all of you to convert your battalion to official military personnel using the Barracks.”

Although Liu Hau still had some doubts, he simply shook his head and stayed silent.

“As I was saying,” Cheng Yang continued, “serving in the military will not award someone with contribution points. Any exceptional feats among the soldiers during active duty will be rewarded internally. What we need to decide is what actions outside of military service will earn contribution points and what privileges people with high contributions scores will receive.”

Yu Kai immediately stood up and shouted with passion: “My Lord, I humbly request that you make use of the Nirvana Feather a special reward!”

Everyone else in the room gave Yu Kai a curious glance. After which, he excitedly explained the benefits one could receive from using the Nirvana Feather.

“Well, each general has two slots they can fill however they want, and I also have two. I suppose the remaining eight can go to the people with the highest contribution scores.”

Most of the people present were okay with that setup. Even if they weren’t selected by one of the generals, they could still compete for the remaining slots.

“My Lord, I disagree with this setup.” Zhao Chuan voiced unexpected disapproval. “As it is now, the people with the highest contribution scores will always have an advantage since using the Nirvana Feather will make it easier to gain more contribution points. The slots should be auctioned in exchange for contribution points every few days instead.”

Several people present murmured agreements. After a little more discussion, Cheng Yang settled on a slight modification of Zhao Chuan’s suggestion.

“My Lord, I think the right to learn new skills should be restricted as well.” Old Lee suggested. “We want to limit the number of adventurers in the territory so we should charge them exorbitantly if they try to learn new skills from the class change statues. Then, as an incentive, we will allow soldiers to learn new skills for free and even subsidize the Experience Fragment cost.”

Cheng Yang clapped his hands. “That’s a great suggestion, but we shouldn’t limit access to every skill. If we do, the territory will have a hard time attracting immigrants. However, we can still limit access to any special skills we have as well as the highest level ones unlocked.”

As the discussion progressed, several other opinions were evaluated. Over time, the exact list of privileges and rewards was drawn up. They ranged from combat benefits to domestic ones, including the ability to buy a plot of land or move an individual to the top of the list for new class change ceremonies.

After that, the group discussed how to earn contribution points. The easiest was donating Experience Fragments to the territory at a ten to one cumulative ratio.

Other ways to earn contribution points we donating materials or doing government work. Even civilians could earn contribution points but taking up administrative positions or by volunteering to do chores around the territory such as cleaning out human waste, drawing water, or cooking.

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