Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 25: If I See the Lord of Eagle Territory Again, I’ll Slide Tackle Him
The first beta test of “Cain Continent” had been open for five days. Apart from being brutally beaten by a mysterious BOSS on the first day, the Players were having a relatively smooth time.
They had completely occupied Dawn Town, transforming it into a Novice Village, and were exploring the surrounding areas with the town as their center.
During this period, with the help of magic, manpower, and a new policy, Dawn Town had undergone earth-shattering changes.
The most obvious change was the new red brick houses, each with its own unique style, complementing the original buildings of Dawn Town and forming a distinct landscape.
This was where the Players lived. They showed great enthusiasm for building their own houses, with many not even having time to grind for levels, all for the sake of building their homes.
Secondly, public toilets were erected on various streets. Following the strong demands of the Demi-humans, the Demi-human Saintess announced the first new rule for Dawn Town:
All townspeople, including humans, had to use the designated public toilets and could not discard feces indiscriminately, or they would face severe punishment.
Although the original townspeople were confused by this, Dawn Town had already become a town ruled by Demi-humans, so they obediently followed this seemingly unnecessary rule.
In less than three days, the streets of Dawn Town became clean and tidy, free from dirty yellow soil and feces.
The Players were not surprised by this. As they interacted more with the Demi-humans, they gradually understood their characteristics.
They were a race that, despite their low strength, loved life immensely.
Under limited conditions, they would do their best to make themselves and their living environment clean and comfortable, even to a point of being annoyingly picky in some aspects.
This was somewhat similar to Elves, but Demi-humans were gentle and friendly, far from being as arrogant as Elves.
They would meticulously trim their nails, style their hair, ears, and tails every day.
Even though they had no body odor, they would obsessively keep themselves absolutely clean, tidy, and fragrant.
Even male Demi-humans would use a plant similar to mugwort, extract its juice, and apply it to their bodies to repel insects.
This resulted in long queues every time the Players wanted to take a bath after the bathhouse was built in Dawn Town.
This was utterly ridiculous!
Now, the Demi-humans who had joined Dawn Town no longer had to hide. They walked openly on the streets, with smiles full of hope and vitality returning to their faces.
The Players who were getting along harmoniously with the Demi-humans had generally reached level ten, meeting the standard for promotion.
However, they had to complete a promotion mission to advance.
That is, to independently kill a Tier 1 Magical Beast.
This mission seemed simple, but it was impossible to complete by just mindlessly spamming skills.
Players had to have a sufficient grasp of their skills, not necessarily to replicate the skill description 100%, but at least to ensure their movements were standard and continuous.
Therefore, many Players were still stuck and unable to advance. But as time passed, the Players’ understanding of skills would improve, and their skill-triggering actions would become more proficient, allowing them to eventually kill Tier 1 Magical Beasts alone and meet the advancement conditions.
…
On the newly built city walls of Dawn Town, a group of Players sat on the ground, leaning against the walls and playing Gwent.
They were the Players assigned to the guard duty mission.
The guard duty mission required Players to patrol and stand guard on the city walls, after which they could go to the Saintess to claim their reward. It was a very leisurely AFK-type mission that caused a frenzy of competition every morning.
The Players, of course, would not honestly stand guard. This did not align with their chaotic neutral alignment.
Although there were vast pastures in the distance, majestic mountains, and clouds rolling in the sky at the horizon, looking at them for too long would lead to aesthetic fatigue.
Most of the Players on the city walls, bored, spent their time chatting and playing cards.
Sun Piercing Steel Plate was one of the lucky ones who managed to grab a guard duty mission.
Sun Piercing Steel Plate, who once boasted in the comments section that he would eat five pounds of shit if the game became popular, had now become a loyal fan of “Cain Continent.”
Indeed, all things in the world were subject to the “true fragrance” law. He now wished he could stay in the game 24 hours a day.
Even if he was called “Shit Eater Brother” every day.
On the city wall, a Player who was playing cards saw Sun Piercing Steel Plate approaching and jokingly teased, “Shit Eater Brother, here to guard the city again today?”
Sun Piercing Steel Plate did not reply. He took out the Gwent cards from his system backpack, threw them on the ground, and deliberately said loudly to the other Players, “Who wants to play a few rounds?”
That Player deliberately shouted again, “Did you go steal shit again this morning?”
Sun Piercing Steel Plate’s eyes widened at the remark. “How can you frame me like that…”
“Steal what? I went to the toilet this morning and saw you carrying two buckets of human waste with your own eyes.”
Sun Piercing Steel Plate’s face turned red, veins bulging on his forehead. He argued, “Carrying shit doesn’t count as stealing… stealing shit! Can doing missions be considered stealing?”
What followed were incomprehensible mutterings about how “watering the vegetable patch also gives experience” and “labor is glorious,” which made the surrounding Players burst into laughter. The air inside and outside the city walls was filled with joy.
…
“Are you guys playing cards on the city wall like this? Isn’t that shirking your duties?”
A gentle male voice suddenly sounded from behind the Players.
The Players were engrossed in their game and did not even lift their heads, chattering:
“We can’t do our duties. We can’t do our duties in this lifetime. We can’t advance to the next tier, and we can’t get any equipment. We can only hide on the city walls, play cards, and chat to barely make a living.”
“The brothers on the city walls are all talented.”
“They’re good-looking and good at playing cards.”
“They speak nicely and are good at chatting.”
“Oh wow, we love it here.”
“Besides, Dawn Town has no benefits. Who would attack it?”
“We’re not afraid even if they come. What are we? The Fourth Cataclysm!”
“After so many days, only that Lord of Eagle Territory came once. After that, it was just the rescued Demi-humans. Not even a merchant comes here.”
…
“What if the Lord of Eagle Territory comes again?” the male voice asked again.
At this moment, Sun Piercing Steel Plate was on the verge of winning his card game, having played a winning card. He was filled with confidence.
Coincidentally hearing the man’s question from behind him, he put his hands on his hips without thinking and declared loudly:
“If I see the Lord of Eagle Territory again, I’ll slide tackle him!”
Shaun heard this and gave a cold laugh. He thrust his greatsword into the ground with a clang and said unhurriedly,
“Is that so? Then show me your slide tackle.”
“You’re not the Lord of Eagle Territory, so I’ll slide… tackle嗷嗷——卧, 卧槽! The Lord of Eagle Territory is here again! Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ”
Sun Piercing Steel Plate turned around and was so scared he almost choked. His voice became distorted, changing from a mumble to a howl.
On the not-so-wide city wall, the Lord of Eagle Territory stood with his sword planted, followed by a neat and murderous army.
Even more terrifying was that ten huge, ferocious Minotaurs were peeking out from outside the city wall, staring intently at him…
“Fuck! The Lord of Eagle Territory is attacking the city!”
“My god, run! I just reached level ten, don’t make me level 0 again.”
“What a huge Minotaur… head!”
…
After the initial shock, the Players quickly scattered, scrambling down the city walls, and then opened the public chat menu to send messages.
“!!! The Lord of Eagle Territory is back!!!”
“He brought an army!”
“And Minotaurs.”
“I’m a pure love warrior, I want to eat beef!”
“Let’s run, Dawn Town is going to be lost…”
“Run what? Fight him! I want to eat beef!!”
…
Soon, all the Players knew the news. They gathered at the entrance of Dawn Town, ready to defend the resurrection point to the death.
No matter what, the Novice Village was their last dignity. They were Players, how could they abandon their Novice Village and flee?
Ye Hao was among this group of Players. He had been diligently training himself, assigning countless missions to the Players, and grinding for experience for himself during this period, all in preparation to seek revenge when he next encountered the Lord of Eagle Territory.
His level had reached 20! A full nine levels higher! According to Ye Hao’s precise calculations based on his nine years of compulsory education, when he activated “Breakthrough” again, his level would reach a terrifying 54.
He would directly enter the Sky Knight tier.
Today, the Lord of Eagle Territory would surely die!
“Damn you, Lord of Eagle Territory! I didn’t look for you, but you came looking for me?”
“Fine, today I’ll let you know that if you provoke Ye Hao, the grass on your grave will be several feet high!”
“Kill—!”
Ye Hao’s eyes were blood red, his face contorted, and his teeth clenched tightly, like a ferocious beast.
At this moment, he eagerly activated the “Breakthrough” skill, and his panel changed to…
[Name: Ye Hao]
[Identity: Mayor of Dawn Town, Son of Destiny]
[Strength: Great Knight Level 47 (Temporary)]
[…]
“Huh? I was promised level 54. Why did it only increase by two levels?”
⊙ω⊙?
Ye Hao was a little confused. He looked at the conspicuous special effects on his character, which looked like a large light bulb.
Then he looked at the Lord of Eagle Territory at the city gate, his face cold, with a large group of soldiers behind him.
Ye Hao swallowed almost imperceptibly, then quietly retreated to the back of the Players.
“This isn’t cowardice, this is strategic retreat.”
“A small concession can disrupt a great plan. Thirty years east of the river… thirty years west of the river… a period of hardship, and three thousand Yue soldiers could conquer Wu…”
“But, my Breakthrough skill uses…”
Unlike Ye Hao, whose defenses were shattered by the Lord of Eagle Territory at the first encounter, the Players were also a bit confused. They noticed that the Lord of Eagle Territory and his army did not have HP bars displayed; instead, they were shown in yellow, indicating a neutral state.
This meant that as long as they didn’t make a move, the Lord of Eagle Territory would not attack.
“What’s going on? Is the Lord of Eagle Territory not here to attack the city and retake the territory of Dawn Town?”
The Players looked at each other, baffled for a long time.
