Absolute Death Game

Ever since Xiao Buli had set his mind on subduing the solo players, he had already devised a plan. As the president of Qingyang Studio, he had had countless members under him before and had some understanding of how to recruit people.

To subdue these solo players, relying solely on force was not enough. These players who had managed to get to their current level must have some skills, and they certainly wouldn't easily trust others. Otherwise, they would have been absorbed by the great guilds already.

Therefore, Xiao Buli had no intention of actively recruiting them from the start. On the contrary, he hoped they would take the initiative to join them.

In order to achieve this, it was necessary to demonstrate sufficient strength, benefits, and sincerity.

So now, he was contemplating using both kindness and authority.

Hearing Lin Feng's question, Xiao Buli smiled faintly, "The battle task is, of course, a battle task. Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"

Wang Xiong said, "No, we came because of the monster attack on the village." Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

Xiao Buli responded, "That's what I mean. In fact, it's all part of the same thing. Do you know why monsters attacked Black Stone Village?"

Wang Xiong replied, "How would I know? Does there need to be a reason for monsters to attack a village?" His words, however, were met with silence. These solo players, who had played for so long without achieving fame, had some understanding of the nature of the game. Unlike some mindless online games where events happen without reason, in this game, every event had a cause.

That monsters attacked villages was no exception. Wang Xiong's ignorance, whether feigned or genuine, was baffling to others.

Lin Feng suddenly realized something and said in surprise, "Could it be related to the battle task?"

Xiao Buli nodded, "Exactly, it's related to the battle task. I've only recently accepted this task, which is to help the Lord of Black Stone Village attack the Black Mountain Camp. It seems the Black Mountain Bandits have discovered our intentions and decided to strike first. So in fact, the monster attack on the village is just a part of the battle task."

Lin Feng expressed doubt, "Wait, you say the Lord of Black Stone Village asked you to attack Black Mountain Camp? How is that possible? Just with a few of you?"

Xiao Buli replied, "Of course not, there are also the militia."

"Why would the Lord of Black Stone Village let you command his troops?"

"It's not his troops, but my own," Xiao Buli said, then called out to Han Wenhuan. Han Wenhuan immediately scurried over.

"Boss, is there something you need?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to inquire about how the troop training is going."

"The preliminary training is essentially complete, though there is still potential for further enhancement. They haven't experienced real combat yet, so it's uncertain how well they can perform. Currently, we're just waiting for the monsters to attack the village."

Han Wenhuan's words caused a stir. It turned out that the man who could command NPCs was none other than Xiao Buli's subordinate. What great ability Xiao Buli must possess! The way others looked at him changed yet again.

Lin Feng, however, wasn't easily impressed by these militia, or at least he seemed that way. He continued to ask, "But surely a hundred and eighty men aren't enough."

Xiao Buli nodded, "Indeed, it's not quite sufficient. But there are also Black Stone Village's militia. Moreover, now that the Black Mountain Bandits have taken the initiative to attack, it can be seen as help from the system to avoid making the task so difficult that it can't be completed. Otherwise, with our military strength, it would be very difficult to take down the camp.

Now, we only need to focus on defending and counterattacking. As long as we can kill those bandit leaders in the defense battle, the assault on the camp will be much easier."

Lin Feng then asked, "What about the task you mentioned before that we could take on? What was that about?"

His question had caught the attention of the other solo players, who anxiously waited for Xiao Buli's response.

"Of course, I mean my battle task," Xiao Buli said. "Actually, I didn't intend to get you involved. The more people there are, the less the reward, which you should know. But since you're friends with He Suoju, and he asked me to help you out, I didn't have much choice.

Besides, although the task now seems almost certain to succeed, since you want to take it on and are friends of He Suoju, if you're willing, I can share this task with you. Let's complete it together. After all, it's a team task—whether done by one person or a group, it still needs to be done."

In truth, Lin Feng and He Suoju had only a casual acquaintance. That He Suoju would speak for them took Lin Feng by surprise. Now, hearing Xiao Buli's offer, he felt somewhat embarrassed about his previous suspicions.

Xiao Buli, however, spoke with feigned seriousness, "But you all need to think it through. This campaign quest is a whole package, meaning you must defend against the Black Mountain Bandits and then capture the Black Mountain Camp to complete the job. If you go straight for the village defense quest, you can get the quest reward once the battle is over, and these two are not the same."

The solo players glanced at each other; they did indeed want to take on the village defense quest, but they weren't allowed to. Although the campaign quest seemed a bit long, the reward should be better, right? Taking on this quest wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I'm willing to join you in the campaign quest, but who will be giving out the reward?" someone asked.

"It should be the headman of Black Stone Village," replied Xiao Buli. At any rate, he certainly didn't have anything to offer as a quest reward.

Suddenly, someone said, "The reward for the campaign quest isn't given, it's taken." Everyone looked over, and it was a hunter player carrying a bow and arrows, named Zhao Feiyu.

Xiao Buli asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Feiyu explained, "I've fought in a war for an NPC lord before and learned a thing or two. The main reward for a campaign quest is territory and control over lands, not equipment or the like. Since your task involves attacking Black Mountain Camp, once successful, Black Mountain Camp should become your territory. Although, I'm not sure how you're going to manage the territory."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Buli's heart leaped with joy, "Is that true?"

"Of course, it is."

Xiao Buli said, "In that case, there's a problem. I can't divvy up the territory among you all. How about this—if you help me complete this quest and seize this territory, you can then freely take up quests and run dungeons in this area to level up. Also, this stronghold could serve as a place for you to rest and recover."

The solo players' eyes shone brightly upon hearing this; such an arrangement was much better than receiving some random quest rewards.

However, He Suoju said, "Old Lin, why don't you join us? After we take over this territory, we plan to establish a guild, and if you join, you'd be considered one of the founders."

Lin Feng was indeed tempted. It wasn't that he was averse to joining a guild; in fact, he had been recruited by guilds before, but he didn't want to be cannon fodder. After all, as a solo player like him, going to a great guild would definitely not make him a core member, but only a peripheral one.

Though tempted, the always cautious Lin Feng was unwilling to make a hasty commitment, saying, "Let's wait and see. We can talk about it after the campaign quest is done."

When he said this, the others were also reluctant to commit too soon. Xiao Buli was not eager to urge them to join either. For these wary solo players, pushing them might have the opposite effect. To win them over, he needed to show the tangible benefits and demonstrate his ability to lead fairly and justly.

The involvement of this group gave Xiao Buli a much stronger confidence.

These players generally had high basic attributes because, lacking time for quests and dungeons, most could only rely on professional skills to enhance their strength; hence, they had high basic attributes, many even higher than Xiao Buli's, limited to ordinary basic attributes—special attributes like spiritual power were quite average for them.

Besides, not knowing spells would render any increase moot. The biggest downfall of these players was that their skills and equipment were generally poor, with the latter so bad it was beyond salvation. They were capable enough to handle a fight against an ordinary elite monster, but high-level elites would spell tragedy for them.

After discussing with Du Yibo and He Suoju, Xiao Buli felt it was necessary to offer something to win this group over. Finally, He Suoju suggested, "How about this: we donate some of the useless blue gear we don't need."

Xiao Buli nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. The few rummaged through their bags, pulling out several blue pieces of equipment. Xiao Buli contributed a 'Butcher's Bleeding Sword', his first blue piece of equipment, along with two blue leather armor pieces he had replaced recently. Du Yibo and He Suoju each also donated two pieces, totaling seven pieces of light blue gear.

These items no longer served much purpose for them, but for those solo players, they were still valuable.

The seven pieces of equipment were auctioned off to the solo players. However, the starting prices were set very low, and the solo players, in tacit agreement, refused to bid high, so it was basically a half-sale, half-giveaway.

Xiao Buli didn't care about the small amount of money; however, he wouldn't give the equipment away for free either. If he did, those who got the gear would surely be overjoyed, but then those who didn't would feel discontent. Now, although most didn't get any equipment, at least there was hope.

The seven pieces of equipment sold for a total of three Gold Coins, which the three of them casually divided.

After distributing the items, Xiao Buli began to arrange tactics for everyone.

"There are three bosses this time, one golden and two silver. My final objective for the campaign quest is to attack the stronghold. Since the Awesome Empire wants to monopolize the bosses, we can let them take on this attack. We need only deal with the minor monsters on the side. During the battle, make sure not to be at the front line—just shoot arrows from the ramparts, and that will suffice."

These words suited the solo players just fine, as they tended to take the same approach when faced with large-scale activities.

After settling these matters, Xiao Buli left. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly passes at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)