Absolute Death Game

As the clock neared eight o'clock, Xiao Buli looked on with a grave expression. This defensive battle was of utmost importance, as it would determine his future progress in the game. If he were to emerge victorious, it would be like a Canglong entering the sea, laying a solid foundation for him to carve out a new realm.

If he were to lose, all his recent efforts would be in vain, and he would have to take his team back to Mystic Hollow Palace and start all over again. Thus, the preparations this time had to be very thorough. With this in mind, he turned his gaze to Gu Shaobang, who was in charge of logistics.

"Chips?" —— "Ready."

"Cola?" —— "Ready."

"Fruits?" —— "We have apples, mangoes, lychees, and watermelons, all chilled, guaranteed to refresh."

"Late-night snacks? —— Instant noodles and fried chicken, tasty and convenient."

After finishing, Gu Shaobang added, "Considering this battle might last several hours, we should make arrangements to heed nature's call in advance. I've also prepared an empty bucket for emergencies."

Xiao Buli nodded in satisfaction. Gu Shaobang's preparations were indeed very detailed. Although they had taken national battles seriously in the past, it was not uncommon for players to leave the fight to go to the restroom or have a snack. However, the current game absolutely didn't allow for any slip-ups, so Gu Shaobang's groundwork was particularly thorough.

"OK, get ready for battle, everyone to your stations!" Xiao Buli commanded, and the players promptly took their seats at their computers, donning their headsets.

Xiao Buli logged into YY and saw that the fifteen solo players were all online without exception, with He Suoju and Du Yibo also present. The only one missing was Qin Dahai, stationed on the eastern wall, but there was no helping it, since he was the deputy captain of the Black Stone Village militia.

Together with Xiao Buli himself, there were in total twenty-two players and eighty NPC warriors, making the team appear quite impressive. Xiao Buli looked down at the bustling assembly of men and horses, as if he had returned to the days when he organized guild events.

"Let's start forming groups, type 1 to join!"

The screen immediately filled with 1s, and Xiao Buli began to admit them one by one, dividing them into four groups according to their classes.

The first group, led by Lin Feng, consisted of four players specializing in archery, responsible for long-range firepower and focusing on key targets.

The second group, led by He Suoju, consisted of four agile melee fighters, in charge of close combat and quickly eliminating Elite Monsters that made it onto the wall.

The third group, led by Wang Xiong, consisted of four players focusing on Taming Skills, assigned to face the enemy head-on. Since there weren't any proper tank classes, they had to make do with the pets these hunters brought, like boars and bears.

The fourth group, led by Du Yibo, with Gu Shaobang, Li Shuren, and others, acted as a general reserve force and logistical support.

Two people were left out of these groups: Han Wenhuan, who was responsible for commanding the NPC troops that would form the backbone of the wall's defense, and Xiao Buli himself, who would serve as the ultimate trump card, waiting for the right moment to strike.

With the groups settled, Xiao Buli asked Gu Shaobang to distribute the Elixirs among the players. In the past two days, Gu Shaobang had spent a full twenty Gold Coins on materials to produce a large batch of low-level Elixirs.

These were not of much use to someone at Xiao Buli's level – a Lifeblood Pill only healed 40 points of health slowly over 20 seconds, far less effective than a Resurrection Skill. However, for solo players who usually lacked supplies, these Elixirs were somewhat beneficial.

Xiao Buli didn't dare to set the price too high, selling them for quite cheap, but he didn't give them away for free either. He understood the principle that kindness not reciprocated led to enmity.

Nevertheless, he still overestimated the purchasing power of these solo players. Even though his prices were less than half the cost price, there were still some who said they couldn't afford it. Xiao Buli had no choice but to allow them to barter with materials instead.

Solo Players, in an effort to make money, would usually level up some gathering skills. However, since all the good gathering spots were monopolized by the Great Guilds, the materials they were able to offer in exchange were low-level. But it was still better than nothing.

A hunter player suddenly approached. "Elder Xiao, I've sold all my materials to the store, but I have this little trinket. Can it fetch me a few Elixirs?"

As he spoke, he displayed an item in front of Xiao Buli.

Wood Essence: An essence element born within plants, it is an advanced material used for crafting Magical Treasures and concocting Elixirs.

Xiao Buli was delighted upon seeing it. "Where did you get this from?"

"I stumbled upon it while gathering herbs. So, can I exchange it for something?"

"Yes, of course," said Xiao Buli, who as a seasoned player wouldn't lie about the item's value.

Such byproducts like Wood Essence were not typically sold casually by players who knew a bit about the game. Offering too little wouldn't work, but Xiao Buli didn't believe it was worth too much either, as this stuff was only used in crafting Magical Treasures, something most players had no use for. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"How about I trade it for one Gold Coin, what do you say?" Xiao Buli tentatively offered what he thought was a reasonable price. The player brightened immediately at the offer, as one Gold Coin was a significant sum for him.

"Deal!" Eager, the player clicked to accept the trade.

With such a successful example, more people came to deal similar items with Xiao Buli. Since crafting Magical Treasures really wasn't something ordinary players dabbled in, these kinds of items usually had no market value. Now that there was a chance to sell them, one by one, they came forward to trade with Xiao Buli.

In a short while, Xiao Buli had exchanged for three Wood Essences, two Metal Essences, one Li Fire Essence, and a medium-quality Corpse Pill, all of which could be used to craft Magical Treasures.

With Xiao Buli's Gold Coins, these people naturally had the money to buy Elixirs, and Gu Shaobang's Elixirs sold out in the blink of an eye, earning back some of the capital.

While Gu Shaobang was selling his Elixirs, Li Shuren had also pushed out the Stone-throwing Cart that he had spent the entire day crafting. Operating the Stone-throwing Cart was a bit like the ones used in the battlefields of World of Warcraft, but with worse accuracy, slower rate of fire, yet not lacking in power.

Most importantly, the Stones thrown by the cart dealt blunt hit damage, which ignores the type of Armor worn and can cause full damage to all units, making it most effective against those in heavy Armor.

By eight o'clock, the Black Mountain army had finally approached the vicinity of the stockade walls.

"Why do they only send out troops so late? Don't they understand the principle that speed is of the essence in military operations!? What on earth were you two thinking?"

Riding on his horse, Xu Lie could not help but complain.

"Boss, you can't blame me for this, the rules state that we can only attack after eight o'clock," Du Guang quickly protested while riding his horse next to Xu Lie.

"Rules? Who made these rules?"

"Heaven above! Don't tell me you don't even know this?"

Xu Lie's eyes bulged with anger, "What if we don't follow the rules? What if I want to attack at seven?"

Cui Yuncheng then coldly interjected, "Boss, are you out of your mind? How can we not follow the rules? It's like you wanting to fly, but how can you possibly soar through the skies? You're not a bird."

His own subordinates' words left Xu Lie speechless; indeed, humans can't fly, and of course, rules must be followed, but why did it feel off?

"I always feel that things aren't supposed to be this way, like if I wanted to attack at seven, I should be able to attack at seven."

Cui Yuncheng said, "You wanted to attack at seven, but didn't we still only get here at eight?"

Xu Lie shook his head, "That's not the point, we only got here now because you all didn't listen to me, if we had triggered it an hour earlier, we would definitely have made it by seven."

After exchanging looks, Cui Yuncheng and Du Guang said in bewilderment, "But the rules can't be triggered early."

"Argh, you two are driving me crazy, how can I make you understand!" Xu Lie yelled, and suddenly a voice rang in his ear, "Humph, you're really daydreaming, son. Rules are rules; as long as you live, you must abide by them, even if you die, your ghost still has to abide by them. Otherwise, how could they be called rules?"

That voice echoed in his mind again, stark clear, as if it were right beside him. Anger surged within Xu Lie, "What are you rambling about? Why do you always hide and not show yourself?"

Yet, the voice seemed to revel in his misfortune, "I've shown myself long ago; it's just that you refuse to see me."

Xu Lie was about to argue with the voice when he turned his head and suddenly realized that his two subordinates were looking at him with superstitious suspicion.

"What are you looking at me for?" Xu Lie roared, dissatisfied.

"Nothing, boss, we're almost there, just hang in there a bit longer, I'll go hurry them along right now," Du Guang said.

Cui Yuncheng hastily added, "Me too! Wait up for me."

The two ran off, only stopping once they were a fair distance away from Xu Lie. "It's happening again, the boss is having his episode. What the hell is going on?" Du Guang lamented.

Cui Yuncheng's eyes flickered for a moment before suddenly saying, "Actually, it's a curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes," Cui Yuncheng sighed, "don't you remember? Didn't the leader of our Black Dragon Legion have a similar problem before?"

Confoundment flashed through Du Guang's mind, feeling a blank in his memory regarding that matter.

He became suspicious, thinking that he should have been with the Legion before their defeat, so why couldn't he remember anything? The more he thought about it, the more his head ached, as if the past was shrouded in a fog.

A voice snapped him out of his reminiscence, "We're here! Prepare for battle!"

Turning around, Du Guang saw it was his boss, Xu Lie, reign his horse beside him. Xu Lie now looked completely lucid, with a commanding aura that was intimidating, his gaze fixed on the opposing stockade walls, as if contemplating something.

Shivering without cause, Du Guang hurriedly called out, "Yes, boss!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)