Chapter 14: The Price of Hubris

As it happened, that final beam of white light hadn’t missed the weapon by mistake at all! Instead, it had arced in a wide curve, deftly bypassing the weapon’s guard, only to smash directly into the warrior’s face!

A Level 7 warrior, renowned for their formidable attack power and robust health, was certainly not a foe to be vanquished by mere Holy Light Peas. Moreover, their weapon wielded immense force, making it nearly impossible to parry with the minuscule physical damage dealt by the Holy Light Pea.

What exactly was this ‘Holy Light Pea’ skill? There was no time to explain!

Three fiery orbs were already bearing down upon Su Yingning, yet her hand was poised, just moments away from grasping the verdant weapon. The instant she could teleport that item into her inventory, all her previous deaths would be rendered meaningless; this entire endeavor would become an undeniable triumph!

The enemy guild had, astonishingly, marshaled the collective strength of their entire membership simply to gather this set of green-tier equipment! It wasn’t merely a handful of items; each piece of this green gear was considered peak quality, boasting superlative base attributes and additional enchantments that elevated them far beyond typical green-grade items.

Yujian Lin, the fool, had actually paraded the entire guild’s amassed wealth within the newbie village, all for the singular, misguided goal of instantly slaying Su Yingning…

And if merely showing off wasn’t enough, he was doing so while sporting an outrageously high ‘killing intent’ (TL Note: A game mechanic indicating a player has killed many other players, often leading to penalties).

While a ‘big red name’ (TL Note: A player with a very high killing intent score, often marked with a red name) might not always drop all their unbound equipment upon death, a ‘big red name’ who falls to the very player they once killed is guaranteed to lose every single piece of unbound gear! Such was the game’s unique ‘grudge’ mechanic.

Naturally, Yujian Lin had never once conceived that he might be slain by a mere Level 1 Su Yingning. Even now, he was likely still frantically dialing customer service, convinced he had stumbled upon a game-breaking bug. Yet, the game company, in all likelihood, found themselves in an even more desperate plight than he.

As a groundbreaking title poised to unify all gaming console applications, this game, given its immense underlying social influence, had naturally been elevated to the status of a government-backed project.

Yet, the servers of this very government project had already been ‘played to death’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘qi jin qi chu,’ referring to repeatedly entering and exiting a situation or battle, often implying mastery or causing chaos) by my relentless ‘seven ins and seven outs’.

The game company’s internal frustration and indignation were palpable; ‘grass mud horse’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet meme, ‘cao ni ma,’ used as a euphemism for ‘f*ck your mother,’ expressing extreme frustration or anger) and resentment must have been rampant. How could they possibly spare a moment to concern themselves with a trivial figure like Yujian Lin and his set of green gear?

Therefore, the moment Su Yingning successfully acquired that high-attack, top-tier green one-handed sword, even if Yujian Lin were to slay her a hundred more times, it would amount to nothing more than a self-gratifying (TL Note: A euphemism for masturbatory) act of impotent rage! It could never obscure the undeniable truth: his entire guild had suffered a crippling blow to its resources and morale, all for the futile pursuit of a single individual, Su Yingning!

Not only had the majority of their veteran core members seen their leveling progress severely impeded by Su Yingning alone, but the most valuable equipment currently available, painstakingly gathered by the entire guild, had been lost! ‘Guild leader, I have a ‘mama mai pi’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘mā màipī,’ an expletive similar to ‘motherfucker’ or ‘f*** you’) to say…’

That equipment was never Yujian Lin’s personal property! He merely possessed temporary usage rights, nothing more! Yet now, almost all of it was gone, with only a single one-handed sword remaining—a sword that, in all likelihood, would soon vanish as well.

Driven by his own selfish desires, he had utterly disregarded the welfare of the entire guild! He had, with his own hands, surrendered the painstaking efforts of every single member to an outsider! How, then, could Yujian Lin possibly retain the dignity to cling to his position as guild leader?!

Should Su Yingning successfully claim that one-handed sword, Yujian Lin’s inevitable abdication, the bitter feuds among members, and the ultimate disintegration of the entire guild—all of it would be just around the corner!

As long as Su Yingning secured that one-handed sword—no, even if she failed to acquire it, it was already enough… Despite being relentlessly hunted for an entire day, Su Yingning had not only avoided any losses but had, in fact, profited immensely! She had struck gold!

Single-handedly, she had plundered the entire guild’s fortune!

Yet, all of this depended entirely on Su Yingning securing that green-grade one-handed sword. While I couldn’t ascertain the exact extent of its exceptional quality, the frenzied expressions on the faces of those around me offered a telling clue. I surmised that if this sword possessed sufficiently high attack power and superior bonus attributes, its worth might even surpass the combined value of all the other equipment!

Nevertheless, the imminent danger posed by three fireballs remained unaddressed. Should even a single one of them strike Su Yingning, she would inevitably forfeit her chance at the one-handed sword, a prize that would undoubtedly inflict profound anguish upon her adversaries.

Fireball, as a magic-based skill, was not something that could be intercepted by a minuscule pea. Though the pea’s destructive force was astonishing, it remained, fundamentally, a pea. The game’s physics engine simply wouldn’t permit a fingernail-sized projectile to halt a fireball the size of a football.

These three fireballs could only be endured head-on!

Su Yingning clenched her teeth, her right arm straining with every ounce of her strength. She harbored no complex thoughts, only the fierce conviction that seizing such a priceless item directly before her enemies would inflict lasting torment upon them, offering her a profound, albeit small, sense of vengeance fulfilled.

She remained oblivious to the fact that she had already evaded the lethal assaults of two waves of Level 5 assassins and a Level 7 warrior. There was simply no time to dwell on such details; a singular, burning thought consumed her mind…

‘Revenge!’

Revenge for this entire day, for being cornered at the resurrection point and mercilessly slaughtered hundreds of times!

Revenge for her adversaries forcing her to abandon the guild she had painstakingly forged over countless years!

Revenge for them coveting the cherished memento her brother had bestowed upon her, and for the profound, blood-soaked grudge of being trapped here, causing her family endless worry!

Moreover, her tormentors were nothing more than the lackeys of that detestable guild, [Sword Wielding World]!

Even a girl, it turned out, possessed a fiery spirit and understood the depths of true anger!

It was just a game, after all; was it truly worth such profound fury?

‘Absolutely!’

In this virtual realm, her companions had once stood by her, battling fiercely when surrounded by foes. They had shared laughter and tears, even quarreling over a coveted piece of rare gear, only to huddle together for comfort when danger loomed. To others, that guild might have seemed merely a child’s plaything, but in her eyes, it was her entire world!

They were her anchor, and she, in turn, was their unwavering pillar of strength!

Together, beneath the starry expanse of the game world, they had made solemn wishes, vowing to play until old age and to dedicate their all to this small, cherished guild!

She, too, had placed a hand over her heart, vowing to nurture this fledgling guild, to see it flourish into an eternal sanctuary for all its members!

Beyond her brother, they were her sole sanctuary in this world, the only haven where she could truly escape the harshness of reality!

Now, however, someone sought to snatch it all away!

Tears welled in Su Yingning’s eyes; throughout this grueling day, she had already been pushed to the precipice of despair.

It was precisely because she teetered on the brink of utter despair that she refused to relinquish even the slightest glimmer of what appeared to be hope! Regardless of whether that light was genuine or a cruel illusion, even if it were a trap laid by her enemies, another ploy to mock her, she would willingly leap into it!

For there were still those who waited for her! Her guild members awaited her leadership, eager to be guided toward glory! Her brother, a novice to the world of gaming, awaited her return, trusting her to introduce him to this wondrous new realm he had never before touched!

“Bang!”

A crimson fireball flared, momentarily illuminating the dark wilderness before smashing heavily into Su Yingning’s back. It exploded with a deafening roar, unleashing a torrent of scorching energy. Those nearby imagined they could smell the acrid scent of burning flesh, yet the searing pain from her back failed to impede her movements in the slightest.

[ -65 ]

Su Yingning’s full health was 80 points, and now she clung precariously to a mere 15 health points! Even a casual stab with a small knife would be enough to send her to her demise, let alone the two other fireballs, each dealing over 60 damage!

“Bang!”

[ -66 ]

“Bang!”

[ -66 ]

Two more crimson lights burst forth, their momentary brilliance illuminating the desolate night as brightly as day. The dull thuds of objects being struck resonated like two final hammer blows, settling everyone’s suspended hearts. This time, the true stench of scorched flesh pervaded the entire area.

Silence descended upon the field. For a moment, no one could regain their vision from the blinding flash of the exploding fireballs, remaining in a state of temporary blindness. Yet, the profound stillness and the unmistakable aroma of roasted meat already spelled out the outcome.

Someone slowly opened their eyes, their night vision returning, only for the sight that greeted them to freeze their entire body.

Not only did they freeze, but their hair stood on end, and their scalp tingled from the terrifying visual impact, causing their entire body to tremble, almost collapsing to the ground.

“This… this…”

“What is this?!”

Whoosh—

The night wind whispered softly, causing the snow-white fur to ripple like a tumultuous white wave, surging and falling, indistinguishable from moonlight or mere color.

As if the focal point of the world, drawing all the night’s light, nine massive, slender fox tails converged into an impenetrable, moon-white shroud, firmly protecting a young girl within. In the girl’s hand, she clutched a sharp one-handed sword that gleamed with an emerald luminescence.

I swallowed a mouthful of blood that surged into my throat, cursing the game’s excessively realistic damage effects.

Yet, several trickles of blood still escaped the corners of my mouth, dripping onto the girl’s fair, smooth forehead.

The girl gazed up at me blankly, her head slightly tilted, allowing my white hair to cascade over her face without a single blink of her eye.

I bared my teeth in a grin, revealing a mouthful of blood-stained white fangs, and retracted the throwing motion that, due to the speed of the teleportation, I hadn’t even had time to complete.

Yes, a throwing motion.

Su Yingning heard a soft whisper by her ear.

“Eastern Express, mission accomplished!”

In that instant, an intensely blinding white light, almost searing to the eyes, flashed from the mountainside.

“This is…”

As they drew closer, the crowd finally discerned the terrifying shower of white lights, as dense and chilling as a swarm of locusts.

“Pea… peas?! A pea rain?!”

****

Happy New Year~!!!

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