"Looks like we can move forward with our plans."
Modr grinned widely. Coupled with his fearsome appearance, it was an especially horrifying sight.
A moment later, Ye Kong heard the sound of a notification—
System Notification: The Story Event - "The Hidden Traitor" has been completed. You have been awarded +5 Reputation with the Blind Sect, increasing your Reputation Level to "Good" (Blind Sect). You have also been awarded 50 points of Experience.
"This reward... could it be that there's a follow-up to this story event?!"
Ye Kong was taken aback. He hadn't expected there to be a continuation to this story event!
The reward for the completion of a story event was definitely supposed to be more than just five points of reputation and 50 points of experience. Moreover, this was supposed to be an Elite Grade event, which should have more than double the rewards of a Normal Grade event!
To put this in context, back then, the "SOS Quest" was also an Elite Grade event, and the reward was split evenly among ten or so players. Each player received a full level's worth of experience, along with the top quality Bronze equipment!
At this point, Ye Kong had completed "The Hidden Traitor," yet he only received 50 points of experience and five points of reputation for his efforts. This suggested that the story event was not yet finished, and the sound of another system notification confirmed this—
System Notification: The quest objectives have been updated. Please listen to Blind Priest - Modr's request.
Among story events of the same grade, there were good ones and bad ones. The more steps a story event had, the more difficult it was, which meant that it was of higher quality and had better rewards.
For instance, the story event that Ye Kong had acquired was evidently longer than the "SOS Quest," so in terms of quality, it was superior to the story event that required players to ask the Winter Army for help! This had to be the best story event in Qingmu Town!
The final completion reward must be shockingly amazing!
Ye Kong looked at Modr, only to see him grin evilly. "Brave explorer, please show me proof that you've killed our enemies."
"As you wish, honored Priest."
Ye Kong didn't hesitate in the slightest. He immediately removed the "Assassin's Sword" and handed it over to the priest.
The "Assassin's Sword" was a piece of quest equipment. Due to the restrictions on its special effect, any attack on a target "not quest related" would be invalidated. Hence, even if Ye Kong decided to not surrender the "Assassin's Sword," it would be a worthless item in his hands.
"Ah, my body feels 'heavier' again."
The moment Ye Kong handed over the "Assassin's Sword," he felt his entire body grow heavy. The extra attributes the "Assassin's Sword" provided were now gone, and he returned to having eight points of Dexterity, while his Strength dropped to four points.
Right now, Ye Kong's attributes were only comparable to those of a level two player, thanks mainly to the bonuses from his three pieces of Bronze equipment. He was obviously worse off without the "Assassin's Sword." After all, the "Assassin's Sword" had provided him with Ignore Level Difference +5, along with the ability to deal double damage, giving Ye Kong the tools he needed to achieve a "high level mob kill." Without it, he wouldn't be able to so much as scratch a level five soldier, so how could he even think of completing the quest?
The "Assassin's Sword" conferred outstanding attribute bonuses, but ultimately, it wasn't a normal piece of player equipment, and it was time to give it back.
Modr received the "Assassin's Sword," and as he caressed the sword's dark black blade, he couldn't help smiling. "Very well done, brave explorer. You have indeed slain Wally's lackeys. This is truly excellent. It's as though I can hear their wails from the blade..."
With that, Modr's palm glowed with a sudden ferocity as he forcefully swiped his hand across the blade, while also chanting:
"O great God of the Blind, please look upon your devotee. He has offered you his loyalty, and the blood of your enemies as a sacrifice!
As the words left his mouth, bright red curse inscriptions poured out from the entire blade, the vibrant red color coming into stark contrast with the dark blackness of the sword. Together, the striking color difference and the blood curse, which seemed to "breathe," gave one the impression of a savage man-eating beast!
Fwah!
From the "Assassin's Sword," three translucent human spirits flew out, wearing expressions of extreme anguish. They were the city guards that Ye Kong had slain. In the next moment, copious amounts of blood gushed out from the curse inscriptions surrounding the "Assassin's Sword." The fresh blood splattered onto the ground, gradually staining the hall's pearly white floors a rose-red color.
The bloody color spread out across the surface of the floor, like a field of flowers bursting into bloom, and in just a few short moments, the floor of the entire hall had become like a "field of roses"!
"O great God of the Blind, Hodr, your faithful devotees offer up a blood sacrifice to thee!" Modr roared out in a booming voice, a demented gleam in his eyes—
"Now, we pray that you bestow your gift upon us!"
Boom!
The large amount of fresh blood that had poured out now flowed in reverse, retreating back into the "Assassin's Sword." The three spirits suspended in midair were also sucked back in, screaming, as they were offered up as a sacrifice. In the next instant, the entire hall suddenly filled with blinding light—
Fwah!
The blood-red mist enveloping the "Assassin's Sword" dispersed, revealing a savage-looking blood sword, its color somewhere between black and red. Ye Kong could feel the blood-thirst emanating from the sword just by looking at it.
"The great God of the Blind has successfully passed down his gospel!
"This is marvelous! Only one more obstacle stands between us and the fruition of our plans!" Modr announced excitedly. Then, he immediately looked at Ye Kong, smiled slightly, and said, "Brave explorer, do you accept the instructions of the God of the Blind, to go forth and dispose of the last obstacle, Wally's most important lackey—
"Horticultural Priest Pulitzer!"
System Notification: You have activated the Story Event, "The Hidden Traitor - Final Act." Do you choose to accept Modr's request?
"What?!"
Ye Kong's eyelids twitched, and his heart began to thump in his chest. He'd never imagined that there would be such a development in the next part of the story event!
Originally, Ye Kong had assumed that the follow-up to the story event would at most be something like delivering the equipment (the Assassin's Sword) to the old beggar, or helping the Blind Sect collect some supplies, or some other kinds of minor illicit activity.
After all, a player's capabilities this early in the game weren't good enough for him to take part in a key event like "assassinating a priest"!
In his past life, the story event historically ended with Horticultural Priest - Pulitzer and his assassin (the old beggar) killing each other in a fight to the death. The two NPCs were the strongest characters in Qingmu Town, and their might far surpassed that of a regular soldier!
In simple gaming terms, if they wanted to kill a new player, it would be as easy as using a "basic attack"!
This target was way too deadly to take on!
Moreover, when the "Stygian Night Invasion" occurred, the casualties in Qingmu Town weren't limited to these two NPCs. They also included Hudgens from the mail delivery quest, four of the city guard's NPC squad captains, the Cairo Mercantile Association Head - Mark, and a whole bunch of other miscellaneous NPCs.
The plot of the entire "Stygian Night Invasion" story event had far-reaching impacts. The quest that Ye Kong was undertaking, "The Hidden Traitor," was just a drop in the bucket. It played only a small part in the entire scheme of things!
The actual main story events weren't something that players, with their current capabilities, were qualified to participate in. Even players like soulspear, coldwind, starbringer, and others like them were taking on side quests with a difficulty level similar to killing soldiers.
"What did I get myself into? Why did the 'Demon Realm' Main AI system... Why did it think that I was qualified to accept this quest?!"
In a blink of an eye, a myriad of options flashed through Ye Kong's mind, but they eventually all fell into two simple categories—
To accept...
Or not to accept?
Modr's eyes darkened as he looked at Ye Kong, who had not responded for some time now. There was no doubt that if Ye Kong chose to reject the mission, he would be cut off from the rest of the story event. There was even the likelihood that his reputation score would drop!
On the other hand, Pulitzer was not your average character, and if the assassination attempt was a failure, Ye Kong would not only fail the quest, but become the public enemy of Qingmu Town!
If that happened, Ye Kong would lose his place in the world. He wouldn't be able to accept quests from Qingmu Town or make a living in the Stygian Night Kingdom (because he failed the quest). He would then only be able to accept regular quests from out in the wilderness, and from that point on, he would never be able to catch up to the other players' progress.
However...
What was life without taking chances?
"I'm willing to offer my strength to the great God of the Blind!"
Ye Kong bowed his head low. The rays from the setting sun shone through the window, stretching out his shadow behind him, which almost looked like...
A spirit falling into the abyss.