"Skilled characters really are fierce... to pull off a counter-kill like that!" Wang Hao licked his lips excitedly.
A button was pressed, and his character took care of all those operations on his own, drastically simplifying the process.
It meant that the more diligently a character was cultivated, the more complex actions they could perform, which added to the sense of achievement in training characters!
Hmm, this design isn't half bad!
Young Li Dazhu's eyes widened as he watched his cousin forcefully drag a cavalryman off his horse and, with a broadsword, hacked him to death. It was incredibly fierce, uncannily unlike any normal human.
His whole body jolted.
But he quickly began to panic because the other villagers were being slaughtered!
Neither the quality of the weapons nor the combat power were on the same level; a local victory couldn't cover up a strategic defeat.
These weren't bandits... they were damn official troops!
They were going to massacre their village!
Li Dazhu, barely in his teens, had never faced such a situation. Suddenly, his stomach began to hurt, and he felt an urge to defecate again.
"Brother Shan, my stomach hurts so much, I can't run... hurry, find the Elder!"
Wang Hao hoisted Li Dazhu onto his shoulders and started running towards the distance.
And Li Dazhu kept shouting, "Hurry, find the Elder! In the south, towards the south!"
"Who is the Elder?"
"I don't know what his name is... He's skinny as a rake but can kill a big tiger with his bare hands. He's got a mental disorder, not very lucid, lying in bed all day, sleep after eating, and eat upon waking up."
"But he really can fight."
Along the way, they encountered several attacks, but with the help of a strong combat power, they managed to get through them without danger.
The "Elder" lived in a small house near the ancestral hall.
Both of them hurriedly opened the room's door and saw an old man wearing red clothes lying on a straw mat, sleeping with his eyes glaring open, just like Zhang Fei.
But at the sight of the old man, Wang Hao instinctively felt something was amiss.
Because the atmosphere here was too creepy...
A tiny oil lamp in the southeastern corner of the room flickered constantly, at risk of going out at any moment.
The light emitted by the oil lamp failed to brighten the whole room, as if a thick darkness was incessantly devouring these rays of light. Somehow, Wang Hao felt his character shivering uncontrollably.
And the old man's body was terrifyingly emaciated, his bones almost poking through his skin, like a demon, with his hipbones protruding sharply, the proportions of his arms and legs clearly abnormal compared to a regular human.
He was over two meters tall, his drooping arms reaching down to his knees.
...
Li Qingshan's eyes widened when he saw the old man, his body subconsciously tensing up.
A deep fear surged from his heart, enveloping his entire being.
At that moment, he felt as if he had plunged into an icy cave, his limbs losing sensation.
He recognized the old man...
Yes, he was almost certain; he had traveled back in time, back to the brutal history!
...
...
The moment they entered the room, the old man opened his eyes.
Those bulging eyes were filled with red veins, staring malevolently at the newcomers.
In a confused voice, the old man said, "My wife, you're back?!"
"Elder, bandits have invaded the village!" Li Dazhu was also somewhat afraid of the old man and trembled as he called out softly, "Bandits have invaded the village!"
"My wife!" The old man leapt up from the ground with such force that it was hard to believe this demon-like figure could spring three feet into the air, nearly hitting the beam.
The oil lamp to the southeast went out, and the room was enveloped in darkness.
At that instant, the word "Danger!" flickered in the upper left corner of his field of vision.
"Shh!"
It was as if the sound of flesh being pierced.
"Ah..." Li Dazhu screamed as he lay on the ground, motionless in a pool of blood.
[Mission Failure: Li Dazhu is dead. You may choose to continue the game. Remaining time: 30 minutes.]
The sudden turn of events caught Wang Hao off guard, and his pupils dilated slightly as he abruptly turned around.
He swung his large machete at the elder, whose eyes glowed red, while simultaneously using the "Bullet Time" skill.
His machete struck the old man's long arm with precision, but, against all expectations, it broke with a light clang.
Then, in the next second, a withered finger forcefully pierced his chest, and fresh blood gushed out.
"Hahaha, my dear wife, my dear wife!" A deranged and aged voice could be faintly heard taunting.
[You're dead.]
[Death Cause: Heart torn. Your brave efforts against formidable enemies were in vain, as the strongest enemy was inside.]
[Rating: 0]
[Would you like to upload this result as the final evaluation for this scenario? (Note: Final evaluation is only rewarded once.)]
...
"Damn, what kind of demon or ghost is this? Can't beat it at all!"
Wang Hao angrily took off his helmet.
"The plot is pretty weird too... Some parts make no sense."
"The fight was just absurd. Suddenly, I was dead."
The character, Li Qingshan, was certainly not weak.
With a human's top physique and top fighting ability, he could possibly take on ten ordinary men alone.
Yet, he was killed by an old man, thin as a ghost, with just one finger!
He glanced at the game's hint again, [Ideal Level: Level 2], indicating that this world's extraordinary power was not weaker than that of the beginner level.
Wang Hao tapped his fingernails lightly on the tabletop as he analyzed the information he had.
"If the game's various scenarios have a consistent worldview, it means there's a big problem with the old man living in that shrine!"
"He could be a supernatural entity!"
"Li Family Village harbored a supernatural entity, which means it's a village with secrets – that's why it drew the encirclement of the soldiers."
"What's the secret?"
Wang Hao excitedly clapped his hands.
With this analysis, the nonsensical plot seemed to make sense.
His first death was a bit rash. If he tried to play as recklessly as in the beginner's level, he would definitely die many times over, wasting lots of points for nothing.
"This game is mostly about puzzle-solving, so I should be more careful."
To clear this scenario, should he train "Li Qingshan" to counter that ghostly old man, or should he just not fight and instead drag Li Dazhu out of Li Family Village?
Let's try that first.
Taking a deep breath, the Resurrection Cross did its job and Li Qingshan came back to life.
After making up his mind, he could only spend 100 points to purchase another one.
Here we go again!
...
"Bandits are attacking the village!"
This time without hesitation, he ran straight into the thatched hut, picked up Li Dazhu who was still squatting there, and ran towards the distance!