[Ding~ Your words and actions have won the recognition and worship of all residents. Popular support has increased to 93 points. Leadership skill upgrade progress to 70%. Current Level: Elite (70%).]
The sudden system notification lifted Richard’s spirits as he looked down at the city.
He smiled and looked at the residents while they shouted.
As expected, uniting hearts in the face of a foreign enemy was twice effective with half the effort.
However, popular sentiment had only increased by three points. It was much more arduous after they reached 90 pints.
The progress of his leadership skill was okay. If he did it again, he could upgrade it to the advanced level.
Richard waited for the residents to calm down, then landed on the wall again.
His eyes burned as he looked at the void monster that gradually approached.
His fortune depended on this wave.
He turned around and looked at the champions beside him.
“All of you return to your city walls.”
It wasn’t like they were going to fight a boss, so there was no need to gather so many top-tier battle forces on one wall.
“Yes, Lord.”
Just as Gray and the others were about to move, they suddenly turned their heads and looked in a direction. Their eyes instantly turned cold.
Richard noticed something was wrong at the same time.
He turned his head and saw hundreds of harpies that flew toward Twilight City from the distant sky.
The player troops.
The fewer number sparingly puzzled him while he pondered at them.
‘The void monster was about to come, so what does the other party try to do now?
‘A surprise attack on Twilight City?’
Richard turned his head and looked at the tall Hurricane Arrow Tower.
‘Was that guy blind, or did Twilight City look like a pushover?’
As question marks filled his face, the harpies that flew at the front suddenly waved a white flag from somewhere and raised it high.
‘Surrender?’
Richard’s mouth twitched.
Only players would do something like this.
However, Twilight City did not attack, so why would they surrender?
He glanced at the void monster still thousands of meters away and waved his hand. Alves, who was behind the city wall, suddenly took off.
Richard floated into the air and mounted the dragon hero.
It flew towards the harpies.
Although killing a player would give him 1,000 points, the players were too scattered. It would be a waste of time to hunt down each. It was far less rewarding than hunting void monsters.
Although he was too lazy to attack the players around him, it didn’t mean that these idiots could be disrespectful in front of him.
Alves approached quickly, and the dragon’s might that swept through the world spewed out wantonly.
The harpies in front immediately felt a massive pressure.
The initially neat formation began to turn chaotic, and everyone involuntarily slowed their flying speed.
The pressure of a higher life form on a lower life form could seep into the bloodline and soul. And it was unavoidable.
When the two were about a hundred meters away, the harpies no longer dared to move forward due to the terrifying Dragon Breath.
The morale, which was already low, dropped even crazily at this moment. The harpies could have scattered and fled due to the command from the rear.
In the “Shining Era,” normal life forms with flesh, blood, and souls, such as humans and orcs, would erupt with super battle power when morale was high. And they would be invincible.
In contrast, these lives would also flee in defeat when their morale was low.
Troops like the undead and mechanical puppets did not enjoy the boost in morale. Of course, they were also immune to the effects of it.
Each had its advantages and disadvantages.
Richard’s voice echoed through the air as he looked at the troops.
“Tell me why you’re here, strangers.”
A nervous voice came from the harpy troop as soon as Richard finished speaking.
“Qingqiu boss, don’t do anything. The imperial troop asked me to pass you a message… Bah… Big brother, I’m here to surrender!”
The harpies at the front split up, and a player in his late twenties rode a horned eagle, wore light green armor, and appeared in his sight.
The player glanced at the troop behind him. It gritted its teeth and commanded the trembling horned eagle to fly toward Richard.
The closer they got, the slower the horned eagle’s flying speed became.
They did not dare to fly any further after they reached a distance of 30 meters.
It looked like a cat watching the mouse.
[Steamed Bun Lover] looked at the supremely handsome undead dragon with a wingspan of more than 30 meters.
Shock encompassed its heart.
As expected of the strongest existence among the billions of players.
Even the mount it rode on made him feel suffocated.
It was honestly envious.
What threat would it have to worry about if it could have such a powerful hero? It was all bullshit!
Wouldn’t he wipe out all the orcs around its territory?
Richard looked at the player, who seemed particularly small in front of Alves, and frowned.
He had no interest at all.
“Surrender? Your troops can’t even withstand a single breath from the Dragon Breath beneath me.”
“What use do I have for you?”
One had to show some value if one wanted to surrender.
This strength was not as good as killing and earning 1,000 points.
[Steamed Bun Lover] took a deep breath to calm down the pressure in its heart and continued.
“Qingqiu boss, don’t worry. Since I am here, I am confident that you will agree.”
It piqued Richard’s interest.
“Tell me, what’s the source of your confidence?”
[Steamed Bun Lover] raised its clenched right hand and slowly spread it open.
A thumb-sized, slightly shriveled seed appeared in the air.
“With this…”
Richard looked at the unremarkable seed and was slightly enthralled.
“This was… Seed? Just with this thing?”
Although Richard could feel that mana flowed on it, it was faint. It was not even comparable to a 3-stars strategic treasure, let alone his legendary cape.
As he frowned, he opened the attribute panel.
He didn’t have any hope at first, but in the next second, he was shocked.
Questions marks shrouded his heart.
“Damn it. It could even obtain such a treasure?
“Did this guy dig out the god’s treasure?”
[Shriveled Seed of the World Tree]
[Level: Special]
[Status: Withered]
[Attribute: The seed of the world tree. Although it has not absorbed enough energy during its conception and is very shriveled, it can still grow into a world tree that supports a medium-sized plane if it can germinate.]
[Description: It requires tons of energy to bring it back to life. It is a priceless treasure that can move the hearts of gods.]
[The seed of the world tree…]
What was the world tree? In the legends of the “Shining Era”, this thing was a supreme treasure used by the god of creation to support the primary plane.
Now, the player in front of him, who could not even withstand Alves’s Dragon Breath, had obtained a treasure of this level.
Although it was a shriveled seed and in a withered state, it required a vast amount of energy to bring it back to life…
However, no reason could hide the fact that this thing was the seed of the world tree.
Richard was jealous.
He thought that his luck was good enough. But compared to the lucky girl in front of him, covered in the skirt of the goddess of luck, he was still not good-looking.
Richard’s eyes were wide open, and [Steamed Bun Lover] sighed.
Qingqiu still knew what was good.
“Boss Qingqiu, can we have a proper talk now?”
Richard returned to his senses and looked at the man.
“Bring your troop and come with me.”
Feeling relieved, [Steamed Bun Lover] immediately waved his hand and had the harpies behind him follow.
At Richard’s signal, Alves’s Dragon Breath allowed the troops behind to catch their breath.
[Steamed Bun Lover] followed behind Alves and quickly approached Twilight City.
Curiosity filled his eyes as he looked around.
It was Qingqiu’s territory, and everyone on the forum was curious about this big boss.
The first thing that caught its attention was the 30-meter-high wall outside. The ferocious troop of mummies shrouded the wall.
After they crossed the city wall, the three tall arrow towers were like the fangs of ferocious beasts. The dense barrage of arrows on them made its heart turn cold.
After they flew into the city, several houses and buildings rehearsed in an orderly manner.
Hundreds of alchemy cannons of exaggerated sizes waited on the empty ground. They were ready to fire a shocking blow at any time.
[Steamed Bun Lover] bitterly smiled. He pondered at the small but orderly Twilight City.
Compared to the other party’s city, his territory was like a primitive man.
Although harpies liked forests, who wouldn’t want to build a magnificent city if their abilities didn’t limit them?
Elves liked forests too, but elven cities were famous in the “Shining Era”.
The harpies landed on the small square in front of the Lord’s mansion. It was under the guidance of the troop that took off in front.
The surrounding skeleton blood dragons stared at these outsiders. They would immediately know what pain was if they dared to move.
Richard ordered Alves to return to the back of the wall while he landed on the wall.
[Steamed Bun Lover] also followed closely behind and had the horned eagle land on the city wall.
Horned eagles were a type of mount that the nature faction loved. They had a high production rate. They were small and agile and were quite soul-strapping in battle.
After [Steamed Bun Lover] got off the horned eagle, he immediately strode over to Richard’s side.
Just as it was about to speak, it suddenly saw a few heroes around from the corner of his eye.
He could feel the suffocating pressure and disbelief filled his heart.
In the arena, the few A-rank heroes that had shocked countless people were not even the full strength of Qingqiu!
Richard suddenly took two steps forward, and the dark valkyrie appeared in front of [Steamed Bun Lover].
He was stunned at first, but when he saw the figure clearly, his eyes widened and his face revealed an unprecedented shock.
‘Was this the hidden boss that had cut off the Livestream in the sky arena?
‘How, how was this possible?’
He clearly remembered when this boss called the dark valkyrie appeared, her attributes were at level 15, with A-rank potential.
Qingqiu had only three heroes left when the Livestream reconnected.
At that time, he had thought that this boss had killed the entire Qingqiu troop and Qingqiu lost… From the looks of it, this was not! Defeat! But huge gain for Qingqiu!
And what was the most difficult for him to understand was… One could tame bosses?
[Steamed Bun Lover] looked at the dark valkyrie and felt like his world was about to collapse.
He knew Qingqiu was strong and could take on 100 enemies at once. But he did not expect him to be so strong that he could even subdue a boss.
‘Isn’t this a f*cking violation of the fundamental laws?
‘Is there any place for good people to live?’
He suddenly thought of the level 16 void hunter hero with B-rank potential he had encountered when he attacked the monster stronghold guarding the dark crystal.
The other party slaughtered his troop as if they were lambs.
The hero with B-rank potential was already so powerful that it made him tremble. How powerful would this boss with A-rank potential be?
He couldn’t suppress the shock in his heart even after he took a few deep breaths. In the end, he could only smile wryly at Richard.
“Boss Qingqiu, I didn’t expect you to defeat a boss of this level…”
He praised him and gave him a thumbs up.
“Awesome!!”
Richard found it a little funny when he looked at his expression.
It seemed dark valkyrie had left a deep impression on him.
What would his expression be like if he knew Richard had two bosses like the dark valkyrie and were not weaker than her?
“We’ll talk about this later… How should I address you?”
“Boss Qingqiu, my forum ID is Steamed Bun Lover.”
Richard chuckled.
“Not bad. The buns are good. It’s white and clean. I like it too.”
[Steamed Bun Lover] revealed an ambiguous smile and immediately felt they were much closer.
“Boss Qingqiu, let me tell you, don’t be fooled by the harpies’ wings. The rest of their bodies are bare…”
Richard waved his hand dismissively.
“Ahem, let’s talk in private later.”
As he spoke, he gestured to the seed of the world tree in his hand.
“Where did you get this?”
When it came to serious matters, the budding lovers also became solemn.
“I found this in an elven ruin two months ago.”
“We found a total of ten seeds. But the other seeds have all weathered away. Only this shriveled one still has its attributes.”
Richard immediately thought of the ruins of the nine bronze gates. He’d gained a lot from there last time.
He would have to find time to explore it again in the future.
“Did you find any other treasures?”
[Steamed Bun Lover] shook his head regretfully. “No, there’s only one seed.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
[Steamed Bun Lover] said seriously.
“Boss Qingqiu, the seed of the world tree is too high-level. I can’t use it now. I want to give it to you.”
Richard looked at him calmly.
“Everyone knows the saying ‘don’t take a reward without doing anything’. What do you want? ”
He didn’t believe his charm was so great that other players would take the initiative to offer their treasures.
It might be possible if it were a native.
After all, his charm was already quite impressive with the buffs of a few skills. If he couldn’t survive in the future, he could even go to an NPC City and find a few noble young women to live off.
[Steamed Bun Lover] heaved a sigh of relief and revealed everything with a bit of bitterness.
“Boss Qingqiu, my territory is in danger. I need a mighty troop…
From his explanation, Richard understood the predicament of [Steamed Bun Lover.]
On the primary plane, the territory of [Steamed Bun Lover] was on the plains.
And there was a powerful orc force around his territory.
The beast men were from the tribal camp and acted arrogantly. They treated other races as prey.
The other party could have wiped him out if it weren’t for his weak territory.
But even so, as the territory grew, they gradually felt the malice from the orcs.
The enemy had more than 20,000 troops. And they even had high-level troops like the wyvern.
The other surrounded his territory and could devour any time.
Therefore, he needed a powerful force to break the situation.
The seed of the world tree was precious.
However, this thing was too advanced. [Steamed Bun Lover] had no idea how to use it.
Although he had tried countless times, he could not restore its vitality.
Therefore, the seed of the world tree had become of little value to him.
He didn’t know how to use this treasure in exchange for living space, or he would die of thirst in the desert with the gold. It was not a choice for him at all.
He initially planned to take a big gamble after he entered the instance dungeon. But the cruel reality had made him realize how weak he was.
He could only wait for death if he didn’t use the seeds of the world tree to exchange for a chance of survival.
Richard’s mood was a little strange after he heard the words of [Stemaed Bun Lover].
The geographical environment of Twilight City was harsh. And the resources were scarce to an outrageous extent.
However, it had to be precise because he was in the desert. And there were no enemies around that he had sufficient space to develop.
“I can make a deal with you, but what do you want?”
Richard looked at him calmly.
“This treasure is supremely precious, but I’m sure you know it’s not priceless.”
“State your conditions. We’ll proceed with the transaction if they’re within a reasonable range.”
Desire filled the eyes of [Steamed Bun Lover].
“Boss Qingqiu, I hope you can help me earn points. In the last instance dungeon, many people exchanged for a mighty troop lair…
Richard shook his head.
“Let’s change the condition. I also need several points, and I need more than you.
The divine blood of darkness and the crown of the King of Darkness would cost 13 million points in total. Richard still had tens of millions of points left. So he could not give up on these two pieces of equipment.
“Also, it’s too late to develop a troop now. Will the orcs give you time to develop?”
When [Steamed Bun Lover] heard this, he was in a dilemma.
After he pondered, he saw the dark valkyrie beside him.
His eyes suddenly brightened.
It was indeed as the other party had said. There was still time if [Steamed Bun Lover] only wanted to earn points to exchange for a troop-type nest to develop.
The other party would not give him the time.
He took a deep breath as he thought of the beast’s actions.
He decided in his heart.
He looked at him with a burning gaze.
“Boss Qingqiu, I will use the seed of the world tree in exchange for your help.”
Richard raised an eyebrow.
“Help you deal with that beast force?”
“That’s right!”
“Our territories are not connected.
“I have a way to get a Teleportation Scroll…”
When Richard saw the anticipation in the eyes of [Steamed Bun Lover], it immediately moved him.
‘I didn’t want to help, but he gave me too much.’
A seed of the world tree in exchange for his help.
He could make this deal ten times a day without feeling tired.
“Sure, but let me make this clear first. If the orcs’ strength exceeds my capabilities, I will only be responsible for protecting your safety. If you have to give up your territory, then give it up.
“But I can also promise you that I will do my best to help you.
“If you can’t hold on to your territory, I can give you some resources to start a new business.”
After he heard these extremely responsible words, [Steamed Bun Lover] quickly calmed down.
He looked at Richard with gratitude.
“Boss Qingqiu, thank you.”
After he said he had no friends, he directly handed the seed of the world tree his hand to him.
Richard took the seed of the world tree from him. He looked at [Steamed Bun Lover] and didn’t mention signing a contract or any other form of protection. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He wasn’t afraid of being cheated…
But since he had promised, he would do it.
It was his bottom line.
A man’s promise weighed a thousand money.
While he held and sensed it for a moment, he could find a very faint trace of vitality in the seed of the world tree.
His heart settled down.
One could only encounter this kind of treasure by chance. And even if it was a seed without vitality, it still had infinite value.
The Black Gold System suddenly lit up with a notification.
[Shriveled Seed of the World Tree]
[Currently withered. Water of life can be used to water it to restore its vitality.]
[Two thousand one hundred points of divinity can be consumed to strengthen its vitality and restore its energy.]
It surprised Richard at first. But after he read it a few times, he was overjoyed.
The value of a withered seed of the world tree was not on the same level as that of an intact one.
The Black Gold System was forever a god!
He did not know what the elixir of life was, but divinity… Richard turned his head to look at Renee. Her body was still a little illusory.
The other party has four points of divinity, which can be recovered by one point every week.
He had already recovered to full status by the time he left the instance dungeon.
Anticipation drowned his heart.
He called for Renee.
“Inject a drop of divinity.”
His voice entered the other party’s ears, but he didn’t give [Steamed Bun Lover] any chance to hear it.
Renee nodded and reached out to take the seed of the world tree. Then, dark energy surged in her body.
Then, she injected it into the seed.
A few minutes later, Renee’s divinity on her attribute panel had already dropped by one point.
At the same time, the divinity required for the seed of the world tree had reached 99 points.
It genuinely worked!
An enormous surprise filled his heart.
It lifted Richard’s spirits.