The Players And The Protagonist Want To Kill Me – Volume 1, Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Your Horse, Gone
“Miss Saintess, how can I level up faster doing quests?”
“Miss Saintess, can you give me an autograph?”
“I really want to touch your tail…”
“Do you still accept followers?”
“Wow, the expression is so vivid, I can’t even tell it’s an NPC!”
“Sister Saintess, I [censored], [censored]? Why are my words being censored?”
“Hey, you guys should be more restrained, although they’re NPCs, they’re very intelligent, almost like real people.”
“Yeah, yeah, Sister Saintess’s face is blushing, looks so cute and panicked…”
…
Zoe was surrounded by a group of players, her expression somewhat confused and helpless. She had thought that the Heroic Spirits she summoned would be brave, stable, and disciplined warriors.
However, the reality was quite different. Outside this Dawn Town, the square specially cleaned up to welcome the arrival of Heroic Spirits had turned into a bustling market.
Zoe looked towards Ye Hao for help, only to find him in an even worse situation, almost being overwhelmed by layers of Heroic Spirits… those Heroic Spirits were all asking Ye Hao about his class.
These Heroic Spirits behaved frivolously, spoke rudely, and some even attempted to touch her inappropriately, but it seemed they were all electrocuted by a mysterious force…
In the distance, a Heroic Spirit climbed onto a high rooftop, then jumped down with a howl, surrounded by a group of other Heroic Spirits clapping and cheering.
Yes, Zoe thought they might have some issues with their heads.
Although she knew these Heroic Spirits could undergo infinite resurrections at a cost, Zoe couldn’t accept their bizarre behavior of treating suicide as a joke.
Their personalities didn’t seem like Heroic Spirits, but rather like some low-level creatures from the Cain Continent—goblins.
The same chaos, the same noise, the same irrationality.
“May the Goddess guide us, can these people really lead us to achieve the glory of demi-humans?”
Zoe couldn’t help but feel deeply worried.
However, the Goddess had instructed her to do so and had given her something called an NPC panel, through which she could assign quests to all the Heroic Spirits.
Every minute and every second these Heroic Spirits spent on the Cain Continent, especially killing the enemies of the Cain Continent and submitting resources found on the Cain Continent, would replenish the energy of the Goddess’s divinity. And when these Heroic Spirits completed the so-called quests, the divinity would immediately reward them with some energy, enhancing their strength, thus achieving a virtuous cycle.
They referred to this as leveling up.
They seemed particularly enthusiastic about leveling up. Among the crowd of people, the Heroic Spirits asking her how to level up accounted for the vast majority.
Zoe forcibly suppressed her anxiety and panic, and showed a friendly and gentle smile to the densely packed players in front of her.
“Now, the demi-human race faces dire circumstances, we need to rebuild our homeland in a hidden and safe place. There are still many compatriots wandering outside the borders or being enslaved. I hope all the Heroic Spirits can assist me in finding our lost compatriots and rescuing the demi-humans living in adversity.”
Is that enough? Will they listen to me? Zoe looked nervously at the Heroic Spirits in front of her.
As soon as she finished speaking, the players erupted into noise again.
“We have quests! We have quests!”
“Uh, near Dawn Town, collect wood in the jungle, hunt for game, gather giant stones, and prepare to build a temporary demi-human settlement?”
“Stay vigilant of the militia guards in Dawn Town and Collect information for the Saintess.
[E/N – Militia guards are individuals who are part of a local military force or citizen army.]
“Go to the border to search for wandering demi-humans.”
“Rescue the suffering and enslaved demi-humans.”
“Except for the first one, the rest are team quests!”
“Is gathering information considered a team quest? Are we going together because we’re afraid the target isn’t big enough for the guards to notice?”
“As long as we take out all the guards, we can still obtain intelligence!”
…
At this moment, Ye Hao, who had been silent for a while, walked over. He knelt down on one knee, raised his head, and looked at Saintess with star-like eyes, his voice gentle.
“Miss Zoe, I will lead some of the Heroic Spirits to Dawn Town to search for and rescue the enslaved demi-humans.”
Players were surprised to find that their attention involuntarily focused on Ye Hao and Zoe, and even though they were far apart, they could still clearly hear the conversation between the two and see their facial expressions and movements.
They speculated that this should be the main plot animation because in their field of vision, a red-highlighted quest had appeared in the quest log, indicating it was the main quest.
[Follow Child of Destiny Ye Hao to Dawn Town to search for and rescue the enslaved demi-humans. Note: Please try not to alert the guards of Dawn Town, as this may bring trouble to your mission.]
“So, this rundown place is Dawn Town?”
Sivey frowned and disdainfully wiped the filth off his shoe on a step.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Sivey would have found it hard to believe that there could be such a dirty, chaotic, and rundown town on his territory.
The dusty yellow ground, everywhere filled with human and animal feces; dilapidated, neglected city walls; outdated, shabby buildings…
The greenery seemed decent, though. Sivey noticed that half of a tree canopy had grown out of the roof of a villager’s house.
“What did the former lord do? Even if the resources within the territory are poor, and it’s far from the capital, the territory shouldn’t have been managed so poorly!”
“Young Master Sivey.”
Clement sensed Sivey’s dissatisfaction and explained to him:
“The former lord was Count Kalant from the Ironwall family. He was a complete war fanatic, a zealot of the Fire Dragon Barda. Sir Kalant was always at war during his tenure and neglected the management of the territory. In fact, before the Eagle Territory came into his hands, it hadn’t even reached the point where Gryphon flights were needed for transportation. Today, we have such a large piece of land all thanks to Sir Kalant’s conquests from the beast tribes.”
“Kalant?”
A picture of a big-bellied, greasy uncle, always smiling, popped into Sivey’s mind. He hadn’t expected him to be such a belligerent person deep down.
“So, should I thank him for leaving me an enlarged version of the Eagle Territory?”
Sivey felt extremely speechless looking at the very natural Dawn Town. A territory wasn’t necessarily better just because it was larger; the larger it was, the harder it was to manage, especially a borderland like Eagle Territory with its diverse population.
Sivey decided that when he returned, he would start his territory development plan.
The Demon King had a magnificent Demon King’s Castle; he, Sivey, as the Count of Eagle Territory, the future strongest antagonist boss, the nightmare and nemesis of the Fourth Catastrophe, shouldn’t his territory be built like a combined urban-rural area? Otherwise, wouldn’t outsiders laugh at it?
On the crooked walls of the small town, several militia guards had already seen Sivey and Clement. Although they didn’t know Sivey’s specific identity, they recognized the Golden Lion emblem on Sivey’s armor.
A guard immediately jogged down the city wall and came to Sivey and Clement, before respectfully bowing.
“This distinguished gentleman, I am the captain of the Dawn Town guards, Gudbay. Do you have any orders, sir?”
Sivey took a closer look and couldn’t help but smirk. Oh, he knew this guy.
In the game forums of his previous life, some players had made videos of the first test, including the process of rescuing demi-human slaves in Dawn Town.
Gudbay was an elite-level warrior guard encountered by players in the quest. This guard, skilled in sweeping attacks, had caused quite a bit of trouble for the players at the time.
Sivey couldn’t help but glance at Gudbay’s information with curiosity:
[Name: Gudbay]
[Identity: Captain of Dawn Town Guards]
[Strength: Intermediate Swordsman Level 13 (11-20)]
[Skills: Whirlwind Slash, Heroic Thrust]
[Equipment: Guard Plate Armor (Common), Guard Longsword (Common)]
[Cologne Empire reputation: 31 (Respected as a skilled individual in Dawn Town)]
[Demi-human faction reputation: 6 (Little-known)]
“Not bad, this is the scent of that man who uses sweeping and thrusting attacks.”
Sivey thought inwardly as he nodded. This guy was indeed talented, managing to turn just two skills into a combo move, and it was disgustingly effective.
But according to the plot of his past life, this guard captain would eventually die at the hands of the players, leading to the appearance of the mini-boss of Dawn Town, Mayor Megil.
The position of the mayor of various towns within the count’s domain wasn’t something just anyone could occupy. They were usually small nobles or stewards under the count without their own fiefdom.
So, this Megil was considered his vassal, assigned by the family to help manage the territory. Unfortunately, this guy was useless.
According to information Sivey learned from the forums in his past life, this mayor of Dawn Town not only committed evil deeds during his tenure but also lacked strength. Calling him a mini-boss would be giving him too much credit; he was only slightly stronger than the common guards.
“Bring your Mayor Megil out to me!”
Thinking of the evil deeds Megil had done, Sivey’s expression turned cold.
He did indeed have a fondness for Gudbay, wanting to bring him back to Winterkeep for training. As for the rest of these useless people, they could die as needed to fit the plot. If they didn’t die, the protagonist group wouldn’t be able to occupy Dawn Town, and there would be no way to establish the novice village.
When the guards found Megil at home, he was sleeping soundly with two maids. Disturbed from his pleasant dreams, he immediately reached for the whip on the wall to beat the despicable guard who had interrupted him.
But when Megil heard that the visitor was a young man wearing the Golden Lion emblem on his chest, he deflated like a punctured balloon, losing half of his confidence.
A young man with the Golden Lion emblem!? In Eagle Territory, who else could it be, besides Count Sivey Golden Lion?
Although he didn’t know why Sivey had come all the way to the border town of Dawn Town, Megil still hastened to approach, scrambling even without wearing proper clothes, until he was in front of Sivey.
Megil put on a fawning smile, bowed deeply, his head almost touching his knees, almost kneeling down to lick Sivey’s shoes.
“Esteemed Master Sivey, this old servant has prayed day and night to the god of luck, and finally, you have arrived! You don’t know how much this old servant has missed you during the days without seeing you. This old servant…”
Sivey coldly looked at the middle-aged man who bowed and scraped, and glanced at his information:
[Name: Megil]
[Identity: Mayor of Dawn Town]
[Strength: Level 11 Knight (11-20)]
[Skills: Mounted Charge (Requires Horse), Lance Thrust (Requires Horse)]
[Equipment: Finely Crafted Armor (Superior), Ancestral Longsword (Superior)]
[Cain Empire reputation: 352 (Infamous in Dawn Town)]
[Demi-human faction reputation: 37 (Demi-humans detest him deeply)]
Just two ordinary knight skills, which could be learned for free at the knight academy. He needed a horse for them to be effective; without one, he was just a knight with no skills, only potential.
Sivey shook his head, thinking this guy was beyond redemption.
“Megil, I’m asking you, is there anything bad happening in Dawn Town recently?”
Megil’s heart skipped a beat at the words.
“Could it be that the Count already knows about the things I’ve done? It shouldn’t be possible, it’s so far away…”
Megil’s mind raced like lightning, but he couldn’t grasp a clue. All he could do was force a smile and say, “Master Sivey, rest assured, everything is normal in Dawn Town. The citizens are living happily and peacefully, often expressing gratitude for your selflessness and greatness…”
“Screw your nonsense!”
Sivey sneered, interrupting Megil’s flattery with a booming shout, causing Megil’s face to instantly turn pale.
“The demi-humans have infiltrated your town, and you know nothing about it. Since that’s the case, you can temporarily step down as mayor. I’ll take over as mayor, and you’ll stay here as the captain of the guard. When you figure things out, you can come find me to reclaim your position!”
Gudbay stood by, looking bewildered and anxious.
How did his captain end up getting scolded like this out of nowhere? What a misfortune! His whole family was counting on his salary for food!
“Um, esteemed Count…”
“You will be my personal guard! Your salary will double.”
“Yes!”
Gudbay calmed down. He quickly stood behind Sivey, his movements swift and efficient, his inner emotions calm, and he even felt like laughing a little.
“Master Sivey, I…”
“What ‘I’! You’ll stay here and guard. Do whatever the captain of the guard should do when something happens in the town. Also, don’t ride your horse anymore, I am going to ride it!.”
Sivey finished speaking and walked toward the mayor’s mansion with Clement and Gudbay, not bothering to look back at the ashen-faced Megil left behind.
…
Next, a big event was about to happen in Dawn Town. Sivey stood on the highest point of the mayor’s mansion, eagerly anticipating the spectacle.
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