Chapter 54

It's getting closer! The Grandmaster-level scouting skill not only reveals the opponent's level but also allows for a long-distance view of the equipment they are wearing.

— Player name: "Yijianxilai," Level 20, Elven 1st-tier unit Dual Blade Warrior Wind Dancer, fully equipped from the store! Two apprentice sailors under his command, +1 to troop morale, 10 units of unknown cargo on the ship.

What's this? I can't gauge his strength at all? Does he have some magic scroll that can take me down in one hit? I can't see through him, but I don't have the interest or time to figure it out.

A master, huh? Show me some water walking.

Da Fei waved his hand and immediately directed one of the sailors to take position at the cannon in the gun deck.

For players with cannons, if they have troops, they can send a small soldier (must be a medium or small humanoid) to operate the cannon. The damage is counted as the hero's own, and there are no skill requirements for the soldier. Of course, a warship can have over a dozen cannons, but only the player's own cannon can be freely operated by a soldier. Other cannons do not benefit from the player's War Machine skill and must be manned by high-attribute, skilled sailors to be effective. Secondary heroes, of course, have no problem.

Yijianxilai's small boat is within range. No need to hesitate, blast him!

— Boom! The cannon fired twice, and the small boat was hit with splintering wood and a massive shock.

Yijianxilai shouted frantically, "Brother Fei! Don't attack yet! I'm here to deliver goods! Wait until I deliver them, then you can kill me if you want!"

Da Fei was taken aback. What is he saying? I don't understand!

Yijianxilai continued, "Brother Fei, don't attack! If you keep attacking, the boat will sink! A big boss just announced in the channel that he wants us to deliver heads and red packets to Brother Fei. As a merchant, I'm here for profit, so I had to come. Even if I didn't, others would. They are all behind me, so I might as well deliver the goods and do you a favor. If the boat sinks, the goods are gone, and Brother Fei will lose a lot!"

Da Fei immediately understood. What does "deliver heads and red packets" mean? Of course, it means that the guy wants me to kill people, making my red name even redder! Since he's going to die anyway, why is he shouting to stop?

Of course, there's a big difference between drowning when the boat sinks and being directly killed by me. What's the difference? If I just sink the boat, it's considered a malicious attack on a merchant, but if the person falls into the water, it's not my fault. They could grab a piece of wood and wait for someone to rescue them or drift back. It's like luring monsters to harm others; in reality, they die because of me, but the system can't determine that I'm the killer since I didn't touch them. Who knows if they didn't slip and fall into the water?

But if I directly kill someone, it's both murder and a malicious attack on a merchant, with double penalties, resulting in a greater loss of reputation.

The so-called big boss is paying by reputation, so the red packet for a Level 1 head is very different from that of a Level 20 head. A Level 1 head only reduces my reputation by 10 points, while a Level 20 head reduces it by 200 points. Can they be the same price?

Damn, I thought I met a city-conquering expert! Turns out it's a shrewd merchant! Fine, since both sides benefit, let's part amicably. I'll spare you for now.

Da Fei squatted on the ship's railing and shouted, "Alright, come over!"

Yijianxilai hurriedly replied, "Understood! Understood!" At this moment, Yijianxilai was secretly delighted. There's a chance!

Yijianxilai is an ordinary Elven merchant, starting as a 1st-tier unit Wind Dancer with the ordinary innate skill "Wind Dancer Instructor," which increases the attack and defense of Wind Dancers in his troops by 1 point every two levels. His learned skills are also ordinary, Offensive Tactics and Luck.

However, he has an unknown extraordinary ability, his Ranger profession skill. During his 10th-level class change trial, he discovered a hidden quest and completed it excellently, earning the hidden profession skill, Avenger's Wrath! When the hero is attacked by an enemy, they can consume 50% of their health to deal a 3x damage strike to the enemy.

If it's a lucky hit, it's 6x damage, enough to kill someone. Even if it doesn't kill, it gives a decisive advantage. What does this mean? It means an ordinary person is no longer ordinary. Of course, even a Grandmaster-level Luck skill only has a 10% chance of a double damage hit, which is unreliable. So, he needs treasure to boost it, like the common four-leaf clover (+1 Luck), lucky card (+1 Luck), and higher-tier treasures like the golden horseshoe (+2 Luck) and velvet cloak (+2 Luck), or even the rarest treasure, the Lionheart Crown (+3 Luck and Morale).

To buy all these lucky treasures and to pursue his path of one-hit kills, Yijianxilai, who doesn't know navigation or accounting, started a trading career. Soon, he found that trading was quite relaxing and enjoyable. Not only does selling goods earn experience and money, but selling goods that the city urgently needs also grants additional experience, reputation, equipment, and even treasure rewards.

In short, Yijianxilai believes his hidden skill can change his fate, and he will have his moment to shine.

Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. So, for this day, he has a bottle of task-rewarded red potion and a bottle of health potion. In this game, potions are key items that can turn the tide of battle, and their prices are much higher than in other games. This is one of the main reasons why mage players are weak in the early stages. With these two potions, Yijianxilai has enough confidence to fight two enemies!

Moreover, before each voyage, Yijianxilai would pray at the goddess altar in the city, gaining 1-3 temporary Luck points. With his Grandmaster-level Luck skill, his Luck value today is 8 points, giving him a 16% chance of a double damage hit. Since the Wind Dancer is a dual-wielder, both attacks count as lucky, so his chance of a double damage hit is roughly 32%, which is quite high.

Today, while trading, the commercial channel in the region was buzzing. The famous Cannon Brother's fleet in the city was wiped out by the notorious Da Fei. Who is Da Fei? Yijianxilai had heard of him. In fact, trading is quite monotonous, so most merchants let the NPC sailors handle the navigation while they browse forums or watch movies online. Chatting in the channel, it's impossible not to know about Da Fei, especially since merchants are very sensitive to red names.

Yijianxilai yearned for fame and hoped to be as well-known as Da Fei. But he certainly didn't want to become famous in the same way.

Then the big boss made an offer: whoever delivers heads and red packets will be compensated based on the reputation lost by the target. As a merchant, everyone can do the math, and it's a very good deal. However, even if the big boss is trustworthy, the key is that the target is a large ship. Can a small merchant ship catch up? Even if it does, what can a small ship do? If it can't catch up or do anything, isn't it a waste of time without getting the reward?

While others were still hesitating, Yijianxilai, the merchant who doesn't know navigation, acted first, taking the initiative.

This might be the long-awaited opportunity to change his fate!

If successful, taking down this notorious red name will make him famous overnight. If he fails, he'll just be killed and collect the reward. Either way, he won't lose.

Now that the other party has agreed to let him approach, it's the first step to success! Opportunities need to be created gradually.

Getting closer, the large ship was surrounded by a dozen or so small cargo-laden ships. Several NPC sailors were busy loading and unloading goods. The legendary red name squatted on the ship's railing, looking down at him from a height. In the sunlight behind him, the dark silhouette and the smug gaze made Yijianxilai unable to look directly.

He heard him chuckle, "Brother, can you help me? I'm short on hands, so could you help me move some cargo?"

(Seeking all kinds of votes)

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