Chapter 14

"Boom!" Suddenly, an old man rushed out from a small courtyard. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a sword aura, instantly slaying three or four half-orc warriors.

Then, without further entanglement with the half-orc warriors, the old man flew into the air, surveyed the entire scene, and then headed straight for the nearest half-orc warrior. Despite his advanced age, the old man moved with remarkable speed, reaching the half-orc warrior in the blink of an eye. With a single sword strike, the newly arrived half-orc warrior was cut in half.

While the old man was launching targeted attacks on the half-orc warriors, Zhou Tian had already noticed him. Zhou Tian was well aware that any character who appeared on the game screen was not to be underestimated in this world.

The village Zhou Tian was attacking was merely a location for a quest NPC in the game. Therefore, Zhou Tian had long anticipated that if there was anyone who could be the pillar of strength in this village, it would most likely be that quest NPC. Having played the game before, Zhou Tian had a vague impression of the quest NPC in this village.

Thus, although Zhou Tian later joined the battle, he was much more cautious compared to the other half-orc warriors and half-orc warriors. Despite killing a significant number of NPCs, Zhou Tian never drew too much attention from them.

In the end, Zhou Tian's caution saved his life. The quest NPC's strength far exceeded his expectations. Based on the NPC's performance, even the now much stronger Zhou Tian would not last long against him. If Zhou Tian had not kept a low profile, the quest NPC would have likely noticed his exceptional abilities and eliminated him first.

Although Zhou Tian had not yet caught the NPC's attention, if things continued this way, as a half-orc warrior, Zhou Tian would eventually be discovered. Once that happened, even the half-orc leader might not be able to guarantee his safety.

Given the situation, Zhou Tian decided to retreat. He ordered his half-orc warriors to continue their actions while he carefully moved toward the village's outskirts. Everything went smoothly. With the chaotic scene, even the powerful NPC could not notice the entire battle. Thus, when Zhou Tian left the village, the NPC did not notice him.

As soon as he safely exited the village, Zhou Tian chose to leave alone. He was certain that his actions had severely offended the NPCs. They would definitely seek revenge as soon as they had the chance. To ensure his safety, Zhou Tian, though reluctant, had to sacrifice his subordinates as scapegoats.

Zhou Tian's departure did not attract the NPCs' attention. After the NPCs in the village eliminated all the invaders, they would likely not pursue the matter further. As long as the NPCs did not obtain information from the monster side, they would never know the truth.

Zhou Tian had managed to infiltrate the NPC village and wanted to achieve more. Based on the situation in the NPC village, his half-orc warriors would likely be completely wiped out. However, before they were all killed, the damage they could inflict on the NPC village would be significant. In this rare opportunity, Zhou Tian hoped to maximize his gains.

In the end, with a complex mix of emotions, Zhou Tian silently retreated to his territory from near the NPC village.

Shortly after, Zhou Tian used his special ability to sense that his half-orc warriors were rapidly decreasing. He did not know the extent of their achievements, but all his capable warriors were left in the NPC village.

Of course, the significant sacrifice also brought Zhou Tian substantial rewards. His primary goal in attacking the NPC village was to earn merit. Even if he failed to capture the village, his performance was enough to prove his capabilities to his superiors.

In fact, Zhou Tian's efforts were indeed rewarded. His gains exceeded his original plans. The best outcome would have been capturing the NPC village. If Zhou Tian had succeeded, he would have been promoted to half-orc leader without any issues. However, since he had considered the possibility of strong NPCs in the village, he knew his plan might fail.

So, his secondary goal was to kill as many NPCs as possible, weakening the NPC village to earn merit. If that was the case, Zhou Tian only asked for more reinforcements from his superiors. He did not expect to be promoted to leader so easily, as other monsters had also earned their positions through merit.

Indeed, after this achievement, Zhou Tian remained a half-orc warrior. However, his superiors acknowledged that he had shaken the foundation of an NPC village. Although they did not directly promote him to leader, they compensated him in other ways.

First, the Blood Moon Sect Leader gave Zhou Tian a choice. If he wished, he could not be promoted to half-orc leader, but the Blood Moon Sect Leader could assign him to the Skeleton Cave as a skeleton warrior.

The Skeleton Cave was a higher-level area compared to the Half-Orc Forest. In terms of strength, a skeleton warrior was comparable to a half-orc leader. The difference was similar to that between a government official and a county or town leader.

Although Zhou Tian's achievements were significant, they did not compare to the total achievements of other half-orc warriors who had existed for a long time. The Blood Moon Sect Leader's arrangement clearly favored Zhou Tian. If it were another half-orc warrior, they would have immediately accepted the offer.

However, Zhou Tian was not like the other half-orc warriors. Although he knew the Blood Moon Sect Leader's arrangement was for his benefit, he refused the offer without hesitation to ensure his future development.

After Zhou Tian chose to remain a half-orc warrior, the Blood Moon Sect Leader did not neglect him. Based on his achievements, he was rewarded with substantial benefits. First, the issue of troops was immediately resolved. With the Blood Moon Sect Leader's reward, Zhou Tian's troops increased from over a thousand to two thousand. Additionally, the Blood Moon Sect Leader granted Zhou Tian some experience points. With the help of these points, Zhou Tian evolved again, and his original "Strong" attribute became "Very Strong."

Besides these rewards, Zhou Tian's greatest surprise was that the Blood Moon Sect Leader also rewarded him with a piece of monster equipment.

Only after the Blood Moon Sect Leader threw the equipment to him did Zhou Tian realize that monsters could indeed wear equipment; they just could not wear player equipment. If they could obtain monster equipment, they could also use it to enhance their combat capabilities.

"Sacrificial Staff: Increases the strength of subordinate monsters by 50% and their recovery ability by 300%."

To Zhou Tian, the abilities of the Sacrificial Staff were almost like those of a divine artifact for a boss like him. The Blood Moon Sect Leader casually rewarded him with such powerful equipment, which not only demonstrated the Blood Moon Sect Leader's resources but also explained why monster equipment was so rare.

Given the abilities of the Sacrificial Staff, it was not hard to imagine the impact if such equipment became widespread. If that happened, Zhou Tian had no doubt that, even if the monsters fought individually, they would be strong enough to defeat the NPCs and players.

Unfortunately, that was just Zhou Tian's imagination. Even if he had not achieved great merit and gained the Blood Moon Sect Leader's favor, he would not have obtained this equipment. Therefore, the scenario Zhou Tian imagined was impossible to realize.

However, Zhou Tian knew his idea was difficult to achieve. After receiving the Sacrificial Staff, he immediately focused on familiarizing himself with the equipment.