BOSS013

"What nonsense are you spouting! You are nothing but a monster! How could you bring fairness?" The City Lord drew his sword and pointed it at Fang Zhiyi.

"Oh? There is a saying that justice naturally resides in people's hearts... I don't need to prove anything." Fang Zhiyi's tone remained calm.

"Sweet words... Your rotting soul has already..."

Fang Zhiyi interrupted him, "Why did you start this war? Let me answer that for you. It is because you can no longer make money off these people. The shops in the city cannot be rented out, no one is buying your overpriced potions, and the rewards for the quests you issue do not even come close to compensating for the effort put into them."

Fang Zhiyi absolutely detested this. He vividly remembered the details of being scammed by NPCs while playing online games in his original world. After painstakingly completing a quest, he could not even recoup his costs. Selling equipment would instantly drop its value to a tenth of the original price, and even more outrageous were the so-called enhancement mechanics.

These NPCs in the city had gained sentience earlier than they did, which meant they had chosen to exploit the players in the exact same ways as before.

"You, you're talking nonsense!" The City Lord panicked slightly. He could clearly sense the anger on the faces of those outlanders. With just a few words, this skeleton had incited their fury!

"Whether I am talking nonsense or not, you know perfectly well in your heart. As a City Lord, instead of thinking about how to develop the city, you only think about how to exploit others... It is truly detestable." Fang Zhiyi sat there, speaking as casually as if he were just chatting. "We are different. Although we are monsters, the humans who have traded with us know the truth. However... now that you want to destroy our home, I find that quite unreasonable."

"You..." The City Lord was exasperated.

"Something is wrong, My Lord. Don't waste your breath on that monster, let's fight!" a subordinate official reminded him.

"Fight... Everyone, prepare for battle!" the City Lord shouted.

But Fang Zhiyi spoke up again, "So you are admitting it. Since you cannot manage things yourself, you want to solve it with brute force, right?"

"Bullshit!" the City Lord roared. "I simply disdain debating with a monster like you!"

The subordinate official was worried. "City Lord... I have a really bad feeling about this."

"In any case, today is the day of the final battle between humanity and you lot! Outlanders, which side will you choose to help?" The City Lord even tried to win over a few more hands.

"Bad news! The city is under attack!" someone yelled. All the NPCs turned their heads in unison to see a plume of black smoke rising in the distance.

"You! Cunning scoundrel!" The City Lord was shocked.

Fang Zhiyi let out a laugh. "Why else did you think I spent all this time talking to you?"

"You..." With an emergency back home, many NPCs were thrown into disarray. Right at that moment, a player who could no longer hold back shouted, "Charge! Killing NPCs drops loot too!"

"The Skeleton King of the Demon Corridor said so! All NPCs have a bounty on their heads! If we pull this off, I'll have enough for a down payment when I log off!"

"Fuck! Don't steal my kills!"

As soon as the human NPCs' formation fell into chaos, the uncoordinated players charged down en masse, instantly causing massive pandemonium.

Various spells flashed through the crowd, and curses echoed everywhere. However, the NPCs' equipment was ultimately superior, and some of the players who charged at the front had already dissolved into white light.

"This, this, this... This move of yours is truly ruthless..." Money Rat was not a combat type, but he had come anyway. The reason was that the Demon Lord felt it would look better if there was an even number of people standing on either side of Fang Zhiyi, but they only had an odd number, so he was dragged along too.

"I never thought that, as a b... as a lord, you would actually think of issuing a reverse bounty." Money Rat shook his head, his eyes filled with heartache. "How much money is this going to cost?"

More than that, he was amazed by Fang Zhiyi's audacity. The bosses had not avoided him during their pre-war mobilization meeting last night. Based on their current armed forces, White Cloud City alone would not pose much of a threat. But with the elite troops from several other cities added to the mix, their own forces were somewhat lacking.

Even if they recalled all the part-time bosses, they would still likely lose. Money Rat had wanted to suggest several times that Fang Zhiyi take his people and flee. He felt that although this boss was virtual, it would be a huge pity for him to die here.

But Fang Zhiyi's words had made his jaw drop.

"Abandon the defense. Except for our direct employees, send out all the part-timers." Fang Zhiyi pointed to several spots on the map. "I remember the quests they have on hand are quite close to these cities. With the humans sending out all their elites this time, their rears are bound to be defenseless."

"But... Boss, if we do that, we'll be in danger," Lily said, not out of fear, but pure curiosity.

"Danger? Not quite... Although it is... cough cough." Fang Zhiyi almost said the word game. "Your boss has studied the art of war too."

Money Rat looked at the skeleton with some confusion. He genuinely suspected that some player had accidentally selected a boss when creating their character.

Now, his heart was filled with boundless astonishment. Fang Zhiyi had first disrupted the offensive momentum of the NPC allied forces, deflating them, then stalled for time to let the enemy's rear catch fire, shaking their morale. And then came the desperate charge of the players fighting for the bounty.

The NPC allied forces were already in total disarray.

Just as the first wave of players was about to be completely wiped out, Fang Zhiyi issued his first command.

"Demon Corridor Guild, move out."

The combat players under his command, who had been holding back for a long time, charged down. Their skills and equipment were clearly far superior to the ragtag group from before. The NPC allied forces' formation was shattered once again before it could even recover.

Money Rat, however, was panicking a little. "Boss, how about we run? Even though your tactics are somewhat useful... but... we don't have any trump cards left, do we? In war, when it comes down to it, victory still relies on numbers."

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Aren't there plenty of people?"

Money Rat looked in the direction he was pointing and almost burst into tears. "That is the elite army of Luofu City! Their reinforcements are here!" He frantically scrambled to pack away all the equipment on his body.

But Fang Zhiyi laughed. "Luofu City is a neutral city... Have you forgotten? Their beliefs are different from theirs."

Money Rat froze for a moment, then slowly looked down. The allied forces, who thought their reinforcements had arrived, did not even have time to rejoice before Luofu City's cavalry smashed into their rear.

"This... This..." Money Rat was dumbfounded.

Fang Zhiyi patted his shoulder. "I told you, money is only money if you can spend it."

"No, did you... did you hire mercenaries too?"

Fang Zhiyi gave him a sideways glance. "Something like that... And I also know how to..." He suddenly stopped. The flames in his eye sockets began to dance at a much faster rate, and an indescribable, immense sense of oppression enveloped his entire body.