Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Skirmish**

Mo did not answer the girl's interrogation, nor did he directly resort to killing as one might imagine. Although he had bloodied and destroyed an entire city the first time he logged into the game under this identity, the years of pent-up repression had been vented and released, leaving him much calmer.

Those who wish to destroy the world fall into two types: the first are those who charge around hysterically, screaming that they want to destroy the world; the second are those who work diligently, steadily, and methodically, committed to overturning the planet beneath their feet bit by bit.

In most cases, the former are escorted to psychiatric hospitals, while a portion become various bosses, serving as stepping stones for protagonists to gain experience and show off. Only a very few, because they themselves are the protagonists, manage to overthrow the entire world even by blindly charging in without thinking—such blatantly cheating individuals obviously cannot be used as a reference.

Yes, I'm talking about Kratos.

At this moment, Mo undoubtedly belonged to the latter category. Perhaps he did possess extraordinary talent in this game, but if he tried to follow Kratos's neither-scientific-nor-magical "Smash! Kill! Slaughter!" idol-style path, he would likely be finished within two days. Moreover...

**[Misfortune: You should not exist. Do not give others or the world any chance!]**

Although the description of this talent was very vague, Mo had ample reason to believe that if he perished in this world, there was at least a ninety percent chance he would not be able to reset his character like other players, but instead vanish completely.

And precisely because of this, he could not afford to give others or this world any chance...

"I'm asking you a question!" The dark elf girl glared at Mo with a hostile expression, repeating her query to this guy who had been spacing out since earlier: "Did you kill my prey?"

Ji Xiaodao was in a bad mood, mainly due to the faction she had been forcibly assigned to. After all, no matter how you looked at it, this somewhat taciturn and indifferent girl could hardly be considered "Chaotic Evil." Moreover, her situation was too bizarre—others had nine faction gates to attempt resonance with at the start, but when Ji Xiaodao created her character, only one half-open black-and-red gate stood there, with nothing else around.

Even if she wasn't the most sociable person, having something like this happen to her was bound to leave her displeased. So, upon logging in, the irritable Ji Xiaodao showed no courtesy to this guy who clearly didn't look like a good sort.

Mo shrugged noncommittally, pointing at the pile of charred bones on the ground and asked the girl, "Was it your prey?"

"That's right." Ji Xiaodao nodded. Her tutorial quest was [Kill a 'Swamp Boar'], which was the monster that had been burned to a pile of bones just minutes ago when it charged at Mo.

As soon as she spoke, she saw him toss something toward her. Thanks to the dark elf's high initial Dexterity, Ji Xiaodao lightly backflipped, easily dodging this slow "ambush."

"This is compensation." Mo brushed past her as he spoke, leaving behind those words without looking back, striding off into the distance.

Ji Xiaodao paused for a moment, then bent down to pull out the "compensation" stuck upside-down in the ground, only to be slightly startled.

[Black Curse Rapier]

Weapon Type: One-Handed

Quality: Fine

Attack Power: Weak

Attributes: Dexterity +3, Strength +1, Constitution +1, very low chance to trigger 'Blind' status for 2 seconds.

Equipment Requirement: 6 Dexterity

[Note: This is a finely crafted noble's rapier, with exquisite and ornate inscriptions, its ornamental value far outweighing its practical use.]

There was no doubt that this was a fairly powerful weapon in the early stages of the game, with low equipment requirements and a practical special effect. Even though she hadn't played for long, Ji Xiaodao, who occasionally browsed forums when bored, knew the value of this weapon in the early game.

But that didn't make her particularly happy...

"Hey!" She jogged a few steps to catch up with him, holding the rapier out to Mo and said calmly, "Give it back to you. I just wanted to know if you killed that thing; I don't need any compensation."

Mo turned his head to glance at her but shook his head. "Then consider it a gift. My pack is full, and I need to free up some space."

Pack?

Ji Xiaodao was momentarily stunned, then asked, "You're a player?"

Mo nodded and kept walking.

"How are you so strong?" She walked alongside him, showing no sign of leaving, curiously peering at Mo's face hidden beneath his cloak.

[Player: Ji Dao (Chaotic Evil) requests to add you as a friend]

A translucent window appeared in the corner of Mo's vision. He stopped, turned coldly to the girl walking beside him with her hands behind her back, and asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Curiosity."

Ji Xiaodao's answer was concise.

Mo shook his head, casually rejected the friend request, and glanced at her. "Boring."

Those two words were all too familiar to Ji Xiaodao; she said them several times a day herself. Whether to her mentally young sister or some classmates around her, this somewhat aloof girl always responded to topics that didn't interest her with those words—boring.

But being on the receiving end of those two words didn't feel so great...

"Stop right there!" She called out to Mo with a hint of embarrassment and anger. This somewhat willful behavior was something Ji Xiaodao had never shown since she grew up, but for some reason, she was really angry right now!

And the moment she realized she was being somewhat unreasonable, she got even angrier...

Especially angry! Especially annoyed!

And there was a touch of inexplicable grievance.

"Stay away from me," Mo said coldly without looking back. "Or I'll kill you!"

He was undoubtedly serious. The reason he hadn't killed Ji Xiaodao earlier wasn't because she had a good figure or was pretty—it was simply that he didn't want her to revive and spread word of his existence, which could interfere with some of Mo's plans. But if this girl became too annoying, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Not just in the game—if necessary, he'd do it in real life too...

"Then go ahead and kill me!" Ji Xiaodao stared at his back and said loudly, nothing like her usual self.

Mo sighed and stopped again. A ball of pulsating dark red energy flickered at his fingertip as he prepared to stop wasting words and deliver a fatal blow, but unexpectedly...

The sound of hooves rang out, and over a dozen armored knights came thundering from not far away. The leader, wielding a golden lance, shouted from a distance at the two: "Who are you! Stop and submit to inspection!"

"Annoying..." Mo sighed and waved at Ji Xiaodao. "If you don't want to die, stay far away."

Then he turned around, facing the rapidly approaching knight squad head-on.

Mo didn't even need to guess—these were likely members of the Chauvin Empire Knight Order. He had gathered plenty of intelligence during the destruction of Banser City, and by his calculations, someone should have come looking for him around now.

Everything had been going according to plan, but thanks to a certain girl's delay, there had been a minor hiccup...

"Who are they?" Ji Xiaodao didn't obey at all; instead, she walked up beside Mo and nodded toward the aggressive knights.

"Living people," Mo said, too lazy to shoo her away again, staring in the same direction with a faint smile. "But they'll be dead soon."

Just then, the leading human knight reined in his horse a few meters in front of them, pulled out a massive two-handed sword from behind his back, and barked, "Don't make any sudden moves! Drop your weapons immediately and submit to inspection!"

Mo had nothing in his hands, but Ji Xiaodao was still holding her weapon.

She flicked the newly acquired Black Curse Rapier in her hand and asked quietly, "Are they your enemies? Need help?"

Mo ignored her, stepping forward two paces. He looked up at the middle-aged knight—tall and sturdy, both man and horse—and asked, "Are you the advance force heading to Banser City?"

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept by as the great sword was pressed against Mo's neck. The weapon's owner asked with extreme caution, "Who are you? What do you know? What happened to Banser City?"

"Heh~" Mo paid no attention to the massive blade that could decapitate him with a single move, lifting his head to reveal a mad grin. "It's all been destroyed~~"

Pfft!

A streak of crimson light burst from beneath his cloak, tearing through the neck of the knight's warhorse, then continuing unabated toward the rider.

"Ah!!" Though he dodged the vital spot at the last moment, the knight's sword arm was shattered by the blast. He tumbled awkwardly from his collapsing horse, letting out a heart-wrenching scream of agony.

[Blood Flash]

Active Skill

Mastery Requirements: Intelligence 30, Dexterity 45, Class 'Dark Mage', Hands

Cost/Restrictions: 5%—30% HP, [Chaos] Alignment

Effect: Fires a flash of light through the index finger by converting blood energy, dealing highly penetrating damage to enemies in the direction pointed. The intensity depends on the amount of blood converted. It also triggers the Flesh Explosion effect, with damage based on the target's physical strength. Cooldown: 3 seconds

※Hidden Effect※

Due to the caster's Dark Blood talent, damage bonus is increased by 20%, cost reduced by 50%, and there is a low chance to trigger the 'Flesh to Ashes' effect (burns the target's HP equal to the percentage of HP cost of the skill).

[Note: A sorcery created by Steligul, the 'Blood Demon', a heretic of the Dark Mage Association. It sacrifices a portion of the user's blood to pierce enemies. As one of the rare long-range combat methods in the 'Blood Demon's' life, Blood Flash was not frequently used; it was mostly employed to torment prey that was already on the verge of death.]

The Blood Flash that Mo activated by sacrificing 15% of his HP directly incapacitated this Knight Commander. Thanks to the hidden effect granted by the Dark Blood talent, the skill undoubtedly dealt full damage to the opponent and also triggered the 'Flesh Explosion' effect, blowing off half of the Knight Commander's arm.

As a member of the temporary vanguard, this Knight Commander, serving as high-grade cannon fodder, was not exceptionally strong but was far from weak. Under normal circumstances, even a player with a class level of around 20 might not easily take him down. At this early stage, just the second day after the server launch, he was almost an invincible existence compared to players. Yet Mo, with his extremely powerful starting abilities, could effortlessly render him combat-ineffective, without even using any of his trump cards...

This shows just how many powerful skills and equipment he had acquired during the previous city massacre.

Ji Xiaodao was almost stunned. Although she was confident that she could achieve such combat power after some time, that was definitely not now. Forget herself—even many big shots from large gaming studios or clubs could never do this!

[This guy... is he cheating...?]

Ji Xiaodao, who was usually extremely calm, had completely lost her composure.

But Mo had no time to care about her composure. By now, over a dozen more knights had arrived, quickly adjusting into a triangular formation and charging at the mysterious figure who had severely wounded their commander in a single encounter.

The best angle, the simplest formation, the most impactful group skill!

Knight Charge!

Although there were fewer than twenty of them, the knights at this moment carried the momentum of a thousand troops, showing their solid fundamentals.

But it was useless...

Space trembled in a subtle distortion. A figure less than a meter tall suddenly appeared before the iron hooves of the knight squad, then let out a scream before being instantly torn apart and flung into the air by several lances!

Then, a second one!

The tiny figure covered in flames didn't even have time to cry out before it was knocked down by the galloping warhorse and trampled into a pulp.

The third!

Impaled, flung behind...

The fourth!

Dead...

The fifth...

The sixth...

By the time the knight squad finally closed within five meters of Mo, their once surging, torrential momentum had completely dissipated. Under the successive obstructions, no matter how much they tried to maintain speed and impact, there was always a limit. After the ninth small monster was knocked aside by the two knights at the front, they finally came to a halt...

The tenth small monster appeared before Mo. It had slender limbs, its claws and lower legs covered in thin scales, and it let out a series of eerie laughs while brandishing its claws at the knights!

"Oh? Stopping already?" Mo shrugged, then raised his hand to point ahead. "Alright, go scratch them!"

[Summoning: Imp]

Active Skill

Mastery Requirements: Intelligence 6, Class 'Summoner'/'Sorcerer'

Cost/Restrictions: 25 Mana

Effect: Summons two small demons from a lower plane to fight for you, capable of accepting simple commands. Cooldown: 10 seconds.

[Note: Don't expect them to understand anything too complex. The intelligence and combat ability of these little vandals aren't much higher than two adult huskies combined.]

Under the influence of the talent [Demon Lord], all of Mo's skill cooldowns were reduced to only thirty percent of their original duration. He had just used a frequency of two imps every three seconds to slow down the knights' momentum with nine imps in a short time, and the last one lunged forward with claws bared at his command...

And then...

[Summoning: Explosion]

Active Skill

Mastery Requirements: Intelligence 10, Class 'Summoner'

Cost/Restrictions: One obedient summoned creature

Effect: Commands a summoned creature to self-destruct, dealing damage equal to three times the creature's HP to enemies within a 2-meter radius. Cooldown: 20 minutes.

[Note: Bo~om~!!]

...

Chapter 10: The End