The five members of the Red Leaf Alliance all turned pale. The ever-composed Red Leaf Ironwall finally darkened his expression and said in a deep voice, “What do you mean!?”
"You took five of my recovery potions earlier. I only charged you 100 gold coins for them—what a fair and perfect transaction. I still have five more. If you're interested, I'll give you a special deal this time—50 gold coins. What do you think?"
A small recovery potion cost 2 copper coins at the beginner village's potion shop, but in Ye Tianxie's hands, its price skyrocketed to 20 gold coins—an astronomical 1,000-fold increase. Even with Red Leaf Ironwall's patience, he nearly lost control and slashed at Ye Tianxie right then and there. Gritting his teeth, he sneered coldly, “Ye Tian, it seems you’re determined to make an enemy of the Red Leaf Alliance?”
“Red Leaf Alliance, Green Hat Alliance, whatever you call yourselves, it has nothing to do with me. I’m just taking back what’s rightfully mine. Five potions for only 100 gold coins? You guys got a steal.” Ye Tianxie tilted his head slightly, a sinister smirk creeping up his lips. He suddenly realized that changing his in-game name might not be such a bad thing—it seemed to bring him unexpected amusement. If he had used his old name, even the Divine Domain Alliance and Wings of Oblivion would have wisely chosen to steer clear the moment they saw it.
“Very well… Ye Tian, the Red Leaf Alliance will remember you. Let’s go!!” Red Leaf Ironwall forcibly swallowed his rage, leaving behind a cold, menacing remark before turning away with a roar. Since joining the Red Leaf Alliance, he had never been humiliated like this. In Beginner Village No. 60001, there were only five of them from the alliance, and they knew they had no chance of dealing with Ye Tianxie right now. They had no choice but to endure the humiliation for now—once they left the beginner village, they would settle the score. He would make sure this man called Ye Tian understood the meaning of regret.
“Hold it right there. Seems like you’re forgetting something.”
Red Leaf Ironwall stopped in his tracks, turning back with a grim expression.
Ye Tianxie casually raised three fingers and said lazily, “You wasted three minutes of my time. My time is far more valuable than your lives. One minute… let’s say it’s worth 1,000 gold coins. That’s 3,000 gold coins in total—hand it over.”
"Ye Tian, don’t push us too far!"
Even a clay Bodhisattva had a temper, let alone these prideful players. The apprentice warrior among them clenched his greatsword halfway, his eyes burning with fury. If he didn’t know that attacking Ye Tianxie was as good as suicide, he would have struck already.
"Can’t afford it?" Ye Tianxie's expression darkened, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "How unfortunate. That means you’ll have to compensate me with your lives."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Before his words had fully landed, he made a sudden, unpredictable sidestep, instantly slipping past Red Leaf Ironwall. The five members of the Red Leaf Alliance barely had time to react before Ye Tianxie's massive, pitch-black weapon reappeared in his hands. The thought of dodging had only just surfaced in their minds when four of them were simultaneously struck by Fate’s Moment…
-110, -103, -108, -208.
The apprentice priest, who had already died once at the claws of the giant Direwolf, was pitifully taken out in a single critical hit. The remaining three saw their health bars instantly drop by more than half… accompanied by the wretched scream of the apprentice archer. In the real world, where even minor injuries were rare, few people could truly endure the excruciating pain of being slashed. The four surviving members instinctively tried to retreat in horror, but Fate’s Moment had an enormous attack radius.
Only the apprentice archer, driven by sheer panic, managed to scramble away. Meanwhile, the apprentice warrior and apprentice mage were finished off in Ye Tianxie’s swift follow-up strike, their health bars emptied as they dissolved into white light.
A chill gust swept from behind. Without turning around, Ye Tianxie spun Fate’s Moment in a dazzling arc, slamming it into Red Leaf Ironwall’s shield. A damage number of -99 popped up, and against the odds, a knockback effect triggered, forcing Red Leaf Ironwall back two steps. Ye Tianxie swiftly turned, thrusting twice into his chest, sending the so-called "Ironwall" back to the beginner village before he even had a chance to touch the hem of Ye Tianxie's clothes. A somewhat decent wooden shield clattered to the ground beside his fallen body.
That left only the apprentice archer, who was now fleeing in terror. When he glanced back and saw that his four comrades had perished in mere moments, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He ran for his life, but fate was cruel—a protruding rock on the ground caught his foot, causing him to stumble and crash onto the dirt.
As he struggled to get up, a tall, looming shadow cast over him. He looked up to see that pitch-black, fearsome weapon, and his entire body went limp with fear, drenched in cold sweat. He had just suffered one devastating blow from it earlier—the sheer pain and the sensation of death were seared into his memory forever.
Desperately, he waved his hands and stammered, “D-Don’t… don’t kill me! My pain setting is at 100%! Please, I’m begging you, don’t kill me… I’ll give you all my gold and gear… Please, big brother, spare me, don’t kill me!”
Ye Tianxie flashed the same chilling smile as before, his expression almost benevolent. “Alright, those who know me know that I’m actually quite merciful. Even though you wasted my time and couldn’t afford proper compensation, I suppose I shouldn’t be too ruthless… How about this? I’ll ask you one question. If you can give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll let you go.”
A question… another damn question…
Horrible memories came flooding back, and the apprentice archer nearly burst into tears. Trembling, he asked, “W-What’s the question?”
"Am I handsome?"
“I… I don’t know.”
Slash!
A dark gleam flickered as his weapon struck the apprentice archer, who let out a gut-wrenching scream. Ye Tianxie let out a deep sigh and said flatly, “If you don’t even know that, what’s the point of living?”
Watching the pitiful apprentice archer’s body dissolve into white light, Ye Tianxie sheathed Fate’s Moment and murmured, “No matter the world, it’s best to know your place. Not everyone is someone you can afford to provoke… Before logging into Destiny, you’d best check the almanac first.”
