Chapter 57

He got closer! His Grandmaster Reconnaissance Skill allowed him to not only see the opponent’s level but also their equipment from a long distance.

—Player Name: Sword from the West. Level 20. Elf race, Level 1 Dual Blade Warrior, Wind Dancer. Fully equipped with equipment and items from the shop! Two Trainee Sailors subordinates. Troops Morale +1. Unknown Cargo onboard, 10 units.

What’s that? You can’t tell anything from that information? Does he have some magic scroll that can kill me instantly? I can’t see through him. Whatever, I have no interest in that anyway.

You’re pro, right? Show me some drifting then.

Da Fei waved his hand and directed a sailor to the artillery cabin, where the ballista was.

If ballista players had troops, they could assign a soldier (must be a mid or small-sized humanoid organism) to control the ballista. The damage inflicted would be accredited to the hero, and there would be no skill or attribute requirements of the soldier. Of course, dozens of ballistas could be placed on a single warship. Only the player’s own ballista could be freely assigned. The other ballistas would not follow the same rules. They could only be operated by high-level sailors with Ballista Skill and high attributes. Of course, the sub-hero could also operate them.

Sword from the West’s small ship entered the ballista’s effective range. There was nothing else to say. Fire away!

—Boom! Boom! Accompanied by two explosions from the ballista, the small ship was damaged badly.

Sword from the West panicked and yelled. “Brother Fei! Don’t fight me! I’m here to deliver goods to you! After I send you the goods, you can kill me. It won’t be too late!”

Da Fei was stunned. What is he saying? I don’t understand!

Sword from the West continued yelling. “Brother Fei. Stop firing! I’ll sink if you keep firing! Big Boss made an announcement on the channel just now. He asked us to send our heads and red packets to Brother Fei. Since I’m a merchant, I definitely have to come. Otherwise, I’ll be purposely rooting against Brother Fei. Even if I don’t come, there’ll be others coming behind me. Hence, I wanted to give you my cargo to curry favor. If you sink my ship, all the cargo will be gone. Brother Fei, you’ll lose big!”

Da Fei instantly understood. What did “send our heads and red packets” mean? That idiot wants to force me into killing others so that my Red Name will become even redder! However, since this guy is coming to die, why is he asking me to stop firing first?

Of course, it must be because I will lose a different amount of Reputation points. If he drowns because I sank his ship, I’ll just lose points for maliciously attacking merchants. Him falling into the water is none of my business, as that does not equate to drowning someone. He can hold onto a piece of wood and wait for rescue by drifting. This is like when players attract monsters to kill others. In reality, his death is caused by me. However, the System cannot confirm that I am the killer. After all, I won’t be touching him at all, right? Who knows if he just tripped and fell into the water?

On the other hand, if I stab him to death, that will be a combination of murder and malicious attack on merchants. I will lose a lot more Reputation points that way.

As for the Big Boss offering incentives, he’s definitely offering payouts based on my Reputation points lost. A Level 1 kill and a Level 20 kill will fetch completely different rewards. After all, I’ll only lose 10 Reputation points if I kill a Level 1 Hero. However, a Level 20 Hero will cost me 200 points. How can they be paid equally?

What the heck. I thought that I met a strong pro! Turns out, he’s just a calculative, evil merchant! Fine, we’ll each take what we need. In the end, we’ll part on friendly terms. I will spare your life for now.

Da Fei squatted down and yelled. “Fine. Come over!”

Sword from the West hurriedly replied, “Understood! Understood!” As he said that, he was secretly overjoyed. He had a chance!

Sword from the West was an ordinary Elf race merchant. He spawned as an ordinary Level 1 Wind Dancer. His inborn special ability was also the ordinary “Wind Dancer Instructor”. Each time the hero gained 2 levels, the Attack and Defense of the Wind Dancers in his troops would each increase by 1 point. The Skills that he had learned so far were ordinary the Attack Skill and Luck Skill.

However, he had a hidden, extraordinary trait. That was his hidden occupation as a Ranger. During the Level 10 Trial Dungeon, when he had to choose an occupation, he discovered a Hidden Mission and excelled at it. Hence, he obtained the hidden occupation special ability, Avenger’s Rage! If the hero was attacked by enemies, he could exhaust 50% of his Stamina to deal a blow 3 times the normal Damage.

If he had a lucky hit, that would be 6 times the damage. That would be enough to kill almost anyone instantly. Even if he could not get the instant kill, he would have an overwhelming advantage. What would that mean? It meant that he would no longer be ordinary. Of course, even a Master-level Luck Skill would only grant a 10% chance of double damage. That was not reliable enough. Hence, he needed supplementary items. He equipped common items found in markets such as the Lucky Four-leaved Clover (Luck +1), the Lucky Card (Luck +1). Apart from that, he also had high-level items like the Golden Horseshoe (Luck +2) and the Velvet Cloak (Luck +2). Finally, he also had the extremely rare, top-class item, the Lion Heart Crown (Luck +3, Morale +3).

To purchase the full set of luck items in order to perfect his instant kill technique, Sword from the West started his merchant career as someone who did not possess any Nautical or Accounting Skills. Soon, Sword from the West realized that being a merchant was rather relaxing and fun. Not only could he gain EXP and money from trading, but he could also earn additional EXP, Reputation, equipment, and even items if he sold direly needed cargo to certain cities at the right time.

Sword from the West always believed that his hidden Special Skill would one day change his fate. He believed that one day, he could shine brightly.

Such opportunities were only for those who were prepared. Hence, he always carefully carried a bottle of Red Potion awarded by the Hidden Mission and a bottle of Stamina Potion. In this game, potions were important items that could alter the outcome of a battle. They were extremely expensive. That was also why Mage players often found the starting stage of the game very difficult. With these two potions, Sword from the West had the confidence to face two enemies just by himself!

Furthermore, Sword from the West always prayed at the Goddess Altar in the city before he set sail. That would grant him 1-3 temporary Luck points. Hence, he had 8 Luck Points today with his Master-level Luck Skill, or a 16% chance to deal double damage. As Wind Dancers were dual blade warriors, both blades were considered lucky. Hence, he had a 32% chance of dealing double damage. That was a very high chance.

While trading today, Sword from the West realized that the area’s trading channel had exploded. The city-famous Cannon Bro’s fleet was robbed by the infamous Da Fei. Who was Da Fei? Sword from the West had heard of him. In fact, merchants had a boring gaming experience. Hence, most of them assigned NPC sailors to steer and control their ships. They would then check out the gossip on forums or watch movies and chat in channels. It was difficult for him not to know about Da Fei. After all, merchants were most sensitive about Red Names.

Sword from the West wanted to become famous. He wanted to be known by the entire server, just like Da Fei. Of course, he did not want to become famous the same way Da Fei did.

Then, the Big Boss made his offer. Whoever went to offer their heads and red packets to Da Fei would be compensated according to the Reputation point lost by him. As a merchant, everyone knew how to calculate this deal. It was extremely worthwhile. However, even though the Big Boss was credible, Da Fei was on a huge ship. Could the merchants’ small ships catch up? Even if they did, what could the small ships do? If they could neither catch up nor cause any damage, wouldn’t they just be wasting their time?

As everyone else was hesitating, Sword from the West, a merchant who did not possess any Nautical Skill, headed for an early start. He immediately decided on setting sail.

This was the opportunity to change his own destiny that he had been waiting for!

Once he succeeded in removing this huge Red Name, he could make it big in life. If he failed, he would just be killed and collect his reward later. Regardless, there was no way he could lose here.

Now, he had to make Da Fei agree to let him approach. That was the first step to success! He must patiently create his own opportunity.

When he got closer, he saw that there were tens of small ships full of cargo surrounding SV Fly. A few NPC sailors were busy with carrying all the cargo around. The legendary Red Name squatted on his ship’s gunwale and looked down at him. Sword from the West could not maintain eye contact due to the glaring sun and Da Fei’s despicable gaze.

Da Fei just smiled and said, “This brother. Can you do me a favor? You can tell that I’m short on manpower here, right? Why don’t you help me carry some cargo around first?”