Chapter 590 - 555: Bluffing a Bunch of Traitors
Nothing is non-negotiable, so Da Fei immediately replied, "Boss Ma, I’m just a player who takes on missions for kicks, even if I don’t accept this mission, won’t the NPCs take action on their own? It’s just that I feel guilty, so I wanted to give Boss Ma a heads-up in advance. The key is how Boss Ma plans to respond."
Ma Yinglong laughed, "Many thanks for the heads-up, Brother Fei. Actually, we’ve already lost the main battlefield, and that small squad isn’t going to stir up much trouble. Anyway, we’ll make some adjustments to our activities, so we won’t make things difficult for Brother Fei."
Da Fei hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Boss Ma, please don’t stand on ceremony with me, I feel terribly guilty for pestering you again and again!"
Ma Yinglong laughed, "It’s nothing, it’s nothing! We are the ones who wronged Brother Fei in the first place, I’m the one who should feel guilty."
After ending the conversation with Da Fei, Ma Yinglong was furious, cursing, "Damn it, he’s stepped over my head time and time again, does he really think the reputation I gained as Little Ma was for nothing?"
What now? After the main battlefield was lost, was the small squad behind enemy lines doomed too? At this point, Ma Yinglong also had to abandon his last hope.
In truth, with the main battlefield collapsed, Ma Yinglong genuinely lacked the interest to keep struggling in the World Tree. A target the Demon King disdains is naturally disdained by Ma Yinglong as well. Ma Yinglong’s plan to meet with Lei Ren was to reorganize the development path for the Hell Race. That is, let unrelated members take over the Lei Huolong account and continue messing around in Lava Space, and then arrange for Lei Ren to take over another account with high fame and merit, Hell Number.
But the moment Lei Ren heard about an account transfer, he thought he was being stripped of his position. Coupled with his recent fatigue, he became so anxious that he collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital for an IV drip.
Ah, so young and yet so mentally frail, how is he to be a professional player?
Every time Ma Yinglong recalled Lei Ren’s recent behavior, he couldn’t help but shake his head. He hadn’t intended to replace him, but after his collapse, Ma Yinglong was compelled to change his mind. However, the Dragon Slayer Guild didn’t plan to rely on the Hell Race as the main force, so there was no rush to decide on a replacement. After all, when a position opens up, many eyes are watching, so it’s a matter of seeing who performs well.
The Lei Huolong account would temporarily be held by one of the studio’s members. Bored, Ma Yinglong decided to log onto Lei Huolong’s account personally to see what the NPC named Siriel thought.
Honestly, after observing the plot for a while, Ma Yinglong found that Siriel seemed obsessed only with the enhancement of personal power. Well, that’s understandable. Siriel was once powerful, but in the last National War at the Pool of Radiance, he went all-in, crippling himself, no longer even a hero — that was the price he paid for pursuing merits.
Yet, being a member of the Demon Race, he seems to have made a fundamental mistake. What use is high merit for a Demon that has lost its power? How to command respect? Fortunately, it seemed he realized his mistake. Indeed, an interesting NPC.
Now, Ma Yinglong logged in using the Lei Huolong account to initiate a conversation, "Lord Siriel, we have new intelligence; the Elf Kingdom seems to have discovered us in Lava Space and is preparing to launch an attack on us."
Siriel’s flames flickered, "They’ve found us so soon?"
Ma Yinglong continued to ask, "Lord, what should we do?"
Siriel sneered, "What do you think we should do?"
Ma Yinglong was at a loss for words and just said, "It seems the Elves intend to attack us right after we kill some Demigod Crow."
Siriel was sharply taken aback, "Demigod Crow? I see! No wonder I felt a familiar, powerful force emanating from Mercury Lake. This crow must be the Demigod Ann Su that fell a thousand years ago during the Solar Eclipse War, struck down by a Demon God’s incarnation. The mythic messenger of gods, the Druids’ mentor. He was but one step away from godhood, but now has turned into an Undead."
Ma Yinglong was caught off guard, "Aren’t gods capable of resurrection? Can a god also become an Undead?"
Siriel sneered, "Mortals cannot kill a god; only a god can kill a god. And yet, gods do not so easily perish completely. As long as a sliver of consciousness or divine thoughts remains, they can still resurrect through a common method, by becoming an Undead, which every Mortal knows."
Ma Yinglong was not interested in the lecture, so he simply asked, "Since the Elf Kingdom wants to wait for us to kill the crow before attacking, should we just not kill this crow and continue our recovery here?"
Siriel responded coldly, "Wait for us to kill the crow? Are you sure your intelligence is reliable? If the Elves knew their Demigod Crow had fallen here, they would have tried to revive it, to worship it anew. How could it have become an Undead?"
Ma Yinglong’s heart sank. Was Da Fei’s intelligence reliable? But he knows about Lava Space, he knows about the Crow Demigod! Players can’t deceive the system!
Siriel scoffed, "Alright, let’s not rule out the possibility that they discovered it too late. So, does this mean that this space has been under the Elves’ surveillance all along and that our mission was doomed from the start?"
Ma Yinglong casually said, "I think it would be good for the Lord to train here a little longer. What do you think, my Lord?"
Siriel burst into laughter, "Of course, I’ve told you before, haven’t I? Places of pure Flame like this are monopolized by High-level Demons in Hell; I had no chance of getting in. Now that I’ve found a domain where I can grow stronger, I will stay here at any cost. I don’t want to live a powerless life full of humiliation ever again!"
Ma Yinglong uttered an "Oh?", "At any cost means?"
Siriel sneered, "You have two choices, one, go back and tell the Demon King I won’t return for a while; you can even say I’ve betrayed him—that’s fine too—"
Ma Yinglong was shocked to his core—he was going to betray!
Then he heard Siriel continue: "Second, follow me. Although I can’t possibly be as strong as the Demon King, nor can I offer you as much benefit as him. But, the Demon King has too many underlings, and the resources available for you are limited, so think it over yourself."
Ma Yinglong was dumbfounded on the spot!
Siriel snorted coldly: "Of course, there’s a third option—you can try to kill me, the traitor, right now!"
——System Prompt: Siriel has issued you the task ["The Betrayer’s Decision"]!
——Task Hint: You have three choices to choose from, once you decide to follow the betrayer, you will receive a huge faction penalty. Please consider carefully.
——System Prompt: Your task ["Infiltrating the World Tree Space"] has failed.
In just a moment, the studio team members exclaimed in surprise: "President, our mission has failed, and a new task has popped up!"
Such a turn of events also shocked Ma Yinglong on the spot! For a moment, the think tank at headquarters also began to discuss animatedly: "President, be careful! Once you betray, the Hell Race hero’s Professional Skill, Hell Gate, might not be usable because the principle of Hell Gate is for the Demon Hero to summon troops from hell, but why would hell send troops to a traitor!"
After being stunned for quite a while, Ma Yinglong suddenly came back to his senses. Interesting! Really interesting, even as a professional gamer like him, he’s never heard of a Demon betraying the Demon King.
Ma Yinglong then continued to ask: "My lord, I have a few questions, do you mean, if the Elf army comes over, you will surrender?"
Siriel burst into wild laughter, his body’s flames blazing even more vigorously: "That’s right, surrender! The precondition is that I demand to stay here and help them guard and develop the Lava Space. Elves don’t have the capability to develop Lava Space, so such a small request, they’ll definitely agree, right?"
You’ve got to be kidding me, do you even resemble a Demon anymore? Ma Yinglong said with a mix of laughter and tears: "What if they don’t agree and decide to slaughter everyone?"
Siriel smiled arrogantly: "We’ll talk about it after they take care of the obstacle, the Demigod Crow! How about it? Have you made your choice?"
Ma Yinglong chuckled incredulously. If he stuck with him, Lei Huolong, the so-called number one of the Hell Race in the China Region, would certainly be done for. However, does this also signify the birth of a new Hidden Profession? Interesting! The Dragon Slayer Guild had more than two hundred high-end accounts in the Hell Number, and it really didn’t care about the dozen or so accounts on this mission.
Alright, it’s not much fun for a professional player to constantly be calculating and counting beads like a miser. It’s better to try your luck with ordinary players like Da Fei and enjoy the surprises of continuous serendipity.
Ma Yinglong had made up his mind and with a smile, asked the command center: "What do you guys say, shall we bet on a handful of Hidden Professions just for the fun of it?"
The command center erupted with laughter: "As long as the president is happy, why not have a bit of fun?"
Ma Yinglong laughed heartily: "Alright! It’s been so many years since I’ve personally developed a Hidden Profession. I’m too happy! Let’s all rebel, haha!"
——System Prompt: You have chosen to follow the betrayer Siriel. Your Merit and Reputation within the Hell Race have been reset to zero, your main Professional Skill, Hell Gate, and related sub-skills can no longer be used, and you get 10 returned Skill Points.
Ma Yinglong chuckled incredulously! His main profession was really ruined! Reputation and Merit reset to zero, I’m no different from a newbie now!
Siriel laughed heartily: "You’ve got guts! From now on, our faction is officially established. We’ll call it [’Flame Sect’], and I formally accept you all as my disciples. I will develop new professions and teach them to you in the future! As for now, follow me in training within the lava. Once you’ve gained the Flame Body, I can start teaching you skills!"
The entire command center burst into laughter.
Ma Yinglong’s jaw dropped. Flame Sect? Sounds like a cult, right? Even if it’s a cult, that’s fine, but the sect’s founder and Hierarch seem too weak, right? Hold on, there’s another key question—where will we resurrect now if we die?
But there was no time to think more about it, Ma Yinglong immediately led the cheer: "Long live the Sect Hierarch, a bucket of paste!" He then turned to the command center with a laugh: "Do I look like an idiot?"
The other team members held back their laughter and also shouted: "A bucket of paste! A bunch of idiots!"
.....
At this moment, unbeknownst to Da Fei, who had just conning a bunch of traitors, the journey of returning to the city to hunt Sea Monsters had already begun with the ship fully loaded.
(Continuing to request for monthly tickets and recommendations!) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)