My Players Are So Fierce

“It’s surprisingly easy to strike a deal. I thought he would make more outrageous demands, given the current situation of Transia. We only have that metaphysical backbone left.”

In the shadows of the Blood Vulture Halls, Murphy was surprised that the negotiation with the Carpe family went so smoothly. Lieutenant Frayzer’s conditions were indeed harsh, but if these conditions could bring back the desperately needed basic industrial production lines to his territory, Murphy was willing to pay more.

No one on this land understood the power of mastered technology better than him.

Although the technology in this world was slightly different from what he remembered, it was not a problem. At the very least, a gun was still a gun. If all else failed, he could recruit some “punishing” little players to handle it manually.

He would never underestimate the little players’ “trouble-making” talents in this area.

“Miriam, I’ll leave this matter to you.”

Murphy instructed the Crimson Regent beside him:

“The nobles in the Anju region may not be as tolerant of vampires as the locals. I’d better not show up to avoid scaring them. If they demand more benefits in the next detailed discussion, you can give in appropriately. My only request is that those seized production lines must be retrieved as soon as possible.

We cannot solely rely on the merchants of the Nordtov Kingdom. That would be putting our lifeline in someone else’s hands.”

Miriam nodded.

As a student of the Shaldor Engineering Academy, she was not unfamiliar with machinery and had seen those “iron artworks” firsthand during her off-campus internship at a halfling factory.

She believed she could handle this matter, and since Lord Murphy had already established a connection with the eldest son of the Carpe family, the other party would not be too unreasonable.

Those nobles, especially old aristocratic families like the Carpe, were very particular about maintaining a proper image.

“Go ahead and get to work.”

Murphy’s ears twitched, and he said:

“It seems my warriors are engaged in a task of great importance to them. I should go and observe their victory.”

With that, his Blood Wings spread open, propelling him into the sunlight. As a “day walker,” the moment Murphy entered the sunlight, dense shadows gathered around him to shield him from the sun’s rays.

This was a spirit technique called “Shadow Cloak.”

Originating from Tris’s casual instruction, it was a standard ability for high-ranking vampires, used to protect them when they had to be active under the annoying sunlight. However, the gathered spirit shadows could not completely protect a vampire’s delicate skin, so after flying for a few seconds, Murphy felt the unpleasant burning sensation.

It was as if a fire had ignited beneath his skin.

Ah, it burned so much.

He told himself a dirty joke in his mind to cheer himself up. Then, quite smoothly, he leaped through the crack in the cliff wall that had torn open the city’s great ravine and entered the outer city’s sewer system.

During this process, he could clearly see purple spots of light flickering in the sunlight at the bottom of the ravine, which reached several dozen meters deep.

This represented the concentration of Astral Realm spirit energy far exceeding the surface at the lowest point of the ravine.

Originally, these things were supposed to dissipate, but the reopening of the Astral Realm’s rift had revived them. Murphy didn’t know what was at the very bottom of this ravine, which had been blasted open by over a dozen dimensional meteorites, and he didn’t want to know. For now, just let those things remain there.

They could deal with them later when the territory had spare resources.

Once inside the sewer, the comforting darkness enveloped him from all sides, eliciting a contented moan from the vampire. He then leaped forward like a ghost, heading towards the area where the little players had gathered in large numbers.

His perception of life was like a standard radar, guiding Murphy through this labyrinth without losing his way.

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At the same time, the player army assembled by Joy Stick had gathered about fifteen minutes away from sewer entrance number seven.

Although he had initially posted a recruitment message asking for Black Iron rank players, Joy Stick didn’t turn away other little players who came to join the excitement. Besides, having more people had its advantages.

“Brothers who haven’t reached the Black Iron rank can hunt around the perimeter. I estimate that once we break through that door, we’ll alert the surrounding groups of ghouls. Your task is to hold them off and drive them back.”

Joy Stick stood on a wooden crate, waving the family’s Wing Blade, and shouted to the players below:

“Consider it grinding experience, brothers! If this search yields any gains, I, Joy Stick, will definitely not short-change you!”

“Brother Stick is awesome! Hooray!”

Laughter echoed from the crowd.

They didn’t come for a share of the rewards but mainly because Brother Stick’s team had been searching for this so-called “Mob Boss’s Vault” in the sewers ever since entering Kadman City. Now that they finally had a lead, everyone naturally wanted to witness the good news and share in the excitement.

More importantly, there had been no NPC quest guidance for the “Mob Boss’s Vault” storyline from beginning to end!

This was a “side quest” that players independently found clues for and pieced together. The little players were eager to see if this approach would work, as when would they ever get rich by simply doing quests and working for the stingy NPCs?

Not to mention, those Computation Bead plugins sold by the Adventurer’s Guild are good stuff. However, not many players can afford them now.

The one currently nicknamed the “Black-Hearted Witch Hunter” by everyone, Natalie, has set outrageous prices, 20 gold coins for a single bead plugin, which is practically a death sentence.

Players’ beads have three slots, so to fill them all would require at least 60 gold coins.

And according to the “great senior” Meow King, those plugins each have their uses. If possible, it’s best to have a complete set. So, just for this one item, players need to have a reserve of over 100 gold coins.

Not to mention that after the 2.0 version update, players now have to pay money to learn skills from NPCs. If features like enchanting or weapon enhancement come out in the future, how far can this little money go?

Are you going to enhance your weapon with Elly from the Celestial Realm with just 100 gold coins?

What a joke! Who do you think you’re looking down on?

“Yeah, it’s quite outrageous.”

Murphy, peeking from the nearby darkness, nodded in agreement upon hearing the little players’ complaints.

According to Miriam, those bead plugins could be obtained for no more than 1 gold coin at any hardware store in Shaldor Port. With connections and bulk purchases, they could even get discounts.

The halflings had long industrialized the production of those plugins, driving the prices down to extremely low levels. Moreover, the plugins Natalie had were just standard ones, without any masterwork or advanced versions.

Murphy had advised Natalie to charge a bit more to raise funds for the construction of the Avalon Cathedral, but she had increased the price by 20 times, which was indeed unreasonable.

But the most frustrating part was that she was currently the only one selling these bizarre items in the entire Transia region, so…

“Monopoly businesses are the easiest to do.”

Murphy sighed inwardly, then took out a bottle of fruit wine mixed with a bit of diluted blood, poured a mouthful, and settled into a comfortable position to enjoy the players’ attempt to raid this “Mob Boss’s Vault.”

Murphy had long known about the gangsters’ hideouts for stashing goods in the sewers.

After all, one couldn’t expect good law and order in a city ruled by vampires. Furthermore, Kadman City had implemented a rationing system for years, during which the underground black market thrived, and the gangs in the outer city had accumulated a lot of money from such businesses.

Murphy had initially intended to set up a dedicated quest line to obtain these ownerless assets, but after taking over the 400-year accumulation of the Blood Vulture Clan, he no longer saw the point in such petty gains.

For now, he would consider this as “giving the little players a family allowance,” while also using Brother Stick’s great success to stimulate their already strong spirit of exploration.

In the real world, many things were buried in various places. Relying solely on Murphy to find them would take forever. The right approach was to mobilize the players to become “treasure mice.”

Goods from the Nordtov Kingdom would soon enter Transia. If the players didn’t have some money, how could they promote consumption in the territory?

“Blow it open!”

The little players scattered around the perimeter, and after Brother Stick confirmed that everything was ready, he gave the order to his team.

Tiger Leopard Rider Lin, carrying explosives bought from the alchemy workshop, stepped forward and piled them in front of the metal door that sealed off a sewer passage.

While the two former engineers worked, the Black Iron warriors responsible for the assault made their final preparations.

The now “fully Black Iron” student party, Meow Six Squad, Fierce Warrior Squad, and Sister Squad each had their own responsibilities. It was evident that Joy Stick had put a lot of thought into today’s raid.

He had even spent his own money to buy weapons, oils, and bullets effective against demonic creatures for the Black Iron warriors. Most absurdly, these items were hand-crafted by the alchemy apprentices led by the good pigeon himself over the past few days.

“I think we should open our own shop.”

The “newborn vampire” Leading Pigeon, while loading the spherical bullets coated with special powder into the rifle barrels, complained to his fellow workers:

“I thought Lady Tris was a good person, but I never expected her to be a full-fledged vampire! The production cost of these demon-slaying bullets is no more than 30 copper coins, but she sold them to Brother Stick for a silver coin.

That profit is terrifying.

From now on, we can’t buy things from NPC shops anymore. Tell me what you need, and I’ll craft it for you. Just bring the materials, and you only need to pay for the labor.”

“Tsk, she’s a vampire, after all.”

Nearby, Cheche scoffed and said disdainfully:

“Besides, how are we going to level up if you start a business? We’ve finally taken the lead.”

“You don’t get it at all.”

Ah Yuen, on the other hand, supported Leading Pigeon’s decision. He said:

“The game’s leveling system is designed to discourage us from rapidly increasing our levels. Did you not see the note when you reached the Black Iron rank?

The official channel told you not to blindly pursue levels at this stage.

Have you seen the ‘Potential Release Bar’ on the character interface?

You can unlock that potential bar through combat or other activities. You need to reach 70% of your potential to unlock the Silver Trial.

This process is slow.

Even if you practice every day, it’ll probably take two months. So you might as well take this opportunity to start a side business.

Doesn’t Leading Pigeon advancing his alchemy skills represent personal growth?

Tris is a Spirit Sovereign, but she’s also a Grandmaster Alchemist. The NPC has laid out the profession template paths for you, yet you’re still hung up on levels.”

“Boom!”

As Ah Yuen’s words fell, the explosives placed in front of the iron door were detonated.

Murphy couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at these guys doing such intense activities in an enclosed area. They really weren’t afraid of death. If the sewer collapsed and buried them all inside, wouldn’t Lord Murphy have to step in and fish them out?

Hey, it’s great to have an NPC helping you wipe your ass, right? You bunch of little fools, cherish your lives a bit, won’t you?

You’re all my precious assets.

“Charge! Hurry! Shield warriors, forward!”

Brother Stick waved his hand through the dispersing gunsmoke and charged forward, shouting.

He had already specialized in the Tomb Guard’s sword and shield skills, and Niuniu beside him had done the same. However, the Three to Five from the Meow King’s team had advanced himself from an Apprentice Witch Hunter to a full-fledged Witch Hunter, though his shield fighting style differed from that of the vampire shield warriors.

As he called out the name of the Avalon deity, streaks of spirit thorns emerged and wrapped around his armor and shield, forming a thicker spirit defense.

He himself was bathed in emerald light, with a sustained passive healing effect continuously taking effect within his body.

If one had to describe it, the Witch Hunter shield warrior was perhaps more akin to a “spell tank,” with stronger defenses against various demonic attacks and spirit magic.

Among the “Four Great Shield Warriors” of the players, the last one, Sister Orchid, had neither become a vampire nor a Witch Hunter. She took the most orthodox human classical route, so her stats and skills were somewhat inferior to the other three. However, Sister Orchid’s high endurance and agility made her the most resilient of the four.

She was aware of this and followed behind the three fierce warriors, providing support.

They charged into the passage blown open by the explosion, only to be nearly overwhelmed by the stench that wafted out from this sealed area.

This was understandable. Imagine a group of gang members sealing themselves in their treasury when disaster struck, but they later turned into ghouls and were sealed inside for nearly a month. The stench was indescribable, a true “biochemical attack” like a poison gas domain, even causing the four who charged in to start bleeding.

“Disperse!”

From the back, Meow King, the leader of the casters, raised his staff and shouted, casting an Oak Knight’s natural purification forward, summoning an emerald wind to blow. The vampire Spirit Mages, Leading Pigeon and Cheche, then conjured Dark Spirit into Raging Gales, weakening the foul stench.

Fierce combat subsequently erupted in the passage.

Unexpectedly, it was not particularly dangerous. After all, this was not a real dungeon with powerful enemies guarding the treasury. The ghouls stationed here were no stronger than the demonic creatures alerted outside.

They were nothing to these formidable Black Iron-rank warriors.

The only trouble was that the outer city gang had set up traps inside their treasury.

The cracked ground and poisoned crossbow bolts shooting out from the sides nearly swallowed Brother Stick, who was in the lead. Fortunately, his vampire senses and flying abilities allowed him to dodge the disaster. Ten minutes later, they reached the deepest part of the passage.

Before them were black chests and piles of scattered coins of various denominations, though not all gold, stacked like mountains.

“We’ve struck it rich! Hahaha, see, I told you there would be good stuff here!”

Brother Stick’s eyes shrank to the shape of money in the darkness.

Apart from the excitement of getting rich, there was a sense of achievement in this being an exploration he had independently driven from start to finish, proving that there was indeed a “treasure hunting” mechanism in this game separate from the quest system.

And the riches before him were the best reward for him, an explorer who had spent a tremendous amount of time and effort exploring the sewers!

But there was still a bit of trouble.

As Brother Stick approached the mountain of coins, a low roar sounded from behind the chests, followed by the emergence of a large and two smaller elite ghoul leaders amid the tremors.

From the remnants of their clothing, they appeared to be the boss and his personal guards of a nearby underground gang.

Three elite ghouls were no pushovers, but faced with nearly 30 Black Iron warriors eagerly surrounding them, they were merely appetizers before the main course.

In less than five minutes, these last roadblocks were dealt with.

Brother Stick let out a sigh of relief and kicked aside the decapitated body at his feet. He grabbed a handful of coins, and this action immediately triggered a note from the achievement system.

【Ding! Server First! ‘Treasure Hunter’ achievement unlocked! Congratulations to tester ‘Onboard Joy Stick’ for obtaining the first secret treasure in 《Reality Realm》.

Special title ‘Hidden Treasure Hunter’ progress (1/5).】

【Ding! Special Hidden Quest ‘Murphy’s Troubles’ has been triggered!】