Chapter 532: Chapter 532: The Hunt

Upon seeing Tang Ming fully dead, his body even used as fertilizer by the hundred-eyed vine tree, a sense of relief washed over Song Jian’s face.

“Finally, it’s over. Using dead players to create skeleton warriors, it’s downright perverse!” Song Jian sighed.

But at that moment, Song Jian suddenly received a system alert, and his expression changed dramatically.

System: You’ve killed a member of the Death’s Scythe organization, lowering your relationship with them to hostile. Death’s Scythe will send assassins to kill you. You must survive three assassination attempts for them to temporarily give up on hunting you!

“How could this be, what exactly is this organization, Death’s Scythe?” Song Jian frowned.

In the game, there were all sorts of factions. Song Jian had already had a previous encounter with a faction called “101 Gathering Area”. He had killed a few militiamen from the 101 Gathering Area that were trying to enter Doomsday City and had thus incurred their wrath. As a result, he was nearly killed.

However, even after killing the militiamen of the 101 Gathering Area, the game didn’t send out a warning of oncoming hunters like this one. Worse, he must fend off three assassination attempts for it to be over temporarily.

“I assume the assassins’ abilities will increase with each attempt. If I can resist them three times, they’ll deem my strength beyond their estimation. Continuing to chase me would then harm the organization, hence the temporary halt.” Song Jian managed a bitter smile and shook his head.

If he were back in Doomsday City, in his own Manor Castle, even if this Death’s Scythe organization sent a killer of the first-order combat power, he’d be confident of overpowering them.

But now he was in the wilderness on his way to Shadowfang Mountain Range. If he was hunted down now, he could only count on his own strength, which was tricky.

Song Jian looked around. The small town had been almost completely destroyed by the battle, leaving only a few remote buildings relatively intact, everything else was completely leveled to the ground.

He glanced at the hundred-eyed vine tree still standing in the garden and heaved a sigh.

Although he had destroyed Tang Ming’s safe house in the battle and the equipment that harmed people, Song Jian gained nothing, moreover, he had wasted two high-explosive grenades, and two self-destructing robots.

“If I could kill this level thirty monster, I might receive lots of nice loot.” Song Jian glanced at the hundred-eyed vine tree, a hint of greed gleaming in his eyes.

However, Song Jian quickly suppressed his greed. His quest was to fight a real Shadow Giant Dragon. If all his hidden cards were used up here, then his quest might not only fail, but he might also lose his life at Shadowfang Mountain Range.

He gave the hundred-eyed vine tree a regretful look and marked the location on his map. Once he reached level thirty, put on the Ant Emperor Ancestor Set, passed the first-order combat power test, and if he had a chance to leave Doomsday City, he would pay a visit to this hundred-eyed vine tree with over ten thousand vitality points.

Three days went by in a flash. The wilderness outside Doomsday City was desolate, with large chunks of rubble everywhere. Sandstorms blew from time to time. Song Jian often walked dozens of kilometers without seeing any living creatures, except for monsters occasionally.

Speaking of green plants, it was a luxury to see a single green weed in the wilderness. However, after leaving the town, Song Jian did stumble upon a small green forest. Inside, trees the thickness of an arm grew neatly, and hearing the birds chirping among them was melodious.

If it were the real world, these scenes would be nothing special, but in this desolate ruin game world, Song Jian felt an eerie sensation and didn’t dare approach, taking a wide berth around the area.

At dusk that day, Song Jian set up a campfire behind a huge rock to prepare his dinner. At that moment, not very far from where Song Jian was, a fist-sized screen of light appeared. It expanded and distorted like a living thing until it was over a meter tall.

A man shrouded in a black cloak, emitting an aura of death, walked out of the light screen with his head bowed and his arms crossed.

This man had dark skin, frighteningly bright eyes, a hooked nose in the center of his face, spoiling his overall look and giving him a fierce and sinister appearance.

“What a terrible environment, I wonder what the boss was thinking, even allowing membership in such a place…” Looking at the endless sandstorms and the coarse stones under his feet, the man couldn’t help but complain

Narrowing his eyes and relying on his senses, a grim smile crossed the man’s face: “I have found you, humble crawler. No one survives after killing a member of Death’s Scythe. Prepare to meet your death!”

With a cold laugh, the man turned into a puff of black smoke, scaling towards Song Jian’s location with the force of the wind.

Song Jian was roasting a piece of meat on the fire. The meat sizzled as the hot oil dripped, emitting a tantalizing aroma. Song Jian took out his spice box and carefully scooped out a small bit, spreading it on the roast meat.

Before setting out, Song Jian had prepared various food supplies. However, he didn’t carry many spices, with no way to replenish them in the wilderness. He treasured every bit of it.

“This should be ready to eat!” Song Jian looked at the fragrant piece of roast meat, nodding in satisfaction.

Once in the wilderness, Song Jian’s cooking skills soared, now at level three. He had also figured out five or six recipes for roasting meat.

Just as Song Jian was about to taste his handiwork, his expression changed. His body turned into a shadow and he abruptly sidestepped to the left.

Bang!

A sharp bone spear fell from the sky, piercing the burning campfire. Immediately, sparks flew and the intense shockwave scattered the burning wood everywhere.

“Huh, good reflexes!” A surprised voice called out from the air. Song Jian looked up to see a man in black floating mid-air, his black cloak fluttering like a pair of wings.

“Death’s Scythe!” Song Jian’s eyes narrowed, growing serious.

This man looked identical to Tang Ming, especially the robes allowing them to float in the air, giving the impression of wings.

“You insignificant crawler, it seems you know who I am. So be quiet and accept Death’s Scythe’s punishment. Let your soul fall into the endless hell to make up for your disrespect to Death’s Scythe.” The man, with an arrogant expression on his face, pointed at Song Jian and murmured: “Finger of Death!”

Immediately, a bolt of black light, reminiscent of lightning, shot straight towards Song Jian.