Chapter 548: Chapter 548: Indifference

Among the group, a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy was leading the charge, dressed in a flamboyant outfit which makes him appear bloated.

His body was adorned with numerous pieces of jewelry; he wore three necklaces alone, and each finger of his hands bore a ring. He also had two bracelets on each wrist.

The boy’s long, golden hair shone under the sunlight, giving him a rather handsome appearance, but his panicked expression slightly diminished his charm.

Right beside him, five or six armored guards followed closely, protecting him within their center.

Upon spotting Song Jian, the boy’s face lit up and he hurriedly called out, “Adventurer, I am Solando, the son of the City of Sin’s lord. Now, I command you, in my capacity as a Viscount, to protect me, and hold back the monster chasing us!”

At this point, a girl by the boy’s side, dressed in black, bow at her hand, and a short sword swaying at her waist, angrily replied, “Solando, mind your status! How can you utter such words? The beast chasing us is the Elite Level Boss, Shadow Teeth! How can you ask a stranger adventurer like us to fend off this calamity for us?”

“Indeed, Young Master, the lady is right, this is beneath your dignity.” A middle-aged knight standing near the boy softly suggested, “More importantly, do you think this adventurer can stall the monster behind us? And even if he can, for how long? A second? Or five seconds?”

Solando gave a hostile glance to the middle-aged knight beside him, turned around and yelled at the girl, “Anna, you are just my cousin. If our Sakel family hadn’t taken you in, you would have been long dead. Thus, you have no right to lecture me!”

“You….” Anna’s eyebrows rose sharply, her face turning red in anger. She swiftly pulled out the short sword hanging from her waist and glared fiercely at Solando.

Solando immediately began to tremble. Although he knew that Anna wouldn’t damage him, seeing her with the drawn short sword, he couldn’t help but be overcome by fear;

“A thousand Doomsday Coins. As long as you can lure the monster away, I will give you a thousand Doomsday Coins!” Solando loftily pointed at Song Jian.

A thousand Doomsday Coins was a considerable fortune for an average adventurer. However, compared to barring a Level 30 Elite Boss, it was too cheap of a price.

Song Jian smiled slightly, realizing that this entire group was made up of native game characters, or in other words, NPCs in the game. Naturally, he would not take them seriously.

Whoosh~

A shadow leapt out of the forest, knocked down an armored warrior before Song Jian’s narrowed eyes. He immediately felt a chill down his spine.

It was an entirely ink-black panther, its body radiating a phosphorescent glow. Not a speck of impurity tainted its fur. Its eyes, however, were blood-red, flashing a cruel, bloodthirsty light.

With a roar, the panther clawed at the fallen warrior. A sharp, grating sound reverberated as the hard armor seemed to tear open like paper under the panther’s claws.

Then, just like consuming pre-cracked walnut kernels, the panther proceeded to rip the warrior to pieces, the screams incessant. Being eaten alive by a panther, experiencing its teeth tearing flesh off his body and swallowing it, reduced the warrior’s sanity to tatters. He screamed in immense pain, loudly begging his companions to end his life.

Nonetheless, everyone was guarding Solando and Anna, maintaining their distance from the powerful panther Boss.

“Shadow Teeth, is this the Shadow Teeth they’re talking about, a Level 30 Elite Boss?” Song Jian already had the Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword summoned, firmly gripped in his hand.

Initially, hearing about a Level 30 Elite Boss, Song Jian did not think much of it. However, upon witnessing this panther, he immediately understood. This Elite Boss, known as Shadow Teeth, definitively possessed First Order Combat Power.

“At such a speed, I simply cannot resist…” Song Jian looked serious as he slowly moved backward;

The terrifying speed, coupled with a potent attack power, made the Shadow Teeth an absolute overlord in the surrounding Shadowfang Mountain Range. Even though the Dark Castle populated by the Shadow Giant Dragon is less than ten miles away, the Shadow Teeth show no fear and become the most terrifying existence in this monstrous region.

It is not to say, however, that the Shadow Teeth have the power to rival the Shadow Giant Dragon. It just implies that the Shadow Teeth have the ability to escape when the Shadow Giant Dragon in the Dark Castle notices it.

Craack~

Just like claws scraping across glass, an ear-piercing sound resonated continuously. The Shadow Teeth directly shredded the armor of the soldier beneath it into scrap metal. Its tusks, covered in fresh blood, pierced through the soldier’s body and ripped him out from his now useless armor;

The high pitched scream gradually dwindled, finally turning into a powerless whimper, then all that remained was the sound of the Shadow Teeth chewing and tearing;

“What, what do we do now?” Solando turned pale as a ghost, watching the guard who was just beside him now reduced to a mess of flesh. He felt like vomiting, a sour taste persisting in his mouth;

“Let’s hope it’s full now and won’t trouble us anymore.” Anna gripped her dagger tightly, her face full of tension as she spoke.

At this point, she had slung her longbow on her back. With the speed of the Shadow Teeth, there was simply no opportunity for her to draw her bow and shoot;

“Young Master Solando, rest assured, as long as I, Kalen, am breathing, I will not let this monster harm you!” With a determined face, the middle-aged knight who had been protecting Solando spoke.

Hearing Kalen’s reassurances, Solando exhaled deeply, his heart relaxing. At this moment, however, he saw Song Jian gripping a long sword with a vigilant expression, his eyes fixed on the boss monster, and anger welled up within him;

“Adventurer, you refused a viscount’s offer of friendship!” Solando glared at Song Jian and threatened, “Since you refused to grasp the hand of friendship I extended to you, be prepared to face my high raised sword and imminent death.”

Song Jian was momentarily stunned, suddenly receiving a system prompt;

System: You have elicited the disdain of the son of the City of Sin’s lord, your relationship with the City of Sin has dropped to “Indifferent”;

“Ind, indifferent?” Song Jian was astonished. Even if he hadn’t been to the City of Sin before, relations with human-dominated cities for all players were generally neutral. Then, by completing tasks, you could gain the city’s reputation points, and gradually improve your relationship with the city.

If your relationship with a particular city is reduced to “Indifferent,” then the citizens of that city won’t offer you any tasks. It means your relationship with that city will never improve, and once you enter the city, you would find it difficult to make any progress;

However, Solando is just the son of the city lord, and not the city lord himself. Otherwise, if it was the City of Sin’s lord that Song Jian angered, a single word from the lord could reduce Song Jian’s relationship with the City of Sin to “Hatred,” placing him on the city’s most wanted black list.

“Interesting~” A hint of a smile crept up on Song Jian’s face. He initially intended to hold the fort for a while and save these NPCs, but he didn’t expect this to happen…

Upon seeing Song Jian’s lack of fear and his nonchalant expression, Anna’s face changed instantly. Only at this moment, did she realize how different Song Jian was;

“God, God’s Chosen One, he is a God’s Chosen One!” Anna exclaimed;