Princess Jinyang screamed for a good while, but there was still no movement from Lin Deyou. She ground her teeth in sheer hatred.
She was absolutely certain that Lin Deyou was hiding nearby, but he simply refused to show himself!
Since that was the case...
She turned to look at Zi Yao, who was cowering in the deepest recesses of the cave. Striding over with large steps, she grabbed Zi Yao's wrist, yanked her up from the ground, and dragged her toward the entrance of the cave.
By now, Zuo Lin'an was less than ten meters from the cave entrance, about to step inside!
Perhaps sensing Jinyang's intentions, Zi Yao struggled desperately, trying to break free. However, Princess Jinyang had ridden horses and practiced archery since childhood, so her physical strength was far superior.
Right now, lifting Zi Yao was like yanking a helpless chick.
“Princess... Princess, spare my life!”
Princess Jinyang ignored her completely. Only the two of them were left in the cave. If Zi Yao didn't die, then she would!
If she spared Zi Yao, what would happen to her?
She was the esteemed, golden-blooded Princess of the Great Xuan Dynasty. Was she supposed to sacrifice her own life for a lowly maid?
Since Lin Deyou was ignoring her, she had to find her own way out.
Princess Jinyang gritted her teeth and threw Zi Yao out of the cave with all her might.
“Bitch, dying for this Princess is a blessing you accumulated over eight lifetimes! It is your honor!”
“How dare you even try to resist!”
“If this Princess doesn't survive, I will have your entire family executed and your clan wiped out!”
Zi Yao slammed heavily onto the ground, her mind momentarily dazed.
When she struggled to sit up, she realized a dark figure was standing right in front of her.
Sensing something, she tremblingly raised her head. Looking at Zuo Lin'an standing close enough to touch, her pupils dilated in sheer terror.
“No... I don't...”
Zuo Lin'an hadn't actually decided whom to target first. He had planned to enter the cave and pick one at random, but now Zi Yao had been thrown right in front of him.
Since she had landed right at his feet, he didn't even have to make a choice, did he?
After all, it didn't matter who went first; they were all going to die anyway.
However, just as he reached out to grab Zi Yao...
Zuo Lin'an suddenly felt as if the Zi Yao before him had lost her presence. His initial urge to kill her first gradually faded away.
Huh?
Zi Yao couldn't be killed?
No, it wasn't that she couldn't be killed, but rather, he couldn't kill her this time.
Was this a talent?
Or a specter item?
Zi Yao was a complete novice player, so it shouldn't be a specter item. She couldn't possibly possess such a powerful item.
So it was a talent?
What kind of talent was this?
Zuo Lin'an briefly recalled the forum posts he had browsed several times before.
Right... He seemed to have read about a similar talent.
Fine then.
He would spare Zi Yao for now.
Princess Jinyang stared unblinkingly at Zuo Lin'an and Zi Yao. She had watched as the specter reached out toward Zi Yao, but then...
She saw the specter slowly retract its hand. Those crimson eyes then turned to look toward the cave entrance.
And she happened to be standing right there.
“Is he... looking at me?”
A look of utter disbelief flashed in Princess Jinyang's eyes.
“No, that's not right.”
She forced herself to calm down.
“No way. He will definitely kill Zi Yao first.”
Yet in the very next second, she saw the specter take another step forward. Completely ignoring Zi Yao, who was sprawled on the ground, it walked straight toward the cave.
Princess Jinyang's eyes nearly split open at the sight.
“No!”
“This is impossible!”
“Why is it coming for me?”
“Zi Yao is right there! Go kill her! Go kill her! Why are you coming after me?”
Princess Jinyang suddenly realized something.
“No!”
“A talent! It's a talent!”
“It has to be a talent!”
“You bitch, how dare you have such a talent! You deserve to die! You deserve to die!”
Princess Jinyang cursed Zi Yao relentlessly, but no amount of screaming could change the fact that the specter had targeted her.
Hoisting her gorgeous, glittering gown—which still shone gold even under the dim sky—she bolted out of the cave and ran in the opposite direction.
Unfortunately, her head full of hairpins and heavy layers of clothing severely hindered her escape. Even without them, she wouldn't have been fast anyway.
It was nothing more than a death struggle.
Without much effort, Zuo Lin'an caught up and grabbed Princess Jinyang.
“Ah!”
“Don't grab me! Don't kill me!!”
She shrieked, desperately pleading for help.
“Lin Deyou!”
“Lin Deyou, get out here!”
“Get out here and save me! If you save me, this Princess will marry into your Lin family and make you the imperial consort of our Great Xuan Dynasty!”
“I'll speak highly of your Lin family before my Imperial Father, so he won't make a move against you anymore!”
“You know my Imperial Father dotes on me the most! He will definitely listen to me!”
“Lin Deyou, I know you're listening! Get out here!!”
“Hurry up and get out here!”
Zuo Lin'an grabbed her shoulders from behind, easily pinning her down.
As she continued to scream for Lin Deyou to show himself, making empty promises and painting grand illusions, the tip of Zuo Lin'an's knife had already pressed against the back of her head.
It was time to begin.
This was the first time Zuo Lin'an was executing a rule in front of other players.
Of course, there was no longer any need to hide it.
Whether it was Lin Deyou hiding in the shadows, or Zi Yao, whose legs were too weak to even stand, they both watched helplessly as Zuo Lin'an executed the rule on Princess Jinyang.
Zuo Lin'an lowered his blade unhurriedly. Amid Princess Jinyang's feeble struggles, he methodically peeled her skin off, bit by bit.
During this time, Princess Jinyang even pulled two palm-sized dolls from her clothes and threw them at Zuo Lin'an, but the dolls remained completely inert, and Zuo Lin'an's movements didn't pause for even a second.
As Princess Jinyang's shrill screams gradually faded, Zuo Lin'an successfully finished skinning her.
He casually tossed the human skin aside. Then, his blade sliced through Jinyang's exposed flesh, dismantling her bones one by one.
Finally...
Zuo Lin'an tossed the last piece of flesh onto the ground, slowly concealed his figure, and vanished.
This time, he hadn't knocked his victim unconscious before executing them.
After all, he was now a dungeon boss in the supernatural world. In the eyes of the players, he was a supervillain.
As a villain, one had to act like one. While he could afford to be merciful under the right circumstances, most of the time, his primary goal was to wipe out the players.
After all, a villain's mercy was limited and highly selective.
Since there were two players watching nearby, the more brutal he was, the greater the psychological impact on them, and the more terrified they would become.
The more afraid they were, the more chaotic their thoughts would be, and the more likely they would make mistakes in their subsequent actions.
As a novice dungeon boss, he still needed to experiment with different ways to handle players.
Once his figure had completely vanished, Zi Yao could no longer hold it in. She turned her head, clutched her chest, and began to retch uncontrollably.
“Ugh...”
Rate on N.U.
