novelraw Chapter 163: Choice
Chapter 163: Choice
With words having been spoken to this degree, how could Li Wei dare not give them face?
At once, he solemnly stood up, "Two Lords, actually I have no other ambitions. I just want to see if I can charge up to first place on the Rookie List. After all, the Rookie Mission is only this once in a lifetime; I also don't want to leave regrets."
Hearing these words, Black Wolf's expression didn't have much change, but Ron and Hathaway obviously breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Night Owl raised an eyebrow and glared at Li Wei, saying, "Way too lacking in ambition! If you want to compete for first place on the Rookie List, for the next month you only need to lie flat and you'll be fine. But if you want to compete for Rookie King, it's still far from enough!"
"Because the ranking of the Rookie List is calculated according to Plunder Points. Five months ago, among all rookies your Plunder Points could only rank sixth. But merely five months later, your total Plunder Point ranking has already reached second on the Rookie List, only a tiny bit away from the first place."
"However, the first on the Rookie List is not considered the Rookie King. Only those who kill a Final Boss count. I think you should understand the disparity here. The former is 'when there are no heroes, a brat is made the first name on the scoreboard'. Only the latter is emerging out of nowhere, genuine gold and silver."
"Let me put it to you this way: the current first on the Rookie List, in aspects of basic development, internal affairs management, handling interpersonal relationships, controlling people's hearts, PUAing companions, and even sniping and suppressing Title Tasks—he can completely crush a hundred of you. He is simply an succubus-level internal affairs expert. He can unite a group of people to accompany him in conquering the world, but he can never kill a Final Boss either."
"He thinks he can see through the rules and successfully sniped Title Tasks, but as the saying goes, success is due to this, and failure is also due to this. He currently has almost no space for development. No senior players joining midway to help him expand the plot, no backbone players helping him trigger Final Boss battles. Always nesting in one place, once the three years' time arrives, he'll have to scram."
"But you, you genuinely have a great opportunity to compete for Rookie King."
"Of course, I merely said you have an opportunity. George, interests and risks go hand-in-hand. You yourself had better think clearly about what a Final Boss represents. Based on the strength you have currently displayed, your only opportunity to kill a Final Boss is in the battle of the Quarry, killing the Black-Robed Witch Mixi.""But with the plot reaching here, because of the death of her sister Hathaway, the inner heart of the Black-Robed Witch Mixi will be extremely pained. This might cause her bloodline to further awaken and mutate, growing into a Four-Star difficulty Complete Body Witch."
"Otherwise, why do you think that upon reaching this stage, the players coming are uniformly identically Four-Star, all being experts who can handle things with skill and ease even on the Chaotic Killing Battlefield?"
"I cannot leak more. I can only say, the difficulty at this exact time and moment will be much higher than the difficulty of the Chaotic Killing Battlefield you can enter at this time."
"I'll just say this much. Tour own destiny, you grasp it yourself!"
Having said that, Night Owl cast a deeply meaningful glance at Li Wei. Then, like a gust of breeze lightly blowing past, whatever fireworks grand curtain was completely gone.
Before their eyes was only the dining table. Inside the Fortress there were also only Li Wei, Ron, Hathaway, and Penny, the four of them left.
This was indeed the final game, at least for Li Wei it was like this.
Following this, Ron would have four Four-Star subordinates and friends, and Hathaway also had four Four-Star subordinates and friends, and all restrictions were unsealed—they could use Item Cards. Even if Li Wei was the Head of Household, even if he could recruit the 12 best Three-Star Mercenaries, in reality he also couldn't win the fight, because the Mercenary recruitment limit was only 12 people.
Thinking about it, Li Wei sat back down. Ron and Hathaway also each sat down at a corner of the dining table. Only Penny stood in the corner, looking at Ron with a fiery gaze. Who would have thought she would also have a spring?
This Ron, although slightly older in age, but in reality a knight of the Royal Capital Imperial Guard Legion—would launch a passionate pursuit of her next?
Excellent!
Although she also knew clearly that this was a plot of being utilized, but no matter what, it was still better than the mandatorily settled Fila, right?
Li Wei cast a glance at Penny at this time, then looked at the silently speechless Ron and Hathaway. The family meeting was about to begin.
The appearance of those two department bosses had erased the Impeachment Plot Kill segment. Or even if it wasn't erased, with only four people remaining, this Impeachment segment was just so-so; there was no difference in the result.
At this moment, a tick-tock sound rang out, but it was a countdown. It was the countdown for the family meeting, with three minutes remaining.
Neither Ron nor Hathaway spoke. Li Wei was also waiting. He could now wait for the highest bid; whoever offered better conditions, he would support whoever.
Of course he could also support no one, and grasp the command authority over the twelve Mercenaries into his own hands. Yes, it was possible.
But acting like that, when the task settled and he returned to Headquarters, he would inevitably be jointly made things difficult for by the bosses of the two departments. There was no helping it.
So why bother? Why would he rather ignore the benefits right at hand, to put himself in an unfavorable position?
Very quickly, when the countdown had one second remaining, the two of them struck simultaneously. Two black Item Cards flew out, as if freezing time, appearing just like exploiting a bug!
[Family members Ron and Hathaway jointly used a Five-Star Item Card, the 'Concealing the Sky with One Hand Card', used to obscure the sight of the gods. They will each obtain 30 seconds of precious time.]
"George, if you are willing to help me, I can win the bid for that Royal Heavy Armor and gift it to you, and guarantee you can become the Rookie King. You do not need to face the Final Boss alone; as long as you participate in the kill, you can obtain the Rookie King Title."
Ron spoke first.
And Hathaway immediately followed suit with her offered price!
"George, what does a scout like you want heavy armor for? For a soldier about to go onto the battlefield, the biggest taboo is an unclear positioning. The Boss Ron wants to kill is Mad Baron Mark. That is an existence like a steel tin can. What f*cking use is it for you to hit such a tin can? The Final Boss you should kill is the Black-Robed Witch Mixi. As long as you help me, your Tracker Title, as well as your Hunting Pet can both upgrade, and the Rookie King will also be Captured With Ease. I will also gift you a Five-Star Retention Card. Without this..."
At this time, the black Item Cards suddenly shattered. Time was up.
However, they had basically finished expressing their demands, namely what benefits they could give out. They could also only achieve this degree; even their bosses could only obscurely speak a bit utilizing the non-mandatory settlement opportunity.
Next, it would depend on how Li Wei chose, and he had to make the choice before the family meeting ended. Otherwise it would have no meaning, equating to Li Wei not helping either side. In that case, if things went badly, Ron and Hathaway might preemptively join forces to kill him, in order to avoid the greatest uncertainty.
[The Head of Household George's Family Contribution is 2054 points. He will continue to serve consecutive terms as the Head of Household. Because the family Camp has already upgraded to Level 5, within the next twenty-four hours, there will be eight new players joining the family, becoming new family members. At the same time, 12 new Mercenaries can be recruited. Description: Theoretically, priority can be given directly to choosing the Mercenaries recruited in the previous month.]
[The family members about to arrive this month are — the Four-Star Hunter Mike who remains loyal to George, Four-Star Farmer Roddy, Four-Star Fisherman Snape, Four-Star Woodcutter Carson, and Four-Star Chef Fila; Hathaway's uncle, Four-Star Artisan Creed; Ron's friend, Four-Star Hunter Little John; Hathaway's cousin, Four-Star Blacksmith Pania.]
[The Mercenaries available for recruitment this month are twelve people. The highest level of Mercenaries available for recruitment is Three-Star.]
This information flashed past. It appeared everything was normal, but it was already abnormal. Besides Li Wei and Penny, the ten family members were entirely all Four-Star veteran birds. F*ck, quite stimulating.
And could Li Wei still have a third choice?
He did. That was to immediately settle. Not participate, not get involved, freeze his Contribution right here. If it was a month ago, he truly might have just done this. But now since he had the opportunity to seize the Rookie King, why should he give it up?
So, actually there was no room for choice. Hathaway was right. For a scout-oriented profession like him, what did he want heavy armor for? Was he complaining he ran fast enough, dodged too nimbly, or walked without sound?
For the sake of his Hunting Pet, killing the Black-Robed Witch Mixi was instead the optimal choice.
Taking a deep breath, Li Wei looked directly at Hathaway, saying extremely guiltily and self-reproachingly, "I am very sorry that Uncle John's ideals actually had such a large divergence with ours. It was me who didn't do well enough. Hathaway, you previously often persuaded me not to act willfully and arbitrarily. It was my fault. I only hope I still have a chance to make up for all this. My mind is currently somewhat a tangled mess of hemp. Hathaway, can you tell me what I should do?"
Hearing these words, a streak of bright color flashed through Hathaway's eyes. It wasn't easy; this guy finally made the correct choice. She cast a glance at Ron, but the latter's gaze was calm and didn't mind, or perhaps truly didn't show delight or anger in his expression.
"Oh, George, my dear George. Actually you have already done well enough. I am very happy I can share this heavy pressure with you. I know you are anxiously worrying over your good friend Sir Tuck. Mad Baron Mark's legions will arrive in a few days. That is truly a tragedy. Teacher, I earnestly beseech you to make a trip to Victor Town. You are a great Royal Capital Imperial Knight. Perhaps only you have the ability to reverse the collapsing sky."
Hathaway then looked at Ron at this time. Li Wei speaking like that just now equated to delegating authority to her, letting her preside over the family meeting. There was nothing that could be said; this was part of the transaction.
At this time Ron also sighed, entering character.
"Mad Baron Mark ah. The bloodline cursed by the gods inside his body I fear has completely awakened. I alone cannot hold up against him. Moreover, because of the reason of that trade route, we must guard against his legions not going to attack Victor Town, but instead first rushing toward this Camp of ours. Then the problem would be serious. Therefore, I at minimum need the cooperation of ten Mercenaries. At the same time, the four people Mike, Roddy, Snape, and Carson must also march out to battle with me!"
"If it is not like this, I cannot guarantee I am able to block Mad Baron Mark and his legions."
"Additionally, Lady Penny is a reasonably good tailor. Come to think of it, she would be extremely professional in stitching up wounds. I would like to invite her to head to Victor Town with me to serve as a battlefield nurse."
Ron was also haggling over prices now.
(End of this chapter)