Overlord of the Demon Realm - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Ambush

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The entire alleyway was empty. A light breeze blew in and brought with it some dried, fallen leaves, which added to the bleakness of the scene.

Ye Kong remained hidden in the shadows as he waited patiently.

“This small alleyway leads to Sterr Square, and it’s one of the shortcuts between the nobles district and the commoners district. Based on the patrol routes around Qingmu Town, every ten minutes or so, a soldier will pass through this alleyway!”

In his past life, Ye Kong had spent a long time in Qingmu Town, so not only was he very familiar with the map layout, but he could even recall with perfect accuracy how the guards patrolled the city—from some points of view, it could be said that this was Ye Kong’s “innate gift.”

“Problem is, I don’t know how long it’s been since the last soldier passed through this alleyway…”

Ye Kong knitted his brows. If the target had recently left the alleyway, that meant Ye Kong would have to wait upwards of another ten minutes. However, there were only two quarters of an hour remaining until the start of the “Stygian Night Invasion,” so Ye Kong didn’t really have the luxury of time.

“Seems like there’s nothing for me to do but wait and pray.”

Ye Kong closed his eyes and became as still as a log.

Right now, he was betting on his luck.

Ten seconds… One minute… Two minutes…

Without warning, the sound of footsteps came from the end of the alleyway, along with the occasional noise of metal knocking against metal.

“I guess my luck isn’t that bad after all. I didn’t even have to wait three minutes, and my first ‘prey’ has come knocking at my door.”

A small smile formed at the corner of Ye Kong’s lips. Over the next few moments, he concentrated his focus by 120%, not daring to make even the smallest slip-up!

The “Assassin’s Sword” had definitely boosted Ye Kong’s Dexterity and Strength attributes, but Ye Kong’s Stamina was still at the same level as when he started the game. Because the “Assassin’s Sword” didn’t provide any additional Stamina, and because Ye Kong hadn’t allocated any extra points to the attribute, his Stamina was at a measly two points.

Adding to this, the Swordsman class had a low starting HP and Defense stat, with only 30 points of health and two points of Defense. Compared to the 26 points in Attack (14 points in Dexterity + 12 points of Attack from the weapon) he now had, it was a pitifully low amount.

As he was now, only his Attack and Dexterity attributes were on par with a level five character. His Strength attribute was comparable to that of a level three character, but the rest of his attributes were still like those of a level one character (and not just any level one character, but the worst one). In contrast, his enemies were level five soldiers, with all their attributes scaled appropriately to that level, so their overall combat ability was certainly better than Ye Kong’s!

“He’s here!” Ye Kong squinted his eyes as he saw an armored soldier with a steel blade heading toward him.

Qingmu Town Patrol Guard (Level Five):

Normal Grade Mob, HP 120/120

120 points of health!

He had four times the health that Ye Kong had, not to mention a higher Defense stat. This clearly showed how much of a challenge a level five mob posed to a player in the early stages of the game.

One would expect nothing less from an Elite Grade story event. Even with the help of the overpowered quest equipment, it was an extremely difficult quest for a beginner player!

Even so, Ye Kong had passed the point of no return long ago.

“1… 2… 3!”

Ye Kong counted to himself, and on the count of “3,” the target walked past him, leaving his back completely exposed!

“Die!”

Without pausing, Ye Kong unhesitatingly slashed out with the rapier!

Whoosh!

The blade howled through the air, avoiding the parts of the soldier’s body that were heavily armored, and sliced into the soldier’s neck!

-29

A bright red number popped out as a chunk of the soldier’s HP was cut away!

The soldier reacted quickly, and just as the red numbers popped up from his body, he held his sword in his hand!

Swish!

Ye Kong nimbly turned sideways, his opponent’s sword narrowly brushing past him as he dodged the first blow. Simultaneously, with a deft flick of his wrist, the dark blade of the rapier descended again, cutting into the soldier’s shoulder!

-15

The damage from this attack was noticeably lower than that of the previous one.

In “Demon Realm,” the Attack stat value was just a gauge. The ratio between “Attack” and “Damage” wasn’t 1:1 (the final numbers were not the same).

For example, say a level one player had 10 points of Attack. If he attacked another player who had two points of Defense, he might inflict around 15 points of damage if his attack hit a non-critical spot. But if his attack hit a critical spot, he might inflict around 25 points of damage.

Therefore, Attack and Defense were only descriptive values.

To calculate the actual amount of damage, other factors needed to be taken into account, such as the level of the two parties, where the attack hit, the type of the enemy’s armor, etc. In general, it was a fairly complicated calculation formula that most players couldn’t even fathom.

That said, Ye Kong was a top-class player. Taking into account his bountiful experience and the two damage results…

He could successfully guess the opponent’s attributes—

“In the first attack, I hit the opponent’s vitals and caused 29 points of damage. In the second attack, I hit a non-critical spot and caused 15 points of damage. Based on this information, the opponent’s Defense is probably around eight points!”

Fortunately, Ye Kong was equipped with the “Assassin’s Sword,” so his own Attack stat had reached 26 points. Additionally, the “Assassin’s Sword” came with the Ignore Level Difference +5 bonus, so he didn’t have to worry about being inhibited by the difference between their levels.

Furthermore, the “Assassin’s Sword” had the special effect of inflicting twice the damage to the soldiers in Qingmu Town.

If not for these factors, with his original eight points in Attack, Ye Kong wouldn’t have been able to affect the soldier with eight points in Defense!

“Roar!”

The armored soldier had taken two hits, and was visibly enraged. In the next moment, he twisted his upper body, and the steel blade in his hand traced the path of a large circle—

Swoosh!

Warrior Skill, Whirlwind Slash!

“Crap!”

Ye Kong was taken by surprise. He instantly retreated backward, but the sharp wind from the movement of the blade still managed to scrape his body!

-24!

A bright red number floated up from the top of Ye Kong’s head. He was left with only six points of health!

“D*mn it. My HP and Defense are still too low!”

But he had no other options. He couldn’t possibly move points to Stamina. If his Dexterity was any lower, he wouldn’t be able to dodge the opponent’s “Whirlwind Slash,” and he’d take the full brunt of the damage!

Even if Ye Kong had more points in Stamina, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the amount of damage a level five soldier could inflict!

He was dancing on a tightrope!

If he was killed by the soldier, Ye Kong would be penalized with the “Vulnerable” state for an hour. At that point, completing this hidden story event would be impossible, and he probably wouldn’t even be able to survive the “Stygian Night Invasion”!

If that happened, Ye Kong would end up repeating what had happened in his past life. He’d fall into an insurmountable disadvantage from the start, and would struggle to catch up to the other players!

And this time, he needed to use “Demon Realm” to rescue Ye Bai from her fate!

This was the moment that would decide their destiny!

“This is my chance!”

Ye Kong took a step, not backwards but forwards, and charged straight at the soldier!

For a player with only six remaining points of health, it was a daring maneuver!

As though possessed, the soldier unexpectedly made no move to raise his steel sword, allowing Ye Kong to approach him from the front!

This was because “Whirlwind Slash” had a brief recovery phase after the skill was used, wherein the user would not be able to move. This pause was very short, and an average player wouldn’t be able to grasp the timing.

However, Ye Kong was a seasoned veteran who had seen many battles, and he seized this chance!

“Die!”

Ye Kong swung out with the rapier, ruthlessly slashing into the soldier’s chest, and another bright red number burst out of his opponent.

-17

In the following moment, the soldier regained control of his body and promptly slashed toward Ye Kong with his blade. But Ye Kong’s eyes flashed coldly, and a surge of energy exploded from his hands—

“Cleave!”

Swish!

The rapier Ye Kong had kept at the ready shot out swiftly like an arrow, and accurately pierced the soldier’s wrist!

-28

A huge, bright red number exploded out from the soldier!

Cleave: Attack deals six points of additional damage and requires one Soul Essence.

The bonus damage from Cleave had also been doubled by the effect of the “Assassin’s Sword,” and he slashed off 28 points of the soldier’s health!

More importantly, Cleave had interrupted the soldier’s movements—he was

“Stunned”!

When the solider moved to attack, Ye Kong had used a “Skill” to interrupt his movements, placing the opponent under the “Stunned” effect!

This was a very difficult technique, and even in the Yggdmillennia Server from Ye Kong’s previous life, there were no more than 10 Swordsman players in the entire region who were capable of pulling off such a feat!

Ye Kong happened to be one of them!

“Die!”

Ye Kong followed up his success with another attack. He slashed his sword against the soldier’s forehead again, and another red number spilled out.

-18

The soldier finally recovered back to normal and quickly hacked at Ye Kong with his blade. But Ye Kong ignored it, and with a twitch of his wrist, the rapier extended like a magical snake—

“Die!”

Splurt!!!

-17

The rapier was plunged into the soldier’s chest, and his opponent’s HP bottomed out!

At the same time…

The soldier’s steel blade was just a hair away from Ye Kong’s forehead!

“It looks like…”

Ye Kong dislodged the rapier as his opponent’s body disintegrated into fine specks. There was a firm expression on his handsome face.

“In the end, my Dexterity was higher.”