Chapter Fourteen: Slaying the Supreme Leader, Choosing Sides

“…Hey! Are you serious? We’re on the same team, you know! That was way out of line!” Chen Ling’s retort clearly riled up the female captain.

“Uh… Sorry, sorry, it was just a reflex, just a reaction…” Chen Ling hastily apologized, noticing the captain’s half-smile, half-laugh, as if she was struggling not to burst out laughing. He thought to himself: A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea… Impossible for a mere mortal to fathom.

Still as clueless as ever. The captain couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as she watched Chen Ling’s silly expression. “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you for now. So! You all want to go in, right?” She turned to the other players.

“Yes! We just want to go in. Beautiful lady, why don’t you talk to Chen Ling for us?” replied one of the handsome young men among the remaining players.

“That’s right!”

“Exactly.”

“….” The rest chimed in one after another, except for the female player, Xing Ye, and Zhang Long, who remained silent.

“Enough! Are you all brainless? Does Chen Ling have the authority to stop you? Even if you all die, it’s none of his business! Whether you go in or not is your own choice—what does it have to do with him?!” The captain’s outburst may have damaged her image a bit, but it was a wake-up call to everyone.

Many recalled that they really had nothing to do with Chen Ling. Besides, he never said they couldn’t make their own choices. They had simply overthought everything!

Most people apologized to Chen Ling, though a few were too proud, while others kept trying to defend themselves. Chen Ling didn’t bother with them any further, having already made up his mind to meet this so-called leader.

“Xiao Long, Xing Ye, and… Miss, I’ve decided to go in. What about you?” he turned to ask the three.

“If you’re going in, boss, how can we not? Right, Old Wild?” Zhang Long grinned, slinging an arm around Xing Ye’s shoulder.

“I need to go check on my sisters first! And don’t call me ‘Miss’—it gives me the chills. My name is Bai… uh, Bai Wei! Yes, just call me Bai Wei!” With that, she ignored Chen Ling and ran off to her friends.

“Truly a zero-emotional-intelligence fool! Hmph! This time, you’re definitely mine!” Bai Wei thought to herself as she left.

“…Who introduces their name like, ‘Yes, I’m just called Bai Wei!’? Anyone normal could tell that’s fake…” mused Chen Ling.

“Brother-in-law! Your woman got charmed by the boss again! Even introducing her name, she gazed at him all starry-eyed! Something’s definitely going on!” thought Zhang Long.

“What are those two thinking…? Especially Zhang Long… He’s probably up to something pervy again. And the boss… probably missed the point entirely…” pondered Xing Ye.

Time truly passes slowly—only we move through it too quickly…

Bai Wei flashed Chen Ling an ‘OK’ gesture, signaling that it was time to go in together.

“Let’s go!” Without so much as a glance at the other players, Chen Ling, his two companions, and the four women climbed the steps ahead. The rest of the players exchanged looks, then chose to follow. After all, in a strange place, it was safer to stick together than to wander alone and risk being taken advantage of.

With all sorts of odd thoughts in mind, the group entered the Leader’s Mansion—trailing behind Chen Ling’s party—and a low hum of conversation followed.

“These players—aside from the two who woke up first—are total idiots!”

“That’s not quite right! Didn’t you notice? The first one to speak up earlier stopped talking after stirring things up, and his eyes… cold and sharp as knives!”

“Yes, yes! I noticed him too!” The murmurs grew, spreading like wildfire…

Word of what happened was quickly relayed back to all the players’ factions.

“Honored new Sages, please follow me!” The white-haired steward bowed slightly, indicating the way.

No one was foolish enough to help him up—that would’ve been a real idiot’s move! Those who knew etiquette accepted the gesture for what it was; a bow doesn’t kill anyone.

Under the steward’s guidance, they soon met the Leader. To Chen Ling’s surprise, the so-called Leader was nothing like he’d imagined—not a bloated, greasy tyrant, but a battle-hardened general, a true marshal. The aura of bloodshed and command emanated from him effortlessly—not because he couldn’t restrain it, but because he wanted to establish his authority.

Chen Ling wasn’t stupid enough to challenge that aura. There was no benefit in trying to withstand it, and it was doubtful he could anyway.

Since they were addressed as Sages, Chen Ling saw no reason to kneel, and the other players, seeing Chen Ling remain upright, followed suit. Fortunately, the warlike Leader didn’t mind.

Instead, he got straight to the point: “Have you decided which faction to join?”

Faction? Everyone was baffled—the GM hadn’t mentioned anything about that!

Noticing their confusion, the white-haired steward hurried forward. “Sir Leader, these new Sages arrived directly at the mansion, so they haven’t encountered the other Sages yet.”

“Oh, I see! So you arrived here and haven’t met the others. Allow me to explain, then!” the Leader replied enthusiastically.

“Sir Leader, this—” The steward seemed to want to stop him, but a wave of murderous intent swept from the Leader in his direction. The steward immediately coughed up blood, grievously wounded.

So this was the power of the Leader’s killing aura? Far stronger than Chen Ling had imagined.

“Alright! No more interruptions! As for factions, there are three in total. The first is ‘Slaughter,’ led by me; the second is ‘Pathguard,’ led by one of my subordinates, Cole—whose strength rivals my own; and the third is led by a Sage, called ‘Earth.’ Strange name…” the Leader muttered the last part to himself.

Of course, he couldn’t know that ‘Earth’ was the world the Sages had once called their home.

“Now, your choice is to join one of the factions. Oh, and you female Sages would do best to join Pathguard—all the women have joined Pathguard. The reason is simple: Cole is a woman.”

“Now, it’s time for your decision! Choose one!” The Leader shifted in his ornate chair, trying to get comfortable, looking, frankly, rather… indecent.

By rights, I ought to join ‘Earth,’ but ‘Slaughter’ is also a worthy destination… It’s a hard choice.

“Xing Ye, which faction do you think we should join?” As the saying goes, three cobblers are as good as one Zhuge Liang—it’s better to discuss than to decide alone.

“Slaughter,” Xing Ye replied succinctly.

“Reason?” Chen Ling asked directly.

“Where there are humans, there will always be schemes. In ‘Slaughter,’ there are fewer humans, and besides, the natives are NPCs sent by the GM to help us—they shouldn’t be bad by nature.”

“Alright! ‘Slaughter’ it is!” Chen Ling made the decision unilaterally.

“What the heck! Aren’t you going to ask me?” Zhang Long grumbled, feeling left out of the discussion.

“Leader, we’ll join ‘Slaughter’!”

Hearing Chen Ling’s answer, the Leader’s face broke into an unabashedly lecherous grin. “Hahaha! Excellent! Wonderful! Someone, show our new allies to their rooms. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the local culture, customs, and… you know what I mean…” The Leader’s smile and words were equally suggestive.

“The rest of you Sages, make up your minds… You have plenty of time. There are even some unaffiliated Sages…” With that, the Leader strode from the hall, leaving behind a group of conflicted players—except for Bai Wei and the other women, of course.

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