Chapter 876
Chapter 876 - 862 Compensation
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9 min read
In a sense, Lu Ping’an was like someone who rose early but arrived late for the market.
In the Abyss battle, among all the newcomers involved, his performance was outstanding, second to none.
After all, old birds and high-level combat powers had no expectations for the newcomers; most were merely there to lend a hand on the battlefield, while Lu Ping’an played a main role in the seventh layer.
"What? He just picked up leftovers? Ending the reign of an Abyss Lord who had plagued Changping for thirty years, and you actually believe that the Snake King could just pick up the slack? So all those years, the Rule strongmen were just sitting idle?"
Clearly, Lu Ping’an’s disguise could probably only deceive newbies, as Changping’s strategic goal was initially just to "weaken" Didirona, to incapacitate her for some time from causing trouble... With the confirmation by special means that Didirona was "no longer there," those in the know were pleasantly surprised.
An unexpected victory naturally came with unexpected accolades.
Kun Ba produced a new report, Didirona’s unexpectedly strong regeneration ability also further elevated Lu Ping’an’s military achievements.
The basic rule for professionals is to be paid according to the amount of work done; Lu Ping’an’s military feats were apparent, but what he actually received was the least valuable "True Words"... at least in the eyes of most professionals, the other two True Words are much more useful.
The True Words from Rain Elder were a complete inheritance, or a powerful combat system, capable of crafting a strongman or even a team; whereas the other Revive Spell was akin to having an extra life with a set cooldown, also sufficient to allow a Professional Warrior to readjust their combat system.
It was Lu Ping’an’s own "Summoning Spell" that he was very satisfied with, that merely gilded the lily, rather than completely overturning the core capability of a professional system.
"...Compensate the difference? That good?"
The sincerity of the Changping officials made Lu Ping’an feel valued, and he did not hesitate to state his demand.
"Rule-level items, preferably a weapon," said Lu Ping’an, knowing that if you’re too polite at times like these, the other party takes it seriously.
After some thought, he unhesitatingly asked for the most valuable reward... since the Ancient city had surplus Rule-level weapons in their arsenal, Changping should have some as well.
For individuals and teams, no matter how much one has, Rule-level items are always welcome.
But the outcome was a bit unexpected.
Changping gave something, but it didn’t seem to be a weapon.
"...Does a shield count as a weapon? Uh, really? Okay, fine, fine."
It was a super-sized shield, like a door ripped out of its frame, with a ghostly face on the front screaming in anguish, as if shouting.
Actually, it was indeed shouting...
[Amu’s Dying Wish (Gold Medium Tower Shield)]
Lu Ping’an used his abilities to take a look; it was a pretty good piece of protective gear, capable of crafting a significant team combat power.
Ignoring the lengthy descriptions and annotations of a Rule-Level item, Lu Ping’an wrote down a simplified version and discussed it with his team members to discuss distribution.
A Rule-level piece of armor was a fine thing by any means, its mere hardness was extremely useful on the battlefield.
At this point in his development, considering his potential abilities after reaching the fourth-tier, Lu Ping’an’s need for armor was decreasing, so it was good to let others use it.
A single Rule-level equipment piece was enough to build a professional combat system.
It’s just that its abilities were too subtle.
[Amu’s Curse of Vision (Mid-Gold): The bearer locks onto a target, and any physical damage inflicted on it will cause an equivalent effect.]
[Amu’s Dying Care (Lower Gold): Any damage to the bearer will heal allies, with the effect being equivalent to an Accelerated Healing ability of the same tier from the Healer Path.]
[Amu’s Last Stand (Mid-Gold): The gaze locks onto a target, and until one of them dies or the ability is removed (the user loses consciousness), neither can leave a hundred-meter radius. This distance shrinks over time until both are forced into confrontation.]
[Cost: Amu’s Scream, any flying projectiles within range will prioritize the bearer, including but not limited to cannons, airships, orbital flyers...]
[PS. Amu: Why is it always me!]
"You guys, why are you all looking at me like that?"
When Lu Ping’an finished reading the item description, everyone silently turned their heads to look at the towering figure silently nibbling on a bamboo stick at the end of the table.
"Fine, I’ll take it," he thought for a moment, sighed, and still agreed to take it.
"Ahem, next on the agenda, I’ve gone and gotten a bunch of magic potions and material stock from them. Let’s wrap up the potions division and restock our logistics..."
This shield looked like it had plenty of defense, but from beginning to end, there wasn’t a single true defensive skill. One was about retaliating when hit, the other was about healing allies when hit. It didn’t protect its user; it only worried that the user wasn’t getting hurt badly enough... But how to ensure the user keeps taking hits and getting injured?
That seems to be the catch, but it also limits ranged projectiles, and some battlefields are just pure hand-to-hand combat... However, none of this was a problem for Xue. When had he ever worried about not getting hurt?
"...The healing-focused magic potions produced will be given priority to our comrade Xue."
Lu Ping’an got some materials and resources as a sincere gesture from the poor sucker, which replenished some of the local consumption.
Of course, they also took the opportunity to invite Lu Ping’an... but he readily declined, as both parties actually knew it was nearly impossible for Lu Ping’an to switch allegiances.
"...I’ll help you take up a Shield Defender profession. Resources and funds will come from the team’s treasury."
Lu Ping’an added briefly, also somewhat comforting his increasingly scarce conscience.
The sincerity of Changping City was indeed substantial, one True Word plus one Rule-level item, accompanied by a bunch of resources (Lu Ping’an turned down union coins), definitely matched the merit of Lu Ping’an’s team this time.
Of course, the most valuable things would always be fought for or created by oneself.
"These two types of potions, the quantity is still too small. The red bottle is Regenerative Potion; core members get one per month. The blue bottle is Abyss Resistance potion, three per month. Whether to sell or use them is up to you..."
Lu Ping’an took out a box of potions, with red, blue, and green bottles being quite conspicuous.
This was also a basic rule of potion-making: red bottles signified warning potions (obvious side effects, not to be taken frequently); blue bottles were pure benefit potions (can be used multiple times); green bottles were healing potions.
[Snake King’s Regenerative Potion (Silver Lower Rank): The user will permanently gain a slight increase in physical regeneration. This effect can accumulate, but the shortest digestion period is twenty days. After three cycles, there is a chance to gain the attribute of Abyssal Regeneration.]
Just by looking at the prefix, the source of this magic potion was obvious.
Without killing the snake for its eggs, all of that snake’s "materials" were used up, only a small box of these permanent attribute potions could be produced each month, which could sell for a sky-high price, but in reality, no one was willing to sell them.
After all, even the weakest grade of regenerative ability could save lives on the battlefield.
Even the slowest wound healing could prevent warriors from dying from bleeding, greatly reducing the probability of fatal injuries.
And besides, the cost wasn’t too high...
[Consumption cost: The potion’s Abyssal concentration is too high, causing the user to suffer a certain degree of Abyssal corrosion. Also, due to the resentment of the material provider, the user might be dragged into ’the Snake King’s Nightmare’ during sleep, suffering from insomnia and nightmares as a consequence.]
As a permanent enhancement potion, such side effects weren’t much. Lu Ping’an himself had experienced the Snake King’s Nightmare, which was nothing more than dreaming of becoming a small snake, struggling to survive in the Abyss... Usually, after dying a dozen or so times in a few hours, the nightmare would end.
After experiencing nightmares, Lu Ping’an began to regard Didirona more appreciatively – considering the conditions in her nightmare, surviving with a single life was not something an ordinary person could manage.
Didirona, this Divine demon, was valuable all over—her snake blood could be used for regenerative potions, her venom for antidotes and poisons, and even her scales could serve as the main ingredient for Abyss Resistance potion.
She actually wanted to surrender, but Lu Ping’an didn’t agree, covering his mouth and continuing the imprisonment... Ahem, such a villain needed some time to be disciplined and humbled.
How long would the discipline last? Probably, until the storehouse overflowed with Snake King series potions.
In addition, Lu Ping’an secretly descended into the Abyss again to retrieve some "relics" using Didirona’s information... Thanks to Didirona for providing the hidden Snake Shedding, the quality of the first batch of regenerative potions was exceptionally good.
Now, having distributed a batch of new benefits and boosted morale, Lu Ping’an also took the opportunity to announce the team’s new goal.
— End of Chapter 876 —