Chapter Eighty-Six: Taking Stock of the Spoils and the Uncanny Sun Yu (Third Update, Seeking Subscriptions)

With the death of the great orc chieftain and the havoc wrought by the demon lord within the orc royal court, the orcs were now in disarray. The human commanders, who had planned to prepare more siege equipment, no longer waited. They decisively launched an assault on the orc royal city.

Without the demon lord’s projection as an insider, the gates could not be opened from within—they had to storm the city directly. At this moment, it was Chu Cheng’s turn to shine. Under the cover of the human army, as the infantry drew the fire of most of the defending siege weapons, Chu Cheng quietly blended in with the assaulting soldiers, climbing the wall via the cloud ladders.

He unobtrusively feigned being pushed into a corner by the orc defenders atop the battlements, stoically enduring their blades and spears. All the reflected damage was marked against the wall-mounted ballistae and the gate below.

True damage inflicted full destruction upon the gates and machinery. Most ballistae had only a few thousand points of durability; with each volley of reflected damage numbering in the thousands, they were quickly rendered unusable. The gate itself was far more robust—its durability reached into the hundreds of thousands—but it was sliced open by invisible spatial blades, sending debris scattering.

“Sun Yu’s results have been nullified; I’m certain to take first place in this joint exam!”

With one final round of true damage, the battered, gaping city gate collapsed with a thunderous crash. Soldiers who had been waiting at the entrance surged forward, pouring into the city and clashing fiercely with the orcs inside.

Only then did Chu Cheng stop concealing himself. With a few swift strikes, he cut down the nearby orcs, leaped off the wall, and merged into the crowd.

Without the great chieftain to command, and most of the orc warlords slain by Imotal, the orc leadership was reduced to a handful of survivors, powerless to control the situation within the city. They were utterly incapable of resisting the human offensive.

What should have been a grueling battle was dramatically weakened thanks to Sun Yu’s interference. If the original difficulty was 100, now the siege barely ranked as a 10.

At such a level, the orcs were no match for the northern expedition army; upon entering the city, the humans pressed forward in a crushing sweep.

They fought their way deep into the royal city. The orc defenders collapsed completely, fleeing for their lives. The rear gates were flung open, and hordes of orcs escaped out the back.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their faces brightening. Some continued hunting down orcs within the city, while others formed teams to pursue those who had escaped.

Chu Cheng did not join the pursuit. He had amassed enough kills for a five-star story rating, and without the heads of the great chieftain and the remaining warlords, further slaughter would yield little improvement.

Moreover, he had gathered enough critical influence for the final scenario. He had broken the gates, and with over three thousand orc soldiers dead by his hand, his impact was undeniable.

Ordinary soldiers might not be valuable individually, but when the tally was great enough, quantity transformed into quality—his contribution was crucial.

This harvest mirrored the previous major event: a five-star rating, critical scenario influence, and the first place in the joint exam secured.

Final rewards for a five-star scenario rating: one red treasure chest, eighty thousand kill experience, five thousand renown, six free attribute points, six skill points.

The rewards were somewhat reduced, not as impressive as the previous major scenario.

The main reason was the vice principal had expended a large amount of domain essence to annihilate the demon lord’s projection and his summoned demons, resulting in diminished rewards for everyone.

The culprit was Sun Yu, who had already received his due punishment.

Aside from the scenario rating rewards, there were additional rewards for major scenario influence: fifty points, three permissions, and five thousand renown.

Renown was now useless, as all remaining worship rewards had been redeemed.

At this moment, Chu Cheng had forty-five free attribute points and seventeen free skill points remaining. He also had fifty-seven points and two permissions left, having used up one previously.

According to the exchange rules, every three points could be traded for one skill point, for a maximum of nineteen skill points. Every four points could be exchanged for one free attribute point, up to fourteen attribute points.

With twenty points and two permissions, one could trade for a rare piece of equipment—only one per exchange. For one hundred points and five permissions, a piece of epic equipment could be acquired, though Chu Cheng lacked sufficient permissions and points.

Alternatively, permissions could be exchanged for ten points each, if not used for equipment.

Chu Cheng considered his options: trading for a rare quality item would cost the equivalent of ten attribute points or thirteen skill points. For him, a rare item below level thirty was not worth nearly as much as those points.

After a brief deliberation, he decided to convert his two permissions into twenty points, then exchange all points for skill points. He was not in urgent need of attributes; since his golden finger upgrade, he had received a wealth of extra points, and purifying the void mark had granted him dozens more—his stats now rivaled those of a typical boss. What he lacked most were skill points.

With seventy-seven points, he could exchange for a full twenty-five skill points.

The five-star scenario reward chest was expected to yield a rare-quality item.

Commander’s Battle Belt (Rare/Red)
Equipment Type: Belt/Leather Armor
Requirement: Level 25
Bonus Attribute: Strength +5
Bonus Attribute: Agility +5
Bonus Attribute: Perception +5
Description: A battle belt from a human commander, known to bring luck to courageous warriors.

This was a classic attribute item—all three bonuses increased personal stats, with no special effects or additional skills. Among rare items, it was rather basic.

Yet even basic, it was still rare, and its attributes far outstripped his previous blue items.

After opening the chest, Chu Cheng returned to the Cross Fortress, selling off miscellaneous goods and unused equipment for about six gold coins. With his existing funds, he now had nineteen gold and fifty-eight silver.

“Still so poor!”

He had a multitude of expenses ahead.

He still needed twenty-nine gold coins to buy ten free attribute points and nine skill points.

His equipment had yet to be enchanted.

Several items had gem slots that remained empty.

He owed seventy-one gold and fifty silver in loans.

He also had to consider his future class transfer upon entering the advanced academy. If his grades were high, the River of Styx’s wash would be provided for free, but transitioning to top-level or heroic classes would not be easy, and would require significant resources. He had to save up.

“I can only hope the first place prize for the joint exam is worthwhile!”

Chu Cheng rubbed his forehead vigorously, forcing himself to set aside these worries.

At this moment, though he had not yet returned, the joint exam was over. Whatever he did next might earn him a few more benefits, but would not count toward his exam evaluation.

Chu Cheng thought for a moment, planning to visit Gear City and have Old Sneed cut his two epic-grade gems.

Thanks to their previous relationship, he enjoyed half price for gem cutting at Old Sneed’s place.

Cutting a purple epic gem cost about three gold coins, so two gems would be six. Half price meant three gold coins for both, saving him three.

Although he had made up his mind, he did not leave immediately. He intended to depart quietly in the evening.

He had to be wary of Sun Yu, whose results were nullified because of Chu Cheng; if Sun Yu lashed out in humiliation, the consequences could be severe.

This possibility was not small.

Yet the more Chu Cheng tried to avoid him, the harder it became.

When the battle in the orc royal city ended and Chu Cheng was preparing to leave, he heard someone calling his name as he passed through the street. Instinctively, he turned and saw Sun Yu standing at the entrance of a tent, beckoning him over.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

His face was expressionless, with occasional twists at the corners of his mouth, giving him a rather strange appearance.

Chu Cheng curiously glanced around, then at the modest tent—it was too small to hide many people, and Sun Yu’s teammates appeared to be absent.