Online Game: Unrivaled Gods

Watching the white-robed scholar speaking eloquently not far from him, Sun Rui felt no relief whatsoever. Although the white-robed scholar did not show any intention to kill him, Sun Rui knew that the white-robed scholar only appeared relaxed because he felt he was in control of the situation.

The scholar profession itself has little combat power, and it is not very useful in leading troops. However, the scholar's grasp of the overall situation is unmatched by military generals and commanders. Sun Rui felt that the white-robed scholar in front of him must have other tricks up his sleeve besides the initial ambush.

"Where's the backup plan..." Sun Rui scanned his surroundings. Apart from the initial few dozen emaciated refugees who were unarmed, the refugees who appeared afterward with the white-robed scholar all had weapons. Although they were just ordinary weapons, the fact that there were more than two hundred of them still put some pressure on Sun Rui.

Although the refugees surrounding Sun Rui and his group were eyeing them covetously, none of them made a move. This was partly due to their fear of Sun Rui and his group, and partly because it showed the prestige of the white-robed scholar among the refugees.

Sun Rui took two steps forward, patted Huang Ai who was guarding him, and gestured for him to step back.

"Young Master..." Huang Ai turned to look at Sun Rui, clearly not wanting him to leave their protective circle.

"It's alright, just treat your wounds." Although none of Huang Ai's eighteen men were hit by arrows, there were times when they were careless and their skin was cut by arrows. Even if the bleeding was not much, it would still have an impact on their health if it was not treated.

After Sun Rui finished speaking, he took two steps at a time and stepped out of Huang Ai and the others' protective circle to face the surrounding refugees.

Sun Rui glanced at the refugees around him, then stared intently at the white-robed scholar standing not far away and said loudly, "Sir, do you intend to leave us here? I'm not exaggerating, but your fighting strength is not enough to stop me."

After speaking, Sun Rui activated the "Overlord's True Scripture." His eyes flashed with purple lightning. He wore a suit of black iron armor, with black, straight, and slanted, sword-like eyebrows. His long, thin black eyes held sharpness, and his lips were thin and slightly pursed. His angular features exuded an aura of dominance over the world. He leaned on the ground with his black iron spear in his right hand, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Sun Rui's series of actions caused some panic among the surrounding refugees, their eyes filled with fear, and they unconsciously distanced themselves from him.

“Yes, that’s right. Young brother, I know we can’t stop you.” Seeing the change in Sun Rui’s aura, the white-robed scholar did not refute Sun Rui’s words, but instead readily admitted them.

As the white-robed scholar spoke, the refugees, who were already somewhat intimidated by Sun Rui's imposing manner, became even more agitated. This immediately highlighted that the refugees were just a mob, lacking any systematic training, and easily losing their fighting spirit.

"Don't panic!" The white-robed scholar saw the refugees gradually becoming flustered, but he didn't show any surprise. He clearly knew that his words would cause the refugees to panic.

The panicked refugees were calmed down by the white-robed scholar's words. Seeing the refugees calm down, Sun Rui felt a little disappointed and slowly withdrew his imposing manner. He had originally planned to affect the refugees' mentality so that it would be easier to break through later. He did not expect the white-robed scholar to admit it so readily and control the situation with just one sentence.

“We can’t stop you, young man, but it will be difficult for your men to leave unharmed.” The white-robed scholar smiled with satisfaction as he saw that his words had calmed the refugees down; he was clearly pleased with the outcome.

Sun Rui looked at the smiling white-robed scholar and felt a sense of helplessness. He knew that what the white-robed scholar said was true, just as he had estimated. Although he could break through and was confident that he could protect himself, Huang Ai and the others were only second-tier soldiers. They had not cultivated internal energy and had not been promoted to generals. Their combat power was not much different from that of ordinary soldiers. He was not entirely confident that he could lead them out.

Huang Ai and the others are in a different situation than Sun Rui; they are NPCs, and if they die, there is no option to revive them. Sun Rui's current best option is to try his best to get them all out safely.

"Your Excellency, since there is no direct attack, then we should be able to negotiate." Sun Rui composed himself and continued speaking loudly. In Sun Rui's view, the fact that the white-robed scholar had not continued to attack but instead came out to speak meant that there was room for negotiation.

It's better to negotiate than to force a breakout with Huang Ai if there's an opportunity. After all, there are too many unstable factors in a forced breakout. Although Sun Rui is used to sacrifices, he's still willing to try methods that can reduce them.

“That’s right. We have no intention of opposing the imperial court. Killing you young men won’t bring me any benefit.” The white-robed scholar smiled, showing no sign that he was the one who had planned the ambush, causing Sun Rui and his men to suffer a hail of arrows.

Upon hearing the white-robed scholar's words, Sun Rui's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself, "If it weren't for the dynamic vision of my double pupils, we would have lost at least one or two men in that ambush. And that's still because they don't want to confront the court." However, although Sun Rui thought this, he did not refute it aloud. He continued, following the white-robed scholar's words, "Since you don't want to confront the court, could you please let us leave?"

"No!" Upon hearing Sun Rui's words, the white-robed scholar replied without hesitation, "Young brother, let's switch places and see if you'll let me go. Don't try to test me. My sentries spotted you when you were at the foot of the mountain. You must be someone of high status."

Upon hearing the white-robed scholar's words, Sun Rui didn't respond, thinking to himself, "Here comes the important part!"

“Since you’re not a simple man, you should have some say. Could you go back and tell the government that you’ve wiped out the refugees? That would be good for everyone.” Seeing that Sun Rui didn’t respond, the white-robed scholar went ahead and stated his purpose. After speaking, he smiled and looked at Sun Rui, waiting for his reply.

"Just as I thought." Sun Rui thought to himself. When the white-robed scholar was negotiating with him, he had a slight suspicion of this, because he himself had nothing else that the white-robed scholar could scheme against.

In this game, the NPCs' intelligence can be deceived. Unlike traditional games where tasks must be completed to deliver, you can lie to complete tasks. However, in most cases, after a task is completed, there will be special personnel to investigate or relevant tokens to gain the NPC's trust. It is not easy to lie to complete a task.

"It seems the report about Tianyang on the forum wasn't fake." A day ago, a player revealed that they had encountered the incredibly mysterious Tianyang, the first person to build a village, in Changyang County, Qingzhou. Tianyang, leveraging his reputation as the first to build a village, accepted a quest to exterminate a wolf pack. A wealthy local businessman funded a 10-person team for him, but Tianyang didn't use this team to eliminate the wolves. Instead, he led the team and disappeared into the wilderness, leaving the wolf pack untouched. The player who witnessed this exposed it on the forum, and after a group of theorists speculated that due to the intelligence of the NPCs and the game's lax control, it was possible to complete the quest through deception. However, this conclusion was just theoretical; no one had actually tested it. After all, not everyone had Tianyang's high reputation; let alone 100 reputation points, almost everyone's reputation was still at zero.

"But it might actually work." Sun Rui thought to himself. He thought about his identity as the son of the prefect. He figured that no one would investigate if he said he had completed the mission. Huang Ai and the others were his servants, so they wouldn't tell anyone.

The scholar in white watched Sun Rui deep in thought, but did not disturb him, quietly waiting for his reply.

"How can you be so sure I won't go back on my word after I leave here?" Sun Rui asked, feeling that he didn't have any convincing aura about himself. It was just a one-sided verbal agreement, and he could return with his men to wipe out the refugee camp if he went back on his word.

"Don't misunderstand, young man. Even if you go back on your word, it's not a problem. After you all leave, I will lead them to relocate. We can't stay here anymore. Since the imperial court has issued an official document, it means our location has been exposed, and we must change locations. However, if you keep your promise, I think the imperial court won't pursue us relentlessly."

Listening to the white-robed scholar's explanation, Sun Rui understood. The scholar's best-case scenario was simply asking him to return and report the mission's completion; failure wouldn't result in any significant loss. When they first arrived at Tianjian Mountain, the white-robed scholar knew they had changed locations. His original plan was to kill them and flee, but he hadn't managed to capture them and didn't want a direct confrontation that would cause casualties among the refugees, hence the negotiation.

“But what if I go back and report that I have annihilated you, and you continue to commit evil deeds in another place?” Sun Rui thought of the official document which stated that refugees were causing trouble and killing people, and felt that it would be wrong for him to go back and lie about completing the mission.

"Bullshit! What do you know..." The refugees around Sun Rui seemed very agitated by his words, clearly wanting to say something.

"Shut up!" The white-robed scholar shouted at the refugees as soon as they opened their mouths, clearly not wanting them to continue. After silencing them, he cupped his hands in apology to Sun Rui.

"Sorry, young man, my people are a bit agitated."

"fine."

Sun Rui felt something was off about the refugees' agitation. They had seemed timid and hesitant in the face of his earlier assertiveness, but their excitement over his words was rather strange.