The Dwarf Demon's Reward

At the riverbank, the dwarf demon leader was furiously shouting, seemingly commanding its subordinates to cross the river and find the killer. Half of the dwarf demons heeded the call and swam towards the opposite shore.

As Shen Yi had anticipated.

Upon reaching the other side, the demons, wielding their large axes, scoured the area. A small shadow darted out from the bushes on the opposite bank, prompting the demons to chase after it noisily.

Watching his minions give chase, the dwarf demon leader, with about twenty others, returned to their camp. However, they found the camp utterly ransacked. The two guards left behind were killed and hung from trees. The demons roared in fury.

The leader, standing amidst the chaos, issued new orders to its subordinates, oblivious to a small, peculiar object nearby emitting a faint glow.

In the next moment, the object burst into brilliant light, like a solar storm sweeping over the camp. It was a Light Trap: a one-time use item that released sunlight, highly lethal to undead creatures within a 5-meter radius. Shen Yi had obtained this item after killing a silver wolf.

Using the Light Trap was inconvenient, requiring precise placement and timing. Hence, Shen Yi's choice to place it in the camp before the demons returned was calculated.

Fortune favored their plan. The sunlight incinerated over twenty dwarf demons, sparing only two or three positioned further away. Thus, Shen Yi's task of killing ten dwarf demons was more than fulfilled. However, the main task was not completed yet as the dwarf demon leader remained alive.

Despite being severely injured by the sunlight, with festering wounds and a blinded eye, the leader called out to its distant minions.

Shen Yi launched a psychic probe: Dwarf Demon Leader, Attack 9-20, Defense 5, Health 200/500. Special skills unknown, vulnerable to holy attacks, strength-based.

It seemed the Light Trap inflicted a one-time damage of 300 points, insufficient to kill the leader.

Shen Yi, smiling slightly, turned to Anna, "I'll handle the big one, you take care of the small ones, okay?"

"No problem," Anna replied crisply.

Shen Yi charged and fired at the dwarf demon leader, who retaliated with a ferocious leap and a whirlwind of axe swings. Shen Yi retreated and fired again, striking the leader's chest, causing a gush of black blood.

Several surviving demons charged at Shen Yi, only to be intercepted by Anna's graceful counterattack.

As the leader's reinforcements were stalled, it let out a furious howl. Sensing something amiss, Shen Yi instinctively dodged to the side. The leader's axe, thrown with spinning force, narrowly missed him but boomeranged back, striking Shen Yi in the back.

The Dwarf Demon Leader's special skill, the Boomerang Axe, hit Shen Yi twice, inflicting severe damage and causing continuous bleeding.

Despite avoiding the first strike, Shen Yi couldn't evade the second. The axe embedded itself in his shoulder blade, spurting blood.

"Shen Yi!" Anna screamed in anguish.

Shen Yi endured the blow and fired again at the weaponless leader, shattering its mask and revealing a grotesque face. Knowing its end was near, the leader lunged at Shen Yi in a final, ferocious attack.

The Dwarf Demon's special skill, Headbutt Attack, hit Shen Yi in the abdomen, momentarily stunning him. The leader landed several heavy punches, knocking Shen Yi's gun to the ground.

Without its axe, the demon's unarmed damage was significantly reduced, but its punches still throbbed painfully. Shen Yi spat a mouthful of blood, temporarily blinding the leader. As Shen Yi reached for his gun, the leader, knowing another shot would be fatal, desperately clung to Shen Yi's legs.

The distant shouts of returning soldiers signaled that the leader's minions were rushing back. The leader's face showed a hint of triumph, thinking it only needed to stall for a few more seconds.

But then, Shen Yi's cold laughter rang out: "Did you really think I was going for my gun? Fool!"

Caught off guard, the leader looked up just as Shen Yi's cross-shaped sword plunged through its skull, pinning it to the ground.

"You have successfully killed the Dwarf Demon Leader. Main Task Two completed. Reward: 500 Bloody Points."

With the task accomplished, Shen Yi pulled out his sword, beheaded the leader, and collected the loot dropped by the leader and his own gun.

"Let's go!" Shen Yi shouted to Anna as they both started running.

Behind them, more than twenty dwarf demons were in hot pursuit. The strongest among them suddenly stopped and hurled a small hand axe at Shen Yi's retreating figure.

The axe whistled through the air, narrowly missing Shen Yi as it grazed his scalp and embedded itself in a nearby tree. This was followed by a barrage of flying axes from the other demons. Their diminutive stature belied their extraordinary skill and strength with the axes, as they whirled through the air with terrifying precision.

Several trees were chopped down by the axes, one almost crushing Shen Yi. He couldn't afford to look back, focusing solely on escaping. The axe still embedded in his back slowed him down. Gritting his teeth, Shen Yi yanked out the axe, causing a gush of blood and an overwhelming surge of pain.

Despite the agony, Shen Yi activated his healing skill on his shoulder wound, significantly reducing the pain and beginning the healing process. With his agility of 16 points, Shen Yi's running speed was extraordinary, far outpacing the short-legged dwarf demons. Anna, with her years of experience evading dwarf demons, was just as quick.

Once they managed to break free from the encirclement, the dwarf demons stood no chance of catching them. The demons could only roar in frustration as their prey escaped.

After running all the way to the fields of Transylvania and losing sight of the dwarf demons, Shen Yi and Anna finally slowed down. They found refuge in a burnt and abandoned windmill and sat down to rest.

"I can't believe you actually killed the dwarf demon leader. Something the Villares family couldn't achieve in hundreds of years, and you did it. So, what do you want for your bet?" Anna asked with a smile, her gaze devoid of shyness but filled with generous anticipation.

If Shen Yi's victory over the silver wolf involved a mix of skill, effort, and luck, his defeat of the dwarf demon leader was purely his own doing. Anna's admiration for him grew.

"Close your eyes," Shen Yi instructed.

Anna complied, her lips parting slightly in anticipation.

Then Shen Yi... opened the box he held.

The box, a drop from the dwarf demon leader, was something Shen Yi had been looking forward to. He was increasingly enjoying the survival mode of the Bloody City – the cycle of adventure, reward, power increase, and more adventure. He found this world fair – the rewards matched the efforts.

Opening the box, a mental prompt appeared:

"Dwarf Demon Leader's Common Reward: One hand axe, high-quality ordinary equipment, Attack 6-10, with the Boomerang Axe skill. The axe can be thrown and recalled. Priority Level 6. Bloody Points Value: 1500."

The boomerang skill used by the leader wasn't innate but a weapon skill. However, Shen Yi felt the attack power of the 1500 Bloody Points-valued axe seemed low compared to his special bullets. Yet, he realized the damage inflicted by the axe would also include his strength, making its effective attack power 14-18, higher than his bullets.

As adventurers grew stronger, their reliance on firearms would diminish, Shen Yi thought, planning to explore his enhancement options upon his return.

Besides the hand axe, the leader had dropped two more items:

"Newbie 100% Difficulty Additional Reward: Four Poor-Quality Entangling Traps: Immobilize targets for 20 seconds; higher-level creatures have shorter immobilization times. Must be set in advance, lasting 3 minutes. Priority Level 7. Bloody Points Value: 160."

The second item was even more impressive:

"Newbie 100% Difficulty Additional Reward: One Invisibility Pill: Grants invisibility for one minute, allowing movement but not attack. Invisible entities are immune to all damage; attacking breaks the invisibility. Bloody Points Value: 300. Priority Level 15."

With this, Shen Yi felt more confident in escape scenarios. He mused that the newbie tasks indeed offered rich rewards.

However, compared to the silver wolf's reward, the dwarf demon's was somewhat inferior. The wolf had offered a D-level skill, while the demon's axe, despite its high quality, was unranked.

Shen Yi speculated that the difference in rewards was due to the demon's lower strength level and his tactical approach to the battle. The Bloody City seemed to allow clever strategies but reduced rewards for them. Perfect kills yielded higher rewards than tactical ones.

As Shen Yi contemplated the potential rewards of the third main task, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive about the 1000 Bloody Points on offer.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked impatiently, still with her eyes closed.

Shen Yi swiftly stored the rewards in his emblem, then gently pressed a finger against Anna's lips before wrapping his arm around her waist. "I'm taking you somewhere."

"What?" Anna's heart fluttered at the unexpected "kiss."

With a stomp, Shen Yi broke the wooden floor beneath them, revealing a large hole.

They both fell into the depths below...