Responsibility of Every Man

Shun Xing De.

"At last, found it here!"

Long Chen took a breath.

Indeed, the territory in the game "Great Lord" is too vast. Just a county town covers over ten square kilometers.

And in the county town of Xiaocai County, there are about a hundred thousand people, quite a large population for a county town.

Long Chen walked and observed the magnificent ancient buildings here!

The majestic city resembled a fierce tiger crouching.

But thinking about some official announcements, the formidable generals here could jump hundreds of feet high, and a strike could shatter mountains.

This made the city not seem so grand anymore.

Retracting his thoughts, Long Chen saw that Shun Xing De was quite popular, with many customers buying Shu brocade or other specialties.

However, most of these people were dressed in wealthy attire, indicating their substantial capital.

Ordinary people didn't have this kind of money to spend; being able to have a full meal was already good enough.

After settling matters in Shun Xing De, it was already late.

This time, he spent 500 taels of silver to purchase 1,000 stones of grain.

Here, 1 tael of silver could buy 2 stones of rice, and the value of silver was still high.

1,000 stones converted to the in-game unit was 5,000.

Checking the territory panel...

...

Territory Grain: 8,000 (enough to last for five months)

...

Hmm! Not bad, this finally solves the urgent matter.

He needed to go back early and see if the village had finished upgrading so that he could continue to take in refugees and expand his influence!

However, Long Chen didn't know that he had already caught the attention of a group of thieves.

In the game "Great Lord," NPCs have a high degree of autonomy and their own intelligence, making it difficult for many players to defend against them.

This is also why countless players complain on game forums that the difficulty of this game is like hell.

You might be robbed by bandits while walking on the road, and if you encounter vicious bandits, they might just chop off your head and kick it like a ball!

A pile of lush grass concealed dozens of burly men.

"Big brother, it's him! He's the one who killed Zhou Hu!"

Zhou Tai's eyes were like fierce tigers, staring at Long Chen viciously.

Seeing no one around, Zhou Tai seemed to spit out a sentence from his throat.

"Attack!"

Several people instantly rushed out like cheetahs.

"Huh! Why is there a wind behind me?" Long Chen wondered.

"Wait!"

"Boom Boom!!"

"Oh my goodness!"

A large sack accurately descended from above Long Chen's head, perfectly wrapping his entire body.

Seeing Zhou Tai carrying Long Chen on his shoulder, leading the others onto a boat, they drifted away.

.....

[Alert! You are facing an unknown danger, danger level four stars....]

[Alert! You are facing an unknown danger, danger level four stars....]

Familiar metallic sounds occasionally echoed in his mind.

"I freaking know I'm in danger!"

Long Chen roared in his mind.

His body writhed like a worm, only to receive a brutal beating.

"Behave yourself!"

A sharp elbow strike made Long Chen scream in pain, tears uncontrollably streaming down his face.

This is the downside of the game—due to its realism comparable to the real world, getting beaten up feels just like the real thing.

Dizzy and disoriented, Long Chen didn't know how much time had passed.

When he woke up again, the sky had completely darkened.

Trying to move his limbs, he found that his hands were tied up.

Looking up, "Juyi Hall!"

Oh no, captured by bandits. This luck....

Long Chen wanted to cry but had no tears, recalling some unfortunate experiences of players he had read about on the forum.

"Who can be more miserable than me! Captured by a group of bandits deep in the mountains, whipped every day, enduring abuse!"

"I'm worse than you, captured by a female bandit in the mountains, made the leader of the bandits, with nightly serenades. Now I'm drained, left with nothing but skin and bones!"

"Envious of the one above!"

"+1"

"Forget to mention, that female bandit is 150 cm tall, weighs 210 kg...."

"Cough, forget I said that...."

Suddenly, flashes of firelight pulled Long Chen back from his wild thoughts.

"Brothers! This is the guy who killed Zhou Hu, the leader of the Huangshui River branch. Today, we'll use his head to pay respects to Zhou Hu!"

The voice was deafening, almost shattering Long Chen's eardrums.

If this river bandit's voice is already this loud, what about the legendary Zhang Yide's roar? Like the roar of a lion, overwhelming thousands of troops!

Speaking of which, these people are river bandits!

Probably the headquarters of the bandit leader he killed last time.

Didn't expect that there are so many river bandits distributed in Xiaocai County... This is bad.

Could it be that he's going to die because of this and lose the golden legendary talent "Dragon and Phoenix Among Men"?

No! Can't just wait to die!

Wide-eyed, Long Chen carefully observed everything around him, trying to find a way to save himself.

His biggest advantage now is his knowledge and the golden-level talent. If he can use this to gain favor with these people, there might be a chance to survive.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The river bandits below showed a bloodthirsty look, shouting angrily, their machetes gleaming silver in the firelight.

"Kid! Do you have any last words!?"

A burly man holding a ghost-headed knife glared at Long Chen viciously.

The more he looked, the more something was wrong!

This person exuded a heroic spirit, actually arousing a sense of admiration in his heart!

The more he looked, the more shocked he became!

The spirited sword eyebrows, the unruly profile, the tall nose.

And that faint, invisible temperament, the aura of a hero!

Damn!

The burly man was shocked, squinting his eyes, trying not to look at this person too much. The ghost-headed knife was raised high, reflecting a cold light!

"Hold on!"

Just at this moment, Long Chen shouted loudly, his face calm, showing no signs of panic.

Of course, all of this was an act he put on. In reality, he was scared to death.

But he knew that the more he showed fear, the faster he would die. Now, he needed to delay as much time as possible to let the effect of the "Dragon and Phoenix Among Men" talent manifest.

Sitting high at the top, Zhou Tai saw this person with an extraordinary face, calmly facing the imminent danger, as if regarding the ghost-headed knife that would soon take his life as nothing. A feeling of admiration flashed in his heart.

Seeing that he had something to say, he sternly said, "Any last words, speak quickly! Although you seem like a hero, you shouldn't have killed our subordinate Zhou Hu. Today, you are doomed to die!"

Long Chen, unafraid, sat in front of the imposing eight-foot-tall man and solemnly said, "Killing deserves retribution; it's just and right."

Long Chen started with this sentence to gain the leader's approval.

As expected, Zhou Tai nodded and said, "Right, since you understand this principle, I don't need to say much!"

"But!"

Long Chen added a twist.

"But, during the years when your subordinate Zhou Hu was the leader of the Huangshui River, can he honestly claim he never killed anyone else? Did he not kill innocent civilians for no reason?"

"Zhou Hu, during his years as the leader of the water bandits in Huangshui River, how many passing merchants' goods did he plunder? How many innocent families did he ruin and kill? Does he not have sins?"

"He was robbing the rich to help the poor! Those merchants dripping in wealth deserved to be killed!" Zhou Tai shouted, clenching his fists.

As a river bandit himself, Zhou Tai had done what Long Chen mentioned, so he naturally didn't agree.

Moreover, Zhou Tai became a river bandit initially because of the corrupt and incompetent government officials, and those merchants were unbridled in their exploitation and oppression of ordinary people without any restraint.

Thus, he raised his flag, gathered a group, and became a river bandit along the Yangtze River, living a carefree life.

However, over time, he began to doubt his own cause.

Long Chen's questions struck a chord with him.

These words also deeply resonated with the river bandits present.

"Not all merchants are unscrupulous oppressors; many have a conscience and good moral character! They are willing to use their hard-earned money to help ordinary people!"

Indeed, in ancient times, most merchants were more conscientious than modern ones. Influenced by Confucianism, they naturally had a sense of justice!

"And you, rampaging on the river, regardless of right or wrong, as long as it's a merchant ship carrying goods, you plunder it without distinction! How many ordinary people have been left with no way to survive because of your actions, homes destroyed and lives lost!?"

As Long Chen spoke, he unexpectedly became emotional, and the talent effect of "Dragon and Phoenix Among Men" suddenly released at this moment.

"Ding! The goodwill of the head of the river bandits towards you has increased to 62."

"Ding! The goodwill of the second-in-command of the river bandits towards you has increased to 66."

"Ding!..."

"Ah!"

In the end, Zhou Tai sighed, saying to those around him, "Let him go!"

After Long Chen was released from the thick ropes, he stretched his muscles.

Zhou Tai asked again, "But how can we, ordinary people without status, fulfill our aspirations? We also don't want to keep being river bandits! Alas, the world's situation is like this! What can we do?"

Long Chen was surprised to find that he couldn't check the attribute panel of the head of the river bandits.

Knowing that he was already at level 15, meaning the burly man in front of him must be above level 30, even stronger than Shi Qiang.

After learning this, Long Chen's heart burned with excitement.

He was currently troubled by the lack of powerful generals under his command.

If he could gain the allegiance of the man in front of him...

"The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every man!" Long Chen stood up, revealing an air of heroism and ambition!

In the eyes of everyone present, Long Chen's figure grew taller and taller.

"Now, with the Yellow Turbans wreaking havoc, people wandering and losing their homes, chaos in the world, and the struggle between eunuchs and relatives never-ending, the current emperor is indulging in wine and women, neglecting the court."

"At this crucial moment, we, aspiring individuals, should make achievements in the world, obtain fiefdoms. How can we be content with being river bandits in this small river?"