Risel City.
The pitch-black night sky was bathed in moonlight like liquid silver. Standing beside the abandoned sewer exit, Li De attentively observed everything around him.
Directly in front of the exit stood a dilapidated two-story building, extremely desolate. The round door had long since decayed and collapsed. The stone walls were full of cracks, and climbing vines covered half the structure.
This didn't resemble a city at all, instead, it looked more like an abandoned house out in the wild hills.
"Your Majesty, this is Risel City's Sixteenth District. The First District is next to the main city wall, and the Twentieth District faces Green City.
The Sixteenth District has always been a gathering place for beggars and the poor."
Li De nodded slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he noticed the respectful expressions of Hun Yuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun. These players probably now saw him as a super boss and were racking their brains on how to raise favorability.
So far, he hadn't interacted much with the players. Glory's Light had been a test subject of sorts.
By now, he had long shed the fear he felt when first entering the game and preparing to face these undead creatures.
No matter how reckless these guys were, they still had to play by the rules of this world. Those who tried to stir trouble usually met the worst fates.
Instead, he, the so-called final boss, had become someone players now had to look up to and cater to. Truly, the world was full of surprises.
"All right. Since you were the ones who brought Yor out, I want you to assist him in persuading the Graymount Tribe."
"If you can complete this, I'll reward you handsomely."
"Ding~ Would you like to issue a quest?"
Li De's lips curled upward. He wasn't surprised by the system prompt, instead, he casually opened his status panel and navigated to the newly unlocked quest panel to begin editing the mission.
"The great and mysterious ruler of the Dark Pact, Majestic Iro, now entrusts you with a new mission: persuade the goblins to obey Majestic Iro's arrangements.
Quest Requirement 1: Accurately determine the goblins' location and relay messages to Majestic Iro in real time using bats.
Quest Requirement 2: Assist Yor in persuading the goblins. Final completion will be based on the number of goblins who escape Risel City.
Quest Requirement 3: Investigate the Divine Artifact fragment and the alchemical bomb crafting technique in goblin hands. Note: Do not reveal your true objectives.
Quest Rewards: ..."
Looking at the reward section below, Li De's awareness swept through his system space and status panel. After considering for a moment, he selected a set of Rare ★ grade armor, 100 Gold Pucks, 20 points of Respect with the Dark Pact, and 5 points of favorability with himself.
After confirming everything was correct, he directly selected 'Issue.'
Immediately, Hun Yuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun lit up with joy. Each of them had received the quest from Majestic Iro, and the generous rewards nearly made them drool.
Their eyes instantly turned fervent as they looked at Li De again.
This NPC is insanely rich!! They were never letting go of this thigh!!
A wide smile spread beneath the mask covering Li De's face.
System quests, this was practically an unbeatable ultimate weapon.
Just a couple days ago, when he had the Dark Pact members issue quests to players in the Mysterious Street, it had suddenly dawned on him, he was an NPC too. So why couldn't he issue quests?
After that, he summoned Glory's Light and issued his first official quest, and the results had greatly surprised him.
He hadn't expected that he really could issue quests. Once Glory's Light completed that first task, his quest panel had officially been activated.
The quest panel wasn't complicated. First, he could issue up to three quests at the same time. Until those three were completed, he couldn't publish new ones. Only once a quest was finished could he issue another.
Second, he could choose anything he owned as a reward, skills, equipment, even his own favorability or respect from subordinate factions.
As long as it was something he possessed, anything except abstract things like faith energy or innate spellcasting talent could be used as a quest reward.
Third, for every quest he issued, the system would automatically evaluate its difficulty and assign experience accordingly.
This quest panel feature gave Li De an indescribable advantage when dealing with players, he held absolute initiative.
There was so much room for maneuver that, in the future, he wouldn't just stop fearing players. He could even toy with these silly fools like pet huskies.
As for why he gave Hun Yuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun such generous rewards, these three had already sold themselves to the Dark Pact. For his own people, he was never stingy.
Moreover, prioritizing the cultivation of a few top players would only benefit the Immortal Souls of the Dark Pact.
Even though he had established the Crimson Moon, no amount of power would ever be too much.
After giving them a few more instructions, Yor disappeared into the night along with the three players.
Li De didn't follow them. Instead, he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
According to his system of plans, whether or not the goblins acted as he hoped didn't matter much, as long as these shorties didn't go around announcing his arrival, it wouldn't significantly impact him.
Even if the goblins resisted, it would at most create some trouble.
In fact, from the very beginning, he never expected the goblins to obediently cooperate with him or follow his instructions to the letter. He never placed his hopes in others.
That was just his personality, he only felt secure when he held the initiative.
"Emi, follow them. Be careful not to get discovered."
"Yes, Your Majesty." After a soft reply, no further sound came from behind him.
You should never put all your eggs in one basket. He would never stake everything on a single person or a single outcome.
Yor was one line. The players were one line. Emi was another line. Even he himself was a line. As long as this key line, himself, remained intact, the entire mechanism would continue to function properly.
And infiltrating Risel City alone at such great risk wasn't just for the goblins. He wanted more.
A faint excitement gleamed in his deep, dark eyes.
The beastman assault on Risel City was a disaster for the city, but for Dawn City, it was another golden opportunity for resurgence.
He turned and walked toward the street. Beneath the night sky, pairs of patrolling soldiers trudged down the avenue, clad in heavy black armor and looking utterly exhausted.
As for the nearby alleys and shadowy corners, these weary soldiers no longer had the energy to investigate thoroughly.
The war had pushed Risel City to the edge of collapse.
Li De didn't stop. It was as if he were searching for something, strolling leisurely through this city he had never set foot in, moving as if he knew it well, heading steadily in a particular direction.
The night belonged to the vampires. The successive battles had already left this city broken. The patrols and guards had long since lost the ability to detect him.
After winding through the streets, he arrived in front of a modest yet spacious residence belonging to a wealthy merchant. He halted at the sight of its semi-circular doorway.
Just as he was about to knock, a sharp, feminine voice called out from behind him.
"Who goes there?! Why are you out in the city at this hour?!"
Li De paused mid-step and slowly turned his head.
The first thing he saw was that slender figure, with a crimson cape billowing behind her in the wind, so vivid and striking under the veil of night.