Three Kingdoms Lords: Starting by walking into the mouth of a giant python

"Achi!!"

Liu Rui pushed through the crowd and rushed to Liu Zhi's body, turning him over with trembling hands.

Blood, dirt, a bluish-purple face, a bloody hole in the throat, and dilated pupils in the eyes.

"Ah Zhi..." Liu Rui was still somewhat incredulous.

The guy who was talking non-stop and had the upper hand just a moment ago, how did he suddenly disappear!

"Li Yu!!" Liu Rui turned his head, drew his sword, and slashed down with bloodshot eyes and a pained roar, "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!!"

Li Yu thrust his spear forward.

The knife flies, and the man dies.

Liu Rui's eyes widened, and he fell backward, lying neatly next to his brother.

The onlookers seemed to only then realize what was happening, and suddenly erupted in a cacophony of shouts and commotion.

"Li Yu, why did you kill him?"

"I just said a few sarcastic things to you, is it really necessary to kill someone?"

"It was just a few words, surely it's not a capital offense?"

"Li Yu, how could you be so heartless?"

"Eliminate the entire family!"

"That's too much!"

"Liu Rui was also killed..."

The players were outraged and condemned Li Yu.

Li Yu said, "I didn't intend to kill them. It was only because their brothers made things difficult for me that I had no choice but to retaliate."

"Both of your shots were aimed at killing, and you still say you 'didn't intend to kill'?"

"I just didn't intend to kill."

"How can you prove...day..."

Those who questioned Li Yu suddenly realized something was amiss.

This conversation sounds so familiar!

The scene fell silent, and the doubts abruptly subsided.

"You said those brothers repeatedly made things difficult for you," someone finally spoke up after a while, "As far as I know, only Liu Rui pushed you at the beginning, causing you some injustice. Including Liu Zhi's bullying of you this time, that's only twice in total. Where does the 'repeatedly' come from?"

Li Yu glanced at the man and said quietly, "I'm not good at math."

The man remained silent.

Li Yu looked at the man and asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "[The 100-man assault team] is led by Liao Changpeng."

Li Yu let out a meaningful "Oh".

When Liu Zhi was killed, he didn't speak up; when Liu Rui attacked in a fit of rage, he didn't stop him; but when Liu Rui was stabbed to death, he stood up and spoke up.

Li Yu had a vague recollection of Liao Changpeng; the [Hundred-Man Commando Team] was indeed established by him. However, with the addition of the Liu brothers, one skilled in literature and the other in martial arts, they quickly gained momentum and soon seized control of the team.

In [The First Dream], when the [Brotherhood Alliance] was established, Liao Changpeng completely disappeared. It's unknown whether he died or left.

Overall, he's an ambitious but incompetent coward.

So Li Yu didn't pay much attention to it at all. He walked up to the bodies of the Liu brothers and began to search through them.

Liao Changpeng wanted to stop him, but he was wary of Li Yu's clean and efficient spear technique; he wanted to gather a group to attack, but he was worried that his team members would not obey his commands.

Just as he was hesitating, Li Yu pulled a [blueprint] from Liu Rui's arms, unfolded it, and took a look—

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"Construction Blueprints: Han Dynasty Gathering"

[Rank] Not classified.

[Attributes] Defender (Strength ≥ 20, Intelligence ≥ 20, Charisma ≥ 20) Open and use, can be used as a lord.

[Description] Within one year, their dwellings formed a settlement; within two years, a town.

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The players were in an uproar!

"Village blueprints!!"

"There really is."

"Our Gansu province doesn't even have a single player territory yet, right?"

"Isn't this it?"

"The Liu brothers are quite good at hiding their true intentions!"

"That's a good thing, why are you hiding it?"

"Tsk, you have yours, and you're hiding it too."

The criticism of Li Yu's murders and corpse-collecting just moments before vanished in an instant. All that remained was the discussion of the [village construction blueprints].

Liao Changpeng's face turned green.

Just a few days ago, he heard from his only trusted confidant that Liu Rui had accidentally let slip something while chatting and joking one evening.

They said his brother had just obtained the [village construction blueprints], and the village would be built in a few days. At that time, the entire Moshang Township, and even Gansu County, would be inhabited by people surnamed Liu.

Outsiders only thought Liu Rui was boasting, but his confidant was actually quite meticulous. He remembered someone mentioning that Ma Xiaojiao had been frequently borrowing "Bamboo Books" from NPC villages lately. Other players wanted to take a look to increase their [Intelligence] experience, but Ma Xiaojiao refused them all, saying he would show them to them later.

If we'll only let people watch it later, then who will watch it now?

Liao Changpeng's confidant had a suspicion and began to keep an eye on the Liu brothers' whereabouts. Sure enough, he saw Liu Rui take away Ma Xiaojiao's [Bamboo Book].

After learning about this, Liao Changpeng also thought about the [village construction blueprints]. However, he couldn't find the right opportunity and lacked manpower, so he didn't take action.

Today, a golden opportunity presented itself. With the Liu brothers dead one after another, the [blueprints] became ownerless, just in time for Liao Changpeng to obtain them. But who knew that Li Yu would turn the pages and steal them?

As Liao Changpeng pondered how to obtain the treasure, the players present began to clamor—

"Master Li, let's build a village!"

"Yeah, yeah, what's the point of you always staying in the NPC's village?"

"As long as the great master Li Yu gives the call, players from our Gansu-Shan County will surely flock to him. Then, the name of the great master Li will undoubtedly appear on the Territory Rankings!"

"It's available now. Oh, by the way, Master Li said that Li Yu isn't him."

"You believe it?"

You don't believe me?

"..."

The players were very enthusiastic, and Li Yu did not refuse. He picked up the [Village Building Blueprint] and said loudly, "Brothers and sisters, let me say a few words."

All the players fell silent.

"First, I will establish a territory tomorrow. We can discuss the specific location among ourselves."

"Secondly, regarding the establishment of the village, as long as the system allows it and there is no limit to the number of people, everyone can join. But if there are restrictions, then we will select the best candidates."

Regarding this point, some players agree, some dislike it, some understand it, and some oppose it.

Li Yu explained, "The 'superior' in 'selecting the best' doesn't necessarily mean having a high level of [martial arts] or [intelligence]. Of course, if you're ranked in the four major 'ranking lists,' then you're definitely superior."

Someone joked, "Like you, Master Li, right?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "That's right."

"Whoa~"

Several people in the audience booed in unison, as if they were performing a comedy routine. This prompted others to also boo, followed by a burst of laughter.

The atmosphere was harmonious.

"Alright, enough joking. Let's continue," Li Yu clapped his hands to bring everyone's attention back, and continued, "The reason for 'selecting the best' is for our future survival and development. So, this 'best' can be someone with a special title, someone with high 'strength' or high 'intelligence,' or someone who is a teacher, doctor, or engineer. As long as you have a skill, you are the cream of the crop, the best of the best!"

Upon hearing this, the players began to discuss it animatedly.

Li Yu added, "Thirdly, tomorrow I intend to invite Magistrate Liang, Village Chief Chen, and the officials and heads of various townships and villages to attend the village founding ceremony."

Many players were taken aback. How did they get involved with the NPCs?