My lord, spare his life!

Zhang Yang pondered the feasibility of kidnapping and imprisoning Eggman.

This is the key NPC for hidden achievements.

Unless other NPCs also drop items of the same series, if he is left to wander around outside and accidentally killed by the plot, wouldn't this hidden achievement be lost forever? Just as Zhang Yang was seriously thinking about this, the young general at the front of the group suddenly stopped.

The right deputy immediately raised his hand and ordered a halt.

"General, have we spotted enemy activity?"

Young military commander: "The scum are catching up."

The right assistant gripped the hilt of his knife, alert to his left and right: "Is it that thief?"

Young military officer: "No."

The "scumbag" he was referring to wasn't the petty thief who stole his belt, hair tie, gold beads, and earrings, but rather one of his former brothers and sisters. The young military commander had slaughtered most of the old man's remaining bloodline in the headquarters, leaving only a handful of survivors.

These scoundrels who escaped often went against him.

He said, "I smell the stench of scum."

Just as repulsive as that old man.

The dampness, fishy smell, and stuffiness made him irritable and anxious.

He longed to tear the other person to pieces with his bare hands, only then would he feel any relief seeing the mangled body, entrails, and filthy blood splattered on the muddy ground.

The right deputy gave the order in a low voice.

"All personnel on high alert!"

Young military commander: "Hold your breath!"

puff--

A starburst arrow approached in an instant, and the right deputy only heard a very faint "thump" from outside the thick fog a little later!

call out--

The arrow grazed her ear.

The right assistant broke out in a cold sweat, immediately holding her breath to prevent her own scent from mingling with the thick fog. The fog not only hindered their ability to spot the enemy, but also made it difficult for the enemy to accurately lock onto them. If this arrow were aimed at her vitals, even if she dodged it, she would only suffer a minor injury. The first arrow was fired, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth...

Except for the first arrow, which was used to probe the target's location, the subsequent arrows were all aimed at the young general, each one more fierce and precise than the last. Target locked, the rain of arrows began!

Zhang Yang and Fan You were in the very middle of the group.

The dense stray arrows did not reach her.

She closed her eyes to pinpoint the source of the sound, mentally tracing the flight paths and actual routes of all the arrows, and deducing the location of the hidden archers: "Huh? How many archers are hiding in the shadows?"

These arrows were not fired from the same direction.

It wasn't the same person shooting an arrow in a different spot.

She said, "This archery skill of the NPC is interesting!"

call out--

Zhang Yang raised his hand and grabbed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fan You caught a glimpse of a dark figure and instinctively turned his head to look. He saw Zhang Yang clutching a black arrowhead, the arrowhead aimed at his shoulder! Seeing this, what else could Fan You not understand? However, it was inconvenient to express his gratitude under the current circumstances.

This Eastern bandit group fought with perfect coordination. The moment the order to hold their breath was given, they raised their thick shields, forming a shield wall. The arrowheads, seemingly thin and weak, struck the shields with astonishing force.

The soldier holding the shield soon felt some pain in the area between his thumb and forefinger.

Fan You formed a hand seal and set up a star array. Countless starlight rose from the ground, rotating around the shield wall: "I'll blow some of this mist away first. Protect yourself, and whatever you do, don't..."

Don't expose yourself unless absolutely necessary.

Even if it means exposing himself, he should wait until the Eastern Barbarian bandits and the hidden ambush forces are both severely weakened before Zhang Yang comes out to reap the benefits. If he acts now, he might become a prime target for both sides to eliminate.

Zhang Yang ignored him.

He was simply concentrating on determining the archer's position.

With each arrow, a corresponding dot would appear in her mind. Two breaths later, these dots appeared faster than the archer could fire. If two breaths ago the archer drew a dot for each arrow shot, two breaths later it was as if a dot appeared in her mind, and the archer would only fire the corresponding arrow at that dot!

Zhang Yang: "Got you? Next arrow—"

The young general made a grabbing motion in the air, and dazzling starlight transformed into a bow, which he drew. He gave a disdainful snort, closed his eyes, and locked onto the enemy's next position the instant the bowstring was drawn to its fullest extent.

hum-

The bowstring swept across, dispersing the dense fog several dozen feet in the direction of the target.

The thick fog dissipated instantly, revealing a dozen or so afterimages that had been sent flying backwards by the impact, vanishing before even hitting the ground, leaving only one solid figure that briefly appeared on the ground. The young military general, not seeing the expected effect, sneered, "You scum, you're quite good at dodging!"

"Just one piece of trash. I'll go collect her corpse!" the young general ordered his two lieutenants. "You all retreat according to the previous plan and meet at the agreed camp. I'll catch up with you shortly!"

Without hesitation, the right deputy shouted, "General, be careful!"

The young general spurred his horse and leaped into the closing fog, disappearing in the blink of an eye. His two deputies knew that staying behind would only make them easy targets for the enemy, so they dared not delay, fearing that being even a step too slow would become a burden to their general.

Zhang Yang: "You're just leaving like that?"

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to her, she tore off the blindfold and just in time saw a dozen or so afterimages shattered by the young warrior. Although it was only for a moment, she still saw the long health bar of one of the afterimages.

A young military general going alone will suffer losses.

"Your general..."

Is the Easter Egg Guy going to die in the plot here?

The Eastern bandit beside him replied, "General, your martial virtue is unparalleled. If we stay here, we will only become a hindrance to him."

Zhang Yang: "..."

Based on her sixteen years of analysis of every game boss, she knows that if a fanboy/fangirl starts praising the boss's power, the boss will either be severely injured or have all its stats reset to zero. She's all too familiar with the game designers' underhanded tactics!

Zhang Yang: "...My achievements."

She hadn't had a chance to test whether the achievement items only dropped by young military generals, or also by other Eastern Bandit BOSSes!

The Eastern Barbarian bandits wouldn't give Zhang Yang a chance to think things through.

"withdraw!"

Dozens of warhorses shot into the thick fog like arrows released from a bow.

They operated in this area and knew the terrain very well; even the thick fog didn't hinder their progress. This sight evoked a slight sense of admiration in Fan You. It wasn't easy for ordinary soldiers to train to this level; although this Eastern Bandit force was small in number, each member was a seasoned veteran.

A sharp cry came from the sky.

Right Vice-Commander: "It's not the general's steed!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dark shadow plummeted from the sky at the speed of a falling meteor, its target one of them. Unfortunately for them, this bird also picked on the weak, immediately choosing Zhang Yang, who had concealed all his aura and looked just like an ordinary person.

"Get down!"

Fan You also subconsciously raised his hand and pressed on Zhang Yang's back.

But how could his strength possibly overcome hers?

"Pah, what a beast!"

Because of Fan You's interference, Zhang Yang managed to dodge, but his dodge was anything but graceful. The raptor's talons missed their target, and with the force still lingering, they struck the blade of the nearest soldier. The talons tore the blade to pieces as easily as a knife cutting through tofu.

It took off in an instant, then dove again.

The target this time is still Zhang Yang, whom we failed to capture earlier.

When Zhang Yang saw that it was still targeting her, she cursed inwardly. In a flash, she even had a plan on how to pluck the bird's feathers, gut it, and roast it. But she forced herself to resist, because she realized that this beast could actually help her out!

She was worried that the Easter Egg Guy would encounter a plot-induced death.

If she rushed over, Fan You would nag her, saying she had gone back on her word and hadn't followed the original plan. If she were grabbed by this giant bird, wouldn't she be able to escape for a while? So, amidst Fan You's terrified gaze, Zhang Yang seized the bird's claw in the chaos, quickly leaving behind the words, "Just bear with it for a bit!"

It was carried into the air by a large bird in full view of everyone.

He screamed in panic, "Help!"

Several arrows fired by the right deputy from the bird's wings were deflected by the bird's wings. Perhaps due to Zhang Yang's interference, the bird's flight path became somewhat shaky, and it emitted mournful cries as it gradually rose higher, moving away from the right deputy and the others' firing range.

Fan You shouted, "...Yang Niang!"

Actually, I was already cursing him filthy in my heart.

Why is Zhang Yang so certain?

She wasn't blind; she saw the new message that popped up in the system log.

Fan You's favorability towards you has decreased by one.

Fan You's favorability towards you has decreased by one.

I scrolled through seven or eight of them in one go.

Zhang Yang: "...Sigh, they don't even care about me."

Enraged, Fan You on the ground had veins bulging on his forehead. He snatched the reins and was about to chase after the direction the large bird had disappeared in. The Eastern Bandits, assuming he was worried about his sister, all tried to stop him.

"Don't take the risk!"

"Don't kill yourself!"

"We understand your feelings, but that star beast is extremely ferocious. If the general were here, dealing with it wouldn't be a problem, but neither you nor I can. Calm down first, and wait for the general to return before asking him to save your sister, okay?" The Left Deputy felt increasingly sorry for Fan You. Although Fan You's sister was beautiful but mentally ill, she was still a living family member to Fan You. How heartbreaking it would be if she died.

Fan You struggled desperately: "Don't touch me!"

He made hand seals to activate the formation, forcefully pushing the crowd away.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was filled with a hundred thousand resentments at Zhang Yang for abandoning him, but he could only grit his teeth and chase after him. Who knew what the maximum distance between them was? He certainly didn't want to have his rage erupt with so many people around!

The deputy left officer advised, "Calm down!"

The right deputy raised his hand and knocked Fan You unconscious, then glared at the left deputy.

The deputy left calmed down, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

If Fan You had continued his "unreasonable behavior" in that situation, the Right Vice-Minister's patience would have run out and he might have killed him outright. The group set off again, and the thick fog that shrouded the mountains gradually thinned, improving visibility. Soon they saw the temporary campsite.

Not long after they arrived, the young military officer returned.

He glanced at the number of people. Apart from a few who were injured by stray arrows and were bleeding, no one was dead for the time being, except for Zhang Yang.

"The general is back?"

"Um."

"That thief?"

The young military officer said unhappily, "They escaped again."

He wondered why that bastard was so hard to kill; how many "scapegoats" had he found? Not counting this time, he had inflicted no fewer than ten fatal penetrating wounds on her, but each time he hadn't managed to kill her completely. Thinking of this, he grew increasingly annoyed.

Where are they?

The right vice-captain mentioned the Star Beast sneak attack.

Fan You's silly little sister has been arrested.

Young military commander: "That means he's dead."

The star beast they were talking about was raised by scum on human flesh; it had an extreme love for human blood and couldn't live without human flesh. Fan You woke up clutching his neck at this moment, and when he saw the young general, his face turned green, but he could only suppress his anger and offer to lend him a horse.

The young military officer sneered, "So you think that beast isn't getting enough to eat, and you're deliberately sending yourself over to give it an extra meal?"

Fan You's heart pounded like a drum, and he suppressed a sense of foreboding: "It doesn't matter, we siblings are going to die together anyway!"

He gritted his teeth when he talked about "death".

The young military officer neither confirmed nor denied this.

He simply turned to his right deputy and asked, "Did they only arrest her?"

"right."

"That's a bit strange."

Fan You clenched his fists: "What's strange about it?"

"It's not that kind."

The young military general was also aware of that beast's appetite.

As far as he knew, that beast would only be satisfied if it ate at least two strong, adult men at a time. But it was vicious and cruel; even if it could only eat two living people, it would still try to torture and kill as many targets as possible, killing more than ten people in a single attack on a village. Each time, it would use its sharp claws to tear its target into strips of jerky.

Only one was taken?

Young military officers all doubted whether it had abandoned evil and turned to good.

"Or are you hiding something?"

"What are you hiding?"

"If there were no secrets, how could she be an exception?"

"...I don't know, I only know—even if I'm going to die, I want to die with her!" Fan You's breathing suddenly became rapid, his eyes reddened, and the veins on his forehead bulged uncontrollably. He sneered, "If we can't live together, then we'll die together!"

The desire to kill the master reached its peak.

The young military general frowned: "Your 'Descending Stars of Calamity'..."

Strangely, Fan You was only breathing rapidly, his cheeks were flushed and sweating, but his eyes remained clear, showing no signs of succumbing or losing control.

Fan You's favorability towards you has decreased by one.

Zhang Yang stared speechlessly at the messages in the system log.

"Uncle Yan, if we keep subtracting, it'll become a negative number."

At this moment, she is halfway up a mountain.

A gigantic bird, its body twisted and covered in blood, lay at her feet. That bird was the culprit that had "kidnapped" her.

Zhang Yang kicked the large bird off the mountain. She originally wanted to roast the bird, but the bird actually tried to swoop down the mountainside to kill her. Enraged, she crushed the bird's claws and used the momentum to leap onto its back, riding the bird through the air for a while.

"I'll go back and get a fun flying mount..."

This big bird is not fun to play with at all.

"I couldn't find the Easter Egg Guy... Where did he die?" If he's dead, would she complete the achievement if she stripped the items off his corpse? The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she roared, "An achievement... I can't let it become unavailable just like that..."

The presence of the aura was clearly nearby.

Zhang Yang searched for a while longer, and just as she was wondering whether to turn back to find Fan You, she vaguely noticed a red name hidden among the bushes in the distance. She parted the bushes and found that there was a cliff in front of her, and the red name was below the cliff.

There is another hole carved out below the mountain wall.

Zhang Yang peeked out and took a closer look.

"Not Easter Egg Guy."

The red-named player's health bar was down to a sliver of health.

"Is it a boss with low health?"

Another red name, another near-death experience...

If someone can tolerate not killing someone like that, how can they be considered human?

??|??w?`)