Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

Liu Nian raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"We're targeting that gnome, we have no grudge against you." The ogre spread his hands, his attitude surprisingly friendly. "You're also a guild leader, and you're somewhat well-known among the ordinary players in Ovitarn. We're all just trying to make a living, we'll run into each other again soon, there's no need to ruin our friendship over some irrelevant gnome."

He pointed in the direction behind him.

"The door is right there. You can leave now, and we absolutely won't stop you. Just pretend we never met."

Liu Nian didn't move.

He simply looked at the ogre, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"If I leave, what will happen to my mission?"

The cannibal was taken aback.

"Task?"

"Bodyguard mission," Liu Nian said slowly. "Escort Balo to Ironforge Town. I paid a deposit of 10 crystal coins, and I'll get 300 upon completion."

He paused, then looked directly into the ogre's eyes.

"Now that my employer is dead, my mission has failed. Who will compensate me for my losses?"

The ogre's expression froze.

The barbarians behind him exchanged bewildered glances, clearly not expecting the sun elf to utter such words.

The necromancer frowned, stepped forward, and said in a chilling voice, "Thranduil, is it? Don't be ungrateful. Letting you go is giving you face; you really think you can—"

"Alright." The ogre raised his hand to interrupt him, looked at Liu Nian, and still had a smile on his face. "10 crystal coins, right? Here you go."

He pulled out a handful of glittering crystal coins from his pocket, counted them, and casually tossed them over.

"Take it."

Liu Nian reached out and caught it.

The crystal coins jingled in his palm. He glanced down at them, then looked up at the ogre.

"10 crystal coins?"

"Yes, 10 crystal coins." The ogre's smile remained unchanged. "Wasn't your deposit 10?"

Liu Nian put the crystal coin away and then reached out his hand again.

"My deposit is 10, and the task reward is 300. That's 310 in total. You only have 10 here—" He tilted his head, "not enough."

The ogre's smile slowly faded.

Don't push your luck.

"I'm pushing my luck?" Liu Nian laughed, a hint of amusement in his smile. "I accepted the mission, paid the deposit, and spent half a day getting here. Now the employer is dead, the mission failed, a loss of 310, and you think you can just give me 10 to get rid of me?"

He looked the ogre's enormous head up and down.

"Is your big head filled with nothing but water? Do you even have a sense of reason?"

The ogre's face darkened completely.

The savages behind him began to stir, their hands gripping weapons, veins bulging.

"Friend!" The ogre's voice deepened, carrying a clear threat. "I'm telling you one last time, don't be greedy. Letting you go is already giving you face; don't push your luck!"

Liu Nian crossed his arms, looking as relaxed as if he were strolling in his own backyard.

"How about this," he suddenly spoke up, "since you said you wanted to make friends, how about I offer a compromise—I'll join you and explore this secret realm together, what do you say?"

The cannibal was stunned for a moment.

Then a barbarian behind him couldn't hold back any longer and roared, "Bullshit! This is a solo instance! You wish!"

"A solo dungeon?" Liu Nian looked at the cannibal.

The ogre nodded grimly: "That's right. The reason we sought out this mage friend is to explore this solo dungeon—a timed resource-gathering dungeon. Only one person can enter at a time."

"Oh—" Liu Nian drawled out the last syllable, then grinned, "That's perfect. I'm the highest-ranking person here, so it's appropriate for me to go in. You guys wait for me outside, and I'll share some soup with you when I come out."

"You fucking—"

The cannibal raised his hand to stop his subordinates' rage.

He looked at Liu Nian, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Thranduil, I'll ask you one last time—will you leave, or stay?

Liu Nian didn't say anything.

He just stood there, his smile growing brighter and brighter.

The cannibal understood.

"Damn it, he's playing us." He took a deep breath. "Get him!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a barbarian, unable to contain himself, roared and charged at Liu Nian with his battle axe.

The barbarian's body swelled rapidly during the charge, his muscles bulged, and his skin glowed with an eerie red light, as if his entire being was engulfed in flames—

[Ancestor Possession]!

This is the Barbarian's signature skill, greatly increasing attack power and health for a short period of time. Clearly, facing the highest-level player here, he dared not be careless and went all out from the start.

The battle axe, accompanied by a whistling sound, cleaved straight down towards Liu Nian's forehead.

The force of that axe strike was enough to split a boulder in two.

Liu Nian stood still.

Not moving at all.

"Boom!"

The battle axe struck Liu Nian's head, about half a foot away, but was firmly blocked by an invisible shield.

-87 million!

Liu Nian's health bar barely moved, and his shield bar barely even touched it.

The barbarian's eyes widened, his face frozen.

Liu Nian looked at him, a smile playing on his lips.

"Are you tickling me?"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Nian's fist had already been thrown.

No fancy skills, just one punch.

"Bang—!!!"

-7777 million! (Heart of Steel not triggered)

The barbarian's body exploded in mid-air as if hit by a cannonball! Flesh, blood, and bone fragments flew everywhere, splattering the faces of several barbarians nearby.

The battle axe landed with a crisp "clang".

The stone chamber was deathly quiet.

Everyone.

They were all frozen in place.

A level 160 Barbarian with Ancestral Form activated, just like that, gone?

One punch?

Just one punch?

The health bar was completely emptied, leaving not a trace?

"You..." The ogre's voice trembled, as if something was stuck in his throat, "Who...who are you?!"

Liu Nian withdrew his fist, flicked off non-existent blood from his hands, his movements as casual as if he had just swatted a mosquito.

"Thranduil," he said innocently, "Guild Master of the Dawn Guild. Don't you know me?"

The cannibal's face turned green.

I don't know anything about this!

When did the Dawn Guild leader become so monstrous?!

One punch and you're dead! A level 160 Barbarian is gone?!

Is this the damage a level 175 spirit should have?!

"You...!" The ogre instinctively took a step back, bumping into one of his subordinates behind him, but he didn't care. He roared, his voice trembling with fear, "Do you know who we are?! We are from the 'Shadow Hand'! We have influence throughout the entire Netherworld! If you dare touch us, you can forget about ever living in Ovitarn again!"

Liu Nian frowned.

"The Hand of Shadows?"

"Yes!" The ogre, thinking he was scared, immediately raised his voice a few decibels. "Our guild leader is a level 199 Void Assassin, ranked in the top twenty of the combat power rankings! Can your little Dawn Guild afford to offend him?!"

Liu Nian was silent for two seconds.

Why do they all love to use power rankings to talk about things...?

He smiled.

That smile carried undisguised disdain.

"Never heard of it."

He paused, then added something even more infuriating: "If you're so capable, why don't you give us a run for our money? Do you think Dawn is afraid of you?"