Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Scare Away

Song Jian’s words left George a little helpless. He glanced at Song Jian and said, “Actually, these powerful NPCs are criminals who have committed crimes. They have wandered into this city. If you can liberate them and give them another chance to regain their freedom, they would definitely be grateful to you.”

“Of course, there’s a small chance you might encounter some prisoners with quirky personalities who might attack you directly. Therefore, this is a very dangerous method and I don’t recommend you to do it.” George added.

” What are their levels then?” Song Jian hesitated for a while before asking.

“The lowest is level 10, and it does not exceed first-order combat power. Because those prisoners with more than first-order combat power will not be exiled to our abandoned city, but will be sent to more dangerous places!” George explained.

“Good, do you happen to know where the nearest prisoner is?” Song Jian asked. He had already discovered that in this game, players could recruit many followers. The more followers a player had, the stronger the player would become indirectly, whether it was for territorial expansion campaigns or defending their own castle, a large number of people were needed.

Some players rely on gathering more players, but Song Jian wanted to recruit more followers, because compared to players, followers are easier to control.

“My Lord, there is a prison in this level 25 monster area. If no one attempts to rescue the prisoner within a month, the prison will automatically open, and the criminal inside will mutate into a monster BOSS!” George waved his hand and a semi-transparent map immediately appeared in front of Song Jian. Pointing lightly at the map, George said, “In fact, the reason why there are so many BOSSes in this city is mostly because every month there are prisoners breaking out of their cages, turning into monsters.”

“Very well then, I’ll go and see if I can rescue him.” Song Jian nodded and memorized the location.

“Be careful, my Lord. No one can guarantee how much strength that prisoner still possesses, nor can they promise that he will become your follower after you rescue him!” George wore a worried expression on his face.

Song Jian waved his hand to assure George and headed towards the manor. He had only taken two steps when he remembered something and quickly turned to George, “Oh right, George, help me recruit or train some miners, the more the better. I’ve found a rich vein, but I can’t mine it alone. I need to form a mining team!”

“Yes, my Lord, I will recruit miners right away!” George said, bowing.

The recruitment interface has various NPC skills available. Players can recruit according to their needs. Song Jian handed the recruitment authority over to George and many matters were taken care of by him.

After he finished giving instructions, Song Jian headed towards the location George marked.

There should not be many players hunting monsters in the level 25 monster area. The imprisoned NPC should also still be quietly waiting in the prison.

At this point, there were almost no more monsters in the Level 5 monster area. All around were players and player’s safe houses. Most of the players would only upgrade their safe houses, without launching a territorial expansion campaign. Once they launch an expansion campaign, they might end up in a war against a dozen other players, considered a suicidal act.

Therefore, most players grouped with their neighbors to form a war pact, which then integrates horizontally and vertically, convincing more players to join their pact.

As the number of players and safe houses increased, the surrounding environment got badly destroyed, leaving no full path. As Song Jian passed along the road, he even met two groups of robbers.

To avoid these disturbances, Song Jian directly displayed his level. As expected, no player dared to block his way afterward.

Arriving at the level 25 monster area, the mutated zombies here were noticeably stronger. Their originally shriveled flesh was now filled up again. However, they no longer looked fresh like the living, instead, they emitted a purple-black glow.

These mutated zombies had sharp fangs in their mouths, their fingernails shimmered with a dark metallic gloss, and even their bodies showed scale-like patterns, giving the impression of being covered in scales.

These mutated zombies possessed immense power. A single punch could easily shatter a wall. As a result, this district was far less preserved than those occupied by lower-level monsters. Most of the shops and even the buildings had been turned into rubble.

Under such conditions, the supplies that players were looking for were greatly reduced, and the terrain would not provide any advantages during fights, forcing them to fight head-on. Players with weak abilities would probably prefer to continue hunting lower-level monsters instead of coming here to level up.

Perhaps because no players had come to level up, as soon as Song Jian entered the area, he saw a robust zombie over two meters tall. This zombie’s cheeks were covered with an exoskeleton layer, looking like it was wearing a giant helmet, and its upper body was bare. It held a huge double-sided battle-ax in its right hand, dragging on the ground, and in its left hand, it held an oil lamp, which looked quite bizarre.

This monster was wandering aimlessly on the deserted street. Whenever it encountered a zombie blocking its way, its right hand would violently swing forward. The huge double-sided battle-ax would utter a heavy, beast-like roar, chopping the zombie that blocked the way into two halves.

Even a casual glance at this level 25 elite BOSS robust mutated zombie would give one a tremendously heavy pressure.

Seeing this BOSS approaching him, the oppressive feeling made Song Jian couldn’t resist summoning the Crimson Fire Heart Ape Sword, his left hand was also gripping a bottle of Weakness Potion, all caution was displayed.

The enormous pressure the BOSS exerted on Song Jian made him, originally confident of effortlessly crushing a level 25 elite BOSS, instantly doubted himself.

Just as the BOSS was getting closer and closer, and Song Jian could not help but think of launching an attack, a rebellious roar suddenly echoed from afar.

The roar scared the robust BOSS in front of Song Jian, making it turn and run away instantly. It even knocked down dozens of mutated zombies along the way. In no time, the silhouette of this BOSS disappeared into the ruins in the distance.

Song Jian, puzzled, looked toward the direction of the roar. That was precisely his destination, the place where the NPC criminal was being held captive.

“There certainly won’t be any other players here. Could it be… that roar was emitted by the captive criminal?” Song Jian speculated in his mind: “Merely with a roar, it was able to scare away a level 25 elite BOSS. How high is this criminal’s strength? Does it really not exceed first-order combat power?”