Volume 1, Chapter 55: Stun the Entire Audience!

"How is this possible? Am I seeing things? A level 35 NPC attacks a level 10 player and fails to break defense?"

"And it looks like he even reflected nearly two thousand points of damage back to the village chief. This is way too absurd!"

"Isn't this guy a cheater?"

"This bastard is definitely using hacks. Quick, record this! We have to report it to the officials!"

...

Such an exaggerated scene instantly set the surrounding onlookers into a buzz of discussion, as none of them had expected this outcome.

Some players even activated their recording functions, capturing the battle between Lin Yu and the others to upload and report on the official website.

Lin Yu's previous attacks were already heaven-defying, but now his defense was equally outrageous, making it hard not to suspect him.

One had to know that many players present were above level 5 and could view the village chief's attribute panel. The village chief possessed a staggering attack power of 3,500.

Now, with the progression of the game, high-level players on the forums had already deduced the game's damage mechanics.

This meant that to face this level of attack power without taking any damage, one's defense would have to exceed at least 7,000.

Yet Lin Yu, a level 10 player, was able to take zero damage from the village chief's attacks—it was simply mind-boggling.

If it weren't a hack, they could hardly find a reasonable explanation.

They might not fully grasp what a defense value of 7,000 meant.

However, they knew that a level 10 Knight only had a little over 100 defense, which vividly highlighted just how exaggerated Lin Yu's defense was.

"Hiss, holy crap!"

Within the crowd, Brother Centimeter and his companion, who had originally planned to sneak back to watch the excitement, were scared out of their wits by this spectacle, nearly wetting themselves.

Without a second thought, they scrambled to blend into the crowd and quietly fled.

If Lin Yu decided to settle scores with them later, dying a hundred times wouldn't be enough.

When faced with a cheater, who wouldn't be dumbfounded?

"No wonder he could kill Thor, the King of Ten Thousand Snakes."

Not just the players; even NPCs like Li Youtian wore expressions of profound shock.

Especially Li Youtian, whose heart was surging with tumultuous waves.

He knew the village chief's strength better than anyone; even he wouldn't dare claim he could take the opponent's attacks head-on.

Yet Lin Yu, an adventurer, had actually pulled it off, leaving him utterly appalled.

"How can this be?!"

The most shocked person on the scene was undoubtedly Village Chief Wang Defa, whose eyes stared fixedly at Lin Yu not far away as if he had seen a ghost.

Although he hadn't used any skills just then, given his attack power, he should have been able to deal considerable damage even against level 30 NPCs like Blacksmith Li.

Yet currently, he couldn't even break the defense of a level 10 adventurer. This left him finding it truly hard to believe.

"No, he must have some sort of defensive skill capable of blocking an attack entirely. Otherwise, how could a level 10 adventurer possibly possess such high defense?"

After the shock subsided, Wang Defa quickly regained his composure and muttered to himself.

He wasn't unfamiliar with skills capable of blocking fatal damage once; although rare, they did exist.

Therefore, he concluded that Lin Yu must possess that type of skill.

After all, compared to the alternative, he was utterly unwilling to believe that a level 10 adventurer could possess such terrifying defensive capabilities.

Having lived for so many years, he had never once heard of such a heaven-defying existence.

Compared to the latter, the former was clearly much more logical.

Though Lin Yu's attack power was indeed astonishing, it was largely due to the weapon in his hands, which was somewhat understandable.

But his defense defied all logic.

To reach such a high level of defense would require at least a full set of Silver-grade equipment or higher, and it would specifically have to be defense-oriented gear.

Leaving aside the rarity of such equipment, judging solely by the equipment requirements, Lin Yu clearly did not meet the standard.

"I'd like to see how many hits you can take!"

Wang Defa's eyes narrowed into slits as he suddenly let out a stern roar.

The next moment, footwork flashed beneath his feet, and his speed instantly skyrocketed, transforming him into a lingering blur as he lunged toward Lin Yu once more.

Without any wasted breath, thunderous strikes rained down upon Lin Yu like a storm.

However, facing the attacks of Village Chief Wang Defa, Lin Yu offered no resistance, simply letting the blows land on his body.

It wasn't that Lin Yu didn't want to fight back; rather, the opponent's speed was simply too fast, leaving him no room to retaliate.

Forget fighting back; in front of Wang Defa utilizing his high-speed footwork, Lin Yu didn't even get the chance to touch the hem of his robe.

That was the terrifying reality of a 25-level speed gap!

"Miss!"

"-1989!"

"Miss!"

"-1989!"

...

Though Wang Defa's onslaught was fiercely relentless, before Lin Yu, it was like beating against a turtle shell—resulting in the exact same zero-damage outcome as before.

"Crap, this guy is too fierce! He took the village chief's intense assault for a full minute without losing a single drop of health?"

"Holy mother of god, this is definitely a cheat! If it isn't, I'll eat my shoes!"

"Trying to trick people into eating weird things again, are we?"

Seeing Lin Yu withstand Village Chief Wang Defa's continuous, violent onslaught for a full minute without suffering a single scratch, another wave of uproar swept through the entire crowd.

"How is this possible?"

Until the final blow landed, Wang Defa's expression twisted into one of extreme grimness.

He hadn't expected that after attacking for a full minute, not only had Lin Yu not lost any health, but he himself had lost half of his health pool due to damage reflection.

During this time, he had even activated his skills, yet still failed to inflict any damage on Lin Yu. This completely shattered his worldview.

He, a level 35 powerhouse, couldn't even put a dent in a level 10 adventurer?!

"Village Chief Wang, nothing is impossible. I'll say it again: I don't want to make enemies of you. If you just take your people and leave, we can live in peace. Why must you pay with your lives?"

Ignoring the shock of the crowd, Lin Yu looked calmly at Wang Defa.

Though his tone was exceptionally flat, the underlying threat was unmistakable.

To be honest, Lin Yu did not wish to engage in a massive slaughter.

First, he was well aware that these NPCs were living, breathing humans just like him, merely existing on a different plane.

For the sake of a quest, he saw no need to slaughter the innocent.

Secondly, killing too many NPCs would inevitably inflate his Infamy value, and he had no desire to walk around with a red name hanging over his head again.

As Lin Yu's words faded, a wave of whispering rippled through the scene.

In particular, influential NPCs like Li Youtian all turned their gazes toward Village Chief Wang Defa.

Because Lin Yu was right—this guy's defense was simply too monstrous.

If they forced a confrontation, not only would they gain no advantage, but they were also highly likely to be countered, plunging themselves into mortal danger.

Although they would face penalties if the resurrection altar were destroyed, when weighed against losing their lives, they knew which was heavier.

Before the open space not far from the resurrection altar, Village Chief Wang Defa listened to the surrounding whispers with a face as dark as water.

Clearly, under the weight of Lin Yu's strength and the instigation of those words, many people had already developed cold feet.

He had to admit that Lin Yu's words were genuinely persuasive; even he was slightly moved by them.

Unfortunately, however, he was different from the rest.

Once the resurrection altar was damaged, the others might only suffer collateral blame and escape with minor penalties.

He, on the other hand, could not. As the village chief of Novice Village 331, if the resurrection altar were destroyed, he would bear the absolute brunt of the backlash. Even if it didn't kill him, it would cost him dearly.

Therefore, unlike the others, he had no way out.

"Adventurer, your words just now were indeed very convincing. You're right—given your defense, we truly are helpless against you."

Wang Defa suddenly raised his head to look at Lin Yu, a rare trace of admiration flashing in his eyes.

One had to admit that Lin Yu's ability to nearly fracture their alliance with a mere sentence was something that even he had to respect intellectually.

If he didn't have a backup plan, he probably really would have let Lin Yu succeed.

Pausing for a moment, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled into a light smirk. "However, we don't need to defeat you. We just need to stall you until reinforcements from the main city arrive. Will you still be so confident then?"