As soon as Tristan made his move, dozens of players who had secretly joined the Blood Clan were instantly killed. This immediately made other players feel relieved.
They were glad they hadn't opposed Blackshade; otherwise, they would be the ones getting killed now.
But speaking of which, what skill did Blackshade just use? How did a single throwing knife take down so many?
Moreover, aside from the first player who was attacked, the rest of the players were far away from Blackshade and didn't seem to be affected.
No wonder Blackshade can solo the Nightmare dungeon, his methods are truly mysterious.
Some players, who were still hesitating about their choices, quickly realized the reality and wisely chose to help Captain Giruva.
When most of the players had made their choice, Giruva, energized, shouted, "Adventurers, destroy this monster!"
The mutated village chief let out an angry roar, swinging his massive arm and charging forward, ready to start a massacre.
The players immediately got excited.
It was about to begin!
"Quick, tanks, get in front! DPS, watch your positioning, and healers, pre-cast heals."
"Let me take that boss monster down."
"I've never liked this old man, the village chief! Today, he'll learn why the flowers are so red!"
"Protect our village!"
"It's getting intense! I can feel the passion! This is our bond!"
"Damn!"
With a startled exclamation, all the players revealed expressions of realization.
Before them, the village chief's corpse lay on the ground.
Just a moment ago, the village chief hadn't even managed to run two meters before being hit by a throwing knife, his health drained instantly, and he died on the spot.
This left the players, who had been eager for the fight, feeling somewhat disappointed.
They had done all the preparations, and now they were being told it's over.
Wasn't this a bit inconsiderate? No landing after taking off!
"What, it was Blackshade who made the move?"
Well, that's fine then.
I'll land myself.
The players, clearly wise to the situation, unanimously agreed that the village chief, being such a traitor, deserved to be killed immediately.
Tristan emerged from the shadows and walked up to Captain Giruva, saying seriously, "Captain Giruva, you've exposed the village chief's conspiracy. I think you should take over as the village chief."
He then looked at the village guard team, "What do you all think?"
The guard team wouldn't disagree, and they all agreed that Giruva would be the best choice for the village chief.
Giruva was stunned.
The development of the situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
How did he, the leader of the village guard, suddenly become the village chief?
He wasn't prepared for this at all.
But soon, Giruva's expression turned calm, and his title changed to [Village Chief Giruva].
With that, the task was essentially completed.
The game notifications followed shortly.
"Ding, you've completed the special quest 'Destruction and Protection,' earning 10 reputation points."
The players who received the notification were all smiling.
They hadn't done anything but followed Blackshade, and now they had earned 10 reputation points for free. It was a pretty sweet deal.
Many casual players began to change their view of Blackshade.
It was said that Blackshade was ruthless and didn't give ordinary players a chance, but it didn't seem that bad.
Compared to the other players' notifications, Tristan's notifications were a bit different.
"Ding, you were the first to expose the village chief's true identity, sabotaging the Blood Clan's plans. You've earned the title of 'Village Protector'!"
"Ding, your reputation has increased by +10."
"Ding, your reputation with the Blood Clan has decreased to 'Hostile'."
Tristan glanced at the notifications and didn't care much.
Humans and the Blood Clan were mortal enemies anyway, so it didn't matter much that his reputation with the Blood Clan had dropped to hostile.
As for the 'Village Protector' title, it didn't offer any extra stats, and its significance was more about honor.
If anything, in ExoGenesis's merged reality where the game world had come to Terra, it meant that he could receive help in foreign lands from friendly non-human settlements—assuming those settlements were friendly toward humans.
But that was a matter for the future and wasn't very useful right now.
With that, the Blood Clan quest chain in the beginner village was over.
Tristan was planning to turn in the Cole Hunter quest and then come back to Giruva to open the teleportation portal to the main city, starting a new journey.
While the players were still discussing, Tristan used Shadow Stealth and disappeared, heading for Cole Hunter's house.
Upon arriving at Cole Hunter's house, Tristan saw a player standing outside the yard, shouting, "Cripple, come out if you've got guts!"
Tristan thought the guy looked familiar.
After a moment of recollection, he realized it was the player who had been killed twice earlier in Cole Hunter's yard.
Clearly, this was someone with a grudge and some intelligence. He knew how to stand outside and shout.
But this guy had obviously forgotten that Cole Hunter was a ranged fighter.
Whoosh.
Thud.
Before the player could finish his taunts, he was sent back to the respawn point.
Tristan shook his head in amusement but didn't bother with the player. He deactivated Stealth and walked into the yard.
Inside, Cole Hunter was hanging up bows and arrows. Upon seeing Tristan, he didn't immediately ask about the Wolf King, but instead inquired about the earlier situation, "Is the village chief dead?"
Tristan nodded. "Yes."
Cole Hunter sat down on a chair, thought for a moment, and then said slowly, "The former Hand was full of passion. He wanted to lead the village to prosperity."
Tristan didn't respond.
He knew that Cole Hunter was reminiscing about the past.
According to game lore, a decade or so ago, the village chief had been quite competent, and under his leadership, the village had become wealthy.
But ten years ago, after the village chief went on a trip, everything changed.
He had entered the Crimson Tomb by mistake, where he was transformed into a Vampire Minion by the Vampire Baron, serving as a pawn within the village and doing many evil deeds.
Where did the blood in the Baron's blood pool come from?
It was the village chief's doing.
Cole Hunter knew this as well, and quickly stopped reminiscing, turning to ask, "Did you bring the thing I asked for?"
Tristan pulled out the Wolf King's head and handed it to him.
Cole Hunter's eyes burned with hatred, but it quickly faded, replaced by a calm demeanor.
The one who caused his leg injury was now dead, and everything was finally over.
Tristan also received a game notification.
"Ding, you've completed the hidden quest 'Wolf King Hunt,' earning 3000 experience, 30 silver, and 30 points of Cole Hunter's favor."
Cole Hunter placed the wolf head into a jar, added salt, and sealed it carefully. He then took out 30 silver coins from another jar and handed them to Tristan.
Tristan accepted them calmly and waited in silence.
After a long pause, Cole Hunter seemed to make up his mind and slowly said, "Young man, you managed to take down the Wolf King so quickly. Your skills have impressed me. I have a friend in Davi City named Horreo. I hear he's a trainer now. Take my letter to him, and he'll teach you some skills."
"Ding, you've accepted the quest 'Cole Hunter's Recommendation.'"
"Quest description: Due to your performance, Cole Hunter has developed an admiration for you. Please go to Davi City and give the letter to his friend, Horreo."
"Quest rewards: Random ranged skill book."
Oh, and there's an unexpected reward.
Tristan hadn't done Cole Hunter's hidden quest in his previous life, so he wasn't sure if there were any further follow-ups.
Mostly because the player in the previous life hadn't mentioned it.
He didn't know whether the player had hidden it or hadn't triggered the conditions.
Tristan wasn't interested in investigating, so he took the letter, tucked it into his ring, and said, "Thank you, I'll go."
He turned and left Cole Hunter's house, heading back to find the new village chief, Giruva.
It was time to head to the main city!