CSMCDB - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
[Mission Activated: Endure]
[Mission Requirement: Survive the crisis safely]
[Mission Reward: 2000 EXP, 100 Points]
"You're quick on your feet, kid. Heh." The Third Prince approached from the other side. He waved his hand, and the three second-layer Star Lords the system had detected jumped down, surrounding Wen Yuncheng.
"Don't bother struggling. I just want to give you a good beating. These three aren't royal guards, and no one will find out about this. Even if you go crying to someone, you won't have any proof." The Third Prince sneered. "Go on, break his legs!"
He was only a Star Warrior, yet he'd hired three Star Lord-level experts… Wen Yuncheng let out a cold laugh and raised a hand to the ring on her neck. In an instant, twenty-seven turrets materialized in a dense cluster, surrounding her. They split into groups of nine, each group aiming at one of the men and beginning to charge. Simultaneously, Wen Yuncheng began pulling items from her storage ring—Guardians appeared on the ground, twenty at a time, and began charging their Star Power Cannons.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"—
The tremendous roar of cannons echoed ceaselessly. The residents for a hundred li around were likely all shaken awake!
The three Star Lords sprang into action. They first shielded the Third Prince from the Star Power Cannons, then charged straight for her. Wen Yuncheng immediately deployed a Pursuer and G-14 Grenades. Holding nothing back, she hurled three grenades mixed with stun grenades right at them. One of the Star Lords took the blast head-on, only to be momentarily stunned by a stun grenade. In that split second, the Star Power Cannons of fifty-eight Guardians locked onto him. With a deafening roar, the immense, concentrated blast of energy sent a chill down the spines of the other two Star Lords.
In a single exchange, a Star Lord-level expert had been rendered combat-ineffective?!
"What are you good for! Can't three Star Lords defeat a single Star Warrior?!" the Third Prince raged.
—What kind of Star Warrior was this?! Was everyone in Star Academy's S-Class this monstrous? The other two Star Lords had grievances they couldn't voice and could only try to get close to Wen Yuncheng to destroy the turrets.
Only those at the Star King level could fly. Therefore, as Star Lords, if they wanted to attack Wen Yuncheng, who was tightly protected by her turrets, they had to destroy the ones blocking their path.
"Fire at will." If all the turrets and Guardians focused their attacks on a single person, it would be easy to miss. Firing at will was different…
Countless Star Power Cannon shots rained down densely. Even Star Lords couldn't teleport. The Star Steel material of the turrets meant they couldn't be destroyed with a casual attack, but if they stayed in one place for even two seconds, all the turrets and Guardians would lock onto them…
Wen Yuncheng saw her chance and threw a Flame Exploder in the Third Prince's direction, then raised her Star Hand Cannon and fired a few shots—bang, bang, bang—which the Third Prince easily blocked.
Although the Third Prince's talent wasn't great, he was still twenty-five years old and had managed to muddle his way to the third layer of Star Master.
Wen Yuncheng divided her attention to control them. Because the Guardians were much smaller than the turrets and harder to spot, she assigned ten of them to specifically charge their Star Power Cannons and attack the Third Prince.
The situation fell into a temporary stalemate.
But this was exactly what Wen Yuncheng wanted to see. As someone who needed to wait for her skills to cool down, the longer the battle dragged on, the better. The Corona on her right shoulder couldn't hit the Star Lords, but that didn't matter. Wen Yuncheng waited for the stun grenades to cool down. When the time was right, she didn't throw one immediately. Instead, she raised her hand as if to throw a Flame Exploder. The Star Lord instinctively dodged to the left. In that instant, Wen Yuncheng directed her turrets to focus fire, and threw the stun grenade—
"What are you doing? What are you doing! Hit him! Why won't you advance!" The Third Prince trembled with rage. "Damn it, I knew you were unreliable! I never should have hired you trash! Damn it, if my own guards were here, they would have broken this pretty boy's legs long ago!"
As if struck by an idea, Wen Yuncheng casually took a chunk of Star Iron from her ring and threw it. The last remaining Star Lord dodged it in a panic. He gave Wen Yuncheng a wary look, then turned and fled without a second glance.
"You dare to run? You took my Star Stones! I'll report you, you piece of trash!!!—" The Third Prince turned his head just in time to see all the turrets aiming at him. His furious expression froze. He instinctively took two steps back and looked at Wen Yuncheng warningly. "I am the Third Prince! I'm part of the Imperial family! How dare a mere commoner like you try to harm me?"
"Ah, but if you were to die here, who would know I did it?" Wen Yuncheng tilted her head and smiled. She raised her hand slightly, and the Third Prince instantly felt the Star Power contained within the turrets.
"Don't, don't… Let's talk this out, we can discuss… Compensation, right, I'll compensate you. You can have as many Star Stones as you want! I'll compensate you…" The Third Prince's face went pale with fear. He first threw his weapon to the ground, then his armor. "Don't use that… You'll die too if you kill a prince… You're still young, you have talent…"
"Of course, I don't have to kill you." Wen Yuncheng smiled, created a Pursuer, then picked it up and walked over to the prince. "I just want to give you a good, hard beating."
"Boom!"
A Pursuer and a Self-Destructor exploded instantly. Wen Yuncheng delivered a sharp kick to the stunned Third Prince, then rushed forward and punched him in the nose with her Mechanical Armguard. The Third Prince didn't dare to fight back.
Because the turrets were still aimed at him.
He also knew a few things about Wen Yuncheng, for example… her skills didn't seem to be able to harm him. He didn't know if Wen Yuncheng would be harmed by the turrets' attacks, but he didn't dare to gamble.
The EXP and points were all acquired. But Wen Yuncheng still wasn't satisfied. She looked at the bruised and swollen Third Prince and gave him a hard kick. "You should know, you're the one who came after me first. If there's a next time… you'd better pray you can kill me outright, because otherwise, I will definitely finish you."
"That's not how you deliver a threat."
"!!" Wen Yuncheng jumped in shock. "Teacher?!" Why was Yan Ling here? Did she see? When did she arrive?
[Well, you did place that call, after all. But you didn't say anything before cutting it off. So Yan Ling came to check on you.]
Yan Ling walked over and hauled the Third Prince to his feet. She said, "Go back and tell your beloved Imperial Father that the Star Auction House will be sending someone to negotiate compensation for this assassination attempt. Of course, Star Academy will also require an explanation."
"And also, Your Highness. You have been blacklisted from the Star Auction House."
"You did very well." Yan Ling casually tied the two unconscious Star Lord-level assassins together. "However, if it had been a Star Spirit or Star King-level assassin, you probably wouldn't have stood a chance, even against one. Tsk, that Third Prince is a real idiot."
"Teacher, sending three Star Lords to deal with a Star Warrior is already spending a fortune."
"That's true…" Yan Ling nodded. She said, "I'll give you your share of the compensation when it arrives."
"That's alright. Teacher, you've had a lot of expenses recently," Wen Yuncheng said, embarrassed.
"Take what's yours. Don't you understand this is an investment in you? If you're truly grateful, then train hard. Once you're strong, everything else becomes easy."
"O-Okay…"
"Go on to the Dueling Arena. I'm heading back."
And just like that, a simple conflict came to an end. The next day, when Wen Yuncheng received two million Star Stones from Yan Ling, she felt like she was floating. And that was just her share, not the full amount.
Wen Yuncheng: "The Imperial family is so rich!"
[It's a scandal. How could they suppress it without spending money? See? Does anyone else know you were attacked yesterday? No, right?]
"Hah, if the Third Prince tried this a few more times, wouldn't I become a billionaire?"
[??? Are you sure he'll hire Star Lords next time?]
"…Right." Wen Yuncheng stopped dreaming. "This must be what it feels like to get rich overnight."
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 16
Class: Mechanical Master
Level: 27
Experience: 9675/14000
Points: 1276
Unfortunately, she had only gotten rich in Star Stones, not experience.
[You used to be content with just a hundred points. Kid, you've changed.] 1947 said sorrowfully.
Wen Yuncheng just chuckled and didn't reply.
She thought the matter was over. However, the next day, when she was cornered outside the boys' dormitory by someone claiming to be the First Princess, she realized it wasn't.
"I am here to apologize on behalf of that idiot. His actions do not represent the will of the Imperial family." The First Princess apologized sincerely. "He has been ordered to be confined for one year, and he will not bother you again in the future."
Wen Yuncheng almost blurted out, "That's great!" but bit her tongue just in time. She thought for a moment and replied with equal sincerity, "Of course. I am very satisfied with the compensation, and I am willing to forgive the Third Prince. After all, there is no deep-seated hatred between us."
[The Third Prince loathes you.]
I know, but this is the First Princess!
Unexpectedly, the princess let out a hearty laugh after hearing this. "That's not necessarily true. I'm afraid he resents you to death. But you don't need to worry about it. With your talent, he probably won't be a match for you by the time he gets out next year."
"Train well. May you become a pillar of the Empire."
The simple apology and blessing were enough to convey the Empire's stance.
The Third Prince had planned to attack her, even to break her legs… and the punishment for that was merely a year of confinement. It was a lie that Wen Yuncheng was satisfied with the result, but she hadn't suffered any losses and had vented her anger by giving the Third Prince a thorough beating—she'd made that tomato's nose bleed, after all! And considering that even after hiring assassins, the Third Prince hadn't dared to try to kill her, Wen Yuncheng reluctantly accepted it.
In the end, it was all because she lacked background and wasn't strong enough. If Lin Jinyu had been the one attacked, the Empire certainly wouldn't have let it go so lightly. The Third Prince's punishment probably wouldn't have been mere confinement, either.
In the Empire's eyes, for a commoner like her… a talented commoner, this was already a very humble gesture. If Wen Yuncheng didn't accept it, the Empire would probably be surprised, thinking she was ungrateful or even pushing her luck.
Thinking of this, Wen Yuncheng gave a helpless smile. In the end, it all came down to a lack of strength.
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