Chapter 16: The Pay-to-Win Soul Raid | Monsters Are Coming
"Siyu, how much sacrificial power do you all have on hand?"
"Hold on, I'll check… In total, we've got 86 sacrificial power. Grandpa, do you need it?"
"Transfer it to me through the Guide, I need it."
—
Moments later, in Emperor's Mound, Li Tie received the 86 sacrificial power transferred by his granddaughter. Adding the 17 points he had earned from killing Cursed Soldiers, he now had 103 sacrificial power.
He summoned the function panel, opened the item shop, and selected the weapons category.
Instantly, a wide variety of weapon options appeared before him.
[Iron Sword]
Quality: Level 1
Description: A sword made of ordinary metal.
Price: 5 sacrificial power
[Iron Axe]
Quality: Level 1
Description: An axe made of ordinary metal.
Price: 5 sacrificial power
—
The first several pages were filled with very basic weapons, none of which could match the strength of the Spirit Weapons.
After flipping through several more pages, Li Tie's gaze locked onto a blue weapon.
[Mountain-Shaking Axe]
Quality: Level 8
Description: Forged from ice iron, with beast patterns engraved on the handle. Emits beastly roars when swung.
Price: 100 sacrificial power
This was the best weapon he could afford with his current sacrificial power.
After confirming the purchase, a blue battle axe materialized before him, slowly solidifying from illusion into reality.
As the axe fully formed and dropped, Li Tie reached out and firmly grasped it.
After making the purchase, Li Tie immediately left the village, heading once again toward Spirit Weapon Valley.
An hour's journey and several slain Cursed Soldiers later, his Gargoyle form reached level 5. Crossing the ridge once more, he returned to the entrance of Spirit Weapon Valley where five Spirit Weapons surrounded him.
These five Spirit Weapons were all First-Generation Primordials: Force Savage (Battle Axe), Shatter (Saber), Sweep (Sword), Soul Sever (Spear), and Nether Ghost (Staff).
Once again, the other four Spirit Weapons withdrew, leaving Force Savage hovering in front of him to issue a challenge.
The battle commenced immediately.
The level 8 Mountain-Shaking Axe howled as it cut through the air, clashing fiercely with the hovering Force Savage Axe, producing loud metallic echoes.
After more than ten collisions, Li Tie's hands went numb. Looking down, he saw the skin between his thumb and index finger had split open, green Gargoyle blood dripping from the wound.
Inspecting his Mountain-Shaking Axe, he saw numerous chips along the blade's edge. The system indicated that the weapon was now in a slightly damaged state.
"Again!"
Without hesitation, Li Tie swung the axe once more to meet Force Savage's next blow.
The repeated clashes soon drenched his right arm in green blood, his white hair flowing wildly in the wind, making him look like a madman.
Before long, his battle axe could no longer withstand the strain and shattered entirely. Immediately, the four remaining Spirit Weapons shot forward, piercing his body and ending the fight in defeat.
However, this battle confirmed the Guide's theory: only while holding a weapon would the Spirit Weapons recognize him as a challenger.
An hour later.
Li Tie respawned once again at Emperor's Mound.
Though the fight with Force Savage had no technical finesse, the pure collision of strength left him feeling thoroughly satisfied, and much of his pent-up aggression was released.
At that moment, a system prompt appeared in his mind:
[Challenger Notice: Resurrection cost: 10 sacrificial power. Insufficient balance, remaining sacrificial power: -7.]
[Challenger Notice: Negative sacrificial power balance. Access to shop functions, star vein enhancement, and other features temporarily disabled.]
This rule left Li Tie slightly helpless.
Summoning his contact list, he located his granddaughter's avatar and initiated a call.
Soon, a holographic video screen appeared, showing his granddaughter in her Owl-Headed Fiend form.
"Grandpa, what's up?"
As soon as she spoke, a loud commotion erupted behind her. A massive black worm burst from the ground behind her, flinging a player through the air in the background with a scream.
"How much sacrificial power do you have left?"
"Out of sacrificial power again?"
Li Siyu was briefly taken aback but quickly nodded.
"Grandpa, hold on. Let us finish off this worm first."
With that, she flapped her little wings and flew toward the giant black worm thrashing amid piles of bones.
Five minutes later, after killing the worm, Li Siyu gasped for breath and turned to the holographic projection of the Guide.
"Grandpa, what do you need so much sacrificial power for?"
"I've encountered a powerful monster that requires a weapon to fight."
"Alright, I'll check how much everyone still has."
The scene then shifted to the rest of the Dinner Gang members.
Upon inquiry, they all reported their remaining sacrificial power amounts.
None of the team members hesitated about pooling funds to buy gear for Grandpa Iron.
In their eyes, Grandpa Iron was the core of the team and their strongest fighter by far. In previous games, they had always invested their resources into powering him up first.
Without hesitation, they transferred their monster-hunting sacrificial power to Li Siyu, who then sent it to Li Tie via the Guide.
After receiving 82 sacrificial power, the system automatically deducted his 7-point debt, and Li Tie once again headed toward Spirit Weapon Valley.
On the way, he hunted more Cursed Soldiers, leveling up to 6 and gathering enough sacrificial power for another weapon purchase.
When the blue battle axe appeared once again in his grasp, Li Tie's aura changed.
"Again!"
Without hesitation, he advanced toward the ridge once more.
—
An hour and a half later.
Li Siyu received another call from Li Tie.
Now inside the Shadowed Cavern, negotiating with the gold-farming group over sacrificial power prices, Li Siyu was speechless.
Minutes later, she transferred 100 sacrificial power to Li Tie.
"Grandpa, I just bought you another 100 sacrificial power, but don't turn off the video feed. I want to see what kind of monster you're challenging."
Li Tie agreed without objection.
After purchasing the battle axe again, he left the village and marched toward Spirit Weapon Valley.
This time, the entire Dinner Gang gathered around to watch the video feed, even members of the gold-farming group joined out of curiosity.
When they saw the Spirit Weapons, everyone gasped.
Li Tie was actually challenging Primordial Monsters.
What shocked them even more was that the Spirit Weapons allowed Li Tie to fight fairly in one-on-one duels rather than swarming him.
The battle quickly concluded with Li Tie being killed again. However, the crimson glow on Force Savage's surface dimmed slightly after repeated clashes.
An hour later, as a group of players continued mining, they gathered once again around the video feed.
Facing her grandpa who immediately asked for more sacrificial power, Li Siyu could only look helpless but didn't try to stop him. She knew how stubborn he was.
While others would turn back after hitting a wall, her grandpa would rather smash himself against it until it broke, or he broke.
Fortunately, this time they had purchased 500 sacrificial power from the gold-farming group for 25,000, giving Grandpa Iron enough for several more challenges.
After the transfer, a new round of battle began.
But the live broadcast came to an end half an hour later.
Li Tie was once again killed by the Spirit Weapon Force Savage.
As the video feed went dark, the viewers' expressions grew complex.
Staying Up With Midnight Snacks: "Sis, you better talk some sense into Grandpa Iron. There's no in-game top-up system. We can't keep burning through sacrificial power like this."
Is This a Beaver?: "Grandpa Iron's a real man. I can't even imagine fighting with pain feedback maxed out, but these fights with the Spirit Weapons are draining sacrificial power too fast. We should hold off and challenge them again once we're stronger."
Word Duck: "Sis, your short-term goal of unlocking the second star vein and embedding Bonefire seems to be getting further and further away (sad face)."
At that moment, Li Zheng, who had come over, suddenly said something that made everyone fall silent.
"You rich folks are hilarious. This is basically pay-to-win soul raiding for Grandpa, isn't it?"
Everyone turned to look at Li Zheng, who stood there holding his mining pick with a confused expression.
Seeing everyone speechless, Li Zheng scratched his head and added.
"Spending money to let an elderly man challenge high-difficulty bosses… that's pay-to-win soul raiding, right?"
The Dinner Gang members: …
For a moment, none of them could think of a way to refute him.