36: What's a dragon? Those long-eared ones in front are worth much more! Brothers, chase them!

"We won!!!"

"Holy crap! A million really died!!"

When that golden server-wide announcement popped up, the roar from the dragon-slaying scene was enough to shatter the sky.

The players, who had just experienced a bloody battle, showed no signs of fatigue on their faces, only a near-manic excitement.

"Brother Qiang is awesome!!"

"Quick!! While it's hot!! We can still collect dragon blood!! That stuff is bought by the pound!"

"Don't move! That tooth is mine! I saw it first!"

Beside the mountain of dragon corpses, a white light flashed.

Li Qiang, who had just staged a suicide attack, respawned with a face full of confusion.

He didn't even have time to put on the newbie boxers gifted by the System before immediately opening his personal account.

Looking at the long, dazzling string of zeros in the bank text message...

This man, over 1.8 meters tall and having spent ten years hauling bricks on construction sites, sat on the ground and started giggling stupidly.

As he laughed, tears began to fall.

"A house..."

"I have the down payment..."

"No more hauling bricks..."

"Brother Qiang! Stop giggling! Come divide the loot!" A familiar player ran over and shoved a freshly pulled, blood-streaked dragon tooth into his hand. "One of these is worth five hundred points! We're rich!"

Li Qiang took the dragon tooth, which was thicker than his arm. With the virtual check that had just arrived in his pocket and looking at the group of jubilant brothers around him, he felt that his life had reached its Peak.

Dragon meat might be tough, but dragon bones can be used for soup.

The players even set up a large pot stolen from a Goblin tribe, smashed the dragon bones, and threw them in, preparing for a server-wide victory feast.

Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of the harvest...

Ding.

That gentle, refined, yet seemingly omnipresent voice rang out again.

"Are you having fun, soldiers?"

Su Mu's voice carried a hint of playfulness and expectation.

"It seems everyone has gained quite a lot."

"Since you have new equipment and new Materials..."

"Then."

"Shouldn't we pay a visit to the neighbors who were just peeping at us from the side?"

As soon as he finished speaking...

A massive golden arrow appeared out of thin air in the sky, pointing straight toward a dense canopy five kilometers away.

**[Server-wide Quest Issued: 'Friendly' Neighborhood Exchange.]**

**[Objective: Capture those long-ears.]**

**[Su Mu: I heard Elf magic books... are quite valuable?]**

**[Rewards: Elf Magic Book (Can change class to Ranger/Druid), Elf-crafted Equipment.]**

The square fell silent instantly.

Players gnawing on dragon meat stopped eating.

Players pulling dragon teeth stopped their hands.

Everyone's gaze shifted from the massive dragon corpse to that glittering golden arrow.

"Holy crap? Elves? Those are humanoid mobs! Do they drop loot?"

"Class change books?! I don't want to be a mage who only knows how to use a shovel anymore! I want to learn archery!"

"Brothers! Dragon meat doesn't taste good, it's too tough! Let's go catch Elves! I heard the wine they brew sells for astronomical prices!"

The original sense of fatigue was swept away.

Li Qiang shoved the dragon tooth into his backpack and leaped up from the ground, a fire burning in his eyes even more intense than during the dragon slaying.

"Stop drinking the dragon bone soup!!"

"Everyone! Follow me!!"

"Go catch Elves!!"

...Five kilometers away.

On the treetops of the dense forest.

Eirilla was leading her scout squad, utilizing the shadows of the trees, preparing to evacuate silently.

The tragic 'dragon feast' from moments ago had completely crushed their pride as a high race.

"Captain, let's go quickly. I feel like those monsters are about to find us..." a young Elf Ranger's voice trembled.

"Shut up! Keep quiet!"

Eirilla looked back and barked in a low voice, but her face was equally pale.

Just then.

That devil-like voice rang in their ears.

Immediately following that.

A massive golden arrow, like a searchlight, precisely locked onto their position.

It's over.

Eirilla's heart sank to the bottom.

She didn't even have time to issue the retreat order.

Rumble... the ground began to vibrate.

That wasn't an earthquake.

That was the sound of hundreds of lunatics stepping out at the same time, sprinting wildly in this direction!

"Run!!"

Eirilla let out a scream, no longer caring about elegance. With a tap of her toe on a branch, she shot toward the depths of the forest like an arrow from a bow.

Her clansmen followed closely behind.

Elves were born favorites of the forest; they leaped between treetops, as agile as apes and incredibly fast.

But the pursuers behind them were more like evil ghosts crawling out of Hell.

"Stop!!"

"Don't run!!"

"We have no ill intent! We just want to borrow your books for a couple of days!!"

"Long-ears in front! If you keep running, I'm opening fire!"

Li Qiang shouted loudly while sprinting, using his newly purchased [Elementary Elvish Translation Pack (Trial Version)].

Although the grammar was wrong and the words didn't quite convey the meaning, to the Elves, it sounded like a demon's death knell.

They ran even faster.

Seeing the distance widening...

Wang Wei (ID: Luban No. 7) pushed his glasses and pulled a bundle of still-bleeding, highly resilient tendons from his backpack.

They had just been stripped from the dragon's wings.

"Qiangzi! You can't catch them by running! Use that!"

Li Qiang chuckled, understanding immediately.

The two of them worked together to tie the massive dragon tendon between two large trees, forming a crude but impressively sized slingshot.

"Who's going to be the cannonball?!" Li Qiang roared.

"I'll do it!"

An agility-based player with the ID 'Powerpuff Girl' volunteered.

He curled himself into a ball and was stuffed into the leather pouch of the slingshot.

"Off you go!!"

Boing!!!

The dragon tendon made a deafening sound.

'Powerpuff Girl' traced a perfect parabola in the air, accompanied by a chorus of ghostly wails, and precisely crashed in front of the Elf squad.

Bang!

Although the landing posture was extremely ugly, with his entire face buried in the mud...

He succeeded.

"This road... was opened by me!!"

He pulled his head out of the mud, spat out the grass roots in his mouth, and spread his arms, blocking a tree on the essential path like a hero.

Eirilla's pupils constricted.

A human cannonball?!

What on earth are these monsters?!

She had to make an emergency turn, attempting to bypass from the other side.

But this moment of deceleration was fatal.

"Now!"

From beneath the ground came Lin Xiaowan's cool voice.

"Ice Wall Art! Block the path!"

Crash! Crash!

Several thick ice walls rose from the ground like a cage, instantly sealing off all the Elves' escape routes and forcing them into a dead end formed by ice walls and a mountain cliff.

Rustle, rustle... the sound of footsteps approached from near and far.

Hundreds of players, holding sacks, ropes, and slimy intestines just stripped from the dragon, surrounded them step by step.

The scene looked very much like a zombie siege.

Eirilla leaned against the cold wall and desperately drew the twin shortswords at her waist.

She looked at this group of drooling, greedy-eyed humans and shouted in grief and indignation:

"Demons... what exactly do you want?!"

"Kill us if you want! Noble Elves will never be slaves!!"

Li Qiang pushed through the crowd and stepped out.

He wiped the dragon blood that hadn't yet dried on his face, revealing a smile he thought was kind but appeared incredibly hideous to Eirilla.

"Beautiful lady, don't be nervous."

His voice, through the translator, turned into Elvish with a static-filled electronic tone.

"We don't kill people; we are decent folk."

Li Qiang paused, pointed at the ancient-looking magic book on Eirilla's back, rubbed his hands together, and asked with utmost sincerity:

"I just wanted to ask..."

"Do you know 'Multi-Shot'?"

"Could you teach me?"

"If you don't teach me..."

He grinned, showing a row of white teeth.

"I'll strip your clothes off and sell them for money."