Purgatory Artist
Chapter 534: A glass of wine, please

Chapter 534: A glass of wine, please

Under the night sky.

The bonfire crackled and burned.

A hand reached out and threw the card on the scorching barbecue grill.

On the card, the injured green dragon was in a daze, as if it didn’t feel anything.

"Looks like we need to add more fire."

Someone said with a smile.

Aland’s voice sounded, "Is that so?"

The barbecue grill glowed even more fiercely, and even the void began to crack.

On the card, the green dragon finally showed a painful expression.

"Military equipment can indeed withstand the high temperature. Do you want to eat dragon meat today?" Another voice sounded.

"No, I have something to ask this dragon later. Let it live first," Aland said.

The fire faded.

The card was thrown on the barbecue grill, and no one cared.

Aland stood up, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, now let’s talk business. As soon as we came to this divine pillar, we found a newcomer who is qualified to join the expeditionary army. This is worth a drink for everyone."

No one responded.

Suddenly, a female voice sounded, "Forget it, a bunch of stingy people. I’ll treat you to this drink."

A bottle of wine was opened.

It flew in the air and filled everyone’s cups before slowly flying back and landing on the woman’s face paint.

The five or six people in front of the bonfire raised their cups together.

Liu Ping also raised his cup.

"Thank you, everyone. Thank you." He smiled at the woman.

Everyone drank it in one gulp.

Aland put down the cup, looked at Liu Ping with an encouraging gaze and said,

"After joining the expeditionary army, the first thing you have to do is to hunt."

"Go and hunt in this dark world. Kill those existences that are hiding in this world. Before tomorrow morning, you have to bring your prey back and exchange them for merit points from me. Merit points determine whether you will be able to eat or not."

"Okay."

Liu Ping stood up, turned around, and walked into the night.

Only when he was out of sight did Aland retract his gaze and smile at everyone, "I bet this kid can survive."

"Of course, when has the boss’s judgment been wrong?" A bearded man said.

"Recommending an excellent fellow to join the army, the boss can also get a lot of merit points." The woman who treated everyone to drinks smiled.

"That’s what I deserve. I rely on my taste to make a living," Alan said with his eyes wide open.

"That’s right." The woman stood up and stretched. She yawned and said, "You guys continue chatting. I’ve been very poor recently, so I have to go and catch something."

"Who asked you to bet so much every time you play cards? Can’t you bet less?" Aland said.

Everyone burst into laughter.

"What’s the point of playing without enough chips? I’m leaving."

After the female soldier finished speaking, her figure disappeared in a flash.

Alan shook his head helplessly.

"Coming, coming, let’s play cards." A few soldiers greeted Aland.

"A small bet is for fun. You can’t bet more than 10 merit points at a time. Do you hear me?" Alan said.

"Yes, Boss," everyone replied.

...

Liu Ping moved forward in the darkness.

He had a blank card in his hand, which was given to him by Aland.

This card could be used to store any prey that was killed or captured.

The rabbit emerged from the void of space and whispered:

"What’s up with those people?"

"I don’t know yet. I’ll have the answer after two more days of observation," Liu Ping said.

He gently landed on a rock that was a few meters high and swept his gaze across the wilderness from left to right.

Two lines of small words suddenly jumped out.

This line of small words appeared on a pile of soil hundreds of meters away, showing that it was a note triggered by "Divine Sensorium":

[Digging Turtle.]

[Known as the Virtuous Turtle. Because of its compassion, it often buries all corpses in the eternal night and lets them sleep peacefully. It’s ominous to kill them.]

That’s enough.

It was obvious that it couldn’t be killed. Otherwise, merit points would be deducted.

Liu Ping turned his gaze and looked further away. He saw that in another sunken pile of sand, another two lines of small words appeared:

[Soul-devouring Demonic Snake.]

[It can eat all plants for a living, but it likes to devour souls. It feels excited to feel the pain of the soul struggling in its body.]

This can be killed!

Liu Ping closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds. Then, he gently leaped and floated in the direction of the demonic snake.

Halfway through the silent flight, Liu Ping shouted, "Let’s go.

"Rabbit, chase it out!"

"Okay."

The rabbit waved its claws excitedly.

The ground was immediately covered with frost, spreading towards the place where the Soul-devouring Demonic Snake was hiding.

The demonic snake immediately knew that it had been exposed.

"A human ... I’ll eat you!"

It drilled out of the ground and leaped into the air like a bolt of lightning. It opened its bloody mouth and bit towards Liu Ping.

Liu Ping drew his long saber and trembled all over. It was only when the snake was about to bite him that he shouted:

"Ka!"

In an instant, the Soul-devouring Demonic Snake’s huge body was frozen by the frost and could not move at all.

Liu Ping sighed helplessly.

If you don’t move, how can I kill you?

I can only kill things that can move!

Fortunately, at this moment, the rabbit considerately threw out a huge ice crystal. It hit the demonic snake’s head, causing it to tremble slightly.

Buzz!

With a clear buzz, the Warden Saber was immediately unsheathed and turned into a huge bolt of lightning that shot straight into the sky. It split the surrounding dark void and revealed the endless turbulence hidden behind the void.

A glowing line of lightning appeared between the demonic snake’s eyes and extended to the end of its body.

The moment the line disappeared, the entire snake was instantly cut in half.

A line of small burning words jumped out:

[Congratulations, you’ve received 300 merit points.]

Liu Ping landed and gently tossed the blank card in his hand.

The Snake’s body disappeared instantly.

However, a ground full of broken corpses and blood clots appeared on the card. It was obvious that it was a huge snake.

"It’s done."

Liu Ping heaved a sigh of relief.

At this moment, another line of small words appeared:

[Current merit points: 310 points.]

[When you receive 1000 merit points, you can choose to create secondary combat skills or continue to accumulate merit points.]

Liu Ping asked curiously, "Continue to accumulate merit points? What will happen? "

[When you receive 1200 merit points, you can upgrade your original primary skills.]

[The upgraded skills will be secondary skills. However, because they are obtained by upgrading the primary skills, they are stronger than ordinary secondary skills.]

After reading, Liu Ping made a decision after thinking for a while.

It was nothing more than accumulating 200 merit points.

If he could exchange them for stronger skills, it was still worth it.

Then, he would continue to accumulate merit points!

Liu Ping was just about to move when he suddenly felt alert. He held his saber and looked around.

He saw a figure slowly appear not far away.

It was the female soldier who had treated him to a drink!

When he first entered the military camp, Liu Ping heard Aland call her Delia.

Delia crossed her arms and looked at Liu Ping in the dark. She suddenly smiled and said, "That slash just now was not bad. No wonder Aland took a fancy to you."

"Thank you for your wine. When I earn merit points, I’ll treat you to a drink too." Liu Ping cupped his hands and said.

"You’re quite smart. Since you’re so obedient and sensible, I’ll give you a piece of advice." Delia said.

"I’m all ears." Liu Ping said.

"Try your best to accumulate merit points. After three days, if your merit points do not reach the passing line, Aland will kill you without hesitation and use your soul to make up for his loss." Delia said.

"Kill me? Why? "Liu Ping was puzzled.

"This is how newcomers are assessed."

"What about you guys?"

"Us? Every day, the person in the squad with the least amount of contribution points will be immediately eliminated. Their soul will be sent to the Conversion Pool. That’s why no one is willing to buy you a drink. Because even a single contribution point can determine their life or death." Delia said.

A card suddenly appeared in her hand.

On that card, there was a monster drawn. It stood in a misty fog, only revealing a strange face, quietly overlooking the human camp on the ground.

Half of its face was a man, and the other half was a woman.

A nightmare type monster.

Liu Ping stared at the card, and lines of small burning words quickly appeared in the void.

[Nightmare Card: Conversion Pool (Pseudo).]

[This is a deceptive card. It can deceive all living beings, but it can’t deceive you.]

[You can see its true side:]

[Nightmare Card: Devour.]

[Once this card is activated, it will immediately absorb the user’s soul and directly send it to the nightmare monster drawn on the card.]

Liu Ping’s heart skipped a beat.

I see!

Without a doubt, these people should be the "fruits" of that nightmare monster.

These pitiful people thought that they had built a civilization and were conquering the worlds for their race, but in fact, they were just pawns of that nightmare monster, collecting food for it.

And every other day, there would be one person who would become the monster’s food.

How cruel and sorrowful this was.

Liu Ping looked at Delia and said with a smile, "Merit points are so precious, but you’re willing to spend them to treat me to a drink."

"Because I’m the strongest." Delia laughed.

A line of small words quietly appeared above her head.

[The lost woman of white bones.]

[She has killed countless living beings. Their bones are piled up like mountains, and the peak can’t be seen all year round.]

She waved at Liu Ping and continued, "It’s ten o ’clock at night now. There are two more hours before the merit points are calculated. I have to go fight for a while. See you later."

"Wait!" Liu Ping called out to her.

"What’s wrong? Is there anything else? "

"If those ordinary people meet Arland, what will happen?" Liu Ping asked.

"Of course, they will be sent to do manual labor. for an ordinary person, If they don’t do manual labor, how can they help the race maintain their combat power?"

"Do it for a lifetime?" Liu Ping asked.

"A lifetime? You’re thinking too much. They will die in a few years, and their souls will also enter the Conversion pool to contribute their last bit of strength to the living. "

As Delia spoke, she walked forward with a smile and whispered in Liu Ping’s ear, "Little guy, don’t have any naive fantasies. The only thing you can do is to step on the bones of others and climb up. Otherwise ..."

"You’re going to become a skeleton and let others step on you to climb up."

As soon as she finished speaking, a faint blue starlight suddenly appeared on her body, and she disappeared in front of Liu Ping.

Liu Ping stood there for a while.

"Whether it’s for merit or to continue understanding these people ... I have to continue hunting those monsters."

He shook his head and walked into the endless darkness of the wilderness.