The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 423 - 356 Execution Reward

Chapter 423: Chapter 356 Execution Reward

I Have an Early Eight donned his most dashing attire. As an Undead ranking high among the Hunter Society, he owned a complete set of co-branded Bloodborne Hunter attire. Today, he was definitely going to be on television; he had to look like a human in the transition animations.

Today, his job was to execute the Black Catfish Prince of the Rand Kingdom, a member of the Old Nobility, a prince.

As the Undead with the most kills and greatest profits in the Black Island campaign, I Have an Early Eight’s opportunity made many red with envy.

Especially some of the gaming companies and guilds from the real world that were beginning to infiltrate.

This was an opportunity for exposure, like an advertisement destined to go viral. If they could harvest the honor of executing the Old Nobility, they had countless ways to monetize it after the game’s public beta.

Some even asked I Have an Early Eight if he was willing to sell his spot, but his response was simple: don’t ask him; ask the Queen if she agrees.

Many had come to watch. Not just the Undead, but NPC Soldiers as well, stood not far away, blocking the wind. However, as I Have an Early Eight ascended the execution platform, the wind once again brushed his face.

The Black Catfish Prince’s expression was calm; today was his beheading.

His hands and feet were bound, with two fully armed Land Soldiers beside him. However, no one believed he had any chance to escape, because Lind was also present.

The Black Catfish Prince hadn’t slept the night before. He tried to savor the last moments of life, only to realize just how quickly time could pass.

The Black Catfish Prince, who always delighted in killing, had never considered his own death.

Those who enjoyed hurting others never learn to think from the victim’s perspective. Had they understood empathy, they wouldn’t have taken pleasure in torture.

Now, with death drawing closer, the Black Catfish Prince felt a trace of fear, slowly understanding why he had fled in panic when Lind was en route to Raven City.

It had nothing to do with power struggles; he had never been interested in becoming a king.

He was simply afraid of dying—yes, he was afraid Lind would kill him. The rumors about Lind were always about slaughter; his current honors were not built on noble glory, but on the heads of nobles.

But death was inevitable.

Queen Lania hadn’t come to watch the execution, and perhaps facing his imminent end, the Black Catfish Prince found himself dearly wishing to see his kin one last time.

He looked ahead at the enormous figure, the Crimson Knight.

Once at the banquet table—no, his father had never even had the right to sit at the same table as him.

And Lind, the man he feared so much, was finally before him. However, the Black Catfish Prince’s impression of Lind had always remained that of a vague young man. Seeing him again was not much different from the first encounter; Lind was not as terrifying as he had imagined.

Before the apocalypse, no one would have ever executed a prince. It was an unthinkable rebellion.

Now, to whom did this country really belong? He stared at Lind, attempting to see through him. In his dying moments, he found his concern for the future of the Hedwin Family comically ironic.

But Lind did not respond to his gaze—he seemed to be daydreaming, looking at some place, his focus not that sharp.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit warmer. The damned spectators blocked the wind, and the weather of late summer was truly suffocating.

The Black Catfish Prince, who had stayed awake all night with wide-open eyes, was now getting sleepy. Perhaps it would be a blessing to die in his sleep.

"What’s your name?" he asked the Undead about to perform the execution.

The attire of the other party was unfamiliar to him, bearing a shadow of noble clothing, but much simpler.

"I Have an Early Eight."

"Hmm?" He was taken aback, as it sounded like the other party was greeting his mother.

The axe fell.

Despite being severely wounded, the Black Catfish Prince’s vitality was still robust; even an axe to the neck did not kill him.

The torment of excruciating pain made the Black Catfish Prince’s eyes bulge.

The second axe fell, and then the third finally severed his head.

The Black Catfish Prince was dead.

"Oh!!!"

The crowd cheered.

I Have an Early Eight was stunned because, in that instant, he had received a terrifying experience reward, but the damn thing was that he was already level 20, and such a rich reward had gone to waste in an instant; he had gained nothing.

"Chuff!"

Then came reminders of increased favorability from NPCs in all directions.

The overwhelming joy nearly made his head swim; he had suddenly become a "good person" in the eyes of NPCs.

Not only that, but he also gained a new passive ability.

"I got a unique passive!" I Have an Early Eight exclaimed excitedly.

[Two-Handed Sword Emblem (Unique)]

[+10% Two-Handed Sword Damage, +10% Attack Speed, -20% Frenzy Resistance]

[Note: Each Undead can only obtain one Crest.]

I Have an Early Eight immediately took a screenshot of the relevant information and sent it out.

Lind also saw the information in real-time from a distance.

"To personally slay a boss with a Crest does indeed yield some rewards, especially to directly take the Crest from the enemy’s body."

Lind also knew how to obtain the Two-Handed Sword Emblem, the Black Island’s library haul had yet to be fully cataloged. In just a few more days, those formulas for Magic Potions, potions, and collections of poems, among other things, would all be placed on Lind’s desk, and his job would be to keep activating new Crests.

Rather than having more ways to power, Lind preferred to control more Crests; drinking too many Magic Potions wasn’t very useful, but the enhancement Crests gave to the body was permanent.

I Have an Early Eight excitedly shared his gains; he was the first to precisely perceive the benefits brought by the growth in favorability.

Some Soldiers looked at him with a distinct respect in their eyes when they saw him.

Favorability could indeed garner genuine feedback from NPCs, unlike before when they treated all Undead with the same indifference.

The corpse of the Black Catfish Prince was placed on a stone slab, as the Royal Palace’s garden prohibited Undead from entering.

The Flying Dragon hung its head low, waiting for Lind’s command.

Queen Lania came to send her uncle on his final journey, but she looked quite different from before. She was no longer sad but had completely transformed into a strong Queen.

Perhaps her tears from yesterday would never appear again, or maybe they would only show in front of Lind.

She didn’t say much, instead turning away because she knew all too well that Lind’s attitude towards enemies was to make the most of them.

Lind examined the corpse of the Black Catfish Prince; the Crest was still there.

He turned to look at the Crimson Knight, wondering if some instinctual reaction at the time of death allowed the Old Nobility to pass the Crest’s power to the Undead. It must be a certain emotion, and definitely not happiness or relief at the time of dying.

Thus, the emotions associated with granting the Crest should be negative, such as hatred, curse, fear, and so on.

This was very similar to the situation with the monsters created by Ronan and Dragon King Kote throughout the city.

Lind felt he had truly grasped one of the real ways the Crest was bestowed this time.

"Flames."

Lind turned his head, and the Flying Dragon, which was already brewing flames, immediately opened its mouth upon hearing his voice. Intense heat poured from the dragon’s maw, spreading in a fan shape, engulfing the corpse.

When the flames extinguished, leaving only residual black ashes, the Soldiers would gather the Black Catfish Prince’s ashes and bury them in the Hedwin Family’s cemetery.

For a fallen enemy, Lind was always generous; he was willing to recognize them still as a Prince, but the epitaph had to engrave their deeds in life.

The unification of the Kingdom was now only left with the South, Griffin Fortress.