Chapter 90 – Heaven-Defying Talent Combination (1)

Chapter 90 – Heaven-Defying Talent Combination (1)

The attributes of Dongshan Village were identical to those of Xianghe Village—neither possessed territorial properties. Cheng Yang wasn’t particularly surprised by this, as territorial attributes were exceedingly rare. Not every settlement had them, especially those located close to the main city. Such settlements with territorial attributes were as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Staring at the roughly one square kilometer of empty land before him, Cheng Yang felt a wave of frustration. Yesterday, when he had occupied Xianghe Village, being the first in the world to capture a subsidiary settlement, the gods had directly rewarded him with a road connecting it to the central village, making transportation between the two remarkably simple. However, Dongshan Village presented a more complicated challenge. It was unlikely that the gods would reward him with a road this time. Transporting supplies and people here would undoubtedly be a difficult task.

Without a doubt, due to the limitations imposed by the lack of a road, Dongshan Village’s development would likely lag behind that of Xianghe Village.

After wrestling with his thoughts for a while, Cheng Yang decided to let the matter go. After all, others probably weren’t even aware of the existence of wild settlements yet, while he had already occupied three territorial altars. He should be content with that!

Subsequently, Cheng Yang retraced his steps and brought Yu Kai and the others to the altar. With great anticipation, Yu Kai was appointed as the village chief of Dongshan Village, while the deputy village chief position went to Liu Cheng’en, a vice-captain from Yu Kai’s brigade. Liu Cheng’en was a warrior with an S-grade talent.

Afterward, Yu Kai and his team stayed near the territorial altar, while Cheng Yang returned alone to Luofeng Village.

In truth, Cheng Yang could have brought more people with him initially, allowing them to carry lumber and unassigned populations, which would have enabled the construction of walls immediately after occupying the territorial altar. However, this approach had significant drawbacks. It would require mobilizing a large number of people at once, potentially even all the combatants from the settlement.

At the very beginning, Cheng Yang couldn’t guarantee when he would find a territorial altar. If all the combatants were constantly following him, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything else.

The journey back was smooth, and Cheng Yang covered the nearly thirty kilometers in just over forty minutes.

By the time he returned to Luofeng Village, it was just past noon. Most of the combatants had already returned to the settlement for lunch, sparing Cheng Yang the trouble of gathering them from various locations.

Just as Cheng Yang was about to dispatch Liu Hao and Li Wanshan’s teams to Dongshan Village, Li Wanshan pulled him aside, grinning excitedly. “Lord, you’ve really stumbled upon a treasure this time.”

Cheng Yang was momentarily stunned. “What treasure?”

Li Wanshan quickly explained, “That girl Liu Xiyue, the one you brought back? This morning, while I was selecting suitable candidates for the Cleric class, Pang Shan suggested I check Liu Xiyue first. Upon examination, I found that she was indeed suitable for the Cleric class. Naturally, I prioritized her for the class assignment.”

At this point, Li Wanshan paused.

Cheng Yang urged, “Can you finish your sentence in one go?”

Li Wanshan chuckled. “Lord, Liu Xiyue’s talent attributes are truly remarkable. I can’t quite put it into words, but you can check her stats at the altar.”

Cheng Yang glanced at Li Wanshan, confident that he wasn’t lying, and immediately went to the altar. He opened the attribute list and pulled up Liu Xiyue’s stat panel.

“Damn! This is insane!” Cheng Yang couldn’t help but swear after reading the attributes.

In truth, just the Heaven-Defying Luck talent alone was already extraordinary. After all, it was a unique talent. Anything labeled as “unique” was bound to be exceptional, and Heaven-Defying Luck’s attributes certainly lived up to its unique status.

If that were all, Cheng Yang wouldn’t have been so excited. But combined with the Holy Word talent skill, it seemed as though the heavens were favoring Liu Xiyue excessively.

Originally, Holy Word wasn’t that overpowered. After all, it was an instant-kill skill. If the success rate were too high, others wouldn’t stand a chance. But when paired with Heaven-Defying Luck, it became an utterly shameless combination.

Cheng Yang imagined a beautiful woman declaring to a burly man, “The gods decree your death!” And then, the man would instantly perish. The scene would be utterly awe-inspiring.

If Liu Xiyue’s magic attack could grow to a certain level in the future, she would become a formidable weapon for Luofeng Village. Of course, this was contingent on her not leaving the village.

“Lord, aren’t Liu Xiyue’s attributes insane?” Li Wanshan asked with a grin, clearly enjoying Cheng Yang’s shocked expression. He had been equally stunned when he first heard about Liu Xiyue’s attributes.

After careful consideration, Cheng Yang suddenly said, “This combination seems overpowered, but it’s not as good as you think. Holy Word only works on enemies with attack power not exceeding hers. If the opponent’s attack power is higher, even with Heaven-Defying Luck, there’s nothing she can do. In such cases, without other talent bonuses, her combat power would be weaker than others, making her almost certain to lose.”

Li Wanshan was momentarily speechless, unable to refute Cheng Yang’s reasoning.

Cheng Yang continued, “Of course, that’s under normal circumstances. If we’re willing to invest heavily in her development, Liu Xiyue could become a trump card for Luofeng Village. By the way, who else knows about Liu Xiyue’s attributes?”

Li Wanshan replied, “Aside from me, no one else knows. I thought her attributes were too extraordinary, so I told her to keep it a secret for now.”

Cheng Yang nodded, pleased with Li Wanshan’s discretion. “We must be very careful about this. Right now, we don’t have many enemies, but in this cruel apocalypse, we can’t predict what kind of opponents we might face in the future. So, Liu Xiyue’s attributes must remain confidential.”

Li Wanshan nodded firmly. “Don’t worry, even if a knife were held to my throat, I wouldn’t reveal this.”

Cheng Yang smiled. “It’s not that serious. You’re a high-ranking member of Luofeng Village. In the future, no one would dare to hold a knife to your throat.”

Li Wanshan chuckled lightly, fully trusting Cheng Yang’s words.

“By the way, which team is Liu Xiyue assigned to?” Cheng Yang asked.

Li Wanshan replied, “She hasn’t been assigned yet. But I suggest you personally take her under your wing. This would accelerate her growth and keep her attributes confidential. Placing her in any of the combatant brigades would risk exposing her abilities.”

Cheng Yang immediately agreed with Li Wanshan’s suggestion. In fact, he had been thinking along the same lines.

“Should I go and fetch Liu Xiyue now?” Li Wanshan asked promptly.

Cheng Yang thought for a moment. The upcoming mission to Dongshan Village would likely involve combat. Exposing Liu Xiyue to battle early would benefit her growth. He instructed Li Wanshan to send someone to fetch Liu Xiyue.

A short while later, a female combatant in her thirties brought Liu Xiyue over. Approaching Cheng Yang, Liu Xiyue asked somewhat nervously, “Lord, is there something you need?”

Cheng Yang smiled. “Don’t be nervous. You’re a combatant now. We’re about to head out to a newly occupied settlement, and we plan to take you along so you can get accustomed to fighting demonic beasts.”

Liu Xiyue, fully aware of her situation, nodded with determination. “I’ll follow your arrangements, Lord.”

Cheng Yang nodded and, without any special treatment for Liu Xiyue, led the large team out.

After exiting Luofeng Village’s gates, Cheng Yang called Liu Xiyue to his side. “Liu Xiyue, do you understand what your talent attributes represent?”

Liu Xiyue hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I do. I used to play games before. My attributes seem powerful, but if my attack power doesn’t grow, this talent is worthless. It would only be good for killing small monsters.”

Cheng Yang nodded, impressed by Liu Xiyue’s insight. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also sharp-minded and accurate in her assessments. In her previous life, she must have died young; otherwise, she wouldn’t have remained unknown in the Xiangcheng region.

“From now on, you’ll stay by my side,” Cheng Yang stated directly.

If this had been before the apocalypse, such a statement would have incited a horde of fans to teach Cheng Yang a lesson, and Liu Xiyue herself would have found it laughable. But now, in the apocalypse, Liu Xiyue didn’t find Cheng Yang’s words amusing at all. Instead, she felt slightly moved.

Although Liu Xiyue wasn’t sure if Cheng Yang had any ulterior motives, since arriving in Luofeng Village, her impression of the village and Cheng Yang himself had been quite positive. She believed Cheng Yang wasn’t that kind of person.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…