I, permanently add attributes, ascend to become a god

[Tip: It is detected that the player's previous game score is Max, and the difficulty of this round of game world has increased based on the player's comprehensive strength]

[Tip: You can return at any time after completing the main task]

Lin Chen smiled bitterly: "I never thought that I would end up pitting myself."

"Forget it, let's make the best of it. Since we are here, it may not be a bad thing. The imperial tool is still very fragrant."

Lin Chen guessed that he should be in the north of the empire now, as such heavy snow could only be found in the north. Lin Chen judged the north-south direction based on the weather and prepared to set off for the capital, the starting point of the main storyline.

Lin Chen left layers of footprints on the thick snow and began to look for a village to ask for directions. It would not be easy to continue walking like this.

After walking for more than an hour, Lin Chen was shivering in the cold wind. Walking in the snow was really not something a human could do.

"There is an official road!"

Lin Chen was surprised to find a straight road appeared in front of him.

It should have been built when the empire was at its peak. The well-connected road network greatly strengthened the empire's control over the country.

Lin Chen continued walking along the official road and soon found a village with smoke rising from chimneys.

"Finally there are people here."

Lin Chen slowly approached the village.

Chirp, several spears were inserted in front of Lin Chen.

The sentry at the village gate: "Who are you? Tell me what you are here for, and don't go any further."

Lin Chen raised his hands: "I have no ill intentions. I am an adventurer who is currently lost in the snowstorm. I want to replenish my supplies here. I will pay for it."

Several sentinels looked at each other and said, "Wait here."

Lin Chen waited patiently there, and soon an old man came out with the support of the villagers.

“Welcome guests from afar.”

Chapter 34: Poor Village

With the help of a few gold bars, the village warmly welcomed Lin Chen and sold some supplies to him. Although Lin Chen had storage space and did not need these, he still accepted them for the sake of disguise.

The cold wind was biting. In a simple house, the village chief made a cup of steaming hot tea and handed it to Lin Chen.

"Our village is poor and we don't have anything good to treat our guests. It's embarrassing."

"How could that be? In this kind of horrible weather, a sip of hot tea is enough. The village chief can just call me Chenxi."

Lin Chen took the tea, took a sip, and asked casually.

"When I first arrived in the North, I found that this place was different from other places in the empire. Why are the villages here so strictly guarded?"

The village chief lamented, "It's because of the world. There are a lot of dangerous species in the north, so we can only organize our own guards to protect the village."

Lin Chen asked: "Won't the Empire protect you?"

"You may not know, but a few decades ago, the Empire would send troops to regularly sweep out dangerous species, but that is no longer the case now."

"The annual tax revenue is increasing year by year, and the Empire doesn't care about our life or death except asking us to pay taxes."

"If you can't pay the taxes, the whole village will be wiped out. The village next door was surrounded and wiped out by the Empire's army because they couldn't pay the taxes."

"After paying taxes, our village has very little income each year, and we have to hunt dangerous species to make up for it. As a result, people starve to death every year."

"And without the army's regular eradication, dangerous species have begun to spread throughout the North, and hunting has become increasingly dangerous."

It is a glimpse into the horrific rule of the empire. If you fail to pay taxes, you will be wiped out by the army...

Lin Chen asked calmly: "As far as I know, the strongest general in the empire, Esdeath, is also from the North."

The village chief smiled. "General Esdeath is the pride of us northerners, the most powerful general in the empire. According to the news I received not long ago, she is currently fighting against 400,000 aliens in the Far North Fortress."

"I heard that the leader of the northern tribes is the prince of the northern tribes, known as the brave warrior of the north, who has never been defeated when holding a gun. But I believe that under the leadership of General Esdeath, the northern tribes will be vulnerable."

Lin Chen silently wrote down the information. It seemed that the timeline was before Esdeath killed the 400,000 troops of the North.

"It's a pity that the information exchange here is slow. If I had known earlier that General Esdeath was in the Far North Fortress, Tatsumi and the others wouldn't have to go to the Imperial Capital to venture out. They could have directly joined General Esdeath's army. General Esdeath's troops are the best treated and most powerful in the entire empire."

"Tatsumi? The anime hero! Could this be the unknown village where the main character in the story came from?"

Lin Chen continued to inquire calmly, "It just so happens that I am also planning to return to the imperial capital. I also have some businesses in the imperial capital. I don't know what the situation is with Tatsumi and others in your village. If there is a chance, I may be able to help a little."

Lin Chen lied without hesitation. At most, he was just an unemployed vagrant with only empty property. But it was not shameful to inquire about information.

The old village chief suddenly smiled, his weather-frost face was filled with smiles, and his gray beard twitched.

As the saying goes, old people become wise. Although he is not well-educated as the village chief, he is able to lead the village to survive under the high taxes of the empire. He definitely has his own ways.

The old village chief could tell at a glance that Lin Chen was definitely not an ordinary adventurer. What kind of adventurer would take out a few gold bars just to buy a little bit of supplies? He would almost lose everything. Is he still a profit-seeking adventurer?

First look at Lin Chen's exquisite clothes, then the priceless Qinghong sword, and his steady and powerful steps. He dared to walk alone in the dangerous north, and even after getting lost in the snowstorm that everyone was afraid of, his clothes were not damaged. This all shows that Lin Chen is a top swordsman.

Such people are either big businessmen or from aristocratic families. Looking at Lin Chen's temperament, he must be an aristocratic swordsman who is traveling alone.

Even Lin Chen didn't know that the reason why the village chief entertained him so warmly was not just because of a few gold bars, but because Lin Chen had the power to massacre the entire village.

The old village chief thought that Lin Chen, who could obviously force them to pay tribute by force, was willing to spend money and time communicating with country people like them, and must be a rare friendly nobleman.

Originally, Tatsumi and his companions were going to the imperial capital where they were unfamiliar with the place. Everyone in the village was very worried, and the old village chief was no exception.

Now, you can sit at home and make connections with people all over the place.

Suddenly he received Lin Chen, a very friendly noble swordsman, and they became friends because of being lost in the snow and wind. Now this noble was asking about the situation of Tatsumi and others. This kind of noble person could help people to a level that ordinary people could never reach in their lifetime. It was like a dream.

Lin Chen, who had ulterior motives, never expected that his disguise would be seen through at the first sight. He was given the hat of a noble swordsman who went out for training. He was too young. Of course, it was also related to the fact that Lin Chen did not disguise himself carefully.

The cunning village chief would naturally not be stupid enough to expose Lin Chen's disguise.

"Tatsumi, Sau, and Iyeas are the three most outstanding young people in the history of our village. Don't be fooled by their young age. They can easily defeat dangerous creatures like earth dragons on their own."

"Tatsumi is good at swordsmanship and is the strongest among the three. He is also good at forging. Even the retired non-commissioned officer from our village praised Tatsumi's talent as the strongest he had ever seen."

"Sayou is the only female among the three. Not only is she young and beautiful, but she is also particularly good at archery. She can basically hit the target within her sight."

"Iyeas is also good at swordsmanship. He is a hot-blooded fool. Although his swordsmanship is not as good as Tatsumi's, it is still outstanding."

"The three of them have been working hard to become outstanding soldiers since they were young. They compete with each other and teach themselves various skills such as cooking, reconnaissance, and teamwork. They can survive in even the most humble environment."

"besides...."

The old village chief couldn't stop talking when he mentioned the young people from these three villages. Judging from the proud expression on his face, these three people were his pride. If the villages had not been unable to survive, he would not have been willing to let them go to the imperial capital where they were unfamiliar with the place.

Lin Chen sighed in his heart. As soon as the village chief's darlings, Shayou and Iyeas, arrived in the imperial capital, they were deceived by nobles who specifically targeted country people. They were drugged and captured, and then imprisoned and played with like toys.

Sadio was eventually brutally tortured to death, while Iyeas was injected with large amounts of drugs and eventually died of terminal Alzheimer's disease.

Two young boys and girls who were full of vigor and dreamed of making a name for themselves and saving their impoverished hometown, could not even survive two days in the place of their dreams - the imperial capital.

If Tatsumi had not been separated from the two men due to the bandit attack and delayed his arrival in the imperial capital by a day, and if he had not been deceived by the nobles, he would not have been drugged in time and was rescued during a night raid to eliminate the target the next night, otherwise the entire army would have been wiped out.

Lin Chen was not sure about the strength of the other two people. When the plot began, they were already corpses.

But Tatsumi is still very strong. When he joined the night raid, his first mission was to kill the imperial capital's guard captain Ouka and escape unscathed.

Ouka: He is a master swordsman and many people are terrified of him. He is known as the "Devil Ouka".

Before obtaining the Imperial Tool [Devil's Haunting], she fought against the Imperial Tool User Niu, one of the three beast warriors trusted by General Esdeath and possessing the Imperial Tool [Military Music Dream], and was undefeated for a short time.

Having an imperial weapon or not is like having two different levels of people. Although the main function of [Military Music Dream] is to control a large area, this also shows that Tatsumi's strength is very amazing.

Chapter 35: Frostwolves Attack

Lin Chen interrupted the old village chief who was talking nonstop: "It seems that the three young people in your village are very capable. I believe they will make a name for themselves in the imperial capital."

The village chief who was interrupted was still not satisfied, fearing that Tatsumi and others would miss out on Lin Chen, the benefactor.

“I wonder when they set out?”

"It's been six days, right? Calculating the time, we should be able to reach the imperial capital tonight."

"Please Mr. Chenxi take good care of the three of them in the imperial capital."

Before he finished speaking, a hint popped out from Lin Chen's eyes.

[Hint: You have triggered the side quest - Caring for the outstanding young people in the village]

Mission Description: After being lost in the snow, you were warmly welcomed by the villagers. The old village chief asked you to take good care of the three young men who were heading to the imperial capital.

Mission objective: Join up with Tatsumi, Sau, and Iyeas.

Mission reward: None.

Lin Chen’s first side quest appeared just like that.

Lin Chen made up a random excuse to say goodbye to the old village chief and found a room to rest.

Lin Chen silently analyzed the existing intelligence. In the conversation just now, Lin Chen obtained two key pieces of information.

1. General Esdeath is in the Far North Fortress. Players can choose to join the Imperial Army. There are plenty of opportunities to make meritorious service on the battlefield, and soon Esdeath will kill aliens and return in triumph.

This should correspond to the main quest - protecting the empire from rebirth. Compared to the corrupt imperial capital, making military achievements and being valued by Esdeath is the easiest way to climb up. Changing the empire from within, or directly defecting to the revolutionary army with the army are both good ideas.

2. The protagonist and his party have not yet arrived at the imperial capital.

This side quest should correspond to the Revolutionary Army-Night Raid, and players can join the Night Raid through Tatsumi's relationship.

It depends on the player's choice, whether to join up with the three people or join the only imperial army that can make a breakthrough.

Lin Chen's main mission is naturally not to protect the empire from the fire. It is too difficult and impossible to complete. Not only does he have to fight against the revolutionary army and the night raid, but he also has Minister Ernest who controls the emperor and the two strongest generals of the empire [The Empire's Two Walls]: General Esdeath and General Budd. Moreover, the empire has lost the support of the people long ago, and no one can stop it.

Lin Chen is not so stubborn as to make an enemy of the whole world.

As for the Paradise side quest, it will definitely be a real pitfall for the players. According to the village chief, Shayu and Iyeas will be able to reach the imperial capital tonight, and only their corpses will be left the next day.

Unless the player immediately rushes to the imperial capital and finds Sau and Iyeas in the huge imperial capital, the mission will fail. The main purpose of this side quest without reward is to let the player find Tatsumi to join the night raid.

"What a rip-off! How could ordinary players know that they would send it tonight? Paradise is so shameless."

After spending a few minutes to figure out the whole situation, Lin Chen decisively stood up and said goodbye to the village chief.

The old village chief looked surprised and said, "Did they not provide good hospitality? Besides, it is snowing hard now, so it is very dangerous to travel."

It’s all because of this side quest. Let alone snowing, even if it’s raining knives from the sky, I must rush to the imperial capital tonight to save your darling, Lin Chen was helpless.

"No, your hospitality is very warm and I am deeply impressed. But just now I heard the village chief mention the imperial capital, and suddenly I remembered that I haven't been home for a long time."

"It's just a snowstorm. It's nothing to me."

"Thank you for the map, village chief. This is a small token of my appreciation. When I reach the imperial capital, I will definitely visit the outstanding young man that the village chief mentioned."

Lin Chen took out a few gold bars again and stuffed them into the village chief's hands. These gold bars were worthless to a player like Lin Chen, and a large bunch of them could be bought with a few hundred game coins.

Having obtained the valuable information from the village chief, even though it might just be an ordinary chat for the village chief, Lin Chen will still give back to the best of his ability. This is Lin Chen's principle.

These few gold bars can help the village survive this cold winter.

The village chief burst into tears. With this money, no one would starve to death this winter.

Boom. Boom. Boom...

A huge alarm sounded throughout the village.

"Village Chief, it's bad, the Frostwolves are coming again!!!"

A sentry on duty at the gate quickly rushed to the village chief.

"These damn beasts have become increasingly dishonest since Tatsumi and the other two left."

The village chief explained to Lin Chen: "Originally, our village was guarded by Tatsumi and others. These frost wolves would occasionally stay for a while and then leave. Now these beasts can't sense the breath of Tatsumi and others, and they stay longer and longer. They are testing us."

"If this continues, they will most likely attack our village within half a month."

"Once the Frostwolves leave, we will hire someone to deal with these dangerous species."

"Mr. Chenxi, it seems that you can't leave for the time being, but don't worry, the Frostwolves will not attack the village immediately."

The old village chief had a sad face. He still had a sum of money in his hand, which was most of the savings of three young men from years of hunting dangerous species. They left this money when they left their hometown in order to protect the village in times of life and death.

"Haha, don't worry, I haven't seen the Frostwolves yet."

Lin Chen comforted the village chief and walked up the wooden wall of the village. He had not seen the combat power of the dangerous species in this world.

"Mr. Chenxi, you may not know this when you first arrive in the North, but the Frostwolves are the most dangerous species in the North."

"If you encounter a pack of Frostwolves in the wild, you will surely die. They are natural hunters."