Starting from the very beginning when he was thrown under the bus, OneManMedia had been a distraction and bait all along to divert the NPCs away from their hideout.
Although OneManMedia didn't know what happened while Xu Feng snuck into their hideout, he knew something must have occurred for them to change the tide of the battle.
Originally, the NPCs were fierce and frighteningly powerful— to the point that all his damages were pitifully low.
However, the explosive shockwave changed everything, causing all the NPCs to be no different than low-level mobs. As for him, his life and death were literally moments away.
If Xu Feng was any bit later, or if Rolph didn't have any intention of keeping him alive to extract information, then he would have received his first death.
An unjustified one at that, given he was never willing to be here from the start.
"Not only did you use me as a pawn, but you even want me to use my current appearance to create a fake video to deceive others. Just how much more cunning can you be?" OneManMedia exclaimed, feeling like he was prey trapped in the same cage with a tiger.
"Pawn?" Xu Feng chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You think too much of yourself, Little Man. You're not even worthy to be a pawn yet. At most, you're just some bait that most fishermen use to hook a big fish."
"..."
Clenching his fist tightly, OneManMedia didn't even know how to respond to such a statement.
Should he be happy that he wasn't a pawn or furious that he wasn't one?
To be happy he wasn't one was natural, but if he were to be happy, then didn't that mean he indirectly agreed he was worse than a pawn. Such devious statements ensured that no matter what he chose, it would have made no difference aside from his value being degraded further.
"If you have no more things to say, then get to work." Xu Feng's voice snapped OneManMedia out of his daze.
Unlike the time with Zhao Kai, his patience for OneManMedia was thin and he could care less about whether he understood something or not.
He didn't deserve this kind of privilege anyway. Just because he took somewhat of a liking and appreciation of him, didn't mean he would be lenient.
Coming back to his senses, OneManMedia took a deep breath and asked, "How do you want the video to be?"
"Simple, you see those NPCs I told you to tie up earlier? I'll release them one at a time while shouting from behind the camera. You will fight and a few minutes later, you will deliver the final blow, killing them on the spot." Xu Feng explained calmly.
"K-Kill them?"
Startled, OneManMedia didn't think they were going to kill since they were all tied up now. After all, they were still NPCs, and in a sense, they were human, given the realistic environment of the Divine World.
"Stop trying to act like a good person all of a sudden, Little Man!" Xu Feng snorted and untied one of the NPC.
"You have a chance to live and save your fellow companion. So long as you can kill that swordsman right there, I'll let you all go." He told the NPC.
The NPC was dazed for a moment, but soon, its expression turned fierce and cold.
It attempted to launch a sneak attack on Xu Feng, only to end up in a complete failure. Almost as if he expected the NPC to refuse to comply, Xu Feng cast Sacred Fire and burned the latter to a crisp.
System: You have killed a member of the insurgent group!
The moment the NPC was killed, Xu Feng received a system prompt for his merits.
However, he ignored the prompt and moved on to another NPC.
With a cold tone, he continued, "If you want you and your companion to live, let's not do something stupid like him. Because now I have to kill one more of you to let you understand the consequences."
"W-Wait a moment," Some of the tied-up NPC tried to reason, but it was too late.
An unlucky one was chosen as Xu Feng killed them cold-blooded, causing another system prompt to appear. Annoyed by the system, Xu Feng turned off notifications for similar prompts.
Meanwhile, the insurgent NPCs were frightened by the ruthless demeanor of Xu Feng.
As for OneManMedia, he felt a cold chill running down his spine, realizing just how much he had underestimated Xu Feng.
"You're next," Xu Feng pointed at the NPC who tried to reason with him early as he loosened the rope. These ropes were all brought from their own hideout, so they knew very well these ropes restricted their abilities severely.
Even if it was loosened, it would still take a few minutes for them to slowly regain their abilities. But with Xu Feng's demeanor, they knew that those golden minutes would probably never happen.
Nevertheless, they still needed to clench tightly on this opportunity to survive.
Since Xu Feng was full of mystery and his strength unknown to them, only OneManMedia who they had fought earlier gave them a glimpse of hope for survival.
"Alright, the video is starting, so Little Man, use your previous sword. Don't use the Stormfang Blade, lest these NPCs might call it unfair." Xu Feng announced, seemingly trying to sound fair and just.
'Yeah, right. You just didn't want the video of me using the Stormfang Blade since it needs to look like an item drop.' OneManMedia cursed silently, swapping his weapon for his original sword.
This sword was of Common rarity, a far cry from the Stormfang Blade. Despite that, he felt more comfortable wielding his common sword than the rare blade, which filled him with deceit and anxiety.
Sometime later, Xu Feng commenced the battle, and the two started clashing.
Both sides had their own opinion on why they could not afford to lose, with Xu Feng enjoying from the sideline.
'Some call this evil, but I call it the law of nature.' Xu Feng thought.