novellk Chapter 474 - 471:
Chapter 474 - 471:
Chapter 474: Chapter 471: "Sorry, Adventurer.Su Ming’an remained silent.
He had realized that the original Sherrod was a major trap in the game instance, targeted specifically at players with identities like Su Rin’s.
After awakening, Sherrod, who desired the Red Rose, would perfectly fit into the system’s mechanisms, persuading Su Ming’an to hand over the very Red Rose that could break the game, losing the chance for a Perfect Pass.
Only if Sherrod had not only awakened but also become a true ’person’ with his own choices, would this path be truly opened.
Indeed, it could be said that the part about Sherrod’s awakening was a setup by the system, defining him merely as a ’suddenly self-aware Knight’.
If it weren’t for Su Ming’an’s consistently fair treatment and his sincere persuasions and insights, Sherrod would merely be a ’suddenly awakened, accepting the Red Rose’ character setup. He wouldn’t have personally removed the rose, which, according to the setup, he longed for.
These game instances... really are one trap inside another, a slight misstep could lead to irreversible doom.
Furthermore, the Sea Monsters attacking the city for regular Players already counted as a Perfect Pass. If it weren’t for triggering the conflict between the Soul Hunt and the Soul Clan, even completing the Maritime Banquet would suffice to clear the game without the need to fight for the city, let alone uncover the secrets behind Pulaya.
The special status of Su Rin, the Heir, was purely malicious.
...That was the closest Su Ming’an had come to failure.
Su Ming’an found it hard to imagine what choices he would have made if, in Yun Shang City, he truly reached a situation where he could neither advance nor retreat.
Would he accept the request of the Divine Su Rin and become an Observer, or would he reset the game ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times... in
"...Adventurer."
Just as she leaned against the stone, trying to eat some sweets to relieve stress, she saw the sad eyes of her Guide.
"... I’m sorry." the Guide looked at her sorrowfully, "You seem, you seem to already have..."
Margaret was startled.
She reached out her hand.
Dark, thin lines had appeared at some point and were now covering her palm, crawling up her arm. They bent and twisted, writhing like living things, entangling manically like wet seaweed, coiling over her body.
"I..." As she opened her mouth, bright red blood unexpectedly surged from her throat and spilled onto the ground.
When it hit the ground, her blood started turning black.
She stretched out her hand, grasping the stone, attempting to stand up, but her body suddenly became limp, like a flopped mud, and she could even feel her limbs anymore, as if sinking into invisible black mud.
Panic overwhelmed her heart like a flood, her eyes widened, and she could gradually not make a sound, while large amounts of black and red blood spurted out, her skin began to crack as something seemed to burst out from within, various colors of dark mire oozed out from her eyes, nose, ears, and even under her fingernails.
"Margaret, what’s wrong with you..." Wang Wanyu, hearing the noise, peeked over and saw this horrifying scene.
The Margaret dressed in a lavish Western European gown, with the demeanor of a princess, clasped the stone while the lower part of her body had completely decayed, turning into a puddle of black, stinking mud. Layers of fabric wrapped around her soft, melting body, even her originally delicate face was no longer discernible, blending into a pool of blackness.
The fingers holding the rock loosened, and her fair fingers began to decay.
Moments later, nothing was left behind the rock but a disturbing puddle of black mire and layers of torn fabric buried in the dirt. And her Guide began to lose consciousness, walking unconsciously towards the distant darkness.
"..." Wang Wanyu stared at the scene in shock. The others who noticed the situation were also astonished.
[This, this is...]Tong An’an’s face turned pale.
Since the instance began, this was the first person to die from the Curse taking effect.
A living beauty suddenly began melting and decaying, turning into a puddle of disgusting black mire. This visually impactful scene made the viewers outside the screen start to wretch. Not to mention those within, who had the clarity of all five senses.
Wang Wanyu’s hands trembled. His san points had now dropped to 50. The lower the san points, the more likely one is to be cursed, and he was terrified he might suddenly contract the Curse. Seeing Margaret’s reaction, they practically had no time to save themselves, even if they were strong, once the Curse took hold, that person was gone.
He regretted, he shouldn’t have been greedy for those two Silver Stars. They shouldn’t have ventured out this night.
[Let’s hurry to the altar, open the gate, and head back now!]Tong An’an’s eyes were filled with fear: [Let’s not wait any longer, even if collecting some Soul Stones is fine, we shouldn’t be exposed to the Black Mist.]
"I..." Wang Wanyu too entertained the thought of leaving, while Isabella immediately got up and left the area.
He hesitated for a few minutes, and just as he thought to gather up the mechanical bombs and leave, he suddenly saw a glimmering white light.
"—Wait! We’ve made it!" he exclaimed excitedly.
The white light was coming from the Teleportation Formation — it was Su Ming’an returning!
A figure walked out from the Teleportation Formation, and before he could step clear, he stepped on a series of bombs on the ground.
...
Fengchang emerged from the Teleportation Formation, regaining his vision.
In front of him was a dark, red-tinted farm scene, shaking shadows of trees, a maize field with yellow leaves intertwining, and crows perched on a scarecrow, belonging to Old Ted’s farm, familiar to him.
Walking back to the First Tribe from here wasn’t far, and it was a good chance for him to observe the living conditions of these tribespeople.
He took a step but suddenly felt like he had stepped on something.
"Hmm...?" He paused slightly.
"Boom—!"
The next moment, quite suddenly, a loud explosion sounded.
The explosion engulfed the teleportation formation, flames instantly enveloping his body, and smoke spread, completely obscuring the surroundings.
"—Up!" From somewhere, a man’s voice, extremely high-pitched with excitement, sounded, even though the man was not visible.
Fengchang turned his head toward the direction of the sound.
He swung out his sword.
A pitch-black thin line rose in the direction of his swing, and in the blink of an eye, it swept across the entire sacrificial area, even cracking the large altar on the ground.
The dust and smoke cleared.
The approaching Wang Wanyu, along with his guide, slowly split in half, their bodies neatly severed as if cut by a string, the upper parts tumbling down following a slanted cut.
"I..." Watching Fengchang walk out of the teleportation formation, Wang Wanyu was utterly confused.
... Who the hell is this guy?
His blood splattered onto the ground a beat later.
As he fell, Wang Wanyu still didn’t understand—why did Su Ming’an go in, but someone else came out?
"You..." He spat blood and soon breathed his last.
Fengchang, with a dark expression, stepped forward, and with a swing of his sword, even Tong An’an, who was still hiding, was killed along with the rocks around her. Her defensive barrier was like paper in front of him.
At this time, Su Ming’an finally walked out of the teleportation formation.
... Fengchang was indeed useful.
But that was it. Even with high favorability, Fengchang wouldn’t intervene in the Sacrifice Field to help him hunt down those Black Sheep Players. He would only strike back if someone attacked Fengchang.
"... You really are using me as a vanguard," Fengchang said but was not angry.
With his favorability maxed out, he wouldn’t get angry over such things.
"The capable are burdened with more work," Su Ming’an smiled.
"... I think the endgame is almost set, and you should have no problems winning," Fengchang said, "I’ll leave now. The succession ceremony on the eighth day, I will wait for you at the First Tribe."
"I will arrive at the First Tribe this afternoon."
"Hmm? Good," Fengchang nodded, "I look forward to your arrival."
"By the way, about Xiber..." Su Ming’an placed the unconscious Xiber on the ground, black lines indicating a curse appearing on her arm. Her condition was very dangerous. Su Ming’an didn’t dare wake her immediately, fearing it would worsen her condition.