Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Unexpected Arrival of Sylos

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Sudden Arrival of Saurus

Shen Ce quietly opened his palm, carefully examining the sea pearl for a moment before storing it in his inventory panel. The night had deepened, and the chilling mountain wind carried an eerie sense of gloom. Having slain someone from his own faction, Shen Ce’s kill value rose swiftly, and a faint crimson glow began to emanate from his body—strikingly conspicuous in the darkness. He sighed inwardly, pondering his next move; after all, those two had fought fiercely for so long, only for him, the bystander, to reap the reward.

To obtain a sea pearl so quickly could only be attributed to luck; Shen Ce doubted such a bizarre opportunity would visit him again before dawn. Determined not to repeat the fate of the previous duo, he abandoned the idea of continuing his journey and decided to wait for daybreak.

He lifted his gaze, scanning the tall trees nearby, and his eyes brightened at the sight of a particularly lush tree whose trunk formed a hollow just large enough to accommodate his body. Without hesitation, Shen Ce climbed up; agile and adept, he reached the hollow in no time, hunching his body to sink himself as deeply as possible—comfort was not his concern, only safety.

Vigilant, he cast a subtle light shield upon himself, then slipped into a shallow sleep, ready to awaken at the slightest disturbance.

As dawn broke, darkness faded, and a gentle breeze carried wisps of mist. The rustling of leaves filled the air. Shen Ce opened his eyes to find his kill value had dissipated overnight, and the crimson aura was gone.

The pale golden sunlight filtered through the branches, dazzling the freshly awakened Shen Ce. His limbs, stiff from maintaining the same posture for hours, felt numb. He quickly applied several light-based support and healing spells, immediately refreshing himself.

Looking down from his perch, Shen Ce observed the daytime second arena was indeed very different from the night. The nocturnal forest had been so unsettling it sent chills down his spine, but now a tranquil silence prevailed. Shadows danced on the ground, unknown flowers bloomed exuberantly everywhere—a beautiful sight.

After carefully surveying his surroundings, Shen Ce descended from the tree, removed his black cloak, and casually chose a direction to proceed. For some reason, even after two hours of walking, he hadn’t seen a single person—not even a wild beast, let alone a sea pearl.

He finally decided to change his route. Upon encountering a river, he chose to follow its course, and at last, he encountered two groups. The first consisted of four people, all seemingly friendly due to their shared affiliation with the Light faction; they even invited Shen Ce to join their party. Shen Ce politely declined, not only because he disliked teaming up, but also because the limited number of sea pearls and the party’s size would make distribution problematic, inevitably leading to internal strife by the task’s end.

The second group belonged to the Dark faction: two sorcerers and an archer. These players spotted Shen Ce first and struck with such speed that he was caught off guard. Their levels and skills were impressive, but thanks to Shen Ce’s habit of layering support spells, he avoided instant defeat.

As Shen Ce struggled against them, he unexpectedly ran into Han Qishao. Perhaps it was fate; in the first arena, Shen Ce had aided him, and now Han Qishao returned the favor. Alone, Shen Ce managed to fend off three attackers, but with Han Qishao’s assistance, victory came easily.

After helping Shen Ce eliminate the trio, Han Qishao suggested forming a team. Shen Ce considered it and nodded in agreement. “Qishao, how many sea pearls do you have now?” Shen Ce trusted Han Qishao’s character, and with the perilous second arena, teaming up seemed wise.

“I happened to find one earlier,” Han Qishao replied with a gentle smile, like a spring breeze.

Shen Ce nodded, “I’ve also found one by chance. Qishao, let’s agree on the distribution now: whoever finds a sea pearl first keeps it. Since we only need two in total, whoever completes the task first will help the other find theirs. How does that sound?”

Han Qishao touched his nose, his lips curving upward, “Let’s do it.” He knew Shen Ce’s straightforward nature well.

With Han Qishao’s agreement, the two embarked together on the long search for sea pearls. Unexpectedly, their luck took a turn for the worse; after four hours, they hadn’t found a single pearl, encountering only several groups of Dark faction players. Even after defeating them with effort, no task items dropped.

With only two hours left before the task deadline, both Shen Ce and Han Qishao grew anxious, though their expressions remained calm. Neither mentioned the time, focusing all their attention on searching for the pearls.

Perhaps their luck truly had run dry. They stumbled upon a Light faction team of seven, led by a male warrior who invited them to join. With so many players already, it was clear he sought to recruit anyone who might possess sea pearls, intending to eliminate them at the last minute. Shen Ce and Han Qishao immediately declined coldly.

Then a female priest in the group seemed to recall something, her eyes wide as she shouted, “It’s them! Vice President, catch them—they killed Big Brother three times!”

At first, Shen Ce was puzzled by “it’s them,” but upon hearing they’d killed Big Brother three times, he instantly understood what kind of team this was. He hadn’t expected Blood Wolf, the guild leader, to fail to qualify for the second round, yet so many of his guild members had made it through. The shouting priest was the same one who’d fled offline at Frostleaf Plains.

Shen Ce frowned, his mind racing. Before the Wolf Guild players could react, Shen Ce hurled several light bolts and conjured a barrier of light. While the enemy was startled by the spells and blocked by the wall, Shen Ce shouted to Han Qishao, “Run!”

With seven enemies—three warriors, two mages, and two priests—even though Shen Ce and Han Qishao were skilled, challenging such a group would almost certainly result in losing levels.

Han Qishao quickly followed Shen Ce, both feeling a bit helpless; they hadn’t fallen to Dark faction players, but now risked defeat by their own faction.

The Wolf Guild’s seven pursued them relentlessly, abandoning their search for sea pearls altogether. Shen Ce and Han Qishao could not have known that Blood Wolf’s hatred for them ran so deep that any guild member who killed them would be rewarded with astounding riches and equipment.

As time slipped away and the competition’s end approached, the Wolf Guild maintained their pursuit. Shen Ce and Han Qishao exchanged wry smiles. While fleeing, Shen Ce accidentally tripped over something hard; when he and Han Qishao turned to look, their hearts soared—an ink-blue pearl lay before them!

After searching high and low, they found it effortlessly. Shen Ce and Han Qishao exchanged a glance—delight mixed with anxiety. Shen Ce thought for two seconds before saying, “Qishao, take this pearl. With time running short, it’s unlikely we’ll find another. Rather than both of us falling to that mob, we’d be better off splitting up.”

Shen Ce was no saint, but Han Qishao’s troubles with Blood Wolf had stemmed from him, and as the guild leader of Divine Prayer, Han Qishao had more at stake in advancing than Shen Ce, who was alone.

Han Qishao immediately understood. He looked deeply at Shen Ce, his gaze sharp as a hawk, “Thank you. Take care of yourself.” Without further words, he dashed eastward down a narrow path.

Seeing Han Qishao accept so decisively, Shen Ce was impressed—thankfully, Han Qishao didn’t refuse, or their politeness would have squandered their chance to advance.

Time was short. Realizing he had little hope of advancing himself, Shen Ce chose to help Han Qishao further. He climbed a tree trunk; as the seven Wolf Guild members entered his view, Shen Ce unleashed his longest-range group attack at the two mages.

The Wolf Guild had grown accustomed to chasing and being chased, but didn’t expect Shen Ce, a priest, to be so audacious. They cursed, trying to locate him.

By the time they spotted Shen Ce atop the tree, he had already fired off several skills in rapid succession, taking out both mages. The two female priests focused on support; their attacks were weak, and their long-range spells barely scratched Shen Ce.

The three warriors, unwilling to wait, climbed up after him, agile and determined. Shen Ce leveraged his height advantage, stalling with magic for as long as possible. With this delay, barring unforeseen events, Han Qishao should have enough time to complete his task with both pearls.

When the two warriors finally reached Shen Ce’s height, he felt a sense of relief. He understood that everything was coming to an end. He had never experienced death before; it seemed today he would, though he wouldn’t die in vain.

Of course, surrender was not his style. Even in death, Shen Ce intended to take others down with him. Facing the charging warriors, whose agility surpassed his own, Shen Ce remained calm, chanting spells. A warrior’s agonized scream pierced the air, and a terrifying blade swung straight at Shen Ce!

He waited serenely for death’s embrace, but at that critical moment, he was suddenly pulled into a cold embrace.

Shen Ce’s eyes flew open. He turned to see the unexpected intruder—his expression stunned. Saurus? How could Saurus appear here out of nowhere?!

Author’s Note: [Shen Ce immediately realized Saurus was not an ordinary player, but his suspicions... well, he can only keep lighting candles.]