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Chapter 355 - 352: "Maritime Banquet

Chapter 355: Chapter 352: "Maritime Banquet

"I hope so," Su Ming’an said.

"Now, I’ve abandoned all the clues in the Royal City and quit my job, coming here with nothing, or else I couldn’t have participated in the Maritime Banquet." Noel smiled. "Leader of the Soul Clan, you must protect me well."

"..." Su Ming’an didn’t speak.

He was still thinking about last night’s night instance.

That virtual sandbox that converged the battle between two armies...

Moments later, he responded to Noel.

"There won’t be any problems," he said.

Just then, the door opened.

A youth clad in snowy black attire and a red-dressed girl walked in.

"You’re here?" Su Ming’an said.

"We’re here."

Lv Shu placed the Black Blade on the tea table to the left, while Lin Yin began to complain:

"...This damned weather is really speechless, one moment it’s scorching hot, the next it’s this cold."

They took their seats on the sofa. By the fireplace, the quiet Sevya and Archilev were seated, and Qi Ya chose to stay outside, saying he disliked the comfortable indoor environment.

"Everyone is here now," Su Ming’an walked over. Suddenly, Noel spoke:

"There’s still one more."

"One more?" Su Ming’an suddenly remembered, there was someone named Mo Wen in their team. Lv Shu said this person was a clue-type player, but it seemed that he had always been following Noel during this instance.

In the team chat, this guy had also been very quiet, as if he was afraid to speak.

He looked at Noel.

"I’ve lost contact with him," Noel said. "I got separated from him on the fourth day. He said he was going to the Great Library in the center of Pulaya to look for clues, but he never came back, and there was no activity in the team chat. One thing is certain though, he is still alive, since his avatar is still lit up. I guess he might have entered a special level that doesn’t allow messages to be sent out."

"The Great Library?" Su Ming’an also remembered that place; many players in the channel chat had gone there looking for information, but it seemed no one encountered any so-called special levels.

When they had the chance, they could go and check it out.

He seated himself on the sofa, waiting for twelve o’clock to arrive.

In the channel chat, the players were also particularly quiet. Someone suggested that they could hide on the boats by the sea with the residents, so they could avoid the Maritime Banquet.

But more people were seeking to form teams.

The players had roughly understood the situation of the instance, they knew that if they dodged the crucial "Maritime Banquet," everyone would certainly face an unsolvable bad ending.

Evasion was shameful, but indeed effective. The players could truly choose to keep hiding.

However, aside from those choosing to hide, there must be others to support the tasks of the instance, someone has to step forward and face the critical information of the instance.

Otherwise, it would be like the situation in the Fifth World with Ming Hui, where no one completed the Talent Awakening Formation, and the vast majority met their doom together.

Perhaps influenced by the impending battle, even the singing and dancing had stopped, Christmas was nearing its end, and real time had moved on to the 26th.

In the crucial moments a few minutes before twelve o’clock, someone knocked on the door of this room.

Su Ming’an opened the door and saw a familiar figure.

What followed was the scene of a meeting between the two highest leaders of the great powers of Pulaya.

...Although, these highest leaders happened to be the same person.

Standing outside was Shadow.

"The items from the exchange point," Shadow handed over the shotgun, the passive potion, and weapons from the central Soul Hunt exchange point to him.

Su Ming’an immediately drank the passive potion, and a new system prompt appeared by his ear.

This time, the growth in attribute points wasn’t as rapid as when he drank the first bottle, perhaps because drinking two bottles consecutively had a diminishing effect. His physical strength increased by two points, strength by two points, and spirit by three points.

Although the increase in attribute points wasn’t significant, the passive skill he awakened was very powerful.

"Ding Dong!"

[Awakened Passive Skill: Magic Power Cutting]

[Magic Power Cutting lv1: When an enemy’s targeted magic spell is directed at you, your slash might directly sever the enemy’s spell. The probability of a successful slash is related to the direction and force of your slash and is directly related to your strength points.

Skill Requirement: Must be holding a weapon or prop that can be used to slash.]

"Ding Dong!"

[Due to the player having the "Carry-able Weakness Insight" (Purple Grade) skill, this passive skill has evolved!]

[Magic Power Cutting · Improved lv.1: When an enemy’s targeted magic spell is directed at you, your slash might directly sever the enemy’s spell.

Weakness Insight will assist the angle of your slash, to enhance the success rate of cutting through the magic spell. If you directly hit the spell’s critical point, you will have at least a 50% chance of successfully severing it (regardless of the gap between you and your enemy) (with a Luck B+ bonus!).]

...

Good skill.

Although this skill is only effective against targeted spells and ineffective against AOE wide-range attacks,

many mages are still keen on casting spells like fireballs and ice arrows—slash-magic skills that can instantly break the defense of these mages.

The additional effect from the Weakness Insight skill was an unexpected bonus.

He had always thought that while this skill was useful in finding clues, it wasn’t of much help in combat, at most increasing the chance of a critical hit. But now, it seems to be a versatile, universal skill that may have a chain effect in subsequent combinations.

On par with it in the Purple Grade was his space skill. So far, the practical use of Spatial Vibration was immense, with few players able to withstand its wide range and high damage. With subsequent upgrades of spatial skills, he expected new abilities beyond Spatial Displacement and Spatial Vibration to emerge.

As for the Erasure skill, he didn’t have high expectations for it. After all, it was just a Blue Level skill at the beginning, meant mostly to enhance the sharpness of the blade without offering much breakthrough strength in battle.

...But this was a skill he couldn’t discard.

Because at critical moments,

this precise, fast-acting skill would become a swift knife at his own throat.

It could spare him from missing opportunities due to bothersome ways of dying, and also lessen some of the pain.

...

After delivering the items, Shadow quickly departed.

Under Su Ming’an’s decision, most of the native Soul Hunters that could be controlled were not withdrawn. After the rules were published, he might still have to command these people.

Time slipped by slowly.

As the second hand inched towards the top, all the players who were waiting heard a particularly distant bell.

"Dang—"

Where the bell came from was unknown, seeming to penetrate walls and snowflakes, ringing in everyone’s ears, leaving them all startled.

At that moment, a splendid golden light appeared in the direction of the church in the Southern District.

It was as if a golden bridge connected the church to the heavens, and everyone looking up saw this ethereal, transparent bridge amidst the snowstorm, like a golden galaxy hanging in the sky.

"—Welcome, contestants, to Pulaya. On behalf of all the residents of Pulaya, I welcome you."

The Pope’s dignified and profound voice resounded at this moment.

"The 36th ’Maritime Banquet’ is about to begin. Those of you who have exchanged for the right to participate will be the participants in this feast."

"—There are a total of 3309 contestants! Now, we will distribute the specific rules for this year’s Maritime Banquet."

The voice pierced through the wind and snow, covering the entire island. The players who had been dancing and singing threw away their bottles of alcohol,

reacting in various ways.

...

"Over three thousand people, huh? A bit few."

In the mingling wind and snow, the girl standing atop the clock tower raised her head. The light shone on her slightly fluttering long hair, as she seemed to merge with the snowy backdrop behind her.

A silver longsword appeared in her hand, and as a fierce blizzard tore through the clock tower, her lithe figure vanished from its place, blending into the wind and snow.

"...I thought there would be more. These timid folks, they do prefer to hide on their ships, don’t they?"

...

The smell of liquor floated through the air, surrounded by colorful lights indoors, where a bald man guzzled the vodka in his hand.

Broken bottles were scattered on the floor, alongside the bloody, head-bashed corpse of a bartender. A gaudily made-up woman lay on the ground, her clothes torn to shreds.

The bald man, as if blind to the bodies, drank among the blood, revealing a brazen smile as he did:

"Thought you’d be absolutely safe hiding on a ship, did you?" he said, his brooding gaze fixed intently toward the harbor, licking his lips in anticipation:

"...These ’fat sheep,’ I’ve been raising you for so long, and now it’s finally time for me to harvest. I hope that strongest guy won’t get in my way..."

...

In the casino, a wealthy merchant caressed the ring on his finger. He appeared anxious, as though worried about something.

"I hope there will be some gain..." he sighed softly.

In front of him sat a middle-aged man in black, a smile on his face and a black top hat, his playing cards fluttering between his fingers.

"No need to worry," said the man in the black hat gently: "Your information was very useful. Rest assured, Princess Tulip will protect you."

The merchant nodded.

"But I’m still concerned about that person named Su Rin..." he said.

...

In the West District, within a cave where a fire burned, a person wrapped in a black robe gazed at the golden glow of the church.

Then, he lowered his head, gently kissing the silver cross around his neck.

Behind him stood dozens of residents with numb expressions, like puppets.

The firelight reflected on their faces, in their vacant eyes.

"May the gods bless me..." the person in the robe whispered softly. Pulling back his hood, he revealed a head of dazzling blond hair.

His eyes carried an expression of deep sorrow, as if missing someone: "...and you, the Player cherished by the gods.

I still remember your interpretation of my tale.

May we continue to meet in the coming struggle."

...

In the lavishly decorated room, a girl clutching a plush bear seemed to playfully step on the kneeling maid’s head.

The maid trembled with fear, her forehead already bloody, the red blood scattered all over the floor, and her hands showing signs of torn and ragged skin.

Next to her lay a pile of spilled pastries, with shards of the dish scattered around, pricking her kneeling knees.

"Kneel! Keep kneeling! Don’t you dare look up! Kneel until your knees rot! When they rot, I will forgive you!"

The girl, engrossed in what seemed like a game, kicked the maid’s head repeatedly while laughing and screaming with a flushed face:

"Kneel down! Don’t dare look up at me, or I’ll burn you to death, I definitely will burn you to death!"

The maid, not daring to resist, kept her head pressed to the ground, her features already twisted from the kicking.

Blood mixed with the cream of the pastries and the girl started giggling.

Suddenly, the girl lifted her head.

She heard the distant chime of a clock.

"Has it started?" She suddenly leapt out of bed and ran barefoot to the window.

Her feet trod upon shattered glass, but the fragments couldn’t injure her at all. She ran to the window, leaned on the sill, and looked towards the especially bright golden light in the south.

"It’s started! It’s started!"

Flames burst forth uncontrollably from her body.

"Finally, someone to play the game with me?" Her eyes shone brilliantly.

In her live streaming room, the barrage of messages was cheering her on, distinct from any other place.

Or rather, each top-ranked player’s live stream chat had its own unique flair.

[Cute little Bonnie, you will definitely win big, I guarantee it!]

[Bonnie is so cute... I mean, Bonnie is very strong. So please, everyone stop saying things that cause worry, Bonnie will definitely not lose, not even to that person in the same instance.]

[That servant just now was so evil! How dare she knock over little Bonnie’s dessert, even killing her wouldn’t be enough to appease us.]

[No one can offend ’Flame Girl’ Bonnie, she must be the strongest in the Elemental Series, even Eni who plays with fire is no exception.]

[Why does this barrage of messages feel so familiar... It’s like I’ve seen it somewhere before...]

[The global leaderboard is completely inaccurate! Those with low combat power are ranked high, what’s happened to this world!]

[We should capture one of those guys who are hiding and bring back someone who can cook. How can Bonnie’s Christmas Eve be without turkey and pudding?]

[...]

Bonnie’s eyes shone brightly.

She looked at the golden light in the sky, revealing a smile akin to a child yearning for Christmas gifts.

However, what she longed for was not the gaming consoles or teddy bears that children liked but the fresh blood and corpses of people.

The World Game had transformed her into what she was now.

The barrage of messages was the catalyst that further solidified her character.

She spread her arms, smiling blissfully, as if embracing the wind and snow outside the window.

Behind her, a plush teddy bear lay on the ground, its two black glassy eyes beginning to emit a red glow.

"Quick, anyone... start this game with me," she pleaded.

Her voice lifted.

...

"It’s begun."

In the warm room, Noel suddenly spoke out.

He stood up, touched his staff to the ground, and a blue light burst forth in front of him.

Outside, the golden light started to explode across the sky, like meteors scattering down.

At this moment, a giant blue panel appeared in front of every eligible competing player.

The players all looked up.

A line of white text slowly emerged above their panels.

These were the specific rules for the "Maritime Banquet."

...

[Rule 01: ...]