Edited by Jules
Because of Qi Ning’s words, the solemn atmosphere lightened somewhat.
Xiao Lan and Luo walked over to the cocoon and carefully observed the area around it.
Suddenly, Xiao Lan frowned. “Something’s wrong. This skeleton has already become like this, but there isn’t any dust on the blade. It probably hasn’t been long since it dropped here.”
Xiao Lan bent over to pick up the blade named ‘Carnage’, and swiped a finger across its surface.
His finger didn’t come away dusty, which showed that this blade couldn’t possibly have been here the whole time.
He then examined the body of the blade and spotted a trace of fibre on the tip.
Xiao Lan frowned. “This…?”
Xiao Lan pointed at the surface of the cocoon. “It’s almost exactly the same as the texture of the cocoon’s outer skin. It should have been used to cut through the cocoon.”
Xiao Lan passed 【Carnage】 to Wang Taidi.
Wang Taidi also calmed down. “That is to say, my ge cut open this cocoon not long ago and came out…”
It was unknown how long Wang Ke had been shut in the cocoon. Astonishingly, he still had the energy to resist even then.
In all likelihood, a large part of that was due to Wang Taidi constantly using his ability to replenish his life.
“But 【Carnage】 is here – what about him?” Wang Taidi said.
He looked around. Around them were several opened cocoons; they couldn’t confirm where the blade had come from.
And what was it that had made his ge drop even his weapon?
Xiao Lan said, “Something must have happened between the time he opened the cocoon and our arrival. Perhaps Wang Ke had begun to change, or he encountered an unexpected ambush. I am more inclined to think the latter.”
He looked at Lan Qi, who had recovered a bit of her strength. “During the span of roughly a day, aside from us, did you hear anything else?”
In the end, she was still an elite-level advanced player. At this time, Lan Qi could already sit up straight.
She thought about it. “I’m not sure about the exact time, but I definitely heard movement not long ago. It sounded like something being dragged over the ground, but I can’t be certain about the direction of the sound.”
“Dragged…” Wang Taidi frowned. “Which means he might have been taken away?”
One moment, Wang Ke was betrayed by his comrades. The next, he escaped his shackles with difficulty, only to be ambushed…
With such dogshit luck, Wang Taidi really wanted to bulk buy a ton of pomelo leaves to bathe his brother in to chase off bad luck.
They frantically started to search the area.
If it happened not long ago, and this wasn’t a place that people wandered around, then there was an extremely high possibility that there would still be clues left behind.
Soon, they found several clues.
There were several fresh cuts on a few trees. The marks were very faint, and it was clear that the user’s strength wasn’t all there.
There were drag marks on the thick layer of fallen leaves as well. The trail was a little broad, which would make sense if it was left by a person.
This trail led into a deeper area.
But the silver lining was that there was no blood on the ground, so Wang Ke probably wasn’t hurt.
But the situation was urgent, so they should go as soon as possible.
Wang Taidi fisted his hands. “It’s right there.”
Xiao Lan turned his head to glance at Lan Qi, who was sitting on the ground. “Sorry, we’re leaving now. The item to leave Sara’s Song is under the church, called 【Rock of Forgiveness】. There are some living dead inside, so be careful.”
Lan Qi nodded at them. “Thank you. I’ll get it myself. Good luck.”
She did not pitifully beg them to bring her along.
It wasn’t like she was some dodder flower. While she was a little weak, she was still able to move about after recovering her strength for a while. As long as she didn’t stupidly have a face-to-face battle, and left the instance, it would be easy for her to survive.
With no time to lose, the other four followed the trail that may have been left when Wang Ke was being dragged along.
The drag marks continued.
These marks often passed through some strange areas, making them unable to imagine what state the one who left the marks was in.
As they travelled, more and more bodies appeared in the forest.
Some had committed suicide in various ways, some seemed to have killed each other, while some seemed to have been hunted down by other people.
They were in varying stages of death: rotten, half-decaying corpses and white skeletons occasionally appeared, and the group couldn’t discern whether they were town citizens or players.
Finally, a red wall appeared before them.
The marks on the ground also led here, but disappeared upon reaching the wall. There were no other traces in the area, as if Wang Ke had been dragged straight into the wall.
The red wall was squirming, and they couldn’t tell how far it stretched.
At the same time, it was also very high, stretching all the way up past the black treetops, and they couldn’t see the top.
Unlike a normal wall, there were plant stalks spread across the surface, but — who knew whether it was the original colour or if it had just absorbed fresh blood — each stalk was blood-red.
These stalks squirmed like creatures with self-awareness.
The whole wall also emitted an almost unnoticeable black air.
The black air seemed to be one with the wall, yet also seemed to only cover its surface.
Wang Taidi asked, “This is the Wall of Sacrifice?”
Xiao Lan looked at the wall and felt that it appeared a little familiar, yet he had misgivings. “This seems different from the Wall of Sacrifice I saw on the mural. On the mural, there were a lot more human bodies on the wall.”
But no human-like traces could be seen on this wall blocking their path.
Wang Taidi wondered, “Could there be another wall? Or maybe it looks different in another direction?”
“Or maybe it finished digesting?” Qi Ning pointed at the empty wall. “Perhaps they’re now indicating that they’re hungry, and we just happen to take the initiative to offer ourselves up.”
They had to admit that this conjecture sounded very reasonable.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Qi Ning asked, “What do you guys plan to do now?”
Xiao Lan fisted his hands. “If there’s no entrance, then make one.”
Wang Taidi’s lip curled. “Let me do it this time.”
With that, he stepped forward, looked at the Wall of Sacrifice, and said, “I need an entrance to enter the Wall of Sacrifice.”
As his voice rang out, an opening the height of a person suddenly appeared before them.
The opening was just enough for a person to pass through. It was pitch-black inside and nothing could be seen. It was like a trap waiting for them to step in just for it to swallow them up.
Qi Ning gave some applause. “Truly a miraculous ability.”
Wang Taidi said, “It’s just the power of money, and the money spent is all mine.”
Every word reduced his wealth value, which he had robbed… Oh, no, which he had very bitterly and diligently saved up. Spending it made his heart hurt.
They had a short discussion and came up with various possible situations and how to counter them.
Then they each gripped their weapons and warily took turns entering the Wall of Sacrifice.
Wang Taidi was the first to enter.
After he entered, the others couldn’t hear anything.
Xiao Lan tried calling out, but didn’t get a response from Wang Taidi.
This had been one of their conjectures.
Xiao Lan took out an item to try and contact Wang Taidi, but was unsuccessful.
Xiao Lan frowned slightly and said to Qi Ning, who was about to enter, “We might have no way to stay in contact inside. Be careful.”
Qi Ning nodded. “You as well.”
With that, he stepped into the Wall of Sacrifice as well. Similarly, there was no sound from within.
Before entering, Xiao Lan said to Luo, “We’ll probably have to separate temporarily again.”
Luo said with a smile, “No matter where you are, I’ll always be able to find you.”
He spoke very sincerely; every time the two had separated, he did find Xiao Lan, as he said.
Xiao Lan waved at him. “Then, see you later.”
Luo also raised his hand. “See you.”
Xiao Lan turned and stepped into the Wall of Sacrifice.
After passing through the door, he felt everything before his eyes turn red.
Regardless of whether it was the surrounding walls or the ground, everything was covered by the blood-red stalks, and the irremovable scent of blood lingered in the air.
It felt as if he had just stepped into hell.
Xiao Lan turned around. Sure enough, the entrance he had come through had disappeared.
And Qi Ning and Wang Taidi who entered not long before him were nowhere in sight.
Xiao Lan tightened his grip on his weapon and walked forward.
Not long after, he heard the sound of squirming next to him.
Xiao Lan turned his head, only to see a skinless hand reach out from the wall.
After that, a human-shaped monster slowly crawled out of the wall.
Its limbs were still human-like, but its face had mutated completely.
Its face was only a huge, fang-filled mouth that opened and closed constantly, as if ready to feast on the intruder’s flesh.
Upon touching the ground, this human-like monster pounced at Xiao Lan.
Wang Taidi waited in place for a while after entering the Wall of Sacrifice.
However, his companions never arrived and reunited with him. After trying to use an item to reach them and failing, he also understood the situation inside the wall.
It seemed that the Wall of Sacrifice cut off contact between players. This could prevent them teaming up, which meant it was even easier for them to be attacked individually before they became offerings for Sara.
Wang Taidi put away his communication item and walked forward.
No matter what, finding Wang Ke was his most important mission, even if he had no backup for the time being, even if up ahead were unknown enemies and dangers.
It twisted and wound around like a maze inside the Wall of Sacrifice.
Without any guidance, Wang Taidi could only proceed by relying on his memory and luck.
Sometimes he saw some corpses that had yet to be fully digested, while sometimes there was nothing at all.
He would closely inspect every corpse he passed, but none of them was Wang Ke.
Wang Taidi withdrew his hand from examining a corpse and glanced at the pendant in his hand. “Ge, wait for me. I’m almost there, just wait a bit longer…”
Suddenly, the weak glow of the pendant brightened, like the flickering flame of a dying candle in the wind, almost as if it would go out in the next second.
Wang Taidi turned pale with fright.
He hurriedly grasped the pendant tight and fully utilised his ability. “Wang Ke, you’re not allowed to die!”
Receiving the effects of his ability, the pendant suddenly lit up, and looked even better than any of his previous effects. However, this was only temporary, as the light of the pendant would slowly grow dim again later.
But this situation roused Wang Taidi’s spirits.
The more obvious the effect, the closer he was to his big brother.
What had just happened? What had caused Wang Ke’s vitality to suddenly drop?
“No way. I have to be faster,” Wang Taidi muttered, and he began running.
He didn’t dare bet on what would happen if he was even a second late.
That was his only close relative, his big brother who had brought him up and protected him.
After running for a while in the maze-like Wall of Sacrifice, Wang Taidi stopped.
Perhaps this was enemies meeting on a narrow road. The person he had never been able to catch had now suddenly appeared before him now.
That person was holding a blade and blocking his path.
“Liang Si’an.” Wang Taidi’s tone was icy and contained unconcealable killing intent.
The man named Liang Si’an had once been Wang Ke’s comrade and was also one of the two who had betrayed Wang Ke after entering Sara’s Song. This person had contributed a lot to the reason why Wang Ke was now in danger.
Liang Si’an wielded a long blade, was dressed in weathered combat clothes and had hair shorn short like Wang Ke.
Regardless of whether it was his stern air or fighting style, he and Wang Ke were very similar.
This was the reason they became teammates, and perhaps also his motive for wanting to kill Wang Ke and take his blade.
Wang Taidi had always felt that this person was like a botched imitation of his brother. He exuded an air of disobedience, so Wang Taidi had always disliked him.
Among Wang Ke’s few allies, Wang Taidi and Tao ge had the best relationship, while he was civil with Liang Si’an and Zhang Yiqin.
Later, the ones who chose to attack Wang Ke were also the latter two.
“Xiao Taidi.” Liang Si’an’s voice was mocking. “You’re a little annoying. I didn’t want to clash with you, and you should have known to back off. It was so hard for you to survive until now; you shouldn’t have come here.”
Wang Taidi didn’t want to talk nonsense with him and straightforwardly asked, “Why are you here?”
Liang Si’an said, “Me? Of course, it’s to find Wang Ke ah. We’re comrades, so we should be steadfast and loyal, right?”
Wang Taidi: “Don’t talk bull that even the ghosts here wouldn’t believe. I know you’re here to find 【Carnage】. But how did you pinpoint my ge’s location? What did you leave on him?”
“Heh, Xiao Taidi has grown quite a lot this year; you’ve even grown a brain. That’s right, I did leave something on him. After all, Wang Ke is rather tenacious. What if he didn’t die?” Liang Si’an laughed. “See, didn’t it come in handy?”
Wang Taidi suppressed his rage. “So, entering Sara’s Song was all a trap you set for my ge?”
How could they be so well-prepared if it hadn’t been premeditated?
Liang Si’an said, “Hehe, I truly don’t have much interest in being a contract player. But for you, Wang Ke was seriously considering it. I should thank you for giving me such a good opportunity.”
With that, he looked at Wang Taidi meaningfully. “And why are you here? Is it because you found a clue? Like, say… 【Carnage】? How about you give it to me, and I tell you Wang Ke’s location?”
Wang Taidi’s gaze was unmoved. “Am I stupid?”
If this person were to obtain Carnage, he would definitely turn around and cut Wang Taidi up, then go find Wang Ke to do the same.
Only a fool would let two people who held a deep grudge against him live in this world.
Liang Si’an narrowed his eyes. “So that means you truly do have 【Carnage】?”
“Want to see?” Wang Taidi reached forward with his hand, as if he was about to take an item out of his storage space.
Liang Si’an’s wolf-like gaze was instantly trained on his hand.
Unexpectedly, Wang Taidi simply disappeared before him in the next second.
Danger enveloped Liang Si’an’s heart.
He was also an advanced player who had gone through years of battles. His reaction wasn’t slow at all, and he instantly darted away from where he had been standing while turning at the same time to sweep his blade around him.
He was originally a speed player, and his attacks were very swift.
This move was so quick it almost couldn’t be tracked. If someone was hiding here, they would definitely be hit.
But this slash failed. Wang Taidi wasn’t lying in wait for him.
“I’ve always felt that your skill and fighting strength don’t match at all.” Wang Taidi’s voice came from the side.
Liang Si’an didn’t even turn his head as he slashed to the side unhesitatingly.
However, he still missed.
Liang Si’an frowned. Where the hell was this guy hiding?
He looked around, but didn’t sense anything abnormal. Even the murderous intent had been withdrawn cleanly.
“Since your ability is speed-related, why do you want to learn my ge’s close-combat sword skills? His method of meeting force with force isn’t suitable for you at all.” The voice rang out over the top of his head. “Whether it’s physical constitution or attack strength, you’re far inferior to my ge.”
Liang Si’an didn’t pay attention to these words, but he realised he had still underestimated Wang Taidi.
This guy had once been his team leader’s burden, yet he had now become such a thorn in the side.
He silently used his ability as he prepared to escape this area first.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, he appeared not more than a meter from where he had been.
It was very clear that he had already fallen into a trap without being aware of it.
Liang Si’an instantly understood that the words Wang Taidi had previously said to him had just been to stall for time. He had done it deliberately!
Using Liang Si’an’s contempt and disdain for him, he had easily tricked him into falling into a trap.
This guy had always been extremely stupid – when had he learned such a strategy?
Wang Taidi’s voice rang out again. “You run too fast, so I have to lock you up first.”
Liang Si’an forced himself to calm down and not listen to what Wang Taidi was saying.
He held his blade before him in a defensive posture. He didn’t even dare twitch rashly. This would reveal even more flaws to the other party.
Having lost his best advantage, his speed, he was once again unable to catch a trace of Wang Taidi.
Things did not bode well for him.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t talk nonsense when facing someone with a vendetta. It’s just too easy for the other party to pull tricks in that period of time.” Wang Taidi’s voice was still next to him.
Liang Si’an swung his blade, and it created an afterimage around him like a barrier.
If this was a direct confrontation, such a nimble and incisive slash would definitely be very troublesome for his opponent. Unfortunately, he had stepped into a trap from the very start, and lost the speed advantage that he was most proud of.
Liang Si’an was a little regretful.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have thought to take the chance to tie up loose ends when he had spotted Wang Taidi. Couldn’t he have gone straight for Wang Ke…
His blade didn’t touch a thing.
Liang Si’an’s heart sank. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to take 【Carnage】 on this trip.
Liang Si’an instantly switched tactics.
He took out a transportation item from his storage space and was just about to activate it. Before anything else, he had to escape the Wall of Sacrifice.
As someone who once entered Sara’s Song, he understood the dangers here very well, so how could he not have prepared a way to retreat beforehand?
However, just as he took out an item, he heard a voice beside him. “For three minutes, Liang Si’an cannot use any items.”
Sure enough, when Liang Si’an used his ability, he realised with shock that he was completely unable to activate it.
Three minutes was the longest Wang Taidi could restrict another person from using an item.
But was Liang Si’an able to hold on for another three minutes?
“Hehe, a mere imitation still wants to surpass my ge?” This time, Wang Taidi’s voice was very close to his ear.
To be honest, Wang Ke’s voice was bright and clear, and carried the fresh feeling that only older boys had.
But if the owner of this voice wanted to kill you, it didn’t feel bright and clear anymore.
Cold sweat emerged on Liang Si’an’s forehead. He had a very bad feeling.
He had felt this before. Back then, he had always been on the brink of life and death, but he had friends. As team leader, Wang Ke would also definitely come to help him out.
But now he was alone and already had no allies that could lend him a helping hand.
And he was facing Wang Ke’s little brother, who had come for revenge.
Liang Si’an was finally unable to remain calm, and a crack appeared in the protection around him.
“Do you know what attack style is most suitable for you?” Wang Taidi’s voice was like a demon. “If I were you, I would have chosen a sneak attack —”
The next moment, a gorgeous dagger pierced Liang Si’an’s back and stabbed straight through his heart.
“Just like this.” Wang Taidi appeared behind Liang Si’an.
Liang Si’an’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could it be? He had clearly just attacked that location! How could he be hiding there?!
Wang Taidi was smiling, but he ruthlessly twisted the dagger that he was holding.
The blade tore apart the wound even more, shredding Liang Si’an’s heart. Without any flesh in the way, blood began spilling out freely.
“No… Don’t kill me…” Liang Si’an understood that he was at death’s door and decisively took out a grey butterfly from his storage space. “This… is an item to find Wang Ke. I hurt him once… But… this will even things out… In the future… I won’t provoke you both again…”
He made things plain, without any intention to deny what he had done or to plead his innocence.
He understood that in front of a victim, any explanation would just exacerbate their anger. Being sincere and well-behaved was the most reliable solution.
In this regard, he was much more adaptable than Zhang Yiqin.
If Wang Taidi let him go, he could use an item after three minutes to heal his wounds.
And he would have hope for survival.
Wang Taidi reached out to receive the butterfly.
This butterfly was a dirty, worn grey and looked inconspicuous, but was the best lead he had for finding his brother.
“Thank you.” He smiled at Liang Si’an, but it never reached his eyes. “Si’an ge, do you want to take a look at 【Carnage】?”
Liang Si’an had a bad feeling. “No…”
But what he got in response was the blood-red glint of a blade.
Liang Si’an felt the world before him suddenly spin. It felt like he was flying up into the sky. Then, his vision flipped over, and he spotted Wang Taidi with his never-changing smile, and… his own body.
“The safest enemy is a dead one.” This was the last thing Liang Si’an heard.
After dealing with Liang Si’an, Wang Taidi put away 【Carnage】 before he reached out to dig out a transparent little cube from the wall.
This was the item he had used to restrict Liang Si’an’s movements. It could fix a certain space for him to hide and teleport in, which was why he had dared to unrestrainedly provoke the opponent with words and yet was never beaten.
But… This thing was a ruthless item that consumed 500 million wealth value when used once; using it would make one’s heart drip blood.
It was also a bound item.
Who knew whether a certain broke player would sigh over his own bad fate if he heard this.
Wang Taidi stopped smiling and glanced expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground, then turned and left.
He followed the butterfly forward.
Suddenly, the pendant he had been focusing on dimmed once again. This time, the light almost went out altogether.
The veins of his hand clutching the pendant bulged, and Wang Taidi practically roared:
“Wang Ke, you’re not allowed to die!
“Wang Ke, you’re not allowed to die!!!”
Using his skill twice without any regard for the price was beyond Wang Taidi’s already overtaxed body.
With almost every word spoken, a little more blood would spill out of his lips, but he had no time to care about his state. He stared fixedly at the pendant.
Finally, the dull pendant lit up once more.
But only a little; it was weaker than any other time before.
Wang Taidi spat out blood and uncaringly swiped a hand over the blood at the corner of his mouth.
He had no time to rest, and he picked up his pace as he ran towards Wang Ke.
“Wait for me, ge…”
Hope they reach Wang Ke in time
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the chapter ~
Thanks for the update
Hope botth of them would be well
Ahhhhh I regret not waiting until the next update, Im at theedge of my seat
but thank you for the chapter
»This could prevent then teaming up..« from teaming up (?)
»To be honest, Wang Ke’s voice was bright and clear..« I think it should be Wang Taidi here?
Ooooh~ the job was nice done WT >3
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
Neither of you is allowed to die!
thanks for the chapter <3
Well this one shown Wang Taidi had really grown up. This time he’s the one do the saving and protecting.
I’ve always preferred such clean ways to deal with a vicious enemy.. Well done little bro..