Chapter 184: Chapter 163 Wickedness
The Goblin continued, “I won’t say much, but the Void Realm passage we found this time is a level-two channel that can accommodate the maximum Magic Power of a fully expanded Two-winged. Therefore, this operation is not a national war, just a low-intensity Hunting Festival.”
“This operation requires groups of five, which you can form freely or randomly—don’t interrupt, let me finish—the reason you must be in groups of five is because the Moon Shadow Priest will bestow upon you the Blood Moon Blessing.”
“The blessing is for groups of five, and it includes over ten enhancements such as Strong Walk, Ghost, Extreme Effect, Self-healing, Hardening, Spirit Resistance, Light Feather Suspension, and, most importantly, it constructs a ‘Life Link’ that lasts for 48 hours among your squad members. Whoever doesn’t need the Blood Moon Blessing can raise their hand.”
The adventurers, who originally had their reservations, immediately quieted down; even Ash was tempted. Not to mention the multitude of enhancements mentioned earlier, but the ‘Life Link’ was too alluring. During the ‘422 Incident,’ Medical Practitioners had used this Miracle to save hundreds of lives, making it easy for Ash to obtain information about this Miracle from the Veil.
As the name suggests, this Miracle constructs a Life Link between a group of people, for example, 50 healthy individuals and 50 injured, once linked, the healthy individuals’ Life Forces will continuously flow into the injured, allowing them to heal rapidly.
Moreover, as long as the link exists, the wounded will never die from their injuries, effectively locking in their last drop of blood!
When there is a shortage of Medical Practitioners, this Miracle can save numerous lives in time, buying precious moments for emergency treatments.
When employed within an adventurer squad, it becomes the best life-saving charm, as it’s a passive effect—even if the other members are unwilling, they must still transfer Life Force obediently. Even the most selfish adventurer wouldn’t refuse to add such insurance for themselves.
Seeing that no one raised their hands, the Goblin continued, “Once I’ve finished talking, you can start forming teams freely, and for those who prefer not to, we will also provide random teams, but there’s something I need to explain in advance—random teams will enter the passage among the first few groups, while free-form teams will enter after them.”
Ash’s expression flickered, understanding that the random teams were expected to bear the brunt as cannon fodder.
Although it was confirmed that this was a complete Void Realm passage, more than a day had passed since ‘Rabbit’ returned, and it was uncertain if something might happen on the other side of the passage. Compared to the freely formed teams that possess team combat capabilities, the random teams, more akin to “a cohesive unit when collected and chaos when dispersed,” are naturally more suitable as Scouts to open the situation.
No wonder they were given the ‘Life Link,’ the hope was they could withstand longer, buying time for subsequent adventurers.
“Of course, the first teams to enter will receive extra rewards,” the Goblin stated calmly, “For now, it’s determined that the random teams will enter in the first three batches, with five teams per batch, each batch separated by three minutes. The first batch’s teams receive 300 Vanguard Merits, the second batch 200, and the third batch 100; each batch’s first team gets an additional 80% Vanguard Merits, second 50%, third 30%, fourth 10%, and fifth 0%.”
That is to say, the very first team of the first batch could directly earn 540 Merits (300*1.8)—this was an incentive for the Vanguard—provided they could return alive to spend it.
Ash, not very familiar with the battlefield prices, but hearing the surrounding adventurers gasp and the atmosphere chilling, knew that these 540 Merits had strong purchasing power.
One adventurer raised their hand to ask, “What if there are adventure groups mixed into the random teams?”
“We don’t mind,” the Goblin said indifferently, stretching his hand towards the tents on the side of the podium, “As you can see, to my left, there are three rows of tents. Facing the podium, the first row is for the first batch, the leftmost tent is for the first team.”
“Blessings will start at 11:15. I hope that by then, each tent will be filled with five people,” the Goblin adjusted his glasses, “Now, let the team formation begin; oh, and no dead people are allowed.”
Facing a group of fierce adventurers, the Goblin’s expression remained calm as if dealing with a flock of sheep. After finishing, he walked down from the podium. Before he left, the adventurers didn’t stir; those gathered below the podium even made way for him.
Power is indeed awe-inspiring, but authority also makes people unable to raise their heads.
Once the Goblin entered the biggest tent, a Mage suddenly smashed the long table, pulled out a gun from a box, and officially opened the prelude to a chaotic battle!
Gunshots roared like thunder, as several adventure groups immediately pulled out their guns and started shooting at each other!
Even before the battle had begun, adventurers were already infighting over their positions!
Their target was clear—the first squad of the first batch, worth 540 points of merit!
Essentially, the level of danger was similar across the first three batches. If the risk level of the fifth squad in the third batch was 10, then the risk level of the first squad in the first batch was hardly more than 20.
If there really was an ambush on the other side of the passage, the first three batches would all have to fight desperately; but if not, then the first squad of the first batch would reap the greatest benefits.
Those who dared to become adventurers were almost all heavy gamblers unable to endure regular jobs, blood-crazed thrill seekers; faced with such high stakes, how could they resist going all-in?
Thus, they would fight over the “right to gamble with their lives.”
Compared to the first squad of the first batch, the benefits of other positions paled significantly. The second and third batches carried the same risks as the first, but their survival rate significantly increased—after all, there were cannon fodders to draw attention away.
While the adventure groups brawled, true lone wolves also began forming teams in the tents. After brief contemplation, Ash decisively headed towards the fifth tent in the first row.
Unlike other adventurers, he had no plans of returning to the Kingdom of Blood Moon; the sooner he left Blood Moon, the better, so the first batch was his best choice.
And without a doubt, the fifth squad of the first batch was both the riskiest and the least cost-effective position—the risk level of the fifth squad was almost as high as that of the first squad. If there was indeed an ambush on the other side of the passage, the difference would only be who died first; however, the reward for the fifth squad was much less, enough to deter anyone who wasn’t a complete fool.
But for Ash, the fifth squad was nothing less than ideal. It offered the fastest way out of Blood Moon, with the first four squads drawing attention, potentially allowing him to slip through unnoticed.
However, when Ash lifted the tent flap, he discovered that there were already four people inside.
In the tent, there were three long benches. Two masked individuals sat on the right bench; one was tall, filing his nails with a sharpening knife, while the other was slender, hands shoved in his pockets, the sound of steel balls clinking within.
On the middle bench sat another masked person, barely distinguishable by his curly hair and dark skin, as he tore open a Snow White brand bag to pop a piece of Moon Candy into his mask.
On the left bench, a lazily postured masked person with seductively narrow fox-like eyes slightly lifted at the corners when Ash burst in, hooking into a mocking smile.
Ash quickly backed out, “Sorry, it seems I took the wrong path, my apologies—”
A hand grabbed his wrist, and just as Ash thought of resisting, that familiar voice instantly stiffened his body.
“Don’t forget, you still owe me a wish, my dear Cult Leader.”
Igula pulled Ash inside the tent, reaching out to lift his mask, his eyes brimming with delight.
“Lucky me, just when I needed bait, you walked right in; this really is…”
“Such misfortune,” Ash sighed.