“Damn it, what does this Treasure Map even an?” Liu Biao sat imposingly on a large roadside stone, his muscular body making waves-like rolls under the sunset, displaying a peak blend of strength and beauty.
He rubbed his shaved head while silently cursing the Treasure Map fragnt before him. He had four Treasure Map fragnts in total, two of which fit together perfectly. Still, the intricate lines on the map left him completely clueless.
The white thread-like veins inside the fragnt did resemble a route map, but it could also be called a tangled ss.
“If only I had a few more fragnts! Then I could figure sothing out!” Liu Biao sighed as he tucked the Treasure Map away, gazing into the distance.
Today marked the twelfth day of the Domination War. Only two days and a night remained until its end. Most Treasure Map fragnts were already in the hands of the area’s top fighters, while the ordinary Apostles had largely given up the fight for them.
With eight Invitation Letters already gained, Liu Biao’s fierce drive to risk everything had faded a little.
If nothing unexpected happened, he planned to end things here. As for the other Treasure Map fragnts, he could simply buy them from other strong fighters after the Domination War ended, or sell his own pieces at a reasonable price.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, Liu Biao stiffened and slowly stood up from the rock. An invisible wave of power pulsed outwards from him, rippling through the surroundings.
A small, trembling figure was shakily making its way towards the burly bald man.
“Is that a local kid?” Liu Biao narrowed his eyes. Though he lacked any Eye Technique, the little girl was only thirty or forty ters away now. With a bit of focus, he could see clearly.
Liu Biao’s eyes darted warily as he scanned his surroundings. Instinctively, his muscles tensed, shifting into a guarded stance.
Over a dozen days into the Domination War, the local Atlantis residents still alive had either been killed by Apostles or gone into hiding. If one was showing themselves now, the only reason was they were sent by another Apostle.
The girl wore a filthy hemp coat. Her limbs were bone-thin. She stopped about thirty ters in front of Liu Biao, too hesitant to co closer.
She looked all around, like she was searching for a hidden master. Finding no one, she seed to pause uncertainly. Then, she picked up a small stone from the ground, squeezed it in her hand, and tossed it towards Liu Biao. Imdiately after, she turned and bolted away.
“What kind of bait or trap is this? So unprofessional!” Scratching his bald head, Liu Biao felt both amused and exasperated. He took two steps forward, then stopped himself. After a mont’s thought, he stayed put and sat down again.
He had no intention of chasing the local girl. Whoever sent her, whatever trap they’d laid—if he didn’t take the bait, it wouldn’t work. Simple way to challenge him? Right here, on this rock. He wasn’t going anywhere.
A cold grin spread across Liu Biao’s rough features. His big build didn’t make him a fool, though so idiots seed to think he was just muscle. Puzzled, he glanced at the small stone the girl threw. His thick eyebrows shot upwards.
That stone had a scrap of paper wrapped around it! Could it be…?
In a flash, Liu Biao scooped up the stone. One look confird his guess — a Treasure Map Fragnt!
The bald man snapped his head up, searching the direction the girl had fled. She was long gone.
“Damn it, seriously?!” He smacked his own head in frustration. But then, an idea struck him. Swiftly, he flipped the Treasure Map fragnt over. His mouth instantly stretched into a wide grin. On the back was a small terrain map… and a symbol!
The terrain was a simple map. The symbol? A bloody knife and fork! Liu Biao recognized the location. By now, most surviving Novice Apostles were very familiar with the Domination War zone. A single clue like this was enough.
He knew what this ant. It was a duel invitation. A duel with the Treasure Map fragnts as the stake. The challenger? The strongest Assassin in this entire area!
Liu Biao lowered his head, a flicker of calculation in his eyes. Very quickly though, that flicker hardened into sothing sharp as knives.
Liu Biao vaguely sensed the Assassin might be slightly stronger overall. But he was a Reflect Tank—his class countered Assassins! If he didn’t dare to accept this challenge now, how could he walk the path of an Apostle in the future?
Understanding the ssage’s aning set countless thoughts swirling in Liu Biao’s mind. Was this a trap? What were his chances? Was soone deliberately stirring up conflict between him and the Assassin?
After a long pause, Liu Biao finally lifted his head. A trace of madness now colored his expression.
No matter what, he had to go see. That Assassin held more Treasure Map fragnts than he did. If the pieces in both their hands combined… that could add up to nearly one-third of the total! Then, they might finally glean a clue about the Treasure Map’s real secret.
…
Hidden within a ruined building over a hundred ters away from Liu Biao, Qin Lun finally let out a quiet sigh of relief as Little Mute got away safely. That Treasure Map fragnt had been his. Back when he escaped that military Fortress, he even took a huge risk to add credibility to his story. He used a Sixth Tier earth-elent defensive spell specifically to snag a few Treasure Map fragnts then.
He’d grabbed those fragnts not just to make the Treasure Map story believable, but also… for exactly this kind of bait.
Qin Lun choosing Liu Biao hadn’t been random. Among the top fighters, the bald man was the slowest. As a Reflect Tank, he was also programd for defensive counterattacks. That made Little Mute approaching him the safest bet.
If Liu Biao had grabbed Little Mute, Qin Lun would have had to rescue her and scrap the entire plan. But honestly, he had been prepared to skip this final battle anyway. It was only because Little Mute insisted they try that he’d taken the gamble. No big ntal burden if it failed.
Little Mute soon returned to their hidden spot. Though they knew they couldn’t actually see it, both looked in the sa direction without a word. Baiting Liu Biao and the Assassin into a duel was part of the plan… but not the whole plan.
…
“Oh, look! Over there! A little squirrel!” nlo’s ears twitched as she instinctively turned sharply, wary eyes scanning. After just a glance, surprise and curiosity flashed across her face instead.
“I’ll grab it! Make it the at for our dinner tonight!” One of the Apostles by nlo’s side jumped up eagerly. A chilling aura instantly radiated from beside him. His face imdiately fell. He hastily plastered on a pleading smile, looking pitifully at nlo. “Miss nlo! We’ve eaten only vegetables for days! Just add a bit of sothing special for the last two days, please!”
“No! How could you even think about hurting such a cute little animal!” nlo retorted in fury, jabbing her finger fiercely at his forehead. “Starve if you have to! We only have two days left anyway!”
“Oh,” both Apostles muttered, exchanging bitter glances and shrugging helplessly.
Even with her quirks and temper, they knew sticking with “Miss nlo” was their best shot. In about a week, the three of them had ambushed and killed thirteen Apostles together — one of them a truly terrifying fighter.
Though the two underlings only got four Invitation Letters between them, asured against the risks they faced, the return was excellent. More importantly, fighting alongside her had shown them their place in this zone. Without nlo, they wouldn’t just have fewer Letters—they’d have been eliminated long ago.
“Huh? Wait… That squirrel seems to be coming towards us! It’s got sothing in its mouth!” nlo giggled, cupping her cheeks in her hands as she watched the squirrel. After ten seconds, though, surprise replaced her amusent.
“I’ll go look!” One of her two companions instantly stood up. His figure blurred as he dashed towards the squirrel. nlo and the other Apostle also rose cautiously, hanging back so distance while following him slowly. All three automatically ford a triangular attack/defense formation.
Seeing soone charge at it, the little squirrel imdiately spat out the object it carried, turned around, and vanished into a pile of rubble. On its way here, it had deliberately chosen a path littered with broken stones and debris. Now, escaping was easy. It disappeared into the ruins instantly.
The Apostle in the lead reached the spot where the squirrel vanished, alertly scanning his surroundings for danger. Finding none, he swiftly bent down and snatched the torn piece of paper the squirrel left behind.
“A Treasure Map Fragnt?!” nlo stared in shock as her companion passed the torn paper piece to her.
“Yeah… Now look at the back!”
“What’s…?” nlo flipped the fragnt over, her willow-leaf eyebrows knitting into a frown as she studied the symbol drawn beside the terrain map. Crude as it was, the pattern was unmistakable. It depicted an ancient lance. In this Domination War zone… that symbol ant only one person.
“It might be a trap… Should we go?” The other two Apostles shared a heavy, silent look.
“Go! Why wouldn’t we? There’s three of us! We absolutely have to go take a peek!” nlo pouted, tossing her head with its smooth, delicate chin upwards, pride radiating from her. “So what if it’s a trap?! Haven’t we stomped through dozens of traps lately? We’ll just stomp this one flat!”
“Right.” The other two Apostles nodded inwardly. nlo could be arrogant and touchy, but she wasn’t wrong. With three of them providing mutual support, even stumbling into a trap didn’t an they couldn’t fight their way out.
…
“Hmph. Finally showing yourselves?” Long Feng stared at the shattered notice board in front of him, fury barely contained in his eyes.
A single Treasure Map fragnt was nailed there. But unlike other top fighters, Long Feng’s attention wasn’t fixed on the fragnt itself.
It landed instead on the item beside it: a small, dark leather eyepatch. The eyepatch of Qin Ba, the one-eyed sniper!
A freezing glint flashed in Long Feng’s eyes. He took a deep, steadying breath. His face went expressionless. He calmly reached out, plucked the Treasure Map fragnt and the eyepatch from the board, and tucked them into his robes.
Then he slowly drew the longsword from his hip. He gave it a couple of idle swings. With one sharp flick that sent his Han-style robes billowing, Long Feng decisively turned… and strode away.
Qin Ba hadn’t been his true companion. Yet, his death felt like a personal disgrace etched on Long Feng’s soul. If he ever got the chance for a one-on-one duel against Qin Ba’s killer, Long Feng wouldn’t let it slip past.
Crack! Long after Long Feng had walked off into the distance, the already broken notice board gave a final, soft sound. It split cleanly into four pieces… and clattered to the ground.
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