A few figures appearing on the high wall wasn't inherently strange — after all, the populace didn't yet know that the Rosna Court had been emptied of its inhabitants.
But when those figures leaped down from the wall, laughing freely and making a grand show of it, a discordant note finally pierced through the thunderous cheers in the square.
People noticed their presence and ran screaming toward the exits. These Kannar citizens had clearly made the sa mistake as Old Gallon earlier — mistaking these outsiders for the World Destroyers from beyond the walls.
In their eyes, the World Destroyers had already reached the gates and were beginning to probe the defenses!
But in fairness, the panicking crowd wasn't wrong this ti. Among those five, there really were followers of Oblivion — and not just one, but two!
Because Cheng Shi had already detected singing infused with the aura of Oblivion. Moreover, the fanatical player charging at the forefront with a dagger in hand could make any civilian blocking his path simply vanish with a casual gesture. This undisguised talent imdiately brought to mind Oblivion's assassin — the Annihilation Apostle!
One Destruction Declaration, one Annihilation Apostle — it seed these suddenly appeared players genuinely intended to play the part of World Destroyers.
But... how had they gotten here?
The mont Cheng Shi saw the five figures leap from the high wall, he'd quietly pald a scalpel, distanced himself from Qu Yan's position, and followed the crowd toward the outer edges.
While retreating, he sent ssages to Qu Yan and Da Yi, warning them about the newcors. These people were very likely the variable in this trial.
This was obviously two trials colliding — a rare occurrence, but not unheard of. Cheng Shi's two "subordinates" were clearly quite familiar with this sort of scenario.
The opposing side, on the other hand — those who ca charging forward like maniacs — appeared to have given no thought to the possibility that the scene before them might be the setting of another trial.
The assassin at the front had eager, gleeful light in his eyes — much like the Rosna citizens in the square monts ago. With agile movents, he sprinted toward the square's center, his target obvious: Qu Yan, who still held the dagger without moving a muscle.
Qu Yan hadn't moved, true, but that was because he'd noticed these rushing newcors were all unfamiliar faces. Their charging formation was riddled with openings. How to put it — he silently calculated that if the approaching party wasn't deliberately exposing weaknesses to bait a preemptive strike, then eliminating these suddenly appeared foreign players would take him roughly... three arrows.
One arrow to pin down the Annihilation Apostle at the front. One arrow to disable the hooded female player lagging at the rear. And the last arrow could skewer the three in the middle like candied hawthorns on a stick.
Too careless. Too undisciplined. They dared to charge forward in an unfamiliar location, blindly following the point man's trail without a single adaptation.
Wasn't this just running straight to their deaths?
Players who would make such a move — their ranking had to be...
Hm?
'Did I just stumble into a low-tier match?'
Qu Yan's gaze sharpened, and he quietly raised his guard.
In high-tier matches, everyone was shrewd and calculating, and their thought processes largely followed traceable patterns. But in low-tier matches, things got complicated — the other side might not play by the rules at all, making their behavior entirely unpredictable.
Under normal circumstances, when facing low-tier opponents who served no purpose, Qu Yan preferred to simply kill them and be done with it. But this trial was no ordinary trial. He could no longer act on his own judgnt — he had to follow Lord Yu Xi's arrangents.
Since the lord hadn't ordered him to strike, he'd simply... hold his position.
But just as that thought ford, soone else couldn't hold back.
The War believer Da Yi had sohow crept unnoticed to a position directly in front of the Annihilation Apostle. When the Oblivion assassin didn't even spare Da Yi a glance — treating him as just another inconvenient NPC blocking the way and casually trying to banish him into the oblivion realm...
That move completely floored Da Yi.
'Spotted?'
'Not good! There's an expert!'
His eyes hardened. Using the cover of wind and snow, he sidestepped the attack, then drove a thrust clean through his opponent's midsection in a single reverse strike. Three iron thorns flew out to delay the supporting players behind, while his right hand yanked the iron thorn back out of the Annihilation Apostle's torso.
The entire counterattack took but an instant. When Qu Yan looked again, the Annihilation Apostle who'd been charging at the front was already in several pieces, scattered across the ground.
The light in the dead man's eyes hadn't even faded yet. His pupils still reflected the covetous gleam he'd held for the dagger.
"..."
Da Yi was dumbfounded too. He hadn't expected his opponent to be this fragile — one hit and dead. But the perceptive assassin quickly realized these people weren't particularly strong, and that earlier detection had probably just been a lucky coincidence. So he disengaged imdiately, slipping back through the chaos to Cheng Shi's side.
"Damn, that gave
a fright.
My lord, these people..."
Cheng Shi was amused. He'd seen everything, but said nothing. He simply raised a hand in a calming gesture and pulled Da Yi into the crowd.
All three of them were watching the show unfold, but this sudden turn of events had terrified the remaining four on the other side.
The player running second skidded to a halt. Without a thought for what his teammates behind him might think, he dropped into a crouch, wrapped his arms around his head, and rolled away.
By the ti he'd lted into the screaming crowd nearby, the remaining two finally backed away with grim faces, rejoining the female player who'd been trailing at the rear.
The female player was short. She still didn't know what had happened up front. Gasping for breath, she looked up and asked: "What's wrong?"
A bespectacled heavy-set man extended an arm to block her path. His expression grave, he shook his head while retreating:
"Danger. We seem to have crossed paths with another group again.
There's a Gap Light Iron Thorn in the square! An extrely formidable Gap Light Iron Thorn."
"What?! Again?" The female player clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp. Instinctively, she drew a dagger and held it before her — but then, her expression turning to panic, she quickly stowed the dagger and raised her fists instead, asking tensely, "Is anyone hurt?"
The bespectacled man was scanning in all directions and didn't answer. The tall, thin man spoke in a low voice: "He Zu is dead."
The female player's pupils contracted, but monts later — when no one could see — she quietly exhaled in relief.
"What do we do now?"
"They've got eyes on us. Getting away won't be easy. I knew it — if this thing were so easy to grab, soone would've taken it long ago.
All we can do now is stay alert and retreat. We haven't directly clashed with them. They only killed one of us, probably as a warning.
Fall back. If we withdraw from this contest, we might survive."
The heavy-set man looked composed, but the cold sweat on his forehead betrayed the unease churning inside him.
The opponent was too strong. In a single exchange, they'd killed the strongest mber of their group. He hadn't even seen where the attacker was — just a few iron thorns planted at his feet, a blur of motion, and He Zu was reduced to a pile of shredded at.
An assassination of that caliber — if the attacker had pressed forward even one more step... who would have died next?
So the heavy-set man was afraid. He kept retreating. But the tall, thin man beside him was clearly unwilling to accept this.
"We were so close! That legendary dagger was right there!"
"Hah, forget it. Think about it — if that Gap Light Iron Thorn was that powerful and still hadn't rushed in to seize the dagger, what does that tell you?
It ans the one holding the Gift of Sores — that black-robed figure — is even stronger!
The assassin has reservations, which is why he hasn't grabbed the dagger yet. But he's guarding it. In this contest, we're not even a side dish. Before they decide to target us, let's get out.
Staying alive is what matters most.
Besides, you've already witnessed two fragnts of history. Isn't that enough?"
The tall, thin man grew agitated: "I used a Return of the Past — an incredibly precious one at that! This is going to bankrupt ! If I'd known we couldn't get it, why did I even bother coming?!"
"..." Hearing this, the female player behind them wore a complicated expression as she offered a word of consolation: "Don't panic. Maybe that War assassin can't get it either? We might not be completely out of the running."
That remark suddenly struck a chord. The tall, thin man nodded vigorously: "Right, right, right! Sothing of this caliber goes to whoever is fated to have it. There's no telling whose hands it'll end up in.
Even if they find it too, they might not be able to take it away.
No — I need to write myself into this piece of history. That way I can co back next ti. Co back enough tis, and one day I'll get it!"
With that, the tall, thin man opened a history book and penned the scene before him with sweeping, fluid strokes.
A flash of light — and history was rewritten once more.
It seed Void had indeed encroached upon Existence. So Existence had repaired history in a logical fashion — by bringing a mory singer here, one who committed everything they witnessed to the record.
...
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