...
In the resplendent hall, Su Ming’an was enjoying the legendary "royal treatnt."
Dancers swayed beside a long table draped with a tablecloth and laden with an array of dishes.
The highest-ranking Princess Tulip of Pulaya sat beside him, seemingly enjoying the dance as well.
They had agreed to stabilize the barrier, but Princess Tulip, having revealed her true face, did not ntion it again, as if she had forgotten about it.
She swirled the wine in her glass, sitting upright elegantly and beautifully, yet Su Ming’an still rembered her mont of madness just before.
The princess said that the person who tried to assassinate him was one of her "incubators," the best and most qualified one, yet it seed there was so problem in the cultivation of their thoughts, making them sowhat uncontrollable.
Su Ming’an asked her why the dead incubator turned into a mass of flesh and blood, and she said it was an important part of the "blessing." The dead bodies decompose, rot, and then beco food for the other "incubators," allowing them to continue to grow.
Her words carried a special pride, as if she held great reverence for the deity above.
Su Ming’an listened to this thod of "eternal life," but felt more and more that the deity was far from benevolent.
...It was like raising gu. Absorbing others’ lives, twisting others’ thoughts, all to obtain "eternal life."
The body might be preserved, but the princess’s soul, in his view, had long been rotten.
...Just like now.
He looked up, and a beautiful dancer below was casting coquettish glances at him. The aroma of wine lingered, and the exquisite dishes were plentiful, the room seemingly warm with a rosy hue.
But he still rembered Gerald’s daughter lying in bed coughing.
"Su Rin," the princess suddenly spoke.
Swirling the wine in her glass, her light colored eyes seed also to hold a hint of intoxication:
"I love this land."
"Oh," Su Ming’an responded coolly.
"What? You think not?" she sipped her wine and chuckled softly.
"It does," he said.
"No, you think it doesn’t," the princess said, "...because you haven’t really looked at the changes in the land of Pulaya after the barrier was established."
"..."
"Look, with the barrier established, the storms cald, the sea monsters suppressed, and people engaged in glorious and proud battles, everything looks vibrant..." the princess said:
"The peace of Pulaya is built on the sacrifices of several generations, its prosperity coming from our destruction—bodily destruction, soul corruption, and the distorted wills of generations...
"What seems absurd to you is actually the most valuable; it’s all ’sacrifice,’ just overly influenced by human factors, appearing like a aningless power struggle belonging to royal schers.
"But in fact, Su Rin, you have seen too few tragedies, you do not understand everything I have done.
"The situation in Pulaya is not generous, it does not allow anyone to live carefree, nor does it accept naive thoughts, romantic and free-willed humanity is not permitted here. All battles are necessary, avoiding one only requires more sacrifices.
"Without saying more, having done similar things yourself, you should understand this. Because there really isn’t a way to make everyone happy without ’sacrifice.’"
"Over these sixty-plus years, I have fabricated many lies, killed many innocent ’incubators,’ I have captured seriously injured Soul Hunters, and killed Soul Clan who do not follow the rules, so that they may serve , achieve my great cause, and extend my blessing.
"I am alive, yet I do not enjoy the freedom of eternal life. I could leave this land rife with calamity, to enjoy my long life leisurely in the new Empire.
"——But it is precisely because I love it here, as fervently as loving myself, reverently admiring this land, that I have stayed."
"I have walked every inch of this land that nurtured , eting countless young and old residents.
"I have listened to their wishes, extending the majesty of the royal family with lies, luring out those with ulterior motives through fabricated royal intrigues."
"...I loved this land.
"I cared about its future and loved every person living in Pulaya, whether they were poor or rich, whether their souls were beautiful or ugly. In my eyes, they were each a droplet in the ever-flowing stream of Pulaya, they were the soul of Pulaya.
"Their death must not be aningless. I commanded them, carefully arranging each person’s destiny, making sure everyone could strive for a tomorrow.
"...I loved this place.
"I was willing to imprison myself in ’immortality’, facing people just like , who could replace at any mont.
"Today’s Pulaya has beco a giant sky-high tree. Although constantly gnawed at by pests, its trunk and leaves keep growing densely; it still has a chance to continue living.
"But without , conspirators would rule this land, and aningless wars would never cease. People wouldn’t be as peaceful as they are today. What you would see wouldn’t look like it does now.
"...I will not give up. I believe in Pulaya’s tomorrow, so I am willing to accept the shackles known as ’immortality’."
"And all this, Su Rin.
"You never understood."
The princess paused here in her speech.
"So what if you die?" Su Ming’an suddenly spoke up.
The princess turned her head, and at that mont, she saw a long sword, flickering with a faint white light, pressed against the side of her face, its tip pointing at her unprotected neck.
"If I die," the princess looked utterly unconcerned, "the sea monsters around would lose control, and no one would check Pulaya’s barrier daily. I am an irreplaceable being, the gods should have told you, you won’t kill , Su Rin."
Su Ming’an slightly furrowed his brow.
Even though his sword was pointing at her, her favorability toward him did not change, nor did it show.
Throughout, the princess seed to have an unchanging favorability toward him; he couldn’t even see the initial value.
"I don’t care about your philosophy. I’ve co back this ti only to make a deal with you," he said.
"Speak," she replied.
"I will stabilize Pulaya’s barrier, and in return, during the Mariti Banquet the day after tomorrow, you must help ."
"..." The princess was silent for a mont, "The royal family cannot participate in the Mariti Banquet, I can only promise not to interfere, I can’t help you."
"Also, I probably can’t go back to the Soul Hunter Faction, I hope you can retrieve the items from the exchange point for ," Su Ming’an continued.
He had previously discovered that his ranking on the Soul Hunter contribution leaderboard had been frozen. Although still first on the leaderboard across the instance, the entire interface had turned gray.
"You can go back," the princess smiled, "Aelas’s death has been sealed off, no one knows exactly what happened last night — if you want, you could even beco the next leader of the Soul Hunters. Su Rin, you are the existence most favored by the deity, the only one who could descend from Yun Shang City, as long as you obey and do not rebel, you can have anything you want."
Su Ming’an was sowhat surprised.
...Fortunately, he had connected with the princess.
"What if I don’t beco the leader?" his tone was sowhat hesitant.
"Who would you want to nominate?" the princess asked.
"A new S-tier Soul Hunter from the Soul Hunter Faction, codenad Amber," he said. "What if I want to nominate him?"
The "Amber" he ntioned was Shadow.
This guy had always been infiltrating the Soul Hunter Faction, always wearing a black mask, colluding with people like Lv Shu and Lin Yin, and had wiped out countless Soul Clan strongholds.
The flamboyant na "Amber" was also chosen by Shadow himself, and had nothing to do with him.
While he was progressing through the storyline and completing quests on this side, Shadow was furiously amassing contribution points on that side, tornting other players to the point of despair.
Due to possessing the famous skill Spatial Vibration, Shadow was early on recognized as Su Ming’an. Because the chat channel was overly chaotic, the news that Su Ming’an was Su Rin blended into it like a stream into the sea, making Su Ming’an’s side relatively quiet and sparing him much harassnt from other players.
Although Shadow itself wasn’t considered a Player and couldn’t rank on the Contribution Value leaderboard, the Contribution Points of Lv Shu and Lin Yin were rapidly increasing, and they had exchanged them for many valuable things.
Su Ming’an was already planning to make Shadow the leader of the Soul Hunters, while he would beco the leader of the Soul Clan, creating a pincer situation. This would severely disadvantage those players obsessed with hunting Soul Clan mbers, neglecting the overall story integration at the Mariti Banquet.
The Princess, facing his gaze, suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled.
Amidst the exotic sounds of singing and piano, her laughter was particularly lively, shedding the previous aura of calm indifference.
"Of course," she smiled, "I’ve heard about the new S-rank Soul Hunter. I didn’t expect him to be your man. In that case, I will strive to have him succeed Aelas’s position before the Mariti Banquet. I’ll ensure he gets the items from the contribution area."
Listening to her affirmative words, a sense of finality settled in Su Ming’an’s heart.
...He had finally nailed it down.
In the instance, his strategy had always been the utmost story-driven approach.
Unlike most players who aggressively fard monsters, he followed the most extre and comprehensive path. This was to secure a Perfect Pass and prevent himself from failing at the conclusion due to an excessive focus on monster hunting.
The typical Player’s progress in an instance was passive and followed the flow, engaging in assigned tasks and following orders from NPCs or killing the monsters they encountered. Their approach, while passive, was very safe because not delving into the mysteries of the instance usually kept them free from danger.
In instances like the current Pulaya instance, if a Player joined a decent team early on or bribed so NPCs, their night phase wouldn’t be too difficult. Hiding in a swept area was also a feasible strategy.
This approach wasn’t shaful but rather common because top-ranking players like Lv Shu and Lin Yin did the sa. They reaped high rewards by slaying nurous Soul Clan mbers and the process was exceptionally easy.
...But Su Ming’an couldn’t do that.
His goal was never just a simple pass.
...He was destined to actively engage in the story details and step into the most dangerous phases.
And now, the last key point was also secured.
"Then I’ll be going back."
Su Ming’an sheathed his sword and turned to leave directly.
The Princess didn’t stop him; she just watched him go with a smile on her lips.
...
Intending to head straight back to the Southern District, Su Ming’an spotted an acquaintance in front of the Royal City’s wall.
A golden-haired Knight in golden armor was conversing happily with a young man dressed in the Royal City Guardian’s armor. They seed like good friends.
Seeing Su Ming’an erge, the golden-armored Knight wore a surprised expression: "Captain? How co you’re coming out from inside the Royal Court?"
Su Ming’an recognized them; these two who were chatting instead of standing guard were Sherrod and Noel.
It wasn’t unusual for Noel, who served in the Royal City, and now Sherrod, who had been promoted to a Royal City Knight, to be together.
Sherrod looked a bit worried.
He had been unconscious since last night, with no recollections after being sent back to the church for punishnt. He had no knowledge of Aelas’s death or Gerald’s fate.
All he knew was that he had been knighted as a Royal City Knight early this morning, suddenly realizing the dream he had long held.
"Last night... Gerald, she..." He seed to want to ask.
"Right, please deliver this photograph to the Soul Hunter headquarters," Su Ming’an handed Sherrod a family portrait of Gerald.
Since he couldn’t go back himself, he might as well let Sherrod deliver it. As for Noel, they could team up and chat online; there was no need to stand face-to-face.
"Wait...wait a mont."
Sherrod quickly caught up: "Captain, I’m off duty today and I have my tasks scheduled for tomorrow. Let’s go together... It’s the birthday of my twin sister in a few days. I want to exchange gifts with her, and she really likes you too. She wants to et you, the legendary S-rank Soul Hunter..."
Su Ming’an didn’t look back.
He knew that once he left, he and Sherrod would part ways.
Sherrod, a Knight of Light who detested evil, was a chess piece manipulated by his faction’s hatred. If he ever found out that the "Captain" was actually the leader of the Soul Clan, hostility would be the only thing left in his heart.
The next ti they t would be on the battlefield of the Mariti Banquet.
The conflict between the two clans would not change due to a brief mont of amity.
"Captain, Captain, aren’t you coming with to choose so gifts? Captain, that barbecue restaurant..." Sherrod’s voice floated from behind.
Su Ming’an didn’t look back.
He walked on, leaving Sherrod’s voice behind, and then passed the thirteenth street.
Snow had begun to fall from the sky; it had started since early morning.
System Ti had moved to December 24, 2021—tonight was Christmas Eve.
...Who could have known that Pulaya, usually so hot, would begin to snow at this ti.
Perhaps this was a bizarre harbinger of the Mariti Banquet. So players who hadn’t prepared warm equipnt would undoubtedly be troubled by it.
The snow wasn’t heavy yet, just sprinkling down, settling on one’s body like white flakes.
Su Ming’an paused his steps for a while but eventually glanced into the street.
The low house was quiet, devoid of the sound of a loom, and even the faint coughing was gone.
Neighboring residents said that the Gerald family had moved away, claiming they had already set out to sea.
She must have already known her old man was no more.
...After all, she knew that the real Su Rin simply couldn’t drink rice wine.
"..."
Su Ming’an stood still.
The house was silent by then.
The clothesline at the door stood empty as ever, with the fine snow lting upon it, the spread-out cloth nowhere to be seen.
No one was there, rambling on kindly, telling him not to be impulsive, while bending over to dry salted fish.
He still rembered her silver hair in the sunset, her face full of wrinkles trembling slightly in the wind, her smile mixed with sweetness and sorrow.
When Su Ming’an had just arrived in Pulaya, he thought the conflict of the Soul Hunt was honorable and just, and he even lanted for her son, little Hel.
...But now it seed, all of this was utterly aningless.
The truths the old lady had spoken of before had now all beco reality.
...And now, Su Ming’an, holding the two highest powers in Pulaya, stood here, yet he could no longer see her.
She had long taken her old man, stepping into the sunset-glow of the evening.
...
"Ding, ling, ding, ling~"
Suddenly, a cheerful tune played.
From his left wrist, the noisy watch rang:
"Detecting the master’s mood is poor, Ado has automatically activated joyful music broadcast mode for you..."
"Shut up," Su Ming’an said.
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