Chapter 471: Unexpected Defeat

Looking at the expression of absolute determination on the female knight’s face, Shen sighed. He waved his hand and said, “All right, no need to for you to do that. Are you people from knight-type guilds all psychos… oh right, thankfully there is one who is not. Err, after you return this time, tell him to send someone more interesting next time. At the very least someone I can have a conversation with. That way, I won’t feel so bored.”

The female knight watched Shen quietly without saying a word; however, her slender fingers continued gripping the hilt of her sword tightly.

Shen shook his head. “Fine, I will not do anything in this instance dungeon.”

“My master has commanded me to stay beside you until this instance dungeon ends. Because…”

“Because what?”

The female knight hesitated for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone, “Master said: The words from the one called Augustine cannot be trusted.”

…

In the freight yard, two warm corpses lay on the ground.

One of the corpses belonged to the solo Awakened participant who had charged toward the gates first – the distance between him and the gates then was no more than 100 metres. For Awakened ones, this short distance would take only a few steps.

The four-man team was very efficient in the way they moved in for the kill. From their actions, it was clear that they understood each other and had progressed considerably as a team. Their attacks were efficient without any sloppiness.

After the four-man team finished off the two solo participants, Nicole suddenly let out a soft sigh.

“What is it?” asked Tian Lie.

“Nothing.” Nicole shook her head.

Tian Lie smiled and said, “Those who failed the blood screening will be automatically assigned to the Light Faction… … killing one of them gives 1,500 points. If those fellows had not taken action, I probably would have.”

Nicole snorted inwardly.

Points? Are points useful?

I don’t even have an Exchange System.

Two of the three solo participants have died and the last one became somewhat anxious. He watched as the four-man team walked over. He hesitated for a moment before shouting, “I passed the screening! I am now a member of the Demon Faction!”

After saying that, he quickly took several steps backward, retreating to a safe distance.

The blade-wielding man from the four-man team observed the solo participant for a moment before shaking his head coldly. Then, he turned to look at Tian Lie’s group.

The four of them walked straight toward them.

“Do you mind introducing yourselves?” the blade-wielding man said with raised eyebrows.

Blood could be seen on the gauze bandaging the wound on his body. When he walked, it was clear that he was putting up with the pain from the wound. However, he maintained a straight back, revealing a tough countenance.

Tian Lie appeared indifferent as he replied with a lazy tone, “Not interested.”

Hearing his reply, the three men behind the blade-wielding man became provoked. One of them grunted furiously and raised his crossbow at Lun Tai.

Tian Lie smiled at the four fellows and his eyes fell on the one aiming at him with the crossbow. He said amiably, “Can you point that thing away? Don’t aim it at me.”

The other fellow sneered with disdain.

Tian Lie sighed. “I actually have quite the temper. When someone aims his weapon at me, I might end up doing something crazy.”

The man appeared enraged. As he was about to retort something, the blade-wielding man stopped him and said in a heavy voice, “Since we are in the same faction, we may have to fight alongside each other later on. If so, shouldn’t we get to know each other?”

Tian Lie shook his head again. “Not interested.”

“… … why?” The blade-wielding man finally became slightly enraged. “Could it be you think highly of yourself and look down on others?”

Natasha appeared somewhat nervous. However, Nicole simply looked on with indifference, seemingly unconcerned with this tense atmosphere of Tian Lie’s doing.

Tian Lie maintained the amiable expression on his face. “You are probably misunderstanding something. Just now, I had seen the way you four attacked. Your team’s strength is pretty good. Especially you, your skill with the blade is very good.”

“So…”

“I do not want to get to know you because I have this peculiar quirk when making friends.” Tian Lie smiled and continued, “I am about faces. I am unwilling to ally with those with ugly faces.”

“… … …” Tian Lie’s damning words took the blade-wielding man by surprise. In that moment, he was left dumbfounded, uncertain on what to say next.

His subordinate with the crossbow abruptly shouted, “Guild Leader! He is calling us ugly!”

The blade-wielding man raised a brow. Without saying a word, he suddenly raised his hand before sending his blade down at Tian Lie’s head.

Tian Lie watched him with a smile on his face.

He did not block the incoming attack. Instead, he tilted his head slightly to the side.

Clang!

The blade fell upon Tian Lie’s shoulder.

Sparks flew as the blade made contact with Tian Lie’s collarbone. However, he remained firm and the blade was unable to cut in at all.

The blade-wielding man was stunned. He had never expected Tian Lie to be so indifferent as to ignore his blade attack.

After dealing his attack, he saw that the smile on Tian Lie’s face had not faded in the slightest. The blade-wielding man’s heart sank and several beads of cold sweat oozed out of his forehead.

“Are you done?” Tian Lie asked him with a smile.

“Sir… … who are you?” The blade-wielding man forced himself to stay upright.

Tian Lie sighed deeply; with a frown on his face, he replied, “I was unwilling to tell you earlier. Just because you hacked me once, that does not mean I am going to tell you now. Are you not clear on that?”

“… … …” The blade-wielding man was left speechless, but his three subordinates all raised their weapons. The expressions on their faces were like those who had just encountered a great enemy.

“If I wanted to fight you people, I would have acted earlier.” Tian Lie waved his hand. “The system stated that the members of the Light Faction are not allowed to fight and kill each other but did not say anything about that for this Demon Faction. Something about that just feels tricky. You fellows better save up your strength. I personally have no desire to kill members of the same faction before the third phase even begins. If you fellows are all right with that, go to the side and just be quiet.”

The blade-wielding man held back the fury in his eyes as he glared at Tian Lie. He then spoke with a firm and resounding tone, “Sir, it would seem that you are a powerful character. However, I, Haycutter, am not someone who can be easily humiliated. Should the opportunity present itself in the future, I will be sure to ask for pointers from you!”

After saying that, he led his subordinates away, going to the other side.

Nicole observed the one known as Haycutter for a bit before smiling. She said, “He is fairly capable of keeping himself under control despite his stubbornness.”

Tian Lie revealed a disgruntled expression. “I hate this type of tough guys. Even though they don’t have much skill, they like to act like they are hot stuff. Stubborn and overbearing, refusing to admit defeat even though they have already lost. They have no abilities but act like they have got some good cards up their sleeves. Do you know what I like to do when I encounter idiots like these?”

“What?”

“Break each and every bone in their body. See how tough they can be after that.” Tian Lie smiled. “Trust me, most of those who put on a strong front are faking it. When their bones are being broken one by one, they will roll on the floor, tears and snot flowing like a river as they beg for mercy.”

[System prompt: Assignment of factions complete! Third phase now begins.

[Due to the reassignment of factions, the comprehensive strengths of the two factions have changed. The reward for killing a member of the opposing faction stated earlier is now rendered null.

[From the third phase onward, killing a member of the opposing faction will give you 500 points as reward.

[For every death of a member of the Light Faction, 10 seconds will be deducted from the magic array countdown timer.

[For every death of a member of the Demon Faction, 10 seconds will be added to the magic array countdown timer.

[In 10 seconds, the coordinate will be issued. Please make due preparations.

[The third phase is a free combat zone. There are no restrictions to fighting or killing!]

…

The warehouse of Thorned Flower Guild…

Two corpses lay at the doorway of the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, everything was a mess. Several Thorned Flower Guild members were sprawled on the ground, dying.

A short fellow with his hands inside his pockets slowly made his way to the corner.

There in the corner were four fellows in civilian clothing. There were bags over their heads and they shivered.

The short fellow had his face hidden within the shadow. When he spoke, his voice was like that of a venomous serpent. “These are your Thorned Flower Guild’s quest targets?”

Behind him, a big and beefy man was standing with his back against the wall, his body covered in blood. He coughed furiously and shouted, “You… … who are you? You, you dare…”

“Because the guild has become big, arrogance grew within your hearts, is that it?” The short man turned his head, revealing a faint smile. “You think that by putting up your Thorned Flower Guild sign, everyone would obediently prostrate themselves before you? You think that there is no one left in the world who can provoke Thorned Flower Guild?

“Such a guild, can such a guild not fall?”

As he spoke, his hand flashed out and a silver ray of light shot toward the beefy man’s throat. The man did not even have the chance to grunt before getting pinned onto the wall.

Surprisingly, there was a silver nail in his mouth.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four gunshots echoed out in the corner and the four quest targets belonging to Thorned Flower Guild fell into a pool of blood.

“See? Despite its size, Thorned Flower Guild is not invincible.”

The short fellow picked up a headset from one of the corpses beside him.

“Anyone there?”

…

“Anyone there?”

Shen picked up the walkie-talkie. Hearing the sound, his eyes flickered.

“Who is it?”

…

“Ah, I believe you must be the Thorned Flower Guild’s Inspector for this instance dungeon, right? Ha ha! I hear that Thorned Flower Guild would send out an expert to oversee the operations for each instance dungeon, someone known as Inspector. This setup is quite interesting.”

…

Shen’s whole face turned cold. He raised the walkie-talkie, but chose to remain silent.

…

“I am sorry to tell you that your Thorned Flower Guild has failed this instance dungeon. Why? Because I have finished off your men in the warehouse… you people are too careless. Did you think that no one would go against you in this instance dungeon? The quest targets are such important items, but you assigned only a few worthless fellows to stand guard… … is this arrogance, or foolishness?”

…

When he heard that, a peculiar smile appeared on Shen’s face. He held the walkie-talkie close and spoke slowly, “Thank you.”

…

“Thank me?” The short fellow laughed out maniacally. “Ha ha ha ha! Interesting!”

…

“What I meant by that is, I have always felt that those fellows have been too lax in their conduct. Having someone beat them up occasionally is a good thing,” Shen said softly. “Additionally… … thank you, I have been feeling increasingly bored with this game. But thanks to your appearance, my interest is slightly piqued.”

…

The short fellow appeared somewhat stunned. Then, with a frown on his face, he said, “Don’t you want to know who I am? Don’t you want to know who secretly screwed over your mighty Thorned Flower Guild?”

…

Shen smiled. “No need to introduce yourself. I will find you. I just hope… … you will survive until that day.”

Pa.

The walkie-talkie was turned off.

…

The short fellow was momentarily stunned as he held the headset. “This Inspector is quite an interesting fellow.”

…

Shen rose before turning to look at the female knight behind him. “Did you hear that?”

“… … I did.” The female knight knitted her eyebrows. After a thoughtful moment, she said, “I am very…”

“No need for you to apologize. Additionally, this has nothing to do with you. My men did not die because you were holding me down. They died because they were too foolish, too arrogant.” Shen looked at the female knight. “Still, your task is finished. There is no need to monitor me anymore. Go back and tell your master… … next time, I will be demanding interest, regardless of who he sends to handle me.”

As he spoke, Shen received a system prompt.

[System prompt: Thorned Flower Guild’s quest targets have unexpectedly died without undergoing bloodline screening. You have failed this quest and will be forced out of this instance dungeon.

Shen looked at the system prompt. He slowly raised up the walkie-talkie and switched to another channel.

“Did you hear that, idiots?” said Shen with a smile. “The one who messed up this quest, return and receive your punishment.”

…