Chapter 582: Separated

Chapter 582 Separated 

Again, everyone there was not lacking in courage. However, courage itself was one thing. To continue moving forward despite knowing that moving forward would meant dying in vain was a whole different concept – besides, there was neither a need nor significance to such a vain death. 

Shen alone had managed to trample several of the leading figures from Zero City’s resident guilds. Here, there were two existences that were as powerful as Shen. From that perspective, there was no way to win against them in a fight.

It was not as though there was some special meaning to dying there. There was none of that situation where, knowing they would die, they willingly sacrifice themselves. Thus, the matter was quickly ignored.

The ones gathered here were not weaklings. No one would ridicule Sawakita Mitsuo – this old Japanese man, the Shogunate Generalissimo, was never known for his valiant martial acts. Rather, his fame came from his wisdom and strong will to survive. Although he was still a famed expert within the Awakened circle, no one would think of him as being on par with the leading figures from Zero City’s resident guilds.

Despite fighting in tandem, those titans were trampled. What more could a Sawakita Mitsuo do?

No one would ridicule him for lacking courage.

“However, at the end of the day, staying here for two years is impossible.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Besides fighting them, is there no other option?”

“If the quest item is really in the hands of those two monsters, maybe… … there is a slight chance.” Tian Lie’s words caused Chen Xiaolian to jerk his head. He turned and stared at Tian Lie.

“Tian Lie, if you know of anything else, then just give it all to us.” Chen Xiaolian suppressed the feelings of restlessness he felt and said slowly, “Now, all of us are on the same boat. This is not the time to hide anything.”

Tian Lie smiled. He did not grow angry at Chen Xiaolian’s restless behaviour – at any rate, he had concealed his identity for so many days. Tian Lie could understand that Chen Xiaolian was feeling somewhat emotional.

“The things I know are simple, really. Two monstrous figures are staying here. The two of them are acquainted with Guild Leader Shen. Guild Leader Shen was the one who informed me of the situation here. To summarize, the two monstrous figures here aren’t exactly on good terms with each other. It would seem they are hostile to each other. Besides secluding themselves here, the two of them are also exhausting each other out, each of them dragging the other so that they would become exhausted here.”

Hearing those words, those who were fairly smart among the group reacted. Their eyes lit up.

Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix exchanged glances while Sawakita Mitsuo fanned himself with the little fan once more.

“If so, Tian Lie, what is the reason you entered this instance dungeon?”

“Something happened to Guild Leader Shen. Back then, he had told me, if anything happened to him, come here to find one of the two monstrous figures and ask for help.” Tian Lie was very frank as he revealed his objective.

Phoenix gave him a glance and said coldly, “Oh? So, you expect us, a group of Awakened ones, to risk our lives to save Shen? Do not forget, he is a Player! He is the Guild Leader of Thorned Flower Guild.”

Tian Lie looked at Phoenix and grinned. “You can choose to not come.”

Phoenix shut her mouth.

Naturally, Chen Xiaolian had no desire to save Shen either – during the fight in Zero City, the two of them were standing on opposing sides. There was no reason for Chen Xiaolian to save Shen.

However, at the end of the day, there was a need to complete this instance dungeon.

They could not just stay inside the castle and suffer for a month before dying from starvation.

“If we want to find the two monstrous figures, we will have to leave this castle first.” Nicole suddenly spoke up. “Do the rules of this instance dungeon allow us to leave this castle? Would the designated area of this instance dungeon stop us from leaving this castle?”

“We will have to give it a try!” Chen Xiaolian replied. A look of resolve flashed through his eyes and he was the first to stand up. “Let us not waste any more time. Everyone, let us move out. The more we discuss, the more confused we become!”

His suggestion garnered the agreement from most of the members of their group – these people were men and women who had fought their way out of countless instance dungeons. Sitting around and chatting was not their way.

Soon, they agreed on one path of action. Try to leave the castle and explore the outer areas.

However, before leaving the castle, they had attempted one last time to search through the castle again. After ensuring that they had not missed out on anything, they finally decided to leave the castle.

After walking out of the castle gate, they stood within the barracks outside. The edge of the barracks area was the outer area of this instance dungeon. The gate leading into the barracks was actually the main gate built into the outer walls of the castle – in later generations, that place would become the entrance to the entire museum.

The gate, which was built for military use, was closed. Iron chains wrapped around the winch next to the gate. Faint traces of blood could be seen on the surface of the chains.

“Then, let us head out.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Tian Lie, after moving out of the castle, head to the town first to search the area. Do your best to not scatter about. If you encounter any dangerous situations, do not blindly start a fight. Retreat here first and we will discuss it through - we have a maximum time limit of one month. We have that much food and water available. Thus, for now, there is no need for us to go risk our lives. Any objections?”

No one spoke. All of them looked at Chen Xiaolian. Nicole, on the other hand, suddenly smiled and said softly, “Xiaolian, you are becoming more like a Guild Leader now. All right, we will have you be the temporary Team Leader for this instance dungeon.”

Only then did Chen Xiaolian realize his error. He blushed.

Whenever his guild was participating in instance dungeons, he would act in such a way, thereby forming a habit.

Just now, he had subconsciously acted in a way that a Guild Leader would – he had, however, forgotten something. In this instance dungeon, majority of the people here were not his guild members.

For example, Sawakita Mitsuo. He was the Guild Leader of his own guild. Phoenix was also one such character.

As for Tian Lie, he was the freak.

Nicole was an elite warrior from the Angel Corps. When it came to combat experience, her combat experience far outstripped his.

Would these figures need someone like him to instruct them?

Seeing the awkwardness exuding from Chen Xiaolian’s person, Phoenix narrowed her beautiful pair of eyes and said gently, “Not a bad idea. Then, everyone here will be listening to Guild Leader Chen Xiaolian’s instructions this time – considering our numbers, there will be a need for a leader.”

Tian Lie clapped his hands and laughed. “Interesting, I agree.”

Sawakita Mitsuo fanned himself a few times before nodding. He said, “I have no objections.”

As Chen Xiaolian was about to say something, Phoenix turned to face him and said with a serious voice, “There is a need for a leader. So many of us will be going along this risky adventure. Are we all supposed to speak up and interrupt each other when something happens?”

Chen Xiaolian sighed. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Very well, I will be the leader for the time being.”

Truth be told, Chen Xiaolian was the best candidate to be the temporary Team Leader. Everyone there was from different guilds and sides. Chen Xiaolian was the only one with a good relationship with all of them. Him taking the lead was the most appropriate action.

The Shogunate Generalissimo was someone who had fought beside Chen Xiaolian before. Nagase Komi was once his guild member.

There was no need to go into detail about Phoenix. They had faced life and death together.

Tian Lie and Nicole also had a deep relationship with him.

At the end of the day, he was the most suitable figure for the leader position here. The others would likely be willing to respect him somewhat – if someone else were to be put in that position, then these figures might be unwilling to obey. Chen Xiaolian was able to immediately understand this point and thus, did not refuse.

Tian Lie slowly turned the gate winch. The doors on the barracks’ gate swung open to reveal the outside area beyond the castle wall.

Everyone there fell silent for a moment before heading out.

Chen Xiaolian walked in the front, holding Soo Soo’s hand. However, seemingly a subconscious action, his other hand pulled Lin Leyan – there were still some affection for her within him after all. Thus, this was his subconscious desire to protect her. 

Following behind him was Sawakita Mitsuo and his student, Nagase Komi. Next was Phoenix.

Lastly were Tian Lie and Nicole followed by the couple, Tom Huggins and Jenny.

The moment their group stepped out through the gate, a green curtain of light seemingly descended upon the gate…

…

“Boss, all of them had left.”

Wang Sheng, who stood beside the window on the third floor, whispered.

War Tiger stood behind him. He casually retrieved the Chameleon Tent, which they had used to hide themselves, from the wall.

Just now, when Chen Xiaolian and the others were searching through the castle, War Tiger and Wang Sheng had utilized the Chameleon Tent and hid within it.

“Boss, those fellows, are very powerful?” There was a look of eagerness in Wan Sheng’s eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, War Tiger shook his head and said, “… … they are all very powerful figures. Mm, very powerful.”

There were hints of melancholy and inscrutability in his tone.

“What should we do then? According to them… … there are two very powerful monsters outside who had taken away the final quest item. We… …” 

War Tiger pondered for a moment and said, “We will head out as well! We won’t be going the same way as them. We will be moving out on our own.”

…

When they stepped through the gate, the green coloured curtain of light descended from above. Everyone was able to sense it. However, in just an instant, the scene before them turned into a stretch of green and they were incapable of seeing anything else.

In the blink of an eye, everything, including where they were standing, felt wrong.

Chen Xiaolian snapped open his eyes. His first reaction was to tightly contract his body.

It was a form of combat instinct. At the same time, the change in his surroundings also triggered his body’s subconscious reaction.

Cold!

The bone biting wind was everywhere. The gust, which fell upon his face, felt like knives.

The thick snow reached his knees. All around him were mountains, an endless number of snow-capped mountains. It was as though he was within a world of whiteness.

The sky was the colour of grey-filled blue and dense clouds gradually covered them.

A big storm was imminent.

The oxygen content in the air had seemingly become reduced. When he breathed, besides feeling cold, he felt somewhat suffocated.

Chen Xiaolian’s face sank. He had realized something, something very wrong. The people beside him…

His left hand was still holding onto Lin Leyan’s arm. Her entire body was shivering from the cold and she appeared on the verge of fainting.

His right hand, however, was empty. Soo Soo, whom he had been holding, was now gone.

Chen Xiaolian jerked his head backward.

Tian Lie, Nicole, Sawakita Mitsuo, Nagase Komi, all of them had disappeared.

There was only the couple, Tom Huggins and Jenny behind him.

Within the snow-covered landscape, a gust of wind blew upon Jenny and she instantly wrapped her arms around herself. Tom Huggins hastily embraced his wife and shouted something at Chen Xiaolian. The moment he opened his mouth, however, wind and snow assailed his mouth. Even so, Chen Xiaolian was able to discern what Tom Huggins had said.

“There is something wrong with that green curtain of light!”

…