Thanks to Iâm Not A Monsterâs timely assistance, Actually, I Am A Monster, and Iâm A Monster, Dare To Hit Me escaped from the black-clothed manâs explosion without a scratch. But, Quiet And Steadfast wasnât so lucky.
The black-clothed man facing off against Quiet And Steadfast was swift and decisive. As soon as he realised his delaying tactics werenât going to be of much use against Quiet And Steadfast, he immediately activated his self-destruction skill, and he finished his cast before Iâm Really Not A Monster even reached them.
âBoom!â
"F*ck! Leader!â
Iâm Really Not A Monster swore at the same time the explosion rang out. But, all that he received as a reply was the splashing of water that had been muddied by the blast.
"Second Monster, whereâs Leader?"
Iâm Really Not A Monster dejectedly rubbed his face. Just then, he heard National Treasuresâ voice. He turned back and saw that his guildmates from Jade Sea Pavilion were anxiously looking at him. Iâm Not A Monster also came running with the two other Monsters in tow.
"You guys..." Iâm Really Not A Monster pointed dumbly at the rest of them. It then dawned upon him that the battlefield had devolved into a grand melee.
Next Week Is Unlikely stepped forward and said, "The Shinra Sect has changed its tactics. Theyâre now fighting using their invisibility. Yu Youchen told us to split up from the rest of them and act on our own. Weâre to take out whatever Shinra Sect players we can, and we neednât go along with what the rest of the good players are doing... I heard something over here from far away just now. Did someone blow themselves up? Whereâs Leader?"
Iâm Really Not A Monsterâs face fell, and he pointed to his back. "There was an... explosion where Leader was just standing. I couldnât reach him in time."
Next Week Is Unlikelyâs expression changed. "Temperate, National Treasures, and Dawn. You guys come with me to take a look. The rest of you are to go around and see which places need help."
The battle between Shen Jingbin and her opponent had moved to a different location. The members of Jade Sea Pavilion didnât catch sight of her, and Shen Jingchen wasnât able to find any traces of her even though he looked all over the place.
"Iâm going to look for my sister. You guys look for our Leader."
The mention of Shen Jingbin jolted Iâm Really Not A Monsterâs memory. "Ah! Nutty! I saw her over there just now, but she wasnât looking so good. She was being pressured by her attacker, and her opponentâs weapon was coated with poison. She looked like sheâd been poison too."
Shen Jingchenâs handsome face darkened in an instant, and he ran towards the spot Iâm Really Not A Monster pointed at without a word. Next Week Is Unlikely made no move to stop him, and led the rest of them to where Quiet And Steadfast was last seen.
The huge explosion had naturally kicked up lots of debris. By the time Next Week Is Unlikely and company got closer, the water had become a little clearer. Thankfully, they werenât treated to the sight of a certain Great Godâs dead body sprawled on the floor.
Quiet And Steadfast had been hurt by the explosion. He had no way of healing himself, so all he could do was sit on the ground and wait till his debuff subsided. He was worried about his wife, but he was utterly powerless to do anything, leaving him in a very irritable mood.
His black eyes lit up when he spotted Next Week Is Unlikely. The change was so sudden, that Next Week Is Unlikely wondered whether he was just that attractive. Did he turn into an angel or something? Otherwise, why was this guy giving him googly eyes?
After National Treasures dispelled all the status ailments that could be removed and topped up his health, Quiet And Steadfast stood up and hurriedly asked, "Howâs Nutjob doing?"
"We havenât seen her, but Dawnâs gone off with a few White Cloud disciples to look for her," Next Week Is Unlikely answered.
Quiet And Steadfast raised a brow. "Whatâs the status of the battle?"
"There are 15 minutes left before the final stage, and itâs now turned into a battle royale. Weâve lost many people from the Six Great Sects, but weâve currently still got the upper hand. Also, Neverending Journey, Crying Fish and Nine Ballads arenât among our number. I suspect that theyâve probably gone over to the Shinra Sectâs side."
Quiet And Steadfast suddenly thought of the black-clothed man that Shen Jingbin was fighting. Heâd crossed blades with Nine Ballads many times in the past, so he still had some recollection of her fighting style. Now that Next Week Is Unlikely had mentioned it, he realised that there was a 70-80% chance that that black-clothed man was Nine Ballads.
At that moment, his raised brow shot up even higher. "You guys..."
Just as he spoke, everyone suddenly heard a series of explosions originating from nearby.
Having just experienced what self-destruction was like themselves, everyone immediately knew what the explosions meant, and they were all caught off guard by it. They turned to look in the direction of the explosions with slightly astonished looks on their faces.
The area where the disciples of the Six Great Sects were gathered had now turned into a patch of blackened earth. Scraps of black cloaks and fragments of disciple robes in an assortment of colours could be seen drifting about.
"Death before defeat!" Came an earth-shattering roar. That personâs voice clearly made its way to the ears of all living players.
That personâs declaration made everyone feel as if someone had their hearts in a vice grip.