Chapter 101: An Accelerated Arrival

After listening to the report, Lei Yao also began to look down on Kamiyu, saying, “In that case, withdraw the ambush personnel from the Keystone Dungeon. Now is the time to make use of every available person; we can’t waste a single soldier.”

It turned out that Lei Yao had stationed a heavy force in the Keystone Dungeon—where the core item for establishing a Sanctuary, the Altar of Lilith, could be obtained—to ambush and prevent Kamiyu from acquiring the altar.

Now, with the Hell Tide about to arrive, Lei Yao’s plans were short on manpower. Believing that Kamiyu posed no threat to him, he withdrew his forces.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the underestimated Kamiyu was returning from the Valley of the Deathly Echo with a full haul.

After nearly a week of dungeon grinding, because her level hadn’t increased and she couldn’t expand the capacity of her Storage, both her and Jack’s Storage spaces were completely packed.

She even crafted two large backpacks on the spot, filling them in a “reality”-based way, and carried them back to the Main City on foot.

Jack and Kamiyu, each carrying a large backpack and holding big bags, trudged along, dusty and weary, like two refugees fleeing disaster, making their way from the Wilderness Zone back to the Main City.

However, their faces bore none of the sorrow or anxiety of refugees. Instead, they were beaming with joy and the satisfaction of a bountiful harvest, like anglers who had just caught a 100-pound carp.

Kamiyu noticed that the area around the outskirts of the Main City had been cleared. All trees and shrubs within a one-kilometer radius had been removed.

Nearby, the voices of new and veteran players discussing could be heard from time to time.

“Finally, we’ve burned all the shrubs clean. I don’t understand why the Guild made us do this,” one new player said.

“I wanted to go dungeon grinding, but I couldn’t,” another new player complained.

“What do you know? The Wilderness Zone is in chaos right now, with Aberrant Beast Demons stirring up trouble. We ordinary players can barely even leave our homes, and you still want to grind dungeons?” the veteran player leading them retorted.

“Look, there are two people walking over from the Wilderness Zone,” a new player said, putting down his clearing work.

“Senior, are you lying? There are clearly players in the Wilderness Zone, yet you said we couldn’t go out,” another new player grumbled.

The veteran player looked into the distance and was startled to see the Dragon Slayer Blade in Jack’s hands and the Guild Emblem on the petite Sorceress beside him. “It’s the 13th Beta Tester, Kamiyu, and an expert from the Invincible Guild,” he exclaimed.

The “Kamiyu” this person referred to was, of course, Jack. By now, word had spread throughout the city, and Jack was widely regarded as Kamiyu.

Even official clarifications were met with disbelief, because the Ancestral Legendary Tier Dragon Slayer Blade in Jack’s hands couldn’t lie. Many had seen it and knew it was Bai Zhan’s weapon.

Who else could have killed Bai Zhan if not the Beta Tester Kamiyu?

Even the official players were confused, doubting whether their previous intelligence had been wrong.

Thus, Jack had taken on the identity of “Beta Tester Kamiyu,” while Kamiyu now operated under the identity of “Pharmacist Kamier.”

The veteran player immediately turned to the new players in the Guild and said, “What are you thinking? They’re Beta Tester Bosses and experts from a major Guild. How can you compare to them?”

He quickly nodded in greeting.

“Why?”

“To hell with your ‘why’! They’re Beta Tester Bosses. When the Hell Tide arrives, they might even give you a chance to stay in a Sanctuary.”

Moreover, the Invincible Guild has been purchasing various materials at any cost all week, and even outsourced many players from other guilds and squads to farm construction materials, which they then bought back at high prices.

“The equipment we’re wearing now was only affordable because we took on their guild’s outsourcing jobs.”

After hearing this, both of them were stunned. Under the veteran player’s urging, they nodded in greeting to Kamiyu and Jack from a distance.

Kamiyu felt something was off. The closer they got to the Main City, the cleaner it became. Previously, the outskirts of the Main City were covered in grass and trees, but now everything had been burned or chopped down.

There were also some oddly shaped mounds of earth, clearly man-made structures created by Earth Element Mages.

As they walked further into the Main City, more and more people looked at them, many nodding in their direction, which made Kamiyu feel incredibly awkward and unsure how to respond.

“Is there something on us?” Kamiyu asked.

“How should I know?” Jack replied.

She looked down at herself—covered in monster blood, dried and wet, over and over, her white robe now stained a deep crimson.

“I don’t get it,” Kamiyu muttered to herself.

She noticed that there were no longer any Official Players blocking the City Gate to collect fees. In fact, there wasn’t a single Official Player inside the Main City—instead, there were many more Players.

“Why does it feel like the number of Players has multiplied several times? On my first day here, there were only a few hundred people in the Main City. Now there must be at least two or three thousand.”

“How should I know?” Jack repeated like a broken record.

“Hmph, what use are you?” Kamiyu said irritably.

It wasn’t until the two of them returned to the Invincible Guild Manor in the center of the city that Kamiyu and Jack learned about the current state of the Main City.

In the meeting room, the polite introductions quickly concluded.

Li Changde originally knew that Kamiyu was the true Beta Tester. Now, with Jack taking on the identity of “Beta Tester Kamiyu,” the lie could be maintained even more convincingly.

“Guild Leader, are you saying that the Hell Tide is about to arrive and you advise against me farming the Keystone Dungeon now? You don’t want me to build the Sanctuary?” Kamiyu asked, her eyes wide.

Li Changde’s words were undoubtedly a huge pause button for Kamiyu.

“But, I don’t know when the Hell Tide will arrive. Is this true? Why don’t I, as a Beta Tester, know about this?” Kamiyu continued, pouring out her questions.

“Miss Kamiyu, it’s normal that you don’t know. According to public information, no Player knows the exact time the Hell Tide will arrive,” Li Changde explained.

“Then why are you saying it’s coming soon?” Kamiyu pressed urgently.

She had worked hard all week farming Instance Dungeons, putting in so much effort and even resorting to identity substitution, only to be told now not to tackle the Keystone Dungeon or obtain the key item for the Sanctuary.

What kind of joke was this?

Jack also stood up, supporting Kamiyu from behind.

Li Changde immediately explained, “Miss Kamiyu, please don’t rush. Simply put, in Main City Kaijistan, behind the fountain, there is a Holy Light Cathedral. Inside, there is a Heavenly Father Inarius Altar that predicts the arrival time of the Hell Tide.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier, or send someone to find me in the Valley of the Deathly Echo? I think you were using me,” Kamiyu said urgently.

She still held back from saying the words “betrayed me.”

Li Changde furrowed his brow, stood up, and bowed to Kamiyu. “I apologize, Miss Kamiyu. This was actually a difficult decision made out of necessity.”

Kamiyu tried to listen to his explanation.