Chapter 102: A Bunch of Cowards

In the Invincible Guild office within Main City Kaijistan.

Li Changde explained, “The Heavenly Father Inarius Altar at the Holy Light Cathedral predicts the arrival time of Hell Tides.”

“The altar was originally normal, but the priests monitoring the Heavenly Father Altar around the clock discovered it was rapidly blackening—a phenomenon never seen before.”

“Is this another cliché setting where the altar blackening means the Hell Tide is accelerating?” Kamiyu bit her lip as she spoke.

She knew the answer but couldn’t accept that her efforts over the past week would come to nothing and her progress would be delayed once again.

“Miss Kamiyu, you’re right, but in fact, the situation is far more serious than you imagine,” said Li Changde, who was usually calm but now spoke with deep concern.

“Why do you say that?” Kamiyu wasn’t the type of female protagonist from melodramatic TV dramas who refused to listen to explanations.

On the contrary, she often considered and carefully reflected on others’ words.

For a major Guild Leader to decide on a defensive contraction, it seemed the situation this time was extremely dire.

Li Changde began to explain, “I’m a ‘launch-day’ Veteran Player. Along with the leaders of other established guilds and squads, I was among the first batch of players selected by the Black Sphere Game to land on the Crimson Earth.”

“So we’ve summarized a lot of experience. Hell Tides are periods when Aberrant Beast Demons become agitated, frantically attacking players and destroying cities.”

“Every time a Hell Tide approaches, there are patterns to follow. The first is the degree of blackening of the Heavenly Father Altar at the Holy Light Cathedral.”

“The faster and deeper the blackening, the more dangerous the Hell Tide.”

“The second is that the Black Sphere will teleport players into the Crimson Earth to resist the Aberrant Beast Demons during the Hell Tide.”

Kamiyu immediately understood, and even Jack widened his eyes, grasping the point at once.

You didn’t even need to check the blackening degree of the Heavenly Father Altar; just looking at the number of new players would tell you—the more new players, the more dangerous this Hell Tide would be.

She said, “It’s the number of new players. Since returning, the number of new players has increased several times over.”

Li Changde shook his head, “Not several times—over ten times. Currently, it’s conservatively estimated that there are over 5,000 players on the Crimson Earth. The Black Sphere has teleported thousands of new players in to fill the ranks, which further confirms the peril of this Hell Tide.”

“But I’ve only seen one or two thousand people. Where have the others gone?” she asked.

“The two official Sanctuaries have taken in 2,000 new players; plus, other Sanctuaries have also accepted around 1,000 to 2,000 people in total. That’s why there are only so many people in the Main City now,” Li Changde said helplessly.

“Are you saying that out of over 5,000 people, at least 3,000 to 4,000 have gone to defend the Sanctuaries, leaving only 1,000 to 2,000 old, weak, sick, or disabled to guard the Main City?”

“And you won’t let me build a Sanctuary, forcing me to stay here and die with them?” Kamiyu stood up and said agitatedly.

Even if she would be called selfish, she had to say it.

No matter how vast the world, her own life mattered most. If their lives were lives, wasn’t hers a life too?

In the description of the Beta Tester title, the Sanctuary is small in area but high in strength, making it easy to defend during the Hell Tide.

Li Changde frowned and said, “We believe that Miss Jia currently lacks the ability to obtain the Altar of Lilith and establish a Sanctuary. Moreover, there isn’t enough time to build a fully functional Sanctuary.

Rather than taking risks, it would be better for everyone to stay and defend the city together.”

“Are you kidding? You’re underestimating me and Jack. I’m going to blast through the Keystone Dungeon right now,” Kamiyu turned and left.

She refused to believe that with 54 times the Attack Power and stacking all her Magic Bullets, any dungeon could withstand her onslaught—she’d shatter it outright.

“Jack, let’s go,” Kamiyu said.

In summary, the conflict between the two boiled down to this: Li Changde favored a conservative, cautious strategy, while Kamiyu opted for an aggressive, high-risk playstyle.

“Wait, Miss Kamiyu, staying to defend the city isn’t a death sentence. The Heavenly Father will not mistreat any player who defends the city,” Li Changde spoke bluntly.

Everyone was driven by self-interest. Crimson Earth had no place for morality, and he had no intention of guilting Kamiyu into compliance.

By laying out the benefits and drawbacks plainly—what would bring gains and what would incur losses—cooperation could proceed more smoothly.

“No deaths, and great rewards.” These two points from Li Changde made Kamiyu halt her steps.

She calmed down, turned around, and said, “Guild Leader Li, as you know, time is of the essence. If your next words fail to convince me, I will proceed to build the Sanctuary.”

Her words carried weight, and she meant every one of them.

“The Heavenly Father will not mistreat any player who defends the city. Every time the Hell Tide arrives, the Heavenly Father Altar displays a score leaderboard, showing the points earned by each defending player from killing Monsters,” Li Changde explained.

And then the points can be exchanged for Items?” Kamiyu blinked.

“Exactly, Miss Kamiyu, you’re right,” Li Changde said. “This time, I’m not making empty promises. The points can be exchanged for equipment ranging from Common Tier to Dark Gold Tier.

Besides equipment, Armor, items, Potions—any in-game Item that can be stored in the Storage backpack or equipped—can all be exchanged with points.”

“Can the Altar of Lilith be exchanged too?” Kamiyu’s eyes lit up.

If it could be exchanged, wouldn’t that mean she wouldn’t have to grind through the Keystone Dungeon?

After all, she was only Level 17, and Jack was Level 12. They could attempt it themselves, but the efficiency would be too low. By the time they finished, the Hell Tide would likely have arrived, leaving no time to build the Sanctuary.

Correct, the Altar of Lilith can be exchanged with points. This time, the Item exchange Interface Panel has been released early, requiring only 1/10 of the usual points—100,000 points, which translates to killing just 100 Boss Creatures,” Li Changde said.

“That’s why we devised this plan. If we all cooperate with you, Miss Kamiyu, we can definitely help you earn enough points to exchange for the Altar of Lilith. You might even manage to grind out a Dark Gold Weapon along the way.”

Li Changde’s plan was to rally the entire city’s strength to assist Kamiyu in grinding out a Sanctuary on the spot. Even if the Main City fell, they could establish a Sanctuary atop its ruins.

“But if it only requires one-tenth of the usual points and is so easy, why didn’t the other Beta Testers stay behind to farm these points? Their Levels are higher, and they were better prepared—they shouldn’t have passed up this opportunity.” Kamiyu seized the flaw in Li Changde’s argument.

Since it was so simple to obtain High Level rewards, why didn’t the experts stay behind to farm points and equipment?

Li Changde was taken aback for a moment, thought it over, then sighed and said, “Miss Kamiyu is truly sharp-minded. The other Beta Testers didn’t want to stay because they still believe this Main City cannot be defended.”

Before Kamiyu could speak, Jack snorted heavily and said, “A bunch of cowards.”