Divinity Shard

Broken Sword Valley.

It was said that this had once been a chain of mountains, but the Alliance's blasphemous acts had drawn the wrath of the gods, turning it into the deep valley it was today.

Legend had it that the gods had transformed Their power into a giant sword that blotted out the sky. Its blade split the mountains apart, and its momentum did not diminish, vowing to wipe out the Alliance beyond the mountains.

Yet when that terrifying sword force, enough to slay gods, touched the translucent God Banning Barrier above Iron Wall City, it suddenly vanished into thin air, causing the gods' fury to dissipate without a trace.

Iron Wall City got its name because of that.

And because the sword scar that cut across the entire mountain range resembled a broken sword, it was named Broken Sword Valley.

Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword crawled out of his sleeping bag, glanced at his fully restored stamina, then walked out of the tent at the center of camp and greeted the knight on watch.

He and 'I Don't Want to Pay Liquidated Damages' had served as guides for this party for two days, successfully avoiding every monster wandering the valley and leading the group deep into its depths, earning the respect of most of the NPCs.

Even the Scholar, who had worn a sour expression at first, had gone from (-10) Disgust on the first day to (+60) Respect now.

In truth, both of them were professional players focused on PVP and had not paid much attention to PVE content.

Fortunately, Despair Expedition OL had a comprehensive encyclopedia. They could consult the available information on the spot and avoid monsters they might encounter ahead of time.

"Morning, Brother Dao."

'I Don't Want to Pay Liquidated Damages' also stepped out of his tent, greeting the Dragonkin energetically.

Due to the effects of Brain Domain acceleration, there was a threefold time difference between the game and reality.

Even when it was not their turn to keep watch, they could only rest for a little over two hours in the real world each "night."

For the nineteen-year-old "Baron," that was already more than enough.

As a young professional player, he could grind like his life depended on it.

Unfortunately, the game had a stamina system as an Anti-addiction System. Once stamina was depleted, a character could only walk at a snail's pace, and even attack animations became sluggish.

Eating food could restore a little of the Yellow Bar, but there was a daily limit. At present, logging out was the only way to fully recover it.

Before long, the NPCs in camp woke one after another, packed their belongings, and prepared to begin the day's exploration.

The constantly churning thunderstorms in the sky made it impossible to tell day from night in Broken Sword Valley.

Every member of this hastily assembled party had the same goal: the Divinity Shard.

But they had yet to reach an agreement on how it would be divided.

Everyone knew perfectly well that the moment they found the Divinity Shard would be the moment the party fell apart.

While everyone packed their gear, the two players continued discussing over WeChat in the background which NPC would make the first move after they found the Divinity Shard.

At the moment, the most likely candidate was the woman piloting the Mining Mech.

Unlike the other NPCs with their cold expressions, the female Mecha Master was the friendliest person in the party. She had been trying hard to act as the team's glue, but so far, her warmth had only met cold indifference. No one wanted to pay her any attention.

Incidentally, she had also provided their tents and sleeping bags.

Yet this woman, who seemed the most harmless, was the hardest to raise favor with.

She was still at (-50) Hostile toward 'I Don't Want to Pay Liquidated Damages.'

Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword, being a Dragonkin, was slightly better off. His favor was only at (-10) Disgust.

What the Dragonkin had not mentioned was that the woman had taken him into her tent just last night.

Only after the Dragonkin took off his pants did he discover that there was nothing down there, while the woman's favor inexplicably rose from (-10) Disgust to (+10) Indifferent.

Brother Dao had expected that the game would have no 18+ content.

But he had never had a chance to confirm it before. Discovering the problem only when the arrow was already on the string had dealt quite a blow to his self-esteem.

The three fully armored knights were probably the strongest fighters in the party.

However, all three had reached (+60) Respect toward the two of them and would most likely not attack them. That was also why the players had remained with the party.

The Scholar was the same. After witnessing their extensive knowledge, he had patted his chest and promised to write them a letter of recommendation once they returned to the city.

They would not need Contribution Points to become honored citizens of the Alliance.

As for the bald mercenary at (+0) Stranger, the two had already ignored him.

They were both currently Lv1. With a level difference of more than ten, all they could see when checking anyone's information was a string of question marks.

That Lv7 mercenary was the sole exception.

With that guy's strength, it was difficult for him to attract their attention.

After packing their belongings, everyone extinguished the campfire and left the makeshift campsite.

Brother Dao, walking at the front, did not take out the crude map provided by Li Li. Instead, he switched to the browser in the background and led the way according to the detailed map in the expedition encyclopedia.

They had discussed the Divinity Shard in the ten-person player group.

Players proficient in PVE believed that the Divinity Shard was part of a random event. If it truly existed, it could be located anywhere in Broken Sword Valley.

Since NPCs were also conducting a large-scale search, even if it spawned somewhere near the city walls, someone had most likely gotten there first.

The more dangerous the depths of the valley were, the harder they were for NPCs to reach, and the greater the chances of finding the Divinity Shard.

The valley's dense vegetation could not obstruct the Mining Mech's steel body at all.

The female Mecha Master who called herself "Classified" knocked down the giant trees blocking their path, crushed them, and stuffed them into the combustion chamber in the mech's belly, sending thick black smoke billowing from its exhaust pipe.

"Let's stop here."

Standing on the shoulder of the mech, more than five meters above the ground, the Dragonkin called the party to a halt.

He slowly rose to his feet and looked into the distance.

In reality, he was not looking at anything. He had switched to the map in the background, compared it for a moment, then spoke to everyone below.

"The entrance to the Ancient Vine Spirit Temple is up ahead. If this old man remembers correctly, there is a nest of Silver Rank Serpent Sirens there. Let's head in another direction."

After saying that, he placed a hand on his sword hilt and could not resist showing off again.

"These Serpent Sirens are distant relatives of merfolk. Their tears are naturally potent poison. If applied to a sword, they can even wound a Gold Rank expert. Unfortunately, they only shed tears once in their lives, when giving birth."

All of that came from the encyclopedia. He had merely read it aloud.

But the Scholar following behind them treated it as a priceless treasure, recording the information and intending to ask for more details later.

As for the others in the party, apart from privately marveling at the Dragonkin's long lifespan and vast knowledge, they had already become accustomed to it.

"Rumble!!!!!"

As a clap of thunder rang out, everyone instinctively looked up at the sky.

The roiling thunderclouds were still searching for something hidden within them. Scorching lightning never stopped, dense as a net, gathering into a river that washed over the heavens.

Then, all of a sudden, they saw a writhing mass of crimson flesh as large as a small mountain fall from the end of the clouds, only to be swallowed by blazing white lightning in an instant.

For a moment, everyone's breath caught.

A Divinity Shard!

No!

It should have been God's Flesh!

Watching the flesh rapidly melt away within the lightning, everyone felt as though their hearts were being wrenched tight.

This was the flesh of a True God! Even a fragment the size of a fingernail could allow an extraordinary being stuck at Silver Rank for years to advance directly to Gold Rank!

Not to mention that this was the Thirteen City Alliance, where Scholars gathered like clouds. If they brought God's Flesh back to the academy and analyzed It, they might even develop new Scroll Divine Arts!

And how much could such a large piece of divine flesh sell for on the Black Market? It might even be enough to buy an entire casino!

And what if they offered It to their master? The thought alone was enough to drive them mad!