Deep into the Canyon

[Soul Stone: Kerrigan]

[Quality: Gold]

[Activations: 5]

[Gained Buffs: Heart of the Swarm (Permanent), Psionic Manipulation (Permanent)]

Upon inspecting this soul stone, Fang Zheng was surprised to find that, unlike the Lich King, the Queen of Blades' soul stone was actually more practical from a usability standpoint.

The reason for this lay in the nature of their soul stones. For Fang Zheng, [Arthas]'s soul stone, when embedded in the Dimensional Codex, only granted the buff [Undying Monarch], which affected Undead creatures, unless he actively activated it. To unleash the Lich King's true power, he would need to fully activate the soul stone.

But the Queen of Blades' soul stone was different. In fact, although her activation count was the same as [Arthas]'s—five times—after probing, Fang Zheng discovered that the Queen of Blades' true power was the exact opposite of the Lich King's. If the Lich King required consuming the soul stone's uses to unleash his full might, then the Queen of Blades' soul stone only exerted its greatest strength when left unactivated.

The reason lay in that [Heart of the Swarm (Permanent)] buff.

For this buff, the description was just one sentence: [Heart of the Swarm (Permanent): Allows the creation and control of a Zerg swarm.]

That single line was enough for Fang Zheng to immediately grasp what it meant.

In short, with the Queen of Blades' soul stone embedded, he could directly set up a Zerg base and play real-time strategy. After all, the Zerg's greatest strength was their endless tide—the overwhelming swarm was their true power. Kerrigan's personal combat ability was actually quite limited. In other words, if it were [Arthas], even after the Scourge was destroyed, he could still rely on his own strength to turn the tide. But for [Kerrigan], once the Zerg swarm was wiped out, she had almost no choice but to flee.

So for Fang Zheng, this soul stone was actually more suited for daily use. But... Kerrigan, Kerrigan, why did it have to be Kerrigan?

The Lich King wasn't exactly likable, and the Zerg were even worse. Fang Zheng was certain that if this thing appeared on the surface, it would be treated as the vanguard of a demon invasion or something... Couldn't it have given him a Jim Raynor, or even an Artanis? Why did it have to be Kerrigan?

Fang Zheng could already feel the system's deep-seated malice toward him. After all, he was its creator—if this game was a child, then he was its father. Was there such a rebellious kid that screwed over its own dad?

It seemed rebellious kids were exactly the type to screw over their dads.

Though helpless, Fang Zheng had no choice but to put away this soul stone. In the Main World, it was definitely unusable, but maybe it could be used in a Dungeon world. He wondered what world he'd be sent to when the next mission portal opened.

Thinking this, Fang Zheng glanced again at the Dimensional Codex before him. The cooldown timer had entered its final countdown.

Thirteen more hours, and the portal would open again.

A night passed.

The next day, just as dawn broke, everyone set out again. To their surprise, unlike the previous day, they encountered not a single Undead creature along the way. This made Malte and the others' faces darken to the extreme. They weren't fleeing Shadow Canyon—they were retracing their steps. Logically, the closer they got to the center, the more enemies there should be. Earlier, Fang Zheng and Knight Conan had run into several waves of Undead soldiers on their way to Blood Sandbar. There was no reason for the enemy to ignore them now that they were walking right into the trap.

There was only one reason: something more important than them had drawn the lich's attention.

And that more important thing was what Malte had called—the Dark Ritual.

"Looks like things are really bad."

Standing on a cliff and looking down, Malte's face was as dark as ice. Below the cliff was what appeared to be an abandoned quarry. It looked ancient, from some unknown era. But for Malte, he wasn't here for archaeology.

"That quarry is the lich's lair. We were ambushed there before. But now there's not a single Undead in sight... Has the ritual already started?"

Hearing Malte's muttering, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow. Thanks to [Arthas]'s soul stone's special effect, his sensitivity to Undead creatures was very strong. As Malte said, he sensed no Undead presence around the quarry's perimeter. But that didn't mean they weren't there. In fact, deep underground, Fang Zheng detected something. A large number of Undead were gathering beneath the quarry. No need to ask—they weren't there for a party.

"What now?"

Fang Zheng didn't tell Malte what he'd sensed. He wasn't keen on risking his life for some unknown Dark Ritual. Maybe the lich was trying to summon back a lost lover? Honestly, after spending time with these Holy Knights, Fang Zheng found they truly lived up to their title—just, kind, willing to sacrifice, fighting for justice without any shady motives, and mostly approachable. He respected them, but he had no particular desire to join in. It was like watching a Hollywood blockbuster—seeing soldiers sacrifice themselves for their country to stop some monster was touching, but jumping in to die yourself was another matter. For one thing, why should he give his life for someone else's country?

Not to mention, Fang Zheng had been in this world for less than a month. He had no emotional attachment to it. Strictly speaking, he only knew Stone and Miss M. Dying for this world was out of the question. So Fang Zheng decided to let Malte take the lead while he played a supporting role, ready to retreat at the first sign of trouble.

After all, his portal cooldown was almost up. If things went south, he could just find an opportunity to use his invincibility and hearthstone to teleport away. It wouldn't be that hard.

"Let's go down and check the situation."

Finally, Malte made his decision.

"Something's wrong here. I don't believe they'd be this careless. Even if they're holding a ritual, they wouldn't leave no scouts outside."

Since Malte gave the order, Fang Zheng had no intention of objecting. He followed the others, carefully descending the cliff, watching their surroundings as they approached the quarry.

The massive quarry was empty, only the howling wind whistling through the cracks. Fang Zheng gripped the Skycleaver Sword tightly, scanning the area cautiously—the Lich King's sense only worked on the undead, not the living. No Undead here didn't mean he could just charge in and die.

"Hm?"

Soon, Fang Zheng noticed something off. Among the ruins near the quarry, he spotted scattered bone fragments. From the looks of it, these were remains of destroyed Undead creatures. At first, he thought they were left over from Malte's earlier fight. But then he noticed a set of footprints nearby—fresh footprints, not old ones at all. They looked like they'd been made recently... just before they arrived.

"..."

Fang Zheng frowned, tightened his grip on his sword, and slowly followed the footprints toward the ruins. From the outside, it seemed to have once been a foreman's quarters, but now it was mostly collapsed, with only a few walls still standing. Fang Zheng stared at the wall before him, thought for a moment, then raised his sword.

"Shing!"

But before his sword could fall, a black shadow suddenly leaped from the other side of the wall, charging straight at him. Startled, Fang Zheng quickly swung his sword forward, colliding with the shadow. With a "thud," the shadow flipped backward and landed steadily on the ground. Only then did Fang Zheng get a clear look at it.

"What the hell is this?"

Staring at the shadow, Fang Zheng was dumbfounded. What appeared before him wasn't the Undead he'd expected. Instead, it was a pitch-black panther. But unlike a normal panther, its body had a deep blue, starry-sky-like hue, and it was semi-transparent. Moreover, inside the panther's body, Fang Zheng could see straight silver lines connecting its limbs and head. If the panther stood still, it looked more like a constellation than a living creature.

What in the world was this?

Just as Fang Zheng was hesitating, about to call for Malte and the others, a cheerful voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"Mr. Fang Zheng! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Hearing this voice, Fang Zheng froze. Then he saw a cloaked young girl emerge from behind the panther, panting as she ran out of the ruins, waving happily at him. Though he wasn't very familiar with her, she wasn't a stranger.

"...Miss M?"