Again

Dead silence.

Whether it was the forums of Nine Provinces, the forums of Prison Rock, or even the various arena spaces, a deathly silence fell for several seconds the moment the announcement of the end of the recapture battle was announced.

There's no way around it, it's just too fast.

Let alone the players.

Even the system's standard procedures are malfunctioning.

It initially intended for players to spectate, but in the end, all players were left with nothing to watch. If this had happened in Lu Xiu's previous life, it would have been considered a major incident.

certainly.

The system obviously didn't think that way; it simply went into hiding, issuing an announcement and then ignoring the issue.

Only a disorganized group of players remained.

Soon, the Nine Provinces forum exploded.

New posts are appearing so fast that it's impossible to see them clearly.

Holy crap!!!

[Did I see wrong? Or has the system gone mad? She won?! Lu Xiu actually won?! How did she win?! And—a one-hit kill?!]

[Case solved! The black screen wasn't caused by a system glitch at all! It was probably because the battle ended too quickly, so quickly that the system's spectator view didn't even have time to switch before the battle was over!]

[Awesome----Now the only question left is, how did Lu Xiu do that? She's only at Sequence 2!]

That's a full 18 points difference in base attributes! And that doesn't even include the hidden differences. With such a high ranking difference, the opponent must have been farming dungeons for at least two more years longer than her! How could she possibly one-shot her under these circumstances?

[Clearing the civilian dungeon is considered a first-time clear, and the mechanism is completely different from the system dungeon. The rewards for the first clear are the highest, and considering the difficulty of the Lu Xiu dungeon—the rewards she received must be outrageous.]

[Outrageous? How outrageous is that? An instant-death item? It can kill someone across 18 different tiers in one hit! The Guardian of Prison Rock 20]

[Amazing!]

[Lu Xiu is awesome!!! (voice cracks)]

[Where's the person who said she should just stay in the back and do the dungeons, leaving the fighting to other players? Come out and take your punishment!!]

[It's unbelievable that the Architect made a dazzling debut before all the well-known players—how did they manage that? Are the players too weak, or is the Architect too strong?]

[----]

On this side of Nine Provinces.

Most players were very excited.

It's not that the one percent increase in all attributes is that important; in fact, the value isn't that high, and before it's stacked up, it has no impact on the vast majority of players.

Most importantly, it boosts morale.

It's like a family where the eldest brother is a scholar, the second brother is incredibly brave, and the third sister is quiet and gentle, seemingly someone who needs the whole family's special protection.

As a result, his enemies came to his door with knives.

She claimed to be a double-flowered red stick—not only was she better at studying, but she was also as brave as her second brother.

Who wouldn't think their family is full of talented people and has a promising future after seeing this?

An absurd sense of contrast.

The morale-boosting effect it brings is really strong.

Meanwhile, the morale on the Nine Provinces side has greatly increased.

Those on the other side of Prison Rock were grieving as if they had lost their parents.

On the Prison Rock Forum, the criticism was almost unanimous, and Blood Dusk was reduced to a pariah.

Meanwhile, countless players in the arena Prison Rock were laughing just a second ago now felt as if they had been doused with a bucket of ice water, chilled to the bone.

Blood Dusk is dead?

In such a short time?

A top-tier player at Sequence 20 was instantly defeated by a Sequence 2 Architect?

A battleground for top players.

Gallagher, who had already sensed something was wrong and had stopped smiling, froze completely upon hearing the system announcement.

He stomped on the ground and suddenly retreated, creating distance between himself and the enemy.

Then, looking at Shen Nian opposite him, his dark red pupils contracted sharply. "---- Blood Dusk's Blood Heavy Armor could withstand even my full-force attack, how could it have its health points instantly depleted? Not to mention that the opponent is only a Sequence 2 player, what's wrong with your Architect? ----Did they use a powerful one-time use item?"

He seemed to want to verify.

"If you say so, then so be it."

Shen Nian glanced at the other Prison Rock players not far away who were being suppressed by Jian Li and whose health had been reduced to the red line. She didn't mind saying a few words and wasting this Prison Rock powerhouse's time.

She gently shook her head, tossing her pretty shoulder-length short hair. "Anyway, the result is as you saw, my master—"

"Wait, aren't we Architect amazing?"

"Owner?"

Gallagher was taken aback.

Shen Nian's ears flushed red. "I said we Architect!"

"A player like you actually agrees to acknowledge a mere level 2 Architect as your master? What a joke! You have absolutely no pride as a powerful person—is this some kind of arrangement by the ruling institution of Nine Provinces? How can you tolerate this? If it were me, I would have killed the Architect!"

Gallagher looked at Shen Nian, who seemed somewhat ashamed, and chuckled before probing, "And do you think it's worth it? Such a precious item just to boost morale once? Just to let a Architect make a name for himself? The arena lasts for thirty days. Are you willing to let Architect waste such an item?"

F

"----A player like me?"

Upon hearing this, the blush on Shen Nian's ears gradually faded, and her peach blossom eyes slowly narrowed as she looked at Gallagher: "If it weren't for Lu Xiu's copy, I would still be wasting my time in that little house in the Old Sea, looking at my mother's message but not knowing which way to go. Not to mention that I didn't acknowledge her as my master, even if I did, so what?"

Killed her for the sake of your pride as a strongman? You, a top player in Prison Rock, really think that way? Is Prison Rock truly a civilized society?

What's the difference between you and wild animals?

Gallagher's face twitched, and he was about to say something more.

"Gallagher!!! What the hell are you doing?!"

Sudden.

A furious voice rang out.

Gallagher jerked his head around, only to find that his teammate was already being trampled underfoot by Jian Li.

He immediately snapped back to reality.

Bullshit! Shen Nian is stalling for time!

But at the same time.

"----Did you notice?"

Shen Nian's voice rang out.

Gallagher turned around abruptly.

Shen Nian had already raised the long sword, which was as tall as herself, horizontally in front of her.

As her pretty, shoulder-length short hair swayed slightly, she gripped the hilt of the knife and slowly drew it out.

A crisp and sharp clang of a blade suddenly rang out.

The moment the blade is drawn from its sheath.

Space seemed to be torn apart, and the surrounding air trembled slightly—black lines slowly emerged.

Gallagher immediately raised his hand, activated his skill, and shouted a vulgar curse from the Prison Rock Kingdom.

At the same time.

Similar conversations occurred in other arenas, though less dramatic.

But the one who was most shocked by this recapture battle was Blood Dusk.

Prison Rock, Obsidian City.

Not long ago, he was confidently declaring that he would take down Blood Dusk, who was giving away morale for nothing—but now he stands blankly in his residence.

And before him, the window announcing his defeat still hung.

But even now, he still hasn't come to his senses.

Or to be more precise, he had no idea what happened in those three seconds!

He remembered that Lu Xiu had prepared a bunch of fancy things, and then, as she drew her knife, a Bai Guang suddenly appeared before his eyes.

And then I opened my eyes again.

He was kicked out of the arena, like a defeated dog, and died straight back in Obsidian City! There was no earth-shattering life-or-death struggle, no sparks of skill clashes, and he didn't even have time to feel the pain of being cut by a blade.

He just died so inexplicably!

Like an insect, it was instantly killed by a Architect was only at Sequence 2!

Are you kidding me!

What exactly did they do?!

What kind of fight is this?!

Most importantly, the result was announced throughout the entire region!

A surge of indescribable rage and humiliation welled up within Blood Dusk.

This humiliation of being used as a stepping stone and a backdrop was like a dull knife, relentlessly cutting at his self-esteem.

"No! No!! She must have used some kind of precious item!!!"

Blood Dusk suddenly roared and smashed the wall next to him with a powerful punch, venting his pent-up frustration.

And just then...

Bang!

The door was suddenly kicked open.

"Who?!"

Blood Dusk suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

But the moment he saw who it was, he froze, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head, and he swallowed back the angry curse that was about to come out.

Several guards, dressed in dark gold armor with the Prison Rock Royal Family branded on their chests, strode in with synchronized steps.

The Prime Minister of Prison Rock followed closely behind.

He asked the question as soon as he came in.

"What exactly happened? Why can't you even defeat a Sequence 2 Architect, who is generally considered to be relatively weak in combat?"

"Cheating!"

Blood Dusk immediately exclaimed, "The Nine Provinces are creating a god! They're definitely creating a god! They've given that Architect a powerful, one-time-use item!"

The Prime Minister of Prison Rock narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Blood Dusk, filled with resentment, said, "Otherwise, she could never have killed me so easily!"

At the same time.

[You have won the recapture!]

[Congratulations on reclaiming Area 05!]

--

[Congratulations on gaining 100,000 Survival Points!]

[Congratulations on gaining 1120 battle merits.]

Lu Xiu listened to the series of system notifications in her ears, but didn't pay much attention to them. The recapture battle couldn't Plunder, and the rewards given weren't very attractive to her.

She glanced down at the Nameless Blade in her hand.

"It seems we've been a little too cautious—"

Lu Xiu's expression was somewhat strange. "I should have known better than to teach so many skills."

1

She shook her head, then walked over and sat down on the sofa.

Absolutely no experience.

but.

This did point her to a path of formulaic conflict.

Start with copper coins, then unleash a combo of skills to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible—at least a Sequence 20 player can't withstand it.

It wasn't a complete loss, was it?

The defenders on the other side arrived just too quickly.

Lu Xiu hadn't even figured out the specific changes in the dungeon as an arena setting yet; she hadn't even had a chance to fight a single dungeon monster—she'd only encountered one, which then ran away.

That's a bit of a pity.

"Since you can instantly kill someone using a formula, why don't you try it again?"

Lu Xiu suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

I didn't have time to figure out the specific changes in the dungeon as an arena setting this time, so let's try again.

To ensure fairness in the competition.

The arena, the recapture battle, and reality are all independent cooling systems.

Simply put, whenever a scene change occurs—whether it's entering the arena from reality, initiating a recapture battle from reality, or being forcibly pulled into a recapture battle while still in the arena—the player's status will be reset, while the cooldown in reality will be calculated independently.

This means that consistently using a formulaic approach to defeat opponents is entirely feasible.

The current guardians are probably all at the same level as Blood Dusk —taking them out in an instant shouldn't be a problem.

Lu Xiu slightly raised her snow-white chin, the more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

They quickly made up their minds.

The situation map was immediately reopened.

And on the situation map.

Prison Rock still occupies more than a dozen areas, some of which were even occupied just today.

"I wonder if the guardian of today's dungeon, Prison Rock, has changed—but I heard it's a low-level dungeon. Let's do yesterday's first."

Lu Xiu pondered as she made her selections.

soon.

She then found another target.

This time, however, the first thing that popped up was not a confirmation window.

[There are 23 hours and 33 minutes remaining until the next no-cost recapture battle. If you forcibly initiate it, you will need to deposit 100,000 Survival Points (plus 50,000 Survival Points each time)]

[Confirm?]

"Is there a cooldown period for retaking the area? The deposit increases by 50,000 each time—this is probably to prevent traitors from repeatedly launching challenges and harming everyone in the area."

Lu Xiu glanced at it, muttered something, and then pressed confirm.

What she has in abundance right now is the Survival Points.

forum.

After the initial shock subsided, the players, who gradually calmed down, began to discuss how Lu Xiu had managed to do it.

And players have gradually reached a consensus.

[I still find it a bit hard to imagine—could this have been achieved with powerful equipment or items?]

[Of course, Lu Xiu has unleashed so many outrageous dungeons, it's perfectly normal for him to have some trump cards—but the fact that he could instantly defeat so many opponents suggests it's a one-time use item. Of course, this might also be related to Lu Xiu's familiarity with the dungeons and his extremely strong combat skills.]

[Morale is soaring! But isn't it a bit of a waste to use such a nuclear-level trump card in a recapture operation?]

[It's hard to say, but if it's for the sake of generating buzz, it's not too bad.]

Interestingly...

On the other side of Prison Rock, after questioning Blood Dusk, the Royal Court, in order to appease the players, also gave the explanation of an item ambush.

Of course, the players on Prison Rock's side had a slightly different attitude.

[So it was all about sneak attacks and disposable items!]

[She still has the home-field advantage! Let her try again! I'll play her! With a trump card of that caliber, I don't believe she can pull out a second one!]

[This is a forced morale boosting effort in Nine Provinces! Don't panic!]

soon.

Both players reached an agreement on the one-time use item.

This sentiment is shared not only by players who haven't been matched with someone, but also by those currently in the arena.

after all.

It's outrageous that a Sequence 2 could instantly defeat a Sequence 20 with their true combat power; it completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

However, just as many players came to this conclusion...

That familiar notification sound came again----

[The Nine Provinces campaign has begun!]

[Challenge Faction: Nine Provinces]

[Challenger: Lu Xiu (Sequence 2)!]

[Defense Faction: Prison Rock]

[Guardian: Aaron (Sequence 21)!]

[Target Area: Area 14]

[Mode: Deathmatch (1v1)]

The outcome of the battle will directly determine the morale of both sides in their respective regions.

The instant the system announcement appeared.

All the players in the discussion were stunned for a moment, then stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Etc!

Coming again?!

Obsidian City, Prison Rock's Prime Minister glared at Blood Dusk, whose face showed disbelief, and his expression turned ashen.

And in the Coordination Bureau.

With a soft "poof".

Yan Fushou spat out the goji berry tea he was drinking.