Forever by your side

More and more players poured in from every direction.

They surrounded the Evil Spirit Warrior in ring after ring.

While players with the Taunt Life Soul took turns keeping the Evil Spirit Warrior under control, others hauled the barely conscious Broken Star away.

They escorted him farther and farther from the scene.

The remaining players charged the Evil Spirit Warrior in wave after wave, preventing it from going after the God of Wealth again.

The players also shared the Evil Spirit Warrior's analysis panel in the Regional Voice Channel during the battle.

[Earthbound Evil Spirit (Commander Level)]

Hunting Level: 63

Target analysis: An intelligent Evil Spirit born from the Dark Tide, possessing powerful combat awareness and fighting skills.

Despite being surrounded by players and already severely weakened, the Evil Spirit Warrior remained unstoppable.

Even its casual attacks easily killed players in droves, while their attacks could not even break through its bodily defenses.

The players' only advantage was their sheer numbers. They charged forward one after another, with more figures constantly arriving from every direction to help.

"Who else has a Taunt Life Soul? We're not going to hold out much longer. This thing isn't something we can beat by throwing bodies at it."

"Anyone with Taunt, type 1 in the regional channel. I'll invite you to a party so we can use Taunt in turns and buy the God of Wealth more time."

Players with the Taunt Life Soul were a minority, after all, and soon a gap appeared in their chain of taunts.

But to the players' surprise, the Evil Spirit Warrior did not pursue the God of Wealth. Instead, it turned into a streak of black light, shot into the sky, and flew north.

With the crisis over, the players finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the God of Wealth's life had been saved.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Blood Plains, Broken Star remained unconscious. The Rune Battle Armor on his body flickered faintly at intervals, as though breathing.

Black death energy had already spread all over him, and its corrosion further worsened his injuries.

As his life hung by a thread, Broken Star dimly saw his deceased father.

The man who had died in his place.

Memories from when he was seven surged over him like a tide. Endless pain had filled his childhood.

In his memories, the Dark Tide had seeped into his body through a mark on the left side of his chest, corroding his heart as time passed.

The last time he had seen his father, his consciousness had already grown hazy, yet he still clearly remembered his father smiling as he stroked his head.

"Star, do you want to have strength as great as mine?"

"Yes... With strength as great as yours, I'll definitely beat the corrosion... And someday, I'll join the Against the Tide Legion like you and become a warrior of honor."

"I hope you'll keep walking the road ahead with courage."

"Dad, where are you going?"

"I won't leave. I'll always be by your side, watching you grow."

His consciousness had sunk into sleep at that moment.

When he woke, his father was gone, along with the corrosive energy that had seeped into his body.

His once-failing heart now beat powerfully. When he looked down, he discovered an energy core on the left side of his chest, connected to his heart.

At that moment, he understood his father's choice. This was what his father had meant by always staying by his side and watching him grow.

His failing, decaying heart had been removed and replaced with his father's strong, powerful heart.

From the priest's explanation, Broken Star learned that the energy core on the left side of his chest was a seal on the powerful heart within him. His frail body could not withstand the power of his father's heart. The energy core was a mechanism that controlled the heart's power, and twisting it would release the seal.

As the heart and energy core connected perfectly, a wisp of his father's lingering consciousness flashed one last time.

"With every turn of the energy core, I will fight by your side."

Memories churned in Broken Star's mind. His body grew weaker, and the injuries inflicted by the Evil Spirit Warrior continued to worsen.

The death energy that had seeped into his body caused his organs to fail rapidly. Only his heart still roared on, sustaining the last flicker of his life.

Just as his consciousness was about to sink into oblivion, Broken Star dimly saw his father standing nearby, smiling and reaching out to him.

"Stay close behind me."

Holding his father's hand, Broken Star walked toward the faint light ahead. At that moment, the surrounding darkness no longer seemed frightening.

Meanwhile, the players watching nearby were frantic.

Through Guide's analysis feedback, they discovered that the God of Wealth was on the brink of death and could die at any moment.

At that moment, many players chose to lend a hand.

"I made 800 Sacrificial Power off you, so consider this healing pill worth 50 Sacrificial Power my repayment." After speaking with a pained expression, a player produced a green pill and stuffed it into Broken Star's mouth.

"God of Wealth, you can't die!" Another player exchanged 10 points of Sacrificial Power for a bottle of low-grade healing potion and poured it over Broken Star.

"I'm a doctor. Everyone move aside and let me examine his injuries... I can't make sense of this. Better spend some money on medicine."

With the players pouring healing potions over him and his heart beating indomitably, the dying Broken Star was dragged out of the abyss of death little by little.

His injuries began to heal at a visible rate.

Seeing this, the players surrounding Broken Star cheered and jumped for joy.

"Look at the analysis feedback! The God of Wealth's 'dying' status has changed to 'weakened.' We did it!"

"Then why aren't you running? The God of Wealth will definitely attack us when he wakes up. He's vicious. Get out of here!"

"Run, run! The God of Wealth kills without blinking. If he sees us here, we're definitely getting an hour in the timeout room."

Seeing Broken Star's injuries gradually heal, the players withdrew one after another, unwilling to stay any longer.

Though they liked Broken Star, they knew even better that he had no fondness for them at all. Every time they met, he came at them with two huge blades and started killing.

Not long after the players dispersed, Broken Star slowly regained consciousness.

Opening his eyes, he looked down at the energy core connected to his heart on the left side of his chest, then swept his gaze around.

He did not understand why he was here. Where had the Evil Spirit Warrior he had fought gone?

Puzzled, he tried activating the combat information storage function embedded in his Rune Battle Armor. Countless recorded images immediately flooded his mind.

He saw the mysterious creatures he hated to the bone risking their lives to save him just as he was about to die. He also saw them dragging him away from the Evil Spirit Warrior and fighting it to the death to buy time for his evacuation.

The combat recording ended with images of the mysterious creatures treating his injuries.

After watching the recording, Broken Star's hatred for these mysterious creatures turned into gratitude.

He did not understand why they had done this, but he knew that their desperate efforts had bought his survival.

No amount of hatred could amount to anything beside this debt.

Sitting up, he took a thumb-sized rune emblem from his bracer.

"The trial has failed. It's time to go back."

After this battle, the obsession in his heart had dissipated. He decided to abandon the trial and leave.

With the mysterious creatures obstructing him, he could never collect enough Evil Crystals. And when they met again, he no longer wished to kill them.

"Once I'm strong enough, I will repay your kindness."

With that, Broken Star flew straight into the sky.

An hour later, Broken Star appeared before the enormous crater he had made upon arrival, ready to insert the rune emblem in his hand into the Shuttlecraft and summon the overseer to pick him up.

But when he looked down into the crater, he was stunned to discover that the Shuttlecraft was gone.

Frowning slightly, he tried activating his Rune Battle Armor's positioning system, only to discover that he could no longer detect the Shuttlecraft's precise location. He could not even read any information from its fragments.

His heartbeat abruptly accelerated, and his blood pressure soared with it. Broken Star's eyes turned completely red.

One possibility occurred to him.

An ability that could make objects disappear entirely... Who else could it be but those mysterious creatures?

Half a day earlier.

Player Forum:

[Guys, I hit the jackpot! I found a machine at the bottom of a huge crater, tossed it into the Sacrificial Altar, and got 38,000 points of Sacrificial Power! This is amazing. It's practically like winning the lottery. Monster World really does have opportunities everywhere. Guide wasn't lying to me!]