'Is Happy stronger than Blood Robes and Barren Murderer, who has four high-tier martial arts at Grandmaster Realm?'
Chapter 274 - Nine Dies, One Lives, Ten Dies, None Lives
At the entrance to the main hall of the first level of the royal mausoleum were corpses of the ninjas and the players. They had not disappeared yet, but the blood on the ground had dried up, and it was an abnormal black. Once the people from the four sects left, the many injured members from Soaring Tiger Sect, Hidden Soul Guild, and Beggar's Sect occupied one corner each. Once they used Jinchuang Ointment and circulated their qi to heal their wounds, the hall portrayed the horrifying and desolate sight that would always emerge after a war.
No one noticed that one Soaring Tiger Sect member had disappeared from among the Soaring Tiger Sect group. After a while, they returned without alarming anyone.
The Soaring Tiger Sect members were surprised while the people from Beggar's Sect and Hidden Soul Guild did not notice it.
When the expressions of the people from Soaring Tiger Sect changed upon seeing their companion appear beside them again, a snow white messenger pigeon appeared!
It flapped its wings, and the sound of it leaving broke the dull atmosphere in the hall. The bosses of Hidden Soul and Beggar's Sect looked up and glanced at the people from Soaring Tiger Sect. Hidden Soul Guild's boss turned his head around and looked at his arm, and a bitter look appeared on his face.
Losing an arm could be considered as a major thing in the game, but also as something minor.
Fortunately, the arm he lost was his left arm, which meant that he managed to preserve a certain degree of his fighting ability. Also, he did not lose his left arm completely. He had it preserved in his Universe Bag. Once he got out, he could search for a hospital and have the physicians there sew his arm back. He could then use some expensive medicine to restore himself to his peak condition.
However, before he found a physician, his combat ability would be compromised. His hopes of clearing the royal mausoleum were already quite low!
The people from the four sects had went into the depths of the royal mausoleum some time ago and had yet to retreat. The people from the three sects believed that they had managed to handle the situation, and because of it, they considered going deeper into the royal mausoleum once more.
However, if Hidden Soul Guild's boss had to be truthful, with his abilities and the combat prowess of his remaining brothers, it would be very dangerous if they went in, and Beggar's Sect as well as Soaring Tiger Sect were in the same situation. They were conflicted for a long period of time over the decision on whether they should take the risk or leave the royal mausoleum.
Right then, Hidden Soul Guild's boss snapped out of his daze because of Soaring Tiger Sect's messenger pigeon. He finally realized that it was time for him to make a decision. If he continued to stay there, he would just waste his time and show himself a coward.
"Everyone!"
He placed his fist in his palm and saluted the others with the severed arm. His pale face attracted quite a lot of attention and sympathetic gazes.
"We've rested for a long time, and it's time for us to move. I wonder if you've come to a decision yet, my brothers. Should we venture deeper, or leave?"
Right after he finished speaking, the decision makers of Beggar's Sect and Soaring Tiger Sect stood up from their camps as well.
"Leave?"
Before the person from Beggar's Sect could speak, the man with the tanned face who stood up from Soaring Tiger Sect's Camp took over the conversation with a bitter smile. He spoke with a mocking tone. "Where should we go?"
He then began to laugh in a self-deprecating manner.
The leader of Hidden Soul Guild had a puzzled look on his face. "Brother, what do you mean by that?"
"I'll tell you the truth, I have a companion who logged off once just now. When he logged in again, he was still in this place. He never left the royal mausoleum." He paused for a moment before he swept his gaze over the entire area, then he looked at the faces with the "excited" expressions. "Everyone, do you understand what this means?"
"What?!"
The boss of Hidden Soul Guild was the first to show astonishment on his face.
"This means that unless we find the correct way to leave this place, we will die trapped here. Of course, if we wait until tomorrow, we might be relocated outside. But there is also another possibility."
It was clear that the man with the tanned face had thought about it for a long time. He looked around the main hall and said a possibility that made all the people's hearts tremble in fear.
"There is a possibility that a trap will be activated in the royal mausoleum, and we will all be killed so that it can send us out of the royal mausoleum!"
Boom!
"Impossible!"
A few people did not believe in his words and chose to log off.
But soon, they appeared where they logged off, just as the man with the tanned skin had said they would.
The face of Hidden Soul Guild's boss turned even paler.
His eyes sparkled for a moment. He trembled as he brought out his pen and paper. He wrote a sentence on it and sent the letter.
In truth, their masters had indeed given them a reminder while they gave them the quest that there were many traps in the royal mausoleum and they were to be careful. They had to quickly kill all the ninjas to be considered to have perfectly completed the quest.
But by then, not a single trap in the royal mausoleum had appeared!
The only things they saw were the ninjas' ambush.
Hence, the words of the man with the tanned face from Soaring Tiger Sect were justified. At the moment the traps in the royal mausoleum were activated, everyone inside it might die.
*****
A few Hidden Soul Guild members went out onto a street in a hurry and found a diviner who had set up his stall there. Without any hesitation, they brought out a bag of money and slammed it on the counter.
"I have a question."
"If you are searching for your eight words, your fate with fortune, a person, or seeking the secrets of the universe, I can help you. Do tell me your request."
The diviner grinned and grabbed the money bag. He watched the three people with an amicable gaze. "My divinations are accurate. As long as it is within the five magnetic forces[1], I will have no problem in figuring it out."
"Oh? That's perfect." The members of Hidden Soul Guild looked at each other. Then, one person said, "Master, do you know of the royal mausoleum?"
"Royal mausoleum? There are plenty of royal mausoleums. There are plenty of emperors and princes who share different names from the royal family. All of them have built royal mausoleums. Could you tell me the details? Which one are you referring to?"
The diviner stroked his graying beard.
The player cast the area around him a wary glance. Then, he leaned over and whispered into the diviner's ears.
The diviner's expression changed swiftly, and he stared at the trio in front of him incredulously.
"Yan Dynasty's royal mausoleum? You actually found the royal mausoleum of the former dynasty, Yan Dynasty?"
Countless people immediately turned their eyes onto them.
Dynasties and royal mausoleums were shocking words. Naturally, it caused the imaginations of many players in the area to run wild, and they quickly surrounded the stall.
'This damn old man!'
Even though they knew that diviners were not people who could protect secrets, the trio from Hidden Soul Guild still felt gloomy, as if they had been set up by the diviner. Hence, they decided to just admit it. "That's right, it's Yan Dynasty's royal mausoleum. We want to know how we can get out."
"This is…" The diviner put on a troubled look.
The three people from Hidden Soul Guild clearly knew the trade. They just brought out another bag of money.
The diviner said nothing.
They gave him another bag of money!
In truth, they were very worried that three money bags would not be enough to buy the service from the diviner.
The diviner brought out a turtle shell and coin used for divination. He shook them and made them make clear sounds. Then, they fell on the Eight Trigrams diagram.
He frowned.
Then, right under countless players' attentive gazes, he said slowly, "Nine dies, one lives, one mercy. Hmm… Living Door opens once every twenty-four hours. It is not acceptable to leave at this time… This means that within twenty-four hours, you must find the exit, or else, Living Door will close, and all will die."
The expressions of the members of Hidden Soul Guild changed swiftly. They quickly sent a messenger pigeon with the divination's results into the royal mausoleum.
*****
Hidden Soul Guild's boss crushed the paper while feeling speechless!
"Damn it! We actually ran into this sort of quest that guarantees certain death?!"
Once the guess was proved to be right, the people in the main hall went wild.
"What the heck?!"
"If we sit around, we're just going to die! Let's just slaughter our way inside!"
"That's right!"
"Those from the four sects are still inside. They definitely know more than we do!"
"Let's go! Come on, we have to go!"
Once some of the people stirred up the others' motivation and the decision makers agreed to their suggestion tacitly, many people stood up, and the three sects formed groups to surge into the tunnel with a mighty momentum.
Very soon, the main hall in the royal mausoleum became completely empty.
Chapter 275 - The Ninja King’s Clone Who Vanished?
A blue figure entered the depths of the second long tunnel in the royal mausoleum at the speed of lightning. After getting through the two levels in the beginning, the man often saw Knife-throwing Ninjas, Cloning Ninjas, and Japanese Ninjas moving about by themselves. There were few Shadow Warriors, and Shadow Ninjas could barely be found.
Happy naturally acted at the speed of lightning against those people who came to bother him. He killed with one hit, took their drops, and continued charging forward without stopping.
Hence, after him, all sorts of ninjas' corpses could be found lying in the tunnel.
Usually, as long as they cleared the first two levels, the players would be able to obtain quite a lot of masterpieces and treasures from the boxes and feel quite satisfied.
However, the design of Yan Dynasty's royal mausoleum was very complicated!
Not only had the designers calculated the possibility of tomb robbers eyeing the treasures inside, they had even calculated the possible reactions from the tomb robbers after they saw the treasures that had no traps and defenses set up for them.
They would naturally relax their guard and take all the treasures at will.
If they really did that, the date of their deaths would be right around the corner!
If they spent too much time at the first level of the royal mausoleum, when they discovered the entrance to the second level, it would be too late.
The second level was a world filled with traps and powerful puppets!
It was completely different from the first level and held the real treasure of the Yan Dynasty!
It was the heirloom seal and the tribute given to the former dynasty—Nation Protecting Divine Sword!
The ninjas who were used to concealing their presence and hiding could "co-exist" with the puppets, and as of then, they had formed the most terrifying trap. It had killed countless martial artists in Happy's past life.
The second level of the royal mausoleum was not a place Happy could clear on his own!
He moved through the third main hall at lightning speed. When he arrived at a fork that was near the entrance to the second level of the royal mausoleum, several cold presences suddenly rose from different directions.
Four faint black shadows shot out from the different tunnels and surrounded Happy without a sound!
His expression changed slightly, and he came to a swift stop.
However, it could no longer stop the ambushers from launching their attack.
Black longswords thrust outward without a sound. They brought with them faint demonic presences and killing intent. At the moment they thrust toward Happy, they finally let out a faint sound!
Shadow Ninjas!
The Shadow Ninja who had retreated from the main hall of the royal mausoleum had finally attacked decisively when Happy was about to reach the end of the first level.
She had three more companions with her as well. They were also Shadow Ninjas, and their black longswords appeared from three other directions to attack Happy. They created a situation in which they could definitely kill Happy.
A powerful and cold aura swiftly enveloped Happy's body. It automatically adjusted itself and avoided the attacks based on how the four waves of aura came surging at him. The surges of qi in his body also affected the incoming force of the Shadow Ninjas' attacks.
Whoosh!
Happy turned his face slightly, and a sword right before his eyes missed.
The second sword… the third sword… the fourth sword. Happy's body continued to perform all sorts of ridiculously nimble twists one after another until all the sword strikes missed.
At the final moment, Happy moved out of the encirclement formed by the four Shadow Ninjas with their curvaceous bodies.
When he saw that the four Shadow Ninjas had finally decided to show themselves, Happy's gaze turned cold, and he executed Dragon Capture with his left hand!
The Shadow Ninja who was the closest to him was instantly dragged into his grasp!
While the other three Shadow Ninjas swiftly hid themselves on the spot by turning into faint black shadows, the Silver Wolf Emperor Breaker Sword quickly cut through the female ninja's fair neck without any compassion for the woman.
Happy attacked resolutely, and his expression did not change.
To Happy, it was the most fatal weakness of the Shadow Ninjas!
When he saw the three black shadows backing away, he smiled and let go of the lifeless Shadow Ninja's corpse. He activated his Phantasm Body Movement, and a wisp of green smoke shot past the three Shadow Ninjas' bodies.
Whoosh!
At the moment the smoke passed by their bodies, the glare of Happy's sword increased by leaps and bounds!
Three grunts came at the same time as blood sprayed in the tunnel.
Three black shadows staggered after being forced out of their concealment. Each of them had a horrifying wound on their s.e.xy bodies covered by clothes. The trio was enraged. They hid themselves again and turned into faint black shadows before charging at Happy once more. They appeared to be completely unaffected by their injuries.
When it came to headon battles, Shadow Ninjas' attacks could still be effective if they went up against players who did not have a lot of experience. But truthfully speaking, when it came to fighting against Happy, who had a lot of in-game fighting experience, their strength was far from enough.
After engaging in combat a few times, the three Shadow Ninjas were all injured, and their conditions swiftly became worse. As for Happy, aside from using up quite a lot of qi when he dealt with the ambush, he did not even need to activate his Golden Bell Cocoon. Once he gained the initiative and broke the Shadow Ninjas out of their hidden states, their first reaction was never to attack, but to hide themselves.
He seized that fatal weakness of the Shadow Ninjas and got rid of the three Shadow Ninjas with just a few moves. Then, he took a few exquisite looking Universe Bags from their bodies.
"Sure am unlucky."
After he opened the third Universe Bag, Happy found some degree of psychological balance. He got a Black Demon Sword. It was a grade two masterpiece, and it increased 400 damage. Its effect was to absorb light. When it attacked, it would produce no sound. Also, it increased the chance of dealing a fatal strike by 5%. It could be considered the top of the crop amo
ng all grade two masterpieces. However, there was still some disparity in strength when it was compared to Silver Wolf Emperor Breaker Sword.
In the final Universe Bag was a silver-black manual.
At the moment Happy saw it, he felt his heart shake, and he quickly grabbed the manual. There were three words sewn onto its covered in silver thread: Shadow Sword Technique.
'Meh!'
Happy's face filled with disappointment.
He had thought that his luck had suddenly decided to be extraordinarily good, and he had just gotten the Shadow Ninjas' secret technique—Shadow Escape. It was a ninja art, and even though it was a low-grade normal technique, it was still quite effective at certain times. When his opponents were unprepared, he could throw a smoke bomb and have it explode in their faces.
Naturally, Shadow Sword Technique was still pretty good. It could be considered a secret technique, but also a martial art. Its damage was high, but each sword strike required a large amount of mental energy and qi. Happy would need to practice it a lot, and the qi as well as time required to master it would be much more than for normal secret techniques.
For example, Black Dragon Murder would require the user to use up five points of qi everytime they used it, and with his qi right then, Happy could execute it multiple times. However, Shadow Sword Technique was different. Every time he practiced it, he would need to get close to his target once he got into the zone of using that sword technique.
He put away the loot and patted his sleeves, then took a turn as if he was strolling idly in his own courtyard. Within a quiet hall were four ancient longevity lamps that illuminated a staircase leading downwards. The doorway was square in shape, and it was dark behind it.
Happy reached the entrance to the second level of the royal mausoleum, but his expression instantly turned dark.
'This isn't good. Where is the Ninja King's clone? It's supposed to be at the first level.'
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 142
