Category: The Azure Longsword

Chapter 27: The Mind Flayer

Martin sullenly turned and left, returning to the group of swordsmen. They immediately gathered around, asking questions:

“How did it go?”

“Did the Second-in-command agree?”

“Should I rally the troops…”

“Go, go, rally what!” Martin said gloomily. “Hans has completely turned into a lackey. He’s his loyal running dog now, telling everyone to listen to that Chief.”

Everyone: …

“That’s impossible?” Everyone was bewildered. “What benefits did he get? His command was taken away, and Hans isn’t even angry?”

“Could it be that this Chief has someone backing him?”

“Who could be more powerful than Master? Master is a physical demigod!”

“Not necessarily.” Someone disagreed. “Don’t demigods need to eat, drink, and shit? Our whole group has thirty or forty people, where does the money for food, drink, and supplies come from?”

“From noble sponsorship! Isn’t Nuremberg in charge of that?”

“Exactly! This Chief must be the child of some great noble in the Empire, here for leisure and to gain some experience! Otherwise, how could Master personally arrange for him to join the group, make Nuremberg accept his chief status reluctantly, and make Hans act like his lackey?”

Everyone was shocked. They had mostly seen nobles before, but great nobles… there were only a few sacred families in the country: Saxony, Wolf, Weisbach, Wettin, Hohenstaufen, you could count them on one hand. Which family did this Asker guy come from?

“Even if he’s from a great noble family, he can’t just command blindly!” Someone expressed that swordsmen shouldn’t fawn over the powerful. “He grew up spoiled, how much combat experience could he have? Bringing a few pretty weapons and two female Transcendental attendants, and he comes out to command everyone to resolve an anomaly? Does the anomaly recognize his noble status?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Martin said impatiently. “Hans has already threatened to kill anyone who disrespects this Chief.”

So everyone could only sigh. They definitely had to give Hans face, what else could they say?

Just listen honestly.

Over here, Asker waved his hand, ordering everyone to advance and explore. The team moved forward sparsely.

Entering the second hall, there were many vertical cultivation tanks, most of which seemed to be still well-sealed. The liquid inside wasn’t decayed or cloudy, soaking terrifying supernatural creatures that resembled octopuses.

The paper documents on the table were almost completely decayed, but the writing on a small blackboard placed flat on one of them, written with an inert pen, was still clearly legible.

Ordering the swordsmen to guard the surroundings, Asker took the two girls to look at the blackboard, which read:

“…KETER-O22W73FH, Sealed Species ‘Mind Flayer’.”

“Appearance similar to an octopus, cannot move freely, can only parasitize other organisms. Can directly manipulate mind and spirit body, thereby controlling the host’s actions, has intelligence, thought patterns converge with the host. Can continuously read the thought activities of surrounding mental bodies.”

“For the host, being possessed means death. Once the Mind Flayer leaves the host’s body, it will cause the host’s life signal to cease immediately. Therefore, all disposal regulations for human experimental subjects do not apply to the Mind Flayer hosts in this project.”

“Current ongoing projects include: Mental Body Parasitism Experiment, Controllable Brainwashing Experiment, Memory Add/Delete/Modify/Query Experiment.”

“Note: Multiple Mind Flayers gathered together will form a complex mental body thought network, highly dangerous.”

“All Mind Flayers must be sealed separately and independently. Any scientific research involving three or more Mind Flayers must be approved by Omega-level management personnel.”

“Mind Flayers.” Asker pondered. They were supernatural creatures that players found difficult to deal with, and also the source of transcendental materials for the Mind II potion.

The main problem with this monster was that it couldn’t move independently and could only parasitize. Therefore, the type of host it parasitized greatly affected its combat effectiveness.

If it parasitized a goblin, then everyone could kill it directly without effort; if it parasitized a dragon, then they could basically just run away and wait for the demigod bosses to handle it.

Of course, considering the replica infiltration incident in this anomaly, where various mercenary teams were lured to explore a certain place and then disappeared… Asker had basically already guessed their parasitic targets.

It must be those missing mercenaries.

Asker pondered silently, then saw Nuo beside him writing rapidly in her notebook, her eyes shining:

“Captain, are these the legendary ancient scientific research materials?”

“What’s the use of you writing these down?” Asker asked.

“To write my graduation thesis,” Nuo said.

“Aren’t you graduated yet?” Asker asked in surprise.

“I’ve already applied for delayed graduation.” Nuo poked her cheek with her pen and replied, “I find the graduation thesis topics in my department uninteresting.”

Oh, right. With this girl’s family background, she probably didn’t have to worry about things like not getting her degree. If her family said a word, the university would probably deliver the degree certificate directly to her.

Asker chuckled, then heard Hans run over and say:

“Encountered enemies in the right passage, two injured.”

“Let’s go.” Asker followed Hans and saw four or five swordsmen surrounding a person and hacking away.

The person looked like a mercenary, left shield right sword, wearing light leather armor, with an “octopus helmet” (Mind Flayer) on his head, currently defending rapidly against the attacks of the surrounding swordsmen.

“This guy’s prediction is quite good.” Hans watched from the side. Five swordsmen were already engaged, others couldn’t squeeze in, and could only watch the mercenary struggle, seeming about to be hit by a sword in the next second, yet always managing to dodge, parry, or block the surrounding attacks at the last moment.

“It’s not prediction, it’s mind reading.” Asker said, seeing Nuo treating two injured swordsmen in the corner. One was hit in the leg, the other had a cut on his abdomen, but fortunately, neither seemed serious.

“Mind reading?” Hans paused.

“Reading from your thoughts how you are going to attack, and then defending accordingly in advance.” Asker replied, pushing aside the onlookers. “Alright, you guys fall back, fighting like this won’t kill him.”

The five swordsmen looked at each other and immediately retreated under mutual cover – onlookers might not know, but they, having fought him personally, felt that this enemy was really hard to beat. It felt like “a needle couldn’t pierce, water couldn’t splash in,” as if no matter what moves they used, they couldn’t break through his defense.

The mercenary with the octopus hat on his head made a rattling sound, his pupils dilated, seemingly staring at Asker, then… suddenly dropped his shield, turned, and fled. Asker thrust his sword, pinning him to the wall.

“No way? One hit kill?”

“It’s because this guy himself was exhausted and tried to turn and run, exposing a clear weakness.”

The swordsmen discussed among themselves, clearly trying to make excuses for the previous five swordsmen.

However, the five swordsmen themselves had the most incredulous expressions. They had fought him for so long, could they not tell if he was exhausted?

It definitely wasn’t a matter of stamina, it was more like… he was afraid of the man in front of him and turned to flee.

Asker’s sword strike was perfectly placed, passing through the opponent’s abdomen without killing him directly. The two swordsmen nearby wanted to step forward and finish him off, but Asker stopped them.

He walked forward and stared at the mercenary for a moment – more precisely, at the octopus on his head – then pulled out the sword pinning his abdomen.

Chapter 26: Illegitimate Child

Underground Research Institute, main hall.

By now, Asker, with his rich gaming experience, had a general outline of this anomaly in his mind.

It was a classic large-scale anomaly dungeon, with a three-layer structure:

The outermost layer, located in the material world, was a virtual town constructed from the residents’ consciousness, filled with various “nightmare monsters.”

On this layer, players not only had to deal with monster attacks but also beware of replicas created by the psychic anomaly infiltrating their team.

If they couldn’t find a way to identify the replicas, the only way for players to clear this level was to kill all the monsters in the dungeon before the team fell apart.

Once all the monsters were killed, the town’s residents would wake up – of course, they would still be trapped in the sea of subconsciousness. And the real world would simply become an empty, abandoned town, cleared of monsters.

Therefore, this was an imperfect clear method. Players could only obtain a bunch of Philosopher’s Stone fragments to sell for money.

The second layer, located in the fog of the sea of subconsciousness, was the real town of Runefield, which had been swapped out by the anomaly.

If players saw through the replicas’ trickery, the anomaly, after confirming this through some algorithm, would teleport these “clever players” to the second layer.

Here, players could find the sleeping residents and learn part of the truth about the anomaly’s formation.

As the players on the outermost layer killed more and more monsters, the sleeping residents on the second layer would gradually awaken.

Asker guessed that when the number of awakened residents reached a certain ratio, the real town would be attacked by monsters – after all, many strange psychic supernatural creatures also lived in the sea of subconsciousness.

If the players on this layer were ultimately wiped out, then they could only hope that the players outside could kill all the monsters and achieve the first type of clear condition.

If the players withstood the monster attack, they could then look for a way to send the real town back to the material plane.

For example, among the awakened townspeople, there might be a senior scholar of the Mind Sequence who mentioned a method to restore the anomaly, but this method required a large number of Mind-type transcendental materials.

Players could obtain enough transcendental materials by killing Mind-type supernatural creatures in the sea of subconsciousness, eventually swapping and restoring the real town and the virtual town, so the town residents could return safely, and the players could also receive a more generous reward from the Duke of Carinthia.

As a veteran game developer + long-time player + professional player, although Asker was just guessing, his estimation of the dungeon plot was pretty close.

Of course, this still couldn’t reveal the truth behind the anomaly. Therefore, this dungeon had another core layer, the source of the anomaly – the ancient Solomon Empire research ruins.

This was equivalent to the dungeon’s EX hidden high-difficulty map. If the players were high-level enough to easily crush supernatural creatures, or had a strong desire to explore and were meticulous enough, or were simply lucky enough, they could find the entrance to the underground area in a remote warehouse.

It was conceivable that there would be more difficult high-level monsters in the research institute, as well as more generous rewards – potions or supernatural equipment.

To be fair, this dungeon system was well-structured, catering to combat-focused players who loved fighting, intellectual players who liked analyzing and reasoning the plot, and RPG players who enjoyed exploring and looting. In the game forums of his previous life, this dungeon would score at least 8 out of 10.

“Chief Asker!” Hans called out. “What do we do next?”

Asker came back to his senses, looked at the disgruntled swordsmen, and said calmly:

“This should be the entrance hall of the research institute. Let’s continue forward, maintain battle formation, and be ready to deal with any anomalies and monster attacks.”

“What kind of formation specifically?” Hans asked.

“Simple.” Asker said. “Three people per squad: a Fury Sword Style swordsman in the center, flanked by a Dueling Sword Style and a Splitting Sword Style swordsman. Outside the squads, the Winding Sword Style takes the lead and engages first, while the Glancing Sword Style disperses throughout the team, maintaining mobility.”

“All squads advance in an arc formation, with spellcasters and healers protected in the center.”

Isn’t that just what we always do? The swordsmen complained inwardly, since this was basically their usual formation.

The five styles of Richard Tennar’s swordsmanship, theoretically, every swordsman of each style would also practice the moves of all other styles. However, depending on the style, the swordsmen would have their own signature moves and fighting styles.

Fury Sword Style focused on “Mountain Splitter,” emphasizing offensive pressure, attacking wildly like a raging fire to quickly kill enemies.

Dueling Sword Style focused on “Throat Cut,” emphasizing weapon clashes and parries, focusing on defensive counterattacks.

Splitting Sword Style focused on “Moon Slash,” emphasizing dodging and attacking, a counter-attacking swordsmanship.

Therefore, Fury Sword Style dealing damage in the center, flanked by Dueling Sword Style and Splitting Sword Style for support, was the most standard formation.

Winding Sword Style focused on mobile offense, requiring quick reactions and decisive strikes. Dodging immediately after the enemy attacked and following up with a “Half Moon Slash” was very effective against surprise attacks.

Glancing Sword Style was a pure assassin-type swordsmanship, specializing in “Lunge.” They would stand sideways and glance at the opponent, luring them to attack, creating opportunities through defense and parries, and then ending the fight with a sudden slash or thrust.

In summary, the characteristics of the five sword styles had already determined the roles of the swordsmen in the formation. Asker’s tactical arrangement…was very standard, lacking any unique features, causing collective complaints from the swordsmen.

However, Hans fell into deep thought, he wasn’t as simple-minded as the other swordsmen. In fact, from the moment Asker effortlessly arranged this formation, Hans had immediately realized the key point:

This Chief Asker, who had never had any contact with their Richard Tennar Swordsman Group before, clearly knew the style and characteristics of each of their swordsmanship styles!

How did he do it? Hmm? Right! Could he be Master’s illegitimate child out there?

All the clues quickly connected in Hans’s mind.

Why did Master, usually a man of few words, recite so many poems today – a father reunited with his son, his heart filled with joy.

Why could this Asker withstand Master’s sonic boom attacks – demigod bloodline, extraordinary.

Why did Master insist on giving Asker the title of chief – inheriting the family business, continuing the glory.

Holy crap! Then wouldn’t this Asker become the leader of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group in the future?!

Although Master was already a demigod, with an incredibly long lifespan, there was no guarantee that one day, in pursuit of a higher realm, he wouldn’t hand over all worldly affairs to Asker. If that day really came…

He had to start sucking up now!

“Hans.” A call startled Hans from his daydream. He turned his head and saw Martin, the fifteenth in command, sneaking over:

“It’s like this, everyone thinks this Asker guy is unreliable. It would be best if you led the team, Hans, otherwise, what if he gives us bad commands…”

“How do you know he will give us bad commands?” Hans glared and snapped.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Martin said with a smile. “Look at the formation he arranged, so bland and uninspired…”

“What do you mean bland and uninspired, that’s called steady! Steady, understand?” Hans scolded him. “Stop thinking about useless things, and tell those troublemakers behind you, whoever disrespects Chief Asker is disrespecting me, Hans! If anyone dares to disrespect me, I’ll kill them during training!”

Martin: …

Chapter 25: Outside the Town

“So, my sister went into the anomaly?” Ludwig asked with a sigh.

“My knight escorted her to the inner camp, and then she disappeared,” said the Duke of Carinthia. “No one saw anything, not the knight on duty, the patrolling guards, or anyone else.”

“I see.” Ludwig was disheartened. He understood the Duke’s implication:

His sister was most likely a Transcendental.

It wasn’t a big deal in itself; many noble children experimented with potions – but only after marriage and childbirth, when they could keep their secrets safe.

Becoming a Transcendental before marriage was foolish. You didn’t know if your future spouse and their family were trustworthy. There was not only the risk of being deemed a heretic by the Church, but also the issue of reduced fertility for Transcendents.

For nobles, an heir to inherit their title and estate was crucial. A bloodline ending was an almost unacceptable flaw. If Eleanor had become a Transcendental…

…then her marriage prospects would become a major headache for their father.

Ludwig looked towards the town in the distance, a worried sigh escaping his lips.

Inside the town.

Eleanor thrust her spear, a Dragon Spear, lifting the scorpion-like monster into the air, slamming it down, then a Triple Cloud Piercer, and a final Iron Cutter sending it flying.

She had mastered the Azure Dragon Rapid Assault, but the captain wasn’t here to teach her any further advanced techniques.

The Free Wind mercenary group had left half an hour ago. To be precise, Matthews had led his men to the other side, to engage the monsters there, and then they hadn’t returned.

This was clearly not right.

The anomaly had warped space earlier, forcing the two mercenary groups together, to try and provoke a fight between them.

Could it be that, having achieved its goal, the anomaly had lifted the spatial distortion?

For example, during the previous large-scale zombie attack, in the chaos of battle, it could have silently replaced some members of both mercenary groups.

These lurking imposters would then strike at the unsuspecting teams at a crucial moment.

When Thira voiced this theory, the girls felt a chill. Even Azure Longsword had three members replaced by two imposters. There was no reason for Free Wind to escape unscathed.

Perhaps that “Matthews” was already an imposter.

However, since the two sides had separated, the girls of Azure Longsword naturally had no reason to worry about them. They could only find a nearby building to hold out in and wait for the mysteriously missing Asker and the others to return.

After killing the last monster, Eleanor sheathed her spear and returned to the church behind them.

This was the church in the town’s central square. In the sermon hall, the girls were sitting on the carpet, trying to comfort a distraught Peggy, who had repeatedly asked to go out and look for Asker. It was thanks to Thira and Mia that she hadn’t run off yet.

“Code?” Thira asked, standing in the doorway.

Eleanor took the crumpled paper from her pocket and compared it with Thira’s. No problem.

“We’re doomed!” Peggy wailed again. “Medea and Nuo must have snuck off! They’re probably kissing right now!”

What could the girls say? They could only try to comfort the delusional Peggy.

“No, no, Nuo is a shy and introverted girl, she wouldn’t sneak off.”

“Then what about Medea? She’s not introverted at all!” Peggy exclaimed.

“Come on, with Nuo there, how could Medea sneak off?” Mia said, trying to reassure her.

“Exactly,” Thira nodded in agreement. “If one of them were alone with Asker, then perhaps. But with both of them present, they’ll keep each other in check.”

“Anyway, Peggy, just stay with us, don’t keep thinking about going out, okay? Otherwise, when Asker and the others return, we’ll have to go look for you.”

“Why wasn’t I swapped?!” Peggy burst into tears – real tears, her eyes brimming.

The other girls awkwardly looked away. First Nuo, then Peggy, and now Medea. Captain, can’t you just define your relationship already?! You’re constantly causing us all this unnecessary trouble!

“The captain is such a scumbag,” Miel, sitting in the corner, suddenly said.

“You can’t blame Asker for this,” Mia waved her hand dismissively, speaking with the air of someone experienced in such matters. “Isn’t that just how men are? When faced with multiple attractive options, they’ll fantasize about a harem, of course. They won’t rush into a relationship with just one.”

The girls were embarrassed. This precocious Mia, who had filled her head with all these harem notions?

“It was Medea, wasn’t it?” Eleanor sighed, standing by the doorway.

“Who else?” Thira rolled her eyes.

“This girl…” Eleanor smiled wryly. “I still can’t figure out what she’s really up to.”

“I always feel like she’s plotting something…”

“Medea is a Transcendental of the Conspiracy Sequence.” Thira said. “The influence of the Conspiracy potion will naturally make a Transcendental more inclined towards darkness and scheming.”

“However, she deliberately had Mia mention ‘harem,’ precisely to prevent a harem from happening – she was reminding us.”

“Reminding us?” Eleanor frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Do you like the captain?” Thira asked casually.

“Huh? No, how could I…” Eleanor was a little embarrassed. “I mean, I know Nuo likes him.”

“Then you understand, don’t you?” Thira leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “People, when they are in the gray area between black and white, can easily shift in either direction. The so-called ambiguous state, knowing but not saying it out loud, is a similar principle.”

“Therefore, as long as you haven’t fallen for the captain yet, while you’re still in the ambiguous stage between ‘like’ and ‘dislike,’ reminding you to confirm your current state means you’ll likely choose ‘dislike.’ Once you’ve made up your mind, it will be difficult to jump to the ‘like’ side later.”

“Is it really that complicated?” Eleanor pondered. “This is what they call ‘the human heart is unpredictable,’ right?”

“Heh, it seems you haven’t answered my question yet.” Thira’s bright eyes stared at her. “Do you like the captain?”

“To be precise, I don’t know,” Eleanor said after a moment of silence. “I… have never thought about it before.”

“Then, if you were to fall for the captain, how would you face Nuo?” Thira continued to ask.

“I would probably back off,” Eleanor said without hesitation this time. “I wouldn’t compete with Nuo, and I definitely wouldn’t destroy our friendship because of this.”

“That means you haven’t fallen for the captain,” Thira nodded. “True love is inherently selfish, it can’t be easily abandoned because of friendship…”

“…just like family ties versus power,” she muttered to herself.

“Then what about you?” Eleanor smiled. “What do you think of the captain?”

“I admire him quite a bit,” Thira admitted. “He’s strong, kind, and he’s been good to me. I feel safe around him.”

“Admiration… is that a form of ambiguity?” Eleanor asked, frowning.

“Sort of,” Thira said lightly. “At least I can’t say for sure that I don’t like the captain. But, as for the future, who knows?”

Chapter 24: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“Master, are you alright?” Nuremberg once again produced a small folding stool from behind him, set it up on the ground for Richard Tennar to sit on, and quickly poured him some tea.

Richard Tennar sat down with his eyes closed, took a sip of tea, and said slowly:

“My strength is exhausted, I cannot fight again. You shall enter yourselves, and do not tarnish my honor.”

This translated to: the old Sword Saint had just used power beyond the magic tide limit, and now he had to suppress his spirituality on the verge of losing control. He wouldn’t participate in the battle anymore, they should go in and resolve the anomaly themselves, and they should do it cleanly and efficiently, so as not to embarrass him.

“Yes, I will stay here and watch over Master.” Nuremberg said respectfully, turning his head. “Then, Hans…”

He was about to order Hans, his second-in-command, to lead the team as usual when he suddenly seemed to remember something and changed his words:

“Chief Asker, could you perhaps lead the team on my behalf? I need to stay here with Master, so…”

“What?!” Except for Hans, all the swordsmen were in an uproar.

Just letting this guy hold the title of chief was one thing; they could tolerate it since it was Master’s decision, though they were still disgruntled.

But now he was going to lead them into battle! What if he was a weakling? Wouldn’t that lead them all to their deaths?

Some hot-headed ones, like swordsman Martin, went directly to Hans’ side, urging him with their eyes to protest.

“I have no objections,” Hans said. “Chief Asker, do you have any problems?”

The swordsmen were dumbfounded. Hans, where were your usual snarky remarks and sharp tongue? Your command had been taken away! Shouldn’t you be making some sarcastic comments right now?

“No problem,” Asker said. “But I’m not familiar with everyone’s strength yet, so let’s have everyone report their swordsmanship level first.”

Well, this guy really takes himself seriously as the leader. The swordsmen were even more disgruntled. Hans stepped forward and said:

“I’ll go first. My name is Hans Dubliner. I am currently the second-in-command of the Swordsman Group, level 7, practicing Master’s ‘Fury Sword Style’.”

“Hmm.” Asker nodded. Richard Tennar’s swordsmanship had five major styles. “Fury Sword” was focused on frontal assault and suppression, considered a rather aggressive style. “Show me a few moves.”

A live demonstration? He’s treating us like circus clowns! The swordsmen felt indignant. However, Hans nonchalantly drew his sword and skillfully swung it on the spot.

Double Moon Slash, a swift lunge, a spinning throat cut, finishing with a backward leaping Mountain Splitter.

“Is that enough?” Hans asked, stopping.

“I have a general understanding,” Asker nodded. “Next.”

No swordsman spoke up. Hans sheathed his sword and pointed at a swordsman in the crowd:

“Andrew Jordan, the third-in-command, step forward!”

Why are you acting like his subordinate?! Andrew thought, exasperated, as he walked forward listlessly. “I’m Andrew Jordan, third-in-command of the Swordsman Group, practicing Master’s ‘Splitting Sword Style’…”

Regardless of the swordsmen’s resistance, arrogance, or provocation, Asker remained calm, and with Hans’s help, he learned about their respective sword styles, levels, and combat habits.

“What about these two ladies? No introductions?” Hans turned his gaze to Medea and Nuo, his tone clearly implying, “What about your two arm accessories?”

“This is Medea, our team’s Arcane Fire Mage,” Asker introduced. Since Psychics were sensitive in the West, it was better to pretend she was a Fire Mage.

Medea, understanding, snapped her fingers, and flames erupted from her fingertips.

“Ooh.” The swordsmen’s expressions softened slightly. After all, Medea was a great beauty with a fiery figure and could manipulate flames. Her combat power was clearly guaranteed, instantly earning her their initial goodwill – of course, it would be better if she wasn’t in this annoying guy’s team.

“The other is Nuo, our team’s healer,” Asker continued.

“Hello everyone, if anyone gets injured, you can come to me,” Nuo said with a gentle smile.

“Whoa!” The swordsmen became even more excited. A doctor! A true friend to swordsmen, after all, who could guarantee they wouldn’t be injured in battle? They usually had to rely on each other for patching up wounds. Now, with such a pure and beautiful young girl, the pain of treatment would be reduced by half!

“Finally, there’s me, Asker. Currently the leader of the Azure Longsword mercenary group and, at your master’s invitation, also the honorary chief of your Swordsman Group.” Asker said finally. “I’m proficient in various weapons and also know a bit about tactical command. I hope everyone will cooperate, let’s have a pleasant collaboration.”

The swordsmen coldly turned their heads, looking everywhere but at Asker.

“Alright, let’s move out!” Asker, ignoring their coldness, said cheerfully. “Everyone, line up and go through the door!”

So Hans led the swordsmen through the gap in the iron door one after another. Although Franks had large frames, these swordsmen seemed to be underfed, and with their high training intensity, they were all lean and thin, quickly passing through the narrow gap.

Nuo squeezed through the gap with some difficulty… Have I gained weight recently? Alarm bells immediately rang in her mind, and she silently deleted her dinner plans.

Then came Medea. She shrunk her body and carefully tried to squeeze through the gap…

…and got stuck.

“Stuck?” Medea was dumbfounded. Nuo, waiting on the other side, and Asker outside, were also stunned.

“You’re stuck.” Asker tried to push her. “You’re too fat.”

“Me? Too fat?” Medea felt a surge of anger and almost cursed out loud.

It couldn’t be helped. The gap wasn’t wide. Sometimes you could just barely squeeze through if you held your breath, but if you relaxed even slightly, you’d get stuck.

However, for women, figure was a sensitive topic. The fact that those swordsmen could pass through, while she, a delicate woman, couldn’t, made it even more embarrassing.

Am I fat? Medea really wanted to curse. I’m just…curvaceous, okay?

Under everyone’s awkward gazes, she held back her curses and just glared at Asker.

Asker borrowed some sword oil from Nuremberg outside (usually applied to the sword blade to prevent rust) and used it as a lubricant, finally pushing Medea through.

She collapsed into Nuo’s arms, pale and silent, as if she had suffered a major psychological blow.

Chapter 23: The Psychic Science Research Institute

“This is…” Medea instinctively tried to read his mind, but found his spirituality was so vast and astonishing that she couldn’t even see his mental body, let alone read his mind.

“Richard Tennar,” Asker introduced. “A Swordsman Group leader.”

The swordsmen outside were speechless. Master is a physical demigod, okay? Don’t casually introduce him as some Swordsman Group leader, it’s too demeaning!

“Chief Asker, these two are…” Nuremberg asked politely.

“Girls from my team,” Asker said.

Well, I just complained about him being too casual when introducing the master, now he doesn’t even bother with names… Nuremberg was speechless.

“Chief?” Medea used mind reading on Nuremberg and immediately understood the situation.

A Swordsman Group led by a physical demigod? And Asker was an honorary chief among them?

She immediately opened a mental link and whispered to a bewildered Nuo.

“Chief Asker, do you think there’s something wrong with this passage?” Nuremberg asked curiously.

“It’s worth investigating,” Asker said. “The old man also thinks there’s something wrong, right?”

Old man… The swordsmen were speechless. This guy showed no respect to a demigod!

“Something feels amiss,” Richard Tennar said.

Well, since Master said so… Nuremberg took the lead, jumping down into the pit and waving for the swordsmen to follow.

“Asker, I’m a little scared,” Nuo whispered, clinging to his arm. She really didn’t want to go back to that creepy place.

“Don’t be afraid, there are more of us this time,” Asker comforted her. “And we have a physical demigod leading the way.”

“Yes.” Medea also wanted to say something, but her gaze fell on Nuo’s hand holding Asker’s arm, and she immediately felt a pang of jealousy.

Why do you always pull away when I hug you, but don’t react when she hugs you?!

“Asker, I’m scared too,” Medea said, feigning fear, and clung to his other arm.

The other swordsmen, staring straight ahead, followed the Sword Saint and Nuremberg into the passage, their peripheral vision constantly glancing back. Hans was the last to jump down into the pit. He looked at Asker and said with a smile:

“Chief Asker, are these two really mercenaries from your group? Not Witch Hunters here to arrest you?”

The three of them: …

Medea and Nuo, each clinging tightly to one of Asker’s arms, did look a bit like “police arresting a criminal.”

“Can you let go of me first? I don’t have any free hands to draw my sword,” Asker said with a wry smile.

“We can let go,” Medea said, looking at Nuo provocatively. “You let go first.”

“Why should I let go first?” Nuo said, a bit annoyed. “You let go of the captain first.”

“You’re holding his right arm,” Medea said, “The captain draws his sword with his right hand.”

“But the captain also needs his left hand to hold his gun,” Nuo retorted.

“Why don’t you two fight?” Hans said with an amused expression. “Whoever wins can be his arm accessory.”

Arm accessory… The two girls glared at Hans and let go of Asker, speechless.

The group continued down the passage. They noticed that the walls, ceiling, and floor gradually transitioned from concrete to steel plates. The swordsmen were amazed.

This latter half of the passage was made entirely of steel? How much steel did that require?!

Nuo and Medea followed Asker at the rear, while Hans brought up the rear, constantly glancing back at them with an amused expression, as if curious about their relationship, making Nuo both embarrassed and annoyed.

She knew she shouldn’t be jealous of Medea in front of outsiders, but seeing Medea lean intimately towards the captain, she couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.

However, returning to the tunnel, she felt a sense of security, perhaps because of Asker’s presence.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Medea suddenly spoke.

“We’re here, this is where we woke up.”

They were at the end of the passage, blocked by a massive steel door.

A line of letters was spray-painted on the steel gate in white paint, which translated to:

Solomon Empire, Pannonia Province, No. 327 Psychic Science Research Institute.

Ancient Solomon Empire? The swordsmen stared at the massive steel gate, frozen in place.

So, behind this steel gate were the ruins of the ancient Solomon Empire?

As expected, it’s them again… Seeing the familiar lettering, Asker couldn’t help but sigh.

The biggest scapegoat in the game, the ancient Solomon Empire, a superpower that once ruled the entire continent during the Fourth Age.

During the Five Good Emperors period, the ancient Solomon Empire reached its peak. For nearly a hundred years, the five Solomon emperors built countless supernatural research institutes across the continent, trying to unravel the mysteries of the various supernatural powers on this planet.

However, after the Five Good Emperors came the famous “Century of Crisis.” The ancient Solomon Empire experienced economic crises, the Great Depression, and political turmoil, leading to the abandonment of most of these secret research institutes.

Because the empire’s descent into chaos was sudden, there was no orderly closure or evacuation of these secret research institutes. Most researchers were conducting experiments as usual when, one day, they suddenly learned: “There’s no more funding.”

The next day: “The person in charge has run away.”

The third day: “The institute has run out of food.”

Those with a sense of responsibility would seal the dangerous specimens before leaving, but most people wouldn’t bother. You haven’t even paid my salary, why should I care?

Therefore, most of these unknown secret research institutes were suddenly abandoned after everyone inside had fled, falling into a long period of neglect. With equipment failures leading to power outages, the protective facilities inside gradually ceased to function.

It was fine before the magic tide rose. But once the magic tide arrived, these supernatural research institutes, without any protective measures and filled with dangerous things, immediately became the sources of various anomalies.

There were even statistics on the forums that 75% of anomaly dungeons were related to the sudden collapse of the ancient Solomon Empire. Calling it the king of scapegoats was definitely not an exaggeration.

“The source of the anomaly is most likely inside,” Asker said.

“Hmm, I think so too.” Nuremberg pondered. With such a large steel gate here, what was sealed inside was definitely not something harmless.

The question was, how to open this gate?

“Please, Master,” Nuremberg bowed and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the other swordsmen quickly retreated, afraid that the master would draw his sword before they could get far enough away.

“Hmm.” Richard Tennar stroked his beard, looking at the massive steel gate. “This will require brute force.”

So the swordsmen quickly retreated further, even Nuremberg hid far behind.

Of course, Asker was the fastest to retreat. After all, they were originally at the back of the group and had already run nearly a hundred meters away with Nuo and Medea.

Is the power of a physical demigod really that great? Seeing everyone’s nervous expressions, as if avoiding a tiger, Nuo looked at Richard Tennar standing alone in the distance, a little curious.

Suddenly, a very faint sword hum reached her ears.

Before she could react, she saw the swordsmen breathe a sigh of relief and walk forward again.

Asker and the two girls walked at the back of the group and saw Richard Tennar standing by the gate. The massive steel gate, five meters in diameter, was now split in two from top to bottom, revealing a narrow gap just wide enough for a person to pass through sideways.

“This is…” Nuo stared at the split gate in shock, noticing that it was almost 1 meter thick. To be able to split a steel gate of this thickness with bare hands…

“This is the power of Law,” Asker also looked ahead and said lightly.

Law… The two girls looked at each other, their hearts pounding.

Chapter 22: Underground Passage

“Medea…” Nuo clutched Medea’s arm, her voice trembling with fear in the dim surroundings. “Is Asker really in that direction?”

“Of course.” Medea said. “This anomaly greatly amplifies the range of my psychic abilities.”

“I’ve already scanned everyone within my range. Asker is in that direction. I could recognize the fluctuations of his mental body even with my eyes closed.”

Nuo wanted to ask “How can you be so sure?” but…

Ever since the two of them had been teleported here by the anomaly, the strange surroundings had filled her with such fear that she didn’t dare ask any more questions, just hurried along, keeping pace with Medea.

They walked along a long passage, the walls made of concrete reinforced with steel plates. Many of the steel plates showed signs of corrosion and rust, silently proclaiming how long this place had been abandoned, making Nuo feel extremely uncomfortable.

It’s a good thing Asker is also nearby, she thought to herself, feeling slightly reassured.

As they continued forward, the terrain gradually sloped upwards. The clear footprints in the dust showed that this passage hadn’t been used in years, the air thick with the smell of dust.

At least the ventilation seemed to be okay; they weren’t having any trouble breathing.

Finally, they reached the end of the passage, blocked by an iron door embedded in the ceiling. Medea tried pushing it, but it wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t locked, but seemed to be held down by something heavy, preventing them from opening it from below.

“Medusa, are you there?” Since Nuo was no help, Medea could only call out mentally.

“This anomaly…is strange…” Medusa’s voice was strained.

“Is your mental body damaged?” Medea asked, frowning.

“It…split me…when it teleported you…” Medusa said weakly.

“Split?” Medea paused, then understood.

Medusa was originally a fragment of her split consciousness. Being split again would undoubtedly cause even more serious damage to the already incomplete Medusa.

“It split you? Then where is the split-off fragment of your mind?” Medea asked hurriedly.

“I don’t know…” Medusa gasped. “I can’t maintain… Now…I have to hibernate…”

“My power…I’ll lend it to you…” Her voice trailed off. “Take it back, Medea…”

“Take back our…mind…”

Medea stood still, speechless.

“What’s wrong, Medea?” Nuo asked.

“Nothing.” Medea said lightly, pulling Nuo back a few steps, then raising her left hand and aiming it at the iron door.

Her main consciousness sank, connecting with Medusa slumbering in the depths of her mind.

As Medusa had said, her sub-personality was now extremely weak, having lost about a third of her mental body, like someone who had been cut in half and was bleeding profusely—Medusa was in immense pain, forcing her into hibernation.

The small amount of pain leaking from her personality made Medea’s body stiffen, cold sweat beading on her back.

But this small amount of pain was enough. The open connection from Medea allowed her to communicate with Purgatory, exchanging pain for increased power.

After all, this was her “talent,” the talent of the Witch of Suffering.

Blue-white flames surged from her hand, instantly melting the iron door, the lock, and everything else above it, even burning through the building’s roof and into the fog-filled sky.

Nuo also felt the intense heat, hurriedly retreating dozens of meters to avoid the scorching air current.

Medea stood in place, a huge stream of flames continuing to pour from between her fingers. The rapidly heated air created a wind in the passage, blowing her wine-red hair backwards. Tiny sparks swirled around her hair.

“That’s!” The swordsmen in the church in the foggy town also saw the towering flames.

Medea? Asker guessed mentally and gave Nuremberg and the others a look.

They hurriedly rushed over and finally, at a building entrance, saw that the flames had dissipated, leaving only a gaping hole in the roof.

“Is this, the town hall?” Nuremberg looked at the building in front of him, taking his sword from his back. “Everyone, battle ready!”

So all the swordsmen drew their swords, holding them vertically in front of their chests with both hands.

Nuremberg took the first step, stepping onto the steps of the town hall, then pointed his sword forward, turned his head, and said respectfully:

“Master, after you.”

Asker, watching from the side: …

Richard Tennar didn’t speak – unless he encountered a skilled swordsman, this old Sword Saint didn’t usually talk much (or perhaps he didn’t have the urge to recite poetry). He stepped onto the steps indifferently and walked inside.

“Let’s go, Chief Asker,” Nuremberg gestured and followed Richard Tennar inside.

Asker followed, noticing the melted marks on the surrounding walls. The air was still filled with heat, the room temperature around 40 or 50 degrees Celsius. The old Sword Saint seemed unaffected, while he and Nuremberg were already sweating profusely.

However, level 5 or above physical strength meant they wouldn’t suffer from heatstroke. They continued forward through the heat, passing through several rooms and corridors, and arrived at the place where the flames had burned through.

It was a warehouse-like room, but the things originally stored inside had been completely burned. The large hole in the ceiling let in light and fog, making it cooler than the other rooms outside.

There was also a large hole in the center of the floor, where the flames had burned through from below. Asker looked down and saw a head emerge from the hole.

“Medea?”

“Captain!” Medea exclaimed, as if surprised. Her mental vision had already detected them.

“Hey, hey, hey, is that Asker?” Nuo’s voice came from below Medea. “…Ow! It’s hot!”

“Be careful not to touch the edges of the hole!” Medea warned her.

“You, know each other?” Nuremberg looked at the two beautiful girls in the hole in surprise, then back at Asker.

“Let’s verify our codes.” Asker said, taking out the crumpled paper from his pocket.

The two girls in the hole also took out their paper balls, unfolded them, and held them up high.

Both sides compared them, no problem.

“So,” Medea breathed a sigh of relief, “hurry up and pull us up…”

Asker jumped down and turned his head, asking, “What did you say?”

“Nothing…” Medea pouted. “Because of the residual heat from the flames, the edges of the pit are incredibly hot, we can’t climb up.”

“It’s alright, it’ll cool down eventually.” Asker looked down into the passage. “What is this place?”

“An abandoned passage,” Nuo replied.

“Leading to where?” Asker asked.

The two girls looked at each other. Leading to where? How would they know? Shouldn’t the priority be getting out first?

“Uh, there seems to be a huge iron door inside,” Nuo whispered. “We didn’t dare get too close…”

“Then we have to go take a look.” Asker replied, thinking from a player’s perspective. A game dungeon wouldn’t have a useless passage, there must be something hidden there.

Medea was about to say something when she saw Richard Tennar also jump down, staring at the end of the passage, silent.

Chapter 21: The Pacifist

Everyone chattered, reporting to their master and chief.

In short, after the anomaly occurred, almost all the town’s residents instantly fell into a deep sleep, struggling in endless nightmares.

Occasionally, a resident would wake up unexpectedly and try to rouse their sleeping family members, but to no avail. So they would go out to the streets to seek help.

Finally, they encountered the swordsmen of Richard Tennar.

At that time, the entire Richard Tennar Swordsman Group had been scattered and randomly teleported throughout the town. So, as they walked the streets, gathering their scattered swordsmen and the awakened residents, they set up camp in the church at the center of the town.

Then the chief and second-in-command set off to find their master, while the rest continued exploring the town, searching for a way to awaken the sleeping residents.

The final results were:

Master found.
Town explored, nothing discovered.
Sleeping residents couldn’t be awakened.

In fact, even the residents who woke up accidentally couldn’t explain what they had encountered in their dreams or what triggered their awakening. The only thing they could remember were the endless nightmares.

“Actually, there may not be a key method to awaken the sleeping residents.” One swordsman said doubtfully. “Maybe these residents just woke up by chance?”

“You can’t say that,” Nuremberg retorted. “Before confirming that we cannot awaken these sleeping residents, we should try every means to wake them up, instead of just watching them struggle in nightmares.”

“But we’ve tried all the possible methods.” Another swordsman said, “Noise, shaking, spinning, calls from loved ones, tickling their noses with feathers, and pouring chili water into their mouths, none of these methods worked.”

Pouring chili water into their mouths… Asker shuddered inwardly, wondering which unlucky person had enjoyed that treatment.

“Since these methods don’t work, let’s try methods we haven’t tried yet!” Nuremberg said firmly. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!”

“Resign yourself to fate, and you court destruction; strive with all your might, and there’s a chance of survival.” The old Sword Saint began to recite poetry again, living up to his title of “King of Recitation.”

The swordsmen replied helplessly, “Master is right.”

“Hey,” Hans walked up to an awake townsperson and asked, “In your nightmare, what exactly happened? Do you remember anything?”

“Monsters…” the resident said with a mournful face, trembling. “Monsters everywhere…”

“What kind of monsters? Be more specific, can they be killed? Will they bleed when killed? Will they scream?” Hans continued to ask.

“Hans!” Nuremberg scolded him. “Don’t frighten the ordinary people!”

“I wasn’t trying to frighten anyone, I just want to know the truth.” Hans slowly stood up. “Or do our two chiefs have any brighter ideas?”

Two chiefs? The swordsmen were stunned, their gazes falling on Asker.

They thought that this man who had entered with their Master and the others was a townsperson they had rescued along the way.

A new chief? You must be joking! We’ve never even seen him before!

Nuremberg, oblivious to their hostility, turned to Asker:

“Chief Asker, do you have any opinions?”

“Opinions, well…” Asker paused. “Did you all encounter any monsters outside the town before teleporting here?”

“I suspect every monster outside corresponds to a sleeping resident in this town. They are the materialization of the most feared image in their consciousness, and also their mental prison, the reason why their physical bodies have fallen into slumber.”

“Killing a monster outside is equivalent to releasing a trapped mental body, and correspondingly, a resident here will wake up. The residents here who have awakened are all because the corresponding monsters outside were killed by mercenaries.”

“What evidence do you have for this reasoning?” one of the swordsmen asked.

“It’s a guess, no evidence,” Asker admitted readily.

“Then how can you prove it?” The swordsman asked bluntly. “If, as you say, the monsters outside correspond to the sleeping residents here, then you have to find a corresponding monster-resident pair, and then kill the monster in front of us to see if the corresponding resident wakes up. Only then can you verify your claim.”

This was, of course, impossible. Not to mention confirming which monster corresponded to which resident, the fact that they hadn’t found a way to leave this small world yet meant that this conjecture couldn’t be verified at all.

Asker couldn’t just say, “Based on my rich experience in the gaming industry, I can determine that this is the dungeon’s mechanism,” could he?

So he chuckled and said, “Then what do you think the truth is?”

“How would I know?” the other party said sarcastically. “I’m not the chief.”

“Hey!” Hans scolded. “Martin, how dare you speak to him like that! Do you want a beating?!”

Are you kidding me, this is the man who could withstand Master’s sonic boom attack, Martin, are you courting death?!

Swordsman Martin didn’t understand Hans’s implication, but simply sneered: “I have no objections to being beaten up by the Second-in-command. After all, your swordsmanship is far superior to mine.”

“However, if any random stranger can become the chief of our Swordsman Group, then what’s the point of our ranking?”

Asker sighed: “Medea…”

Then he paused, realizing Medea wasn’t with him. This provocative guy hadn’t been influenced by Desire manipulation.

No way, do I really have a face that attracts aggro?

“Chief Asker’s appointment was Master’s decision,” Nuremberg frowned.

“Master also has moments of clouded judgment,” Martin sneered.

“Hey, are you going to make a move?” Hans leaned close to Asker and whispered, “This Martin is ranked fifteenth in the group, very arrogant, I’ve long disliked him. But I hope you’ll show some mercy. I think breaking his arms and legs and hanging him up is enough, no need to kill him.”

“Do I look like a murderer?” Asker said, bewildered.

Was it necessary? This Martin was just unwilling to admit defeat, any organization would encounter similar problems with a parachuted-in executive.

However, Asker was just an honorary chief, not a real one with actual power. He naturally didn’t need to make an example of this guy to establish his authority.

“You do.” Hans said seriously. “You’re so young, yet you can withstand Master’s sonic boom attacks. You must be a battle-hardened warrior, a fanatic who treats combat like eating and drinking, otherwise your current strength is inexplicable.”

Asker: …

“Actually, I’m a pacifist,” Asker said.

“Haha,” Hans said.

“You don’t believe me?” Asker asked.

“I’ve never seen a pacifist armed to the teeth.” Hans looked him up and down, his chin in his hand. “Spear, axe, swords, pistol, and even throwing knives and a dagger… How do you promote your pacifist ideals? By killing anyone who disobeys?”

“Not really,” Asker said. “I carry so many weapons because different weapons have different uses.”

“What uses?” Hans asked.

“For those who talk too much,” Asker said. “Spear through the heart, sword through the belly, axe to the feet, dagger to skin them, pistol to the head… let them choose their preferred method of suicide.”

Hans: …

And you say you’re a pacifist!

Chapter 20: The World Turned Upside Down

Hans’s expression was a mix of shock and amusement. Nuremberg’s face was pale. Asker was silent, his mind racing.

It wasn’t false modesty. He was the leader of the Azure Longsword mercenary group, how could he suddenly be appointed the chief of their Swordsman Group?

Old Sword Saint, you should really find someone else.

“Master,” Nuremberg said, his voice trembling, “this… this gentleman isn’t even an official member of our Swordsman Group.”

“Oh.” Richard Tennar seemed to just realize this. “Then let him be an honorary chief. After all, his skills are sufficient.”

Asker: …

If this world had a title system, then, in addition to his existing titles of “Azure Longsword Captain,” “Honorary Member of the Night’s Watch,” and “Eternal Comrade of Sparta,” he would now have another one: “Honorary Chief of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group.”

Being too powerful had this problem. No matter where he went, various forces would try to recruit him, asking him to join them in name.

Asker sighed and said frankly:

“I don’t really care about being your honorary chief or not, but I have my own mercenary group to run, I can’t join your Swordsman Group.”

So he’s the leader of a mercenary group, a colleague then. Nuremberg was relieved and said with a smile:

“Don’t worry, since Master appreciates you and is willing to give you the position of honorary chief, you can just accept it. We won’t force you to join us, it’s just an honorary title.”

Hans watched from the side, sneering inwardly. He could see that Nuremberg was worried that the other party would refuse again, and then Master Richard Tennar would revoke his chief position and give it to this newcomer.

However, as the second-in-command of the Swordsman Group, if Nuremberg’s position was revoked, he would become third-in-command. Being demoted for no reason was also unpleasant. So Hans began to explain to Asker what the “Richard Tennar Swordsman Group” was, trying to persuade him to accept this free title.

The Richard Tennar Swordsman Group was founded over a hundred years ago. After traveling the world and mastering swordsmanship, the demigod Sword Saint Richard Tennar decided to establish his own school to promote his swordsmanship.

A few years later, the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group, named after himself, was born. All members were Transcendents of the “Sword Master” bloodline (the sequence consisted of Strength, Sharp Weapon, Dodge, Intuition, and Resilience, a purely physical warrior profession).

As a Swordsman Group, they spent most of their time like mercenary groups, wandering within the Holy Solomon Empire, relying on completing missions to maintain the team’s expenses. Occasionally, they would also explore ruins and anomalies to hone their skills, according to Richard Tennar’s preferences.

This time, they traveled to the Duchy of Carinthia, having heard of a strange anomaly near Villach, and came to try and resolve the source of the anomaly.

Because the magic tide had just risen, Nuremberg, the chief, and Hans, the second-in-command, had only just advanced to level 7. The rest were basically at levels 6 and 5. The entire Swordsman Group had about thirty or forty people.

(With Asker’s level, he would normally only be ranked third or fourth, but because he was so powerful, and the old Sword Saint admired him so much, he created an “honorary chief” position for him.)

Asker was envious after hearing this. He, too, was carrying the entire team, but Azure Longsword’s average level was only 4, while Richard Tennar’s group was all level 5 or above.

What could he say? Having a demigod leading the way was different. At least in terms of potion supply and other resources, Azure Longsword couldn’t compare to their deep foundation.

After chatting for a while, the two swordsmen reported the situation to Richard Tennar.

“In short, we discovered that this foggy area is actually another world created by the anomaly.”

Another world? Hearing this term, with his rich gaming experience, Asker immediately guessed the general idea, and everything he had seen and heard along the way suddenly made sense.

This was a world turned inside out.

Normally, the material world was the so-called “outer world,” the “reality” perceived by people; the spiritual world was the so-called “inner world,” the “sea of subconsciousness.”

This anomaly seemed to have completely reversed the inner and outer worlds.

When they entered the town, what they stepped into wasn’t the real town of Runefield, but a “false town of consciousness” constructed from the collective memories of the ten thousand town residents of Runefield.

And those monsters were naturally not real town residents, but probably creatures that the town residents feared in their subconscious – because everyone feared different things, the monsters were also varied and bizarre.

So, whether it was Medea’s psychic perception range being greatly amplified here, or the “spatial distortion” phenomenon of the two mercenary groups always meeting no matter which way they went, it could all be reasonably explained.

If he wanted further verification, then this foggy area should be the material world’s town of Runefield, which had been excised and swapped out by the anomaly.

All the missing town residents could probably be found here.

Asker pondered, following the two swordsmen and the old man, listening to their account of their half-day exploration, and he gradually became certain.

Passing through the thick fog, shadowy buildings finally appeared ahead.

“Be careful, because of the fog, although there are buildings for guidance in the town, there is still a risk of getting lost.” Nuremberg reminded them seriously. “Next, please follow me closely.”

Although these words were addressed to “everyone,” it was clearly a reminder to Asker, who had just arrived. The latter nodded without saying a word.

The four walked along the street, passing through several blocks and intersections. After about half an hour, they finally reached the church in the center of the town.

The pews for mass had been moved aside and placed randomly behind the lectern. Nearly a hundred townspeople were gathered in the center of the church, sitting or lying down, looking worried.

There were also many unconscious residents lying on makeshift sleeping bags, being cared for by family members or lying alone. Their faces were mostly pale and uncomfortable, as if they were having terrible nightmares.

The swordsmen scattered around were members of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group. Seeing the old man and the chief and second-in-command return safely, they immediately greeted them happily.

“Master! Chief! Second-in-command!”

“Call me Senior Brother!” Hans said irritably. Being called “Chief” was fine, but the term “Second-in-command” (Nummer Zwei) sounded awkward no matter how you put it.

When people heard “second-in-command,” their first reaction was usually “Who’s the chief?” It made it sound like the second-in-command wasn’t “the second strongest in the entire group,” but “the guy who is weaker than the chief,” which was unbearable.

“Second-in-command! If you don’t want to be second-in-command, let me be it!” someone shouted.

Hans saw that the speaker was actually that idiot Jonas, the fourth-in-command, and immediately snapped, “Get lost!”

Chapter 19: You Are Now the Chief of the Swordsman Group

The battle in the material world ended.

The girls of Azure Longsword huddled together, Nuo absentmindedly healing them while anxiously scanning their surroundings.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. As long as the captain was present, they weren’t afraid of even a legion of demigods. However, once the captain disappeared, they were immediately lost, like a flock of sheep without a shepherd.

“Where’s Asker?” Peggy wrung her hands nervously, desperate to rush out and find him.

But she knew that, under the current anomaly, she absolutely couldn’t be separated from her companions, so she forcibly suppressed the urge.

“Right!” Thira suddenly exclaimed. “Everyone, check your codes now!”

Given the chaos of the previous battle, even the captain could disappear “into thin air.” It was possible that other members had been swapped.

So the girls immediately took out their slips of paper and compared them.

…

Nuo and Medea’s seals were oriented differently than everyone else’s.

“Wait a minute!” Nuo said in a panic. “Could my paper have been swapped too?”

The other girls remained silent, drawing their weapons, subtly isolating Nuo and Medea.

“Calm down.” Medea spread her hands, indicating she meant no harm. “Even if the codes are different, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are fake.”

“In the battle just now, even the captain disappeared without a trace. Swapping slips of paper would be child’s play for this anomaly, wouldn’t it?”

“If that’s the case, then you attacking Nuo and me now would be like attacking each other.”

“We can’t rule out that possibility.” Thira said, “But, if the anomaly has the ability to precisely swap the slips of paper without the owner noticing…”

“Then it could have swapped everyone’s slips, and we would all be suspicious of each other, leading to the complete breakdown of our team.”

“However, the fact is that only your two slips are different. The more logical conclusion is that the anomaly doesn’t have the ability to swap slips, it simply hid the captain, Nuo, and Medea. Taking advantage of our panic after discovering the captain’s disappearance, it sent you two imposters to try and blend in.”

Medea was speechless. After a moment of silence, she chuckled:

“Clever girl. I should have swapped you out first.”

With that, she and “Nuo” collapsed to the ground, dead.

The girls watched this eerie scene, a chill running down their spines. Even after seeing through the disguise, their team had still lost three members. This ability to silently swap people…

…was practically insurmountable.

The Free Wind mercenary group across the way had also finished their battle with the zombies. Although they hadn’t heard what the girls were saying, they saw the two replicas suddenly drop dead. Matthews immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly said:

“Quick! Everyone, check your identities!”

So the mercenaries quickly took out their slips of toilet paper and began comparing them with each other.

…

What is this supposed to be? A tiger? A cat? A wolf?

The mercenaries couldn’t help but complain about Gretel’s abstract stick figures. However, after comparing them, they could at least tell that it was the same thing.

“No way!” Matthews cried out because the drawing on his slip of paper was so crude that it was impossible to tell what animal it was. The only thing he could confirm was that this crude style did look like Gretel’s drawing.

“Ahem, Gretel’s drawing skills are unstable, it’s normal for him to have occasional lapses.” One of his confidants, drawing on years of experience in navigating awkward situations, quickly took Matthews’ slip and compared it with his own to ease the leader’s embarrassment.

“Look, although it’s hard to tell what it is, you can still see that the patterns on the two slips are exactly the same.”

Matthews breathed a sigh of relief, his expression saying, “Good thing I wasn’t mistaken for a fake.”

The other mercenaries came closer to look. Damn it, where are the patterns on these two slips similar?!

Yours at least looks like an animal, the captain’s drawing is completely unidentifiable, okay? But the drawing style is exactly the same, it must be from the same person.

“Yes, yes, yes, they’re exactly the same,” the mercenaries nodded, lying through their teeth.

The reasoning was simple: if the captain was a fake, they would be on guard from now on, and the risk would be shared.

But if the captain was real, and everyone else had already voiced their agreement, but you didn’t, and you dared to doubt the captain? He might remember you and single you out for punishment later… Wouldn’t that be stupid?

No one wanted to be stupid, so everyone expressed that the captain couldn’t be a fake, he must be real.

Don’t ask, just say their eyesight is bad, they couldn’t tell the difference.

…

Within the fog, the two swordsmen looked around blankly, the countless sonic booms still echoing.

“How long has it been?” Nuremberg asked.

“Seventeen minutes,” Hans replied. “I counted my heartbeats.”

“This is never going to end!” Nuremberg couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted again, “Hey, swordsman over there! Can you please pretend to be defeated? Otherwise, Master, once he gets into the groove, will never give up!”

Another sonic boom, and Asker was sent flying out of the fog, landing in front of them.

“How do I pretend to be defeated?” Asker had just asked when he spun, swinging his sword, Celestial Ninefold Strike – Grazing Shot! Intercepting the incoming attack!

And then, unsurprisingly, he was sent flying again.

What a monster! Both swordsmen exclaimed. They couldn’t even see their master’s movements clearly, yet the other party could accurately parry and respond. He was inhumanly strong.

Of course, he couldn’t be a demigod. A demigod wouldn’t be in such a sorry state. He must be at least level 10, specialized in physical combat, with exceptional talent.

“Don’t block Master’s attacks directly!” Nuremberg shouted. “Pretend you can’t withstand it, drop your weapons, and then surrender!”

Clang Clang. Two weapons flew through the air. Asker landed on the ground and said with a smile:

“I lose. I couldn’t withstand your attack, and my weapons were knocked away.”

The old Sword Saint materialized in front of him and said indifferently:

“You still have weapons on you.”

Asker: …

Of course I still have weapons on me! As a Weapon Master, it would take forever to disarm him completely!

Fortunately, the two swordsmen didn’t just stand there watching but hurriedly came over to mediate.

“Master, you’ve worked hard, please rest for a while.” Nuremberg took out a small folding stool from behind him, placed it on the ground for Richard Tennar to sit on, then eagerly took the old man’s sword, oiled it, wrapped it with thick cloth strips, and poured him a cup of hot tea.

“You…” Hans circled Asker a few times, clicking his tongue. “You didn’t even get injured? Are you a Flesh or Undead Sequence? You must be immortal.”

Richard Tennar sat on the small stool, took the teacup from Nuremberg, took a sip, and said lightly:

“You are quite good. An excellent swordsman.”

“You flatter me,” Asker said.

However, the old man’s next words made the three of them change their expressions.

“From today onwards, young man, you are the chief of our Swordsman Group,” Richard Tennar declared.

Chapter 18: Sonic Boom Attack

Richard Tennar was lifted by the spear and slammed heavily onto the ground, then bounced into the air. Asker’s spear flashed, a point of cold light striking again.

Cloud Piercer!

The first Cloud Piercer grazed his shoulder—the old Sword Saint, with no leverage in mid-air, twisted his torso, managing a slight shift to avoid a vital point.

Then, he parried the second Cloud Piercer with his sword, using the force to propel himself backward.

Asker calmly retracted his spear.

From the initial exchange, Asker had sensed that the old man was holding back, limiting his physical strength to around level 6. Otherwise, his demigod-level speed alone would have been enough to render Asker defenseless.

However, Asker’s opening move, Azure Dragon Rapid Assault, had forced the Sword Saint to unleash more of his power, his suppressed physical strength surging.

After all, he was a physical demigod, even the current magic tide suppression couldn’t completely restrict him.

“More impressive than I anticipated,” Richard Tennar said, pressing his left hand against a wound on his lower back. The bleeding stopped almost instantly, not due to any Flesh Sequence ability, but simply the potent regeneration of a demigod’s physique.

Asker was speechless. The difference in their levels and attributes was too vast. What was the point of fighting? Should he just surrender?

“You deserve a stronger opponent. Again.” Richard Tennar growled, raising his sword once more.

He vanished. Asker’s vision blurred. He instinctively parried with his sword and knife, feeling an immense force surge through his weapons, sending him flying backward.

The Sword Saint’s physical strength seemed to have surpassed level 20, his speed far exceeding what Asker’s eyes could follow. He could only rely on his rich tactical experience to anticipate the attack and block it preemptively.

Strictly speaking, he couldn’t even block it completely, only managing to leap into the air at the moment of impact, using displacement to dissipate the force. If his feet had been on the ground, his bones would likely have been broken.

As he flew backward through the air, Asker saw a flash below him – though he couldn’t see clearly what it was, he knew who it was and instantly spun, thrusting his sword.

The sword struck seemingly empty air, then met resistance. Richard Tennar materialized, his sword blocking Asker’s thrust, the tip pressed against his chest.

“Interesting,” Richard Tennar chuckled.

At his current speed, this young man shouldn’t have been able to see him.

Yet, his initial Half Moon Slash had been parried.

After sending the young man flying, he had rushed below, intending a rising slash, only to be met by a mid-air thrust, forcing him to change his move to block.

This young man, unable to see his movements, had reacted perfectly twice in a row. This could only mean his combat awareness was far beyond that of an ordinary swordsman.

Swordsmanship skills: passable. Tactical awareness: excellent. Then… how about your resilience under pressure?

…

Nuremberg and Hans walked through the fog, swords on their backs.

“Where did Master go?” Hans sighed. “Nuremberg, if you hadn’t charged so far ahead to kill that monster, Master wouldn’t have disappeared.”

“Hans, weren’t you also fighting beside me when I killed that monster?” Nuremberg retorted. “You know Master’s mental state. Since I was fighting on the front lines, why didn’t you keep an eye on him?”

“Let’s get this straight,” Hans shook his head. “First, I was the one who charged out…I thought you would watch Master.”

“By the time you charged out, I was already engaged with another monster,” Nuremberg said.

The two swordsmen continued arguing as they walked. Nuremberg suddenly stopped.

“Wait! I sense Master’s sword intent.”

“Come on.” Hans scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’ve also been infected by Master’s madness, talking about swords having souls…”

His expression suddenly changed. A loud boom echoed from ahead…a sonic boom!

The two swordsmen rushed forward and saw Asker flying out of the fog, a shield in his hand.

Another sonic boom. Asker, expressionless, raised his shield as if struck by an invisible force, and was sent flying again…

The two swordsmen watched him, dumbfounded, as he was propelled further and further away.

“It’s Master!” Nuremberg almost cried out in joy. “Master! We’re here!”

“How do you know it’s Master?” Hans asked skeptically. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Nonsense! Who else besides Master can break the sound barrier with just physical speed?” Nuremberg said disdainfully.

“A sonic boom doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Master,” Hans argued.

“Then show me your sonic boom movement,” Nuremberg challenged.

“Just because I can’t do it, doesn’t mean no one else besides Master can. How do you know a sonic boom movement definitely means it’s Master?” Hans retorted.

“Because there are only a few physical demigods on this continent…” Nuremberg trailed off, suddenly realizing something, and stared at Hans in shock.

Hans’ eyes also widened. The two looked at each other for a moment, then turned their incredulous gazes towards the distance.

If the sonic boom was truly created by their Master, then the young man who could withstand such an attack in mid-air…

Who was he?

Was he even human?

Probably not.

Wait, could he be the mastermind behind this anomaly?

The two swordsmen hurriedly chased after him, unable to see clearly in the fog, relying only on the sound of the sonic booms to judge the direction.

However, the sonic booms shifted from left to right, front to back, changing every second, making it impossible to pinpoint the location.

“Listening to the rhythmic sonic booms, Master is still holding back.” Nuremberg analyzed. “If Master were fighting with his full strength, the sonic booms would be continuous, not one per second like now. Not to mention that the impact force of the sonic boom alone is enough to turn a normal person into mush with a single blow.”

“Someone who can withstand attacks like that once per second is not human,” Hans commented. “Can you withstand Master’s attacks like that?”

“I can’t even withstand one sonic boom.” Nuremberg said honestly. “What I mean is, if it were the mastermind, Master wouldn’t be holding back at all.”

“In other words, the other party is just an ordinary person,” he continued after a moment of thought. “Master is holding back, just trying to test the opponent’s strength.”

“Do you have some misunderstanding about the definition of ‘ordinary person’?” Hans asked. “I’ll say it again, someone who can withstand sonic boom attacks is an ordinary person?”

“Hans, why do you always care about these irrelevant details?” Nuremberg said impatiently. “Regardless of whether the other party is an ordinary person or not, since Master has no hostility towards him, he is not our enemy.”

“So?” Hans asked. “What are you trying to say?”

“We should stop their fight,” Nuremberg said seriously. “Master may have no malice, but it’s not the first time he has gone crazy during a fight. What if he accidentally kills the other party?”

“You’re right,” Hans said. “Then I’ll leave this arduous task to you.”

“Seriously?” Nuremberg smiled wryly. “I can’t stop Master’s sonic boom attacks alone.”

“You still realize Master is using sonic boom attacks?” Hans scoffed. “Let alone the two of us, even if all the swordsmen of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group were here, we couldn’t stop Master in this state.”

“Hmm…” Nuremberg hesitated.

“How about this, as Master’s favorite disciple, you let me put my sword to your neck, pretend I’m going to kill you, maybe Master will stop attacking and come to stop me,” Hans suggested.

“What if Master doesn’t stop?” Nuremberg asked.

“Then you’ll die.” Hans said. “I will inherit your position and strive to be the best of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group.”

Nuremberg: …