By the dark lake, the enticing aroma of roasting meat wafted through the air.
Several small tents were pitched here, with a campfire burning. After a brief rest, Green, the head chef of the whimsically named Magic Guild, took on the task of preparing food, mainly because he realised he had little else to contribute besides logistical support.
Inside the tents, Debbie, Windsor, Lesha, and Guni were seizing the moment to rest and recover their energy.
Ye Chui wasn’t particularly sleepy, perhaps due to the recent iPad upgrade, leaving him brimming with energy. He spent his time studying the map of the Buried Sword Land relic world.
The relic world appeared as an irregularly shaped oval. Their current location was in the eastern part, at least according to the map. The simplified map showed the terrain here as grey-black, likely indicating desolation. Further west, the terrain grew more vibrant, turning green or red, signifying lushness.
The map even marked place names, set by the people of the Holy Light Forest, though not entirely. For instance, the holy mountain near Ye Chui’s group was labelled: Holy Mountain (Dragon Dung Mountain).
The name Ye Chui had jokingly suggested had actually appeared on the map.
Besides the holy mountain, the map showed the Coldwater River, a river stretching almost vertically across the entire relic world. Its source was a forest with a white texture, the Holy Light Forest. Not far from it was a region entirely black, marked with a large, flickering red dot, representing the sealed devil. That place was called the Forbidden Land.
The map displayed various red or white dots, large and small, representing humans and the beasts roaming this world.
In the Holy Light Forest, over a hundred small white dots indicated its residents.
The map also showed the Fourth Prince and his group, now fourteen in number, each marked by a vivid red dot. Clearly, they harboured intense hostility toward Ye Chui.
In such a moment, the ability to track enemy movements in real time was invaluable.
The scent of roasted meat reached Ye Chui’s nose. Looking up, he saw Godo, in his heroic spirit state, approaching with two small plates, handing one to Ye Chui. The chubby man smiled broadly. “Two hundred years, and I never thought I’d taste food again. I used to love eating.”
In his heroic spirit state, Godo could experience the five senses, including the taste of food.
“Our chef’s skills are pretty good, aren’t they?” Ye Chui grinned, accepting the plate of roasted meat, which Green had thoughtfully cut into small pieces. Ye Chui speared a piece with a small fork, ate it, and called out to Green, “Add a bit more salt for me.”
“Sure thing, Guild Leader,” Green responded promptly. A blue shimmer appeared over Ye Chui’s plate, and Green’s hand emerged, sprinkling salt on the meat before retreating.
Godo’s expression turned odd for a moment. “Your way of using magic is… unique.”
“By the way, Godo, since you’ve been here so long, do you know what this world is about?” Ye Chui asked, chewing his meat. “Why is it called the Buried Sword Land? Guni mentioned a giant holy stone sword in the Holy Light Forest.”
“Exactly. When we first arrived, this place was full of dangers. But then we found that giant stone sword, radiating holy light that kept the beasts at bay. So, we settled around it, and I named the place the Holy Light Forest,” Godo said, his face nostalgic. “The holy stone sword is peculiar. Objects near it absorb its power. We treated it as our faith, grateful for its protection. This relic world is called the Buried Sword Land, and the ‘sword’ likely refers to that stone sword.”
“Do you know what that stone sword actually is?” Ye Chui pressed.
Godo paused, then said, “I’ve had some guesses over the years. You know about the time echoes in relic worlds, right?” Seeing Ye Chui nod, he continued, “In the Holy Light Forest, faint time echo fragments sometimes appear, showing past events here. I’m almost certain that stone sword is the Goddess of Wealth’s golden greatsword.”
“Golden greatsword?” Ye Chui’s body jolted slightly. He opened the media player on his iPad magic book, locating the file “Prologue: Fall of the Dragon” and played it. The video showed the Goddess of Wealth wielding a golden greatsword in battle.
The golden greatsword was almost larger than the goddess herself, with an unusual design but undeniably immense power. Ye Chui hadn’t expected it to be here. What about the goddess who wielded it?
“What else did you learn from the time echoes?” Ye Chui asked Godo.
Godo shook his head. “The time echoes only show vague battle scenes, hard to decipher. Oh, and another goddess was likely involved in that battle.”
“Another goddess?” Ye Chui asked, intrigued.
Godo nodded. “I think it was the Goddess of Faith, Vivian. The devil sealed in the Forbidden Land is bound by a Bible from the divine era’s Holy Church. The holy stone sword in the Holy Light Forest and that Bible together suppress the sealed devil.”
A Bible from the divine era.
The current Church, established five thousand years ago, worships elemental spirits and is called the Church. Before that, the Holy Church worshipped the divine race and is now considered heretical, its records erased. A Bible from that era was thought extinct, yet one existed here, used by the Goddess of Faith.
Undoubtedly, it was a treasure on par with the golden greatsword.
Ye Chui instinctively glanced at Lesha, sleeping in a tent with Guni and Debbie.
Due to issues with her faith, Lesha’s holy word chants were growing weaker. Though the stubborn, well-endowed girl never admitted it, Ye Chui could sense the increasing strain when she cast holy words.
What would happen if Lesha switched to the Holy Church’s faith and used this divine-era Bible?
Ye Chui had no fondness for the current Church.
He continued talking with Godo, asking about the world.
About two hours later, Ye Chui opened [Map Navigation] again and noticed something, leaping up tensely.
“What’s wrong?” Godo asked, startled.
“We need to move now.”
Ye Chui stared at the red dots moving toward the Coldwater River’s source on the map, his voice cold. “The Fourth Prince and his group are approaching the Holy Light Forest. We can’t let them enter it.”
The Fourth Prince’s group came here for treasure, and the holy stone sword in the Holy Light Forest was likely their target. They wouldn’t care about the consequences of taking it. The sword was probably placed there by the Goddess of Wealth to suppress the devil. Removing it could free the devil.
The devil Ye Chui faced before was sealed by the Goddess of Wealth alone. This one required both the Goddess of Wealth and the Goddess of Faith to seal, indicating its strength. Ye Chui couldn’t let it escape.
Ye Chui’s group swiftly moved along the Coldwater River toward the Holy Light Forest. Ye Chui explained the situation. The Fourth Prince’s group was nearing the forest. Guni was the most anxious, knowing the outsiders weren’t as kind as the Holy Light Forest’s residents.
But at their pace, reaching the forest would take at least two days.
“We need to speed up. Summon Dom Toretto? No, he’s a heroic spirit, costing points, and I don’t have many left. Then it’s magic-consuming BGM,” Ye Chui planned quickly, browsing his iPad’s media library for unlockable BGM.
Just then, wolf howls echoed nearby.
A dozen unicorns wolves sprang from the bushes, likely survivors from the pack Ye Chui’s group had decimated earlier. Their eyes gleamed with ferocity, viewing Ye Chui’s group as prey. Ye Chui figured they weren’t very smart, daring to confront them after witnessing their power.
As Cass, Green, and others prepared to fight, Ye Chui’s eyes lit up with an idea. He waved them back. “Leave these to me.”
Activating the intermediate destruction spell [Full Firepower], Gatling gun barrels materialised on his hands. He unleashed a barrage at the unicorn wolves.
“Rat-a-tat-tat.”
Under this firepower, the wolves stood no chance, many reduced to pulp instantly. One wolf, sensing danger, turned to flee.
Ye Chui pointed his finger. Bang.
[Starfire Barrage]
The wolf’s head exploded into mush, collapsing to the ground.
In one go, Ye Chui dispatched the dozen wolves.
He quickly checked his iPad’s remaining points. After unlocking the map pack, he had 124 points left. Each wolf yielded about 10 points, bringing his total to 285.
Enough.
Ye Chui opened the media library, unlocking a 250-point BGM, then approached the Coldwater River.
The river was wide, over ten metres across, and three to four metres deep in the centre, sufficient for a ship.
“What are you doing, Ye Chui?” Debbie asked, puzzled by his odd behaviour.
“We need to reach the Holy Light Forest as fast as possible, so… we’re taking a ship,” Ye Chui replied with a smile.
He stood on the river’s shallow bank and played the BGM.
A peculiar yet thrilling tune rang out, unfamiliar to the others.
The BGM was called “He’s a Pirate.”
As the music played, a black illusion appeared around Ye Chui. In Debbie and the others’ stunned gazes, it solidified rapidly. Whoosh. A massive black sail unfurled, and a large black ship appeared before them, sliding into the river’s centre with a splash.
The ship was the Black Pearl.
Ye Chui stood on the mast, clinging to it with one hand, striking a dramatic pose with the other. In a slightly flamboyant tone, he called to Debbie and the others on the shore, “Mates, fancy a ride on my ship?”
