Chapter 251: Flaming Blade Aura |
Just looking at the screen of the mobile phone filled Scattered Fireflies with dread. To venture into an ancient tomb alone right after encountering a female ghost was something she could never bring herself to do.
This was not a matter of lacking confidence in her own strength, but rather a primal human fear. It was like standing before a glass bridge suspended over a bottomless abyss. Even knowing the bridge was indestructible and could easily support your weight, not everyone could walk across it to the other side with a straight face and an unwavering heart.
The other three were equally astonished by Bai Mu's sheer audacity.
While keeping a vigilant watch for any monsters that might emerge from the darkness, they could not help but fixate on the screen, tracking Bai Mu's every move. Bai Mu did not try to hide anything just because he was being watched. They were not playing some deceptive parlor game; these were his teammates, and there was no need for secrecy. Clearing the Script and farming rewards remained his ultimate priorities.
Focusing his mind, he used the Night Vision Camcorder to search for the female ghost's true body. The device could reveal things invisible to the naked eye, meaning there was a high chance it could spot those sinister entities.
He was actually quite familiar with this feeling. It felt just like scavenging through an abandoned building or warehouse swarming with Zombies and Mutants.
He had not felt it earlier when accompanied by his four teammates, but now that he had left the main group and stepped into the darkness alone, he muttered in his mind, 'It feels just like coming home.'
Of course, he knew he was not truly alone. He could summon Lucy and Witch at a moment's notice, or use the Doll to call forth Xiao Wei. Broadly speaking, he was a one-man team.
He himself acted as the warrior and marksman dealing physical damage, while Xiao Wei was a versatile mage capable of healing and summoning a tank-like beast spirit. As for Lucy and Witch, one provided essential support while the other was a highly agile assassin with devastating attack power. He alone possessed a lineup worthy of a championship finals match. However, he did not immediately assume the role of a summoner. After all, Xiao Wei was rather fragile; it was best to save her assistance for monsters he could not handle on his own. As for Lucy and Witch, summoning one meant he could not call upon the other for a short period, so he had to deploy them strategically based on the situation. While navigating through the pitch-black environment, Bai Mu also kept a close eye on the charging progress of the Emperor's Jade Dragon in his inventory. As one of the only two Perfect-grade items on his person, he had always paid special attention to it.
"You have not yet earned the acknowledgment of the Emperor's Jade Dragon."
That was entirely normal. His performance so far had been mediocre, and he still had a long way to go before he could wield this Perfect-grade item.
But after walking through the dark for a short distance, he noticed that the jade dragon's luster had brightened just a fraction.
During this time, he had not encountered any Zombies or Vengeful Spirits; he had merely been scanning the surroundings with his camcorder.
He was absolutely certain that he had not done anything to enhance the jade dragon's glow.
'Does that mean... the only explanation is that mobile phone?'
Bai Mu quickly figured out what was going on. Since the variable was not on his end, it had to be on the other side.
Through the Guard Mushroom attached to Scattered Fireflies's shoulder, he could see that his four teammates were paying significantly more attention to that black mobile phone, all of them staring intently at his broadcast.
The moment he began acting alone, his teammates' focus on him spiked noticeably. It seemed that in a team-based Script, even the shifting attitudes of his allies were factored into the Emperor's Jade Dragon's acknowledgment gauge.
The more his teammates perceived him as a commanding, regal figure, the more it would likely stimulate the acknowledgment of the Emperor's Jade Dragon.
Knowing this, he had even less reason to hold back. Instead, he needed to do more things that would completely blow his teammates' minds.
However, this had to be done with an air of absolute prestige. Acting like a clown or being deliberately glib definitely would not cut it.
As the saying went, an emperor ruled by divine mandate. Aura and raw strength were paramount; he needed to make them genuinely feel that he was a profound and untouchable existence.
'The Main Quest only requires us to escape the Prince of Huainan's Tomb. Conversely, completely resolving the anomalies within the tomb would undoubtedly carry a much higher danger level than simply fleeing.'
Bai Mu reasoned internally, 'But according to the backstory, we are Extraordinary Experts sent by the county magistrate to solve this ghost crisis. Even though it is not explicitly stated in the Main Quest, if we can accomplish this task, the rewards will definitely be substantial.'
He clearly remembered the synopsis stating that the magistrate had hired five Extraordinary Experts for a hefty sum of gold. Yet, at the start of the Script, he had not received anything resembling a hefty sum.
He did not believe this was merely a throwaway line of exposition. Judging from past experiences, in Mount Massive Asylum, his Reporter background granted him a camcorder and Media Photography Mastery right from the start. During the Beika Town incident, he was provided with basic funds and a resume. In the Imposter City Ruins, he spawned with his own house and valid identification.
This proved that the details mentioned in a Script's synopsis would eventually be honored.
The fact that he did not have the gold on hand meant it was currently held by the magistrate. Working first and getting paid later was standard practice. It was a minor hidden detail that anyone could figure out with a bit of thought. If they could quell the supernatural threat in the Prince of Huainan's Tomb, they would undoubtedly secure that hefty sum in addition to the standard Script completion rewards.
Then again, this could also be a deadly temptation, luring them in like a moth to a flame. The danger level of escaping the Prince of Huainan's Tomb was C-rank, but the danger of completely resolving its anomalies was entirely unknown.
Thinking of this, Bai Mu actually found the Script becoming far more interesting.
'I have already searched this entire vicinity, and it is completely empty. From the looks of it, whatever is here must be inside the Tomb Chamber up ahead.' Bai Mu stopped in his tracks and looked toward the half-open stone door in the distance.
The stone door bore the marks of being struck by a hammer. A few iron nails and a hammer lay discarded by the entrance, most likely left behind by tomb raiders. Holding the camcorder in his left hand, he silently approached the heavy doors.
He did not draw his blade; it remained sheathed at his waist in the standard posture for Quick Draw. If necessary, he could also use his pistol. Before stepping inside, he summoned the Hand of Walrider, sending the invisible appendage slipping into the room to probe behind the door. A faint smile graced his lips. He bent down, picked up the discarded hammer, and tossed it into the pitch-black Tomb Chamber.
Clang. As the hammer struck the floor, several shadowy figures lunged out of the darkness.
Bai Mu seamlessly drew the Flaming Sword and pulled the ignition ring. Whoosh. A burst of fire surged from the hilt to the tip of the blade, casting a warm glow over his half-smiling face. The blazing inferno instantly dispelled the terrifying atmosphere permeating the area.
The firelight revealed the true forms of the shadowy figures. They were emaciated Zombies, their purplish-brown skin covered in patches of green fuzz. Clad in tattered gray robes, they comically gnawed at the iron hammer on the floor. Their sharp, blackened, and curved nails scraped against the stone ground, making them look like a pack of vicious hounds gnawing on a bone.
In the center of the Tomb Chamber rested a massive wooden coffin. Its lid had been pushed open at an angle, revealing a desiccated corpse dressed in red robes, so thoroughly decomposed that its gender was entirely unidentifiable.
"The old saying is right. You only know you are going the right way when you start running into enemies," Bai Mu murmured softly. Gripping his blade, he strode inside and unleashed the Secret Sword Art upon the horde of Zombies, simultaneously stacking a Critical Strike on top of it.
The Flaming Sword unleashed a five-meter-long arc of Flaming Blade Aura. The moment the fiery aura made contact with the Zombies, it erupted into a flurry of tiny sparks.
It seemed that all of Bai Mu's painstaking efforts to level his Secret Sword Art to Level 5 had not been in vain. The strike instantly sliced the Zombies to pieces and set them ablaze. It looked as though he had obliterated the monsters in a single move, casually setting off a display of golden fireworks in the process.
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