Chapter 263: Dekan’s Sixth Teammate
“Tch.”
Dekan, upon hearing Morion’s words, temporarily set aside the spell of silence he had prepared.
Initially, he intended to silence Morion first if his words seemed irrelevant, then deliver him an interrogation before questioning him.
But now, he decided to temporarily listen to what Morion had to say.
According to the initial information given by the Shadow World, there were a total of six Challengers in this Shadow World.
Apart from their group of five, the last one hadn’t appeared in the first six layers.
They were likely on the next or the one after.
Considering the Shadow World’s ranking system, the ranks of their five members all failed to meet the standard. Thus, the last member’s rank was likely excessive.
They would also be the key to defeat the Warden.
Otherwise, with their current combat power, even after gathering all the intelligence and coming up with all the unconventional plans, it would still be almost impossible to get past the ninth-stage Warden.
The gap in raw strength was simply too vast.
Judging by the current situation, this ninth-stage Warden could not be deemed as a standard big monster from the Shadow World.
Due to her extremely strong magic resistance, she might be even more troublesome than a ninth-stage card user in the real world.
After all, in the Shadow World, the magic and talents mastered by the natives could be considered as ‘magic cards’, only not as convenient as actual magic cards—they could freely choose suitable ones for them, saving the long learning period, and were freely exchangeable.
Just the Warden’s magic resistance trait alone could amount to at least a top-tier ninth-stage epic card.
Dekan had already realized that the difficulty of this Shadow World exceeded that of a normal seven-stage Shadow World.
A regular seven-stage Shadow World, although the final BOSS’s rank could reach up to nine stages,
It wouldn’t explicitly tell the Challenger that they must defeat this BOSS to pass.
It typically happens when the Challenger mistakenly enters the Shadow World, leading the strategy into a dead end, then they have to face such a BOSS who can instantly annihilate all the Challengers.
Just like the last eight-stage final BOSS, Marquis Roderick in the previous six-stage Shadow World, unless someone completely messed up the situation, there was no need to face him directly.
If Dekan had to confront Marquis Roderick, who was equipped with many secret bloodline arts, without a strong teammate, he felt it was impossible.
Therefore, Dekan desperately hoped that the last teammate would be someone reliable.
Even better, a powerful ally who could surprise him.
As for why this Shadow World was so difficult.
Shadow Worlds that reject Challengers often possess certain peculiarities.
It was likely that there existed some connection between the selected Challengers.
This connection could be in the present world or in some unknown fate.
Thus, even without using the Team Card, the Beautiful Soul Squad encountered Morion.
The last Challenger was, therefore, highly likely to be someone linked to them.
But after thinking for a long while, Dekan still couldn’t figure out what kind of qualified person this Shadow World could match with them.
If the last person wasn’t related to the Beautiful Soul Squad, then they might have some connection with Morion.
Now since Morion was willing to truthfully provide some intelligence, there was nothing better.
“Speak, but that doesn’t mean you can atone for your sins.”
Dekan coldly said.
Morion nodded.
It seemed like he had already become indifferent to life or death.
He just asked first:
“Dekan, do you remember that I said I entered the Shadow World through an unstable Void Gate that temporarily appeared in the wild?”
Dekan: “Hmm.”
Morion: “Actually, before entering the Shadow World, I was being chased by someone. I had no choice but to jump into this dangerous Void Gate.”
Hearing that, Dekan frowned.
According to what Morion said.
The last Challenger, if there were no accidents, was very likely also entered through this temporary portal near Morion.
After all, the stable Void Gates used for matching by members of the Kingdom Union at that time should have ceased operations.
Only these unstable, scattered gates could be entered.
But if the last person happens to be Morion’s enemy, it would be a problem.
Dekan held back his impulse to scold Morion and asked patiently:
“Who is he?”
Morion’s eyebrows arched a bit at the question. His originally calm expression gradually revealed a trace of anger as he said:
“What the hell do I know! I was living a good life in the Southern Kingdom when this moron suddenly started chasing me relentlessly! He kept shouting about reclaiming everything he had lost!! Do you have any idea how many members of the Kingdom Union and the Rebirth Church chased after me? I’ve never seen such a spectacle! I even suspected that he was wanted by the Rebirth Church at a higher level than me!”
Morion seemed to recall something that annoyed him tremendously. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, continuing:
“When this bastard first met me, he acted all emotional, mumbling something about a fated reunion, believing that a man of my caliber wouldn’t die easily. What nonsense is this?! Now the Kingdom Union is starting to suspect that I am his accomplice. If I keep being pestered by him, I might be wanted too!”
“…”
While listening to Morion, Dekan seemed to recall some underworld stories.
He remained silent.
Shit!
That bastard Krey really chased after Morion relentlessly in the Southern Kingdom?
What a morning-drama-style passionate yet stupid protagonist!
Just thinking about the situation Morion was in and seeing his angry face made Dekan struggle to hold back his laughter.
But he couldn’t laugh!
Morion: “Why don’t you say anything?”
Dekan: “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Morion: “Are you feeling guilty?”
Dekan: “No.”
Morion: “Can you speak while looking me in the eyes?”
“Cough cough.”
Dekan coughed lightly, winking and closing one eye as he said:
“I’ve understood the situation more or less, but this does not mean the last Challenger is the person chasing you. Don’t try to mix things up with vague intelligence.”
Although Dekan was somewhat amused in his heart and felt a little guilty,
but when he thought about the pitfall Morion had just put him into, he decided not to let this guy off easily!
Dekan patted Chloix’s shoulder and said,
“Morion, my good buddy also has some accounts to settle with you. You should pay the price for your entertainment behavior.”
Chloix slightly hesitated.
He thought that putting a teammate on trial in the Shadow World might not be appropriate.
But then he remembered that the teammate was Morion.
Then there was no problem.
Chloix took out the [Terrifying Staff], which could double the pain, and prepared to start work.
“Dekan, please let Morion go, meow! I was frightened earlier and had Morion lead me away, meow!”
Teacher Cat suddenly bravely jumped out in front of Morion and shouted at Dekan.
“…” As Dekan looked at Teacher Cat’s actions,
He saw right through their lies instantly and said somewhat irritably.
“As soon as I was about to take Teacher Cat away and let Chloix start the punishment.”
“Dekan…”
Cornelia tugged at Dekan’s sleeve from behind.
“Hmm?”
Dekan turned around and saw Cornelia’s eyes.
Her compassionate gaze seemed as if she was also pleading for Morion.
“…” After a long silence, Dekan clicked his tongue.
“We’re in a hurry, let’s head to the seventh layer first.”
Dekan reluctantly turned around and walked towards the portal.
But the moment he turned, Teacher Cat and Morion quickly exchanged a light high-five like old friends.
“I told you, meow, if you share some critical intelligence with Dekan and then just have Cornelia plead, he will definitely let you go, meow.”
“The real key is Cornelia, Dekan really likes her a lot.”
Teacher Cat and Morion even began whispering behind Dekan.
Upon hearing this, Dekan immediately turned around with a look of fury that could rival that of a demon.
Morion and Teacher Cat hastily became serious, then placed their index fingers over their thumbs in front of their lips, signaling to Dekan that they wouldn’t say anything else.
Seeing this, although Dekan still looked a bit angry, he turned back nevertheless.
As soon as that happened, Morion and Teacher Cat immediately became cheerful again.
Cornelia looked at them with a slightly helpless shake of her head.
When she arrived at the portal, Morion and Teacher Cat had already apologized to her and expressed that they would support her and Dekan.
Cornelia was initially quite confused and embarrassed, but after listening to Morion and Teacher Cat’s sincere admissions, she helplessly acknowledged these two members of their support team.
Only Chloix was watching all of them,
with an expression full of confusion.
“Hey, what exactly are you guys talking about?”
He scratched his head and followed them, feeling like he had missed an episode.
…
After Dekan paid the cost,
the team arrived at the seventh layer through the portal.
After continuous challenges, Dekan couldn’t help but marvel at finally reaching the deeper level of the Demon Realm Prison.
They were close to the end.
According to intelligence, the target of their quest, the Dark Saintess, was imprisoned on the eighth layer below the seventh.
The ninth layer was guarded by the Warden at the exit.
“The seventh layer is not an exile area, and at this deep level, the wardens definitely hold more critical intelligence regarding the Warden. It’s increasingly significant. But the good news is that our team is complete now, and we can quickly pass through.”
Dekan pointed out and emphasized.
The moment the group arrived at the seventh layer, Dekan understood the rules of this layer through the Demon Bracelet.
[Brutality Jail]
[In this prison layer, it is forbidden to attack prisoners or other guards actively; otherwise, each time it will deduct 50% of the existing Demon Points or 100 Demon Points, whichever is greater.]
[If the Demon Points become negative, one will be executed by the Warden.]
[Completing the Warden’s chess game can obtain passage permit for this layer. Consuming Demon Points can trade for supplies. Demon Points can be traded freely.]
[Each day in the seventh layer of the prison automatically deducts 700 Demon Points.]
[To proceed to the eighth layer, it requires 7000 Demon Points or having gained the seventh-layer Warden permission.]
Actually, based on the intelligence bought from Fahlir from the previous layer, Dekan already had a grasp of the mode of the seventh layer.
The entire level formed a chessboard, and the prisoners and guards were all chess pieces. They would engage in an ultimate battle of physical power and intellect with the Warden.
What was tested was the guard’s command ability and how to perfectly control the prisoners obtained from the previous layer.
On this layer, the most important thing was to utilize the rules and team cooperation.
Of course, for Dekan and his tacit-understanding partners,
completing the challenge would be a piece of cake.
Forcing their way through would also be feasible, though.
But Dekan needed to first understand the Warden’s intelligence, then judge whether to proceed according to the rules or resort to force.
After all, these non-exile area Wardens start at the eighth stage, and as they’re closer to the end, they become evidently stronger.
However.
When Dekan stepped out of the portal,
“Wooom!”
Before he could even grasp the situation, a sandbag-sized fist shot towards Dekan like lightning.
But the fist stopped just a slight distance away from Dekan.
The wind generated by the punch even caused some hair on Dekan’s forehead to flutter.
Although Dekan believed the probability of someone attacking him the moment they arrived in this layer was low,
he was still prepared for battle.
However, what he didn’t expect was that this guy would stop his hand just like that.
The opponent slowly retracted his fist.
Dekan finally saw the identity of the attacker.
It wasn’t the Warden.
There stood a Black-haired Youth right before him, radiating an overbearing aura of a strong warrior; his air was completely unrestrained, and his voice was filled with extreme arrogance as he declared:
“Tch, I don’t fight women, demon women included. Scram out of here.”
The Black-haired Youth cracked his knuckles, looking somewhat disdainful as he said this,
Upon seeing this familiar figure, Dekan couldn’t help but feel somewhat nostalgic.
Indeed, the last Challenger turned out to be Krey.
The good news was that this guy could really fight.
The bad news was that this guy was always good at stirring up trouble for his teammates.
Besides, the time when Dekan defeated Fahim, he once took advantage of his original form to trick Krey.
Not to mention Krey’s position as the Bishop of the Rebirth Church, from the perspective of private grudges alone, persuading Krey to cooperate would be quite difficult.
However,
what Dekan didn’t expect was,
this guy
could not recognize him?
Even with the same hair color and eye color, the appearance was so similar!
Moreover, Krey seemed never to care about the intelligence of the Rebirth Church.
When he saw Cornelia and Chloix, there was no reaction at all.
Krey had indeed never seen Cornelia, nor the true appearance of Chloix.
Only Morion insisted on wearing the [Prosperity Mask] before coming to this layer.
Dekan and the others were too lazy to wear them, not to mention the hassle of dyeing their hair.
According to the quest objective,
in the next two weeks, they had to escape the Demon Realm together.
Dressing up differently might fool Krey for a while, but not for two weeks.
Moreover, to collaborate in fighting the Warden, they definitely needed to go all out.
Once Dekan used his cards, his identity would be exposed.
Rather than keeping a ticking time bomb,
he should just confront things openly from the beginning and explain everything.
Yet he didn’t expect
Krey genuinely didn’t recognize him!
He mistook him for a Little Succubus guard completely,
with an identical hair color and eye color,
and Krey seemed to never care about the intelligence of the Rebirth Church.
After seeing Cornelia and Chloix, there was absolutely no reaction.
Krey had never seen Cornelia and didn’t recognize Chloix’s true appearance.
Only Morion insisted on wearing the [Prosperity Mask] before coming to this level. Dekan and the rest didn’t bother with masks or even bothering to dye their hair—it was just too much hassle. According to their mission objective, they would all have to stick together for the next two weeks to escape the Demon Realm together. Pretending to be someone else could work temporarily to fool Krey, but not for two weeks. Besides, to work together against the Warden, they needed to fully engage their powers. When Dekan used his cards, his cover would be blown anyway. Instead of sitting on a ticking time bomb, it seemed better to clear all misunderstandings outright from the beginning. Surprisingly, Krey really didn’t need any deception—it was clear he hadn’t recognized them!
For now, Dekan put this secondary issue about how to convince Krey on hold. Once they stepped into the seventh level, Dekan noticed something immediately suspicious about the situation.
The seventh level’s scenery wasn’t as he expected — strangely desolate.
“Where is the Warden?” Dekan asked, stepping a little closer to Krey, with a serious expression.
Krey seemed a little uncomfortable dealing with this succubus and took a step back, replying somewhat impatiently,
“I killed him.”
Dekan: “?????”
You damn religious maniac don’t disappoint!
