Chapter 82
Star Guild.
Shen Li and Starry Shasha sat drinking tea, worried whether Lu Chuan and Edith could cooperate smoothly.
“Edith is straightforward. I already warned her, so there shouldn’t be a problem,” Shen Li said, though even he didn’t sound convinced. “In this kind of duel dungeon, wealth is scarce. I reminded Edith too—she should be able to hold on to her money.”
“I’m not so sure.” Starry Shasha unusually contradicted him. “I think Brother Lu is the type who, if there’s a chance to seize wealth, will take it—and if there isn’t, he’ll create one. Who knows what kind of stunt he’ll pull in a combat dungeon. I just hope Edith won’t end up disappointed in him.”
“Not disappointed, no—but she’ll definitely have her worldview shattered.” Shen Li sipped his tea and gave her a pointed look. “After all, I have a very real example sitting right in front of me.”
Starry Shasha looked guilty.
It wasn’t intentional.
Captain Shen himself always said, a man is nothing without his word.
She’d promised Lu Chuan that if he saved Shen Li, she’d pay him. Lu Chuan delivered, so she had to keep her word.
Besides, if she tried to stiff him, wouldn’t he come knocking anyway? Better to pay upfront than wait for him to collect.
Shen Li understood exactly what she wasn’t saying.
“I never said don’t pay him at all.” He sighed helplessly, staring into his teacup as though about to cry over the tea leaves. “But at least leave me something. Otherwise, the two of us will be stuck here drinking plain tea with not even enough money for snacks.”
“Next time, I’ll definitely leave some.” Starry Shasha admitted instantly.
“No, no—please, no next time.” Shen Li waved it off. As a master ranked player, he should at least be able to live comfortably for a while and build up some savings.
*
Dungeon: Clash of the Blood Kingdom
A few days later.
Lu Chuan looked over the ten survivors and was satisfied.
They had all gathered enough marks to qualify. Their faces still showed traces of numbness and confusion—they didn’t know how they’d gotten this far, nor what to do next.
But surviving the melee meant one of two things: either they knew how to protect themselves, or they’d just been lucky.
Either way, they were exactly what Lu Chuan needed.
“…What happened earlier, that massive bloodbath—that was beyond my expectation.” Lu Chuan looked at them with solemn grief. “We must learn from this. From now on, if there’s another mass battle, we avoid it at all costs. In the next stages, we treasure our lives and only aim for the bare minimum to pass. My only request of you is—help each other, and stay hidden.”
Oddly enough, his words were compelling.
These ten had assumed he was gathering them to build an army, cannon fodder to charge for him. Instead, he urged them to protect themselves. Their eyes widened in surprise.
“I know some of you may have misjudged me. But honestly, I’m scared too.” Lu Chuan’s performance was flawless, even tearful. “I thought we could win, but now I know—in this chaos, everyone loses. If we keep fighting like this, we’ll all die. I don’t care about ranking anymore. I just want to live. When this is over, I’ll leave this cursed kingdom. I’ll raise a dog or a cat, plant vegetables and flowers… maybe find a partner, get a steady job. That’s my biggest dream now.”
With calm, almost gentle words, he painted them a fantasy that was nearly impossible to realize.
The ambitious strong were dead. The helpless weak were dead. These survivors only needed a direction, and they would follow.
“We’ve outlived the powerful—that alone is a blessing. We must treasure our lives and do everything to keep going. We’re weak, so we must huddle together. Only by helping each other can we survive. That’s why I ask you to expand our brothers and sisters. You ten are the backbone. Any groups you form will be yours to manage. I’m just a promoter, not your leader. Listen to me if you want, ignore me if you don’t. I only hope we all live well.”
Edith rubbed her arms, goosebumps rising.
Lu Chuan’s mindset was too far ahead of its time.
She couldn’t imagine herself ever saying such things, even after multiple lifetimes.
Even #888 was shaken.
It felt its host’s shamelessness had reached a new level.
[Host, aren’t you afraid they really won’t listen to you?]
“Silly system, of course not.” Lu Chuan gave 888 a moment of pity. “These people aren’t decisive. The more people there are, the less they trust each other. In the end, the only one they’ll trust is me. I’m the organizer. The less I seem to covet power, the more they’ll trust me. This is what they call ‘a biting dog doesn’t bark, and a barking dog doesn’t bite.’”
[Host… you just called yourself a dog.]
“I am a dog. I know it. These days, if you want to get rich or become a leader, you can’t act human. Otherwise, why does everyone curse their garbage bosses? The odds of finding a good leader are like winning the lottery. Only inhuman bastards rise to the top—those with consciences are destined to be lifelong workhorses.”
The lower Lu Chuan bowed his head, the more at ease they felt.
Humans were contradictory like that.
They wanted selfless devotion—yet also didn’t want others taking advantage.
Wanting it both ways—that was human nature.
As expected, even if those ten people had still harbored doubts about Lu Chuan, after his string of soft persuasion and hard pressure, most of their hostility had already faded.
[Clash of the Blood Kingdom preliminary round has ended. A total of 1,823 contestants passed. The preliminaries will last for 3 months, and the final 500 survivors will advance to the next round. Players who cleared the prelims will have one random item unsealed. Please check your inventory. Starting in round two, only food, medicine, and weapons airdropped by aircraft during the match may be used; all other items are prohibited.]
[Airdrops will occur at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Contents are random. Unclaimed items will vanish after one hour. Contestants, search for necessary supplies as best you can.]
[During the preliminaries, the playable area will gradually shrink in proportion. Please monitor your map at all times.]
The system’s prompt echoed in everyone’s minds.
Immediately afterward, the clearance mark on their chests transformed into a functioning map.
On the map, they could clearly see their own location. Their position was marked by a red dot, while all others appeared as blue dots scattered across the terrain, their movements leaving visible trails.
Aside from their little group, there were also many other clusters of blue dots, clearly indicating other teams like theirs.
On this map, they could track both friend and foe. Even discarding the map wouldn’t stop their position from being revealed.
In other words, every single one of them was exposed to enemy sight.
The system was clearly forcing them into battle.
Lu Chuan and Edith checked their system inventories. Sure enough, all the food and weapons inside were locked and inaccessible.
He cursed inwardly. I might be a shameless dog, but this system’s even worse.
“What did you get unsealed?” Lu Chuan asked. He himself only had a healing item unlocked, which made him suspect the game was targeting him. He had a whole stash of attack items that stayed sealed.
“My sword’s unsealed!” Edith said happily. “Captain, don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Lu Chuan sighed helplessly. “Let’s focus on gathering supplies first. We still don’t have enough people. The priority is teaching the others some talking points and recruiting more underlings.”
*
Meanwhile, in other corners of the dungeon—
Most players who entered had already grouped up by guild affiliation.
Outside the Five Great Guilds, mid- and small-sized guild players were even more numerous.
Combat-type dungeons often nullified unusual abilities and high-tier items, which meant the big guilds’ usual advantages didn’t apply. In contrast, small- and mid-sized guild players thrived in these conditions.
Large guilds had countless members who didn’t even know each other, let alone trust each other. But smaller guild players were often tied by familiarity or kinship, giving them higher trust from the start. As a result, once they teamed up, they naturally had stronger cohesion.
Currently, the largest force belonged to the Dongyang Guild.
Unlike comprehensive guilds like the Five Greats, mid-sized guilds usually specialized—clerics, demons, swordsmen, and so on. Some even split further: intelligence-gathering guilds, healer guilds, etc. When entering a dungeon, they would ally with other specialized guilds to form temporary coalitions.
If pressed by the big guilds, these smaller ones often united, forming a network of mutual aid. Though not always stable, this gave them a foothold.
Not every player sought to be a ranking god-tier. Many just wanted to survive.
Dongyang Guild specialized in swordsbearer-types. Among mid-sized guilds, they were quite strong and aimed to rise into the ranks of the large guilds. To do so, they needed powerful high-level players.
Unlike the Five Great Guilds, which demanded master-rank players, Dongyang only needed to cultivate a few S-class elites to break through.
Thus, after careful preparation, Dongyang sent ten members with five keys into this dungeon. Once inside, they recruited more players and NPCs under the Dongyang banner, growing their ranks.
They had done their homework: securing a top-three finish in the Blood Kingdom dungeon would grant them a shot at winning the King’s Divine Sword, rumored to be an S+ weapon capable of rivaling gods themselves. If they obtained it, they’d finally have the foundation to challenge the major guilds.
With shared resolve, Dongyang quickly rose above the crowd.
“Right now, there are over 1,800 players in round two. Only one or two groups are larger than us. First, we must take those down to strengthen ourselves,” said their leader, an S-class player. “We’re from the same guild, with unmatched teamwork. No other group can rival our power. Strike before the enemy grows stronger.”
“What about the smaller teams?” another player asked. “Wouldn’t it be good to sweep them first?”
“They’re no threat.” The leader waved it off. “In dungeons like this, small groups collapse fastest. Strong players won’t waste time in tiny squads—they’ll defect to bigger ones. Only the useless linger. Our real priority is to break up the large groups and recruit their elites. Whether player or NPC, they’re all potential assets.”
The others fell silent. Of course they trusted the veteran’s judgment.
*
On Lu Chuan’s side, however, the plan was completely different.
“We fight guerrilla-style, understand? If we can win, we strike. If not, we run immediately. Always gank, never duel. Never get isolated. If we run into hard targets, don’t try to tank them—lure them into our rivals’ path instead. Whether we survive depends on how slick our footwork is.”
