Chapter 47. Ambush
Welinte explained her hypothesis to Fulan.
After listening, Fulan immediately asked,
“Why do you think we would be companions?”
Welinte smiled.
“Because the first hint already said that the jade stones are on our companions.”
“And this was actually demonstrated during the acquisition of the second jade stone.”
“Although the Gloom Lizard is extremely adapted to dark environments, its offensive methods are not particularly impressive. During an ambush, it relies on its massive body to wrap around the target and then bites them to death.”
“But when the target has companions, the situation changes. After the Gloom Lizard launches its ambush, the target’s companion can immediately attack it. The Gloom Lizard does not possess the intelligence to retreat when it encounters two opponents.”
Welinte continued,
“You must have encountered many people on the way here who attacked you without saying a word. That is because they are illusions deliberately created by this trial.”
“They are illusions of people who previously participated in this trial. Their purpose is to create an atmosphere of mutual suspicion so that we Spirit Realm explorers will not trust one another.”
“Anyone who has experienced many trials will know that this illusion mechanism is actually quite common.”
Fulan thought for a moment but did not respond immediately.
She felt that what Welinte said made a great deal of sense. Everything she had experienced so far aligned with the explanation. The only uncertainty was the final jade stone.
She had not seen the full situation yet, so she could not be certain that Welinte was correct. What if the trial required sacrificing someone once to weaken the boss directly?
Still, she did not seem particularly worried about being deceived. Judging from Welinte’s movements, the woman even appeared slightly weaker than Bella.
Fulan also felt somewhat confused about this Guide of the Spirit Realm. It seemed that Richter had also come here simply to overwhelm weaker participants. Could it be that the reward for completing the final trial was extremely great?
Or perhaps the guide she used actually pointed to multiple trials, and she had simply entered a relatively easy one.
Fulan took out two jade stones, indicating that she had already obtained two.
Welinte understood that this was an opportunity for mutual trust. She also produced two identical jade stones, demonstrating that she was not the type to ambush someone to steal their stones.
“My name is Welinte. What about you?”
“My name is… Laiyi.”
Fulan thought for a moment and decided not to use her real name. She suspected the other woman might not be using her true name either.
However, Welinte had no such concern. She believed that very few people bothered to hide their names in the Spirit Realm—it was meaningless.
If someone truly wished to conceal their identity, they would first need to hide their face. Using a false name alone accomplished nothing.
Everyone understood that when encountering people in the Spirit Realm, faces mattered far more than names.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Let’s go.”
---
Seeing the two of them approach together, the Spirit Realm explorers who had been waiting nearby were surprised. They could not believe someone had actually trusted Welinte’s proposal to cooperate.
Everyone assumed that Welinte had merely twisted the meaning of the hint to lure them into accompanying her, intending to seize their jade stones when the opportunity arose.
The teachings every Spirit Realm explorer received warned them never to trust others too easily.
Many trials directly required participants to kill those around them. There were even Spirit Realm creatures that deliberately tempted people into murdering their companions.
In theory, it was possible to enter the Spirit Realm with friends. However, due to these circumstances, Spirit Realm explorers usually entered alone.
After all, even your friends could not always be trusted.
They truly could not imagine anyone attempting cooperation in a trial that clearly encouraged participants to kill one another.
“They are actually going together to deal with that statue?”
“Looks like it.”
Fulan and Welinte ignored the other explorers. They walked straight past them and headed directly toward the platform.
At that moment, one Spirit Realm explorer realized his opportunity had arrived.
He was confident he could kill one person, but he lacked the confidence to pass through the dark region himself. That was why he had come directly here.
He had been doing this for a long time in Spirit Realm trials. Although he had failed a few times, the overall risk-to-reward ratio was simply too high.
By making a move near the final destination, he could skip enormous amounts of effort and avoid the dangers of collecting items while still obtaining the reward.
Although such behavior was despised by others—and if caught, he would suffer great humiliation—the profits were simply too tempting.
After being robbed once himself, he had joined their ranks.
He knew that obtaining the third jade stone would be extremely difficult. His plan was to secure two jade stones and then find a safe place to withdraw from the Spirit Realm.
Knowing when to let go was the key to profiting in this line of work.
Besides, a spellcaster would surely struggle to deal with his ambush.
Among apprentices, once a spellcaster was approached at close range, they were usually finished. That was why spellcasters rarely stood this close to melee fighters.
Most spellcasters preferred open ground. If a melee fighter attempted to approach, they would be greeted with several spells first—whether they could withstand them was another matter.
In the blink of an eye, he had already covered half the distance. Only then did he notice that his target seemed to have discovered the ambush.
Too late! As a spellcaster, you should never stand this close to me!
He had already imagined killing her, seizing the jade stones, and picturing the furious expression she would wear in the Material Realm afterward.
But with a sharp clang, something struck his wrist. Pain shot through his arm, and the dagger fell from his hand.
Immediately afterward, a short sword thrust toward his face. Instinctively, he grabbed the blade.
Relying on the skill he had obtained in a previous Spirit Realm trial—Strength Burst—he forced himself to stop the lethal strike.
Blood streamed from his hands. It was purely an instinctive reaction. Grabbing the blade and activating Strength Burst happened almost simultaneously.
“Ah!”
Only then did he realize something was terribly wrong.
Why was the person he had identified as a spellcaster the one stabbing him with a sword?
Why did someone dressed like a spellcaster possess such overwhelming strength?
Before he could understand what was happening, Fulan was slightly surprised herself. She had not expected this man to possess such strength, forcing her to activate the Breathing Method and reinforce her power with Mental Power.
The sudden surge of strength was impossible for him to resist. The short sword drove forward with tremendous force, piercing into his face. The sound of cracking bone echoed in his ears.
Moments later, the short sword was embedded in the ground. Only a faint smear of blood remained on it, and a small pouch had fallen beside it.
Welinte stared in astonishment. She had never expected this person—who appeared to be a spellcaster—to possess such formidable close-combat strength.
When she heard the commotion earlier, she had already turned around and seen the man rushing forward. Yet in the blink of an eye, Fulan had already slammed him to the ground.
“Her strength is greater than mine.”
Welinte found her own judgment difficult to believe, yet the reality was undeniable. Even she could not easily produce the force required to shatter a skull—but this Laiyi had done exactly that.
At the same time, when this Spirit Realm explorer launched his attack, some among the other explorers also began attacking each other.