Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two: When People Are Killed, They Die

The next day, the girl arrived at the snowy peak of the Celestial Barrier through the portal as promised, but this time, she was not alone.

Following behind the Miss Priestess, a middle-aged man wearing a conical hat and a poncho, along with two girls resembling each other with gray bangs, walked out of the gradually disappearing invisible portal.

Not far ahead, the Gray-clothed Swordsman, equipped with seven swords at his waist, stood at attention, waiting respectfully.

“Greetings, Miss Xī. You… uh, what are you all doing here?”

The Dark Lotus shot him a glare, clearly annoyed.

“Don’t be ridiculous, we’re here to collect the corpse of this clueless fool. I thought the wooden block might have finally had a brain, coming up with a… suitable gift for a noble lady, but instead, this is what he came up with? Ha…”

Her sister, the Dark Spirit, promptly jumped in, mercilessly mocking him.

“Did you forget all the advice from our master before we left? The path of seeking knowledge is fraught with peril. Does your half-baked plan really think it can impress Miss Xī?”

The two sisters blasted him with an unending stream of criticisms, their voices cold but their concern unmistakably shining through.

It was clear they were genuinely worried about their team leader. Their harsh words served two purposes: to express their anger and perhaps to show that Miss White Fox might hold back a little.

Perhaps mindful of Miss Xī’s presence, they didn’t go too far with their insults, quickly falling silent afterward and glaring at him with evident displeasure.

After a moment, the Ferryman summed up for the sisters, his expression also appearing serious and solemn.

“Why don’t you really reflect and prepare yourself, Soul? The power of the Spiritual Fox Priestess is beyond your imagination. It might still be time to reconsider.”

“You all…”

The young man remained silent for a moment before slowly and firmly shaking his head.

“You know—this life, Soul is but a grave for the sword. If I can die for the sword path, though dead, I have no regrets.”

“Ugh… descendants of the Four Saints are all this stubborn, I guess….”

The Ferryman sighed lightly. The Dark Spirit and Dark Lotus looked displeased, but ultimately they chose not to say anything more. They bowed respectfully to the White Fox Girl, who had been silent the whole time, before stepping back to give space for the battle.

“Sorry about them, but once they heard about this, they insisted on coming to watch. They said they wanted to witness the last scene or something… I couldn’t help it; hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine; quite the opposite. It pleases me that Miss Xī allowed their presence. Thank you for your tolerance.”

“~”

As they chatted casually, Miss Vilyric raised her head to assess Soul’s current armed configuration.

It was clear he had come well prepared, not only wearing all the equipment she’d seen before but even sporting a particularly fancy jade ring on his left thumb, which he clearly hadn’t carried before and had added specifically for this battle.

Notably, after adding this ring, all the other rings Soul typically wore on his hands, including the spatial storage artifact, had vanished. This seemed rather odd, given how crucial it was to go all out in this situation.

So there was only one explanation.

This ring was an item requiring a bond with its user, an at least relic-grade equipment.

In the land of Illusory Worlds, the primary distinction between bonded and non-bonded equipment is that the former can only be used by its holder and must occupy a corresponding “equipment slot.”

Just like rings, necklaces, and bracelets occupy their respective jewelry slots, if one only has regular equipment of a gold-grade or lower, players in the highly free and realistic Illusory Worlds can indeed wear multiple rings at once or forcefully stack several bracelets on their wrists, deploying their corresponding effects.

This characteristic had once caused many bizarre incidents in the early stages of the game.

However, once players transition past the novice phase and enter gameplay beyond level 50, obtaining relic or higher grade equipment requiring a bond completely shifts the landscape.

With bonded equipment, players can only equip items in their weapon, armor, and jewelry slots in corresponding numbers—typically, one two-handed weapon or two one-handed weapons, a full set of armor or several pieces, and one of each ring, necklace, and bracelet.

Additionally, even if equipped with more, any items not bonded to an “equipment slot” won’t yield any effect.

This phase marks a period where players start to shape their builds and styles, developing unique characteristics.

Ideally, Soul, being a legendary character who hadn’t even reached level 50, shouldn’t have been able to use or bond with relic-grade items.

However, level restrictions are not absolute. Perhaps the rules of this world aren’t entirely consistent, or maybe this was just a piece of faulty relic-grade equipment that barely passed some threshold, like the Demon Lord Guardian Ring stolen from Count Ban Meikailande by Plakaka.

In any case, this thing was most likely Soul’s lifeline, perhaps possessing a special passive that could block a lethal hit, just perfect to handle the “one strike” proposed by that White Fox Girl.

Having made such judgments in quick succession, Miss Vilyric remained outwardly indifferent, merely glancing over at the Golden-armored warrior standing with a sword nearby and calmly spoke.

“If you’re ready, let’s begin. I will only respond to your signal, as I’ve said, just one strike.”

“Whew…”

Tightening the wings on his back, Soul poured all the pills from the vial into his mouth and took a deep breath, readying his hand for the longsword at his waist.

“Then, please instruct me.”

Suddenly, he gripped the sword’s hilt with all his might, as if to draw forth a weight of a thousand pounds!

“The seventh sword, Ghost…”

“Flower of the Other Shore blooms.”

“Tinkling ~”

The clear and melodious chime resounds, sending everything around—the Gray-clothed Swordsman’s resolute shout, the howling wind and snow from the Celestial Barrier—into stillness.

It was as if everything in the world had fallen silent at this moment.

Until the girl raised her hand again, ringing the tiny silver bell that had appeared in her hand at some point.

“Tinkling ~”

“Whew ~~~~”

The biting cold wind at the mountaintop once again lifted the red and white hem of the White Fox Girl’s robes, while her pure white hair fluttered like snow. Her adorable, triangular, fluffy ears twitched, as if announcing…

Her strike was complete.

“Guh… ha… ha!!!”

Behind her, the breaths of Dark Lotus and others were finally released after what seemed like an eternity of suffocation. Lucas’s previously raised hand fell again, shaking his head wistfully as if feeling some regret. After a respectful nod from the White Fox Girl, he vanished, enveloped in light.

At that moment, the Gray-clothed Swordsman, who had just gripped the seventh sword tightly, not even fully unsheathed, fell backward, his eyes losing their luster and vitality.

He plunged into the snow.

“Thud.”

“Soul!!!!”

   

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