Chapter 41: Hidden Creature, Priest of the Dark Sea Tide!

“What a pity, it collapsed too quickly,” Xu Yong murmured as he gazed at the ruins.

Wang Chen said, “What’s there to pity? Those who kill will themselves be killed. Anyone who gets involved in things like this should be prepared to lose their lives.”

“You misunderstood. I meant some people didn’t have time to loot everything,” Xu Yong replied.

“Uh… Are you that desperate for money? Planning to flee abroad and never come back?” Wang Chen asked.

“No, that’s not it. There are still some people being held under house arrest in the camp. The men are used as labor or as bait for ferocious beasts, while the women are treated as tools for venting desires.

The unluckiest among them have been enslaved for two or three years now,” Xu Yong said with a somber expression. “The things I managed to scavenge were meant to be distributed to them, as a form of compensation, even though it’s not much.”

“That’s exactly why none of those scoundrels deserved any pity,” Wang Chen said, righteous indignation flashing in his eyes as he glanced toward the ruins.

Unexpectedly, there was a soft crack, and he found his neck could move again, though it was still a bit stiff.

He tried moving his joints slowly, gradually regaining control of his body.

“What do you plan to do next?” Wang Chen asked, flexing his wrists.

“I’ll return to the camp, make covert contact with the laborers, and take out the few scavengers left to guard them. Once I’ve distributed the loot, I’ll head back to the city,” Xu Yong replied.

The scavengers only left a few to guard the laborers? Weren’t they worried about a revolt?

After all, the laborers should be strong men like Xu Yong; if there were enough of them, they’d be hard to control.

Wang Chen was puzzled, but then realized that those enslaved people were probably already broken in spirit. As long as someone held a weapon, they’d be able to keep them under control—any will to resist had long since been crushed.

“How about this: I’ll return to the camp with you later, but first I have something to take care of.” Wang Chen pointed to the ruins of the temple. “There’s something buried underneath that I haven’t retrieved yet. You seem quite strong—could you help me lift the stones?”

Xu Yong nodded.

“No problem. My profession is Laborer.”

Laborer was a profession focused more on daily life. Though those in this line of work had strength beyond that of ordinary people, sheer strength alone meant little when facing ferocious beasts—what mattered more was having enough firepower to kill them.

Moreover, the strength boost provided by the Laborer profession was not enough to overcome all obstacles by brute force alone.

So, they climbed onto the ruins.

Wang Chen identified the general location of the altar and called Xu Yong over to help move the rubble.

Xu Yong relied on his profession’s strength, while Wang Chen used his storage ring, transferring the stones one by one into his storage space, then dumping them aside once it was full.

The larger chunks of broken stone were more laborious to deal with, so Wang Chen had to find ways to break them up before they could be moved. Fortunately, there weren’t too many such huge pieces.

Soon, most of the debris had been cleared away.

When Wang Chen grasped a floating stone, he discovered that the black mist sealing the Fountain of Vitality had actually acted as a shield, holding back the collapsed rubble—like an invisible field of energy.

“That’s good—the Fountain of Vitality probably hasn’t been damaged,” Wang Chen thought.

He brushed away the floating stones, took out the Heart of Darkness, and pressed it against the black mist swirling around the Fountain of Vitality.

The Heart of Darkness rapidly absorbed the black mist, which soon became almost imperceptible.

At that moment!

A system notification sounded in Wang Chen’s ear:

[Mission issued: Slay the Priest of the Dark Tide]

[Details: The Priest of the Dark Tide has been hiding within the Fountain of Vitality, attempting to corrupt it to increase its own power. Your actions in breaking the seal have awakened it from its work—the skeletal giant python was its servant!]

[Reward: 30,000 lottery points]

Wang Chen’s heart jumped!

He’d suspected there was still an enemy left—but he hadn’t expected this old fox to be lurking inside the Fountain of Vitality itself.

If not for the system’s warning, he might have broken the seal completely unprepared and then been ambushed by the Priest of the Dark Tide.

That would have been a fatal mistake.

But now the tables had turned—it was his turn to be the hidden threat.

Wang Chen called Xu Yong over, handing him the Heart of Darkness and instructing him to continue absorbing the black mist. At the same time, he raised the Staff of the Forest Tempest.

Lightning crackled at its tip!

“Lightning Barrier (Unreversed)!”

Three barriers of crackling lightning encircled Xu Yong, hovering protectively around him.

Still uneasy, Wang Chen tore up a magic scroll.

“Guard of the Spring Surge (Silver Grade)!”

A shield of shimmering water enveloped Xu Yong, flickering with restless arcs of electricity.

“With double protection, there shouldn’t be any problem now,” Wang Chen thought, finally at ease.

He stepped aside to prepare, eyes fixed on the altar.

The black mist swirling between the three candelabra grew steadily fainter until, as the Heart of Darkness stopped pulsing, it disappeared completely.

The vitality of the Fountain of Life broke through the mist’s blockade and spread outward, invigorating both Wang Chen and Xu Yong.

“Xu Yong! Get clear, now!” Wang Chen called, sensing the Priest of the Dark Tide was about to act.

Xu Yong hurriedly clutched the Heart of Darkness and dashed away, not stopping until he was well outside the ruins.

Suddenly—

A shadow wreathed in black mist slowly materialized atop the stone platform of the altar.

It wore a black hooded cloak, and its hand—like a chicken’s claw—clutched a staff resembling a bone.

“A small token for our first meeting!” it rasped.

The moment Wang Chen saw the figure appear, he tore a magic scroll in his hand.

“Azure Thunder Bind (Gold Grade)!”

Pale blue arcs of lightning danced within the magic circle, and a massive chain of lightning shot forth—one end anchored to the circle, the other snaring the Priest of the Dark Tide.

The electric blue light was far more intense than any lightning skill Wang Chen had cast before. Just looking at it made his eyes ache, as though scorched.

The Priest of the Dark Tide had barely emerged before it was ensnared. As it struggled, the magic circle surged with terrifying power, and the lightning chain, originally as thick as an arm, swelled to the size of a calf.

A shrill, inhuman scream tore from the Priest as it convulsed under the barrage of electricity.

“Beautiful!” Wang Chen exclaimed, seeing the priest locked down and the sheer force of the gold-grade scroll’s elemental energy.

A flash of light danced between his fingers.

He hurled his last supply of reversed Phoenix Butterfly Dust at the Priest of the Dark Tide, using it all to guarantee maximum effect.

“That’s all I can do for now,” Wang Chen thought, focusing his gaze on the Priest, a violet gleam flickering in his eyes.

Now was the time to learn more about his foe and plan his next move.

[Beast’s Eye!]

In an instant, a torrent of information about the Priest of the Dark Tide surged into Wang Chen’s mind.