War Merchant was laying on the ground, his back facing upwards. An unusual two meter spear penetrated through his back and into the floor.
This thin spear seemed to have vines twisting and winding around its shaft.
It mortally wounded War Merchant.
No one knew which saint level person threw it, it might have been the final attack before death, causing the scene of mutual destruction everyone saw in front of them.
“This wooden vine spear seems to be the legend rank weapon——Thorn (Wood) Vine Spear.” Zong Ge identified a moment later.
The spear emitted a legend level aura, it was very peculiar, it resembled a living magic plant.
“The last record about the Thorn Vine Spear says it was in Great Duke Zhan Wan’s arsenal. This should be it. All legend rank weapons possess distinct characteristics.”
“It's no wonder War Merchant was also killed. The Blood Light Punishment Institution squadron not only assaulted with a legend level flame dragon king, but with a legend level weapon!”
But Zi Di shook her head: “This is War Merchant’s headquarters; the alchemy factory is a portion of his magician tower. If it were an open fight, the outcome would be uncertain. Crucially, this small squad came prepared, they didn’t storm the magician tower, rather they rushed through the interior of the alchemy factory. In truth, War Merchant was caught unprepared.”
Zi Di’s analysis won Cang Xu’s approval.
The old scholar nodded, gazed at War Merchant’s body, and deeply lamented: “A legend level magician with their magician tower can even vie with the gods. I never expected such a legendary magician to die in such a way.”
“His magic gown should also be legend level, unfortunately it couldn’t compete with the Thorn Vine Spear.” Someone took note of this point.
“Even if the legend level magic gown was damaged, the material it is made of is priceless, what’s more, it could still be restored!”
“Don’t touch him. When facing death’s door, who knows what magic War Merchant prepared.” Replied Cang Xu.
Those words made everyone suddenly think of the first saint level corpse——touching that corpse would turn a person into a golden statue.
Everyone’s heart shivered and sighed.
The disparity was too high, it was impossible to collect these corpses.
“Don’t touch the Thorn Vine Spear either. It is very tyrannical, capable of absorbing almost all matter and energy. It can absorb the water, fire, and flesh it touches. Therefore, it is very taxing on a magician's protective spells.” Zong Ge warned.
Hearing these words, everyone sorrowfully backed away from War Merchant.
“If this is how things are, how do we clean up the battlefield?”
“Yeah, how are we going to retrieve our spoils of war?”
“I didn’t expect that after falling into dire straits, we could have such an immense harvest! Ah, fate is too inconceivable.”
“This will be an immense contribution; War Merchant’s bounty is indeed an immense number. He was the most confident of the most wanted!”
“Hahaha……not just a reward.”
“We’ve collected a big bargain. As long as we return and give these things to the empire, we might receive titles and land. Our tale will be spread throughout the entire continent, making us the envy of countless adventurers.”
Everyone stood around War Merchant’s corpse, gradually as they discussed, their voices grew louder, their breathing became hoarser, and many faces blushed with excitement.
Zong Ge was also like this, he thought of his father, although he hadn’t stepped foot on the Wilderness Continent yet, establishing himself with this kind of meritorious service would undoubtedly bring him closer to his goals.
Tripleblade’s face was also beaming with joy.
Once he was a commander of a mercenary corps, in order to achieve this, he had struggled for half a lifetime. He didn’t expect that after being stranded on this island and disbanding his mercenary corps, that his life would unexpectedly turn around!
Nevertheless, Zhen Jin faintly frowned, he looked at War Merchant’s check and couldn’t help but be puzzled: “Strange, why do I get a sense of familiarity when I look at him?”
Everyone knew War Merchant’s appearance, after all as the seventh most wanted, his portrait was spread widely in every continent.
However, Zhen Jin understood this sense of familiarity wasn’t from looking at a portrait, it was from personal experience.
Cang Xu suddenly spoke: “Everyone, this great bargain certainly isn’t easy to collect. War Merchant was the Blood Light Punishment Institution team’s kill, how can we offer these things? How will the Blood Light Punishment Institution react?”
“When we passed through the magma battlefield, Yan Shan explicitly warned us to not covet this meritorious service.”
“Yan Shan is not only a legend rank fire dragon; his master is Great Duke Quan Fa.”
Cang Xu’s words made everyone calm down.
“That’s right.”
“This contribution is too big; we cannot take it.”
“My small body isn’t enough to resist a finger of the flame dragon king!”
Everyone was worried, and it appeared on everyone’s face.
Jia Sha coldly snorted: “Everyone, you must understand, fate has presented all of this to us!”
The priest gazed at everyone and loudly preached: “Originally, we were safely sailing to the Wilderness Continent. However, a Blood Light Punishment Institution squad assaulted Mystifying Monster Island, dying together with War Merchant. The island crumbled, the tower spirit went out of control, and the mighty force of this sank our ship.”
“We are victims of that disaster; thus, we were stranded on this island. For several months, we painfully struggled. We fought against all kinds of magic beasts, traveled over land and water, we all out to gather food and water, and exhausted ourselves to survive. Finally, we were forced to come here, seeking to struggle free from desperate straits and find reprieve from death.”
“We succeeded!”
“We reached this place.”
“Look around, we have sacrificed so many, bled and sweated so much, and survived through so many dangers. We helped each other and relied on our efforts and indispensable luck to stand here.”
Jia Sha pointed at War Merchant’s corpse: “We deserve this.”
“True!”
“That’s right.”
“Lord Priest is correct!”
Everyone was deeply touched by Jia Sha’s words.
Zhen Jin, Zong Ge, and a few others remained silent.
Jia Sha continued: “Indeed, if we take credit for this, we will offend the Blood Light Punishment Institution, Yan Shan, and Great Duke Quan Fa. However, if we don’t take credit for it, I will definitely regret it for the rest of my life!”
“As everyone knows, I am a priest. I believe in my master——the great Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming! In my holy sect, I have my respected teacher, my superiors, and many colleagues. I was also the son of a great noble once, my clan background can also make things easier for me.”
“Therefore, I will use all my contacts and relationships to fight for this contribution.”
“That’s right!” Bai Ya shouted, “Don’t forget, we also have Lord Zhen Jin.”
Everyone focused on Zhen Jin.
“Yes, we have always been following Lord Zhen Jin.”
“He is a templar knight and a divine scion knight!”
“The Bai Zhen Clan will definitely help us and ensure we get credit!”
Zong Ge looked pensive, he thought of his own father.
Hei Juan smiled.
“Very, very good.” Fei She wiped away years, “You have grown up your Lordship, our Wisteria Merchant Alliance will also, also be rejuvenated.”
But at that moment, Zi Di maintained a rarely seen calmness: “Everyone, it's too early to be happy. Our main goal isn’t seeking contribution. War Merchant and the Blood Light Punishment Institution squadron killing each other was beyond our expectations. We still need to escape this place alive.”
“Even if we have not felt an earthquake after entering the alchemy factory, those earthquakes have not disappeared since Yan Shan is the origin of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.”
“If we don’t seize the moment and find a way to escape, this island will collapse, and we will die with it. If Yan Shan escapes, we will also suffer a calamity.”
Everyone trembled in fear.
Zi Di was right, causing everyone to sober up a bit.
“Quickly, let’s look upstairs.
“The magician tower must have the alchemy factory’s control hub. There must be a way to control the entire alchemy factory in here.”
“Surely there is a hidden storehouse with a passage out of here, like a teleportation door, or something else. War Merchant should have an escape route.”
“Seize the moment, find the control hub!”
“Are these coffins the control hub?”
On the first floor, besides the damaged door, War Merchant, the dead saint levels, and the legendary weapon Thorn Vine Spear, there was a coffin in the center.
The coffin seemed to be forged from gold and a jade relief sculpture traced with silver was inlaid on its surface, the sculpture depicted a winged snake.
The coffin was 3 meters long and 1.8 meters wide. It was a dazzling sight beyond comparison.
The coffin was not intact, no one found the coffin’s lid.
Carefully approaching it, everyone found there were twelve black murals inside. These murals had a simple style and portrayed the birth, worship, life, and legend of a god.
“This god seems to be……the Feather Snake god.” After a moment Jia Sha identified it, his complexion slightly changing.
The Feather Snake god wasn’t a human god, rather it was one of the great devil gods.
In present times, the devil race was nearly extinct, thus the Feather Snake god fell long ago.
Jia Sha’s eyes shined; he was certain: “This coffin should be the Feather Snake god’s divine artifact——the Green Jade Golden Coffin!”
“The Feather Snake god and its clergy had the divine power to control life and reproduction. According to written accounts, whenever it was seriously injured, it would hide in this coffin to cure itself quickly and completely. The Green Jade Golden Coffin’s therapy abilities were extremely strong, some have even speculated that it has the power to revive the power of a god!”
“I didn’t expect to learn War Merchant had the main part of it.”
“Unfortunately, he didn’t have the coffin lid, this artifact is incomplete.”
I understand now.”
Saying this, Jia Sha suddenly turned around to look at War Merchant: “He was heavily wounded; thus, he withdrew to the control hub to use the Green Jade Golden Coffin to treat himself. He nearly succeeded, but in the end, he still died in the final stretch.”
Notes
Premature celebration is a bad idea, such is the tale throughout human history, so much so that there are many idioms stating that lesson. It doesn’t matter how close you are to your goal, until its achieved, anything can happen, such as a massive spear in the back or the author using teleportation to screw you over.