Lightning constantly fell, reflecting on the survivors’ overcast faces.
The magic power reserves were being quickly consumed.
Receiving Zi Di’s warning, the survivors cowered near the Bloodcore, allowing them to be safe for the time being.
But the artificial magic beast suffered a calamity, being struck as they massacred each other.
However, the amount of magic beasts didn’t noticeably decline, because the tower spirit was still teleporting magic beasts in.
Zi Di’s expression changed: “Tower spirit, cease teleportations now!”
Tower spirit: “Request rejected, destroying the intruder and protecting the control hub tower mission is the greatest……priority……”
No matter how much Zi Di shouted, the tower spirit went dormant again.
“Dammit!” Zi Di had a grave look, the situation had become terrible.
The old dog Jia Sha, despite seeming to topple at the slightest breeze, actually still had energy remaining. This caused Zi Di’s surprise attack and plan to seize all privileges over weather controls to fail.
More frightening was the tower spirit’s unexpected interference, it wanted to annihilate all outsiders except for Zi Di.
After three entanglements with each other, a tight situation was created.
Zhen Jin’s face couldn’t conceal his worry, he promptly advised Zi Di and Jia Sha: “Calm down, we are companions, we don’t need to be so noisy.”
“Ahehehe.” Jia Sha sneered, “It's too late, the lightning is already beyond both my and Zi Di’s control, it is free to strike anywhere. She also took most of the teleportation privileges, if It were under my control, the tower spirit wouldn’t be able to teleport so many magic beasts in!”
Zhen Jin’s head was filled with cold sweat.
If the lightning and teleportation continued, the magic power reserve would be dried up. When that happened, no one could escape!
“Zi Di, my fiancé!” Zhen Jin turned to look at Zi Di, besides anxiety, there was pleading in his eyes.
Zi Di shook her head, her gaze was ice-cold: “I can’t return authority, if I deliberately lose to Jia Sha, the contract will take my life. Only by stripping all of Jia Sha’s authority, can I escape.”
“When that moment comes, while the tower spirit is dormant, I can stop the weather control, I can stop the lightning and magic beast teleportations. We can win!”
Zhen Jin looked at Jia Sha again: “Priest, take a step back. The Green Jade Golden Coffin is yours; we have no interest in it!”
“Hahaha!” Jia Sha howled with laughter, “For what reason? During this whole journey, I have led you, treated you, supplied food, and protected your bodies with divine spells. Without me, none of you could have entered this alchemy factory!”
“Why must my contribution be given to you?”
“What did you contribute?”
“A despicable merchant, a cowardly knight! When I relied on you in the final moments, you suddenly turned traitor, do you think I will submit to your blackmail?”
Zhen Jin glared: “Lord Jia Sha, can you calm down a bit? If no one concedes, all of us will die! Only you can back down now, my fiancé has a contract on her body.”
Jia Sha sneered, and gazed at Zhen Jin and Zi Di with ridicule: “Why can’t your fiancé back down, why must I back down?
“Besides, who knows the specific contents of that contract? Templar knight, are you sure your fiancé isn’t deceiving you?”
Zhen Jin stared blankly.
In the end, the three sides had a severe lack of trust.
At first, it was merely striving for benefits, however with all three sides put on the spot, it was difficult for anyone to control the situation.
It was impossible for them to stop halfway.
“Lord Jia Sha, Miss Zi Di, please be a bit rational.”
“Yes, pointless internal strife only allows the tower spirit to prevail.
“War Merchant is already dead; we can already escape. If this ends in mutual destruction, it’s not worth it.”
The guardian templar knights were also panicking.
Jia Sha laughed grimly; his bloodshot eyes were filled with killing intent: “Then kill Zi Di first! As for Zhen Jin, anything is fine as long as he doesn’t die!”
The guardian templar knights hesitated, thoughts gradually moved in them.
As guardian templar knights, their duty lay in protecting the sect, none of them wanted to fight a templar knight.
However, the current situation was tense, killing Zi Di and harming Zhen Jin seemed to be the best option.
Besides, they also always listened to Jia Sha’s orders.
Seeing the guardian templar knights becoming threatening, Zhen Jin nervously stood up. If they truly attacked, his two hands against four enemies made it very hard to protect Zi Di.
“Zi Di, transmit my voice downstairs!” Zhen Jin said to Zi Di.
Thus, at the next moment, the survivors heard Zhen Jin’s voice: “Zong Ge, Tripleblade, Lan Zao, as well as the other everyone else, I Zhen Jin, templar knight and the sole heir of the Bai Zhen Clan, summon and enlist everyone.”
“The imperial flag waves above our heads, and everyone’s honor will increase.”
“Quickly come up, fight by my side!”
“I Zhen Jin, swear on my honor, that I will treat no one unfairly.”
The crowd stood up, disturbed.
Previously, Zi Di’s and Jia Sha’s conversation were unknown to outsiders, it was limited to those on the fourth floor. Everyone only saw the constant lightning and teleportation; they were completely ignorant of the internal situation.
Now that Zhen Jin was suddenly summoning them, the people were bewildered.
“What is going on? What is happening upstairs?”
“They encountered an enemy? Don’t tell me a remodeled magic beast was teleported upstairs?”
Zhen Jin’s temporary enlistment effort achieved nothing, none of the survivors budged.
“It’s no use.” Zi Di’s complexion was dark, “This is why I need the body double.”
“Abominable, I am Zhen Jin, a grand templar knight!” Zhen Jin gnashed his teeth, in order to instigate these people into confronting Jia Sha and the guardian templar knights, he was deliberately vague.
But the crowd was indifferent, this made Zhen Jin feel ashamed.
Currently, Jia Sha already lost his ability to control the weather, he couldn’t use the lightning to attack a specific target. However, the free and disorderly lightning, in the eyes of the survivors, was the biggest threat.
“To rush into the fourth floor, one needs to risk their life!” Zi Di said.
Zhen Jin looked pensive, saying with disappointment: “If the body double was still alive, surely he could incite these people?”
“Not necessarily.” Zi Di shook her head, “You revealed your true identity, his prestige has also dropped to rock bottom, making it difficult for others to believe him. Lord Zhen Jin, I told you many times that you must maintain this secret! If you exposed your identity, we would suffer tremendous damage.”
“Blame me!!” At that moment, Zhen Jin felt regret.
He wiped away his cold sweat: “Has the magic power reserve dried up yet? We can still open up a teleportation door first. You four can leave first!” Zhen Jin stated to the four guardian templar knights.
Upon hearing these words, the restless guardian templar knights hesitated again.
Because most of the teleportation privileges were in Zi Di’s hands, the situation was beyond anyone’s control, if they left first and preserved their lives, that would also be a good choice.
Jia Sha’s heart immediately sank.
Currently, he and Zi Di were in a deadlock, although he suffered one defeat after the other, he still had the power to resist.
Even if Zi Di won in the end and seized all authority, it would take too long. At that time, the magic power reserve would be completely dry, and no one could be teleported.
Neither Jia Sha nor Zi Di wanted to see this happen, therefore both sides had to change the situation in advance.
After Zhen Jin’s enlistment efforts failed, the four guardian templar knights’ choice was the biggest factor.
The guardian templar knights were in an awkward situation.
They wanted to survive, they also wanted contribution. They didn’t want to deal with Zhen Jin, they also didn’t want to go against Jia Sha’s orders.
Zi Di looked at the hesitating guardian templar knights, and immediately said with a happy heart: “Do you not see? Priest Jia Sha has already gone insane! Perhaps during the authority invasion, he suffered a counterattack and became mentally confused. In fact, he doesn’t fear death. Because even if he dies, his soul might also attract Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming, he will enter his divine kingdom and even become a martyr spirit.”
“But you? Do you have such treatment? You're in the same situation as us!”
The guardian templar knights’ hesitation became denser.
But the next moment, Zhen Jin said with alarm: “Zi Di, my good fiancé, I don’t want to die. There are standards for a soul to enter the divine kingdom, my belief in Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming isn’t pious enough. You will open the teleportation door so I can escape first!”
Zi Di blankly stared.
When Zhen Jin suggested to open the teleportation door earlier, Zi Di still thought Zhen Jin wanted to stabilize the guardian templar knights, she didn’t expect that he was the one who wanted the teleportation door.
Under the immense pressure of death, Zhen Jin exposed his nature, his rationality collapsed as his strong longing for survival rose.
Jia Sha and the guardian templar knights’ looks slightly changed, Zhen Jin’s panic allowed them to instantly seize a giant flaw in Zi Di’s party.
Zi Di remedied it at once, she callously said to Zhen Jin: “My finance, you're leaving, do you want to leave me alone with no protection? Wasn’t the reason I accepted the tower spirit’s contract for our future?!”
Zhen Jin stammered: “I will do everything to resurrect you! I swear!!”
Zi Di sneered: “Even if you can resurrect me, I will die at their hands, today’s contribution will belong to them! Are you willing to see that happen?”
“My fiancé let’s not speak of contribution now, we need to save our lives first! Look at that Jia Sha, he is already insane and doesn’t fear death! This is normal, he is not a merchant, he is a pious believer of the god of victory!” Zhen Jin yelled, pleading spread across his face.
Zi Di closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, at that moment, she completely lost hope in Zhen Jin.
The guardian templar knights became threatening again.
Zi Di suddenly opened her eyes and sneered repeatedly: “Kill me, none of you can escape. Jia Sha, how can I not understand your situation?”
“You no longer have any power left!”
“Even if I die, you have spent too much divine power and spirit on invading privileges. How much divine power do you have? Your spirit has also suffered heavy losses as it confronted mine.”
“In other words, if I die, no one can open a teleportation gate!”
The guardian templar knights hesitated again.
They wanted contribution, but they wanted to live more!
Jia Sha laughed, deliberately using a resonant tone to draw attention to his situation: “I underestimated you too much Miss Zi Di.”
“You are an insignificant iron level; how can you understand the silver level?”
“I have plenty of power left! Your frightening words reveal your weakness.”
“My spirit is still vigorous; I even have enough divine power to cast the resurrection spell. But will I resurrect the body double?”
“If I resurrect him, will he instigate the others downstairs to attack me? I have already seen through your plans!”
The guardian templar knights moved again.
Zi Di also sneered: “Your spirit is still vigorous? Then why did you retreat again and again, why have I taken back your authority……”
The guardian templar knights hesitated again.
“Enough! You two! I’m truly fed up with you both!” Suddenly, Zhen Jin exploded.
He grabbed his hair and roared with a red face: “You two wretched people, what do you want to do in the end?! We can already escape, what are you doing?”
“Ah! The magic power is drying up, yet none of you are willing to concede!”
“Do you want to die?”
“Do you want to die, why do you want an early death? Why do you want to die on the road? Why don’t you just jump into the mouths of those magic beasts? Why are we still here?”
“The longer time goes on, the smaller our contribution and hope of survival. Do you not understand this?”
“Both of you are idiots!!!”
Zhen Jin repeatedly roared, venting the anger and panic in his heart.
“Lord Zhen Jin is right!!” The four guardian templar knights nodded, the neutral party agreed with him.
“Since I am correct, you four wretched guys will listen to me, don’t influence the words of these two!!” Zhen Jin’s rage overflowed.
The four templar guardian knights looked at each other in dismay, then their faces became steady as they heavily nodded at Zhen Jin.
Jia Sha’s and Zi Di’s expression changed at the same time.
The situation had suddenly turned, Zhen Jin’s fiery outburst had unexpectedly altered the situation!
Now, his attitude and choice were the key to success.
Notes
I believe some parts of Book 1 are about how people deal with the threat of death. Under such pressure, their true nature becomes revealed. Zi Di, Cang Xu, Bai Ya, and the others gave into despair on the sand dune surrounded by lizards until they were rescued. The MC sank into regret before he accepted his thirst for life and consumed the lives of others to do so. Zhen Jin gives into panic and fear when his life is threatened. It is also about what others are willing to do to achieve their goals and ambitions. In the tower now, there are two individuals willing to risk the lives of everyone inside to achieve just that.