Chapter 399

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Chapter 399: the Virtue of Honesty

Broken Paradise is simply another dimension, where everything that happens is absolutely real. Once you die here, you won’t come back to life in the real world.

Life only happens once. If a person is killed, they will die.

Walking in the Broken Paradise.

Some people have been blessed all the way, while others have suffered all along.

Some people suffer at first and then push forward, while others sit and wait for death.

It is difficult for a person to navigate this place on their own. Often, smart people choose to cooperate with others… um, I mean they choose to work together.

Then there was cooperation… Oh no, then the team mechanism was established.

People from various places and different training backgrounds each formed teams to embark on the exploration of Broken Paradise.

Most of them discovered that they could actually benefit from being here.

Even if we disregard the trials in Broken Paradise, hunting ancient god residue still has a chance of obtaining knowledge from the remnants of their thoughts, or acquiring valuable materials. Despite their age and the lack of much mystery, they still hold high value.

At the same time, Bai Wei also discovered that it seemed there were not only ancient god residues remaining here. Sometimes, ancient god residues wouldn’t completely devour the souls of humans, but instead transform them into projections, using them as their pawns.

Let’s give an appropriate example: a minion that works for a tiger.

These people were often not ordinary. They were practitioners from different systems, such as warriors, mages, immortals, or other types. In any case, they were all different. The projections formed by these practitioners also possessed combat abilities.

This kind of ancient god residue usually didn’t follow any game rules. They would directly bring enough projections to kill, using the puppets as weapons to ambush or surround their targets. Some of them were difficult to distinguish from real people, and if one wasn’t careful, they could fall into a trap, be taken advantage of by the residues, devoured, and turned into puppets themselves.

The appearance of this kind of ancient god residue means that they have already entered the mid-level map of Broken Paradise. Let’s still use Elden Ring as an example. This place should already be where they have reached the king’s city, and the difficulty level of the monster grades has become even higher.

Earlier maps were filled with weak remnants of ancient gods. They liked to use rules to restrain their opponents and weaken their resistance through game mechanics. Ordinary people often couldn’t pass this stage, but some powerful practitioners could break through with sheer strength. However, this approach became difficult and challenging in later maps, as there were many corpses of practitioners sleeping here.

Either don’t come in, or take a chance and see who comes out on top.

The first encounter for Bai Wei was against an ancient god residue controlling over twenty puppets. The opponent looked like a clam, with a blue-purple colored strange skinned creature inside the shell, which reminded him of the monsters in Bloodborne.

Could this ancient god residue be the nail clippings left behind by an ancient god?

Although there were many flaws in its appearance, it simultaneously controlled over twenty genuine projections, which made it very dangerous.

Looking ahead, there were rows and rows of red health bars, with an average level of around thirty. They were already quite elite.

The average overall level of the shrinesword witches was only around twenty, and the older ones could reach thirty, but going higher was difficult.

Residue covered the ground in the Broken Paradise, and projections were scattered all around.

Bai Wei left Crouching Tiger to delay this group of projections, while drawing out another sword.

The sword’s name is Yunhu, Yunhu is not happy.

In the end, this sword is just ordinary iron, but being left by Bai Wei proves that it has something unique. In his eyes, its greatest feature is its toughness.

Unyielding and unbreakable.

For real swordsmen, even the best weapons are mostly consumable. The last shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshihide, who was known as a sword master, pulled out his famous sword in the final battle against rebels, and kept replacing it with another sword whenever it became dull or broken. He stood alone against the enemy for three hours like this, but eventually died when he could no longer withstand the outnumbered opponent’s gunfire.

The Yunhu Sword is as tough as its name, the bond that transcends time will never be severed.

As a weapon, even if it isn’t very sharp, it is still qualified enough.

Bai Wei has always been a pragmatist. The difference between a sword and a sword isn’t significant. He swings his sword to cut through mountains and rivers and draws his sword to make decisive moves.

He swung his sword, creating a vast soundwave, and struck the "Deficiency of Mountains and Rivers."

The sword moves realized in the battle with Black Snake are magnificent and grand. They are not very effective in one-on-one situations, but they are excellent against groups. The sword moves are like tidal waves; just the pressure can crush a large group.

In an instant, the shadow puppets all fell to the ground, either broken, lifeless, or struggling to support themselves.

Bai Wei threw the Yunhu Sword at the ancient god residue, but it quickly closed its shell to block the flying sword.

But then, a young man stepped forward, forcefully pushed open the shell by grasping its edges.

The Golden Power was greatly suppressed, and the golden gears only held up for less than five seconds, but it was enough.

Crouching Tiger jumped into the crack of the shell, turning into a spinning blade. Bai Wei closed the shell and clapped his hands.

The shell of the ancient god residue was now useless in its hardness. Bai Wei sat on it and welded the main gate shut. Inside, he heard the sound of Big Orange brutally beating the ancient god residue. The scene was extremely brutal and bloody, as if the shell had joined hundreds of vibrating motors that never stopped shaking.

After a whole minute, the sound stopped, and the shell cracked open. A tiger jumped out from inside and let out a satisfied burp.

With a roar from the tiger, all the shadow puppets stopped moving.

The dull, gray eyes regained a bit of light, as if they regained some sanity just before their demise.

Two people wearing knight armor did a knight salute to Bai Wei, which is used in the empire.

Several heroes wearing attire from different dynasties greeted each other with a clasped fist salute.

There were also a few wizards who placed their right hand on their left chest and slightly bowed.

The group of deceased people turned into a wisp of smoke, dispersing one by one, leaving behind the weapons or props they had once used.

Seeing that the battle was over, Hatsurai Wagaizuma emerged and picked up a bracelet with a red gemstone inlaid on the ground, "This looks like an antique."

"Probably more than three hundred years ago."

"What about this one?"

"It’s an Imperial Knight Sword, standard issue, over seven hundred years old, but it’s not worth much, as it hasn’t been well-maintained."

"And this one?"

"The big guns used by the heroes of the martial world are not worth much, even if they are antiques. Once they leave their hands, they become scrap metal."

Hatsurai Wagaizuma counted and said, "There really are quite a few, about twenty or thirty."

Bai Wei sighed and said, "The gray tide has risen and fallen many times, swallowing millions of people each time. Many people have been in this fragment of paradise, but they all died here. Maybe they didn’t belong to the same era. Some are from hundreds of years ago, some are from thousands of years ago, and maybe even older ones. But we don’t know any of them."

Hatsurai Wagaizuma’s eyes weren’t filled with wonder but with sadness as she said, "They died here without anyone knowing. In history, their disappearance was only recorded as an unknown number."

"It’s better for them to die here than to die in their original place," Bai Wei said. "At least by coming here, it proves that they fought."

Hatsurai Wagaizuma nodded, wondering if she would become such a projection if she died here and if people from a long time later would see her.

Bai Wei understood what she was thinking and said directly, "Instead of thinking about dying, it’s better to think about how to survive."

Hatsurai Wagaizuma pursed her lips and said, "But other than singing, I don’t know how to do anything else. What else can I do? The further we go inside, the more dangerous it will become."

Bai Wei said, "That may not be the case. Perhaps there will be a time when you can contribute."

He was unsure if it was because there was too much stuff left here, what if there were some strange rules?

If it was some leftover from an ancient god saying to sing a naughty song, could Bai Wei do it? Is it suitable?

Of course, the most important reason is not wanting to leave her here to die, waiting until finding a safe place to leave her behind. But in a broken paradise, where can one find a safe place? Only hoping to find a shelter with more people.

Bai Wei needs to enter the very center of the broken paradise, cannot waste too much time, less than seven hours left.

Continuing forward for a short while, the second one was triggered quickly.

A sculpture of an angel knight fell from the sky and smashed onto the ground, raising countless dust.

"Another trial, what kind of trial is this one?" Bai Wei was already used to it, asking directly.

"Accept the trial of ‘honesty’ or stay here forever." The angel sculpture asked.

Unexpectedly, it was honesty. Out of the seven virtues, Bai Wei has already collected three kinds, he was very curious about what effect the fourth one can bring.

"Honesty seems to belong to the eight virtues of a knight, not the seven virtues… right?" Hatsurai Wagaizuma whispered.

Bai Wei paused, "Justice and courage don’t seem to be part of the seven virtues?"

Hatsurai Wagaizuma nodded, "But it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, does it?"

Bai Wei said, "Well, let’s just give it a try… I accept the trial, but what is it about?"

The knight sculpture said, "Each of you needs to answer three questions honestly."

Hatsurai Wagaizuma pointed to herself, "Do I need to do it too? Can I join?"

Ignoring Hatsurai Wagaizuma, the knight sculpture directly posed the question, "The first to answer will be a man."

Bai Wei crossed his arms, showing a disdainful expression, "Well, it’s just honesty, a virtue that I possess. I never stoop to lying, just occasionally using riddles in my language."

"Question one, why keep swinging a useless big stick?"

"…I will destroy you right now!"