Chapter 341: Chapter 206: Starting a New Chapter, Vermillion Empire’s Envoy_2
[Considering your SS-level ranking in the previous Chapter, you are now randomly qualified to enter the Fifth Difficulty Chapter (Hell).]
The underworld game presented a series of options, causing Lin Xun to raise a brow.
Isn’t the Hell Chapter supposed to require a triple S ranking to enter?
He noticed that the requirements for all options reduced by one tier.
For instance, the nightmare difficulty that once required an S-level ranking can now be chosen directly.
Otherwise, one had to rely on good luck to randomly get into the nightmare difficulty.
But now, an A-level ranking was enough.
"Most likely the ’Omniscient World’ itself is the reason I managed an SS level in the Hell Chapter. The actual score is perhaps even higher than the ’Blood Sun World’s’ triple S."
Since the Hell Difficulty Chapter was an option, Lin Xun didn’t bother considering others.
Why choose a lesser reward when a better one is available?
If he could get straight into a top university, why settle for a lesser one? That’s the confidence of a top student.
And Lin Xun wanted to know what rewards he might receive for earning a triple S in the Hell Difficulty Chapter.
[You have chosen the Fifth Difficulty Chapter (Hell)!]
[You have entered the Doomsday Chapter.]
[Chapter 63942575]
"Being a seasoned player, I’m not scared by all these numbers thrown by the underworld game."
Lin Xun confidently vowed...
[The powerful Wandering Soul awakened on a trembling flat boat...]
[As the dark clouds slowly vanished, the midday sun shone brightly overhead. The chilly sea breeze turned increasingly sultry, draining all energy.]
[The vast expanse of blue sea filled all your sight, while the boat swayed uneasily at the mercy of the waves.]
[No land was in sight, only endless blue waves.]
[You looked around, the ship’s mainmast snapped at its base, thrust brutally into the ship’s cabin by the recently passed storm.]
[A canvas shielded the only refuge on board — the cramped cabin.]
[Will you lift the canvas and enter the cabin?]
What’s happening here?
Waking up alone in the middle of the ocean?
Lin Xun feared he wasn’t alone on the boat, and wondered... How could a small boat sail unmanned on the ocean? It’s not a ghost ship.
Despite him shrugging it off, he remained cautious in practice.
[You have taken possession of the ’Fallen Earth Giant’s’ Shell!]
[You tossed aside the canvas and kicked open the worn-out cabin door...]
"Damn it, I knew the Earth Giant’s temper wouldn’t be easy to manage."
Lin Xun barely had time to complain before the game text continued.
[The cramped cabin was simply furnished with a wooden table, a bed, and some barrels.]
[What caught your attention were a massive floating page mid-air and a corpse in the corner.]
"I’m glad there’s a Rest Page."
At the beginning of a new Chapter, Lin Xun’s respawn point was automatically set at the Rest Page, so there was no need to touch it.
[You approached the corpse huddled in the corner...]
[’Fire Worshiping Envoy of the Vermilion Empire’ Shell: An envoy from the distant and great western realm — the Vermilion Empire. Why he drifted so far from home remains unknown, but his bulging eyes, echoing the fear he experienced at death, reveal that he died from a heart attack induced by terror. Compatibility: 137% (+55%)]
[Do you want to possess this Shell?]
This was a starting Shell given by the underworld game. There’s nothing to be worried about.
But Lin Xun had an impression that the world setting in this Chapter was somehow different from his past experiences.
[You have taken possession of the ’Fire Worshiping Envoy of the Vermilion Empire’s’ Shell!]
Lin Xun patiently waited, and, as expected, the underworld game text started to pulsate slowly.
[Fragments of the envoy’s life are retained in the Shell...]
[The powerful Vermilion Empire teetered dangerously towards ruin at an alarming speed during the war with the gods.]
[Perhaps even the Sakura fall, located beyond the vast seas, had heard of the lion’s frailty and thus dared not to pay their respects.]
[But even though the empire was on the brink of destruction, the dignity of the red-blooded lineage could not be defiled.]
[The decaying Emperor, in a fit of rage, ordered the emissary to cross the distant ocean to reach Sakura fall.]
[Even with the battle lines stretched thin, the Emperor deployed five thousand elite troops to accompany the emissary... after all, the journey as an emissary could easily turn into a bloody battle.]
[But the Emissary and his five thousand troops never returned, vanishing without a trace... Even the offspring of the deity occupying the tribute of incense from the vassal states no longer responds to their call.]
[The decaying Emperor sent emissaries and large armies time and again, but none returned.]
[...]
[As the new, and possibly last, emissary, it is set to cross the distant ocean to Sakura fall.]
[No one cared about its duties as an emissary, everyone was engaged in the war of the deities, facing imminent danger every day, if it wasn’t for the fact that the previous emissary was its father... it would not have cared itself.]
[The Empire’s military strength has already been exhausted in the war of the deities, so there are no large forces accompanying this mission, only it with a small boat.]
[Perhaps the Emperor has long lost hope of any offerings of worship...]
[In the end, the Emissary picked up the ’Signal’ given by the decaying Emperor. It wasn’t for the Emperor’s stubbornness and tenacity, nor was it to defend the last dignity of the dying Empire, but to find its lost father in a foreign land.]
[The shattered memory stopped abruptly there...]
Lin Xun blinked.
"That’s all?"
As a ’veteran’ Apostle, Lin Xun understood the importance of extracting key information from the data given by the underworld game.
Thus, his primary goal was to analyze...
It was not surprising that the emissary, who was sent across the ocean from the decaying Vermilion Empire to the vassal state of Sakura fall, died alone at sea.
The surprise was, how did those powerful troops disappear without a return?
Are they dead or alive still...
If they’re dead, did they die in the ocean, or did they die on foreign soil?
If it’s the former, Lin Xun might face the same dreadful situation that killed millions of troops.
He carefully skimmed through the text, trying to find key clues from it.
The most notable is the prefix to the emissary’s name—’Fire Worshiping’, which seems to be connected to the Emissary’s memory of the Vermilion bloodline.
"In other words, the deity worshiped by the Vermilion Empire is related to fire."
Lin Xun quickly discovered the second key element. The Vermilion Empire is experiencing a deities’ war, but the memory suggests that Sakura fall was invaded by the offsprings of deities.
According to the tone in the memory, the offsprings of the deities should be on the side of the Vermilion Empire.
It was just that for unknown reasons, they didn’t respond to the call of the ’decaying Emperor’.
The last clue was the ’Signal’ given by the decaying Emperor, which was the token of the Emissary’s mission.
He quickly opened the Shell panel to check.
[Shell—’Fire Worshiping Emissary of the Vermilion Empire’]
[Real Name: The Hermit]
[Affinity: 137% (+55%) Affinity exceeds the critical point, Shell quality improved!]
[Shell Quality: Excellent Level]
[Shell Level: 57 (+22 ↑)]
[Shell Equipment: Missionary Costume (Excellent Level): The grand attire of the Vermilion Empire’s emissaries, where the bird spreads its wings and tail beautifully. However, the gown seems to have not been cleaned for a long time, stained with indelible dirt and emanating a peculiar odor.]
[Shell Equipment: Vermilion Signal (Special Equipment): A rod-shaped signal made from brocade bamboo, and decorated with items like fire bull tails, and Dan phoenix feathers.]
[By using this equipment, you have a certain chance of getting the attention of the Unknown Deity.]
[Shell Skill: Basic Nautical Knowledge (Ordinary + Level): After a brief study of navigation, you can only control a single-masted boat. If you want to cross the sea with this skill, you have to ask yourself if your life is tough enough.]
"This shell is a bit rubbish..."
Lin Xun was looking at the attributes of the Shell from top to bottom. When lamenting that the underworld game never gives a powerful Shell, he quickly spotted the ’Signal’ he was looking for.
Seeing the effect of the special equipment, he quickly uninstalled the ’Vermilion Signal’ without a second thought!
"Damn, that was close!"
Aligning oneself without fully understanding the situation first is undoubtedly a very foolhardy move.
But indeed, some information was contained within the special equipment.
The decaying Emperor of the Vermilion Empire dispatched an emissary to the vassal state, Sakura fall, and gave the emissary a signal that could attract the attention of the deities. The purpose of this was probably more than just to solicit tributes and homage...
[You get up with the help of the corner wall, looking at the small, dilapidated cabin with a sense of melancholy.]
[Do you want to search the cabin for usable items?]
