Chapter Sixty-One: Farewell

A dozen minutes later, with a crack, Xiao Zhang finally managed to pull his hand out.

Hidden quest completed. The player has received the reward: Exquisite Chessboard*1.

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhang handed the chessboard to Lia, since she was the one who had won the game. Lia initially declined, but in the end, her fondness for the chessboard won out and she accepted it.

At last, the grand doors opened, and Lia stepped inside. There was, however, something Xiao Zhang hadn’t mentioned: just moments before, he had triggered another hidden quest—Assist the Third Prince in slaying the Dragon King…

Once the three of them had passed through the gates, the doors slowly closed behind them.

Watching Lia walk ahead, Xiao Zhang muttered something under his breath. It was so soft that Lia didn’t catch it. She frowned and asked, “What did you say?”

“It’s nothing,” Xiao Zhang quickly replied, bowing his head.

He felt a lingering fear—thank goodness this woman hadn’t heard him!

Because, if Lia had heard what he said, she would probably have exploded on the spot.

“So big!”

Zhao Bai pointed at the blood trickling from Xiao Zhang’s nose, thinking to himself, This guy’s such a dog! I’ve been staring at him for the past ten minutes, and for at least ten of those, he was ogling Lia’s chest.

The trio made their way down a long corridor into the altar, finding themselves in a labyrinth of passageways, each turn revealing dazzling sights. This was no mere altar—it was more like a palace.

Suddenly, a prompt popped up: All players entering the Dragon Palace are forbidden from using their own weapons. Time until the White Dragon awakens: fifty-nine minutes.

They rounded two more bends when, all at once, the three of them heard sounds from up ahead in the corridor.

The droning thunder of war drums!

The beat was fierce, filled with the promise of slaughter. It struck their ears and made their hearts pound uncontrollably.

As Xiao Zhang and Lia glanced forward, their faces paling, a few shadows appeared at the corridor’s end, dashing toward them at breakneck speed—three people in total!

The one in front was of average build, running with all his might and clutching a long object in his hand, followed by a man soaked in blood.

They looked as if something was hot on their heels, fleeing in disarray. When they saw Xiao Zhang, Lia, and Zhao Bai up ahead, the lead figure suddenly bellowed, “Help us! Otherwise, we’re all going to die here! Hurry!”

—

Xiao Zhang instantly recognized him—it was Muto Yoshinobu, whom he’d seen earlier talking with Qi Guanbei.

The three newcomers sprinted toward Xiao Zhang and Lia. As they rounded a corner, a long spear whistled through the air behind them!

The one at the rear was about to be skewered when Muto Yoshinobu, showing real grit, spun around and parried the flying spear with his own, sending it clanging into the wall.

Looking closer, Xiao Zhang saw it was a stone spear! Yet the force behind it was tremendous—it had pierced right through the wall!

“Run, Charlie!” Muto Yoshinobu shouted, dragging the bloodied man forward.

Just then, Xiao Zhang and Lia got a clear view of what was behind them.

Marching in formation along the wide corridor was a troop of shrimp and crab soldiers, moving with coordinated, quick steps. Their stone armor and weapons clacked rhythmically against the floor.

At the front were two rows of shield-bearers with stone shields, followed by spear-throwers, then archers armed with crossbows, and several ranks of swordsmen.

At the very rear rode a figure astride a stone horse—unlike the others, his face was not made of stone. But when Xiao Zhang caught sight of the horns on his forehead, he realized who it was: This had to be the Little White Dragon!

Xiao Zhang remembered the information he’d looked up earlier: before the Jade Emperor Pavilion was built, there had been a White Dragon Temple, dedicated to the Dragon King of the Western Sea—the White Dragon.

“That rider over there, that’s not the White Dragon you mentioned, is it?” Lia asked, cracking her knuckles.

“No, that’s his son, the White Dragon Horse.”

“The what?” Lia frowned.

“The White Dragon Horse from Journey to the West,” Xiao Zhang replied with a wry smile. “The third prince of the Dragon King of the Western Sea.”

When the Little White Dragon spotted Xiao Zhang, a faint smile touched his lips, as if he’d been waiting for him.

Without a word, Lia grabbed a stone stool and hurled it with a whoosh.

The stone stool soared over Muto Yoshinobu and his companions, crashing into the front ranks of the shrimp and crab soldiers. Several shield-bearers were smashed to pieces, both soldiers and shields reduced to rubble.

Lia was just getting started—she grabbed more stone stools and lobbed them like cannonballs.

In no time, the front ranks of the enemy were thrown into chaos, the formation collapsing in a heap.

—

At that moment, Muto Yoshinobu and his group finally made it to them. Muto, drenched in sweat and missing his hat, glanced at Xiao Zhang and then at Lia. “Thanks for the help!”

“Let’s fight!” Lia sneered, but was pulled back by Xiao Zhang.

“What are you thinking? Our priority is to stop the White Dragon from awakening! Besides, do you even have a weapon?” Xiao Zhang asked.

Lia paused. Stopping the White Dragon was indeed key—and more to the point, she didn’t have a weapon, which would make fighting awkward.

A glance at Muto Yoshinobu and the others showed that they, too, were weaponless, no doubt due to the restrictions of this boss area. The spear Muto wielded was clearly scavenged from one of the shrimp soldiers.

The shield carried by another was also made of stone—obviously taken from the enemy as well.

“Run!” Xiao Zhang said nothing more, scooped up Zhao Bai, and dashed off without a backward glance.

He was so decisive and swift that Lia was momentarily stunned, then her expression shifted and she took off after him.

Muto Yoshinobu and his group wasted no time and followed at top speed.

The shrimp and crab soldiers behind didn’t chase quickly; their footsteps remained steady and orderly, as if they were in no rush to slaughter their foes.

They all ran for their lives, not stopping to choose directions in their panic. After weaving through several corridors, the pursuit fell away and the ominous marching faded into silence.

At length, they found themselves on an arched bridge connecting two palace halls, with towering palace walls on either side. As they arrived on the bridge, Lia suddenly crouched down and whispered, “Down! Silence!”

Muto Yoshinobu and his companions, all experienced Awakened, reacted instantly, dropping to the ground and holding their breath.

Xiao Zhang responded just as quickly, forcing Zhao Bai down as well.

Moments later, the rhythmic marching echoed from below the bridge.

A massive force of shrimp and crab soldiers passed in formation along the road between the walls below.

There were more than a hundred of them—and to their dismay, every single one was armed with a spear.