Chapter 182 - - 182 Unlucky Place_1

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Simulation field population 121, 119, 118…

Not long after Duge left, the number of online users in the simulation field started to drop steadily.

Moreover, the names in the top ten rankings began to change incessantly.

But the first few spots never changed; first was him, second was Jannie, third was Mahamadu, fourth was Antonio…

The name of King of the Western Sea, Jon Ludi, kept falling back, from fifth place all the way down to tenth, and he was on the verge of tumbling out of the top ten.

Mans was right, if you don’t align with the main story, you might get squeezed out for whatever reason, with no time for regrets.

Mikaro, Gaul, Vito, Mans…

The spots in the top ten of the simulation field rotated like a carousel, with no one daring to ensure their ranking would last until the end. Even his first place was nearly overtaken several times; in the simulation field, it was unpredictable where an enemy might pop out from.

If he could turn people into private property, then there were skills that could liberate his private property. Moreover, provocation, giving commands, and the like could instantly turn one’s comrades into enemies…

Especially the guy who possessed Jannie’s body, who was undetectable and impossible to guard against.

The teaching outline was correct; in the simulation field, you can’t trust anyone, and everyone was in a relationship of using or being used.

Unless you were powerful enough to have a heaven-defying keyword like trade…

Your personal abilities had to be strong as well.

Those like Vito and Mans, who didn’t rely on their own abilities to mix into the top ten, ultimately couldn’t maintain their positions.

No wonder Nan Youlong looked down on Gao Ming and Yin Erchuan; without their own unique traits, the rankings they leached couldn’t handle the Alien Battlefield. Just having high spiritual power wasn’t enough…

The one who snatched away Mikaro still got eliminated, didn’t he?!

Riding on the back of the Sea Beast Enke, Duge reflected on his journey, turning every situation he encountered in the simulation field into personal experience.

Soon.

Duge realized he had been hasty.

Enke was fast, but the sea was different from the land; there was no drinkable water here, and it was not possible to cook food by lighting a fire on the back of Enke. Without a sea map, without fresh water, living at sea was truly difficult…

Out of necessity.

Duge could only command Enke, making stops at various islands along the way to replenish his body with fresh water and nutrients.

All the detours severely slowed his search for the treasure.

However.

It was a necessity given the circumstances; he absolutely couldn’t have sailed away then.

It was fortunate the keyword modification had altered his physical attributes, allowing him to soak in seawater for extended periods without issues. Otherwise, this method of travel would have been unbearable even with high attributes.

…

While Duge was struggling to survive at sea.

Jannie and Antonio, among others, were battling in Ergale.

The issue of Jannie’s identity was easily explained.

After all, although she had transformed into Paul, she was still wearing a witch’s dress, and her mode of attack were spells and combat techniques, not Duge’s signature Sword of the Giant Dragon.

But, there weren’t just the few top-ten candidates such as Antonio and Mahamadu present; many candidates not in the top ten were there as well.

To them, everyone in the top ten was an enemy.

No one wanted to be their tool. Rather than letting them leave to fight the first-placed Paul, it was better to directly take them out and steal their rankings.

After all.

There were six of the top ten present at the scene!

The bartender’s decisiveness in making choices for others and the gunner’s magnanimity of sticking with friends through life and death were enough to keep the flames of war burning endlessly…

…

King of the Western Sea, Jon Ludi, finally fell out of the top ten and, out of desperation, started a massacre, plundering attributes, trying to claw back his ranking.

That is until he killed the probability youngster whose sea map was stolen by Duge: “Jon, our rankings are too low; killing us won’t raise your rank by much. I have the skill Fortune-telling, which can predict good and bad fortunes within three days. In theory, it can locate the Battle Ground.”

“Fortune-telling?” Jon Ludi ceased his killing.

“Yes, my keyword is probability,” the young man explained quickly. “I once found a Destiny Sea Map, but it was stolen by Paul. If we lie in wait at the predetermined Battle Ground, we might be able to take advantage of the situation and snatch a few top ten spots.”

“Where’s the Battle Ground?” Jon Ludi asked.

“To the northwest, the land of great misfortune,” the young man swallowed and pointed in a direction. “I can calculate the fortunes of eight directions; seven are auspicious, only the northwest is of great misfortune. Therefore, the Battle Ground must be there.”

“The land of great misfortune,” Jon Ludi frowned.

“The signs of good and bad fortune are directed at me. With my current attributes and abilities, the odds of surviving the final battle are slim to none. For me, that’s definitely a bad omen, but it’s different for you. You once ranked fifth, so your attributes must be high. What’s dangerous for me may, in fact, be a good sign for you!” the Probability Lad said rapidly.

“If you can predict fortune, why come to me?” Jon Ludi looked at him and asked.

“I have come here by doing the opposite. My goal is to break into the top ten, not to avoid calamity,” the Probability Lad said with a wry smile. “Therefore, for me, the more dangerous the place, the greater the opportunity.”

“Since your keyword is probability, can you find the Sea God Scepter?” Jon Ludi asked.

“Zero,” the Probability Lad said. “At the beginning, I tried to find the Sea God Scepter directly. I searched many places and tried different directions, but the probability was always zero.

However, probability changes as I make choices and depending on where I am. Now, the number of people in the simulation ground is constantly decreasing, which means Paul must be fighting. If we get to the place of great peril ahead of time, we might be able to find the Sea God Scepter…”

“Alright, get ready, we’re departing,” Jon Ludi said after a moment’s thought, commanding his lieutenant, “You, give the order. Tell everyone we’re heading northwest.”

…

First: Paul Wolfs; Second: Jannie; Third: Shelton Gis; Fourth: Dyson Yuri; Fifth: Tylen Biton…

After five days sailing through the sea, eating raw fish for two days, when Duge felt he was about to dehydrate, the pointer on the Golden Compass finally stopped spinning, while the rankings in the simulation ground had ceased updating three days ago.

Only 68 people were left in the simulation ground.

Antonio and Mahamadu were both eliminated, replaced by names unfamiliar to Duge.

Of course, the Three Sword Guests of Divine Travel discovered by Mahamadu were still there; Jannie presumably kept them to speed up their journey, deliberately preserving them.

After all.

With their speed combined with the Feather of the Sea God, they could fully accelerate the fleet.

In the top ten rankings, Duge saw a familiar name, Shelton Gis. With his high spiritual power and photographic memory, he had solicited a fortune-telling from this Shelton Gis on Herd Island. Surprisingly, the man had survived and even broke into the top ten. Duge wondered what keyword he possessed…

The Golden Compass’s pointer had stopped over a vast expanse of ocean, where no islands or the Sea God Scepter could be seen.

If there were no islands, then the Sea God Scepter must be at the bottom of the sea.

Duge commanded the Sea Beast Enke to dive down.

But no matter how many meters they descended, when Duge felt the pressure around him was almost unbearable, there was still no sign of the Sea God Scepter.

With no choice left.

He had to leave Enke and quickly swim up to the surface; continuing down would likely result in the sea crushing him before he found the Scepter.

However, the Sea Beast Enke seemed excited and shot straight down towards the seabed, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

Back at the surface, Duge panted heavily: “This damned Sea God never intended for her daughter to break the seal, did she? With such deep sea, considering the technology of this world, no one could possibly dive down there…”

Before he could finish.

Duge saw two fleets charging straight toward him from two different directions. Leading one fleet was Jon Ludi’s Lucky; the other fleet was led by Mahamadu’s Watcher.

The Watcher bore the Feather of the Sea God.

Jannie stood on the deck, watching the incoming Lucky ship commanded by Jon Ludi, tightly clenching her fists, her expression complex: “We’ve finally reached this point, is it destined? I don’t believe it. Damn Paul, by what means did he enhance his attributes? Why can’t I surpass him after killing so many people…”

Then, sensing Paul lurking beneath the sea surface, she wanted to laugh but suddenly remembered past events, straightened her face in time, and said, “No, there’s still a chance. He hasn’t secured the Sea God Scepter yet. Dyson, increase the water flow conversion propulsion. We need to get the Sea God Scepter before Paul. That way everyone’s ranking can be preserved.”

On the Lucky…

“Jon, it’s right ahead, the place of great peril, all eight directions are ominously bad, and there’s no sign of fortune left,” the Probability Lad said, his voice trembling.

Jon Ludi gazed at the opposing Watcher with a dark expression and snorted, “We don’t need probabilities to see that. Why would the battle ground be on the sea surface, goddamn it…”

…

“Dyson, convert all of Watcher’s kinetic energy into my magic power. Whether or not we can kill Paul will be decided in this strike. Don’t forget the future I’ve divined for you. If we fail to kill Paul, everyone will be eliminated. This is our last chance; we must work together.”

Less than a thousand meters from Duge, Jannie suddenly raised her hands. Behind her, Dyson, who owned the keyword “conversion,” hesitated for a moment, then placed one hand on the Watcher and the other on Jannie’s back.

The fleet of the Watcher went from motion to stillness, abruptly stopping. The sudden inertia threw running sailors on deck into a tangle; many fell into the sea.

Jannie stood rooted to the deck, immovable. She chanted a spell; gigantic waves rose up, reaching high into the sky, then transformed into countless ice spikes crashing toward Duge’s position, creating splashing pillars of water tens of meters high.

Seeing the sky full of ice spikes, Jon Ludi’s face turned pale on the spot. What a joke, who could best her in just over a month? To contend with those ice spikes, it would take at least three years!

“A sign of great peril indeed. Disaster looms from all sides.”

The Probability Lad sat down on the deck, utterly resigned.

…

The ice spikes blocked all Duge’s escape routes.

All of Duge’s skills were of no use at that moment.

With no other resort, he could only dive down, trying to use the buoyancy of the sea water to lessen the impact of the ice spikes…

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