Sacred Souls: Genesis

Chapter 184: Chapter 183: Choose One of Two (2nd Update)

Sheral walked alone on the small path of the Spiritual Vein Forest.

The rough hemp rope still tightly bound her hands, and now Sheral had no mood to untie it.

Occasionally, one or two players would pass by on the small path of the Spiritual Vein Forest. Seeing an NPC bound by hemp rope wandering on the road, who was also quite a pretty girl, they naturally came over to ask if there were any side quests.

But halfway through their inquiries, these players all helplessly shook their heads and left.

She needed to find a way to get the protection of a holy spirit, not just one holy spirit but a guild.

Sheral watched the backs of those passing players, carefully continuing her journey on the small path of the Spiritual Vein Forest, meticulously recalling the map of the major guild strongholds she had seen before setting foot on the island.

“Where exactly are you trying to go, Sheral the Chosen?”

A pitch-black shadow suddenly appeared above the trees behind Sheral, and she quickly reacted… then hurriedly sprinted away.

Dozens of needles, too quick for the naked eye to catch, tore through the air aiming at Sheral as she tried to flee, but each needle was blocked by the magic barrier she had erected.

Chasing her was none other than the Chosen of the Shadow Goddess. Sheral hadn’t run far when the silhouette of the Shadow Goddess’s Chosen reappeared in front of her.

Sheral knew she absolutely couldn’t escape. When magic inscriptions began to appear in front of her, preparing to unleash a magic attack on the Shadow Goddess’s Chosen… a golden mark on Sheral’s chest, resembling intertwined thorns and flowers, emitted a dazzling light.

The mark erupted with a searing heat, the burning pain enveloping Sheral’s entire body, causing her to fall to the ground and let out a painful moan.

“Sheral the Chosen, the power… bestowed upon us by the gods is not meant for this kind of fratricide,” the Shadow Goddess’s Chosen slowly walked toward her and said, “We have a higher mission to accomplish.”

“Higher…” Sheral, enduring the pain from the chest mark, whispered the word like a chant. As the Shadow Chosen prepared to step forward and take her away… a girl with black hair and red pupils blocked Sheral’s path.

“Are you alright?”

Yelena stood in front of Sheral, keeping an eye on the distant Shadow Chosen.

Since the players had purified the Crystal Disease infection in the Spiritual Vein Forest, the periphery of the forest rarely saw monsters above level 40 anymore. Some lord monsters still nested in the depths, but they did not actively provoke players.

This made the environment in the outer periphery of the Spiritual Vein Forest similar to that of a beginner’s village, so Zhao Mingwei quite coincidentally let Yelena take a day off today, after getting the approval of the Dancing Nuclear Guild, allowing Yelena to have a holiday on the periphery of the Spiritual Vein Forest.

“A Crystal Disease Infected? You dare to confront me directly… Today seems to be somewhat fruitful, no wait… eh, do you have a master?”

The Shadow Chosen, sensing the presence of the Crystal Disease on Yelena, was about to strike to take Yelena’s life, but simultaneously, there was another aura on Yelena, that of the Devouring God.

This indicated that Yelena was a Crystal Disease Infected recruited by the holy spirits, and at this stage, the Crystal Hunters, in order to maintain friendly relations with the holy spirits, could not attack them.

The figure of the Shadow Chosen vanished once again from in front of Yelena, but feeling something, she swung a punch directly behind her, only for it to be caught by the Shadow Chosen.

“Don’t think this curse-like power can make you stronger than everyone else in this world, monster,” the Shadow Chosen, under the dark cloak, stared at Yelena while gradually increasing the grip on her fist, “Although I cannot kill you, it’s still okay to punish you a bit before your master arrives.”

A pain like shattered bones came from Yelena’s fist, which she endured without crying out… and suddenly, power like an electric arc burst forth from her fist, painfully stinging the Shadow Chosen’s arm.

“Crystal power? No… you have another magic system in your body, but your power is still too weak!” the Shadow Chosen said, increasing his grip on Yelena’s fist even more, preparing to twist in response when suddenly, a cold male voice sounded from behind him.

“What about mine?”

The Shadow Chosen, hearing the voice, instinctively raised his hand to block his cheek, and Zhao Mingwei raised his leg and fiercely kicked at the Shadow Chosen’s arm.

The kick, accompanied by the powerful force of the dragon and tiger, rampaged on the Shadow Chosen’s arm, directly turning the sleeve of his cloak into charred shreds.

-432.

“Master?” Yelena saw Zhao Mingwei appear and called out in surprise, but in the next second, Zhao Mingwei grabbed her by the collar.

“Huh?” Before Yelena could react, Zhao Mingwei ruthlessly threw her with a back slam toward an ancient tree in the distance.

Yelena ended up hanging from a branch of the ancient tree, unable to move for a while.

After throwing Yelena, Zhao Mingwei’s gaze turned back to the Shadow Goddess’s elect and Sheral, who was lying on the ground.

“Holy Spirit… if she is your friend… I… apologize to you.” The elect of the Shadow Goddess clutched his arm, which was eroded by psychic energy, the injury on his arm wasn’t severe, at most it felt like a burn.

The elect of the Shadow Goddess said this through gritted teeth, and Zhao Mingwei, hearing the apology, did not continue to pursue the attack. His eyes then shifted to Sheral lying on the ground.

“She is my friend, kidnapped by a rising band of robbers on this island. She has escaped on her own, and I am now going to take her back,” the elect of the Shadow Goddess said, attempting to squat down to pick up Sheral.

“I am not her friend, Holy Spirit! Help me kill her, and I will reward you handsomely,” Sheral yelled at Zhao Mingwei, bearing the pain in her chest.

At that moment, an option popped up in front of Zhao Mingwei… a typical divergence in the game’s storyline.

1. Let the Crystal Hunter take away her companion (reputation with the Crystal Hunter faction theoretically +10)

2. Stop the Crystal Hunter (high chance of recruiting a special NPC.)

Normally, players would weigh these two options. Zhao Mingwei was different; he pointed at both Sheral and the elect of the Shadow Goddess and said…

“Which of you offers a better reward?”

“Reward?”

The elect of the Shadow Goddess was somewhat puzzled by Zhao Mingwei’s logic. Logically, it was her duty to bring back this fleeing traitor.

“Brin! Dishill! I will give you any amount of money you want!” It was Sheral who instead had the smarter approach, exclaiming in a pained voice, “I can still work for you guys!”

“That’s what she said,” Zhao Mingwei pointed out, referring to Sheral.

“…”

Are these guys robbers?

The elect of the Shadow Goddess clenched her teeth and decided she could no longer indulge Zhao Mingwei, especially since he was alone. What did it matter if she took Sheral away right in front of him?

“Master Smile? Who hung our Yelena up on the tree?”

“Crystal Hunter, I’ve been saying this NPC could turn into a hostile target!”

“Hold off on attacking, it hasn’t turned hostile yet.”

Suddenly, voices of Holy Spirits came from all directions in the forest, making it troublesome for the elect of the Shadow Goddess. She had felt the presence of many Holy Spirits heading this way shortly before, and the worst part was the Holy Spirits had remembered the name of the elect of the Shadow Goddess.

I really want to kill everyone here… The elect of the Shadow Goddess suppressed the impulse.

For the sake of future actions being unimpeded, the elect of the Shadow Goddess, under Zhao Mingwei’s watchful eye, reluctantly pulled out a large bag of coins from her cloak.

“I am taking her away,” the elect of the Shadow Goddess stated, fixing her eyes on Zhao Mingwei, her tone also implying ‘take the money and scram’.

But abruptly, the elect of the Shadow Goddess spotted a calico cat’s headgear in the distance behind Zhao Mingwei. In the moment she saw the calico cat headgear, her figure vanished from in front of Zhao Mingwei.

The task selection window for Zhao Mingwei also disappeared simultaneously.

“What’s going on? Can I only choose 2 now?” Zhao Mingwei’s eyes fell on Sheral, who was looking up at him with sparkling eyes.