Scourge Messenger

Chapter 184 Black Wolf Pharmacist's Wish

In the MMORPG genre, boss battles have always been an important part of the gaming experience. A significant portion of players come specifically for boss battles, and it could even be said that other content is secondary. The fundamental driving cycle for players is to defeat a boss, obtain equipment for upgrades, and then defeat an even stronger boss.

To this end, the game designers have used all sorts of ingenious methods to create many unbelievable mechanics in the BOSS battles, such as the moving and still sword, the poison transmission, the mahjong-style name-calling, the eight-directional sword... Later on, even outrageous mechanics such as future observation and time stop will appear. Players have to deal damage while observing the mechanics, ensuring that players have enough game experience to overload their brains.

Don't ask if the experience is good or not, I can guarantee you'll be very busy.

One common mechanism is the shared death penalty, and the solution is as the name suggests: everyone needs to share the death penalty. However, the Corpse King Dragon's Journey is not simply about sharing the death penalty; it is also linked to a raid-wide berserk state. If you can't withstand or avoid the shared death penalty, you will immediately enter the berserk phase.

Generally, this mechanism doesn't occur in normal dungeons. The Messenger divides dungeons into five levels: Normal, Hard, Extreme, Desperate, and Special. Thieves' House is the last special dungeon. Only dungeons of Hard difficulty or higher can have a raid wipe mechanism, but these dungeons usually have clear warnings. Corpse Forest is just a normal dungeon.

Thinking back to the Skull Tower and the Red-Clad Demon, which also possessed powerful mechanisms, Yan Qing had a guess: would activating the Karma Bar raise the strength of elites and demon kings to a higher level? Would it leap from normal to difficult and introduce new mechanisms?
"Sharing the damage?"

Prajna repeated the sentence slowly and deliberately, his expression as if he had heard someone tell him to kill Tang Sanzang and his disciples, hoping that the other person had just misspoke or misheard him.

"I don't doubt your judgment, Star Rain Heroine. In fact, we had no other choice," Bei You said. "But are you confident that if we stand together, we'll share the damage, instead of being slapped to death by the Corpse King?"

"Since we can share the burden, let's bring more people." Blood Prime Minister narrowed his eyes. "Even if they can't withstand much damage, they'll at least alleviate some of the pressure. Anyway, the demons in front have all been cleared out, so it doesn't matter how many people come in."

Upon hearing this, the pharmacist immediately shook his head: "No, although the number of demon kings will not increase with the number of people, the power of their killing moves will increase exponentially. If everyone has to share the damage here, then the more weaker the people, the greater the damage we will suffer."

Prajna nodded: "Furthermore, does this damage sharing mean that everyone can withstand it, or does it mean that the Corpse King will immediately pound the ground as soon as someone dies? If it's the latter, then having more weaker enemies is meaningless."

Faced with everyone's gaze, Bunny Girl answered all the questions with just one sentence:
I'm not sure.

If this were a full team of third-tier messengers, laden with tokens and supplies, Yan Qing could command them with complete confidence; any mishap would be a disgrace to him as a gamer. But here there are only five people, three of whom are scheming demonic messengers, and even the bunny girl herself is only a second-tier messenger. How can he guarantee anything?

Seeing the extremely solemn expressions on everyone's faces, Yan Qing was also helpless. If it were any other mechanism, he could try to solve it alone, but it was absolutely impossible for one person to bear the burden of a shared death sentence. Only by working together could they possibly get through this ordeal.

This is different from the Skull Tower and the Red-Clad Demon. No matter how much chaos they caused before, it only increased the difficulty of the secret realm and caused them to get stuck. But here, they have to face the death penalty head-on. Therefore, Yan Qing understands everyone's hesitation. He has even prepared to give up.

After all, for him, this was just a game where at most a small number of people would die, but for the others, it was a high-stakes gamble with their lives on the line, and they were willingly putting their heads under the Grim Reaper's scythe, betting that their necks could withstand the falling blade together.

Suddenly, Blood Prime walked towards Bunny Girl. Everyone saw him stand motionless behind her. No one thought he intended to ambush her; given Blood Prime's speed, anything within ten steps was within his reach. Therefore, his action could only indicate one possibility.

"Uncle, although this heroine knows she's cute, I still look like a little girl who hasn't grown up yet." The bunny girl gripped the Seven Steps of Recitation, warily hiding behind the Medicine Master's Wish: "Wake up! I killed your brother—no, are you planning to avenge your brother like this? How disgusting."

Blood Prime Minister's forehead veins bulged, and his lips twitched into a ferocious smile: "Don't worry, I've never forgotten Zhong Ji. Once the inheritance is activated, I will naturally give you an explanation."

"But until then, I'm willing to follow your arrangements." His eyes were cold and resolute. "I've already wasted ten years here, and I'm just one step away from inheriting the mantle. I'd rather die than give up like this."

"I'm not kidding you, I'm genuinely unsure. There might not be enough people to all be killed together," the bunny girl warned. "Unless you actually catch the Dragon Subduing Seal, nobody knows if you can withstand it."

"But there's nothing we can do about it." Bei You also came over and stood next to Xue Xiang: "Besides us, only Fu Nan and Dong Xing are third-level messengers in Shu Dao Mountain, but their defensive tokens are not third-level, so they are not qualified to share the burden with us."

Bunny Girl: "I remember Zhong Ji had a breastplate, didn't he?"

"You chopped him to pieces. Not many of these things have even left Liang Kingdom," Blood Prime Minister said coldly. "If you had let him go back then, we would have had a better chance of winning now."

"Oh," Bunny Girl replied mercilessly.

"Since you have all made your decisions, this humble monk has no choice but to risk my life." Prajna sighed. "If this humble monk were unwilling, you would surely have dealt with me first."

"Of course." Bei You chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Even if I die, I'll definitely drag both of you down with me. Going to the underworld all alone would be too boring."

Blood Prime Minister said calmly, "I have no intention of dying, but defeating the Corpse King will definitely leave us all in a weakened state. How can someone be out there reaping the benefits and double-crossing us?"

Blood Minister's words also revealed the attitude of the three protectors: either they don't go, or they all go together. Now that things have come to this, there is no room for them to stay out of it. Even if they die, it will be a death without regrets.

Seeing that they were all determined to go all in, Yan Qing was not happy because his teammates were reliable, because he really couldn't guarantee that they would survive the shared death penalty.

The bunny girl pulled the pharmacist aside, made her squat down, and whispered in her ear, "Let's go. I'll give you the Whip Mountain Moving Stone Seal. With the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends gathered, you might already be at the Foundation Establishment stage. There might not even be any Foundation Establishment Pills inside, so we don't need to take the risk."

The pharmacist asked, "What about your brother's mission? Didn't he want you to inherit Si Wuxie's legacy?"

"To hell with him." Bunny Girl pouted, then said seriously, "You don't need to worry about me. What I gained on this trip has far exceeded my brother's expectations. Even if I leave now, he'll be very satisfied. Besides, what if he's not satisfied? Is he going to feed me bitter melon?"

"If I weren't here, would you leave too?" the pharmacist asked calmly.

Both the bunny girl on the screen and Yan Qing off-screen were speechless for a moment. The answer to this question was already in Yao Shiyuan's heart; lying was pointless. Along the way, the bunny girl had slain Helan Que, fought the demonic path, provoked Xue Shilang, fought her way through the Shu Road Mountains, and subdued the Three Protectors. All her actions demonstrated that she was a reckless and fearless madwoman. If it weren't for Yao Shiyuan, she would have undoubtedly joined the Three Protectors in challenging the Corpse King without hesitation, and even if she were betrayed immediately afterward, she would only be filled with anticipation.

"This is different."

Why are they different?

"Because you are very important to me, I don't want you to be in danger." The bunny girl seemed a little embarrassed as she spoke: "For my sister, I can give up the legacy of Si Wuxie."

The pharmacist blinked, her eyes crinkling into a smile. Even through the mask, her happiness was evident. She hugged the bunny girl and said gently, "My sister is important to me too."

"That--"

"That's why I also want to fight for a share of your inheritance," the Pharmacist said. "Even if I successfully establish my foundation, I don't know how long it will take to earn a share of foundation-building resources for you. Besides, is the Fourth-Rank Secret Realm much easier than the Corpse Forest? Si Wuxie's legacy is right in front of us, and it's not difficult. Even they dared to take the risk, so I have no reason to give up."

Bunny Girl panicked: "I don't need your help. My brother will naturally prepare it for me."

"That's ridiculous. You should be preparing for your brother instead," the pharmacist said with a smile. "Besides, I'm not acting impulsively. I came prepared, as you can see."

A small celadon bottle appeared in her palm, decorated with dragon, tiger, wind, and cloud patterns. Yan Qing felt that it looked very familiar.

"This is……"

"A life-saving pill," the pharmacist whispered. "This is my biggest secret. If you take this pill, no matter how badly you are injured, you will at least be able to save your life."

Yan Qing's pupils shrank, but what surprised him even more was what the pharmacist said next.

"Come on, open your mouth."

The pharmacist poured out the pills and held them to the bunny girl's lips, but she immediately shook her head and closed her lips tightly: "I won't eat them, you eat them yourself!"

"You really want me to eat it?"

"Um!"

"Then I'll take it." The pharmacist readily swallowed the life-saving pill and laughed, "Now you're not afraid I'll be killed by the Dragon-Subduing Seal, are you?"

The bunny girl's eyes widened, and she stammered, "But... why are you so insistent? Si Wuxie's legacy isn't really that important to me."

"I can't resolve your obsession with loyalty to your brother, but I can help you become very, very strong, strong enough that even if your brother sends you to the ends of the earth, you can protect yourself," said the Pharmacist. "After all, we may have to part ways soon, and I must seize this opportunity to earn Foundation Establishment resources for you... It's better than you having to fight for them yourself later."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Remember to hide behind me. If I can't hold you off, I have a life-saving pill in front of me to protect you."

After a long silence, the bunny girl sighed like a little adult: "I really can't do anything with you, sister. You're too willful."

"Being willful is a virtue of the strong." The pharmacist smiled. "The strong should dare to arrange other people's lives. Let's go, they're probably getting impatient."

"actually……"

"Um?"

"If you have a way to take me into other third-tier secret realms... I might go with you..." the bunny girl whispered, "but at least we need some reliable people to conquer the secret realms together, like the Demon Messenger, that won't do."

"Even if you say that, I will still fight for the inheritance of Si Wuxie. Who knows if your brother will suddenly go crazy and send you to do chores?"

"Tsk."

"But I'm very happy." Pharmacist Yuan chuckled, "I had already decided that if you insisted on separating, I would kidnap you, but I didn't expect you to be so proactive, which saved me a lot of trouble."

"Even if we're sisters, you can't kidnap me!"

"If you have any opinions, have your brother talk to me," Yaoshi Yuan said domineeringly.

Yan Qing's lips twitched, thinking to himself, "How could I dare to cause you any trouble?"

You are the number one expert in our Thieves' Clan, Black Wolf Pharmacist Yuan.

　Thank you to our new leader, 'Youkionna' Yuki-onna!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)