Scourge Messenger

Chapter 61 The Camp Shakes
The fifth wave of attacks came from the fourth-tier demon, the 'Boom Fang Beast'. Compared to the Thunder Lion, the Boom Fang Beast's claw attacks, while lacking the lightning-infused damage, possessed a more terrifying beastly charge. It could charge forward while stationary, and even a mere glancing blow would be enough to take away half of its body, let alone being hit head-on.

Let alone Qian Gongyu and the others, even Yan Qing herself had to be careful when fighting, not daring to get too close, and only helping the Boom Fang Beast repair its feet from the edge.

After a fierce and earth-shattering battle, the Roaring Fang Beast finally fell outside the city walls.

It took three and a half minutes.

"Is this... the power of Foundation Establishment?" Jie Yuanshao murmured.

Standing at the very front of everyone were the 'Blade Warrior' and the 'Tearful Mermaid,' upgrades of the Blade Warrior and the Narcissus Mermaid, respectively, collectively known as advanced statues. Upgrading advanced statues requires a large amount of rare resources, and even after Yan Qing and the others accumulated enough over several rounds, it was only enough to upgrade these two statues.

Before the upgrade, they all guessed that the strength of the advanced statue should be at the fourth rank level, but they did not expect that the gap between the fourth ranks would be so big - the Roaring Fang Beast, which could smash the third rank messenger like a toy, was like a big dog being played around in front of the Blade Warrior and the Tearful Crown Mermaid.

Blade Warrior didn't gain any special abilities, except that its speed became extremely fast. It could slice off the teeth of the Thunder Fang Beast the instant it touched it, and then slide away to avoid the Thunder Fang Beast's charge. Even Yan Qing couldn't do such a precise and perfect dodge—'Jiang Shi's' dodge distance was too short, and even if he dodged, he would still be hit—and Blade Warrior didn't lose a single drop of blood until the Thunder Fang Beast fell.

This wasn't solely due to Blade Warrior; in fact, the Radiant Fang Beast seemed to possess a token that allowed it to unleash extremely ferocious, wide-range claw attacks. But whenever this happened, the Tear-Crowned Mermaid would feign a thrust of her spear, creating a massive water mirror in front of the Radiant Fang Beast, causing its deadly attacks to bounce back onto herself.

The Tear-Crowned Mermaid's attack is far inferior to that of the Blade Warrior, or even to other Companions statues, but without it, the battle would never have been so easy; its functionality is unique.

These are the true fourth-tier combat power, Foundation Establishment beings. Throughout the entire battle, everyone was practically just watching them perform; let alone Yan Qing and his group of four, even ordinary statues paled in comparison.

Compared to them, the Thunder Lion Fang Beast was nothing more than a lowly soldier or leader at the fourth rank.

Once the statues were back to normal, Qian Gongyu couldn't wait to touch the Tear-Crowned Mermaid's spear, her face full of envy: "Is this the fourth-tier token? Is there any way to borrow it and play with it?"

"Please, Jiang Shi, if you can, please don't tell me." Shang Xinlei clasped her hands together: "I'm just an ordinary person with money and power, I really can't handle such a huge opportunity."

"Is...is it possible?" Jie Yuanshao turned her head abruptly. This elegant noblewoman's throat was pounding, her expression a mixture of fear and anticipation, like a wild cat seeing a savage feeding it. She asked expectantly, "Can I really get the fourth-tier token?"

Yan Qing ignored them, glanced at the countdown, and was immediately stunned.

"The next wave of monsters will attack after 64:15."

He checked the time several times to make sure it was correct before telling his teammates the bad news.

Before Qian Gongyu could react, she stretched and said, "I'm so tired. We have to search for another half an hour."

"That's not right!" Shang Xinlei said, "We launched the fifth wave of attack ahead of schedule. Wasn't it supposed to allow us to combine the search time from the previous two rounds? How come we only gained the time it takes to brew a cup of tea?"

"That means the search time after the fifth wave is only enough for a cup of tea," Jie Yuanshao calmly analyzed. "But we clearly had half an hour after the fifth wave yesterday."

At this moment, Yan Qing clicked the [?] button next to the countdown. Three days had passed, and it wasn't until the third day that he remembered he should learn the specific rules of this instance instead of just playing around based on gut feeling.

「前四关为新手关，通关后奖励休息时间为15分钟、30分钟、45分钟、60分钟。第五关之后，每次通关仅能获得5分钟的基础休息时间。」

"A special reward of 60 minutes of rest time will be given for passing the fifth, tenth, and twentieth levels for the first time."

"Starting the next wave of monster attacks early allows for additional rest time."

It turns out that there's only bonus time for the first four levels, and then basically only five minutes left?

But Yan Qing thought about it again and realized that this was reasonable—how could players have so much time to spend in this dungeon? The first four levels combined take two and a half hours. Even if most of the time is spent collecting resources, such a long playtime is already outrageous. Apart from college students and unemployed people, who can easily take out two and a half hours to play a game without stopping?
Moreover, the maximum number of levels in this dungeon is ninety-nine. If each level takes an hour to complete, wouldn't players have to play for hundreds of hours? If word got out, not only players, but even governments would probably suspect that the developers of "The Messenger" were using virtual games to create a mass death crisis.

The correct way to play this dungeon is to use the first four stages to gather resources each day, and then start speedrunning the later stages, adapting to any difficulties you encounter. Yan Qing, however, had been stuck on the first five stages until today, only realizing this today.

Once children step out of the ivory tower, they will find that the world doesn't give them much time to prepare.

"So the next half hour will determine how far we can go." Jie Yuanshao let out a long breath: "Then let me, in the name of the Jie family, measure the scale of the Mansu Forest as much as possible."

"There are many people watching outside, Miss Jie, don't let us down," Shang Xinlei said with a smile.

"That's right!" Qian Gongyu suddenly became excited, feeling full of energy. She clenched her fists, eager to try. "Once the news about the Mansu Forest spreads, my Qian family will be as famous as your Jie family and Shang family in Liang Kingdom! With such a great reputation, at least we won't have to worry about being eliminated by the court from our prestigious family status, right?"

"Now that you know me and Miss Jie, do you still need to worry about your family?" Shang Xinlei laughed. "Call us 'sister,' and we'll guarantee you a worry-free life."

"Sister Yuanshao, Sister Xinlei!"

"You actually put her name in front of me? Are you looking down on me? Hmph, you dare offend me? You're finished!"

"what?"

"Stop fooling around, Jiang Shi has already left." Jie Yuanshao said, "She seems to care a lot about whether she can make it to the tenth level... Stop dawdling."

Qian Gongyu paused slightly, turned her head to look in the direction Jiang Shi had left, seemingly lost in thought.

……

...

Chairs and a tea table were brought out to the open space at the entrance of the Mansu Forest. Zhou Ye slowly and methodically washed and brewed the tea, pouring tea for the others. Every move he made was very refined, clearly showing he was a seasoned tea connoisseur. The North is known for its fine wine, the South for its fine tea, and no one minded. They sat there enjoying their tea. Qun Yushu immediately raised an eyebrow: "Slightly sweet on the palate, with an endless aftertaste, my spiritual energy is slowly recovering. Is this the legendary Azure Bud?"

“Exactly. It can only be grown in the Hundred Herbs Garden Secret Realm, and can only be harvested once every three months.” Zhou Ye laughed, “This is all I have.”

"It seems the Zhou family's research on cultivation in secret realms has been quite successful," Chen Linchuan said. "I wonder if they have successfully cultivated any spiritual medicinal herbs?"

"It's possible, but the quality is far inferior to what the Hundred Herbs Garden Secret Realm produces itself." Zhou Ye said with a wry smile, "If you think about it carefully, even if you grow it for a year, it's not as good as directly attacking the Hundred Herbs Garden Secret Realm once."

Despite this, everyone was certain that the Zhou family had managed the Hundred Herbs Garden exceptionally well—the Zhou family pharmacy, with shops in both the Zhou and Qi states, was the best proof. Even if the Zhou family's annual cultivation of the Hundred Herbs Garden was less profitable than a single attack, cultivation carried no risk, while an attack on the Hundred Herbs Garden could result in casualties even if all of the Zhou family's elite troops were deployed.

Among the many level-three secret realms, the Hundred Herbs Garden isn't the most productive, but it's the most desirable because it contains vast medicinal herb fields. During the intervals between conquering the secret realm, the Zhou family can utilize these fields to obtain a large harvest, unlike other secret realms where the herbs remain idle. "That fifth wave just now," Chen Linchuan glanced at the Vast Forest, "ended so quickly."

"Did you guys recognize what the fifth wave of fourth-tier demons was?" Qun Yushu slapped his calf and said self-deprecatingly, "My legs went weak just listening to it at the door."

"Compared to that, I'm more curious about how they dealt with the fourth-tier demon so quickly," Zhou Ye said while brewing tea. "If they used external forces, would those forces become their treasure chest rewards?"

Everyone turned to look at the individual score leaderboard not far away. There were dozens of names on the leaderboard, but the combined scores of everyone else couldn't match those of Qian Gongyu, who was in fourth place. And the combined scores of Qian Gongyu, Jie Yuanshao, and Shang Xinlei couldn't surpass those of Jiang Shi, who was in first place.

Such a high score has never been seen in the Forest of Endless Slumber; no one knows what their treasure chests will yield. Even if Jiang Shi's chest doesn't contain a treasure that directly propels one to the fourth rank, what about the third rank? For example, a skill manual, a third-rank token, pills to increase one's foundation, or even...

"Even fourth-tier demons have appeared," Chen Linchuan said slowly, "It wouldn't be surprising if they were rewarded with Foundation Establishment Pills, would it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, and even Jie Zilong couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Foundation Building Pill!
Even though everyone present is an important figure from a major family and a highly trained prodigy, no one dares to be sure that they will be able to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill in their lifetime!

"Jie Zilong, Shang Yue," Zhou Ye raised his teacup and smiled, "Congratulations to both of you for taking the lead."

He spoke auspicious words, but the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Zhou Ye's meaning was clear: your two families have already gained enormous benefits, so you shouldn't get involved in what happens next.

Jie Zilong looked at the young man beside him. The young man was handsome and dressed in gorgeous clothes, but he was thin and pale, giving people a sense of sickness.

"It took me two days to get to the woods," the young man said slowly. "I still need time to get to know the situation."

"Humble and composed, truly befitting the merchant's spirit," Zhou Ye chuckled. "However, it's indeed not wise to make a decision too soon; Lu Xiaoqi also needs time to investigate the case. Sigh, how did a murder occur at a perfectly normal gathering in the Mansu Forest?"

"The sixth wave has begun," Qunyushu suddenly said.

Everyone fell silent and listened intently to the sounds. Chen Linchuan's expression was grim: "It's probably... a fourth-rank demon, a third-rank demon, and many servant demons. But it won't be difficult for them to deal with."

As Chen Linchuan predicted, the battle inside ended once the tea Zhou Ye brewed cooled down.

They thought they would have to wait another half an hour, but the seventh wave of demons soon began.

"A fourth-rank demon, plus five third-rank demons?" Qun Yushu exclaimed in surprise, "The difficulty has increased way too fast!?"

This time it took a little longer, a full fifteen minutes, before they heard the battle inside had subsided. They thought they could finally rest, but a short while later they heard the eighth wave of demons descending.

"Two fourth-tier demons..." Jie Zilong said with some worry, "This is almost as difficult as entering a fourth-tier secret realm..."

"Their scores are rising very quickly too." Qun Yushu glanced at the scoreboard: "After this wave, Jiang's score will break 9000. Two fourth-level demons can't stop them."

Whether two fourth-rank demons could stop the people inside was unknown, but their impact on the camp was significant. Bystanders were already more than a hundred meters away from the entrance, and even the messenger felt a chill run down his spine. The sheer power of a single fourth-rank demon was enough to make a mortal tremble; with two demons combined, the timid might even lose control of their bladder and become paralyzed.

After the eighth wave ended, Zhou Ye and the others exchanged glances and noticed that everyone was covered in a light sweat. They looked at Jie Zilong and Shang Yue and sincerely said, "Congratulations! Your two families have truly produced a generation of outstanding talents!"

Even they were terrified outside, yet Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao faced two fourth-level demons directly in the Mansu Forest. Regardless of their strength, their character must have been extraordinary. Ordinary people might think talent is the most important thing, but for aristocratic families, the good character that is not overwhelmed by fear in the face of danger is the foundation of a strong person. After all, talent can be trained or directly nurtured, but a poor character cannot be cultivated.

Jie Zilong couldn't help but smile and said, "I'm afraid Yuan Shao will surpass me very soon."

"Eighth level is already this difficult." Qunyushu sighed, "I wonder how many levels there are in the Manyu Forest."

"It is said that there are ninety-nine levels."

"Ninety-nine?" Everyone was speechless. Zhou Ye shook his head in disbelief and laughed, "Only a legendary immortal could possibly travel that far, right?"

"I wonder how far they can go... It's started again?" Qun Yushu listened carefully. "One, two... There are actually four Foundation Establishment demons in the ninth level!"

"Even if they manage to pull through, this is probably their limit." Chen Linchuan tapped the coffee table lightly. "Shang Yue, have you made up your mind?"

The sickly young man coughed, seemingly unaware that everyone was waiting for his response. He slowly sipped his Biluoya tea and said gently, "I will not make a hasty decision before I see Xinlei."

Chen Linchuan's eyes flickered, while Zhou Ye continued to brew tea. However, under the earth-shattering pressure of the four Foundation Establishment demons, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and the tea leaves swayed back and forth.

Unbeknownst to them, Lu Wangji was already standing outside, waiting. The crowd watched the entrance to the Mansu Forest, anticipating the end of the deadly battle within.

A quarter of an hour later, the sounds of fighting gradually subsided. Jie Zilong slowly exhaled and stood up, followed closely by the others. Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Qun Yushu stared at the empty entrance, his expression gradually turning incredulous: "No way..."

Jie Zilong's lips trembled as he stared intently at the entrance. Shang Yue coughed three times and sighed softly.

Time seemed to pass very slowly, and everyone could almost hear their own heartbeats counting; but time also passed very quickly, and in no time at all, the tenth level, the demonic horde, descended.

This time, even a third-tier messenger dared not linger at the entrance. The grass at the entrance was flattened by the gale, and the world was shrouded in darkness, as if a great calamity was about to befall them.

"A fourth-level demon king!"

Zhou Ye protectively held onto his precious teapot, his tone a mixture of fear and excitement: "Even a fourth-rank messenger couldn't single-handedly defeat a Foundation Establishment Demon King!"

"Moreover, besides the fourth-rank demon king, there are also three Foundation Establishment demons." Qun Yushu actually laughed: "This is probably the closest I've ever come to a fourth-rank demon king in my entire life."

If they were harboring ulterior motives and malice just now, they are still harboring ulterior motives now, but they can't help but feel curious.

It has nothing to do with interests, jealousy, or winning or losing.

They just wanted to know how far these four young people could go.

(End of this chapter)