Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 212 Joint Suppression!

As I said before, it's precisely because at higher levels you start competing on raw strength that it becomes difficult to take shortcuts.

This makes the struggles and forbearance of the apostles at the lower levels even more fascinating.

Just thinking about it, the apostles used the short seven days to accumulate crystal cores little by little, leaving clues in a subtle way through various means.

There is more than one assessment world in the Hall of Light, and it is very likely that various clues are hidden in each assessment world.

Each wave of apostles involved in this scheme contributes to its development.

Until the player in control of the game feels the time is ripe to reap the sweetest reward.

After hearing Li Xia's conjecture, even Ao Wu couldn't help but be amazed.

It can't remember much, and even the occasional fragments it recalls are definitely silhouettes of the eighth or ninth order.

However, they had never experienced the lower levels, and they never expected that His Highness could guess so much from just a single exchange.

"With such a massive scale, there must be more than just this one world involved, right?"

Aowu followed Li Xia towards the agreed-upon location:

"guild?"

Li Xia nodded: "Yeah, only guilds are left, but even guilds are a bit scary."

No wonder I heard there was once a guild that dominated the scene; it was the result of countless waves of apostles' accumulated efforts that finally blossomed.

How terrifying!
However, it's not certain, Li Xia suddenly became interested.

Only what you actually eat counts. How many of those people who gathered there were actually thinking of stealing it?
"Meow?"

Black Charcoal followed behind. Little Meow was beginning to grow up; Teacher Ao's teaching hadn't been in vain.

Li Xia shook his head: "The possibility of them luring us there to kill us is very low. Double-crossing is not impossible, but the profit is too low."

Before long, the ruins that resembled 'shorts' were right in front of us.

The ruins cover a considerable area and are covered by a faint semi-circular membrane.

The interior had been completely set up, with several tents erected in the middle, and apostles coming and going from one tent to another.

Li Xia glanced at it a few times and called out:

"Let's go."

It felt like walking through a layer of not-so-strong plastic wrap.

The moment I stepped inside, the previously silent ruins suddenly came alive, creating a bustling atmosphere.

That was the silent barrier just now?

"Welcome, welcome, my friend!"

A short-haired man wearing a military green vest, camouflage pants, and combat boots walked over with a hearty smile on his face.

"I am Gu Ge, and also the initiator of this joint effort. May I ask your name, friend?"

Li Xia smiled and said, "Just call me 'X'."

Actually, giving your real name is fine too, as the vibrations in the arena only spread within a small area, and even then, they only blurred faces.

People who aren't very familiar with you would never recognize you, and as for those who are familiar with you, there are very few in the Hall of Light.

But if you give your real name and the other party happens to know it, then things will get a bit complicated.

After all, I still have some expectations for the development below, and being closely monitored is a bit uncomfortable.

"X?"

Guge quickly racked his brain, but had never heard of it.
He didn't care, just like how almost none of the apostles who came this time gave their real names; everyone had their own ulterior motives.

Furthermore, those who can participate in the advancement battles generally meet the minimum strength requirement.

"Please come in. We've almost finished recruiting our staff."

Guge led the way, heading straight into the largest tent, from which the loudest noises were coming from.

As soon as Li Xia stepped inside, he felt dozens of pairs of eyes, almost tangible, focused on him.

After a quick scan, what lay before me was a chaotic gathering of figures, like a herd of demons dancing wildly.

Ancient and modern, revealing and abstract, different styles of clothing can be gathered in one tent, something that can only be seen in a palace.

"Tch, boring—another one of these pretty faces. Guge, can't you find some strong-looking, muscular men who give you a sense of security?"

A man with extremely effeminate features and smoky makeup sat on a wooden box, absentmindedly picking at his fingernails with a dagger.

The gleaming dagger faintly emitted a purple light, clearly indicating that it was a purple dagger.

Guge sighed: "Demon man, those who can come here are all very strong apostles. As for the muscular men you mentioned, I really can't satisfy them."

"Alright, there are 40 people now, right? Don't waste time, hurry up and say it."

Another female apostle impatiently interrupted the demon man before he could speak, and a bewitching purple light suddenly shot up from her palm.

He seems to have a very bad temper.

Not only her, but others also urged Guge to speak quickly, either with words or with their eyes.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Now that we have enough people, I'll keep it short."

The sounds inside the tent gradually subsided, and Li Xia casually found a place to sit down, ready to listen with great interest to Guge's plan.

"There are 10 teams here, 3 of whom are lone wolves, and each team has at least 3 members."

Guge tapped the screen, and a holographic projection appeared in the air in front of him, showing an aerial view of the square:
"There are 14 entrances in the square. The team members will take 10 entrances, the three lone wolf brothers will take one entrance, and we will use the remaining two entrances as emergency passages, so that we can have a buffer zone if too many monsters are attracted."

A man wearing a mask, his face covered, said in a low voice:
“I don’t want to be with anyone else, give me—a private—entrance.”

Li Xia's gaze lingered for a moment on the two crossed swords behind him; this must be Lone Wolf.

"Me too, I don't need to team up, just give me a separate entrance."

Another voice rang out, this time from a young man behind them dressed in uniforms similar to those of the Titan Survey Corps.

He blew on his blond hair and smiled strangely:

"I'm afraid I might cut my teammate's neck, that wouldn't be good."

Gu Ge was taken aback, and his gaze unconsciously turned to Li Xia, only to see Li Xia nod:
"I'm fine with a separate passage."

A low hum filled the tent as team members either scoffed or sized up the three lone wolves.

Lone wolves are a rarity within the Hall of Fame. They probably make up less than 1% of all 100 apostles, with a slightly higher percentage, possibly up to 5%, for first and second tier apostles.

As the rank increases, the number of lone wolves decreases, and the high-ranking lone wolves that survive are all powerful apostles.

But low-level? Forget about it. Some are strong, and some are just lucky.

As for the three lone wolves in front of them, who knows if they are just lucky or truly strong?

But that doesn't stop the team's apostles from disliking these 'pretentious bastards'.

“Okay—” Gug hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

The lone wolf is important in his plan.

"Then I'll have to trouble you three brothers. If you're in any danger, just use the communicator to call for help—we'll come and get you."

As he spoke, he took out a basket of walkie-talkies and gave one to Lone Wolf and his team.

Li Xia glanced at the item in his hand and realized it was very similar to the item Claude had given him during the first-tier joint trial.

[Modified Walkie-Talkie]

【Quality: Green & Ultimate】 【Origin: Hall of Light】

[Accessible Communication: Through special frequency modulation techniques, this walkie-talkie is difficult to eavesdrop on, resulting in excellent communication performance.]

[Evaluation: Communicating through mental frequencies? A very good idea. Chaotic magnetic fields can interfere with radio waves, but they can't interfere with minds!]

"It's already set up, ready to use right out of the box, no frequency tuning required."

Guge said somewhat embarrassedly:

"These walkie-talkies are quite valuable. They are only being lent to you. Please return them when you are done."

"Who wants green gear?"

"I know, I know, stop dawdling and get to the point."

"What a load of nonsense!"

Guge gestured with his hand, as if he hadn't heard the complaints:
"Friends, the plan is simple. According to our calculations, there are about 12 corrupted tree golems in the square. These monsters are weak, but they are difficult to deal with if they are in large numbers."

We have a total of 12 entry points. Each entry point needs to attract about 1 animals every 6 days, which is more than 1 animals per day.

This is only the ideal situation. We have calculated that attracting a dozen or twenty of them each time is not a problem for the apostles who can participate in the advancement battle.

For a team, handling hundreds at a time is even easier.

And even if there are a few thousand left, it won't be a problem for our forty apostles; we can wipe them out in one wave.

Seeing that the apostle below still wanted to interrupt him, Guge quickly added:

"To this end, we have also provided two types of totems. One is the mana regeneration totem. Resting or sleeping within 20 meters of the totem will increase the self-healing and mana regeneration speed by 200%. Basically, you can maintain your condition after a good night's sleep."

Upon hearing this, most of the apostles present were stunned for a moment, and then revealed a meaningful smile.

It seems like you've prepared very thoroughly.
Guge seemed unaffected by the smiles on everyone's faces, and continued speaking with a beaming smile:
"A corrupted tree golem can provide 0.02% chance of transcendence. After this run, everyone will have at least a dozen chances of transcendence."

You're guaranteed to get attribute points and merit points.

Our unity is mutually beneficial.

"Stop talking nonsense."

The female apostle who had previously reprimanded the demon man sneered: "If you're using us as pawns, then you'd better pay for the bullets. Tell me, what is the final distribution plan?"

The apostles remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to the female apostle's temporary role as a mouthpiece.

"It's very simple, we'll sign an agreement."

Guge was prepared and directly presented an agreement to everyone:

"According to our detection, there are four items in the square, all of which are at least purple quality or higher. If the plan succeeds, I can choose one first—"

"impossible!"

"I want to eat shit!"

"Damn it, we're risking our lives, and you're just reaping the benefits, huh?"

Instantly, shouts and curses erupted inside the tent, and some apostles even stood up to leave.

Guge's expression suddenly turned cold, and he roared:
"Quiet!"

The sounds inside the tent gradually subsided, and looking at Guge with his cold face, one could sense a peculiar air of authority.

"First of all, we are not just picking up the pieces from behind; we are taking on the responsibilities of firefighters."

Gu Ge raised a finger, and Li Xia noticed that although his clothes made him look like a rough man, his fingers were unusually delicate, even white.

"Wherever there is danger, we will be there to help, and we will also be there to assist at the passageway where progress is slowest!"

He then raised his second finger:

"Secondly, these two totems also provided a lot of help, right? Without these two totems, who would dare say they could keep attracting monsters for 7 days straight?"
Can the state cycle through?
"Doesn't this count as putting in effort?"

Guge then raised his third finger:
"Finally, I haven't finished speaking yet. Our team will select one item first, but we will spend 10 Hall Points to buy it out."

The remaining three items will be auctioned off, with the highest bidder winning. The auction hall points will be calculated based on the number of Corrupted Tree Golems killed.

The rewards are distributed based on the percentage of kills, with more kills resulting in more rewards and fewer kills resulting in fewer rewards.

Does anyone have any questions now?

The apostles remained silent, their eyes fixed on the agreement floating in the air as they rapidly performed calculations in their minds.

In reality, each person probably won't get too many Hall Points, but the chance to transcend is quite appealing.

If the plan is executed smoothly, there is at least a 20% chance of achieving transcendence.

Furthermore, killing Corrupted Tree Golems has a chance to drop chests.

The returns will definitely not be low.

Furthermore, they knew that what Guge brought out was extremely important and related to whether or not the project would succeed.

The shouting just now was merely an attitude, an attitude of demanding a higher price.

Now Gug has given him an offer.

The silence inside the tent didn't last long; it was the female apostle who spoke first:
"If there are no problems with the agreement, I can join."

Another handsome, white-haired old man wearing glasses and a tuxedo asked:

What type of agreement is it? How can it be terminated?

Guge nodded and smiled at him:
"A mandatory agreement stipulates that no one may harm their teammates. Violators will be required to pay 100 million Hall Points and have 2 points deducted from all their attributes. The notarization fee for this agreement is 4 Hall Points, which we will split equally."

To terminate the agreement, at least 30 people need not object.

This punishment is already quite severe!
Li Xia's eyes flickered slightly. Agreements need to be notarized in a hall of fame. It's ridiculous to write "erasure" in an agreement all the time.

They're treating signing the agreement like it's child's play.

The temple isn't your private property. The apostles that the temple has nurtured with enormous resources can't just be wiped out like that.

What does violating the agreement have to do with the temple?
This is as ridiculous as signing an agreement with someone in real life and then having the state kill them if they break the agreement.

On the contrary, the most frequent terms in the agreement are fines and attribute point deductions, and the fees for notarization at the Hall of Fame are variable, depending on the specific penalty.

For example, if the fine amount is 2%, and it is deducted from attributes, then 1 point of all attributes is equal to 1 Hall Points.

The old man in the tuxedo looked at Guge and finally nodded:
"Okay, our formal wear team will participate!"

This statement served as a signal, and more and more apostles decided not to let go of this almost guaranteed profit opportunity.

In addition to the protection of mandatory agreements, the threshold of 30 people disapproving of the termination is also very high.

"agree!"

"join in!"

"I'm fine now."

"That `s a deal."

"When does it begin?"

A smile finally returned to Gugge's face, and he clapped his hands:
Congratulations everyone, you've made the right choice!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)