Chapter Thirty: The Thirteen Saints

After studying at Mordor's place for quite a while, in the evening, Murong Xun still insisted on returning to his own inn.

"Hey, the little chef is back?"

Seeing him return, Boya greeted him.

"Yeah," Murong Xun nodded in response to the woman standing in the corridor, her arms crossed.

"I was wondering where you'd gone. Got anything interesting to share?" Boya sidled up to him. "I'm really curious, you know."

"Just wandered around a bit," Murong Xun replied casually, ignoring the faint fragrance drifting to his nose.

As the young man walked into his room, Boya watched him with shadowed, inscrutable eyes, her thoughts impossible to guess.

Murong Xun didn’t think much of it. He had nothing to do with the others, so he saw no need to report his whereabouts—just as he wouldn’t ask after theirs. Boya gave him a distinctly unpleasant feeling; despite her striking appearance, there was always something serpentine about her, so he instinctively kept his distance.

The next morning, the group gathered for breakfast, tacitly avoiding questions about each other's activities from the day before. Instead, they exchanged only the information they were willing to share, leaving it up to each listener to judge how much was true.

“These past few days, we’ve tracked some players’ movements. There are a few tough ones among them,” the paladin leader boasted.

“If you ask me, we should strike first and take them out,” someone suggested.

“We can’t make too much noise,” Wang Junfeng shook his head. “For now, we need to stay hidden and gather intel. If we alert the Night Watchers, we’ll have a hard time escaping with so many of us.”

The four brothers exchanged glances and fell silent, feeling glum. If a fight broke out, their slow pace would make escape difficult.

“Do you know how the vampires are ranked?” Murong Xun suddenly asked, breaking his silence as he bit into his toast.

“Vampires?” Wang Junfeng looked at him in puzzlement, but still answered, “Vampires are ranked by bloodline. It’s hard to break through to a higher rank. They follow the five noble ranks—duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron. Only clan chiefs use special means to reach prince level.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Murong Xun shook his head. “In this world, vampires aren’t ranked that way. It’s more like commanders and the like.”

“I know this one,” Fang Yuan grinned. “I got it from a blood thrall. He said vampires are divided into four ranks: common vampires, minor commanders, major commanders, monarchs, and finally the Blood Emperor. The Blood Emperor is the source of all vampire bloodlines and is said to have been asleep for a long time.”

“I heard there are thirteen saints in the Night Watchers, all monarch level,” Murong Xun recounted what Mordor had let slip. “Hope that’s helpful to you.”

“Are you sure? Thirteen saints?” Wen Feng, who hadn’t cared much at first, was startled and pressed for confirmation. “Couldn’t it just be an honorary title people use?”

“No mistake. That person let it slip by accident—thirteen saints of the Night Watchers. I’m certain!” Murong Xun replied with great conviction.

The group exchanged glances, falling silent.

From their investigations, they knew there were seven saints in the Night Watchers, each stationed in a different part of the kingdom. Only two were in the royal city. From various tests, they’d concluded that a saint’s strength was on par with a second-tier state—not the sealed power they themselves had, but full strength. Facing two saints already required caution; now, if there were thirteen, that meant six others were hidden in the shadows.

Their entire plan would need to be rebuilt from the ground up, considering the possibility of more saints. Even if Yi Shisan and his companion arrived, in their sealed state, dealing with two saints would be hard enough—let alone an unknown guardian of the treasury.

They would, of course, verify the information through their own channels, but had to prepare for the worst in advance. This was the most vexing part. The main problem was the time limit on their mission; if it were longer, they could prepare more thoroughly.

“We’ll have to reconsider everything,” Wang Junfeng sighed. This was truly bad news.

“My little darlings tell me that several cities in this country have fallen—there seems to be a rebel army now.”

By this point, the old man’s identity was no secret. He was called the Old Bug Master, an insect tamer who used himself as a vessel to raise all kinds of insects. He might not be the strongest in a fight, but when it came to gathering information, he was second to none.

“A rebel army?” Wang Junfeng’s eyes lit up as he looked toward the old man. “How far from the city of Aylan?”

“That will take some digging to find out,” the Old Bug Master replied, puffing on his pipe with an air of calm.

“If we could join forces with them and take the royal city directly, our mission would be much easier,” Darknight agreed.

“There’s not enough time, but if we can pressure them from outside, it could still help us,” Boya smiled.

Everyone offered their own ideas and strategies.

“Looks like we need someone to leave the city and make contact with the rebels. If necessary, we can help them take a few cities,” someone suggested.

As supernaturally powerful players, they were like extraordinary beings in this world. If they joined a mortal war, the consequences would be dire.

Everyone looked at Darknight and Boya. Each had their own talents, making them the best candidates for this mission. Neither refused; both accepted the task readily.

“It’s already been five days. We have ten left, but that’s our final window. You’d best be back within seven days—whether you succeed or not, leave three days as a buffer. No matter what happens, we’ll have to force our way through at the end,” someone reminded them.

When it’s a matter of life and death, at the last moment, all you can do is fight with everything you have. Now, they could only try to minimize their losses. The fifteen-day time limit hung over them like an invisible sword.

Boya and Darknight nodded, fully aware of the stakes.

After they left, the others continued gathering intelligence in the city, trying to map out the other players’ movements and Night Watcher information in greater detail. Only by doing so could they avoid chaos when it was time to act.

What they didn’t know was that, at this very moment, some players were racing desperately toward the city of Aylan, terrified that if they took too long and missed the mission deadline, they’d die a pointless death.

The thought of suddenly appearing in a boss’s castle, receiving a quest, and then having to make their own way to complete it—such was the height of misfortune.