Chapter 398: Sacrifice

【You arrive at the middle of the Fungal Path and discover a dilapidated Po Jiu Shen Xiang here. A Dwarf in the party discovers that the identity of the statue is neither the Forge and Flame God Liedisi, nor any member of the known deities, and thus proposes to destroy it. You decide—】

【1. Let the Dwarves destroy the statue.】

【2. Stop the Dwarves from destroying the statue.】

【3. Offer worship to the statue, even though you are not clear on which deity the statue represents.】

A message notification from the Game Panel sounded in her mind. Yun Mu remained Immovable on the surface, but secretly, she began to pay attention to the statue in the distance.

The appearance of the statue looked like a flower bud, wrapped in several vines covered in thorns. If not for the Game Panel's notification, Yun Mu would never have considered this thing a statue.

And when she began to observe the stone sculpture before her carefully, a feeling as if a living thing were breathing lingered upon the statue.

She could sense a certain dense, lush aura of life.

It did not look like an Evil God.

Of course, that was only how it looked.

Yun Mu had not forgotten the statue of the Goddess of Radiance that the God of Greed and Lust had disguised himself as.

These days, Evil Gods would even disguise themselves as righteous deities; it was simply too outrageous.

However, speaking of this, she recalled that the books she had flipped through earlier had mentioned something.

Regarding faith not directed at oneself, any deity generally cannot receive it, nor can they absorb it.

Therefore, even if their reputations were poor, Evil Gods would not change their titles or names, let alone disguise themselves.

As for how Linfulei managed it... how could she possibly know?

She could only say to be more careful, to remain vigilant, and not be deceived by surface phenomena. "Huh?" The Dwarves in the party, as well as Lucy and Brenna, had also seen the sculpture not far away.

After walking closer, Lucy said thoughtfully: "This seems to be the statue of some deity."

"However, there is no title marked on it."

"Can you tell who this is?" The Dwarves began to whisper and discuss among themselves.

"Don't know, never heard of it."

"The only one I worship is the Forge and Flame God!"

"Who asked you?"

"Hmph, not even worth a hair of the great King of the Sun."

"Bastard, don't discuss dangerous topics here!"

The fragmented discussions gradually turned into loud Roars and angry shouts. The Dwarves strained their necks, shouting back and forth with the equally red-faced guys opposite them.

"Enough, all of you shut up!" A Dwarf wearing full armor and holding a War Hammer roared loudly.

After the Dwarves below had quieted down, he turned and walked in front of Yun Mu.

"Can you recognize whose statue this is?"

"..." The three of them, Yun Mu, looked at each other and all shook their heads.

"There are not many deities related to plants and life. Whether it is the Nature God, the God of Sowing and Harvest, or the Elven Ancient Tree, none of them look like a flower bud, and these vines really don't make it clear who it is," Brenna explained.

If even Brenna couldn't tell, it was even less likely for Yun Mu and Lucy to know.

Yun Mu didn't read enough books to begin with, and as for Lucy... she was simply too 'old'. In her era, many deities hadn't even been born yet.

"A statue of an unknown deity, then..." The Dwarf holding the War Hammer rubbed the armor on his chin. After pondering for a moment, he proposed: "Since it is not any known deity, then let us destroy the statue."

This is an area polluted by the Abyss Gate; the appearance of a statue of an unknown deity looks strange no matter how you look at it.

Leaving it here is very likely to be a disaster; it is better to destroy it sooner rather than later.

This was his thought.

"Toppling it directly is too reckless. I fear we might suffer retaliation from the deity the statue points to, or trigger some other trouble..." After hearing the Dwarf's words, Brenna spoke subconsciously.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" The Dwarf glanced at her: "You are the magic consultants we hired. Since you think toppling the statue is inappropriate, then please come up with another plan."

【The Dwarves are true pragmatists. If there is no better plan that can convince them, they will remain stubborn even after knowing the potential consequences. This personality cannot be called good or bad, but at least at critical moments, their actions are often the fastest.

However, right now, you must propose a better plan, or agree with them to topple the statue; otherwise, the trust value you have accumulated earlier will likely decrease. Therefore, you decide—】【1. Persist in opposing the Dwarves toppling the statue.】【2. Agree with the Dwarves' decision.】【3. Ignore the Dwarves toppling the statue.】【4. Propose that you topple the statue yourself. 【Evil God Option!】】 Hm? Yun Mu's little hand trembled as her gaze turned to the fourth option that had popped out of thin air.

Could it be the long-lost special option, Evil God? For her to personally topple the statue? Yun Mu hesitated. After all, special options were just additional options beyond the general ones, based on her identity and skills.

It did not mean that a special option was necessarily better than a normal one.

In other words, what kind of situation would occur after choosing it was completely unknown. But then again, if she didn't choose the special option, what else could she choose?

Persist in opposing the Dwarves toppling the statue? She had reasons, but as the Game Panel said, the Dwarves wouldn't listen if she didn't come up with a better plan.

Did she have a better plan? Obviously not.

So Option 1 wouldn't work.

Agree with the Dwarves toppling the statue? This option was actually okay. It wouldn't offend the Dwarves. Although she wasn't sure what the trust value was for, since such a thing existed, Yun Mu still wanted to try to stack it as high as possible.

The problem was the troublesome things that might happen after toppling the statue.

It would be bad if she encountered some thorny incident.

Treat it as a backup for now.

Then what about Option 3, ignoring the Dwarves toppling the statue?

That was even worse; it wasn't as good as Option 2.

Wait, looking at the results, it seemed that all four options ultimately pointed to the result of the statue being toppled.

Since the statue being toppled was an unchangeable fact, then... she might as well gamble on the possibility of the special option.

Yun Mu made up her mind, took the initiative to step forward and said: "Leave the matter of toppling the statue to us. As Experts in magic, it is easier to deal with special situations when they arise."

"Leave it to you?" A look of slight doubt appeared on the face under the Dwarf's helmet.

"That works too." After thinking about it, he said: "We will stand guard in the surroundings; leave the matter of toppling the statue to you." Standing guard in the surroundings meant they would watch them nearby, meaning they shouldn't pull any tricks.

Yun Mu and the others naturally understood.

"Rest assured, it will be done very quickly." After Yun Mu finished speaking, she nodded toward Brenna and Lucy.

"Does Miss Yun have a way?" The three walked toward the location of the statue, with Brenna looking at Yun Mu with some curiosity.

"It doesn't really count as a way." Yun Mu briefly explained the dungeon options and what she had just been thinking about to the two of them.

She did not hide the matter regarding the 【Evil God】 suffix either.

After all, being able to become partners meant that Brenna and she had a relationship of one hundred percent trust; it would be fine even if such a thing were spoken aloud.

However, upon learning that Yun Mu had seized the source of the God of Fear and Plague, the look of surprise on Brenna's face could not be concealed no matter what.

Miss Yun is so amazing!

She thought secretly in her heart.

The three soon arrived in front of the statue and stood still. After some observation, Yun Mu discovered that this statue was not nailed to the ground; it stood here entirely by its own weight.

If that was the case, then it was very simple. Everyone was a Transcendental, and Yun Mu's own attack power was also very high.

There was no need for Brenna and the others to make a move at all; she could push the statue to the ground by herself.

This just happened to satisfy the condition for Option Four, for her to personally push over the statue.

"Bang!!"

The tall statue tilted and fell to the ground, colliding with the damp soil and emitting a dull thud.

Almost at the same time, a line of message prompts popped up before Yun Mu's eyes.

【You have toppled the statue of 【Shi Chong Zhe Ai Rui Wei Si lv189 (Myth)】!】 Shi Chong Zhe Ai Rui Wei Si? She had never heard of it, but the level looked quite high; it was only one level away from the lv190 Vikala.

【The other party quickly recognized your aura of the 【God of Fear and Plague】 and believed you were here to seize territory.】 【He swung his vines in anger, the entire Di Xia Cong Lin trembled in his rage, and then he just got angry for a moment, without taking any action.

After all, 【God of Fear and Plague Luoye'er lv194 (Myth)】 was not someone he could provoke.】 Ah, this God of Fear and Plague actually has lv194?

Unbelievable, looking at it this way, isn't this guy even stronger than Vikala? But then again, where is the Di Xia Cong Lin?

Yun Mu tilted her head, and the message prompts before her eyes did not stop there.

【Although 【Shi Chong Zhe Ai Rui Wei Si lv189 (Myth)】 did not take any action due to fear of the power of 【God of Fear and Plague Luoye'er lv194 (Myth)】, the power within the statue still backlashed against you, and you were forced into an illusion.】 The scene before her eyes changed rapidly, and after a short while, Yun Mu discovered she had arrived in a dense jungle.

There was no light in this jungle, and it looked extremely dim.

And the surrounding air was filled with the smell of damp mud.

Connecting it to the previous context, if nothing went wrong, the environment in this illusion should be that so-called Di Xia Cong Lin.

At the same time, four monsters that looked full of threat appeared before her.

【You have encountered enemies—【Jungle Python lv65 (Master)】 【Screaming Man-Eating Flower lv64 (Master)】 【Spiked Slime lv62 (Master)】 【Jungle Poison Bee lv62 (Master)】】 【Jungle Python lv65 (Master) Max HP: 240 Race: Python Attack: 62, Spell Strength: 16, Defense: 68, Resilience: 14, Dodge: 52, Speed: 26, Precision Correction: 60, Crit: 38% Traits: Slippery Scales, Lurker (Enters lurking state at the start of battle) Skills: Lurk, Snake Bite, Snake Constriction, Swallow.】 【Screaming Man-Eating Flower lv64 (Master) Max HP: 260 Race: Plant? Attack: 65, Spell Strength: 0, Defense: 66, Resilience: 20, Dodge: 0, Speed: 28, Precision Correction: 65, Crit: 40% Traits: Rooted (Displacement resistance +150%), Lurker

Skills: Bite, Devour, Tengman bianda.】 【Spiked Slime lv62 (Master) Max HP: 220 Race: Slime Attack: 50, Spell Strength: 60, Defense: 60, Resilience: 13, Dodge: 55, Speed: 24, Precision Correction: 66, Crit: 39% Traits: Gelatinous Body (Physical damage reduction 40%), Proliferation (Splits into a brand new 【Spiked Slime】 every three rounds, and splits into two 【Spiked Slime · Small】 after death) Skills: Impact, Acid Spit, Poison Sting.】 【Jungle Poison Bee lv62 (Master) Max HP: 205 Race: Jungle Bee Attack: 65, Spell Strength: 4, Defense: 55, Resilience: 11, Dodge: 70, Speed: 30, Precision Correction: 58, Crit: 42% Traits: High-Speed Rotor (Dodge correction increased by 25%, and switching positions in battle does not skip action turns), Poison (Attacks carry 【Poison】 attribute, and the probability of 【Poisoning】 effect increases by 25%.) Skills: Sting, Tail Sting, Poison Needle.】 【Battle Start!】

【Current Round Number · 1】

【Due to the effect of the skill 【Quick Eyes and Fast Hands】 from the equipment 【Red Oil Candle】, Brenna acts first!】

Python, plant, slime, jungle bee... after finally finishing reading the message prompts that popped up on the Game Panel, Yun Mu's eyes went dark.

No, the races of these four monsters were none of the ones she had fought before! The damage bonus effect of the Civilization Path was definitely not going to be triggered this time, but it wasn't without benefits.

Just treat it as enriching the encyclopedia of the Civilization Path; she would be able to get the damage bonus when encountering this type of enemy in the future. But for now, she could only tearfully abandon that 35% damage bonus and 20% damage reduction.

Speaking of which, even though the levels were similar, why were the attributes of these jungle-series monsters so much higher than the fungus monsters she had encountered before? Did the Game Panel increase the difficulty? Or were jungle-series monsters just stronger than fungus monsters? Yun Mu thought about these random things while saying, "Brenna, summon Princess, then use skill..."

"Okay, I know!" Before she could finish her sentence, Brenna immediately interrupted her.

It could be seen that she was still not used to the skill names Yun Mu thought of.

By the way, Brenna's Princess had a total of four skills, excluding the all-target damage skill 【Judgment Time】.

There was also a defensive skill named 【Rose Flower Shield】, as well as 【Overload Punch】, which had single-target damage plus 125% Stun and 1 Knockback effect.

As for the last skill, it was named 【Super-Critical Bloom】; in plain language, it was Self-Destruct.

The damage was very high, it could only be used once per battle, and after using it, Princess mecha could not be summoned for the next three areas.

Why was it three rounds? This had to do with Brenna's trait 【Mechanical Repair Mastery】.

Every time she traveled to a new area, she would repair the HP of the mechanical units she carried.

And destroyed mechanical units had to be repaired three times in a row.

Besides this, 【Overload】 could increase mechanical attributes for a short time, but the mechanical body's HP would decrease.

【Powerful Endurance】 could allow a destroyed machine to act for one more round.

【Automatic Repair】 could restore 2% of the mechanical body's HP every round.

【Emergency Repair】 was to restore 25% of the mechanical body's HP in one go, but it could only be used once per battle.

【Airborne Troops】 belonged to off-field summons and would act to attack enemies when it was their turn to act.

The final 【Firepower Coverage】 allowed all mechanical units on the field to attack once immediately, and damage was increased by 30%, Crit +16%, also only usable once per battle.

(End of chapter)