Chapter 111: The Mysterious Martial Venerable

The night was as cool as water, and the moonlight coated the entire desert in a veil of silver, making it look like a calm sea—an expanse of serene and quiet beauty.

Beneath a sand dune deep in the desert, half a gun barrel remained uncovered by the shifting sands. After a long while, the barrel stirred, a head emerged, and then a person dragged himself up.

Wu Hua lay on the sand like a plague-stricken stray dog, gasping for air. After a short while, he fell into a fit of violent coughing. He pulled out a bottle of mineral water, took a few gulps, downed a blood-replenishing agent, and chewed on a few small packets of calming tea. Only then did he feel he had truly escaped death; he had survived this ordeal purely through sheer force of will.

Sitting on the sand pile, Wu Hua could not imagine what would happen if a large party of players tried to explore here and encountered such a storm. He suspected that out of tens of thousands, perhaps no more than a hundred would survive.

"Was this arranged by the system's core brain? Is it a precursor to a special-grade boss? Or perhaps my luck stat is finally having an effect?" Such thoughts crossed his mind.

He scrambled to his feet and rounded the dune, only to be stunned once more. In the distance, a magnificent castle appeared before him. It resembled European medieval architecture, and the entire structure was shrouded in a multicolored light. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Wu Hua would have mistaken it for a magical castle from a fantasy film.

After suppressing his shock, he calmed down and looked through his binoculars. It did not look like a mirage. He decided to take a gamble and go see it for himself. To hell with whatever special-grade boss it might be; he was the first to explore this place. If he died, he would just lose another level—he was already at level 28, so what was there to fear?

Having made up his mind, Wu Hua hooked his backpack onto the stock of his "Finnish Star" rifle and dragged the weapon along, limping toward the castle. He did this out of necessity; his fatigue level was already over 70 percent. He worried that if he ever handed this gun over to Ice Coffee for repairs, the maintenance costs would bankrupt him.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Wu Hua muttered as he slowly walked through the castle gates.

Although the castle looked colorful and brilliant from the outside, the atmosphere inside was strangely eerie. It was completely deserted. A long flight of stairs led diagonally upward to the main hall in the deepest part of the fortress.

The entire hall was brightly lit and opulent. A wide red carpet stretched from the entrance to the altar throne at the front. The medieval palace must have covered at least ten thousand square meters. The surrounding walls were covered in murals of various monsters, similar to those in the Arhat Dungeon, brought to life by the flickering lights as if they were about to leap off the walls.

Wu Hua could not believe the vastness of the Star Wars world, which seemed to contain everything imaginable. How could such a scene exist in this age of technology? Was it another ruin? Or perhaps part of a linked quest?

He looked up and saw a figure standing on the altar at the front of the hall—a woman.

She stood with her back to him, clad in bright red battle armor, with golden hair cut short. She gripped a long golden spear, its shaft planted firmly on the ground. Her muscles were well-defined, and she appeared powerful and imposing.

Wu Hua instinctively raised his AUG. It was not an NPC.

The golden-haired warrior suddenly turned around. "A human has finally made it inside!"

Wu Hua lowered his gun, stunned. "Are you not a human?"

The female warrior looked spirited and heroic, radiating an indomitable aura. She slowly stepped down from the altar. "I am the Valkyrie stationed here. All intruders must die." As she spoke, she hurled her spear. It traveled in a parabolic arc toward Wu Hua from at least fifty or sixty meters away. He threw himself to the side just in time.

"Boom!" The red carpet was blasted into a massive crater, and debris flew across the hall. The sheer power of her throw confirmed to Wu Hua that she was undoubtedly a special-grade boss, just like the warrior he had encountered in the Arhat Dungeon.

"To be able to dodge my spear—you have decent skills. Try this." The Valkyrie soared into the air, flying straight upward.

Wu Hua was dumbfounded. "Is this legendary light-body technique, or is she using battle qi?"

The Valkyrie shouted and reached out in mid-air. The spear rose from the ground and flew back into her hand. Then, like an eagle, she dove down, wielding the spear like a club and smashing it straight down.

Another loud "boom" echoed. Wu Hua rolled across the floor, but the shockwave still sent him flying. He tumbled through the air before crashing to the ground, losing 5,000 HP from the impact alone. Had he been hit directly, he would have been smashed into a pulp.

Wu Hua realized he was in deep trouble. This boss was several times more ferocious than the one in the dungeon. But wait—how could a boss talk?

He suspected the Valkyrie might be a high-intelligence NPC. Dealing with NPCs often required high charisma, and he had at least seven points in that stat.

As the Valkyrie prepared her third strike, Wu Hua had a sudden flash of inspiration and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wait! Let me explain!"

The tip of the spear stopped at his throat. The Valkyrie said coldly, "You survived two of my strikes; your skills are impressive. What do you have to say? I will give you one chance."

Wu Hua steadied himself. "I have seen these murals before in the Arhat Dungeon. Are you also a stationed guardian?"

"You have been to the Arhat Dungeon?" The Valkyrie’s gaze sharpened. "If you have been there, how are you still alive?"

Wu Hua chuckled inwardly, thinking that if an NPC were dead, they wouldn't be able to respawn anyway. He didn't dare say that out loud, so he replied, "The boss warrior there has already been defeated by me."

The Valkyrie looked shocked. "You killed the Evil Male Warrior?"

Wu Hua thought to himself, *So that’s what he was called. The system only referred to him as a 'Male Warrior' at the time.*

The Valkyrie’s expression turned icy. Wu Hua cursed his own stupidity; it was obvious the two were allies.

To his surprise, the Valkyrie withdrew her spear. "Stand up. I saw that you were heavily wounded when you entered, and you showed no disrespect toward me. It seems you are not an evil person and have not been corrupted by the Psychic Storm."

Wu Hua was drenched in cold sweat. *I don't even have the strength to fight you now, even if my fatigue wasn't so high, I wouldn't dare mess with you.*

"Thank you, Lady Valkyrie," Wu Hua said, not knowing how else to respond.

The Valkyrie said coldly, "Since you killed the Evil Male Warrior and managed to make it here, you must have suffered a great deal."

Wu Hua couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was more than just suffering; he had nearly died several times. He had risked his life to get here.

"You are wise, Lady Valkyrie," Wu Hua began to flatter her. The tactic was a bit nauseating, but almost everyone fell for it. If he could, he would have shouted, "Dear GM, you are the most handsome person in the world!"

The Valkyrie continued, "Then you must have seen the soul of the Female Ghost Warrior, you are familiar with the paths of the Arhat Dungeon, and you also killed the mutated bees, right?"

Wu Hua nodded in astonishment. "Yes, exactly."

The Valkyrie sighed. "It seems human technological power has revived. If even a small human like you can reach this place, my guard duty must be complete."

Wu Hua was puzzled. "What do you mean?"