CHAPTER 199: CHAPTER 198: RESOLUTION, REWARDS, SUDDEN CONTACT, AND PURIFICATION?

Andre couldn’t fathom the cause of those two players’ deaths, and only offered a very clumsy guess.

"Alright... I’ll go see if the relic has been found."

Seeing Andre’s calm demeanor with no sign of guilt, Wang Zhifan, who was secretly observing him, dismissed a life-or-death thought in his mind, turned, and headed towards the Central Altar.

As he walked, he continued to ponder the reward list hanging in front of him, preparing to find an opportune moment to select and take away his reward.

[Please choose your reward (up to 2 items)]

[Common Layer (50% drop rate):]

[...]

[Fine Layer (49% drop rate):]

[...]

[Rare Layer (1% drop rate):]

[Demon Summoning Horn (Rare)]

[Blow this horn to randomly summon 2 elite-level demon monsters to fight for you, lasting 10 minutes, up to 3 times a day. The monsters are not under your control during this time and won’t actively attack you and your allies unless someone attacks them first. But they might actively attack neutral targets, so ensure everyone around is an enemy except for allies to avoid any unplanned trouble.]

[Demon Necklace (Rare)]

[The speed of all your demon summons is increased by 30%, all damage dealt is increased by 60%, and you can partially command them, making their combat more efficient.]

[Hand of Rock Demon (Rare)]

[These gloves use Rock Demon skin as the main material, offering extraordinary physical defense, allowing you to catch blades with your hands, and increasing the physical damage caused by your hand attacks by 30%.]

As Wang Zhifan observed, he could select two items from the three rare level rewards, but this time he didn’t need to struggle much, he knew exactly what to choose, just waiting for the right moment.

His primary focus was on the team leader, Sandra, who was meticulously searching at the dark altar in the church, looking for the so-called relic to complete the main task.

"Sandra, haven’t found it yet? Do we need to dismantle this altar?"

An NPC professional approached Sandra, watching her examine the All-Seeing Crystal in her hand, strolling around the evil aura statue of a demon figure at the dark altar, yet unable to find where the relic might be.

"Let me look for a while longer, don’t disturb this altar recklessly."

Sandra shook her head cautiously after hearing the suggestion, such altars are uncommon in this world, usually established for specific purposes, and disturbing them could lead to unforeseeable consequences.

"This thing has been abandoned in these ruins for a long time; dismantling it wouldn’t matter much, but be aware it’s getting dark. We need to find the relic and begin our return journey quickly; otherwise, it’s said this place becomes more dangerous at night, complicating our mission."

The NPC professional urged again, mainly considering the time already late, and wasting more time would significantly increase the difficulty of returning from the task.

"I understand, let me search a little longer, if I still can’t find it, then we’ll dismantle it."

Sandra holding the All-Seeing Crystal nodded slightly upon hearing, her gaze still shifting between the crystal and the altar in front.

"This place probably doesn’t have any relic at all, this mission indeed had issues as I suspected."

At this moment, Wang Zhifan, closely monitoring Sandra’s side, made his judgment based on his exceptional perception ability.

With his remarkable perception, he could see through this altar in the church, knowing that whether externally or internally, there was no trace of a relic, instead plenty of dark things existed, like jars inside the altar filled with human skulls and infant corpses!

"Which link went wrong? Since the relic can’t be found here, where should we search next?"

He began pondering this perplexing issue; retreating at every obstacle wasn’t his style, he still thought of the Baron’s promise and wanted to head to Frost Harbor to find a master to customize exceptional equipment.

But while Wang Zhifan was deep in thought, unable to solve the puzzle, and Sandra and others hadn’t figured out where the relic was, an unexpected situation suddenly occurred.

Sandra’s All-Seeing Crystal in her hand suddenly vibrated slightly, emitting a charming voice of a nobleman:

"Sandra, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, you really found the relic! And all the brave professionals, I will never forget your courage and strength!"

"Mr. Rogen?"

Hearing the All-Seeing Crystal suddenly emitted a voice identical to Mr. Rogen, the female Warrior Sandra was slightly stunned and responded to the Crystal Ball.

"It’s me, please don’t be surprised! It’s because you’ve found the relic, unlocking more abilities of the All-Seeing Crystal, enabling me now to communicate with you from Rogge Town across great distances."

The Crystal Ball immediately conveyed Mr. Rogen’s positive response.

"But... Mr. Baron, we seem not to have found any relic at the moment, we just followed the guidance of the All-Seeing Crystal to arrive at a dark altar exuding strong evil aura."

After confirming it was Mr. Rogen on the other side, Sandra truthfully replied, informing him that their task progress was stalled, and they hadn’t discovered anything remotely resembling a relic.

Yet Mr. Rogen, on the other side of the Crystal Ball, seemed unsurprised, immediately responding decisively:

"Do not doubt your success, Sandra; I am very certain you’ve reached the proximity of the relic I sought! It might look very different from what you imagine a relic to be, but that’s only because it has been severely polluted by the evil aura of the Demon Tide while standing in Aifilan, destroyed by the tide for too long! You just need to perform a cleansing ritual to restore it to its former glory and brilliance! Then I can use it to communicate with the great gods, praying for divine intervention to save this terrible world!"

The enthusiastic voice of the Baron from the Crystal Ball was contagious, creating a sense of spiritual conviction.

"Cleansing ritual? What do you need us to do?"

Upon hearing this, Sandra’s eyes lit up, everything seemed to make sense, the mission she was leading seemed to be nearing a perfect conclusion.

"Very simple, Sandra, just place the All-Seeing Crystal I gave you on its designated target, and quietly await my initiation of the cleansing ritual.

I believe you know I dedicated a lot of resources to establish a Sacrificial Tower in Rogge Town; now is the time for this tower to serve its purpose; I will utilize the All-Seeing Crystal to transmit its power onto the relic for profound cleansing.

This process will require some time and invite monsters that will test you, please be prepared for battle."

Mr. Rogen in the Crystal Ball then briefly explained the key points of the cleansing ritual, especially noting it wouldn’t be entirely safe; the professionals and players in Aifilan would need to handle some monsters.

"No problem, Mr. Baron, our team has strong combat abilities, capable of handling this task."

Sandra replied to Mr. Rogen through the Crystal Ball, glancing at those already gathered near her, listening to their conversation, feeling confident.

She was right; though the task team had lost more than ten members, with lingering fatigue, they still fared much better than expected before undertaking the mission, still possessing substantial combat strength.

"Problems... this mission definitely has problems..."

But Wang Zhifan, listening to their conversation, was more alert, knowing the altar in the church couldn’t transform into a relic through cleansing, it was purely evil, without the notion of pollution!