Chapter 17

When the announcement sounded, Sun Xiuya was searching for Wu Zhi along with Tong Leshan. Upon hearing it, she couldn't help but feel both surprised and delighted.

The surprise came from the White Side discovering the Demon Sword, while the joy stemmed from the fact that the blade of the Balance Event was also aimed at the White Side. As long as she hid properly, the White Side would be attacked and defeated!

At that point, she could rally her team, control the giant snake, and use her own skills. Victory might be within reach!

Sun Xiuya faintly smiled and turned to run into the misty path, trying to catch up with Tong Leshan and the giant snake's figures.

Throughout the game, Wu Zhi didn't perform as smartly as Xi Yu, but he had gathered a lot of information. He understood that it was Tang Yanyan and Fang Hao, the two idiots, who had caused the number disparity between the sides!

It seemed that when the Balance Event ended, the White Side wouldn't be far from defeat.

The frustrated young man, enraged, turned and chased after Fang Hao and Tang Yanyan's path. Out of breath in the heavy rain, he stopped them and scolded, "Hey, isn't this too selfish? You just betrayed us like that! What now?!"

Tang Yanyan, wiping tears while explaining to Fang Hao, was pushed by Wu Zhi and stumbled. She crouched in the rain, crying: "I know the warriors are scary... but I thought not betraying was impossible to win... Who knew the giant snake's attacks refreshed..."

"Do you know how many people will die in the Balance?" Wu Zhi couldn't help but expose the truth: "Huasheng isn't even a player! Can you do the math, sister?!"

Tang Yanyan and Fang Hao were even more shocked.

Wu Zhi clenched his fist: "What the hell, Black Side's skills are obviously stronger! You're from the Black Side trying to sabotage us, aren't you?!"

"I don't think the Black Side is strong. They haven't done anything! They've just been losing teammates!" Tang Yanyan broke down: "Now that the White Side is losing, I'm done for too! What benefit do I get from harming you?!"

Fang Hao was extremely confused by the situation, looking like he didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, at this moment, a low male voice came from nearby: "Stop fighting like chickens, haven't you played enough? Finish the game quickly."

The three turned and saw Luo Xi standing in the rain, holding a sharp longsword. His tall and straight figure, outlined by the splashing rainwater, looked almost like a grim reaper coming to collect souls.

But this man, even uglier than the grim reaper, was their team's only hope.

Wu Zhi panicked for a moment, rushing over and saying, "So... you, you're from the White Side too? Brother Xi Yu, he—"

Luo Xi answered calmly: "He was dismembered by the giant snake. Before using the save skill, every player's death is reported to the General."

Wu Zhi was stunned for a moment, feeling guilty and lowering his head: "I shouldn't have abandoned him..."

Luo Xi: "That choice was right. At least it was Xi Yu who informed me of the Demon Sword's location, and he also made an effort to preserve the White Side's strength.""Are you the White General? I thought it was Wu Zhi..." Fang Hao whispered.

Wu Zhi looked back speechlessly.

Fang Hao explained, "I did stab him earlier, but the knife couldn't go in at all, like it hit a copper wall or iron wall! I'm a White Warrior, according to the rules, I realized he was either the White Princess or one of the two generals. Then Luo Xi took the handle of the sword himself and scratched other spots, and blood immediately started pouring out... it was all an act, until I saw Tong Leshan and Sun Xiuya working together, then I understood most of the identities."

"No wonder you didn't care about the body before, but last night you took the initiative to bury Ren Bo. You... you used his blood...?" Wu Zhi looked at Luo Xi, a bit flustered, swallowing hard. "So, the injuries you got during the last Balance Event... were also staged by you?"

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't do it this way, how could I trick you all? You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb."

After saying that, he swiftly walked to Tang Yanyan and asked from above, "Did you betray us?"

A 1.9-meter tall, strong man vs. a 1.5-meter petite girl—there was a huge difference in strength.

Tang Yanyan, trembling and crying, spoke out, "I didn't believe that Tong Leshan, who sleeps all day, could win. Also, Xiao Ya... she's a useless general... Zhu Ge told me, on the first day, she found the Black General's passive skill—attacked by the mistress at midnight every day! The more times it happens, the more likely she'll die! Xiao Ya got hurt like that, and both of them are too weak!"

Luo Xi nodded. "Nice, now it's 4v2. We need to balance out two of them. The remaining two will be in an even worse position. Tong Leshan's snake can remove the helpers, and then Sun Xiuya can use her Black General skill to kill the White General. Perfect!"

These words made them realize the hopelessness of their situation. Tang Yanyan's face was wet from either rain or sweat, and she could no longer stand.

"Luckily, I knew you idiots would leave your skills unused. It's fine, taking risks is what makes things fun," Luo Xi said, not angry, but instead laughing arrogantly. He patted Tang Yanyan's shoulder, "You have good judgment. Listen to me, and I'll lead you to victory!"

Tang Yanyan, already weak in the legs, almost collapsed to the ground from his pat.

At that moment, the expected broadcast sounded again.

"Shame on betrayal! The number of players on the Black and White sides is uneven. The Great Minister activates the Balance skill. There's no chance to evade during Chaos Time. The Balance begins!"

Tang Yanyan screamed, "The warrior came so fast! The warrior is strong! Zhu Ge... was right in front of me, and he... he..."

Luo Xi casually observed the blade. "Indeed, with your abilities, you can't resist the pressure of Balance."

Wu Zhi was on the verge of tears. "What do we do now? I feel like they're going to win for sure!"

"Not necessarily, but there's no need to waste time on Balance," Luo Xi said casually, as if talking about what to have for dinner. "So... hurry up and commit suicide to balance the numbers. That will be fine!"

These earth-shattering words made the other three feel a chill down their spines.

The rain still didn't stop.In the distance, the fierce ghostly figures holding cold weapons gradually appeared, closing in on them step by step.

The White side survivors stood frozen in place.

Luo Xi maliciously curled the corners of his mouth. "Don't believe me? Then shall we all be wiped out?"

Thunder roared in the sky, and everything in the General's mansion's chaotic state was immediately illuminated brightly!

At the same time, Sun Xiuya and Tong Leshan, who had just reunited, were searching for a place to hide when they unexpectedly heard the announcement.

[The number of players on both sides of the White team is balanced, please continue the game.]

Tong Leshan, carrying the giant snake, stopped in surprise, standing at the corner of the garden, looking around. "So soon?"

Sun Xiuya bit her pale lips, then said, "Maybe they didn't give the other side twenty minutes to hide. The White side was caught off guard and wiped out, but I'm not sure who's still alive."

Tong Leshan, with a headache, replied, "I'm not good at playing these kinds of games. I still can't figure out their identities."

Sun Xiuya frowned. "They're too good at pretending, and our teammates are too weak. It doesn't matter, follow me."

Tong Leshan asked, "Aren't we looking for Tang Yanyan?"

Sun Xiuya sneered. "She hasn't shown up for so long. Maybe she's just waiting to die or maybe her stupidity triggered the Balance skill! Doesn't matter."

Tong Leshan felt safe after his skill refreshed and kept the giant snake close to protect Sun Xiuya, taking a deep breath in preparation for the upcoming confrontation.

The Qingming Hall was covered in bloodstains, dark red liquid seeping into the wood, emitting a fishy smell in the endless dampness.

Wu Zhi's clothes were torn and ragged, but his flesh was unharmed, his eyes completely unfocused.

He sat dumbly on the floor, trembling in front of a pile of mutilated corpses.

Passing by, Sun Xiuya and Tong Leshan immediately walked in boldly, assessing the situation: Luo Xi, Fang Hao, Hua Sheng, Tang Yanyan, and Xi Yu's bodies were scattered all around. Yanyan's neck was snapped, Hua Sheng's head was missing half, Luo Xi's insides spilled out from beneath his body, and Xi Yu was in a horrible state with no place unscathed... it looked like hell on Earth. The most striking detail was that Xi Yu's severed hand was tightly gripping a long Japanese katana!

Wu Zhi, hearing a slight noise at the door, suddenly snapped back to his senses, picked up the sword, and nervously backed away, staring at Sun Xiuya and Tong Leshan as they approached.

Tong Leshan, seeing the grim scene, couldn't help but smile and said, "Oh, White General, what's going on here? Turned into the last man standing?"

Wu Zhi, clearly greatly affected, his lips pale, sweating and on the verge of collapse, suddenly screamed, "Did you guys cause the betrayal and ruin my team?!"Sun Xiuya, always the low-key good person, finally showed a hint of sarcasm: "It's fine if two of the Balance side die, but why so many?"

Wu Zhi became even angrier: "It was you who killed Xi Yu, wasn't it?! He was my heir! I even used the General's privilege to save him once! And then Tang Yanyan betrayed us to be with Fang Hao! This caused us all to be surrounded by vengeful spirits! These people are killing each other just to stay alive! It's a good thing that bastard Hua Sheng showed up, and Xi Yu died to resolve it..."

Tong Leshan imagined the gruesome scene for a moment and couldn't help but laugh.

Sun Xiuya remained cautious: "You no longer have the protection of the princess and heir. You might as well be honest—what is your active skill?"

Wu Zhi mumbled, "Let the white cat monitor everyone's positions. After all, the General's mansion belongs to General Bai, but I don't know what use this skill has."

Sun Xiuya narrowed her eyes and urged Tong Leshan, "Go check the bodies."

Tong Leshan, approaching the filthy pile of corpses, endured the discomfort, kicked aside Xi Yu's severed hand, avoided Hua Sheng's disgusting brain matter, frowned, and searched through the bodies before dragging out Fang Hao. "Look, he's a bit too clean."

Sun Xiuya hesitated for a moment, took two steps forward to take a look, and sure enough, there were no visible wounds on Fang Hao's body.

Tong Leshan checked for a pulse and touched his heart: "He's definitely dead."

Sun Xiuya narrowed her eyes, raised her hand, and commanded: "Forget it, no more talking, kill Wu Zhi!"

Tong Leshan was surprised: "Your skill is the only one that can kill the General."

Sun Xiuya, holding back her disgust at the bodies, stepped back slightly and coldly snorted: "Balance, balance—both sides only have two people left! Aren't you the least bit suspicious? Use the snake first."

Wu Zhi, holding the sword with a twisted expression, said, "What use is the snake to me? I won't die!"

"Then let's see," Sun Xiuya's expression darkened completely, and there was not a trace of sympathy in her gaze.

Tong Leshan confidently raised his hand, and the giant snake immediately broke through the door, attacking Wu Zhi, who was trembling all over.

The miserable Wu Zhi had none of Xi Yu's agility, and didn't even try to escape. He swung the sword at the snake twice in the air, but the snake stopped in place, carefully keeping its distance.

Tong Leshan clicked his tongue: "The General really can't be killed."

Wu Zhi's face turned bright red. Suddenly, he charged at the snake with his sword, but the snake once again recoiled and dodged.

Tong Leshan was overjoyed and urged, "Look! The snake is useless against General Bai! Xi Yu was way better than him—he couldn't even drive off the snake like this!"

Wu Zhi couldn't help but laugh for a moment, then took a deep breath.Sun Xiuya seemed to instantly see through something and sneered: "The difference between him and Xi Yu is not strength, but the fact that he now has the demon blade. But the demon blade can't control the snake, or else the game wouldn't be fair. Hurry up and push this beast!"

Tong Leshan scratched his head, glaring seriously at the giant snake.

The giant snake coiled for a moment, then finally gathered its courage to strike at Wu Zhi!

Wu Zhi turned around, intending to run, but unfortunately, the snake was incredibly fast, quickly grabbing him and biting through his body!

The Black Heir's skill had been used...

Wu Zhi thought this as he quietly closed his eyes in pain.

Sun Xiuya couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I knew it! You wanted to use the demon blade to trick me, make me use my finishing move on you? Not possible! — What are you looking at? Hurry up and pick up the sword!"

Unexpectedly, the body of Fang Hao, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang to life. Before they could react, he scrambled to grab the sword and charged at Sun Xiuya.

Tong Leshan was shocked and shouted angrily: "You... you faked your death?!"

Fang Hao's lips were pale: "I can't fake... how could I win?! This is my skill—playing dead and then coming back to life! But I didn’t expect... that you, little girl, could see through it..."

Sun Xiuya showed a smug expression as she approached him: "I suspected you all along. You were overly zen the whole time! Luo Xi is Bai Fang, secretly helping you! The double act you two performed this morning was intentional! Luo Xi is self-harming!"

Fang Hao’s eyes slowly darkened, and he cried out in despair: "I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose!"

Saying this, he charged at Sun Xiuya with the sword!

Sun Xiuya, after all, was just a delicate girl, and though she accidentally got grazed by the sword on her side, she remained unharmed!

Fang Hao became even more desperate, making several wild stabs, but he couldn't pierce the protective shield around her body.

Sun Xiuya whispered: "Stop struggling. The general can't use the demon blade to kill a general, let alone you. Tong Leshan, what are you standing there for?! General Bai can't be harmed by anyone!"

When Fang Hao saw Tong Leshan coming to snatch the sword, he panicked and turned to run.

Tong Leshan, being a skilled athlete, immediately chased after him, intending to deal with this useless general!

Unexpectedly, Fang Hao suddenly jumped onto a table. In the chase, Tong Leshan tripped on a thin rope on the ground. In an instant, a crude arrow shot down from the eaves and directly pierced his neck!

Fang Hao, gasping for breath, stood on the table, laughing in a twisted way, his laughter haunting.Sun Xiuya didn't expect her trusted assistant to die, and a flash of unease crossed her face.

Fang Hao mumbled: "Fortunately, Xi Yu set up a trap for me a long time ago... even if he’s dead, I can still kill your damn heir..."

Sun Xiuya looked at the terrifying pile of corpses with disgust, then calmly turned her gaze back to Fang Hao: "So what? Have you forgotten my skill?"

All of Fang Hao’s expressions froze on his face.

Sun Xiuya closed her eyes and muttered a few words. Suddenly, the giant snake hiding in the corner of the room turned into a mist of blood, which then condensed into a virtual bayonet and charged directly toward Fang Hao’s body, tearing him into four or five pieces!

The Qingming Hall was silent.

After a moment, Sun Xiuya's breathing became rapid, because the game had not ended.

She was frantically thinking in her mind: Wu Zhi is Bai, Fang Hao is Bai, Xi Yu is Bai, Luo Xi is Bai... whether it was Tang Yanyan or Huasheng’s betrayal... the end of the balance meant their numbers...

So annoying!

She couldn’t think it through.

Sun Xiuya collapsed to her knees in despair.

"What's wrong? Not continuing to deduce?" Luo Xi, who had been motionless for a long time, suddenly spoke, pushed aside the disgusting internal organs beneath her, and stood up unharmed with a vicious smile. "You did well, but unfortunately, when you're almost at the finish line, it's easy to make mistakes. Why not check the body yourself? See if I'm really dead?"

Sun Xiuya bit her lip, trembling, but couldn't suppress the disgust in her eyes.

Luo Xi smiled: "Because you're scared, right? Even though you were assigned the identity of the Black General, you couldn't overcome your fear of corpses and blood in such a short time."

Sun Xiuya didn't argue, whispering: "So, you're the White General, and your injuries are fake?"

Luo Xi sneered again.

Sun Xiuya looked up at her: "Fine, you’ve destroyed all my skills and teammates, but so what? You can’t kill me."

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Didn't you forget something important while you were so delighted?"

Sun Xiuya didn’t understand why this menacing man was acting like a teacher giving her a reminder, but suddenly, everything clicked, and she stammered: "You... your skill... the White General's skill... Wu Zhi and Fang Hao were both lying, weren't they?"

Luo Xi shrugged: "Actually, it's easy to guess. The corresponding identities and skills are quite similar. You can sacrifice a snake, I can sacrifice a cat. You can kill people, I can save them."He said as he extended his finger: "So I have two chances to save someone."

Sun Xiuya’s eyes gradually widened, and the next second, the long blade pierced her back fiercely.

The one who attacked was none other than Xi Yu, who should have been shattered.

Luo Xi shook his head and said, "No matter how quickly the events change, you shouldn't lose your rationality and misuse your trump cards. After all, the farthest distance from victory to a player is only a step away."

Sun Xiuya's eyes were filled with unwillingness, and then gradually became vacant, eventually collapsing onto the wooden floor in silence, letting the blood flow beneath her.

At that moment, a serious broadcast sounded.

【Inspection copy No. 00024 ends, White side wins】

【Player information announced】

【White General: Luo Xi (survived) Active skill: Can sacrifice a spirit cat to resurrect any player within the arena, including themselves; Passive skill: Cannot harm other players】

【White Heir: Xi Yu (survived) Active skill: Can ask the spirit cat every day to find the location of a skill flower card; Passive skill: Cannot lie to any player】

【White Princess: Wu Zhi (died due to Tong Leshan's skill) Active skill: Can inquire about other players' cause of death at the lake shrine; Passive skill: Will fall asleep upon witnessing death until the game ends】

【White Warrior: He Yingqi (died due to Tong Leshan's skill) Chose the antidote, has been used and is effective】

【White Warrior: Fang Hao (died due to Sun Xiuya's skill) Chose the poison, has been used and is effective】

【White Warrior: Tang Yanyan (traitor) (died due to Fang Hao's throat slit), chose the antidote, has not been used】

【Black General: Sun Xiuya (died due to Xi Yu's assassination) Active skill: Can sacrifice the spirit of the black snake and take any player's life, including the White General; Passive skill: Every midnight, she is assassinated by the lady, and after three times, she dies. The lady can be attacked by the snake】

【Black Heir: Tong Leshan (died due to Fang Hao's assassination) Active skill: Can command a snake to attack a specific target once a day, if the target is not a General player, it results in death; Passive skill: Cannot operate in sunlight, otherwise, they will fall into weakness and die quickly】

【Black Princess: Huasheng (died due to balance) Active skill: Can worship once a day at the lake shrine to confirm a player's identity; Passive skill: After a player dies, they will be possessed by the Mirror Lady’s spirit】

【Black Warrior: Ren Bo (died due to Fang Hao's poisoning) Chose the poison, has been used, but not effective】

【Black Warrior: Zhu Ge (died due to balance) Chose the poison, has not been used】

【Black Warrior: Yao Channa (traitor) (died due to balance) Chose the poison, has not been used】【Blood Demon Sword Big Data White Side Win Rate: 32% (31 total matches)】

【Game copyright and final interpretation rights belong to Cyber Information Technology Co., Ltd.】

【Thank you for watching】