Chapter 155 - 130: War Correspondent Duo!

Chapter 155: Chapter 130: War Correspondent Duo!

Seeing a full two humans trailing behind the one who had brought them, the other Giant Demons revealed looks of surprise, beating their chests and letting out ROARS.

Soon, a female Giant Demon strode over. She glanced at the two, pointed in a certain direction, and spat out a few bizarre syllables.

"The second Human Circle in the northeast corner."

The Giant Demon who had captured them nodded. It hoisted up Salas—whose eyes were vacant and devoid of all hope—and strode toward the destination indicated by the female Giant Demon. Su Hong, reading the room perfectly, followed close behind to avoid the tragic fate of being bagged and dragged off by the other Giant Demons.

Soon, the two officially arrived at the so-called Human Circle. It was an area of no more than a few hundred square meters, yet hundreds of people were huddled inside. Each person had only one or two square meters of cramped space, and there wasn’t even a designated place for sanitation. Excrement covered the ground, filling the air with a thick stench. The feeding trough to the side was already empty.

A Giant Demon poured in some so-called food that instantly killed any appetite just by looking at it, and emaciated people immediately rushed forward to scramble for it. Their numb faces seemed to only bear a hint of human Greed at this very moment.

Under the Giant Demon’s shoving, Salas and Su Hong silently covered their mouths and noses as they walked into the Human Circle, squatting in a slightly cleaner corner. What was even more oppressive than the environment was the plight of these people—who looked just like them but were truly living like livestock.

Salas quietly fished out two nose plugs from his backpack and handed one to Su Hong. Wearing the nose plugs didn’t hinder their breathing, but the stench assaulting their noses and mouths quickly faded. Su Hong gave Salas a grateful look, then spoke in a low voice. "Let’s observe the situation first. We need to see if there’s anyone we can communicate with to figure out the rules of the Human Circle."

Salas nodded, then suddenly spoke up. "I feel like that guy over there might be approachable. He’s been watching us ever since we came in."

"Hmm?" Following Salas’s gaze, Su Hong quickly spotted the person he was pointing at. It was a young man who was equally weak and frail, but at least he used coarse linen to cover his privates. Unlike his numb compatriots, his eyes remained remarkably clear.

Seeing Salas and Su Hong looking at him simultaneously, the young man hesitated for a moment. Then, he stood up step by step from the corner where he had been squatting and finally walked up to the two, extending a filthy hand.

"I am Kadar, a Defender."

"A Defender?" Hearing this unfamiliar term, Su Hong’s eyes lit up. He immediately grasped the other’s hand. "What does that mean?"

"It means someone who hasn’t given up hope yet." The young man sat back down beside the two, looking at his livestock-like compatriots with a complex gaze. "Many of them have already given up hope. They can only live out their lives in a stupor like this, eventually becoming rations for the Giant Demons.

"But this shouldn’t be our life.

"Humanity needs Defenders.

"We need people to remember humanity’s past.

"And then, to wait for a miracle."

"...A miracle?" Su Hong suddenly remembered that this word had also been mentioned in the Dungeon introduction. "What kind of miracle do you need?"

"I don’t know." Kadar revealed a blank expression and shook his head. "This is the final testament of the Great Sage during the Darkest hour." Su Hong wanted to ask more, but Salas tugged at his sleeve.

"The miracle should refer to the destruction of the thirty-six Springs," Salas whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Su Hong understood. According to the storyline, after the thirty-six Springs were destroyed, the humans in the Human Circles would launch a counterattack, sparking a Human Demon war. Previously, Su Hong hadn’t felt much about this. Now, he could see that the ones who would spark this Human Demon war couldn’t possibly be those people living in a stupor who no longer saw themselves as human. It could only be the Defenders scattered across the various Human Circles, people just like Kadar. Perhaps they saw the weakening of the Giant Demons with their own eyes, and thus seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This could indeed be considered a "miracle." After all, if raid players hadn’t intervened, the Springs could never have been destroyed.

Not forgetting to use the Communication Button to relay the new intel he had just acquired to Yu Zhun and the others outside the valley, Su Hong then asked, "I see there’s drinking water here. Where does this water come from?"

"The Spring of Life," Kadar answered casually. "That is the Giant Race’s Spring of power, and it’s also the only water source nearby." He slightly clenched his fists, a faint light glimmering in his eyes. "There are a total of thirty-six such Springs. If they could all be destroyed, the Giant Demons’ power would weaken to the absolute limit. Unfortunately, no one is capable of doing so."

Su Hong and Salas exchanged a glance without saying a word. This was intel they had already grasped. Perhaps the person who had first obtained this intel had figured it out by sneaking into a Human Circle using a method similar to theirs.

"Then who fetches the water from the Springs?" Salas asked somewhat impatiently. "Is it us?"

"Everyone takes turns." Kadar glanced at Salas. "There are over a hundred Human Circles in this valley, and every day, it’s the turn of four Human Circles. Everyone in those Human Circles has to go to the thirty-six Springs of Life to fetch water, which lasts for an entire day."

Over a hundred Human Circles? Four a day? At this rate, wouldn’t it take nearly a month for their turn to come around? The Light in Salas and Su Hong’s eyes rapidly Darkened.

The next instant, they heard Kadar speak slowly. "Your luck is very bad. In two days, it will be the turn of our Human Circle." He shook his head and sighed. "Everyone’s bodies are very weak. Many will die during the trek over the mountains."

The Light returned to their eyes. Bad luck? This luck was simply amazing! They only needed two days! At that time, the publicly disclosed Spring locations were only six. But they could get the locations of the remaining thirty Springs! Having obtained this most crucial piece of information, their suffering to enter the Human Circle was absolutely not in vain! Without another word, Su Hong immediately synced this vital intel to his companions outside the valley.

***

"They really found a clue!" Ji Xiaoyu spoke with delight, her eyes full of smiles. "In two days, doesn’t that mean we can secure the thirty Spring Tokens ahead of time?" There were only thirty-six Springs in total, and they would get thirty of them early. Taking first place in the raid points was already a sure thing.

Beside her, the members of the Moon-devouring Celestial Wolf guild also revealed looks of admiration. Such an unconventional raid method had truly opened their eyes. Entering a Human Circle was something others avoided like the plague, yet there was actually crucial intel to be found there.

Only Yu Zhun didn’t show much joy on his face. Carrying a thoughtful Light in his eyes, he quickly picked up the Communication Button and asked two seemingly meaningless questions.

[Yu Zhun: Before entering your current Human Circle, did you pass by any other Human Circles?]

[Su Hong: We are in the second one in the northeast corner. We passed by one Human Circle along the way.]

[Yu Zhun: Was there any difference between that Human Circle and yours? For example, was it more crowded over there?]

[Su Hong: No, they were about the same.]

Seeing Su Hong’s reply, Yu Zhun thoughtfully set down the button.

"Guild Leader, what’s wrong?" Su Yue couldn’t help but ask. She had initially been happy because of her cousin’s performance, but seeing Yu Zhun’s expression, she felt that things weren’t that simple.

"I suspect that the Human Circle you get sent to after being taken away by a Giant Demon isn’t fixed, but random," Yu Zhun slowly explained. "If you’re lucky, your turn to fetch water might come before the twelfth day. If you’re unlucky, your turn might not come at all within the twelve days of the raid."

"That’s fine." Su Yue blinked. "Even if it’s random, we’re the lucky ones."

"No, it matters."

Beside them, Ji Xiaoyu had already understood what Yu Zhun was trying to convey. "A normal raid route should be definitive and stable." If the final thing to do in a Dungeon was to roll dice, where rolling a specific number meant clearing the raid and rolling anything else meant failure, how ridiculous would that be?

If Yu Zhun’s guess was right, then it meant... The current discovery by Su Hong and Salas could only be considered a luck-based easter egg for the Giant Demon Valley Dungeon. If you were lucky, you could gain some advantages. If you were unlucky, you would get absolutely nothing.