Sword Among Us
Sword Among Us - Chapter 268: Life and Death Circuit

The Shadow Ninja had disappeared!

When Happy entered the tunnel, he moved down, but he did not see even a single ninja. He did not sense the chilling aura that made his hair rise from the shadows of the cave. Ever since the Shadow Ninja retreated from the main hall, it was as if she had vanished into thin air. The abnormal situation made him feel a hint of uneasiness.

Usually, a situation like that would mean that the Shadow Ninja had become certain that she could not complete her task on her own and had returned into the depths of the royal mausoleum in search for helpers. She was prepared to rely on the other ninjas to attract her target’s attention while she attacked from the dark.

That was something that Happy did not want to see.

If he were his previous self, who had entered the royal mausoleum when he was already in Life and Death Realm, forget a Shadow Ninja, even if he ran into a Ninja King, who was dressed in gold armor, he would not be the slightest bit afraid.

However, right then, his strength was still not enough for him to sweep through the entire royal mausoleum. Not only did he not have All-direction Agility, he did not have a high-tier throwing knife technique either. He also did not have four-echelon equipment nor a suitable martial art.

He only had Seven Stars Sword Style, which he had barely mastered. It was not even in Grandmaster Realm. He could perhaps go up against a Shadow Ninja, but if he had to fight against more ninjas, he would not have an easy time. He would not be able to be very attentive and cover every aspect while he fought.

However, this did not stop him from entering deep into the royal mausoleum.

During the early stages of World of Martial Arts, some of the normal ninjas, such as Knife-throwing Ninjas, Japanese Ninjas, and Cloning Ninjas, could drop high-grade masterpieces that could make many large sects go mad with greed over them. The drop rate for them was not low either.

The rare Shadow Warriors moving about in the royal mausoleum were all in Life and Death Realm, and they had a 100% drop rate for high-grade masterpieces. If anyone ran into supreme grade Shadow Warriors, they might even have the chance to get two pieces from them. Besides, there were also three to five Shadow Ninjas in one level. They could drop supreme grade masterpieces and some unique items.

In one round of the royal mausoleum, the number of masterpieces a person could obtain was extremely high!

If Beautiful Robes Faction could obtain such wealth, their overall strength and financial ability would increase by more than a level!

However, if Beautiful Robes Faction acted together with the other sects, there was a possibility that the resources would be divided. Hence, Happy charged forward first and ignored a few side halls and forks on the map. He set his sights on the path leading to the depths of the royal mausoleum.

On his way, aside from the three side halls at the very front of the tunnel, each of the small halls he encountered later on had a brocade box that was in perfect condition and exuded a dignified air that only belonged to items placed in palaces.

Happy did not even look at them.

He knew that each of those boxes contained an item that was worth thousands of gold. It could be considered to be a small fortune. However, Happy knew that there were a few ninjas hidden near each box, and once he opened them, he would trigger traps. If he ran into Japanese Ninjas, they would be easy to deal with, but if he ran into Knife-throwing Ninjas or Cloning Ninjas, it would be very troublesome.

Knife-throwing Ninjas never fought against players in close-quarter combat, and their movements were brilliant. He would need to chase after them for a long time before he could kill them, and the throwing knives they threw repeatedly were not to be underestimated. They were a real handful.

Cloning Ninjas were even more bothersome. They could create an illusory copy of themselves that looked exactly the same as their real selves and even had half of their combat ability. As long as the real ninja did not die, the clone would not die as well.

Being surrounded by three ninjas who did not fear death was no easier than chasing down and killing a Knife-throwing Ninja.

Hence, Happy would rather not take those brocade boxes. He moved past them and headed into the depths of the royal mausoleum!

His Phantasm Body Movement Skill was much faster than Cloud Treading Steps. After a few minutes, a huge pile of stones appeared in front of him. The paths to his left and right connected together and formed a tunnel that was made of two squares with one contained by the other.

The tunnel was rather large, and it resembled the main hall. However, the inside was very quiet, and not a single sound could be heard.

Happy frowned slightly and came to a stop.

He brought out a map from his Universe Bag which had the royal mausoleum’s topography. The red dot that symbolized him was right in front of the entrance to a huge hall made by tunnels that formed two squares with one contained by the other. The sides of the hall had rather conspicuous small halls that were formed by concaves on the wall of the main hall. In truth, he could see some of the corners in the small halls as well as that there were tables that seemed to be made of gold and wood inside.

Happy’s gaze gradually darkened.

‘I’m here!’

Life and Death Circuit: the second danger zone after Ghost Face Wall, which was the first danger zone in the royal mausoleum.

“I won’t be able to run from this battle, huh?”

Happy laughed bitterly and put away his map.

In truth, there was a reason behind why he left the group and went off alone. It was because he understood the traps and mechanisms in the royal mausoleum, and there were plenty of things that he could not explain clearly to the others.

Based on his previous life’s memories, the second level, Life and Death Circuit, could be considered a trap that would set off a chain of reactions. Not only could it catch people by surprise, but once it was activated, they would be forced into a corner.

If a group of Mystical Realm players recklessly activated the trap while they were clueless of the situation, they would have a very slim chance of survival!

Even Happy was no exception.

He could ignore the trap and leave straight away. As long as he did not crush the brocade boxes in the side halls and did not covet the two supreme grade masterpieces that might appear inside, he would have no need to experience the traps.

But he could not do so.

He knew that if the people behind him came there and discovered that all the traps were in perfect condition, they would definitely destroy the brocade boxes and take the items inside.

After that, there was a high possibility that Beautiful Robes Faction would be dragged into the mess and die because of it.

Hence, he believed that the battle was unavoidable!

He slowly walked into the huge square-shaped hall with the huge pile of stones. From there, he could see the situation within the two small halls clearly.

To the left was a black box made of sandalwood placed on top of the table that looked like it was made of wood and gold. It was very precious and special. The hall to the right was empty but for a flashy carpet with a pattern of flowers on it. There was a rectangular box that seemed to be used to hold a weapons on it.

Happy’s eyes lit up when his gaze landed on the sandalwood box.

Every single time the royal mausoleum was activated, the items inside would change at random, but there were generally only five types.

One of them was the aristocratic brocade box which was bound to have gold, jades, or other items.

One of them was a rack that had weapons placed on it, and whatever was there could be seen clearly at first glance.

One of them was a weapon box.

There were two other types. One of them were normal book boxes that contained martial art manuals. The last were the sandalwood boxes, and they contained the most unique items. Most of them were medicinal pills, hidden weapons, or other small items.

Sandalwood boxes might have the smallest value, but at certain times, they could bring out unusual effects. They were also the surprise that Happy wanted the most right then, since he did not need any equipment or weapon that were masterpieces.

Thud… thud…

Happy walked slowly under the illumination of the longevity lamps on the wall toward the small hall to the left, where the sandalwood box was placed. The faint golden light from his true qi forming his body fortification swiftly enveloped his entire body, and he also equipped his gear.

With each step he took, his aura increased slightly!

When Happy stood in front of the sandalwood box in the small hall, his Yellow Dragon Archer Gear fluttered.

The air in the small hall surged!

Happy had already increased his aura to the peak of Mystical Realm. His Golden Bell Cocoon nearly reached Grandmaster Realm, and it formed an air wall half a foot away from him that was so solid that it looked as if it had physical form. It looked as powerful as a bell and indestructible!

Even so, Happy’s expression remained cautious and grave. He held his Silver Wolf Emperor Breaker Sword in a reverse grip when he shifted tentatively to the sandalwood box.

Slap!

With a clear sound, Happy opened the sandalwood box and revealed a black medicinal pill.

Smoke appeared abruptly to the left of him, and around a dozen chilling presences rose from within it.

‘They’re here!’