Hua Yong released the spear, the weapon clattering to the ground, and exhaled a heavy breath.

  "Ahhhhh... I lost!"

  "Hey, dude. Get off me." Lu Er's voice emerged muffled and monotone from beneath the armored bulk.

  "I can't! I don't have any energy left! There's an arrow embedded in my stomach! I'm bleeding from multiple wounds! It's excruciating!" Hua Yong's complaints tumbled out in a pained rush.

  "I don't care!" Lu Er's voice rose, edged with genuine pain now. "I think you broke my leg!"

  "You deserve this for cheating!" Hua Yong shot back, his words slightly slurred from exhaustion and injury. "Two against one—how was I supposed to win?!"

  "Sahui, get him off, will you?"

  But she slumped against the wall, her hand pressed firmly against her temple. "My head hurts."

  "Curses!" Lu Er stopped struggling beneath Hua Yong, his body going limp in surrender to the weight pressing down on him.

  For several long seconds, three figures lay scattered across the cold stone floor of the entrance hall, their breathing harsh and labored in the sudden quiet. The sounds of distant combat echoed from deeper chambers—muffled shouts, the clash of weapons, occasional screams—but here everything was silent.

  Then, Hua Yong spoke, his voice barely above a whisper now, the earlier fury drained from him: "You first infiltrated the temple using the high ruins, then you turned the floating mechanism off for the rest of the Unawakened to enter. Those Unawakened pulled my subordinates away from me so that they wouldn't be able to help me." He paused, gathering his thoughts with visible effort.

  "Then, you used the explosive to waste my metal reserves, to make sure that your arrows could pierce through my armor. And since I didn't have my armored subordinates around, I couldn't fuel my reserves." He let out a bitter laugh that turned into a cough. "Am I right?"

  “You are goddamn right.” Lu Er said from beneath.

  "It helps when your opponent is overconfident and arrogant. Otherwise, such basic tactics don't usually work. You made a chain of bad decisions through and through. That helped a lot." Xia Sahui replied, her voice carrying the flat tone of someone stating the obvious.

  "Excuse me?! I made bad decisions?!

  Oh, it’s my fault I didn't know that a scion would join my enemies this early. Sorry I didn't predict that I would have to fight against two Ranked with the best combat skills I have ever seen in an Unawakened. I didn't even get any chance to use any artifact or healing item. You know what? I'll give you the guardian role, and me and this guy will fight you. Let's see who wins then. What do you say?"

  "It doesn't matter, you already lost." Xia Sahui quickly threw her hands up and shook her head.

  "Aha! Yes, yes, go on. Keep deflecting the topic." Hua Yong's laugh was hollow, mocking.

  "It doesn't change the fact that you underestimated the other Unawakened." She countered, her gaze steady.

  "iT dOeSn'T cHaNgE tHe FaCt tHaT yOu UnDeReStImAtEd tHeM." He repeated in a mocking voice. "I didn't underestimate them—they were worthless until you joined them." His voice rose, cracking with barely contained fury. "Aaaaa, I am so angry. I lost this pathetically! It wasn't even that smart! Raaaah! I want to kill someone!"

  "Hey, dude, calm down." Lu Er said, still stuck beneath him, his voice carrying a note of genuine concern despite their circumstances.

  "Oh, you are still there." Hua Yong's tone shifted, curiosity replacing rage. "What's your name, fellow brother?"

  "Lu Zhiheng."

  "You're a good man, Lu Zhiheng. You know that?"

  "It feels awkward coming from you, but I'll take it."

  "How are you so good at fighting? You dodged nearly all of my attacks!"

  "Dodged? Look at me—I am bleeding from like fifty cuts."

  "Yes, you are." Hua Yong acknowledged. "But all of them are just shallow cuts on the skin—none of them are actually worth considering. Mind you, if it was Sahui instead of you, she would have lost at least an arm or leg if she hadn’t gotten stabbed in the heart."

  "No, you are downplaying yourself. But I won't ask if you don't want to tell." He shifted slightly, wincing as the movement aggravated his wounds. "Tell me—what is the situation with my subordinates?"

  "Three of them were dead when I joined the fight. And since our side took their armor, I think at least three more should be dead by now. Our side had five casualties at that time."

  At that moment, Xia Sahui approached them, methodically chewing a healing pill, her expression gradually clearing as the medicine took effect.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Do you have any healing items?" she asked, addressing Hua Yong directly.

  "There should be some in my robe." Hua Yong replied, his voice weak. He concentrated, and the armor began to morph into a liquid metal ball, flowing away from his body under his command.

  With the heavy armor gone, Lu Er also crawled out from beneath with slow movements, his face contorting with pain. The body pain was real.

  "Ouch! Be gentle, Lu Zhiheng—it's still in my stomach!" Hua Yong complained, his words trailing off into a groan.

  ‘He just had to say it like that!’ Lu Er cursed internally while retrieving a medicinal pouch from his own robe. He then took one of both low and mid-tier healing pills that he had found during his scavenging. Taking a chance, he also looked at the description of the pill:

  [Low-tier healing pill: Regenerates the skin to close shallow wounds.]

  [Mid-tier healing pill: Heals the injured flesh and bones slightly.]

  On his second day in the game, he'd found a Lowest-tier healing pill. And right now, he possessed pills two full grades superior.

  The moment after consuming both pills, he felt the transformation begin slowly. The shallow wounds covering his body slowly started sealing themselves, skin knitting together with a peculiar tingling sensation. His injured leg—which he'd feared might actually be fractured—also began mending. He couldn't observe the internal process, but he definitely felt the bones realigning, the damaged tissue repairing itself with extreme efficiency.

  'The efficacy is unbelievable,’ he thought, his eyes drifting to Xia Sahui as she pulled the pouch from Hua Yong's robe.

  The pills in Hua Yong's possession far exceeded Lu Er's in quality. Among them rested a High-tier pill that immediately drew his attention. He focused, and the description materialized.

  [High-tier Healing Pill: Completely heals all injured flesh and bone tissue.]

  At this point, Lu Er had encountered nearly every tier of healing pill save the highest. He had a hunch that the highest tier probably regenerated everything, including lost limbs, and might easily pull a person from death's door.

  "Wait." Hua Yong interrupted. "Remove that arrow, at least."

  "Alright." Xia Sahui replied, her hand already reaching toward the wound.

  "No, not you!" Hua Yong recoiled slightly. "You will stab that arrow into my heart rather than removing it!”

  "Then who?" Xia Sahui asked, tilting her head with exaggerated innocence.

  Both turned to look expectantly at Lu Er, who released a long-suffering sigh.

  "Help him sit upright first," he said, pushing himself into a seated position with considerable effort.

  Xia Sahui grabbed Hua Yong's arm and pulled him into a sitting position. He grunted, his face going pale as the movement jostled the arrow lodged in his stomach, but he endured.

  The ground beneath Hua Yong was already soaked with blood. The wooden shaft of the arrow had half-broken and splintered near the wound, jagged edges protruding from the entry point. The arrow had penetrated so deeply that it nearly protruded from the other side.

  Lu Er looked at the wound and said, "The arrow is broken. I won't be able to pull it out cleanly, and pulling an arrow messily messes up injuries even more. So we need to push it through to come out from the other side."

  He selected a sturdy, undamaged arrow from Xia Sahui's quiver and cut off its head using her dagger, leaving a blunt, smooth tip. "This is going to hurt. Prepare yourself."

  Hua Yong swallowed hard and nodded with grim determination.

  Lu Er positioned himself, stabilizing the path of the embedded arrow with one hand while Xia Sahui moved behind Hua Yong, gripping his shoulders to hold him steady.

  Lu Er then handed Hua Yong a roll of bandages. "Here—stuff it in your mouth."

  "Ah, thank—" Hua Yong's gratitude was cut short as Lu Er stabbed the arrow into the wound—in one swift push, the broken arrow came out from the other side, a bulge appearing in his flesh before the blood-slicked shaft emerged. Lu Er quickly grabbed the damaged tip and pulled the broken arrow out while simultaneously pulling out the half-cut arrow from the back.

  "AARGHF—!" Hua Yong's scream tore from his throat, but Xia Sahui stuffed several healing pills from the pouch into his open mouth, silencing his cry mid-breath.

  Hua Yong was forced to chew and swallow the bitter pills while tears of pure pain streamed down his face, his entire body trembling from the shock and trauma.

  Lu Er quickly applied bandages to both the entry and exit wounds, before finally sitting back and releasing a long, exhausted exhalation.

  "Sigh, I'm not getting paid enough to do all this." He complained.

  "Sob... sob... I'll pay you for this," Hua Yong managed between sniffles, hastily wiping tears and dragging his sleeve across his nose in a decidedly undignified manner for a scion.

  “Here, take this. Don’t wipe your snot on the clothes.” Lu Er threw a roll of white cloth at his face.

  “Thanks.”

  Xia Sahui also sat down after the treatment was done, her back against the wall, her eyes fixed on Hua Yong. "You lost." She stated flatly. "So, the temple will be mine. To compensate, many Unawakened from our side are still alive—go ahead and take your fragment points. Just don't kill those leaders. They are my subordinates."

  Lu Er gave her a slight glance as she said that.

  Both the scions had acted like enemies in front of their subordinates, and in some ways, they were indeed at odds with each other.

  But it was also true that no matter how much they hated each other, they’d always prioritize strength above all. The reason Xia Sahui didn't kill Hua Yong was because he was strong—and he needed to become an Awakened. Him becoming an Awakened always had higher priority than others.

  Lu Zhiheng was a Ranked, and he was strong. That was the only reason they acted so friendly to him.

  "Alright." Hua Yong replied, his voice weak but accepting.

  "Also, don't kill Cai Hong."

  "Mhm." Hua Yong nodded and asked, his brow furrowing. "But who is Cai Hong? I mean, I haven't seen him. How does he look?"

  "He is wearing one of your subordinate's armor."

  "Alright."

  Silence descended over the entrance hall for several long moments. They were waiting for Hua Yong's injuries to heal enough so he could go ahead and get some fragment points.

  "So you must have heard about the monster, correct?" Hua Yong's voice shattered the stillness abruptly.

  "Yes." Lu Er replied without any enthusiasm. "We have, and it's real. It exists. I have fought it once, but I ran away the second time."

  "My subordinates also saw it a couple of times. They said that it looked like something out of a storybook—something like a half monster and half human. They even saw his body without the clothes! It's so interesting, isn't it?" His voice dropped. "Fortunately, none of them died and lived to tell the tale. The fact that—"

  "Are your injuries not done healing?" Xia Sahui interrupted.

  "No, they are healed."

  "Good. Then go ahead. Every second you waste, someone might die. That's a lost fragment point."

  Hua Yong nodded and manipulated the metal to once again form a complete body-tight armor and a long spear.

  "Alright then. We will continue after I am done."

  With that said, he hurried toward the low sound of conflict coming from deep in the temple.