Kapil knew that the so-called barrier most likely didn't exist, or it had already failed.
As the holder of the key, Kapil actually had two choices.
One was to use it himself, and the other was to let all players compete for progress to obtain it.
Using it himself also required passing certain tests and reaching specific progress milestones at certain times; if everyone worked together, he could obtain certain hints.
It was relatively easier to complete that way, but he had to be wary of others surpassing him.
Both had their pros and cons, which he had known since obtaining the Proud Soul Key.
However, considering the Samurai Nation, he had kept the second option hidden and dared not reveal it.
Even the audience outside the livestream didn't know until today, when he finally couldn't hold it in anymore and used it.
Stricken with the slowness effect, he couldn't outrun the zombies, and being watched by those two villains made it hard to hide.
Facing an inevitable death today, Kapil could only take the lower path.
"I thought this was an opportunity, but I never expected it to become the key to my death."
Looking into the distance, his eyes were filled with complex emotions.
To his credit, he had actually believed the apology from the two Samurai Nation representatives, thinking Mark's words really carried that much weight.
"The Freedom Nation doesn't understand, the Stick Nation can't be relied upon... the only one who can actually rival the Samurai Nation turns out to be Nine Provinces?"
He had been in conflict with Nine Provinces before, and in the blink of an eye, he had to rely on them to sanction the Samurai.
In the final moments of his life, he silently cheered for Galen Yu in his heart.
[SYSTEM: THE INDUS KINGDOM PLAYER HAS DIED. THE PENALTY WILL ARRIVE IN THIRTY SECONDS!]
As the announcement sounded, the entire Indus Kingdom audience was enraged.
"He? Them? How dare those two villains!"
"Clearly in an alliance yet killing their ally—is this the style of the Samurai Nation?"
"This is absolutely disgusting, disgusting to the extreme!"
"One second they say they'll definitely get along, the next they're backstabbing!"
"They look down on the Freedom Nation and treat Mark's words like a joke?"
"Two pure villains, perfectly fitting the stereotype of the Samurai Nation!"
"The penalty is coming. Can we really only rely on Galen Yu to punish them now?"
Listening to the countdown, the Indus Kingdom audience fell into despair.
Originally staying in the alliance, they thought they were safe this time with the SlashBlade key.
Who could have imagined a sudden change? The Samurai Nation had staged such a huge drama.
It was truly difficult to evaluate!
The most resentful were the high-level officials of the Indus Kingdom.
Just as Kapil thought, they hadn't found a single flaw in those two, truly believing they intended to reconcile, so they didn't send any warnings.
They turned around only to suffer such a massive loss!
A white-haired old lady, appearing to be a manager, stepped forward to replace the black screen.
In her hand was a round object, similar to a record.
"Fortunately, we hold Music Disc 11, which can reduce the death penalty by half."
"At this point, I don't want to say much more about this matter. Indus will not perish; we carry Kapil's last wish."
"I hope Nine Provinces can obtain the final SlashBlade. Do not let it fall into the hands of certain people!"
As a major nation, the Indus Kingdom's foundations were quite rich.
Music discs could play healing sounds; though they didn't have much use in the game, they served as special rewards.
The disc could soothe the emotions of monsters, halving the number of monsters that spawned.
Even so, if one stood near the borders of the Indus Kingdom or at a high vantage point...
One could still see zombies, skeletons, and monsters surrounding the Indus Kingdom in several areas, with cries and severed limbs everywhere.
It was like a hellish abyss, full of blood and tragedy!
"Laughable. Relying on Galen Yu to be our inheritance, for the SlashBlade?"
Hearing the news, Takeshi Sable burst into laughter.
He didn't care about any alliance or accusations.
Regarding the players' actions, he was very supportive!
The SlashBlade was supposed to be theirs; now it was simply being returned to its rightful owner. The Fragrant Study—this was where the dream began and where it would come true. What talk of villains and thieves?
Utterly ridiculous!
The Samurai Nation audience also refused to admit any wrongdoing.
"It's your Indus player who was stupid. How can you blame Mountwell?"
"If you had handed over the SlashBlade earlier, none of this would have happened. Hahaha, Mountwell did a great job!"
"What Galen Yu? Can Galen Yu even understand our inheritance?"
"Do they really think he's a god? They talk about competing for progress, but in the end, won't it just fall into our hands?"
"Having held the SlashBlade for so long, how could Oakmoor's understanding possibly lose to anyone else!"
"Yoshi! We are invincible!"
In other aspects, they might indeed be unable to win.
For instance, Redstone, the Twilight Forest, and the understanding of the game—in those areas, they weren't as powerful as Galen Yu.
But regarding the SlashBlade, this was something their nation had passed down for many years!
Although it had been transformed by the block world and was no longer in its original form, it still felt very familiar!
Under these circumstances, how could they possibly lose the progress race?
The entire Samurai Nation was full of confidence!
The Research Institute.
"It won't lead to national extinction, but the Indus Kingdom is taking a massive hit this time."
Observing through the satellite, Fries sighed and shook his head.
The strength of the penalty for a large-scale civilization was so intense that it would take the Indus Kingdom at least a hundred years to recover from this loss!
Simple losses were one thing, but more terrifying were the non-renewable resources.
"The Samurai Nation has done every evil deed imaginable!"
Putting himself in the Indus Kingdom's shoes, Fries understood the emotion perfectly.
It should have been a mutually supportive alliance, yet two bastards appeared and caused the death of their own ally.
In ancient times, being drowned in a pig cage would have been a light punishment!
"Kapil's hope is now all on you!"
Looking at Galen Yu, Fries was both excited and worried.
Because of his previous performances, Galen Yu was indeed very brilliant, but this time it was, after all, the Samurai Nation's national treasure.
How it would turn out was truly hard to say.
Continue watching.
On Sky Island, Galen Yu had been building a Creeper Farm over the past two days.
Besides falling damage, there were many other things in the game that could deal damage to monsters.
Magma Blocks, Cactuses, Campfires...
With sufficient resources, it wasn't impossible to use a Dispenser for constant attacks.
This time, Galen Yu chose to use Soul Campfires.
It was a variant of the campfire; the materials were simple, using Soul Sand plus three sticks and three logs.
Compared to other blocks, the advantage was that while it dealt damage to monsters, it wouldn't set items on fire.
Just after finishing it, he waited for a moment and saw a dozen creepers appear, being burned to death and dropping gunpowder.
"Such high efficiency?"
After a slight surprise, he remembered this was a Crisis; the monster spawn rate might be increased.
It wasn't that strange.
Due to the design of Slabs and Trapdoors, such a large structure wouldn't spawn zombies, skeletons, or other monsters even without rails.
Although the audience was curious, thinking that the creator was Galen Yu, they slowly accepted it.
Even an Infinite Rail Machine—a perpetual motion machine that defied scientific logic and common sense—had been built; by comparison, other things weren't much.
"Wither Skeleton Skulls? Got them. Soul Sand? Got it. Firepower? Got it."
Looking at the remaining Soul Sand in his hand, Galen Yu became lost in thought.
What to do next seemed very clear.
One of the only two bosses in the original game: the Wither!
Powerful, capable of flying and long-range attacks, and every attack carried the most disgusting effect in the game: Wither.
It was also the only way to obtain a Nether Star.
With infinite firepower in place, farming a Wither...
Didn't seem like much of a problem, right?
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