Watching Phantylia vanish into thin air, March 7th looked distinctly unhappy.
"Valerius, why did you just let her get away like that?"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Valerius spread his hands innocently. "Just like she said—she's also a player. It wouldn't be right for me to attack her."
"But… but she's an Emanator of Destruction!"
March 7th still felt something was off. An Emanator of Destruction—someone who literally worships annihilation—and they were just letting her go?
"Even if one day Nanook himself becomes a player, I'd still treat him the same."
That made things clear.
In Valerius's eyes, as long as you're a player, everyone is equal. There was no bias just because someone represented Destruction.
"Never mind. The General has already made arrangements. Let's move."
Fu Xuan, on the other hand, saw things very clearly.
They weren't related, and Valerius truly had no obligation to help them. Phantylia retreating now was most likely out of respect for Valerius's presence.
And although the incident looked severe, actual casualties had been minimal.
That, too, was probably because of Valerius.
After all, he had said it himself—as long as players weren't prevented from participating in the game, he wouldn't interfere.
There was no way Phantylia would genuinely care about anyone else's lives.
"So even an Emanator of Destruction isn't all that 'pure,' huh…"
Thinking about it, Fu Xuan felt that Phantylia's "destruction" wasn't very absolute at all. She had actually held back out of fear.
Under Fu Xuan's guidance, everyone soon arrived at Scalegorge Waterscape.
At a single glance, Valerius spotted Dan Heng, now sporting a pair of dragon horns.
"Well… he still got stabbed in the end."
Valerius almost laughed.
Looks like even after becoming a player, Dan Heng still couldn't escape that inevitable moment with Blade.
But what surprised him was that far more people were present than in the original storyline.
Yanqing had come along with Jing Yuan.
And not just them—Jingliu, Luocha, Kafka, and Blade were all here as well.
"Uh… what is this, a private meeting?"
Valerius suddenly felt a little sorry for Phantylia.
With just Jing Yuan and the Astral Express, she already wouldn't have won. Now this was an upgraded lineup—there was no way she'd survive if she stayed.
"Wow—Dan Heng, you really were hiding some serious power."
March 7th stared at him in amazement. Dan Heng looked completely different now, and she couldn't take her eyes off him.
Meanwhile, Valerius walked over and casually slung an arm around Yanqing's shoulders.
"So, how did it feel?"
"…Feel what?"
Yanqing looked confused. He was still a little dazed and had no idea what Valerius was getting at.
"Soloing the High-Cloud Quintet. How was it?"
"Me?"
Yanqing pointed at himself, utterly baffled.
"You're talking about me? You think I could fight them?"
The High-Cloud Quintet—how was he even remotely capable of that?
"Huh? You didn't spar with Jingliu?"
"Why would I spar with my grandmaster?"
Yanqing genuinely didn't understand.
"She's my grandmaster! Why would I want to fight her?"
"Then… Dan Heng and Blade? You didn't fight them either?"
Valerius found it strange. This kid didn't get his 'lesson' at all?
That just made Yanqing even more confused.
"Mr. Valerius, we're all players now. We see each other all the time. Why would I fight them?"
Now it was Valerius's turn to be stunned.
He never expected Yanqing to completely dodge the 'getting beaten up' storyline.
Such a perfect chance to get humbled—gone.
"Then why does Dan Heng look like that?"
"Oh, that?" Yanqing immediately perked up. "Blade stabbed Dan Heng while he wasn't paying attention."
Valerius covered his face.
Yanqing avoided the beating, but Dan Heng still couldn't escape fate.
"Alright, Dan Heng. Get ready."
Jing Yuan cut off the small talk. This wasn't the time to relax—if Phantylia made another move, things could spiral out of control.
"Understood."
Dan Heng didn't hesitate. He walked to the edge of the water, and the ornament in his hand began to glow.
"She's coming."
Valerius watched with great interest.
This was a famous scene—definitely worth remembering.
The sea churned violently, then slowly parted.
Just as the depths of Scalegorge Waterscape were about to be revealed, a beam of light shot into the sky.
"Esteemed guests… this humble one, Phantylia, greets you."
The sudden appearance left everyone stunned.
Why was Phantylia here?!
"Come down here!"
With so many people present, March 7th wasn't afraid in the slightest. She drew her bow and aimed straight at Phantylia.
"Hehe. The miracles of Abundance truly live up to their reputation."
"Everyone… this humble one shall take her leave. Until we meet again."
With Valerius present, Phantylia didn't dare cause any trouble. She simply formed herself a new body—and left.
She hadn't destroyed anything.
Surely Valerius couldn't punish her for that, right?
"…What?"
This completely blindsided Jing Yuan.
No matter how he imagined it, he never expected Phantylia to retreat so cleanly—without even a threat or a dramatic exit.
Watching her disappear, Jing Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache forming.
"Uh… so… do we keep opening the sea?"
Dan Heng, still floating in midair, looked confused.
"The sea's only half open… do I keep going or stop?"
"…Sigh. Keep going."
What else could they do?
They couldn't exactly stop halfway and flood everything back.
"Pfft."
Only Valerius slipped off to the side, laughing quietly.
Even he didn't expect things to turn out this way—a full-fledged boss fight, forcibly interrupted.
"Wait a second… if Phantylia doesn't cause trouble anymore… what about Hoolay?"
Valerius suddenly remembered the other boss still locked up in the Ten-Lords Commission.
If Phantylia never stirred things up again, wouldn't Hoolay just rot in prison forever?
And honestly… this was partially Valerius's fault.
Looking at it this way, he was practically Hoolay's savior.
After all, dying badly was worse than living miserably.
At that very moment, inside the Ten-Lords Commission's prison, Hoolay felt something was off.
Why did it feel like his presence had… diminished?
And a strange melody echoed in his ears, making him hum along unconsciously:
"🎵 Listen to me—thank you~ 🎵"
After the initial shock wore off, Jing Yuan quickly regained his composure.
Phantylia running away wasn't the end of it.
They still had the live chat.
[Jing Yuan]: Phantylia, inform the Legion—Hunt's vengeance will come.
[Phantylia]: General, please calm yourself… This humble one caused no destruction. From where does this grudge arise?
[Yukong]: For Tingyun—you will pay.
[Phantylia]: Hehe… that little fox? Didn't you save her? Or was she… beyond saving?
[Fu Xuan]: Insolent!
[Feixiao]: Phantylia, Emanator of Destruction, right? Just you wait.
[Phantylia]: Oh my, how frightening. The Stellaron wasn't even my doing—why are you all targeting me? Besides, didn't I leave your Xianzhou unharmed this time?
Seeing that they still wouldn't let her go, Phantylia felt irritated.
If not for Valerius, I'd have already wiped you all out.
But she didn't want to offend them right now.
After all, if they ended up playing games together in the future, wouldn't she just get sold out immediately?
What she really wanted now were rewards.
Don't be fooled—despite being an Emanator of Destruction, she feared destruction itself.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought a body blessed by Abundance just to preserve herself.
As long as she could keep participating in games and earning rewards…
She was certain she'd eventually obtain something that would protect her.
And once that happened—
She wouldn't need to fear destruction ever again.
lity.
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