Over the next few days, Genji acquired his share of acids and bio-crystals that he had extracted from Silver Empress. With this addition, Genji had amassed a stockpile of rare materials for his potions and poisons, saving him a substantial amount of money in the future.
As for how he planned to transport these items despite the storage restrictions, it involved a loophole Genji discovered while creating his deadly poisons. You see, items from this battlefield couldn't be taken out unless they were obtained as drops from defeating something.
However, this changed once Genji processed the items. That's why he was able to store the gel orbs, even though they were made from Zerg materials. Plus, you can't really expect his storage space to accommodate all of them, can you?
Using his makeshift lab, Genji roughly processed these items into a concentrated form and filled his limited inventory.
Silver Empress wasn't pleased with his scam, but she had other concerns at the moment. In the past few days, she had cultivated some units that resembled a T-Rex and a malnourished bug, both taking after the blueprints of West and Morris. While it was a somewhat sloppy imitation, the sheer power of their origin was undeniable.
Furthermore, Silver Empress could optimize them later, further enhancing their abilities. Genji suspected that if she managed to fully optimize them, she might produce the first boss-level unit among the Zergs. It's no wonder Julian mentioned that she could disrupt the balance.
Imagine how terrifying it would be if an army of boss-level units besieged someone. No one would stand a chance if they couldn't escape, not even the reapers with their buffs. The bosses would simply take too much to kill. Even if they managed to defeat tens of bosses, could they handle hundreds? Thousands?
Reaching thousands might be challenging, but it's not impossible. As long as the Zergs have enough bioenergy, anything is possible. Other factions thought the same when they received the report, making them particularly nervous about any sudden attacks.
It was fortunate that the Balancers stepped in to mediate; otherwise, they might have launched a desperate attack on Silver Empress before she had time to grow. Such an attack, however, likely wouldn't have ended well for all parties involved, given that the nest can cause substantial damage, even if destroyed in the end. Two extra mini-boss units with the potential to become bosses are no joke.
That's why when Silver Empress sent her legion out to look for Shepherd, no one disrupted her. Since the Balancers guaranteed that they would ensure she didn't do anything extreme, they had no reason to provoke her. Not when she's helping the Balancers out. The Balancers are there to keep balance, not discriminate against Silver Empress.
If they initiate the first attack, then the Balancers would probably side with Silver Empress on the issue, leading to them bearing the brunt of the damage. In their weakened state, this would only attract the other factions to team up on them.
This protection, however, didn't extend to the Zergs, resulting in countless massacres among the empresses. How else was Silver Empress supposed to get enough bio-crystals to cultivate mini-bosses and pay Genji?
Genji expected this because when he bargained with the condition of weakening the Zergs. It's not like it's his faction so why does he care if they eliminate each other? In fact, it would be more beneficial for him since the enemy faction is doing his dirty work. What a nasty manipulation of the enemy faction.
Through this massive hunt, Silver Empress was able to find the elusive Shepard's location. Having finally found a target to vent her annoyance with the situation, she sent a massive army to kill Shepard. Genji tagged along as well since he was curious about this figure that managed to skirt the rules so well.
Not that he planned on doing anything. He's simply curious what Shepard was planning considering he managed to fool Eternal Void into sealing the battlefield. There's no way anyone can convince Genji otherwise. Do you really expect him to believe that Shepard used multiple high-priority items just to make everyone's life miserable?
No, this was clearly a premeditated maneuver considering how precious priority items are. Priority is separated into five levels going from low, medium, high, peak, to absolute. For now, just keep in mind that anything above medium is hard to get.
Hours later, the swarm surrounded an older man in grey robes and unkempt hair. In his hand, a wooden staff was held, acting both as support and a weapon. Near him, a ruin consisting of damaged buildings and deteriorated walls covered the area.
"Seems like they caught up with me. That was faster than I expected," he muttered to himself, sensing the approaching hoard.
Yet despite this daunting scene, Shepard's face was still as tranquil as before. The corner of his lip curved upwards, creasing his weathered face to reveal his wrinkles. With a wave of his hand, Shepherd brushed back his messy hair and advanced forward with steady steps.
*Kaaarrrrrr*
The Zergs screeched, rushing forward to tear their target limb from limb and deliver an excruciating death. Shepard maintained his calm and slowly raised his hand with his palm facing downward.
"Oh, lost lambs, God has forgiven your sins, but why do you insist on going against the almighty Father? May you return to your pens and repent, allowing Him to keep you safe in His embrace, for He is all-loving."
With this chant, all the Zergs stopped in place as if they had crashed into an invisible wall. Multiple large units crushed the bugs in front, causing green blood to slide into the air.
'An area of control ability?' Genji wondered to himself.
This invisible wall lasted a few seconds before it disappeared, only to be followed by another effect. This time, all the units were squeezed together by an invisible rope, crushing them instantly.
"May God show His benevolence and banish all dark thoughts in these lost sheep. Let them see the light and come to terms with their dark past. I hereby declare that all who repent will be forgiven."
A holy light flashed over the army, causing the dashing Zergs to pause again. When the light faded, the Zergs had a confused look in their eyes as they looked around. Then, suddenly, they turned around and started ripping the nearest creature into shreds.
"Shit! I lost control of them," a nearby queen exclaimed.
As the queens hurried to regain control of the situation, Genji noticed Shepard raise his hand again. Knowing he didn't want to witness the next ability, [Curse Bearer] manifested, shooting one giant bullet at him for disruption. Yet when the attack landed, the curse ball burst, covering the barrier around him and rendering it useless.
This sudden attack caused Shepard to turn to Genji. He gave him a genial nod before he returned to his incantations.
"This guy is troublesome," Genji said when he saw the unusual reaction Shepherd gave him. It's rare for anyone to remain smiling after an attack. In fact, this reaction typically indicates a problematic person, either in the head or methods.
Soon, the queens resolved the rebellion among the Zergs, and the battle continued with disastrous results. No matter what they threw at Shepard, his variety of control effects made it impossible to approach him. From barriers to binding effects to mind control to expanding space, causing them to have to return to their initial position, Shepherd did it all. Multiple times.
In fact, all of their casualties were from friendly fire instead of Shepard's attacks. Genji saw multiple queens kill each other, arguing about who was mind-controlled and who was hallucinating. At some point, Genji suspected they were using this event as an excuse to settle their own grudges.
"ENOUGH!" Silver Empress's voice disoriented all of them as she forcibly took control of the command.
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Only then did the situation stabilize, rendering the mind-confusion effects useless. As they closed in on Shepherd, he finally raised his staff to use an offensive spell. Countless rock spikes emerged from the ground, killing numerous cannon fodder units. Then he waved his staff again, causing a chain of explosions to eliminate their air units.
However, this only intensified the Zergs' ferocity as they did everything they could to approach him. Cracks opened up in the ground, rain fell, thunder boomed, and temperatures plummeted, drastically slowing down their advance. All of these effects were within their vicinity, showing that Shepherd was behind them.
At this moment, Genji noticed Shepherd hadn't moved a single step since the battle began. In his estimation, Shepherd might be harder to deal with than Morris. He simply had too many abilities that were devastating to an army. Because of this, the common mobs became more of a hindrance than anything.
"On the bright side, he can't recover like Morris."
Hours passed, and soon, all the common mobs perished, either due to Shepherd's effects or Silver Empress's culling, leaving only the elite units. This then allowed Silver Empress to quickly advance the mini-boss units to surround Shepherd.
"It seems like I can't continue anymore," Shepard said, giving the other realm member one last look before pulling out a scroll. "It's a shame to miss this, but I've achieved my purpose. I guess time is just not on my side."
Shepard tore the scroll, causing a barrier to envelop him, turning him semi-transparent. When the Zergs tried to attack him, their attacks passed through him. After a few seconds of this, Shepard disappeared, teleported away by his consumable.
{Champion Shepard has been defeated. After thirty minutes, the world lockdown will be lifted.}
"Let's explore those ruins," Genji said to the queens.
He didn't know what Shepherd was planning, but it was obvious it had something to do with those ruins he defended. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed in this location for so long. With his abilities, if Shepherd wanted to escape, the Zergs wouldn't have been able to catch him. Yet despite the odds, he chose to leave only at the last moment.
The Zerg queens looked at him strangely but obliged. This person might be despicable, but his instincts were something else. Genji's boots crunched against the rough pebbles as a few smaller units followed him in. As for the main army, they remained in the area to deter any possible bypassers.
They turned over multiple boulders and searched the place thoroughly but found no results. The only thing Genji found was a collection of patterns on the partially destroyed pillars that adorned the vicinity: circles, triangles, stars, and some that resembled hieroglyphics or other symbols. Genji guessed these were either a forgotten language or held some meaning for their creators.
But Genji didn't think much of them. He couldn't read them, nor could he see any significance in them. They were simply destroyed pillars with nice decorations, as far as he was concerned. He was a killer, not an archaeologist. No matter how hard he tried, that fact wouldn't change.
At this point, Genji started to doubt if he was reading too much into the situation. Nevertheless, he decided to continue, fully trusting his instincts. If everything seemed normal, then it must mean he hadn't uncovered the secret yet.
"How long do you think he will look at those rocks?" a bored queen asked another.
"I don't know, but he's been at it for the past few hours. Look, even the moon has risen. I don't understand what he finds so interesting about them. Aren't they just some broken rocks? If he wants to look at them so much, there's plenty back at the nest. Why does he have to waste time on those rocks in particular?"
Genji stood in the middle of the ruins, fruitless in his attempt. Even after a few hours, nothing had changed. No matter how he approached the problem, everything remained the same.
"Seems like I will have to give up on this," he said, letting out a disappointed sigh as he looked up at the full moon in the sky.
"How captivating," he commented, breathless at the idyllic view.
Unlike the moon seen on Earth, this moon had a bluish tint. It was also much bigger, allowing everyone to admire its colorful details. Paired with the clear night sky tonight, it's fair to say this was one of the best views Genji had ever seen. Like a pearl in the dark, it captured the attention of anyone cultured enough to appreciate its mesmerizing beauty.
Hold on! Pearl? Where did pearl come up in the past? Genji quickly recalled everything before pulling up the notification from Cassava's Treasure.
"The Zergs are looking for the item aligned by five stars and illuminated by the pearl in the night."
Pearl in the night. Isn't that the moon? So what about five stars? The only thing Genji could see was the moon. No stars were in view.
"What if it's not literal stars, but something else?" Genji asked himself, looking around to see what might fit the description. Genji was confident this was the place. The Zergs were looking for something while Shepherd happened to be in the area. Plus, is there any place that could see the moon so clearly tonight?
Soon his eyes landed on the destroyed pillars scattered around the ruins. Stars and a bunch of symbols were carved onto them, just like before. Genji quickly found the star symbols and took out a notebook. Then, making a makeshift map, Genji marked the positions of the pillars and which direction the stars were facing.
After some time, he documented all the pillars and started a game of connecting the dots. An interwoven mess of lines soon formed under his hand, but he noticed one crucial detail: the lines didn't overlap often. In fact, only one spot had five intersections, further proving his guess.
Genji walked over to this spot and looked around, finding nothing again.
"Weird. I'm sure this is the spot considering how specific everything was, so what am I missing?"
As Genji continued to look around for anything that might have been missed, the queens let out a yawn.
"So boring. Just how long is that guy going to stay in that area? The moon is about to reach its peak."
As if answering the question, Genji suddenly heard a click in the area. Then the ground disassembled as gears turned to reveal a staircase.
{You have arrived within 10 meters from the location at midnight of a full moon. The hidden Mecalan Ruin will now open.}
This time, it wasn't EverRealm that prompted him, but Eternal Void. An odd detail, but Genji didn't pay much attention to it.
"What kind of condition is that?! We need to be at the right place at the right time?! How the hell is anyone supposed to find this without a prophecy item? And in riddle form at that? The Zergs could search for hundreds of years, and they might not find this."
After Genji vented his frustrations with the absurd difficulty of this setting, he walked out to the Zergs.
"Contact Silver Empress. She will want to hear the next part."
"Are we finally going to leave this place?"
Genji chose not to dash the queen's hopes and remained silent, causing her to shrug and contact her mother.
"What is it?" Silver Empress asked through the queen.
"You know the clue I was talking about in our deal? Well, I found the actual place."
"I see. What do you want?" Silver Empress knew Genji had a reason for bringing this up. It's another bargain, which made her head ache with annoyance. At least she only has to deal with him for a few more days.
"I'm curious about the item, so I'm tagging along when you explore the ruin."
"Very well." That's an acceptable condition since she doesn't have to pay a blood price for it.
"We're also going to need a lot of Soldier bugs. They all died when we fought Shepherd, and I'm not going down there without cannon fodder."
Genji wasn't taking any chances right now. He had earned a high income in this world already, so why would he risk his life when he could have the Zergs do the exploration?
"They will be here in a few hours."
When they received the reinforcements, they ventured down the stairs of the ruins. Turns out Genji's move to have the soldier bugs go ahead was the correct one. As they were walking, countless traps were triggered, killing numerous Zergs. This ruin clearly had a negative attitude against intruders, unlike the previous one the Celestials explored.
It was as if the previous lab welcomed people to inspect their work while this one wanted to protect something. At this realization, Genji shoved more bugs into the passage, trying to trigger as many traps as possible. He refused to believe the traps wouldn't be triggered if he packed the place to the brim.
"We have a problem," a queen said during the operation.
"What is it?" Genji asked back.
"We found a passage down."
"Send some scouts ahead while you clear the current floor."
A stream of Zergs continued to pour into the tunnel without a problem. It was like this ruin was an endless hole that devoured their soldiers. And in a way, it was, since not a single unit that entered came out. Genji had no doubt that if this were any other faction, they wouldn't be able to sustain these casualties.
"We cleared the first floor," a queen reported.
"What are our casualties?"
"30% of our group died."
This was a high number considering they threw around 80,000 bugs into the tunnel. The volume of the first floor was greater than they expected.
"Move on to the second floor. From now on, have a couple of queens control units to scout ahead while the rest fill in. If the scouts die, give control of the closest units to them. Break up the group control so that each person is responsible for their own section. I also want around half of you resting at all times."
Genji had a feeling this ruin was bigger than he expected, so he set up a rotation system to optimize the process. Turns out this was the right call, as after the second floor, they found a third. Then a fourth and a fifth. This ruin just kept going downward with seemingly no end.
The deeper they traversed, the more casualties they suffered. The traps were getting stronger as they descended, and they had to request reinforcements multiple times.
Multiple days passed as an unknown number of bugs poured into the tunnel. Silver Empress had transferred more queens to replace the fatigued ones when resting could no longer keep up with the fatigue from controlling the number of bugs. By now, they have cleared down to the 19th floor, making Genji curse multiple times at how shameless this ruin is.
Just how are they supposed to explore this if this is the casualty rate?
"Sir, we have a situation on the 20th floor. No matter how many bugs we throw down there, they will die after a few seconds."
"Can you determine the cause of death?"
"No. After entering a few steps, the Zergs would just collapse, breaking down into dust before the ruin blows it away."
"Fine. Let's check it out ourselves," Genji said, walking down the many flights of stairs.