Chapter 65: Act 5: Going to War with That Merchant’s Silver Coins

Blaze led the Six Vice Group toward the Sacrificial Stone Forest, with Herbie insisting on tagging along.

At the entrance of the Sacrificial Stone Forest stood a massive Silver Werewolf. He walked toward Blaze as if he had been waiting for a long time.

The Six Vice Group instinctively assumed a combat stance, but Blaze raised a hand to stop them.

"Village Chief," Blaze greeted.

"It is I," the Village Chief replied.

The Silver Werewolf stopped in front of Blaze, looking past everyone toward the distant Wolf Head Grass Village. Amidst his vibrant fur lay a pair of weathered, ancient eyes.

"I am the Guardian of the Sacrificial Stone Forest, ensuring that not a single filthy Werewolf can Escape from here," the Village Chief said.

"From now on, there will be no new Werewolves born," Blaze replied.

"Hehe... is that so?" The Village Chief seemed to be smiling. He took a step back and slowly crouched down, his massive hands brushing past Blaze’s Armor.

A silver medal was hung around Blaze’s neck.

"May you have the Moon God’s Protection."

Blaze nodded at the Village Chief and took the lead into the Sacrificial Stone Forest. The Six Vice Group hurriedly followed. Although they hadn’t received any quest prompts, they were dying of excitement.

A Werewolf, normally treated as an enemy, had actually spoken to them in such a profound, weathered tone—this definitely carried the distinct scent of a special quest.

"Before we head to our destination, we need to make some preparations," Blaze said.

"No problem, we understand." Greenland patted his chest, wearing an expression that said no amount of trouble would bother him.

Blaze’s mouth twitched. Sometimes, these Foreigners were notoriously thick-headed.

Make them buy one extra apple, and they would throw a tantrum on the spot. Yet, they would happily deliver a message for someone who was only two steps away.

It seemed this bunch of Foreigners who had chosen the path of Vice suffered from a severe "Growth Period" disease. In that case, he wouldn’t have any psychological burden moving forward.

After completing the preparations Blaze had mentioned, he led the group of seven toward the ancient altar.

"Um, is there anything else we need to do next?" Greenland rubbed his arms. The tasks Blaze had just asked them to help with were somewhat bizarre.

"No, we’ve done all we can." Blaze glanced at his inventory. The Soul Sanctuary Skill indicated that the storage was already full.

"Is this... a hidden area!?" Greenland’s eyes widened. Blaze had brought them to a place no one had ever discovered.

"This is the entrance to the ancient altar of the Silver Race," Blaze explained.

The hearts of the Six Vice Group began to race. Finding an undiscovered area was already a huge profit, but they hadn’t expected it to be related to a race of believers who had direct contact with a God in the game’s lore.

As soon as they entered the tunnel, the group stuck to the cold, damp walls like leeches, rubbing against them to trigger any hidden prompts and poking the ceramic pots on the ground with their weapons.

"This will be an extremely difficult, excruciatingly long battle, and we only have one chance," Blaze said slowly as he strolled ahead.

The expressions of the Six Vice Group tightened. They immediately stopped their aimless fiddling, slowed their pace, and listened with bated breath, terrified of missing any quest details for this one-time challenge.

Greenland, however, was a bit nonchalant.

"With a Professional Player like me here, there’s no boss we can’t handle."

"We’re not here to kill him, but to fight him. We need to make him continuously acquire Skills until he becomes the Regional Leader of this place." Blaze turned around and explained with utmost seriousness. "That guy will Escape without hesitation. Only Vice Aliens like you can make him stay and fight recklessly."

Herbie opened her mouth but said nothing. She found the whole thing incredibly bizarre and absurdly risky. However, she understood that this was to ensure that, once Audrey learned the truth, not a single Arcadian would ever die from this pitiful Curse again.

The Six Vice Group stood rooted to the spot, secretly discussing in their chat group.

ID Constipated Druid (Perverted Vanguard):

[I knew things wouldn’t be that simple. This is probably a quest the devs specifically reserved for Vice Players. We can only truly get Hermes’s help if we complete this quest.]

[Hermes is also an Arcadian.]

[What do you think? This might be a high-difficulty battle where we have to survive for a certain amount of time while controlling the opponent’s health bar.]

ID Constipated Doctor:

[As long as there’s a quest to do, I’m fine with it, even if the content involves getting screwed by a Werewolf.]

ID Constipated Juggler:

[Isn’t this quite interesting?]

ID Constipated Artist:

[I’m in.]

ID Constipated Lumberjack:

[At a glance, this is obviously a quest prepared specifically for Vice Players. There’s no reason not to take it. If we fail or refuse, we might lose the Hermes questline entirely.]

ID Constipated Chef:

[Accept, accept, accept! This is my first time playing a boss-raising quest. We have to go big on this one no matter what.]

ID Constipated Druid (Perverted Vanguard):

[Change equipment.]

[We only get one chance.]

The Six Vice Group revealed burning expressions of excitement, and the pressure in Blaze’s heart eased a little. No matter the Foreigner, they were always like this—they never shied away from difficulties. They would complain about things being unreasonable, but they would absolutely never give up.

They simply smiled and enjoyed it all.

"Then, let’s go," Blaze said.

Guided by Blaze, the group soon arrived before the massive Moon God Altar. While the Six Vice Group marveled at the surrounding landscape, Herbie solemnly took a Silver Coin from her chest.

It was the Silver Coin Herbie used for her coin magic tricks. One side bore the relief of a Goddess, and the other side featured a castle.

"This is the only thing I had on me when I was found. It’s my Protective Talisman." Herbie clenched the Silver Coin in her palm and forcefully patted it against Blaze’s chest. It was a little magic trick; the Silver Coin slipped through a gap and slid right into his Armor.

"Don’t die. Even if resurrection is possible, don’t die."

[Ancient Silver Coin with Goddess Head]

"Mhm." Blaze nodded. He took a few steps forward, then suddenly reached out to stop the chicken, who wanted to tag along.

"Human! Are you going to make me just watch you fight!?"

"You are still in your juvenile state right now. You have no combat capabilities." Blaze reached out, scooped up the chicken, and placed her into Herbie’s arms.

"Let’s fight together when you’ve grown up."

Words carry weight, and the chicken experienced the profound truth of this statement firsthand. She fell silent and raised no further objections. As she watched Blaze step onto the altar, she felt a "growing pain" that threatened to tear her very soul apart.

Blaze took the lead, entering the altar and walking toward the withered, nameless great tree. The low growl of a Wild Beast emanated from beneath its branches.

The frail young boy was gone. In his place was a Werewolf clutching his head, letting out low, guttural roars. His once-beautiful fur had gradually grown dull, and his clear eyes were now bloodshot.

Time was running out. Perhaps a little later, Romeo would completely turn into a Werewolf.

"Bl—ROAR—ah—I—AWOO..."

Romeo had almost completely lost his ability to speak. Only those pleading eyes still held the shadow of the young boy who begged for death.

"I will not kill you, nor will I let you succumb to the Filthy Blood in your body."

Blaze thrust the Twisted Greatsword into the ground, proving that he absolutely would not kill Romeo.

Romeo shook his head in agony. He would not fight Blaze, nor would he succumb to the Devouring of his bestial nature to become a Wild Beast.

He wanted to Escape and find another place to face his destiny.

"I knew you would Escape."

Blaze did not stop him. The moment the six people stepped onto the Silver Altar, Romeo, who was about to leap away, froze. A massive surge of hostility welling up from within him overwhelmed all other thoughts.

"ROAR—"

The Silver Werewolf let out a roar of Anger at the people before him.

It was pure hostility coming from Romeo, which meant that Romeo was still inside that body.

Blaze raised his hand and rolled his shoulders, his voice freezing cold.

"Romeo, I will fight you relentlessly until you conquer the Wild Beast inside you!"