bookpub Chapter 4181 The Golden Ancient City
Chapter 4181 The Golden Ancient City
Chapter 4181 The Golden Ancient City
The third level of Golden Township is the Ancient City of Gold.
The objective on this level is clear: fight your way from the ancient city gates to the royal palace and finally ascend the golden throne.
Although the goal is clear, there is a great deal of room for maneuver.
For example, there are some tricks to choosing the route to the palace.
There isn't just one route from the city gate to the palace. The ancient city of Golden City covers a vast area with a complex network of streets. Whether you take a direct route, navigate through winding alleys, or even walk through the entire ancient city's narrow lanes, you can eventually reach the palace gate.
There are many possible routes to advance.
Depending on the route chosen by the challenger, the opponents they will encounter will naturally be different.
Whether the number of enemies on different routes is equal, and whether their strength differs, the rabbit girl doesn't know either.
After all, she couldn't possibly pursue every path while focusing on the present; ultimately, she could only choose one.
At this moment, Maggie suddenly spoke up, completing the answer to her question: "The enemies you encounter on different routes are different, but whether their strength differs is hard to say... it still depends on luck."
Maggie gave several examples to illustrate this point.
“There is a very winding route from the city gate to the palace gate. It requires you to go from the main road to the side road and walk through the streets and alleys. It looks like you are walking on big waves... Let’s call it the ‘wave route’ for now.”
"If you choose this wavy route, and fight your way to the palace gates, you will only encounter beast-shaped phantoms."
"If you happen to be good at dealing with beast-shaped phantoms, then taking this route will be relatively easy for you."
Golden Phantom has five forms: human, beast, bird, insect, and plant. Although the strength difference between the forms is not significant, the differences in the mechanisms of the different forms lead to some people being good at dealing with a certain form.
For example, the three members of the Shadow Clan were able to counter the Bird-type Phantoms because of their speed talent and ability to release arrows while moving, but they were countered by the Plant-type Phantoms, who were good at large-area attacks.
If it were the rabbit girl, she would prefer to face the plant-shaped phantom rather than the bird-shaped phantom.
Because the plant-shaped phantom has very low mobility, it is a sitting duck for her; while the bird-shaped phantom has a very wide field of vision, making it more difficult to dodge compared to the other types of phantoms.
Therefore, there are significant differences in the difficulty for each team in dealing with the different forms of the golden phantom.
Maggie twirled a strand of white hair that fell to her temples with her fingers while lazily swinging her legs: "In short, as long as you choose the right route, you can only encounter the golden phantoms that you are able to control along the way, saving you half the effort."
After a pause, Maggie gave a subtle smile: "But the premise is... that you can choose the right one."
Choosing the right option is important, but choosing the right option is difficult.
The bunny girl also agreed with this statement.
They are now sitting around the stone table discussing the "route," which is a retrospective from the perspective of "having already passed the test," which is essentially using the result to deduce the process.
This feeling is like after arguing with someone, lying in bed at night tossing and turning, only to belatedly realize, "I should have used this rebuttal," "I shouldn't have been led astray here," "I didn't use my killer line"... But in the heat of an argument, who has time to think about all that?
Using the results to deduce the truth will inevitably lead to some errors.
In the true third level, you have no way to choose a route.
Without a general map, and without knowing where the different forms of golden phantoms are located, how are you supposed to choose?
unless……
With Angell's help, a god-like perspective can be established, allowing the best route to be determined.
But Angel wasn't there at the time, so the rabbit girl naturally couldn't plan the optimal route and could only go wherever she ended up...
"I chose a route that was basically a straight line, because the palace is located right in the center. I started from the city gate and followed the main road."
"I only slightly avoided or took a detour when facing opponents I felt I couldn't defeat from afar."
The rabbit girl's words naturally aroused everyone's curiosity.
It's worth noting that before entering the Golden Land, Angor specifically used illusion magic to simulate different forms of golden phantoms, allowing her to adapt to the battle in advance.
The five forms of the golden phantom, even the "bird form" that gives the rabbit girl the most headaches, she can take on one-on-one.
Why do we have to take a detour?
“If I were only facing the Golden Phantom, I wouldn’t need to take a detour. However, there are more than just the Golden Phantom in the Golden City; there are also… people.”
"You mean a humanoid phantom?"
The rabbit girl shook her head: "It's not a humanoid phantom. I'm referring to the other challenger teams."
Challenger team?!
Everyone was stunned for a moment before they realized what she meant: "You mean, the other teams that challenged the Golden City?"
She nodded solemnly: "Yes, for example, I encountered the Shadow Clan trio we just mentioned."
Gabriel asked in surprise, "The Shadow Clan's challenger team was also pulled to the third level? And then came specifically to ambush you?"
“No.” The rabbit girl shook her head in denial: “At first, I did think that other challenger teams had been promoted to the third level to block me. Later, after I cleared the level, I met Miss Maggie, and I learned from her that… these challenger teams were actually projections created by the power of the fairy realm, not real teams.”
Maggie nodded slightly beside her, confirming that this was true.
Gabriel shook his head, manipulating the illusion puppet, and said with a hint of disdain, "If it's just a projection of the challenger team, it shouldn't be too difficult to fight, right?"
The logic in the statement is straightforward: the Challenger team couldn't even beat the Golden Phantom, so their combat strength was inherently lower than the Golden Phantom's.
The rabbit girl survived the relentless onslaught of the Golden Phantoms, so she shouldn't be afraid of these small team projections.
But as soon as she finished speaking, the rabbit girl shook her head violently, her tone even more solemn than before:
"No, they are much stronger than we imagined!"
"Some squads may not be particularly outstanding in terms of individual combat strength, but when several people work together, they can combine their advantages into a single force, achieving a result that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Sometimes, they are even more troublesome than dealing with a single Golden Phantom."
Because she entered the Golden Land alone, according to the rules, she could only face one golden phantom each time.
Even after arriving in the [True Golden Land], where she was constantly subjected to a series of relentless battles, she still ended up fighting the Golden Phantom one-on-one each time a battle began.
However, the Challenger Team is not included in this mechanism.
For example, if a challenger team has five members, then when they are projected into the Golden City, they will all be together.
Once the rabbit girl encounters this team, she will naturally be facing five people, not just one.
With multiple people working together, there are restraints, outputs, and backups; the tactical routines can be varied endlessly. Moreover, she always felt that the strength of these projections had been subtly modified by the power of the fairy realm. Although their individual combat power had not increased significantly, they almost never made mistakes in battle, and their teamwork was so seamless that it was as if they shared the same set of thoughts.
Dealing with this kind of team that is "like one person" is much more troublesome than dealing with a single Golden Phantom.
"Most importantly!" the rabbit girl suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "The Wonderland's power has also projected the gold artifacts chosen by the challenger team!"
"When I fight these squads, I not only have to deal with coordinated attacks from multiple people, but I also have to watch out for the gold weapons they carry..."
"And the effects of some gold artifacts are simply unreasonable!"
Towards the end, she even gritted her teeth.
Once she had calmed down a bit, she continued, but her tone was more somber, as if she had stirred up some uncomfortable memories: "For example, I once encountered a challenger team. They were a human team from the Yorozuya, a total of three people. Their combat strength was weak compared to other teams, and the gold artifacts they chose were mainly for defense."
“In a normal fight against them, my chances of winning are almost 100%, but the effect of adding gold artifacts makes all the difference.”
One member of the team chose a long, dazzling gold bracelet.
Each time you put your hands together, the bracelet on your palms will trigger its effect: "The next instance of damage you receive will be reflected back to the caster with 100% accuracy. This damage has an 'absolute hit' effect and cannot be mitigated by any damage reduction mechanism except for invincibility."
She had no idea of the gold artifact's effects and kicked it, only to have all the damage bounce back onto herself.
The rebounding damage nearly shattered her internal organs.
Fortunately, she thought these people were too weak and could be taken away without much effort, so she didn't use too much force.
If she had given it her all, she probably would have been exhausted on the spot.
—Cause of death: He killed himself.
After nearly making a mistake, she became very cautious and spent a full half hour figuring out the effects of the three people's gold artifacts.
Finally, they successfully eliminated the Yorozuya squad.
However, this half hour was probably the most difficult part for her after entering the Golden Land.
His injuries hadn't healed yet, and he still had to face a highly coordinated challenger team.
It can be said that this experience made her truly understand the power of the [True Golden Land].
Even when facing a challenger team that is clearly weaker than themselves, they should not be underestimated.
"Can't we avoid fighting for now? We can recover and then go fight them?" Gray Porcelain asked, somewhat puzzled.
The rabbit girl shook her head: "No, every time a battle starts, there's a designated battle area. If I choose to leave the battle area, it means I'm giving up on a perfect victory."
She encountered this human team on a stone bridge.
The Fairy Realm's powers designated a combat zone for her, which was only near this stone bridge. Leaving it would be tantamount to giving up on conquering the third floor.
Therefore, she dared not leave and could only endure her injuries and deal with the other party.
Fortunately, we won in the end.
However, looking back now, she still feels a dull ache in her internal organs...
"It was precisely because of this unpleasant encounter that when I later encountered the three members of the Shadow Clan, I didn't fight them at all and just gave up."
At that time, the three members of the Amber Clan stood in the center of the main road, surrounded by dilapidated houses and city walls with an "unclimbable" mechanism.
The rabbit girl only glanced at it from afar before feeling a headache coming on.
She had previously seen the three-person team of the Amber Shadow Clan's image on the second floor. Although they were weak at the time and unable to resist the golden phantom, when their projection reached the third floor, the Celestial Realm's power corrected the negative effects of the golden artifacts. At this point, combined with the trio's unparalleled speed and powerful ranged attacks, she felt that she would definitely lose if she didn't use her trump cards.
And the trump card is something you can only use once, as it becomes one less card you have.
Therefore, she ultimately had no choice but to take a detour.
"In short, I basically don't touch these challenger teams. Even the weakest team might be able to turn the tables with the help of gold artifacts." The rabbit girl's tone was somewhat wistful.
Fortunately, the power of the fairy realm did not block all paths—the challenger team could not conceal themselves like the Golden Phantoms, which provided a rare buffer when conquering the third level.
Golden phantoms can conceal themselves. For example, a humanoid phantom will not appear unless you get close; an animal-shaped phantom may hide in the shadows; a plant-shaped phantom may hide in the ground; and bird and insect phantoms are masters of concealment.
In this situation, you have no idea who will be triggered next.
The "Define Area" prompt will only appear when you step into the other party's hunting circle.
This is a characteristic of the Golden Phantom.
The Challenger Squad is different; they don't hide and usually wander on the main roads, making them easy to spot.
As long as you have a way to bypass them, you can completely avoid them.
However, not all challenger teams can avoid it.
"I fought my way to the palace," the rabbit girl paused before whispering, "and then, I pushed open that faded golden door..."
At that time, she fought her way through countless obstacles, defeating countless golden phantoms, and finally arrived at the palace.
She even thought at one point that she had already completed the game.
But to her surprise, the sight before her as she pushed open the door made her stop abruptly in her tracks—
In mid-air above the palace, a green-skinned woman dressed in a long rose vine dress fanned herself with two huge, drooping leaves hanging from her ears, which resembled wings, allowing her to fly back and forth in the air.
Directly in front of the palace platform stood a grayish-blue stone statue, holding a harp that shimmered with a faint light.
The mournful sound of the zither drifted out, like a lament before battle.
But what she couldn't take her eyes off was the towering figure on the platform.
The man's skin was a cold, dark gold color, like polished metal, with every inch of his skin exuding a hard texture, like a metal statue.
The "statue" holds a slender flute in its hand, the flute being the same color as its skin, and like the harp in the hand of another statue, it also gleams with an unusually bright luster.
But what's most striking is its chest, where the skin around the heart is peeled off like sheet metal, revealing the metal heart pounding inside the chest cavity.
At one end of this metal heart, which is connected by a large number of gelatinous blood vessels, a porcelain-white baby's hand gently grasps the edge of the heart.
Seeing this, the rabbit girl already knew the identities of the people in front of her.
They are the challengers of the Singers and the Yusen clan—the Singers Squad!