I have to vent. Today, for once, my mood was excellent, and I was planning on releasing six chapters. Damn power outage! I had to drag myself all the way into the city just to type. Isn't that just miserable? Isn't it?

...

It’s not just girls who fear creatures like snakes and insects; even many men are terrified of those slimy things, especially when they are clustered together densely. There's a condition called trypophobia... Lin Luo suffers from it.

So, when he saw the mass of snakes, his expression shifted several times. Only when he felt the trembling body of the girl in his arms did he manage to force himself to calm down. He patted her back, smiling reassuringly, "Don't worry. No matter how many snakes there are, they can't fly up to the sky. It's fine."

"Mhm." Although Shifū couldn't entirely suppress her fear, hearing Lin Luo say that made her nod to show she felt reassured. However, when her gaze landed on Lin Luo's arm, her expression drastically changed, and she gasped, "Your arm—"

"Hm?" Lin Luo instinctively glanced at his arm and froze. His entire arm, from palm to shoulder, was completely blackened—it looked terrifying.

Hearing Shifū's sharp cry, Mugino instinctively turned her head. Seeing the sight, even her face paled. "This, this is..."

"The snake venom has spread? Such speed. What a terrifying creature," Lin Luo observed his arm, frowning, though there was little panic in his tone.

"You shouldn't have saved me," Shifū suddenly looked at him, her voice full of guilt. If Lin Luo hadn't pulled her away in time, she would have been the one bitten.

Lin Luo shot her a look and chided gently, "What nonsense are you speaking? Should I just stand by and let you get bitten by venomous snakes?"

"But even if I were bitten, I have Healing Arts. But you..." Shifū worried. Her concern was justified, because even if she were bitten, as long as it wasn't fatal, she could be saved. Even if she couldn't be saved, there was the Fourth Space; she could just go in and sleep it off.

But Lin Luo couldn't do that. Setting aside the fact that he couldn't enter the Fourth Space, his Divine Healing Arts, given his early Spirit Rank strength, would consume exponentially more life force than hers, a Level 5. No matter how you looked at it, it was a terrible trade. Moreover, with the threat of other Walkers present, life force was something they absolutely could not waste lightly.

Lin Luo detected the worry in her words and knew what she was thinking. He smiled faintly and said dismissively, "Don't talk foolishly. Operating based purely on profit isn't my style. If I acted that way, I wouldn't have survived this long. Besides, a mere bit of snake venom is no big deal to me."

"How is that possible? Look at your arm—it's completely black!" Shifū remained unconvinced. Although she knew nothing about these venomous snakes, the fact that it turned this way in less than a few seconds meant the poison was certainly lethal. A normal person would probably have been bitten and killed instantly.

"I said I'm fine, so stop overthinking things," Lin Luo stated firmly. This wasn't an empty boast. Although he felt the potency of the venom—capable of instantly killing not just people but even elephants, perhaps something even a peak Human Rank expert couldn't resist—it truly wasn't a major issue for him, because... he hadn't been human for a long time.

Having been drained by Black Princess and White Princess, although he hadn't fully turned into a Dead Apostle, he possessed most of the inherent powers of a Dead Apostle, though he couldn't use most of them. The most obvious change was his physical constitution, which had fundamentally transformed. While not exactly immortal, its durability far surpassed that of most Dead Apostles. So... could a dignified Dead Apostle be killed by a snake bite?

That was simply a joke.

He knew his body better than anyone. Lin Luo smiled, choosing not to explain. Even if he did nothing, the toxins would soon be "slain" by the Dead Apostle energy within him.

Of course, being black as charcoal was certainly unsightly.

"Don't dwell on it; it's just superficial damage. This isn't your fault, and saving you was what I ought to do," Lin Luo reassured her with a smile full of confidence.

Hearing this, Shifū, though still holding a trace of apology, felt somewhat relieved. After all, no one jokes about their own life.

At that moment, Mugino Shari turned her gaze to Lin Luo, then pointed at the snake swarm below and asked, "What do we do now? About these venomous snakes?"

Lin Luo frowned in thought and replied, "Hmm... tens of thousands of venomous snakes suddenly appearing isn't normal. They've probably been following us for a while, calling their friends to surround us, intending to annihilate us in one go. They're quite intelligent, actually."

Mugino was speechless. She was asking how to deal with the snakes, not expecting Lin Luo to compliment them. She couldn't quite keep up with his thought process. Sighing inwardly, she asked in a low voice, "Could they be controlled by another Walker? I remember you mentioning a Walker who could summon magical beasts."

"Probably not," Lin Luo shook his head. First, Liu Ziwen was already dead. Second, summoning tens of thousands of venomous snakes wasn't something easily accomplished, and their utility wouldn't be that high. They were slightly better for surprise attacks, but once detected, they posed no real threat to anyone capable of flight.

"They're likely just wild animals, similar to dragons, purely seeing us as food," Lin Luo speculated. Then he waved his hand, looking unconcerned. "Forget it. Since they can't fly up to the sky anyway, let's just fly away from this grassland. We probably unknowingly stepped into their territory earlier."

"That's fine," Mugino nodded. Although she wasn't afraid of these snakes with her own power, the sheer number was terrifying. Even if they killed them, their arms would ache from the effort. Besides, she was a girl and truly didn't want to deal with these things.

"Then let's go and see if we can find another region." With that, Lin Luo vanished from his spot with Shifū, instantly reappearing a dozen meters ahead in the air.

Although the five percent rule wasn't overwhelmingly strong, it was more than enough to execute instantaneous movement and pave a path in the air. As for Mugino, it was even easier; with a flap of her black wings, her speed was in no way slower than Lin Luo's.

After flying for over an hour, the trio, plus a small ABER, finally arrived at a forest that appeared quite secluded. By this time, the injury on Lin Luo's arm had completely healed, which finally put Shifū at ease.

"Ah, a brand-new environment. Not bad, not bad. Much better than that snake-infested grassland," Lin Luo said appreciatively upon landing from the air, then turned to the two beside him, "I think I miscalculated something regarding the natives."

"What?" Both were startled, and even the small ABER perched on Lin Luo's head looked at him curiously.

"It's about the indigenous people."

"What do you mean?" They looked puzzled.

"Think about it. The condition for winning this war is killing the other seven Walkers or driving them out of this world, right? But after sensing the world just now, I realized how vast this place is. If one person manages to hide away secretly, what are the others supposed to do? Even if I perfectly decipher one hundred percent of the rules, I can't possibly locate one person within this vast universe."

Seeing their continuing confusion, Lin Luo pressed on, "Think about the plots in games and manga. Whether it's a hero defeating a Demon King, a knight slaying a great dragon, or anything else—what's the most important thing?"

"Hmm, probably strength," Shifū suggested.

Lin Luo shook his head and chuckled, "Wrong. The most important thing is the map."

"Map?" Both were thoroughly bewildered.

"The Demon King's castle, the Dragon's Lair, the Graveyard of the Undead. Do you get my meaning now?"

"You mean..." Their eyes suddenly lit up.

"Bingo," Lin Luo snapped his fingers. "Just like in a game, the battlefield for this Divine War must have one crucial map—a place where all the Walkers are destined to go, or perhaps compelled to go, or it would violate the rules of the Divine War."

"But we haven't received any such notification," Shifū said doubtfully.

"We certainly haven't received that information, but where are we going now?" Lin Luo countered with a smile.

"We are going to find the other Hosts... Ah!" At this point, the two finally understood.

"Exactly. I initially assumed the other three Hosts were also transported from other worlds like us, but now I'm certain that at least one of those three is a native of this world. That is the place we must find, and it's also the place the other Walkers are looking for," Lin Luo stated confidently.

Mugino said gravely, "In other words, the Divine War has altered this world, centering around that Host."

Lin Luo nodded. "Precisely. If my initial deduction holds—that the Divine War won't cause massive societal disruption to humanity—then this world only has that Host, or perhaps a few people. In that case, she was already a participant in the Divine War, so no matter how much the world changes, it's irrelevant to her."

"So, our current mission is to find this world's... original owner," Lin Luo gazed into the distance, stating firmly.

...

Somewhere in this world stood a massive castle, surrounded by countless towering stone pillars. On the highest spire at the castle's center, a young girl stood looking out.

The strong wind whipped her black hair, causing her clothes to snap loudly. The girl gazed fixedly into the distance, unmoving.

Suddenly, a long sword materialized in the girl's right hand. She drew the blade halfway from its sheath and pointed it sharply forward.

"Come forth, all you wicked demons! I shall await you here."