Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

[Defender Captain]

[Tier: Embers]

[Level: 13]

[Explanation: Though its Fire of Life has been Extinguished, it still faithfully carries out the orders it received in life.]

[Exiled Prisoners]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Level: 5]

[Explanation: The island’s captives. Before they became like this, all they felt was terror and unease.]

’What in the world is going on here...’

Li Miao frowned. He didn’t act rashly, instead observing the camp’s surroundings more closely.

At the port, the massive prow of a ship emerged from the darkness. The sound of the horn came from there.

Inside the camp, aside from the Defender Captain and patrolling Soldiers in the center, several other Soldiers holding bows and arrows stood by the rocks in the corners.

Near the side of the camp closer to the mountain cliff face, there was a large, incredibly heavy-looking iron gate.

Other than that, there was the tunnel entrance opposite Li Miao, which likely continued to circle the island.

It seemed there was nothing else of value... wait!

’Is that... a Treasure Chest?’

Upon seeing the large iron chests next to the Exiled Prisoners, Li Miao’s eyes lit up. He could barely restrain the Candlefire Scimitar in his hand.

But in the end, he held back.

’Can’t be impulsive. The mobs here are packed too tightly...’

Only after calming down did he have the mind to consider other things.

’This big iron gate... does it lead to the mines?’

It wasn’t strange for the various paths on a game map to be interconnected.

The tricky part was how to deal with the Gulard Soldiers in the camp before him.

’This doesn’t look like something I can clear out in a short amount of time...’

Although he was curious about what loot these guys would drop, Li Miao hadn’t forgotten his main mission: to explore the entire island.

Compared to that, killing monsters for treasure was secondary. There would be plenty of time for that later.

The key problem, however, was that the camp in front of him didn’t look like it could be easily passed.

’Screw it, I’ll just make a run for it.’

After a glance at the time, Li Miao decided to just go for it.

If he kept playing it safe, he wouldn’t run into trouble, but at this rate, forget exploring the whole map in one night—he’d be lucky to even finish one of the three paths.

So, Li Miao quickly made his decision.

Before sprinting, however, he still stored some of his more valuable weapons and equipment in the Spirit Candle, just in case something unexpected happened and he couldn’t retrieve them.

Once he was ready, Li Miao took a deep breath, activated Warfire, and broke into a fierce sprint, dashing toward the tunnel entrance on the opposite side.

WHOOSH—

A gust of wind howled past.

Hm?

Seeing this, the fallen Gulard Soldiers in the camp immediately moved closer to investigate the source of the sound, but found nothing.

’Whew... These grunts are pretty blind, haha.’

Inside the tunnel on the other side of the camp, Li Miao caught his breath.

’My beloved Treasure Chest, you just wait. I’ll be back for you soon!’

After a lingering, reluctant glance at the large iron chest, Li Miao continued his advance around the island.

As he proceeded, Li Miao encountered several more patrol squads, but he dealt with them all easily.

After advancing for some time, Li Miao felt like he had almost run a full circle around the island.

At the same time, he lit a new Milestone Spirit Candle at a gap in a stone wall.

Next, Li Miao arrived at another coastal camp, similar to the one before.

This time, however, the large iron gate at the base of the cliff was wide open.

But the scene he witnessed this time was completely different from what he had seen before...

[Riot Leader]

[Tier: Embers]

[Level: 11]

[Explanation: Resist! Escape! These are the only thoughts in its mind...]

WHOOSH—

The tall Riot Leader, whose flesh was as withered as a dried corpse, raised a hand wrapped in Banners. Its lips buzzed as it summoned a ball of yellow light and fiercely attacked the Defender Captain in the camp.

The Defender Captain raised his Long Shield to face the Attack.

After a muffled THUD, the Defender Captain staggered back several steps. His Long Shield was dented, but he was otherwise unharmed. He then raised his Longsword, pointed it at the Exiled Prisoner, and let out a guttural roar.

All around them, Gulard Soldiers and Exiled Prisoners were locked in a chaotic melee.

The Exiled Prisoners, armed with mining pickaxes, desperately fought back against the Gulard Soldiers.

However, facing the well-armed and well-trained Gulard Soldiers, the Exiled Prisoners were at a clear disadvantage. While it wasn’t a completely one-sided slaughter, one could only call it a desperate last stand.

”ROAR—”

As Li Miao watched, the Defender Captain suddenly let out a hoarse roar. He planted his Shield in front of him, dragged his Longsword along the ground, and then abruptly swung it upward, unleashing a sharp, white wave of Sword Qi!

’The hell?’

’This Defender Captain is an Elite Monster at best, right? Since when do they have moves this cool?’

The sharp Sword Qi shot out, and the Riot Leader, unable to dodge in time, was instantly struck and knocked to the ground, appearing to be Severely Injured.

Yet, even so, it continued to crawl laboriously toward the edge of Exile Island.

But the Defender Captain clearly wasn’t going to give it that chance.

The captain quickly strode forward, raised the Greatsword in his hands, and brought it down in a vicious chop!

The Riot Leader was coldly and mercilessly beheaded, dissolving into a puff of Ashes.

With its death, what little morale the other rioting prisoners had completely collapsed. Coupled with the Defender Captain’s intervention, the battlefield devolved into a total, one-sided slaughter.

Before long, the Defender Captain sheathed his Greatsword and stood motionless like a statue. The camp fell silent once more.

But, not much time passed before the large iron gate was thrown open with a BANG.

Led by the Riot Leader, a new group of rioting prisoners appeared, surging menacingly toward the coastal camp.

The Defender Captain let out another hoarse roar, and a squad of Gulard Soldiers joined the encirclement and annihilation of the prisoners.

It was... an endless cycle of Reincarnation.

But that obviously wasn’t what Li Miao was focused on.

’Why do these Gulard Soldiers look perfectly fine, while the prisoners look like dried-up corpses?’

’Working 9-9-6 in the mines? Is this what happens when you’re exploited too hard?’

Li Miao scratched his head.

Then he shrugged, deciding not to dwell on the question.

After spotting an opportunity, he once again sprinted through the coastal camp amidst the chaos, reaching the tunnel on the other side.

After advancing for a little while, he saw the entrance to a mine shaft up ahead.

This mine entrance looked rather familiar...

Puzzled, Li Miao took a couple of steps forward and looked around. He then saw the shore where he had first landed on Exile Island.

The Milestone Spirit Candle was burning quietly.

He’d come full circle.

He hadn’t noticed this side of the tunnel at first because it was more deeply obscured by rocks.

It really was a circular route around the island. The outer tunnels were filled with patrolling Gulard Soldiers and coastal camps!

This was an island guarded by the Gulard Army.