My Salvation Game Became true?!.
Chapter 272 - 250 The City of Sword Flower, Matissa (Request for Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 272: Chapter 250 The City of Sword Flower, Matissa (Request for Monthly Ticket)

Under the scattering light of the torch and the oil lamp, the gray fog thinned considerably, and the newcomer stopped her steps dozens of meters away.

With an oil lamp in one hand and a slender sword in the other, her silver battle boots trod upon the cracked earth. Above, she wore a white fitted battle dress adorned with patterns of swords and roses, among other designs. Her dark red hair cascaded down to her waist, with her locks and clothing both embellished with delicate accessories.

The sight exuded nobility and magnificence.

Even in the Ghastly Realm, though her attire was somewhat tattered and dusty, she still made every effort to maintain her elegance and dignity.

That was the first thought that surfaced in Anna’s mind upon seeing her.

Because, sometimes, Anna also made an effort to maintain some elegance and dignity... as long as it did not affect combat and training.

While Anna and her companions observed, Matissa, who carried the oil lamp, was also cautiously scrutinizing the few people in front of her.

The four girls all dressed in the same style of uniform. Judging from their attire, this world possessed rather commendable equipment crafting ability, capable of creating Awakening armor, which was definitely top-tier in the realm of newcomers.

Why certain it was Awakening armor?

Because their robes, despite some damage, were largely intact. If it was ordinary clothing, it would have been more likely to be left in tatters after an attack from Mysterious Evil.

Moreover, they carried torches to disperse the gray fog, which strongly suggested they were human.

Not minions of the Evil God.

Upon this realization, Matissa hesitated only briefly before stepping forward and placing her hand on her chest.

"Greetings to you, unswallowed by the world, I am Matissa from the city of Sword Flower."

The city of Sword Flower was a large Oasis.

It was a revered power among the Oasis forces. The reason for her presence here would be a long story.

The full name of the city was Sword, War Song, and Rose City, home to the three major academies: the Sword Academy, War Song Academy, and Rose Academy.

The academies were the rulers of the city of Sword Flower.

Matissa was born in the Rose Academy and stood out among its members. She was an elite of the city of Sword Flower, having been assigned the mission to explore this newly discovered world and make contact with the local forces.

And to offer help to this world depending on the situation.

However, during her descent into the target world, a little mishap occurred. Instead of landing within Blue Star, she ended up on its dark side, on the upper reaches of the Ghastly Realm.

And thus began her miserable existence.

After searching around for half a day, she finally encountered humans from Blue Star, and Matissa seemed to be holding back tears of relief.

She expressed her hope to travel with the squad for a while.

In doing so, she would also represent the city of Sword Flower, bringing win-win cooperation to Blue Star.

After hearing her story, Shi Yunxi and Perrie exchanged glances and communicated silently with eye contact and mouthed words.

"What do you think, do you find her story believable?"

The woman in front of them had shared a considerable amount of information. When talking about the Oasis and the large Oasis, Shi Yunxi did not interrupt and quietly listened to Matissa’s story.

Perrie and Anna might not be clear about these, but she understood. She had even seen information on the force known as ’the city of Sword Flower’ in confidential intelligence documents.

What Matissa spoke of was not much different.

But it didn’t mean that everything else she said was true, nor could it be proven that she was a person from the city of Sword Flower.

After pondering for a while, Shi Yunxi stepped forward and spoke in Dong Huang language, "Alright, but there will have to be some small conditions for exchange."

This was her considered decision.

To bring this person back to camp.

Without them, Matissa would still stealthily follow, and for this four-person squad to shake off a skilled person capable of traversing the Ghastly Realm would be very difficult.

As for the other option, Shi Yunxi wouldn’t do that, as it didn’t align with the principles of Flame.

...

...

Shrouded by the gray fog, in the desolate and silent path, the one who now led the team was Matissa from the city of Sword Flower.

That was the condition of companionship.

Matissa, having gotten nowhere with her sorrowful act, could only carry the oil lamp and sword, walking at the forefront of the group.

The oil lamp diffused a pale orange glow, scattering the surrounding gray fog and driving away the nearby Mysterious Evil.

Shi Yunxi noticed that along the way, there seemed to be fewer encounters with Mysterious Evil, and the fog appeared sparser too.

"Is it the effect of the oil lamp?"

"It seems more effective than the bright torches?"

As she pondered, she remained guarded, observing every action of Matissa.

She found that the girl from the city of Sword Flower was most frequently... adjusting her appearance.

Shi Yunxi: "???"

She was puzzled. Was this behavior carried out with some special purpose? But she was someone who generally considered things thoroughly and would not directly ask.

As she contemplated the various possibilities, Perrie spoke up, "Miss Matissa, does appearance have anything to do with combat ability? Is there some kind of mysterious ritual where the more extravagant the clothes, the stronger the combat power?"

Perrie watched intently, her eyes sparkling.

On hearing this question, Matissa was momentarily taken aback, then replied after a pause, "Not at all."

She brushed off the dust that had settled on her and tidied her hair slightly before continuing, "If anything, it serves no practical purpose other than being more troublesome."

"Then why do you still...?"

"Care so much about appearance, right? Because that’s the philosophy of the city of Sword Flower. Elegance is both the principle and aspiration of Sword Flower people," she explained.

Her lips curved into a gentle smile, both elegant and sweet, as she turned to look at Perrie and the others, "You might find it strange, but if we forget elegance, forget human decorum, and become barbaric and bloodthirsty despite being powerful, then what difference is there between us and the followers of the Evil God in the Heretical Cult?"

Perrie fell into deep thought.

Although she was aware that this was definitely twisted logic, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some sense to it.

Strange...

...

With Matissa’s combat power added to the team and the lantern in her hands, navigating through the dilapidated city had become simpler.

Just like when they had arrived, the ’radar’ in Shi Yunxi’s mind would occasionally give out prompts.

Following the prompted coordinates, she led the team around detours, lightly leveraging Matissa’s combat power. They had now picked up the seventh return-trip material.

Watching Anna kneel down and deftly harvest a plant of Hades Grass, placing it into a specially made container, Matissa started losing her composure.

"How come, you’ve found another treasure?"

"And it’s a third-grade special plant!"

In a world that had just appeared and was newly linked to the Ghastly Realm, there would certainly be many mysterious materials, but certainly not to the extent that one could be picked up every few steps.

This wasn’t exploring the Ghastly Realm, this was... this was like picking up money!

Yes, they were picking up money, and of course, Anna knew it, still she adopted an innocent expression with the poise of an actress, "Aren’t these all normal operations? Don’t you do the same when you explore the Ghastly Realm?"

Matissa: "..."

As she followed the team, she had yet to see the secret zone. Instead, she was bombarded along the way.

One item, two items, three items... The Blue Star humans, as if they had opened the divine eye, were picking up money all the way, all of which had nothing to do with her.

This was even more exhausting than the previous battle with Mysterious Evil.

And, they hadn’t yet reached the secret zone.

The distance these Blue Star humans had covered was way too far!

Matissa murmured to herself and suddenly paused, gripping the sword in her hand tightly.

Her extensive experience in the Ghastly Realm told her, "Something’s off, the Mysterious Evil that just appeared is somewhat peculiar!"

Though Shi Yunxi’s experience and knowledge of traversing the Ghastly Realm paled in comparison to Matissa’s, her intuition as an expert also caused her hairs to stand on end, sensing imminent danger.

She looked toward Cen Jing.

Cen Jing had already closed her eyes, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead. "There are unusual creatures, no, not creatures, humans. They have merged into the grey fog... they are the minions of the Evil God!"

Bang—

Glass shattered as black-robed figures leaped down from a building several stories high, their nails elongating like two crimson blades.

Sparks flew as the blades clashed with diamonds.

Anna manifested flames in her hands, but a figure dashed out of the fog, the blade aiming straight for her face.

In that critical moment, Matissa wielded her sword with a light flick, deflecting the crimson blade, and in an instant, she thrusted several times, blooming bursts of blood on the black-robed figure.

"It’s... it’s a follower of the Crimson Moon Cult!"

These cultists had exceptionally strong vitality. Matissa had struck several blows, yet the opponent seemed unbothered, the wounds beneath the tattered grey robes writhing and rapidly healing.

More cultists began appearing around them, and the noise of the battle attracted more Mysterious Evils.

Things were getting worse.

In the eyes of Mysterious Evils, they were delicious food, lunging one after another, but cultists, under normal circumstances, could not command Mysterious Evils, nor would they be attacked, being treated as kindred instead.

Matissa dispatched a two-star Mysterious Evil with a single sword stroke, no longer able to maintain her elegance. Her white attire was somewhat torn, her forehead sweaty, with strands of hair sticking to it.

Her chest heaved as she gasped for air.

"This is bad, really bad."

She, a pioneering Sword Flower from Rose Academy, an elite with the potential for Superhuman Rank, was she really going to die here without clear reason?

They not only faced the attacks of six or seven third-awakening cultists but also had to deal with more and more Mysterious Evils. Additionally, they had to protect their lantern and torch, or else they would be swarmed and torn apart by Mysterious Evils.

All of these were unfavorable conditions.

Matissa saw no glimmer of hope for a breakout.

The powerful humans of Blue Star? She dared not even hope for that.

In a world that had just connected to the Ghastly Realm, how could there possibly be special treasures for preserving life!

Matissa just gritted her teeth and resisted, hoping to somehow fight their way out.

At that moment,

The attack of the black-robed cultists briefly paused, and a figure clad in dark crimson armor and wielding a broadsword slowly walked out from within the grey fog.

Matissa’s teeth chattered.

What kind of ghastly predicament was this!

She heard Shi Yunxi, the powerful Blue Star human, also let out a sigh.

It was filled with reluctance, pity, despair.

Indeed, it was despair.

Huh?!

A ring of light suddenly appeared, its azure brilliance enveloping the bodies of the group.

The next instant, the streaming light vanished with a whoosh.

Matissa could barely hear the armored man’s roar before everything whirled around her. When she came to her senses, she landed on the ground with a "plop," exclaiming "Yah" out loud.