Dual Locks, Shared Purpose

“General Pieres, the Dragon God’s Palace!” A sudden disturbance erupted, and the Dragon Clan’s countenances immediately changed. “Now, with His Majesty gravely injured, and Elder Thorog assisting in his recovery, while you, I, and the Dragon God Guards are all here, the Palace’s defenses are alarmingly weak!”

Pieres glared at the Papal Curia forces across the lake, deliberating for a moment. “His Majesty’s safety transcends all other concerns! I shall immediately lead three hundred Dragon God Guards back. You, keep watch over the Papal Curia. Should they make any move, do not await orders—engage them at once!”

Almost instantly, the Dragon Clan’s grand army split into two detachments, the majority soaring towards the northern palace.

On the other side, the Battle God of War, witnessing the escalating situation, exclaimed with urgency, “Dean Zigurd, with only two hundred Dragon God Guards remaining, they cannot possibly withstand our army! Let us seize the sacred artifact directly; after all, justice is on our side!”

Zigurd let out a heavy scoff. “What kind of Battle God exploits another’s misfortune? If I were to descend now and snatch the sacred artifact, how would I differ from a common bandit or brigand? Since we’ve agreed to discuss this tomorrow, let us resolve it at the negotiation table!”

Bairu added, “Unwise! With the Dragon God’s Palace in turmoil, the Dragon Clan’s first suspicion will undoubtedly fall upon our Holy Church. If we were to strike now, wouldn’t it undeniably confirm the accusation: ‘manufacturing chaos, diverting the Sacred Dragon, and opportunistically seizing the sacred artifact’?”

The Battle God of War thumped his chest. “My apologies, I spoke without thinking! But what is that? Dean Zigurd, look! That shimmering water light in the sky… it bears an uncanny resemblance to the thief who raided the Aqua Envoys’ Camp a few days ago!”

Zigurd had not participated in that pursuit—Bairu had deliberately sent him away after discovering the ‘Young Girl at Sunset’ inscription. Thus, Zigurd, though currently the most powerful and closest to Deboning, and therefore most likely to discern the illusion of the water light, had no basis for judgment!

The old man, without hesitation, issued a booming command, his voice carrying far and wide, clearly audible to the Dragon Clan across the lake and the Divine Envoys on the west bank! “Black Armored Guard, heed my command! The thief from days past has appeared! Immediately dispatch two thousand men to pursue! Furthermore, inform my brother, Pontiff Sama!”

That venerable old man was truly endearing! At least, that’s what Du Chen thought… and just like that, the number of guardians at Moon Lake dwindled by another two thousand!

A Divine Envoy immediately cried out, “The thief has appeared, Sister! That cursed thief has appeared again!”

Donna urged, “I’ll maintain watch here. My three sisters, go swiftly and slay that wretched thief, and retrieve the Divine Domain Map!” She then turned and shouted to both the Dragon Clan and the Papal Curia, “Did you all hear that? The thief who stole my sacred artifact from your territory has appeared! You promised my God you would capture him! Hurry, or my God will not forgive your transgressions!”

Zigurd had already dispatched his men, while the sole remaining Sacred Dragon of the Dragon Clan by Moon Lake hesitated for a moment before responding, “Divine Envoy Donna, that thief has appeared in the direction of our Dragon God’s Palace. Doubtless, the Palace guards have already discovered and are pursuing him. We… shall not interfere!”

“You! You’ll regret this!” Donna stamped her foot in frustration, helpless against the Dragon Clan. She then remained to guard Moon Lake herself, sending the other three to pursue.

…

“‘Do you know the difference between a King of Rogues and a petty thief? Skill? That’s merely one aspect! A true master thief is a perfect tactician, utilizing every situation and mobilizing all resources to achieve the ultimate objective!’” Du Chen silently recited this mantra from his former life’s Rogue Sect master, his gaze sweeping across the scene.

Deboning’s slight diversion had already reduced Moon Lake’s defenses by more than half!

At this moment, the situation at Moon Lake was thus: On the south bank, Zigurd commanded two thousand men. The Battle God of War and Bairu had gone off chasing the thief with another two thousand. Across the lake, the Dragon Clan had only one Sacred Dragon and two hundred Dragon God Guards remaining. The east bank, never heavily guarded, now held only a few hidden sentries. On the west bank, from the Aqua faction, only Donna remained! Having lost the Cloud Banner, Donna was now half a realm weaker than Du Chen’s true strength! As for Du Chen, his fingers were adorned with various lockpicking tools, and in his palm, he gripped the Fire Lotus Lantern—the very one that had crippled the Dragon God mere hours ago! He clung to the back of Donna’s robes, unnoticed as a phantom.

“Phase one succeeded perfectly. Now, for phase two!”

Du Chen aimed the Fire Lotus Lantern’s head at Donna’s lower back, but the faint flame upon it flickered and died!

A mischievous thought crossed his mind. “Dus once said Old Eight specializes in enhancing instantaneous explosive power, but I’ve never truly tested it! Today, I’ll christen it with Donna!”

Du Chen gripped the Fire Lotus Lantern’s base, slowly channeling his Primordial Spirit, inner strength, battle qi… all into the lotus lantern, then, with a decisive thrust, pushed it towards Donna’s lower back…

…

Zigurd and the remaining Sacred Dragon of the Dragon Clan stood in tense confrontation, occasionally listening to the chaotic sounds of the thief’s pursuit in the distance.

“That thief is incredibly fast! You, block him from the east!”

“The Papal Curia is here too? Bairu, listen well! We are all here to capture the thief. Let’s maintain our boundaries and cooperate; we’ll blockade the west, you pursue from the east!”

“Pieres, order your troops to clear a path! Rest assured, we are only here to capture the thief; we will not set foot within your forbidden Dragon God’s Palace!”

“Ah!”

Old Man Zigurd suddenly heard a woman’s shriek! Loud and hoarse, as if a woman had suffered a grave injury! Following this, he saw Donna from the west bank plunge headfirst towards…

Donna was suddenly ambushed, facing an immediate threat to her life. Without a moment’s thought, driven purely by instinct, she flew forward in escape—she couldn’t even try to flee backward, for a massive force was propelling her irresistibly onward! But what lay ahead? Moon Lake, a forbidden zone, where anyone entering before negotiations were complete was to be executed without question! Donna, against her will, entered the forbidden Moon Lake, drawing closer to the new sacred artifact!

The Sacred Dragon of the Dragon Clan was the first to roar, “Divine Envoy Donna, halt your steps… Damn it!? Prevent Donna from entering Moon Lake!” Hundreds of dragons soared into Moon Lake!

Zigurd’s brow furrowed. He waved his hand, commanding his army, “Do not act rashly! Third squad, ascertain why Donna screamed. Second squad, enter Moon Lake and protect the sacred artifact. Ensure its safety at all costs! Spare no expense!”

The Holy Church’s forces also surged into Moon Lake!

…

The Moon Lake, moments ago deserted and barren, was, at this instant, plunged into fleeting chaos!

In the precise moment Donna’s scream drew everyone’s attention, Du Chen, controlling his Lotus, hugged the ground, flying into the forbidden Moon Lake at his utmost speed. His target, naturally, was the new sacred artifact, capable of making the Golden Circlet of the Divine and the Dragon God’s Scepter hum in subservience! All his tools were already prepared on his fingers!

Amidst the Moon Lake’s chaos, a lotus, no larger than a mosquito, effortlessly evaded all attention, approaching the new sacred artifact—disk-shaped, black and silver, adorned with a crossed blade-axe motif, its lower end connected to a rock by an iron rod!

Circling the sacred artifact once, Du Chen mused, “It’s a Twenty-four-core lock! The keyholes are on the blade-axe carvings on the disk, but… something feels off!”

He had discovered a peculiar anomaly with this new sacred artifact! Du’s Sacred Artifact Theory posited: the higher the grade of a sacred artifact lock, the more intricate its core mechanism! Zigurd’s Ninth-rank Cloud Mist Chains possessed an ‘Eighteen-core lock’ mechanism, and the Tenth-rank Aqua Cloud Banner boasted a ‘Twenty-four-core lock’ mechanism! Thus, by conventional reasoning, this new sacred artifact ought to be of an even higher grade than a ‘Twenty-four-core lock’ to command the reverence of a Tenth-rank sacred artifact. Yet, why did it appear to have only the ‘Twenty-four-core lock’ sophistication of a Tenth-rank artifact!?

Time was pressing. Du Chen had no leisure for prolonged contemplation. After all, the Moon Lake guards were no fools. After the initial chaos subsided, once they realized Donna wasn’t actively provoking, but had been forced into Moon Lake, sparking the disturbance, their first assumption would certainly be: whoever caused this, whoever they attacked, their ultimate target must be the new sacred artifact! Therefore, Du Chen could only utilize the first few seconds of pandemonium and his ‘blink-of-an-eye lockpicking’ ability to claim the sacred artifact. Even half a second’s delay, giving Zigurd and the others time to react, would spell utter disaster for him!

His hands, extending from the lotus, opened the sacred artifact lock almost in the blink of an eye! *Click!* That familiar, subtle snap informed Du Chen of his success!

He reached out to retrieve the sacred artifact, but… it didn’t budge! It remained an unmastered sacred artifact, utterly unyielding to Du Chen’s methods, refusing to acknowledge him as its master!

“Damn it, a Twenty-four-core lock is such a straightforward mechanism, there’s no way I could have miscalculated!” A sudden jolt went through Du Chen’s heart! Unwilling to give up, he moved closer to inspect.

Indeed! The sacred artifact lock had been breached, yet its artifact spirit had not acknowledged mastery!

“How could this be!?”

Du Chen’s fingers trembled. His gaze swept over the new sacred artifact, finally resting on the iron rod, part of which remained deeply embedded in the rock!

“Could it be Dual Locks, Shared Purpose again? Damn it, it must be! This sacred artifact possesses two sacred artifact locks, but the other is buried within the rock! Just like the Blade of Vanishing Moon’s Deadwater I crafted for Deboning, both locks must be opened simultaneously to fully unlock this sacred artifact!”

The new sacred artifact was, as suspected, of a higher grade than Tenth-rank! While a Tenth-rank sacred artifact might feature a ‘Twenty-four-core lock’ mechanism, regardless of the core count, it would still fall within the scope of a single sacred artifact lock. Yet, this new sacred artifact—it must have two locks! It simply had to!

To fully unravel this sacred artifact, he needed to see its other part, buried deep within the rock! But this rock was so resilient that even Deboning couldn’t shatter it. How could Du Chen possibly extract the sacred artifact and simultaneously open two locks within the mere seconds of initial chaos!?

At this moment, Du Chen heard Donna’s loud declaration, “Don’t mistake me! I wasn’t faking an attack to exploit the situation and get close to the sacred artifact! I was genuinely ambushed!”

There was no more time. If he didn’t seize this sacred artifact tonight, he would never get another chance! For tomorrow was the designated time for negotiations regarding the sacred artifact’s ownership!

Du Chen gritted his teeth. “Damn it! I’ve never failed in my life, and I won’t start today! Fortune favors the bold, and triumph is forged in peril! I’m staking everything!”