T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 79, Section 78: The Swamp Banshee
Time ticked by, and as the launch time approached, the virtual and real worlds, having confirmed their respective environments, fell into a deep sleep.

Mint is still teaching the dolls how to make potions. With her help, the guild's potion recipe list has been expanded to include three new potions. Each of them has Mint's name as a suffix in its item description, indicating that it is the result of her improvements.

Jiang Heyi's initial nervousness subsided when he saw the guild operating in an orderly manner.

Before Mint could say anything to everyone, the main competition required early entry, so the guiding light pillar only allowed them to stay for less than 10 seconds before they were teleported to the preparation room.

Mint was surprised and a little disappointed, but then a smile appeared on her face as she thought of something.

"We have to win, everyone."

The main tournament used a completely new map, [Lost Ruins], which was different from the preliminary rounds.

The overall size is slightly larger than the maps in the preliminary selection stage. According to the introduction of Flame Sparrow, the types of monsters, adventures, guides and other resources are also more abundant than before.

However, players will be more likely to experience the feeling of "hunger" during the main tournament.

The spawn point is still completely random, but this time players will know the result in advance.

This also means that players in preparation can choose some professions that are more helpful to the team in the early stages of the game based on the results.

The boundary between reality and illusion has maintained the original lineup. This lineup has gone through 5 rounds of preliminary selection, and everyone is experienced. Unless necessary, Jiang Heyi will not add any variables.

The countdown ended, and they were teleported to a valley in the upper right corner of the map. There was water and lush vegetation around them. The map was set in autumn, and there was plenty of food.

The blanket immediately took up a high position, remaining vigilant.

Apart from Zhong Zemo, everyone else went to the nearby orchard to pick fruit, while he stayed by the stream alone to build a makeshift campfire and use homemade tools to try to cook the first meal for everyone.

After picking the apples, Jiang Heyi ate one immediately.

Seeing that his hunger level hadn't decreased much, he immediately understood what the Flame Sparrow meant by "it's easier to experience hunger."

The feeling of fullness provided by food has decreased compared to before. If you don't eat cooked food regularly, you may become exhausted after just one battle in the later stages of the game.

Food has become a resource that must be fought over.

Upon informing Zhong Zemo of this news, the group quickly changed their strategy, collectively transforming into shameless fishermen, finding the nearest water source, and using explosives to fish.

Zhong Zemo gutted, scaled, and deboned the fresh fish he had collected, and then used charcoal fire and the fire element magic of the Four Primal Bodies to speed up the baking process, producing a batch of dried fish.

Although the feeling of fullness only lasts for 1 hour, the advantage is that there are enough of them, so you can take them out and eat them as you go, without taking up too much space in your backpack.

The bed was still the last to eat. She had already searched the surrounding area using her professional skills, but had not found any trace of the guide.

After examining the map for a while, Jiang Heyi decided not to move towards the center of the map. Before the resource depletion zone refreshed, he decided to do the opposite.

"Walk towards the edge of the map?"

“Yes, we’ll continue with the development-oriented strategy, focusing on securing our rear and racking up some points first.” Jiang Heyi pointed to a depression in the upper right corner. “It looks like there’s a swampy wetland here. Do you remember the Mushishi?”

"Must you spawn a Bug Master in the swamp wetlands?" Jailer Bro scratched his head in astonishment.

"Based on the recordings I've watched, it's not a must-do, but the probability is higher."

Jiang Heyi's time spent at home studying the recordings was not without its benefits. The Star Guides are randomly distributed across the map, and some individuals are randomly assigned to special terrains, where they stay for slightly longer than other guides.

The [Demon Suppressor] is so good, I've used it once and will never forget it.

As the main competition progressed, the Chinese server's event operations team officially invited commentators, most of whom were well-known figures from other games on the Chinese server. However, many of them were unable to enter the game due to not winning the equipment and could only watch video clips to satisfy their curiosity.

Upon learning that becoming an official commentator would entitle one to free equipment, applications poured in.

Players can switch between different world bubbles to find their favorite commentators and watch the game.

"Ah, okay, the match has started... Oh, I forgot to mention..."

"Welcome everyone to the first round of the Round of 60 in the first World Championship of Proof of Stars. I'm your commentator, Niu Dongdong. Who are you?"

"Check the time? Oh, no need to check it, it's fine then."

"They cut to the outer edge of the map at the start of the game, which is their guild's old trick. They will definitely cut to the outer edge as soon as they get close to the corner of the map."

Viewers with a god-like perspective also noticed that many guilds made the same decision. Their spawn points were right next to the edge of the map, so after a brief search, they started moving in the opposite direction.

The representative of this type of development-focused guild is, of course, the boundary between virtual and real.

As one of the most dazzling guilds during the preliminary selection stage, their videos were also repeatedly watched and studied during this period.

"But speaking of which, why do I always manage to spawn at such good spawn points where I can cut off the outer corner and protect my backline when I'm on the boundary between reality and illusion?"

"And it seems like there aren't many guilds near the spawn points they visit."

Commentator Niu Dongdong was clearly reading the players' comments in the World Bubble: "Good luck... that really is good luck. Flavored Orange Tea, right? 3 rainbows, 2 golds, 2 reds. Can anyone break this record in a short time?"

After successfully reaching the edge of the map and confirming that the surroundings were safe, they immediately headed towards the swamp wetlands, advancing at an extremely fast pace.

Because of its highly specific and concise delivery, many commentators focused their attention on this point.

"Stop!"

Orange Tea suddenly grabbed Jiang Heyi, who was standing in front of her.

Everyone immediately went on alert, nervously looking around. "What's wrong?" Jiang Heyi asked.

"The revelation says... there are very powerful monsters nearby."

The boundary between reality and illusion has entered the swamp area. The ground underfoot is slippery and muddy, and the sticky feeling when walking is very strong, as if stepping in melted chocolate sauce.

The area is shrouded in mist, and a heat source, perhaps from somewhere, causes white steam to rise from the swamp, which is full of decaying matter, while waves of heat roll in.

They waited quietly in place, looking around for a long time. In this place where life was scarce, they could not hear a single strange sound, and there was nothing unusual in sight. Their magical senses were also completely normal.

Jiang Heyi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Be careful"

He and the original-flavor fries shouted in unison, pushing aside the jailer and the orange tea drinker next to them.

Mud flew everywhere, and a huge head burst out of the ground, its wide tentacles pressing down on the immobile Zhong Zemo as if the sky were falling.

Zhong Zemo was terrified. The [Protection of the Flawless] was triggered, and he raised his enhanced shield high above his head, trying to withstand this earth-shattering blow.

The ground beneath his feet was soft, and with the heavy blow, Zhong Zemo sank into it and disappeared without a trace.

Sensing danger, Jiang Heyi immediately jumped out of the attack range and saw the monster's appearance clearly.

The monster has the upper body of a human and the lower body of a brachiopod like an octopus.

Her tan body resembled the decaying color of the swamp, and her body shimmered with an eerie, half-black, half-white glow, making her beautiful and alluring face resemble that of a demon.

With a stealth power far greater than that of the mud worm, Jiang Heyi only sensed her presence from the leaking magical aura at the very last second before she launched her attack.

"Swamp Banshee".

Jiang Heyi gave this strange-looking monster an awkward name on the spot.

The stagnant, putrid water in the swamp gushed forth, turning into trickles that flowed into the swamp slug's body, making the black and white light emanating from her skin even more dazzling.

A surge of magical power converges, and the magic of the earth element condenses.

She sprouted filthy mud wings from her waist and held a mud halberd shaped from mud, spinning as she flew into the sky.

A sharp roar was heard, and mud, releasing a foul stench, rained down, the unpleasant smell assaulting everyone's nostrils.

Upon smelling it, Jiang Heyi felt dizzy.

The four Primal Bodies, attempting to rescue Zhong Zemo, took the hit head-on with their elemental shields. They hurriedly shouted a warning: "It can corrode shields, don't try to tank it!"

The swamp succubus hurled her halberd like a spear, aiming directly at Orange Tea, who had lost Zhong Zemo's protection.

Normally, I can always predict when the elemental shield will fall, but it didn't appear. Instead, the blanket stepped on my shadow and glided past at high speed, taking the orange tea with it, which is how I escaped this disaster.

"Bed!"

Jiang Heyi's reminder startled the person in the blanket who had been focused on Ju Zicha during the rescue. Along the route she was speeding along, the earth seemed to ripple like the sea.

Her pace was disrupted, and the rippling waves submerged her ankles for a moment before the blankets were firmly in place.

"Orange tea, here we go!"

Before I could even react, the orange tea was pushed into the air.

Because of the speed, the person in the quilt was moving too fast and continued to fall heavily into the mud.

The mud's strong suction gripped her body tightly, making the bed feel like a mouse trapped on a sticky trap, unable to move its limbs at all.

In the last second before she lost her balance, she made one last move—using all her strength, she aimed carefully and pushed the orange tea in her arms toward an open space that was not being manipulated by the swamp succubus.

Zhong Zemo has been confirmed dead.

He was crushed and drowned by the mud controlled by the swamp slug.

Don't save the blanket!

Jiang Heyi's rebuke saved the four original bodies from disaster. On the only way to rescue them, mud burst out of the ground like tentacles, swaying in the wind.

Just two steps away, the Four Primal Bodies were about to follow in Zhong Zemo's footsteps.

This guy controls multiple types of magic simultaneously, dealing with people at the boundary between reality and illusion.

Jiang Heyi realized the terror of the swamp succubus; her elemental affinity far surpassed that of the mud worms.

The most troublesome thing is that she is intelligent and knows to prioritize attacking the support units in the guild.

Blocked by the mud, the boundary between reality and illusion could only be dragged into the ground by the swamp succubus with a mocking expression.

The bed is dead.

In the blink of an eye, two people died at the boundary between reality and illusion.

Previously, during the preliminary rounds, the virtual-real boundary maintained a record of 0 deaths, but this was broken not long after the main competition began.

　Want it sooner? Motto motto!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)