The little princess's conclusion was remarkably accurate and perfectly matched the actual situation. Unfortunately, however, it had nothing to do with what everyone else had been discussing.
When the players heard the princess's summary, they all froze on the spot. Little Pang secretly glanced at the guild leader, who was following closely beside the princess, feeling as though he had discovered something incredible.
Song Shiyu lowered his eyes to look at Yu Deng and chuckled softly. "Are they really all bad guys?"
The knight's usually cool voice was unusually low, carrying a hint of disappointment.
"Hmm?" Yu Deng thought about it. He felt that his quest targets couldn't exactly be called absolute villains, either. So he added a little clarification to his earlier conclusion.
"Although they're bad guys… they're not that bad, either. Sometimes, they're actually pretty nice."
After carefully supplementing his conclusion, Yu Deng raised his head and met the gazes of the players for several seconds.
However, the atmosphere had become rather awkwardly quiet, leaving Yu Deng even more confused.
Had he gotten his summary wrong? Why wasn't anyone responding?
At the thought, Yu Deng lowered his eyelashes, looking a little dejected. "I don't think I said anything wrong…"
"Your Highness's conclusion makes perfect sense." Song Shiyu was incredibly indulgent toward the little princess. He could even praise such an off-topic answer with a straight face. "However, these conclusions alone might not be enough. Could I ask Your Highness to think about it a little more?"
The knight quickly managed to cheer Yu Deng up again, and he resumed thinking hard.
There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about him, though. Was it simply that his identity was a little special? He was the princess of the human kingdom, but wasn't that just a small privilege granted to him as a special quest-taker?
Yu Deng had absorbed far too much information in a short period of time, leaving his head spinning. He thought for ages but still couldn't figure out what else made him special.
Besides, even if Yu Deng really was special, what did that have to do with the Dreamheart? He was a human being, not some magical treasure! He didn't even know where the Dreamheart was.
The other players didn't sit around idly. They enthusiastically summarized all the information they had gathered in the instance so far, then began using an exhaustive process of elimination to work out how to break the deadlock.
"Ugh, I worked so hard to build up a little trust, and now everyone's lost control. I wonder if any of it will still count when the instance ends." Little Pang beat his chest in frustration. "And this instance still hasn't even told us when it's supposed to end!"
Ke Qi also let out a long, sorrowful sigh. "Exactly! This rotten, black-hearted instance—give me back my youth!"
Yu Deng continued maintaining his disguise, pretending not to understand Little Pang and Ke Qi's complaints. In his heart, however, he nodded repeatedly and secretly cursed the instance a couple of times, too.
After discussing things for quite a while, the players—everyone except Yu Deng—had developed some vague theories, but they still didn't know exactly what they needed to do.
"Perhaps we can approach this from a different angle." Seeing Yu Deng's bewildered expression, Song Shiyu softened his tone considerably. "We can obtain the king's authority first."
"Eh?"
"Once we acquire authority of a higher level, we'll be able to learn more clues and gain access to certain privileges." Song Shiyu spoke calmly. "After I became the leader of the beastman race, I gained the ability to command the beastmen to a certain extent."
There was actually such an effect?!
Come to think of it, as the princess, Yu Deng seemed to possess a certain degree of authority as well. It had been mentioned in the description of his scepter item.
Yu Deng thought for two seconds. "So, we need to seize the king's authority first… But who's going to do that? Is it me…?"
"Of course it's you. Your Highness, you're far more suited to becoming the ruler of Sturitt than Charles is. You're also the only suitable candidate."
Little Pang and Ke Qi, standing nearby, excitedly rubbed their hands together.
"Good, good, good! Let's overthrow the king!! We unconditionally support Your Highness the Princess in becoming the new king!"
Heh! It really was different hanging around with a top-tier player. Who would've thought they could cause such a ruckus in a high-level instance?
The main system let out an alert, crackling sound.
[Player Yu Deng, please take note. Do not sabotage the instance. Please restrain other players from engaging in destructive behavior!]
Yu Deng gave a perfunctory response. "I know, I know. We haven't done anything yet! How is this sabotage?"
The players were in the middle of an enthusiastic discussion when they suddenly heard a series of thunderous rumbling sounds.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the ground, accompanied by hoarse roars carried on the wind. Judging by the volume, whatever was making all that noise was no more than fifty meters away.
Yu Deng whipped around, warily pulling out his scalpel. Song Shiyu raised his longsword and stepped in front of him to shield him, while the other two players also went on alert.
Within just a few seconds, the source of all that commotion appeared before them…
No, not just a person.
At the front was a beastman with a pair of antlers growing from his head. Four or five other beastmen accompanied him. Not far away, several merfolk who had transformed their tails into legs were also running after something, their movements fierce but chaotic and disorganized.
And behind them was a group of small animals.
Well, calling them small animals wasn't exactly appropriate.
There were two rabbits, three dogs, and several birds. But every single one of them had grown to more than two meters tall! Their claws crushed deep pits into the ground as they ran. Their fangs were razor-sharp, their eyes bloodred, and their cries were hoarse and unpleasant.
"??!"
Yu Deng stared with wide, round eyes for several seconds before he couldn't help rubbing them with his hands. When he looked again, he discovered that those once-gentle little animals really had grown countless times larger.
Everything had been perfectly fine just moments ago. How had even these little animals mutated in such a short time?!
Wah, it felt like they could gobble him up in a single bite…
The NPCs and animals passing by had already spotted Little Pang and Ke Qi, who were standing at the outer edge of the group.
The beastman at the front let out a low growl and charged at them, his eyes fixed intently on Little Pang. "Humans… Hypocritical, cunning humans!"
The giant animals panted heavily as they set their sights on the players and launched their attacks. In an instant, the players were surrounded by a horde of NPCs.
[Holy shit, the second phase really is more dangerous. These NPCs are all in a frenzied state, aren't they?]
[I suddenly remembered that this instance has a huge map with hundreds of thousands of NPCs. What would happen if they all ganged up on the streamers?]
[Shit… I don't even want to imagine it. I hope Baby will be okay.]
[Aaaah, they're attacking!]
"This is the hard mode of an A-rank instance. Its difficulty is roughly equivalent to an S-rank instance. Please be careful, Your Highness," Song Shiyu warned.
The scene had already descended into complete chaos. Song Shiyu stood in front of Yu Deng, using his status as a leader to suppress the beastmen. However, the other NPCs remained unaffected and chased Little Pang and Ke Qi around, forcing the two to scramble desperately across the ground.
The already chaotic streets became even more of a mess. Trees toppled in every direction, and the road was riddled with craters. It looked as though a tornado had swept through, while a nauseating smell of blood filled the air.
Things were relatively peaceful around Yu Deng. The merfolk still hoped to coax him back to the seabed to become their princess, so naturally, they wouldn't attack him.
As for the giant animals…
During the few seconds when Song Shiyu turned away, one of the rabbits pounced beside Yu Deng. It nudged him with its enormous head, pushing him right onto the top of its own head.
Yu Deng: "Eh??"
The rabbit's ears, which had grown several times larger, twisted together and formed something resembling a backrest and a seat belt, securely fastening Yu Deng on top of its head.
Yu Deng sat on the giant rabbit's head, utterly bewildered. He reached out and patted the rabbit's head. "What are you trying to do?"
The giant rabbit snorted, held its head high, and strutted into the crowd to show off the little princess sitting on its head. This only made the other animals even more agitated, and the situation grew increasingly chaotic.
Yu Deng nervously gripped the rabbit's ears. Looking down at the scene, he noticed that the players also seemed to be struggling to keep their emotions under control.
Song Shiyu swung his sword rapidly, his gaze calm and indifferent. Little Pang and Ke Qi, on the other hand, had become much more brutal in their movements. Once they realized something was wrong, they began chugging healing potions one after another, trying to suppress the dark emotions welling up inside them.
The commotion here was simply too great. More and more NPCs were gradually drawn toward them.
Yu Deng pressed his lips together. If they kept getting mobbed like this, the players would be beaten to a pulp. He might even get swallowed up by the crowd of NPCs himself.
Sitting atop the giant rabbit's head, he took a deep breath and raised his voice to address the surrounding NPCs.
"You're not allowed to fight anymore!"
Yu Deng had already put away his scalpel and taken out his pale golden scepter. Speaking slowly as he searched for the right words, he continued, "Please stop. Don't attack other people indiscriminately within the territory of the Kingdom of Sturitt. You're making me unhappy by behaving like this. And if I'm unhappy… then, then I won't visit the underwater kingdom anymore, and I won't let you come near me, either."
As his words fell, a soft, pearly glow illuminated the tip of his scepter. The light entered the foreheads of everyone present, causing their movements to falter.
The little princess sat atop the giant rabbit's head, looking down at everyone. His voice was sweet and gentle. His words sounded like an order, yet the lingering softness at the ends of his sentences made them sound almost like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
His attitude was utterly pampered and matter-of-fact. And yet, the out-of-control NPCs actually began to slow down and stop.
The merfolk were especially quick to obey. Terrified that the little princess might really refuse to return to the seabed, they stopped faster than anyone else.
The NPCs lined up obediently, eager to please him, and declared that they would follow the princess's orders.
Little Pang was once again stunned by the little princess's charm. Seeing that the NPCs had finally stopped, he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
"Phew! I almost died…"
"The current situation probably corresponds to the special rule, right? Different races are supposed to be hostile toward one another."
Everything had been perfectly fine just moments ago. How had even these little animals mutated in such a short time?!
Wah, it felt like they could gobble him up in a single bite…
The NPCs and animals passing by had already spotted Little Pang and Ke Qi, who were standing at the outer edge of the group.
The beastman at the front let out a low growl and charged at them, his eyes fixed intently on Little Pang. "Humans… Hypocritical, cunning humans!"
The giant animals panted heavily as they set their sights on the players and launched their attacks. In an instant, the players were surrounded by a horde of NPCs.
[Holy shit, the second phase really is more dangerous. These NPCs are all in a frenzied state, aren't they?]
[I suddenly remembered that this instance has a huge map with hundreds of thousands of NPCs. What would happen if they all ganged up on the streamers?]
[Shit… I don't even want to imagine it. I hope Baby will be okay.]
[Aaaah, they're attacking!]
"This is the hard mode of an A-rank instance. Its difficulty is roughly equivalent to an S-rank instance. Please be careful, Your Highness," Song Shiyu warned.
The scene had already descended into complete chaos. Song Shiyu stood in front of Yu Deng, using his status as a leader to suppress the beastmen. However, the other NPCs remained unaffected and chased Little Pang and Ke Qi around, forcing the two to scramble desperately across the ground.
The already chaotic streets became even more of a mess. Trees toppled in every direction, and the road was riddled with craters. It looked as though a tornado had swept through, while a nauseating smell of blood filled the air.
Things were relatively peaceful around Yu Deng. The merfolk still hoped to coax him back to the seabed to become their princess, so naturally, they wouldn't attack him.
As for the giant animals…
During the few seconds when Song Shiyu turned away, one of the rabbits pounced beside Yu Deng. It nudged him with its enormous head, pushing him right onto the top of its own head.
Yu Deng: "Eh??"
The rabbit's ears, which had grown several times larger, twisted together and formed something resembling a backrest and a seat belt, securely fastening Yu Deng on top of its head.
Yu Deng sat on the giant rabbit's head, utterly bewildered. He reached out and patted the rabbit's head. "What are you trying to do?"
The giant rabbit snorted, held its head high, and strutted into the crowd to show off the little princess sitting on its head. This only made the other animals even more agitated, and the situation grew increasingly chaotic.
Yu Deng nervously gripped the rabbit's ears. Looking down at the scene, he noticed that the players also seemed to be struggling to keep their emotions under control.
Song Shiyu swung his sword rapidly, his gaze calm and indifferent. Little Pang and Ke Qi, on the other hand, had become much more brutal in their movements. Once they realized something was wrong, they began chugging healing potions one after another, trying to suppress the dark emotions welling up inside them.
The commotion here was simply too great. More and more NPCs were gradually drawn toward them.
Yu Deng pressed his lips together. If they kept getting mobbed like this, the players would be beaten to a pulp. He might even get swallowed up by the crowd of NPCs himself.
Sitting atop the giant rabbit's head, he took a deep breath and raised his voice to address the surrounding NPCs.
"You're not allowed to fight anymore!"
Yu Deng had already put away his scalpel and taken out his pale golden scepter. Speaking slowly as he searched for the right words, he continued, "Please stop. Don't attack other people indiscriminately within the territory of the Kingdom of Sturitt. You're making me unhappy by behaving like this. And if I'm unhappy… then, then I won't visit the underwater kingdom anymore, and I won't let you come near me, either."
As his words fell, a soft, pearly glow illuminated the tip of his scepter. The light entered the foreheads of everyone present, causing their movements to falter.
The little princess sat atop the giant rabbit's head, looking down at everyone. His voice was sweet and gentle. His words sounded like an order, yet the lingering softness at the ends of his sentences made them sound almost like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
His attitude was utterly pampered and matter-of-fact. And yet, the out-of-control NPCs actually began to slow down and stop.
The merfolk were especially quick to obey. Terrified that the little princess might really refuse to return to the seabed, they stopped faster than anyone else.
The NPCs lined up obediently, eager to please him, and declared that they would follow the princess's orders.
Little Pang was once again stunned by the little princess's charm. Seeing that the NPCs had finally stopped, he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
"Phew! I almost died…"
"The current situation probably corresponds to the special rule, right? Different races are supposed to be hostile toward one another."
"And they need to remain true to themselves," Song Shiyu added calmly.
The two players sprawled on the ground understood what had happened to them just now and silently nodded.
After speaking, Song Shiyu returned his knight's sword to its sheath at his waist, then reached out and lifted the princess down.
The giant rabbit, which had been afraid to move recklessly in case it upset the princess: "…"
Damn it.
Yu Deng tilted his head, looking at the disheveled players, then at the NPCs lined up obediently, and finally at the mutated animals that had calmed down and returned to their docile state. He blinked slowly and drew out a thoughtful, "Ohhh."
"I think I know what else makes me special now! I can suppress them and stop them from losing control, making them really obedient!"
The players' thoughts immediately became much clearer.
Yes, this was the little princess's most special trait in this instance.
Moreover, wasn't the little princess probably the only one who hadn't been affected by the instance's mutating force?
Even Song Shiyu, ranked third on the overall leaderboard, couldn't completely control his emotions and had been affected slightly by the power within the instance. Only Yu Deng had managed to remain entirely true to himself.
The princess was the most extraordinary existence on this continent. He had neither been corrupted nor influenced. He was a beautiful, pure flower born on this magical continent.
So… could the beautiful and pure princess himself be the missing Heart of Eralzea?
Although there was no concrete evidence, Song Shiyu was already almost certain of this theory.
Just then, a gigantic shadow swept across the sky, while the sound of splashing water came from the distance.
The dragon leader descended from the sky, while the merfolk leader emerged from a nearby pool through a magic circle.
When the two boss-level NPCs appeared, the two players who had been lying on the ground pretending to be corpses scrambled to their feet and nervously hid in a corner. The other NPCs lowered their heads and continued standing in line as punishment.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I couldn't find any trace of that old bastard." The giant dragon landed, his claws gouging deep grooves into the ground.
Blood-red veins threaded through the dragon's enormous pupils. His breath was scorching hot, with tiny flames flickering between his teeth, while his tail swished back and forth restlessly.
The merfolk also approached Yu Deng. "Little princess, he has completely disappeared. I can't even sense his presence accurately through the currents."
Fine scales had appeared on the merfolk's arms and the sides of his neck, and his pupils were a deep, inky blue.
Clearly, the two leaders weren't doing too well, either.
Standing beside Yu Deng, the two leaders of the fantasy races were struggling with all their might to suppress the urge to simply snatch him away to their respective territories. Their eyes were filled with a sick, obsessive infatuation and restless anxiety. Their expressions were almost identical.
Looking at them, Yu Deng felt a faint, familiar sense of strangeness.
Why did these guys' eyes look so similar…? It was almost as if they belonged to the same person.
But how could that be possible? He must have been imagining things.
[Beep… Beep! Intense energy fluctuations detected! Destructive impulses of key characters are increasing rapidly! Player Yu Deng, please take caution!]
The main system began shrieking in alarm, urgently warning Yu Deng.
Yu Deng didn't hear any of these irritating alerts. System 01 knew that its host needed to concentrate to complete his missions and disliked being interrupted, so it had thoughtfully blocked the standard warning sounds for him.
Still, even without the main system's warnings, Yu Deng could sense that his quest targets' emotions were off. He took two steps forward and tilted his head back to look at them.
"It's okay. Charles has become really strange now, so it's perfectly normal that we can't find him." Yu Deng beckoned to the dragon. "Oriel, come a little closer."
The dragon obediently shuffled closer. The next second, Yu Deng's palm rested on his enormous head, gently stroking the dragon's scales.
The dragon's tail stiffened, then began swishing even harder. However, its restless movements had transformed into delighted ones.
"Little princess, what about me?" The merfolk leader, Ulysses, clenched his fists. "Have you forgotten about me?"
"Hmm? I haven't forgotten you!" Yu Deng hurriedly coaxed the merfolk into lowering his head, then rubbed the top of Ulysses's head, too.
The notorious leaders of the fantasy races were even more docile in front of Yu Deng than loyal pet dogs.
Song Shiyu clicked his tongue softly, his fox tails itching to emerge and beg for a petting of their own.
"…"
Under the little princess's soothing touch, the ferocious leaders of the fantasy races gradually calmed down. The players hiding in the distance watched in utter bewilderment.
With the chaos temporarily under control, the players braved the unfriendly gazes of the fantasy races and tried to discuss their next plan with the little princess.
They had barely exchanged a few words when two more players approached from the distance.
One was the fish-headed player Yu Deng had met before. The other was an unfamiliar female player. The fish-headed player had just emerged from the sea, and half of his fish face had regressed, making him look rather ridiculous. Yu Deng recognized him at a glance.
Both players looked somewhat battered. They had clearly recognized Song Shiyu, the guild leader of the Candlelight Guild, and wanted to request an alliance.
"We can share all our clues, and we're willing to follow your lead. We're just hoping you can give us a hand. This instance is far too dangerous now."
Song Shiyu glanced at them. "From the Windlamp Guild and the Moonfall Guild?"
"Mm-hmm." The fish-headed player nodded. "I'm from the Windlamp Guild, boss. I was lucky enough to be matched with you in the same instance once before."
The name of the guild immediately caught Yu Deng's attention. After all, it was the guild his older brother had founded…
Yu Deng took another look at the fish-headed player.
Noticing the princess's gaze, the fish-headed player gave him a respectful yet polite smile. "Ahem, Your Highness, we meet again. May I ask what your current…?"
Little Pang very considerately stepped in to cover for Yu Deng.
"Shh! This is a key NPC we painstakingly recruited. He's currently friendly toward players and plays an especially important role in the storyline. We're all following His Highness's lead, so show him some respect."
The fish-headed player hurriedly nodded, and the female player also indicated that she understood.
Yu Deng glanced at the two players requesting an alliance, then turned to Song Shiyu and silently asked whether they could be trusted.
Song Shiyu lowered his voice. "They're reasonably trustworthy, but the final decision is up to Your Highness."
Oh, really? Then they could work together! After all, more people meant more strength.
Yu Deng waved his hand, agreeing to let the two join them.
This seemed to be the first time he had worked together with so many players to clear an instance. Everyone brainstorming solutions together actually felt pretty nice.
After a brief exchange of information, they all understood that their current mission was to seize King Charles's authority.
"But if we want to seize his authority… doesn't the king need to show up?" Yu Deng recalled some of the ceremonies involved in transferring the throne. "But he's disappeared now."
"Someone like King Charles will be unable to resist showing up as long as we destroy the thing he cares about most," Song Shiyu explained.
Everyone immediately began enthusiastically throwing out all sorts of terrible ideas.
"Ohhh, so we just need to expose his crimes?"
"What if we make up some gossip about him? Would he get so furious that he'd show up?"
"But would the other NPCs believe us? The hierarchy here is very strict, and the map of this instance is enormous. How are we supposed to help His Highness seize the authority?"
The fish-headed player raised his hand. "Easy! We harness the power of public opinion! The princess has a lot of prestige in people's hearts, so all we need to do is have His Highness gather everyone together and give a speech. They'll definitely be convinced!"
Yu Deng tugged at the hem of his skirt. "Ah, but…"
But he couldn't do that!
He knew he wasn't particularly good with words. Whenever he had to speak in front of a large crowd, he would stumble over his sentences and sometimes get so anxious that he couldn't say anything at all.
The fish-headed player tried to prove his usefulness, hoping to cling to this powerful ally as firmly as possible.
"Your Highness, I can write the speech for you! I have extensive experience drafting official documents, so you can rest assured."
Yu Deng hesitated for two seconds. "All right, then. Write it."
Everyone had just gone through a chaotic fight, so this was a good opportunity to rest and recover. Meanwhile, the fish-headed player crouched to one side, furiously scribbling away with a quill.
"Why do I feel like this might not be very reliable…?" Yu Deng furrowed his brows and quietly asked Song Shiyu.
Song Shiyu paused for two seconds. "He's in the publicity department of the Windlamp Guild. It should be fine."
A little over ten minutes later, the fish-headed player raised the parchment in his hand.
"I'm finished, Your Highness! Would you like to look it over?"
"Oh…" Yu Deng took the speech and quietly tried reading a few lines aloud to see if they flowed naturally.
"King Charles, as the ruler of an entire kingdom, has never placed the practical interests of the people at heart. He has failed to implement policies that benefit the public and allowed the nation's order to descend into chaos… Furthermore, driven by his own selfish desires, he has committed numerous illegal and immoral acts, shown utter disregard for human life, and accumulated a mountain of unforgivable crimes!"
After reading a couple of sentences, Yu Deng felt that something was off.
Why did he suddenly feel as though he wasn't on a magical continent anymore…?
This was so weird. He needed to take another look.