The sea at the entrance of the ruins had already turned into a purgatory.

The roars of the beast tide intertwined with the roaring skills of the Classer, stirring the seawater into muddy chaos.

Just as the powerhouses of the major countries joined forces to purge and barely steady their footing,

a sudden change occurred.

The bodies of the hundreds of exotic beasts that had just rushed out from the blue light curtain stiffened without warning.

A layer of brilliant colorful ice crystals rapidly spread from the surface of their bodies at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just the blink of an eye, this subsequent army of exotic beasts transformed into crystal-clear, lifelike ice sculptures.

This bizarre scene caused all the Classer currently engaged in fierce battle to stop their movements, their faces written with astonishment.

"What is going on?"

"These exotic beasts... why did they freeze by themselves?"

Before they could figure it out,

a figure abruptly rushed out from that cluster of colorful ice-sculpted beasts!

Followed closely by a second, a third...

A full ten figures swam toward the surface of the sea at extreme speed like dragons emerging from the water!

Behind them, among that frozen cluster of ice sculptures, several exotic beasts that had miraculously escaped being frozen were issuing irritable roars, pursuing relentlessly!

On the warship of the Great Xia Nation, Lin Zhu's deep eyes narrowed slightly.

The cane in her hand tapped gently against the sea surface below.

Swish——!

Countless thick, emerald-green vines violently broke out of the water from beneath like giant pythons possessing life!

They precisely wrapped around those pursuing exotic beasts and gave a fierce twist!

Splat——!

Blood and shredded meat instantly dyed that area of the sea red.

A safe passage cleared by the vines was thus formed.

Having finished all this, she then turned her head and slowly spoke to Zhang Cheng beside her.

"Send someone to meet them."

"It is our people."

Zhang Cheng's face immediately revealed an expression of surprise.

The ones who came out first turned out to be the people of the Great Xia Nation!

A burst of wild joy instantly surged into his heart, which was then replaced by immense doubt.

They came out this fast?

Did they successfully seize the Divine Artifact?

Or... did they give up directly?

Now was not the time to think about these things.

Zhang Cheng immediately snapped back to his senses and shouted orders to the several team members behind him who excelled in swimming.

"Hurry! Enter the water to meet them!"

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, several team members leaped and jumped into the freezing seawater.

In a short while,

several figures leaped out from the water one after another, landing steadily on the deck of the warship.

At the lead was precisely Gandalf.

And in his hand, he was impressively holding that golden Pendulum of Life.

The moment Zhang Cheng saw that golden Pendulum of Life, his eyes widened abruptly, and his breathing even became a bit hurried.

"This... This is the Pendulum of Life?"

Controlling Gandalf, Zhou Huai raised the Divine Artifact in his hand high, his face revealing just the right amount of elation and wild joy.

He laughed heartily, his voice spreading to every surrounding warship.

"Mission accomplished!"

"The Pendulum of Life belongs to our Great Xia Nation!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the soldiers of the Dragon Fang Special Forces on the ship were stunned at first, and then erupted into earth-shattering cheers!

"We won!"

"We won! Captain is awesome!"

"Hahahaha! The Divine Artifact is ours!"

However, Zhang Cheng and Lin Zhu instead exchanged glances.

Neither of their faces showed much excitement; instead, they exuded a trace of oddness.

After hearing Gandalf's announcement, the powerhouses from other surrounding countries likewise did not display the anticipated shock and unwillingness.

They only watched calmly, and the corners of several people's mouths even curled up with a subtle sneer.

Now it was Zhou Huai's turn to be astonished.

Wait.

This is the Pendulum of Life, you know?

The legendary Divine Artifact!

Why are you all so calm one by one?

Looking at Gandalf's expression of 'hurry up and praise me'.

Zhang Cheng walked forward, lowered his voice, and explained somewhat awkwardly,

"Um... Captain Gandalf."

"To be honest, before you guys, Thor of the Freedom Federation, Takatsukasa Arashi of Sakura Country, and Prince Kalen of Ancient Egypt..."

"All three of them took out a golden pendulum clock identical to the one in your hand from the ruins."

"Only to find out later that they were all fake."

Only then did Zhou Huai suddenly understand.

So that was how it was.

No wonder their reactions were so bland.

True.

Presently, the Divine Might of the Pendulum of Life was completely retracted.

Looking at it, it really wasn't any different from those counterfeit goods before.

It was normal for them to misunderstand.

However, this was just fine.

He might as well go with the flow and put on a good act.

Zhou Huai immediately controlled Gandalf as the wild joy on his face instantly froze.

Replaced by a trace of incredulous bewilderment.

"What?"

"You are saying... this is also fake?"

As if suddenly thinking of something, he slapped his thigh fiercely, his face revealing an expression of sudden realization, and his voice was filled with vexation.

"No wonder this Pendulum of Life was obtained so easily!"

"It was just sitting there all alone on the island!"

"Turns out it was a counterfeit!"

"It made me get excited for nothing!"

Finishing his words, he actually tossed it away casually.

That Divine Artifact, which was worth a city in the eyes of countless people, was just thrown onto the deck by him without a care in the world.

With a clatter, it emitted a dull metallic crashing sound.

The team members who came out of the ruins together with Gandalf looked at each other in dismay.

What is the captain talking about?

Wasn't this Pendulum of Life of his obtained from beneath the deep sea?

However, they did not voice this doubt.

Instead, they maintained silence with tacit understanding.

When the Classer of various countries on other ships saw this scene, their faces successively revealed 'as expected' smiles.

Another fool tricked by a fake Divine Artifact.

Wanting to find the real Pendulum of Life was nowhere near such an easy matter.

Only Lin Zhu looked at Gandalf's slightly exaggerated acting skills, a trace of imperceptible strangeness flashing across her deep eyes.

In her impression, Gandalf was not a person whose joy and anger were shown on his face.

He had always been so steady that he didn't look like a young man.

His performance today, on the contrary, felt like there was an element of deliberately acting.

Thinking of this, she slowly walked forward, bent down, and silently picked up the Pendulum of Life on the ground that had been 'disliked'.

She cupped the cold metal in her hands, closed her eyes, and felt it carefully.

The next second.

An inestimable astonishment flashed past deep within her eyes.

This vast, majestic feeling filled with endless breath of life...

Absolutely can't be wrong!

This is real!

This little fellow actually brought the Divine Artifact out!

Huge waves churned in her heart, but her face remained calm.

She slowly opened her eyes, threw the Pendulum of Life back onto the deck, and let out a well-timed sigh.

"Sigh..."

"It really is fake."

As soon as these words came out, the very last shred of hope on the faces of those soldiers on the ship who were already somewhat suspicious was completely shattered.

Everyone revealed disappointed expressions.

Gandalf, as if acting out of petulance, kicked the Pendulum of Life with one foot.

"Damn it! All that busywork for nothing!"

"Risking my life in the ruins, only to bring back this piece of junk!"

He turned around, his face full of impatience.

"Right now there are beast tides everywhere in the ruins, plus that pervert Thor."

"Going back in is certain death, I have no intention of going back in again."

Finishing his words, he actually walked into the cabin on his own without even looking back.

Leaving behind only a cold command.

"Zhang Cheng, turn around, head back."

"This exploration of the ruins, our Great Xia Nation will not participate."

Zhang Cheng was full of hesitation.

Never did he expect that things would actually develop to this stage.

Just give up like this?

"Ah... This..."

He instinctively turned his head, casting his gaze filled with appeal toward Lin Zhu to seek this big shot's opinion.

Lin Zhu, however, remained expressionless, her tone calm.

"He is the captain."

"Listen to everything he says."

"Head back."

On the warship of the neighboring Sakura Country, upon seeing this, the old man named Wada Hirayama immediately revealed undisguised sneering on his face.

"Hehe, you young people of Great Xia Nation really cannot withstand a single bit of setback."

"When our people find a counterfeit, don't they return to the ruins without hesitation to continue searching?"

"Look at your people, taking a little blow and immediately getting cold feet."

"At the end of the day, you have experienced too few hardships after all."

Hearing this, Lin Zhu let out a cold snort and retorted unceremoniously.

"At least our people all came back safely."

"Instead, for you Sakura Country, who knows how many people can finally come out alive from those ruins."

Wada Hirayama's complexion instantly turned so gloomy it was about to drip water.

The facts were indeed so.

Under such a dense beast tide, the possibility of an S-Class Professional wanting to come out alive from inside was extremely small.

Bringing everyone out completely like Gandalf did already belonged to a miracle.

Afterward, under Zhang Cheng's command,

the warship of the Great Xia Nation indeed slowly reversed direction, gradually moving away from this chaotic sea area amidst the diverse gazes filled with various emotions from everyone.

Not a single person came out to dissuade them.

After all, at this time, having one less country's team participate in the competition meant they could have one more share of a chance to seize the Divine Artifact.

They were wishing the people of the Great Xia Nation would scram right away.