Elara and Uno moved quickly and secretly toward the location of Prince Yu and Prince Leland.
As they got close, Elara could already sense from a distance that the area was crowded with many forces, both obvious and hidden.
Elara and Uno found an inconspicuous place and silently looked toward the center of the gathering, and saw that Prince Yu and Prince Leland were indeed in the very center.
Prince Yu and Prince Leland each occupied a small stone mound right next to each other.
Both of their faces had been disguised, but their aura and bearing had not changed at all.
Prince Yu was still wearing the same blue robe from when they had entered the underground space.
His tall and elegant figure stood straight at the top of the stone mound.
He held a folding fan in one hand and a sharp silver sword in the other.
The long sword was already stained with blood, and bright red drops of blood were dripping slowly down the blade.
Behind him, Prince Leland stood on the top of the small stone mound half a meter away.
His tall and strong figure stood firm like a peak.
He held a long spear in his hand, the spear even taller than him, and the sharp blade looked even colder and fiercer in this damp underground.
The guards stood around the base of the small stone mounds, alert and focused.
Their polished weapons all pointed outward in unison.
Elara carefully observed and noticed that although there were many forces surrounding Prince Yu and Prince Leland, neither of them seemed to be injured.
Even the guards surrounding them showed almost no serious wounds.
Instead, there were already many people from the other forces lying on the ground below the stone mounds.
Although the number of enemies surrounding them far exceeded the two of them, those forces clearly feared each other and seemed hesitant to make the first move against Prince Yu and Prince Leland.
This situation made it look like the surrounded Prince Yu and Prince Leland were actually holding the upper hand.
"You two petty thieves from weak countries who don't even dare say your kingdom names out loud. Be smart and hand over everything you've stolen. Otherwise, with so many forces gathered here, we'll make sure you have no place to be buried!"
"Weak country thieves! Hand over the divine item!"
"Hand over the divine item and we'll spare your lives!"
The surrounding groups of all sizes shouted fiercely at Prince Yu and Prince Leland, who were surrounded in the center.
Prince Yu and Prince Leland stood back-to-back at the very center of the crowd's shouting.
The two of them looked completely calm. Prince Yu even lightly fanned himself with a folding fan.
After altering his voice, he laughed as he spoke to everyone around them.
"If you really trust the people behind you, then go ahead and attack. But my brother and I have very few things on us."
"There are so many of you. Even if you manage to snatch this so-called 'divine item' from us, with this many people here, who will end up with it in the end? You'd all better think carefully before acting."
As Prince Yu spoke, he suddenly revealed a hexagonal black stone in his broad, pale palm, as dark as obsidian.
All the people around them showed expressions of greed, desire, and hesitation in their eyes when they saw the black stone.
Several nearby groups wanted to rush forward and grab it right away.
But just before moving, they all glanced nervously at the other groups around them.
Just as Prince Yu had said, even though many groups had come to hunt them down, they were all separate factions.
Their strength was similar, and every group had a strong desire for the divine item.
So no one would sit back and watch another group succeed in killing and taking it.
If anyone got close to success, the other factions would definitely strike from behind to steal it.
On top of that, the ability of the black obsidian stone was extremely strange.
As long as someone got within six meters of it, no matter how strong their inner strength was, they would feel an overwhelming pressure like Mount Tai crushing down.
Those with weaker strength would be instantly forced to the ground, completely unable to move.
Even stronger ones could barely stand but would move slowly, their martial power greatly reduced.
They would become easy targets for the two thieves to attack however they wanted.
Because all the factions feared being ambushed, and because the "divine stone" and the two thieves were hard to deal with, the groups had gathered together to encircle them but still hadn't succeeded.
"You all act so righteous, but I've had enough of your nonsense. My spear has been thirsty for blood for a while now. Bring me more bodies so it can taste something fresh."
"I don't mind stacking the corpses around us even higher!"
Prince Leland held his long spear in one hand.
The blood-stained, sharp tip slowly pointed toward the encircling groups shouting at them.
His narrow, deep eyes swept over the people with disdain and contempt.
He had a straightforward and fiery temper.
He hated these cowardly and shady people the most.
They wanted to rush in but didn't dare, wanted to steal but hesitated, and only dared to shout insults from the side.
Clearly, these people had come to rob and surround them after hearing about the divine item.
But they had turned him and Prince Yu into villains that deserved to be condemned by everyone.
Disgusting. This twisting of right and wrong, while pretending to be righteous, was truly sickening.
Several factions were provoked by Prince Leland's words and attitude.
They immediately sent a few elite fighters to attack.
But as soon as those fighters stepped within six meters of Prince Yu, they were suddenly crushed by invisible pressure.
They could hardly move at all.
Prince Yu and Prince Leland's group, however, could still move freely within the "divine stone's" range.
So, the moment those fighters entered the area, one of them was instantly pinned in place by a thrown spear from Prince Leland.
Seeing this, the others didn't dare to charge in again.
They immediately stepped back and withdrew from the divine stone's range.
They stared at Prince Yu and Prince Leland from outside the area with fierce, watchful eyes.
Elara and Uno were hiding at a distance.
They glanced at the black stone in Prince Yu's hand and thought it was probably something like a "gravity enhancer."
But just now, Gareth had said they had only found three divine items in total, and all of them had been given to him to take away.
So this "gravity enhancer" was probably something that Prince Yu and Prince Leland had snatched back later from someone else.
Hmm... their luck in stealing it back really wasn't bad, they do seem to have some talent for being bandits (?)
Anyway, seeing that the two of them were temporarily safe, Elara didn't rush to rescue them. Instead, she carefully observed the surroundings, thinking about how she could quietly get them out of there while being watched by so many forces.
But just as her gaze reached the back of the gathered forces, she suddenly noticed that a previously silent group, who had been standing still without speaking or attacking, began to stir slightly.
Half a minute later, a team from that force stepped forward.
"Everyone, I am from Tianshui Kingdom in the northern part of the central continent. I was sent here on a mission, and my goal is the same as yours. But if we keep deadlocked like this, only those two thieves will benefit, and no one else will gain anything.
So, in my opinion, we should rely on our own skills. From now on, any force that believes they have the strength to seize the sacred treasure will be given half an incense stick's time. During that time, no other force is allowed to sneak attack or interfere. Otherwise, Tianshui Kingdom, represented by me, will lead everyone to strike back together.
After that half-stick of incense, if a group still fails to get the treasure, they must withdraw and are not allowed to stay nearby or continue participating in the fight. What do you think?"
Tianshui Kingdom was a second-tier large national power in the northern part of the central continent, and one of the strongest second-tier nations besides the top-tier Petunia State in the north.
Each national power was ranked into small, medium, and large within their respective tier.
As one of the strongest in the second-tier category, Tianshui Kingdom, alongside a few other second-tier large nations, essentially ruled the northern central lands, second only to Petunia State.
According to the secret message Lucian gave her, Tianshui Kingdom was backed by Petunia State and was one of its vassal nations. Its own strength and the powerful support behind it made it extremely formidable.
After Tianshui Kingdom finished speaking, all the surrounding forces didn't dare to refute them due to the Kingdom's own power and its connection with the top-tier Petunia State.
Besides, they had already wasted too much time and lost too many people here. Everyone wanted to finish things quickly, so they all agreed without protest.
However, after witnessing the heavy losses earlier, most of the medium and smaller second-tier powers no longer dared to take the risk easily.
Only those few forces equal in strength to Tianshui, who were also backed by top-tier powers, stepped forward.
"Alright. Let's go with what Tianshui said. Our Depe Kingdom is willing to go first."
As soon as the voice faded, a tall, heavily bearded man stepped forward with his team.
Depe Kingdom was also a second-tier power in the central continent, backed by the most powerful top-tier nation in the region, Celosia State. Their strength was evenly matched with Tianshui.
When they stepped out, the surrounding forces automatically made way.
At this moment, it was already a one-on-one situation. The man leading the Depe Kingdom team stared at the "Divine Stone" in Prince Yu's hand, his eyes filled with determination.
He led his group forward, stopping in front of Prince Yu and Prince Leland, just outside the pressure range of the "Divine Stone." Then, he took out a pure white object shaped like a small shield from the inner pocket of his robe.
"Our Depe Kingdom got lucky this time too and found a divine item. Now let me see if your divine item is better, or mine is."
As soon as he finished speaking, the small shield in his hand suddenly expanded. It turned into a snow-white shield, half as tall as a person.
Exclamations of shock echoed from all around.
"It's another high-level divine vein blessing!"
The crowd's eyes immediately burned with greed. But the name "Depe Kingdom" acted like a sobering slap, and those from lower-level powers didn't dare think about making a move. Even the Tianshui Kingdom, which had been leading the coordination, had a greedy look flash across their face before quickly suppressing it.
"Expand!"
With a loud shout from the Depe Kingdom's leading man, the snow-white shield in his hand began to float on its own. It hovered and rotated around him, and then split into five shadow-like copies.
Each copy appeared behind one of his attendants, surrounding and protecting the entire Depe Kingdom team.
Elara, watching this scene from afar, raised her eyebrows slightly.
Along with all the items she had found earlier in the "Core Palace," and the divine vein blessings now discovered and hidden by other forces, the amount of divine items buried in this "Divine Ruins" had already far exceeded the number Lucian had estimated for her.
However, the part of the "Core Palace" she entered was likely unknown even to Lucian.
Her "electric current solution" was the minimum level of civilization required to activate that trial. Unless there were other travelers from the future, the people of this world basically had no way to discover the secret.
The total number of divine items inside the "Divine Ruins" really could not be accurately determined, not even by a top-tier force.
"Go!"
With the protection of the floating snow shield, the man from Depe Kingdom led his attendants directly into the pressure area of Prince Yu's "Divine Stone."