The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

While Shadow Celestial sent envoys to meet with Sophia and Elder Seville, Elder Astra anxiously pondered his next course of action within his castle. He had sensed Shadow Celestial's doubts about him, and he desperately wanted to do something to regain that trust.

"If Shadow Celestial continues to keep a close watch on my every move, my plans will surely fail. I need to win back his confidence," Elder Astra muttered to himself as he paced back and forth in the hall.

Not far from Astra, several members of the Night Blades observed his every action. They were currently very confused.

"Why does the Elder seem so anxious right now? Has he run into some serious trouble? Or is it that our Night Blades are facing a significant issue?" a regular member of the Night Blades asked his companions.

None of his peers provided an answer, as they were equally in the dark. After a while, one member of the Night Blades slowly spoke up.

"I haven't heard that the Night Blades have encountered any major problems lately! While the headquarters did face an enemy attack previously, didn't the Elders drive the enemies away? Moreover, I believe Elder Astra himself hasn't run into any significant trouble. He just returned from headquarters not long ago, and I heard that Lord Shadow Celestial even rewarded him for his efforts. Elder Astra's anxiety must just stem from not having thought of a strategy to deal with Irving."

Although the ordinary members of the Night Blades did not have much information, they all knew that Irving posed the greatest threat to the Night Blades. It was clear that any anxiety among the Elders would inevitably be connected to Irving.

Ultimately, the conversation among the ordinary members of the Night Blades did not lead to any definitive conclusions. Just as they were about to discuss further, a crow suddenly flew into the hall. The appearance of the crow captured everyone's attention.

Elder Astra furrowed his brow but felt a slight easing of tension. The crow was a messenger from Elder Seville. Its presence here meant that Elder Seville had new information to convey.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you have any tasks? Should I assign you new ones right now?" Astra snapped as he noticed the ordinary members of the Night Blades. He had a strong dislike for these regular members, believing they should be out gathering intelligence instead of lingering in a safe place.

Upon hearing Astra's words, the ordinary Night Blades members quickly departed. Once everyone else had left, Astra extended his arm, and the crow landed directly on it. In that moment, the crow suddenly spoke.

"The power of the Abyss has become even stronger than before. It seems that some changes have occurred deep within the Abyss. I won't be able to leave the Abyss for a while, so you'll have to act on your own for the next few days," the crow said in Elder Seville's voice.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After delivering the message, the crow flew away. Astra was taken aback to find that he received bad news.

"If Elder Seville cannot provide me with assistance, I shouldn't act rashly. It seems I will have to focus on gathering intelligence to prepare for the upcoming battle in the next few days," Elder Astra ultimately decided to remain inactive.

Given that there were unusual changes occurring deep within the Abyss, he certainly needed to prepare for any potential alterations. After all, the Abyss was already connected to the world of the Shelter Game. If the strange changes in the Abyss were caused by some powerful monster, that monster could very well enter the world of the Shelter Game.

Astra's preparations were, in fact, somewhat unnecessary. The information provided to him by Elder Seville was false. The Abyss had not undergone any changes; Elder Seville had given this false information simply to ensure that Astra would not disturb him in the coming days.

In reality, not long ago, Elder Seville had met with Shadow Celestial's envoy. When they met, Elder Seville appeared very relaxed, while Shadow Celestial's envoy bore a grave expression.

"Elder Seville, long time no see. You should remember me, right? I used to be a regular member of the Night Blades and worked alongside you," the envoy forced a smile as he spoke to Elder Seville.

Elder Seville smiled and nodded. "Of course I remember you. When I was dealing with Irving in reality, you served as my subordinate. You provided me with a lot of assistance during that operation."

Elder Seville's words eased the tension for Shadow Celestial's envoy. However, shortly after, Elder Seville shifted the tone of the conversation and began to question the envoy.

"Why did you choose to align yourself with Shadow Celestial? Although I have only just been revived, I have gathered a lot of information related to the Night Blades. The previous Supreme Leader of the Night Blades has been killed by Shadow Celestial. Shadow Celestial has forcibly taken control of the Night Blades. Did you gain a higher position by aligning with Shadow Celestial?"

Faced with Elder Seville's interrogation, Shadow Celestial's envoy could only respond with difficulty. "There was no other way. Even if I didn't cooperate with Shadow Celestial, others would still align with him. Moreover, my collaboration with him does not pose any threat to the Night Blades. I haven't betrayed anyone."

The envoy spoke sincerely, genuinely believing that he had not betrayed anyone.

"You may not have betrayed anyone, but do you think I can cooperate with someone who forcibly controls the Night Blades?" Elder Seville lowered his voice and asked ominously.

The envoy found himself momentarily at a loss for words. The pressure exerted by Elder Seville was overwhelming, disrupting his thoughts.

Elder Seville chose not to say another word. Instead, he quickly moved closer to Shadow Celestial's envoy. When the distance between them shrank to less than a meter, Elder Seville suddenly chuckled.

"You are far too tense! What I just said was merely a joke. Of course, I will cooperate with Shadow Celestial. In fact, I will not refuse to cooperate with anyone, as long as that person can offer me enough assistance."

Elder Seville's rapid shift in emotions caught Shadow Celestial's envoy off guard. He stood there, stunned, unsure of what to say.

"Don't you have anything to say to me? Even if you have nothing to say, Shadow Celestial must have something for you to convey to me, right?" Elder Seville prompted the envoy.

The envoy quickly replied, "Yes! My master certainly has a message for you. He wants you to understand that under the current circumstances, only he is qualified to cooperate with you. The other Elders of the Night Blades do not have the qualification to work with you."

Shadow Celestial's words clearly referred to Elder Astra. Shadow Celestial wanted Elder Seville to understand that the resources Astra could mobilize were far inferior to his own. Therefore, if Elder Seville sought a reliable partner, Shadow Celestial was obviously more suitable than Elder Astra.

Upon hearing this, Elder Seville let out a cold laugh. "Is that all he wants you to tell me? Does he have nothing else to say?"

"Of course, my master has more to say. He wants you to understand that he knows Irving very well—perhaps even better than you do. He also knows where the Smith family's true treasure is hidden."

Shadow Celestial's envoy finally revealed the most critical information. When Elder Seville heard about the Smith family's true treasure, his expression suddenly changed dramatically.

"Is it true? Does he really know where the Smith family's treasure is hidden?" Elder Seville asked anxiously.

The envoy nodded earnestly. "To convince you of this, he specifically had me bring this." The envoy pulled out a fragment of stone from his pocket.

Elder Seville could discern the powers of chaos emanating from the stone fragment. Unlike the naturally occurring chaotic powers, the chaos within this fragment was arranged in a very intricate manner. This arrangement was something Elder Seville had only seen in the ancestral home of the Smith family.

Elder Seville quickly concluded that Shadow Celestial was not lying. "If he can help me find the Smith family's true treasure, I would certainly be willing to cooperate with him," Elder Seville said eagerly.

While Elder Seville had gained even more powerful abilities than before, he still did not realize that the Smith family's true treasure did not actually exist. The treasure was merely a fabrication of Shadow Celestial.

Thus, Shadow Celestial successfully drew Elder Seville to his side. However, this approach also carried significant risks. If Elder Seville were to discover later that Shadow Celestial had deceived him, he would undoubtedly be furious and become one of Shadow Celestial's most formidable enemies.

Nonetheless, Shadow Celestial could not afford to consider the potential fallout too deeply. He believed that his final showdown with Irving was imminent. After all, Irving's companion, Aron, was still in his hands.

Once Irving regained his strength, he would immediately do everything he could to rescue Aron. To save Aron, Irving would have no choice but to confront Shadow Celestial; there was no way Shadow Celestial would release Aron without a fight.

Experience tales at empire

The ultimate showdown between them was inevitable; only the exact timing remained uncertain. Therefore, both Shadow Celestial and Irving would make every effort to prepare as thoroughly as possible.