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

A day quickly passed. During this time, both Irving and his friends were preparing for the battle that might erupt soon. Of course, the Night Blades were making similar preparations.

That afternoon, Irving and James headed to the agreed-upon location to meet Elder Astra. The two patiently waited for Elder Astra to arrive. James appeared somewhat nervous. He couldn't shake the feeling that his previous actions could very well put them all at a disadvantage in the upcoming fight.

Irving, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. From the very beginning, he had not trusted Elder Astra. He had come here merely hoping to gather some additional intelligence.

After waiting for over ten minutes, both James and Irving began to sense that something was off. Time had passed, and Elder Astra had yet to show up. This meant that Elder Astra was at least lacking in sincerity. The more likely scenario was that Elder Astra had deceived them from the start.

Irving immediately turned to James. "We need to get back to the city as quickly as possible! The Night Blades may have already launched an attack on the city!"

James nodded emphatically. The two quickly made their way toward the city. They were not too far from the headquarters of the Angel Guild. If they didn't stop, they would reach the headquarters in about half an hour.

However, they had only just set off when Wendy called Irving. Once the call connected, he could hear the terror in her voice.

"Irving, where are you? Our home is under attack by members of the Night Blades! There are at least ten or more Night Blades around our house! Besides them, there are some Dark Monsters nearby. The defenses at home won't hold for long; they're about to break in!"

Upon hearing Wendy's desperate plea for help, Irving's expression changed drastically. He didn't act immediately; instead, he took a moment to think seriously before turning to James and saying earnestly, "I need you to be resourceful and help the others. I have to get home as quickly as possible because the Night Blades are attacking my house!"

Having said that, Irving made his decision and chose to leave immediately.

James felt a bit puzzled by Irving's instructions. Irving hadn't specified whom James should assist. He understood that the Night Blades would surely attack all significant locations in the city of warding. Although James was strong, it was impossible for him to support every location under attack. Thus, Irving ultimately left the decision-making to James himself.

Frowning in thought for a moment, James decided to first return to the Green Ivy Company. He wanted to ensure the safety of the company he controlled.

As Irving and James split up to take action, Elder Astra stood a short distance from Irving's home, gazing seriously in that direction. Beside him, two members of the Night Blades were using powerful artifacts to assault Irving's residence.

"Elder! Shouldn't you take action yourself? Although you've entrusted us with powerful artifacts, the defenses of Irving's home are quite formidable. If you don't intervene personally, it will take us a long time to break through," one of the Night Blades members said.

Elder Astra nodded solemnly. "That is indeed the case! However, there's no need to rush. Our goal is not to destroy Irving's home; we only need to ensure that Irving returns there immediately."

As soon as Elder Astra finished speaking, a violent flash of light obliterated all the Night Blades members surrounding Irving's home. This flash was a fire spell unleashed by Irving himself. From nearly five kilometers away, he activated the Staff of Calamity to launch an attack on the members of the Night Blades.

Elder Astra and the Night Blades members quickly realized that Irving was approaching. Elder Astra pulled out the Dark Portal, which had been sealed away. With all seals removed, even though the artifact wasn't activated, the dark power it contained began to transform the surrounding wildlife into monsters uncontrollably.

With a trembling voice, Elder Astra urged the other Night Blades members, "You need to execute our plan immediately! There's no reason for you to stay here any longer!"

Receiving these clear orders, the Night Blades members quickly fled. They understood well that if they lingered, they would be swiftly eliminated by Irving.

After most of the Night Blades members had departed, Elder Astra activated the Dark Portal. The moment the Dark Portal was activated, a powerful wave of dark energy surged forth. All creatures within a five-kilometer radius were transformed into Dark Monsters.

Wildlife transformed into twisted, bloodthirsty monsters, while humans were converted into dark zombies. Elder Astra himself was also struck by the intense dark energy. However, as someone skilled in casting dark power spells, he managed to convert some of that dark energy into strength for himself.

The dark energy emanating from the Dark Portal not only turned all surrounding creatures into dark monsters but also completely destroyed the defenses of Irving's home.

Deep within Irving's house, Wendy's expression was one of sheer horror. She had never encountered such a perilous situation before. All the magical formations around the house had been obliterated, and the artifacts that Irving had previously given her had been destroyed in the earlier battle. Wendy felt utterly hopeless.

She could only hide in the innermost part of the house, praying for Irving to return quickly. Just as Wendy was praying, Dark Monsters began crawling toward her.

When Wendy turned to look in the direction of the noise, she was met with the sight of a massive spider. This enormous spider had eyes glowing with a dark light, and its gigantic pincers were less than a meter away from Wendy.

At that moment, Wendy felt as if her breath had been stolen away. She sensed that every ounce of warmth had drained from her body. She was unable to move, feeling as though her very soul was being consumed by the monstrous spider before her.

The gigantic spider lunged at Wendy with incredible speed. However, the attack did not inflict any harm on her, as Irving arrived just in time. He blocked the spider's assault with his staff and unleashed a powerful fire spell, reducing the massive spider to ashes.

Wendy's heart soared with joy at Irving's arrival. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she excitedly embraced him.

"Why did you take so long to come?! I thought you weren't going to save me! I was almost killed by those Night Blades and the monsters they summoned!"

Her voice was filled with intense emotion—part relief at being rescued and part a release of her earlier terror.

"Alright, alright. Don't cry anymore! I'm here now, aren't I? Not only can I save you, but I'll also make sure to eliminate all those Night Blades members as quickly as possible," Irving said while comforting Wendy, remaining vigilant and observing the surroundings.

The Dark Portal possessed immense power, which naturally led Irving to notice it. Although he recognized that the Dark Portal posed the greatest threat to him, he refrained from taking immediate action. The power of the Dark Portal was simply too overwhelming.

"First, find a safe place to hide!" Irving urged Wendy. "The battle ahead will be extremely intense, and staying here puts you in great danger!"

Once Wendy had left the battlefield, Irving grasped his staff and slowly approached the Dark Portal. At that moment, he noticed Elder Astra standing beside it.

Seeing his adversary, Irving coldly remarked, "It seems everything you said to us before was nothing but deception. You misled us to the outskirts and then used this powerful artifact to attack my home. I am quite curious about your actions. Given that you successfully deceived us, you should have targeted something of greater value. Do you really think my home is such a valuable target?"

Elder Astra's expression remained unchanged upon hearing Irving's words. In truth, he did not wish to be in the current situation, but he had no other options left. When the Envoy of Filth pressured him directly, he had already lost any chance of retreat. Elder Astra's actions were merely an attempt to salvage the situation. Since the Envoy of Filth had exerted immense pressure, Elder Astra felt compelled to comply with their demands.

Elder Astra slowly responded, "Your home is indeed a very valuable target. If we can destroy it, the Night Blades will have the means to extract all the information contained within."

His words were still a deception aimed at misleading Irving. After hearing Elder Astra's response, Irving let out a cold laugh.

"You Night Blades have many peculiar methods! However, those methods are of no use to me! Today, you will learn the consequences of deceiving me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Irving transformed into a streak of golden light, rapidly charging toward Elder Astra and the Dark Portal. Irving was determined to eliminate Elder Astra swiftly.