The journey from Tristran to Warson took even lohan Alex had imagined. When the boatman woke him from his aepped onto Warson's pier, five hours had already passed.

  Did I just waste five hours?

  Watg the boatman's figure disappear into the distance, Alex frowned. He hadn't expected Warson to be so far from Tristran, and it was a one-way trip—the boatman had told him he only provided transportation to Warson, not back.

  At first, Alex uzzled, but then he realized that there was a teleportation array uhe small chapel in Warson, which was much faster than any boat.

  Never mind, let's find the shard first.

  With this thought, Alex began to walk towards the town of Warson.

  At this time, Warson had not yet been attacked by the cultists as it had in the game; people were still living peaceful and serene lives.

  He could see fishing boats ing and going, and children pying in the fields. Seeing this, Alex couldn't help but feel a bit mencholic.

  He could imagihat ohe cultists attacked, there would be almost nothi unscathed.

  But unfortunately, Alex was in no position to help; he could barely protect himself.

  He just hoped he could retrieve the shard as quickly as possible, which might give the cultists no reason tet Warson and might divert their attention, thereby sparing this peaceful vilge.

  As an outsider, Alex didn't draw much attention iown, likely because most people were busy w.

  The eown seemed calm and peaceful. Alex didn't io cause any trouble either. He quickly found the chapel iown and knocked on the door.

  Soon, a man dressed as a priest emerged from the chapel, looking curiously at Alex.

  "Hello, stranger. What brings you to Warson?"

  "Hello, Father."

  Alex the priest and then took out Captain Rutherford's letter from his pocket, handing it over.

  "I am a militiaman from Tristran. A meteor fell there, and I heard that some fragments nded in Warson, so I came to see if there are any clues."

  "A meteor?"

  Hearing Alex's words, the priest was momentarily stuhen nodded as if uanding.

  "I know what you're talking about. tally, we did find something very strange. Please, follow me…"

  As he spoke, the priest stepped aside, gesturing for Alex to enter. Hearing this, Alex gave him a meaningful look before stepping into the chapel.

  The chapel was dimly lit, with only the faint light of dles barely illuminating the surroundings.

  "What exactly is it?"

  Alex asked casually as he walked deeper into the chapel. At that moment, the sound of the chapel door closing creaked behind him. Then, the priest's voice echoed again.

  "Oh, it was something a fisherman caught while fishing. It occasionally emits a very peculiar power. The fisherman didn't know what it was, so he brought it to the chapel. I inteo keep it safe, but I didn't expect it to be reted to that meteor…"

  As the priest spoke, he kept a close eye on Alex's back. He then silently reached into his robe and pulled out a dagger. Alex seemed pletely unaware, curiously looking around and asking casually.

  "So, where is the shard?"

  "It's just up ahead…"

  As he spoke, the priest quied his pace, quietly moving behind Alex, gripping the dagger tightly and stabbing towards Alex with force! Simultaneously, a fsh of cold light streaked by!

  Thud!

  "How could... this... be..."

  The priest stared in shock, eyes wide as he looked at the cold bde that had pierced his body.

  The chilling aura of Frostmourne spread, making him feel a fear so inte seemed to freeze his very soul.

  "How did you... find out..."

  "Your ag is terrible. Go home and practice."

  Looking at the dumbfounded priest, Alex sneered. In fact, from the mome the priest, Alex had sensed something was off.

  The priest's eyes were initially full of worry, and when he heard Alex's purpose, he clearly showed a trace of ay.

  What made Alex most suspicious was that the priest had not carefully checked Captain Rutherford's letter. He merely g it briefly after opening it and immediately led Alex into the chapel.

  Alex was always good at reading people, which helped him gather information. This time, his instincts told him something was wrong.

  Moreover, Alex's suspis were firmed when the priest walked behind him instead of leading the way after entering the chapel.

  Normally, sihe priest was hiding the shard, he would have taken the lead.

  But he used the excuse of closing the door to fall behind Alex, which was definitely suspicious.

  The most crucial moment was when the priest made his move.

  Alex distinctly heard his breathing bee heavy for an instant, a natural humaion indig either excitement or nervousness. Without hesitation, Alex summoned Soulrend and swung it backward.

  And Alex's judgment proved correct. This priest was a cultist!

  With a scream, the cultist's soul was forcibly extracted from his body and absorbed into Soulrend. Meanwhile, a line of information appeared before Alex again.

  [Soul Power +45]

  Ihe souls of the living are strohan those of the undead.

  Seeing the system prompt, Alex curled his lips. He thehed Soulrend and began searg for the shard of the holy sword.

  Sihe priest was a cultist, Medusa likely already knew about the shard. Alex specuted that the cultists had deliberately deyed things, causing Nephalem to take a detour!

  Most likely, in the game, Medusa had already taken the shard from Warson before Nephalem arrived!

  The more Alex thought about it, the more he believed this was the truth. Otherwise, why would Medusa's illusion be waiting so leisurely in the celr when Nephalem arrived? It was clearly a trap!

  "It's not here, as expected."

  After a quick search of the chapel, Alex found nothing. However, this only strengthened his vi that the priest hadn't hidden the shard in the chapel first before moving it to the celr as in the game, but had kept it in the celr all along!

  The cultist might have thought his pn foolproof, but he didn't know Alex had already learhe celr's location from the game.

  After finding nothing in the chapel, Alex quickly exited through the back door ao the adjat celr.

  The door was locked, but Alex wasn't ed with such minor issues.

  With cultists and their leader potentially appearing at any moment, he remained vigint, sshed the celr door open with oroke, and walked inside.

  The celr looked much like it did in the game. As Alex walked through the corridor to the ter, he soon saw the hilt of a sword on the tral ptflowing softly.

  This is the shard of the holy sword! Fortunately, it's still here!

  Seeing the shard, Alex felt a wave of relief. He approached the ptform and carefully ied the surroundings.

  Finding no traps, he reached out, took the hilt, and pced it in his pocket. Only then did Alex truly feel at ease.

  "Alright, everything's do was simpler than I thought. Now I just o return to Tristran..."

  "Whoosh!"

  But before Alex could finish speaking, a fsh of light appeared behind the ptform. Suddenly, several figures in yellow robes, looking very much like cultists, emerged.

  They were momentarily stunned upon seeing Alex, and Alex, too, was taken aback for a moment. He quickly realized what was happening.

  These cultists had used a teleportation array to get here!

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