Chapter 72-2: Black Tide Approaches, Peerless Massacre (1)

Monsters Are Coming

For this special mission, Qi Sheng had increased the players’ rewards for hunting Evil Entities.

Originally, the system extracted 30% from the hunts, so players kept 70% of their earnings. After the mission was issued, the reward rate increased by 14%, raising the actual return to 79.8%, effectively returning an extra 10%.

This adjustment was designed to encourage players to actively challenge the Black Tide Evil Entities and serve as a blockade to slow the Black Tide’s advance.

Following the mission announcement, online players responded enthusiastically.

The boosted hunting rewards, coupled with the additional contribution prizes, offered a strong incentive.

Since they were going hunting anyway, the benefits of targeting Black Tide Evil Entities were obviously greater.

The player base mobilized rapidly, with many posting recruitment notices in the regional chat channels, organizing teams to head toward the advancing Black Tide.

Many players who had originally been mining in the Shadowed Cavern also joined the collective operation.

A massive army of players set out from Emperor’s Mound Village, heading in different directions to directly confront the oncoming Black Tide.

The first group to make contact with the Black Tide were those pushing north across the Ancient Battlefield region, and the scene before them left them stunned.

The black wave blocked out the horizon, rolling in like a mighty tide. Countless grotesque Evil Entities surged forth from the Black Tide, overwhelming like a locust swarm, and the ground trembled beneath their advance.

The sight resembled a black curtain rising from the far end of the earth, threatening to envelop the entire world in darkness.

“Holy crap, this is terrifying! If this weren’t a game, I’d probably be scared to death!”

“The game just launched and we’re already getting content this intense. Damn Lunar Eclipse race really has high expectations for us.”

“Whew… I can smell the thick aroma of Sacrificial Power. Why does this doomsday-like scene excite me? It feels amazing!” (A certain player spread his arms wide, gazing at the Black Tide in awe.)

“Brothers of the Divine Wings Guild, it’s contribution farming time! Killing one earns us profit, killing two is even better, killing three is crazy profit! Charge!”

—

Amidst the rallying cries in squad and guild voice channels, the player groups charged headfirst into the surging Black Tide.

But as soon as they clashed with the Black Tide, many players who had been bracing for instant death suddenly discovered that things weren’t nearly as bad as they had expected.

The terrifying-looking Black Tide Evil Entities were actually far weaker than the blood corpses, and even inferior to the Cursed Soldiers.

Many analysis screenshots were shared across the regional voice channels:

[Black Tide: Evil Maggot]

Hunt Level: 1

Target Analysis: A low-level Evil Entity born from the Black Tide, lacking self-awareness, acting solely under the will of the Black Tide’s controller.

[Black Tide: Dark Hound]

Hunt Level: 1

Target Analysis: A low-level Evil Entity born from the Black Tide, lacking self-awareness, acting solely under the will of the Black Tide’s controller.

[Black Tide: Demon Flea]

Hunt Level: 2

Target Analysis: A low-level Evil Entity born from the Black Tide, lacking self-awareness, capable of strengthening the Black Tide by consuming flesh and blood.

—

Players were surprised to find that the Black Tide monsters were far weaker than they had imagined.

Most were only hunt level 1-2, with very few reaching level 3.

The weak Black Tide Evil Entities were nothing more than slaughter toys in the eyes of veteran players.

Just like how Black Armor Soldiers had once effortlessly massacred players in the Shadowed Cavern, now that players had discovered the Evil Entities’ low strength, they all entered peerless mass-slaughter mode, charging into the tide for an all-out slaughter.

One player following the monster build transformed into a giant Black-Scaled Serpent over ten meters long, lunging at the Black Tide, rampaging like a flying dragon through the masses of Evil Entities.

Another player switched into Bonefire form, releasing deathly flames to generate five fireballs orbiting his body. He charged into the Evil Entities, sweeping through them, burning any that touched the fireballs into nothing.

Yet another player wielded a Force Savage Axe, swinging wide arcs through the Evil Entities, killing several with each strike like a war god descending to the battlefield.

During this, laughter and excitement filled the regional voice channels:

“So this is how satisfying monster builds can be! Look at that brother’s Black-Scaled Serpent, it’s almost as tall as a three-story building. His hunt level must be 20+ at least! He’s a battlefield bulldozer, absolutely brutal.”

“Hahaha, after more than ten days of getting bullied outside, I can finally enjoy myself.”

“Players with Bonefire Inherited Souls are soaring now! Those fireballs surrounding you make you practically invincible. The only limit is your blue bar (mental power).”

“Damn, I’m also on a monster build, but my Owl-Headed Fiend form is so weak. This isn’t satisfying at all. I’m killing way too slowly.”

“I’m loving this, it’s like mowing grass. Even though most Evil Entities only give 0.5 Sacrificial Power, hearing that constant kill feedback in my head is just insanely satisfying.”

“Watching you guys enjoy this is making me suffer. The forums all said Taunt is the strongest Inherited Soul right now, so I picked Gargoyle combined with Taunt. But the problem is, Taunt only works on intelligent beings, so it’s useless right now. What should I do? Somebody help me!”

“Taunt brother upstairs, don’t tilt yet. At least your Taunt and Gargoyle form still have combat power. I picked Owl-Headed Fiend plus Qi Eater Star Vein combo, thinking I’d use Qi Eater to extend the Fiend’s perception mode for endurance. Turns out it’s completely useless now. Seeing my guild brothers enjoy this so much, I want to switch Inherited Souls too. (God of Wealth red-hot anger clenched fist.jpg)”

—

Watching the battle through the players’ perspectives, Qi Sheng couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

When he first designed the Challenger Plan, he had studied the Black Tide.

What made the Black Tide so terrifying wasn’t just its numbers, but also its devouring-growth function.

All living beings devoured by the Black Tide would become part of its power. In sweeping mode, the Black Tide would grow stronger with every life absorbed, generating increasingly powerful Evil Entities.

But the Challenger System he created perfectly countered this.

When players died, their bodies’ flesh, materials, and energy were extracted by Transdimensional using the Extraction Rule, then reshaped back in Emperor’s Mound Village through Yan Ming’s spatial power.

No matter how many players the Evil Entities killed, they couldn’t absorb even a sliver of growth energy.

But Evil Entities killed by players would instead become nourishment for player growth.