Chapter 144-4: Core of the System, Striving to Cross Upstream (4) |
If the hunt level were under 15, they were confident they could defeat the Monster through skilled tactical cooperation.
But a hunt level of 92 had already exceeded the limits they could handle.
Absolute power crush could not be compensated by tactics or by items.
The violent air current brought by the roar shaved off more than half of their health. No matter how they looked at it, it was a dead end.
At this moment, the leader Yu Ling took from his inventory a game-version cigarette purchased from the Trading House, crafted by Spirit Chef players using spirit plants and priced at 0.05 sacrificial power per stick. He calmly lit it, took a deep drag, turned and slowly closed his eyes. As he exhaled white mist, he sighed.
“Thrilling.”
The other Skyfeather players all sighed as well, each lighting a cigarette. With indifferent expressions they looked at the Snow Ridge Great Wilderness, assuming a calm that put life and death beyond concern.
Just then, a terrifying giant hand smashed down with a gale.
Boom.
The dozen-plus Skyfeather players were, without suspense, slapped into black mist by the Snow Ridge Great Wilderness with one palm, and their souls returned to Emperor’s Sign.
After the players died, Qi Sheng’s consciousness continued forward to the foot of the ridge.
Sweeping his consciousness, he found 387 Snow Ridge Great Wilderness living in the snow valley below the ridge, and he immediately dismissed the idea of issuing a purification mission.
Although it was occupied by Monsters, the strength of this batch of Monsters was clearly not something players at the current stage could contend with.
His view then jumped to the main battlefield of the Rimewinter Snowfield.
The abstract street-thug brawl was still being staged, a scene that could be called noobs pecking each other.
The newbies were already very weak. Qi Sheng had always believed that the vast majority of players at the current stage relied on attribute crush to defeat opponents. Their own combat skills and combat awareness were far inferior to those of the various powers in the Monster World, including those weak races.
With similar attributes, in a 1v1 players would most likely suffer a miserable defeat.
The Ancient God Arena had proven this well.
But the Ecstasy Evil Entities proved with facts that at the same combat power tier no one could be more of a noob than they were.
This was also the first time Qi Sheng had seen players in the Monster World, while at a numerical disadvantage, pull off kills above their level.
But this was precisely the reason he had chosen to open a starter village space here.
The Monsters on the snowfield would eventually be killed off.
But the troop types created by the Lord of Ecstasy would not.
It had invested quite a bit of resources here and certainly would not give up easily. Choosing to establish an experimental base on this snowfield was also because it valued the abundance of low level Monsters that could be used for training.
In theory, by providing players to the Lord of Ecstasy for training, he was also helping it develop.
As for whether the combat system created by the Lord of Ecstasy could keep up with the players’ growth rate, he was even less worried.
The Lord of Ecstasy’s positioning was different from that of the Earthmind Evil Spirit.
The Earthmind Evil Spirit was merely an insignificant combat unit of the terrifying Black Tide. There were far too many evil spirit warriors stronger than it, so it could not monopolize the support resources granted by the Black Tide.
But the Lord of Ecstasy himself was the leader of a power and could supply vast resources to the experimental base.
The only issue to worry about was how long the Lord of Ecstasy could hold out under the players’ rapid growth, and whether he would suffer an emotional collapse and give up early.
—
Palace of Ecstasy, Grand Hall.
Upon the Random Teleportation Altar, the Lord of Ecstasy sat cross-legged. Beside him stood Darktongue, one of the Twelve Gods of the Ecstasy race.
At this moment, messages from the experimental base surfaced in the Lord of Ecstasy’s mind.
In the footage from the Rimewinter Snowfield, a group of the player race was brawling in the snow with the Ecstasy Evil Entities he had replicated and created. Both sides were like street thugs fighting, the battle utterly devoid of order and in chaotic disarray.
“My Lord, how should we handle the player race? Do you require me to take action?” Darktongue asked in a deep voice from the side.
Hearing this, the Lord of Ecstasy shook his head calmly.
“The proving ground happens to lack a whetstone. This batch of descended player race is far weaker than the player race members who invaded the Palace of Ecstasy last time. They fit the current Purple Tide perfectly. In my view, this is a good thing.”
With that, the Lord of Ecstasy turned his head to look at Darktongue.
“Our experiments cannot remain forever at the stage of basic construction. Only actual combat can help us discover shortcomings and find directions for refinement and progress.”
Hearing this, Darktongue opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end chose silence.
“Darktongue, are you wondering why I insist on imitation, and why I imitate simultaneously the legion and ability architectures of the terrifying Black Tide, the Battle Swarm, and the Blue Lantern race, these three models?”
Darktongue lifted his head to look at the imposing figure sitting cross-legged on the teleportation array. After hesitating, he still nodded.
“My Lord, why not choose a single direction? Imitating three directions at once will undoubtedly waste a vast amount of the power of ecstasy.”
Hearing this, a hint of a smile appeared in the Lord of Ecstasy’s eyes.
“Because I cannot judge which legion model best suits us. I have never abandoned the path of pursuing innovation, yet I also understand how difficult technological innovation is. In my eyes, these three legions are strong races that have climbed to the peak of the world. I want to try walking again along their paths to the mountaintop, to learn the essence within, to fuse the strengths of many houses, and ultimately step onto my own road to the summit.”
As he spoke, the altar rotated, bringing the Lord of Ecstasy face to face with Darktongue, and he said softly.
“Have you ever thought of returning to the homeland?”
“I swear to follow My Lord to the death. If the Lord does not retreat, I will not retreat.” Darktongue dropped to one knee at once.
“I know you miss the past. How could I not?” As he spoke, the Lord of Ecstasy raised his right hand, and at once a purple radiance shrouded the hall.
The power of ecstasy generated a homeland illusion.
The Lord of Ecstasy’s gaze passed through interlaced light and shadow, pierced the long river of time, and returned to the past within the illusion. In his eyes was an indescribable gentleness and longing, as if gently tracing the contours of bygone days within memory.
The corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
“Shroud the world in ecstasy, and in my world there will henceforth be no pain, sorrow, or despair.”
He gazed at the self who stood at the peak of the world within the recalled scene, eyes full of yearning.
“At that time my goals were pure, bearing no shackles.”
As he spoke, a faint, almost indiscernible sadness crept onto his brow, but was quickly drowned by that nostalgia.
“After coming to this world, do you know why I am unwilling to return?”
Faced with the question, Darktongue was briefly silent, then spoke:
“Your subordinate does not know.”
“Only after realizing one’s own ignorance is the pride in one’s bones shattered. But admitting one’s ignorance does not mean denying oneself. I have merely found a broader road.”
“Once I already stood upon the mountain peak, looking down upon the myriad beings of the world, until curiosity drove me to pass through the clouds above and I discovered I was only at the starting point of an even higher peak. What was frustrated was the pride in my bones, and what was ignited was my hot blood to pursue the future.”
At this, a hint of self-mockery appeared in the Lord of Ecstasy’s eyes.
“The process of having one’s confidence shattered is undoubtedly painful. The Calamity War of those years is etched in my heart as a shadow, letting me see my own smallness. Yet that wound also spurred me forward. Now more and more living beings are entering the Monster World, and the world situation changes with each passing second.”
“Billions of living beings vie for the peak of the world, striving to cross upstream. Only then did I discover this vast world could become so splendid. In that moment I swore that even if I were shattered to pieces, I would join this long struggle to cross, even if I ultimately became a stepping stone trampled beneath other powers.”
“To choose to be like an ant and be king of a small world, or to struggle to cross with hundreds of millions of races in the vast world, I chose the latter.”
“Though an ant, I refuse to skulk and survive in dark corners. I look up at the vault of heaven, swear to measure the world’s edge with my slender feet, and with my meager strength shake the wall of fate that seems unbreakable. I firmly believe that being born weak is not the final chapter of my destiny, but the prelude that spurs me to fight. I will set out as a weak one and stand proudly upon the summit.”
Standing before him, Darktongue said nothing. In the Lord of Ecstasy’s eyes he saw boundless longing.
It was as if everything in the world could be trod underfoot. The former confusion and timidity had been blown away by the vast ambition in his heart, leaving only infinite yearning for the future and the desire to conquer. His resolve seemed about to pierce the firmament and grasp the stars and bright moon, and with a fearless bearing write his own legendary chapter in the Monster World.
“My Lord, Darktongue swears to follow in your footsteps to the death.”
Hearing this, the Lord of Ecstasy’s swiftly shifting features stilled, and a smile appeared on his handsome face.
“The proportion of resources invested in the proving ground is less than one ten-thousandth of the resources produced by the Palace of Ecstasy. From now on, continue to increase investment. Imitation and replication are not only our way to learn and make progress, but also our way to understand our opponents. If in the future there is an opportunity to stand at the peak of the world, these three strong races will be formidable enemies as we continue to climb upward. Only by understanding them can we better defeat them.”
“Your subordinate understands.” As he spoke, resolve also firmed in Darktongue’s eyes.
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