Chapter 204-1: Calamity Strikes, Terrifying Bully (1) |
Emperor’s Mound Village.
“Gold-Farmer, bring your Grind Kings to apply to join the warband. You’ll enter a free-action squad grouping.”
“Principal, you and the brothers of the Kindergarten can apply to join. Then act together with the Grind Kings and enter the same free-action grouping.”
“Brothers of the Skyfeather race, enter Group 39. Your advantages are speed and aerial combat. When the time comes, follow my command and handle air-raid harassment.”
At this moment, God King was organizing the player assembly.
This time he planned to launch a forceful assault.
Before the war began, God King contacted the leaders of major guilds and formed a joint warband.
All members procured items according to the shopping list he provided, finding goods that matched their professional roles.
He also required core players to purchase one enhancement-amplification state from the Enlightenment Shop.
They aimed to strike in their strongest posture.
Even if they could not win, they had to give the recently arrogant Earthmind Bully a painful lesson.
Such a badass had no place in the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range.
They players were the protagonists of the world. When a villain’s strength was overtuned, it needed to be ruthlessly suppressed.
Responding to God King’s call, players returned to Emperor’s Mound Village one after another and applied to join the warband in teams.
In addition to several familiar top guilds, a large number of alien-race players and renowned top player squads were conscripted.
These also included Li Zheng’s Grind Kings, as well as the Kindergarten group led by the Kindergarten Principal.
Before setting out, God King had all players recheck their purchased items.
Having been suppressed for so long, they had to play with momentum this time.
During this period, God King’s inventory was stuffed full of mental potions.
After lying low for quite a while, his Lord Inherited soul had reached level 45.
Only recently had he begun consuming lord’s power on the battlefield to perform live tests.
The performance in actual combat pleasantly surprised him.
Facts proved that the Lord Inherited soul was very suitable for commander-type players like him to embed.
He could freely alter terrain structures and even weather changes under war mode, creating suitable combat environments for allied players.
War Lord Mode could even provide comprehensive attribute enhancements to players within a local area.
It sent the combat power of players within his consciousness-covered zone soaring.
The previous runs were all tests. This time he planned to go all out.
The lord’s power he had stored now was enough for one large-scale war expenditure.
At this time, the warband had reached one hundred thousand in number.
But God King still felt it was not enough.
With the waxing moon’s blessing, Earthmind Bully was truly terrifying. He needed even more forces to help, even if they were cannon fodder.
They could still bring a certain push to the course of the war.
So he opened his friends list and began contacting the guild leaders of the Giant Brute race and the Night Demon race player forces.
He did not even let off the Gill-Fish race and the Abyssal Mermen who always operated at the Colorful Mist Coast.
As for the newbies of the Rimewinter Snowfield and the cavern world, there was no need.
Though newbies could be used as cannon fodder, they could not deal any damage to Evil Entities, and it was difficult even to break defense.
Entering the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range to join the war would be marching to their deaths.
The number of players assembled finally settled at 122,942.
After distributing speaking privileges in the warband to the leaders of the major guilds, God King enabled warband mute mode, allowing players to communicate only within their own team channels.
“Move out.”
As the words fell, white light flickered constantly at the teleportation point.
The player calamity was officially unleashed.
Once all players had gathered at the village entrance, God King began arranging the formation.
Damage-soaking players, as well as those with the growth-type pet Pollution that could inflict negative status effects, were placed at the very front of the legion formation.
Melee players were distributed behind the damage-soaking players, and on the left wing, right wing, and rear of the legion, forming the second line of defense.
Support players and players serving as cannon fodder formed the third line, with the cannon-fodder-positioned players switching to the first rank at any time to launch death charges.
Spellcasters and physical archers formed the fourth line.
Skyfeather race players flew above the formation.
The growth-type pet Lightfeather was arranged to circle over the heads of damage-soaking players, ready to release beams to heal their injuries at any time.
As for Treasure-Seeking Squirrels and Chubby Peaches, these pure functional pets had no need to be on the battlefield.
After deep communication confirmed no issues with the warband’s configuration, God King issued the order.
“Advance westward, push toward the location I’ve marked on the map.”
At once, the mighty army of the player calamity marched toward the newly opened region.
The derivative Evil Entities encountered along the way posed no threat before players in legion mode. One round of blanket focus fire easily killed them, and the rewards were shared among the legion players.
The Nightmare Riders that had given the Grind Kings so much trouble also met the joint legion along the road, but they could not last a second before being melted.
“Maintain formation. First line damage-soaking players slow your pace.”
As they swept forward, God King continually called out adjustments to the formation’s status.
During the crescent moon and waning moon phases, the joint warband led by God King traveled by vehicles and did not need to maintain formation.
But during the waxing moon phase, there were many derivative Evil Entities that could easily kill players. They needed to maintain combat readiness for the entire advance.
After the legion grew in size, it became too conspicuous and quickly attracted numerous derivative Evil Entities to attack proactively.
Yet players in legion mode could handle it easily.
With one round of Light Shield releases, the stacked shields could not be broken even by Soul Devourers with Hunt Levels over 90, and after a brief struggle they died under the players’ focus fire.
This was also why, when Li Zheng wanted to lead his squad to come meet up alone, God King said it would be difficult to manage.
In the current Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range, squad mode could not take a single step.
Challenging a single derivative Evil Entity was hard enough; running into a group meant only a dead end.
Only legion mode could ignore the combat power suppression threat brought by derivative Evil Entities.
Before long, the joint warband under God King crossed the former Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range and entered a new region.
This place was likewise shrouded by the Evil Moon. It was territory that the Earthmind Evil Spirit had recently expanded into.
—
Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range.
Abyss of Heaven territory node, atop the tower platform.
The Earthmind Evil Spirit stood suspended with arms folded, linked with the Evil Eye.
Behind it, the Evil Eye waved pitch-black tendrils, sharing the perception view.
Under the control of the Earthmind Evil Spirit, endless Evil Entities surged like a black tide rushing westward. Wherever they passed, the flesh and blood of living beings, ores, and even flowers, grasses, and trees were all shrouded and devoured.
After entering the waxing moon, the range covered by the Evil Moon had expanded by more than double.
But the Earthmind Evil Spirit was not satisfied.
The lunar phase could change at any time, and there was no way to predict what the next phase would be.
If it was crescent moon or waning moon, it would clearly fall into a quagmire of war again.
The player race and the Battle Swarm were like tenacious plasters that would not come off. It had to seize every possible moment to grow stronger.
In the direction swept by the Black Tide, an ancient city stood at the end of the plain.
On the towering city walls, a row of figures looked afar at the oncoming Black Tide, their expressions tense.
In their view, the Black Tide was like a moving night curtain, denser than the deepest night, spilling over hills like a tide and devouring everything along its path.
The darkness drew nearer.
The withered yellow leaves outside the city whirled in the wind and turned to powder before hitting the ground, merging into the Black Tide.
“Prepare for battle.”
With a roar from an armored figure, silhouettes rose one after another and hovered above the city wall.
Gazing at the surging Black Tide, none of them spoke. In their ears sounded the noise of rocks being corroded and consumed.
Black quickly covered the verdant green in their sight.
“Kill.”
At once, a rain of elemental arrows from the rear tore the air and poured forth.
Upon reaching a certain height, they fell like meteors toward the Black Tide.
But to their despair, the arrow rain turned to ash the instant it touched the Black Tide.
If you zoomed the view down to the microscopic level. At the instant the arrowheads contacted the Black Tide, countless tiny black particles crawled upward along the tips to gnaw, and even the elemental energy was devoured.
That volley did no damage to the Black Tide and all became nourishment for it.
“Retreat. Fall back to the second line of defense.”
The leader on the wall roared, but it was already too late.
Darkness surged in with a rumble, crashing against the city wall like a gigantic wave. Amid the cracking of bricks and stones, the wall built of spiritual ore melted rapidly like ice cream under the blazing summer sun.
In the darkness, countless wicked figures condensed true bodies and bared their bloodthirsty fangs.
War was on the verge of breaking out.
But this was only war in the eyes of the alien race.
In the eyes of the Earthmind Evil Spirit, the Black Tide was merely crossing a small hill, delaying it a little.
A few minutes later, the Black Tide shrouded and destroyed the entire city.
In the Earthmind Evil Spirit’s perception, on the deathly silent earth, the black tide flowed on like an ever-running nether river, continuing to surge into the distance.
Just then, the Evil Eye’s voice sounded in the Earthmind Evil Spirit’s mind.
“Earthmind, the player race is here.”
Hearing those three words, player race, a slight ripple appeared on the Earthmind Evil Spirit’s cold expression.
It loathed this force with a passion.
Though the Battle Swarm was strong, when it fought for real at least it could provide some nourishment to the Black Tide.
The player race did not give a single hair.
They were like leeches clinging to the body, impossible to shake off or kill, filling it with disgust.
Without the slightest hesitation, a thought flashed and the Black Tide changed direction, preparing to first drive off this troublesome player race before continuing its territorial expansion.