Chapter 123: Guessing Right, Countering

Priest An Dao mistakenly believed that Kamiyu knew about their Holy Mother Cult’s plan, thinking that someone must have betrayed them from behind.

When Kamiyu first came to the Holy Light Cathedral earlier, her face had already shown an expression of “I know what’s going on.”

Now that she had obtained a powerful weapon, there must be someone helping her from behind.

“Who exactly is it? Another Level 50 committee executive?” An Dao thought with fear and trembling.

Thirteen years ago, a group of Players were teleported by the Heavenly Father to the Crimson Earth, and later a batch of Players survived, with An Dao being one of them.

These Players had all reached Level 50 Max Level, and they referred to each other as executive committee members.

An Dao shook his head, thinking it impossible—those executive committee members couldn’t do such things, and they didn’t know his plan either.

He shifted his gaze to the few priests behind him. The plan to use Lei Yao to have the Hell Army invade the Real World was known only to them.

If it wasn’t them who betrayed the Holy Mother Cult, then who else could it be?

Heavenly Father Inarius indicated, “Do you think I know?”

So An Dao said, “It seems I need to interrogate all of you properly.”

“Lord An Dao, it wasn’t us. We didn’t do such a thing. We are the Holy Mother’s most faithful believers,” one priest pleaded for mercy.

“That’s right, by the Holy Mother above, if I betrayed the Holy Mother, I would fall into heaven, never to be reborn,” another priest swore firmly.

“Lord An Dao, could it be that news leaked from Lei Yao’s side? He wants to capture the Main City, and if everyone knew, they would surely spread this important news,” one priest, clearer in mind, suggested.

“Lei Yao locked down the Sanctuary from the start. How could news leak out? By making a phone call? Or sending a WeChat message? Does the Crimson Earth have base stations?” An Dao flared up, his oppressive aura instantly forcing everyone to the ground.

Communication methods in the Crimson Earth were very primitive. It didn’t have channels for typing like in games; communication had to be face-to-face, or information had to be relayed by Players of the Beast Tamer class.

“It really wasn’t us.”

An Dao paid no attention to these people. Humans could not be trusted; they had to be tortured and questioned.

An Dao then cast his Level 50 Ultimate Skill. A patch of black shadow immediately spread on the ground, swallowing all five priests into the shadow.

“Phantom, go strip them of everything,” An Dao said to the black shadow on the ground.

A “gurgle, gurgle” sound arose.

Though there were no flames, the black shadow on the ground twisted and contorted wildly.

An Dao looked solemnly toward Kamiyu on the northern tower, wondering how to proceed with this plan.

He turned and walked into the abyss of the Holy Light Cathedral, while the black shadow named Phantom remained on the spot like a pool of black water, trembling eerily.

One side rejoiced, another side worried; the two factions engaged in schemes and plots were mired in trouble and sorrow.

Meanwhile, the other side entered an atmosphere of joy and happiness.

At this very moment, the Main City entered a state of revelry. Players on the city walls shouted loudly, and some even took out fireworks from Reality to set them Burning.

Unlike the previous desolate, solemn, and despair-filled atmosphere, now everyone’s faces were radiant with joyful, striving smiles.

The sense of insecurity in everyone’s hearts completely vanished. With Kamiyu’s help, a life-or-death war had been transformed into a leveling competition—a race to see who could kill monsters first.

Veteran players couldn’t help but marvel: “This is so much easier than every previous Hell Tide.”

“Damn, I can’t hold back anymore—I’m going down to slaughter those Demon Beasts,” said one Newcomer Player.

All of this was thanks to Kamiyu’s “Lighting the Sky Lantern” tactic.

She had devised the “Hammer of the Thunder God” attack, which combined Curving Bullets with Thunderstorm Bullets in an Arc Splatter Mode, prioritizing level 25 Cyclops targets.

A single blast would wipe out an entire group; even if it didn’t kill them outright, it would leave the surrounding Demon Beasts with low HP, allowing even players around levels 10 to 20 to secure kills through teamwork.

Moreover, lightning-based attacks came with a built-in paralysis effect. Those not killed outright would be immobilized, making it especially advantageous for players with ranged attack classes.

Jack, in particular, dared to charge into the midst of the Aberrant Beast Demons despite being only level 12. Wielding his Dragon Slayer Blade, he spun continuously like a top, whirling around as if using a hack.

Because it was a Legendary Tier Dragon Slayer Blade, any Aberrant Beast Demon that touched it was instantly cleaved in two.

He leveled up frantically, reaching level 15 before the first wave was even halfway over.

Kamiyu had eliminated most of the first wave of the Hell Army, leaving the remaining scattered stragglers and defeated remnants for the other players to mop up.

Li Changde, who had seen the outcome early on, had already returned to the Main City to take charge. He reassigned tasks, exchanged items, and prepared to defend against the next wave.

Li Changde did not call Kamiyu down; instead, he climbed to the top of the tower to report to her personally.

“Lady Kamiyu,” he said, “there are no Aberrant Beast Demons within 10 kilometers in any of the four directions. Should we push our battle lines even further?”

Kamiyu shook her head. “Pull our troops back. Our real enemy lies within.”

Li Changde’s eyes widened in surprise. “Has someone betrayed us?”

“Exactly,” Kamiyu replied. “I noticed that An Dao, the priest from the Holy Light Cathedral, has been watching me this whole time. Be wary of that fellow from the Holy Light Cathedral.”

Li Changde pondered for a moment. “Perhaps the priest is just concerned for you, but human hearts are hard to gauge. It’s better to be cautious.”

“Moreover, of the four directions—east, south, west, and north—only the western side, near Lei Yao’s Sanctuary, is eerily quiet. I’ve hardly used any Skills in that direction,” Kamiyu added.

All unusual occurrences hinted at hidden dangers.

Kamiyu did not believe in coincidences.

After thinking for a moment, Li Changde suddenly connected everything. He exclaimed in astonishment, “When Lei Yao built his Sanctuary on the cliff before, everyone thought he was plotting to seize Kaijistan. We even fought several battles over it, and many people died.”

“Could it be that he plans to enter Kaijistan alongside the Demons during this Hell Tide?” Li Changde was utterly shocked.

“If he does that, it would be nothing short of betraying humanity. No, I must contact the other Beta Testers,” he said urgently.

“Wait, Guild Leader Li,” Kamiyu said, looking at him seriously. “You’ve overlooked the most crucial point. Your deduction is incomplete, and I need to confirm something with you now.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s about Lei Yao, or the human Players, whether they can control the Hell Tide, whether they can control the Aberrant Beast Demons,” Kamiyu asked.

This question made Li Changde’s jaw drop, his mind reeling.

He had never considered this question at all.

After a long moment, Li Changde said with a grave expression, “Earlier, An Dao told me a whole bunch of the Holy Light Church’s doctrines, stories about the Heavenly Father, humans, and the Aberrant Beast Demons coexisting in ancient ruins.

He hinted that if I joined the Holy Light Church, he would teach me how to communicate with the Aberrant Beast Demons, but I refused.

The Aberrant Beast Demons kill Players on sight—how could there be any communication?”

“That’s it. It all makes sense now. An Dao knows how to communicate with the Aberrant Beast Demons, and Lei Yao has already revealed his ambition to conquer Kaijistan. The two of them have plenty of room for collaboration,” Kamiyu widened her eyes.

“So that’s why there have been no Aberrant Beast Demons on Lei Yao’s side.”

Now that she understood the whole story, Kamiyu was no longer kept in the dark.

“We can’t just sit back and take the hits anymore. We need to prepare countermeasures immediately,” Kamiyu’s mind was already brewing mischief.

If the Aberrant Beasts aren’t attacking your Sanctuary, I’ll just have someone lure them over to attack you.

Jack, go.