Chapter 162 – It's Time for This Lord to Take Action

The eruption of the monster tide from the depths of the Wicked City jolted the players who were still immersed in adventure and gold rush.

They employed various methods to probe the situation at the city center, and upon seeing the monsters resembling a black tide, their expressions changed drastically.

“I told you this Ancient City appeared abruptly—it must harbor great misfortune!”

“Earlier, I saw the Blazing Gun Mercenary Group from the Divine Radiance Empire rushing to the city center, arrogantly driving away other players and directly occupying the entire area… Damn it, those bastards must have done something!”

“The Blazing Gun Mercenary Group? The one that once excavated ancient ruins and obtained a large amount of technical data?”

This was no obscure mercenary group!

After all, almost everyone who could venture deep into the Wicked City was a seasoned player, yet the Blazing Gun Mercenary Group could still forcefully monopolize the area, which spoke volumes.

Their equipment was also quite unique—every member carried a Burst Firearm.

However, at this moment,

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”Before the black tide,

Players clad in uniform combat suits, wielding silver-and-red intertwined firearms over half a meter long, were fleeing in panic.”

The rearguard and frontline fighters had already been decimated, with few survivors.

Occasionally, a player would turn around, pull the trigger, and unleash a dazzling spear of light, killing over a dozen monsters with a single shot and blasting a crater over two meters wide into the mottled ground. Yet, against the endless black monsters surging from the depths, such damage was like removing a drop or two from a lake—utterly insignificant.

They were soon overtaken by the black tide, screaming as their bodies vanished without a trace.

At this time,

Players throughout the Wicked City were desperately fleeing outward, yet even those on the outskirts trembled with fear.

Despite the distance, they could still see the terrifying black tide.

Like a flood;

Like dark clouds;

It exuded a suffocating, oppressive aura.

Seemingly influenced by the black tide, or perhaps the terrifying shadows, the black mist throughout the Wicked City churned more violently, and an intangible interference descended.

Some players could clearly see the bright world outside but were horrified to find that no matter how they ran, they couldn’t close the distance, as if trapped in an invisible barrier.

Stronger players could break through this interference with powerful mental strength and will, or use various special methods to find the correct path.

However, this also meant they were deeper in the Wicked City.

Everyone was in crisis.

Except for some powerful player groups that had just arrived at the Wicked City and hadn’t yet ventured deep.

The ‘Yellow Scarf Hand’ Mercenary Group from West Ridge City had just arrived. Staring at the scene, they were stunned, dumbfounded, and filled with trepidation.

They were one of the top three powerful mercenary groups in West Ridge City, having received honors such as ‘City Guardian’, ‘Great Explorer’, ‘Spear of West Ridge’, and ‘Friend of the Citizens’ from Taixuan. Every player in the group was elite.

But no matter how elite, they couldn’t muster the will to confront the black tide.

They were only human.

They stood on a hill outside the city, gazing into the distance.

“Thankfully our leader was slacking off recently, or if we’d arrived a few days earlier, yikes…”

“No, we can’t relax yet.”A powerful individual gazed into the distance, “Judging by the current trend, the monster tide is likely to break out of the Wicked City and sweep through the surrounding regions, unleashing a true monster frenzy! Our West Ridge City will likely be affected!

“This is already a disaster, far beyond what our mercenary group can handle. No one in the entire Wicked City region can stand against it. Quickly, notify the West Ridge City Lord!”

…

Deep within the Wicked City, not far from the center.

The Undead General frowned inwardly.

Another unexpected development had occurred.

The already slow closing speed of the spatial gate had slowed even further.

This was undoubtedly influenced by the Wicked City—or rather, the monster tide and the colossal shadow. If they could eliminate the giant shadow, they would surely break this bizarre interference.

However,

The Undead General had a very precise understanding of his own combat capabilities. His power level was far inferior to that of the shadow, making him no match for it.

Forget the colossal shadow—even the seemingly endless tide ahead made it difficult to muster any desire to resist.

There were too many.

And they were too strong.

Among them were numerous Elite-level monsters: shadow-eyed creatures, giant black birds, hundred-eyed crows, and more. One formidable monster after another blended into the tide like drops of water.

“What do we do, gurgle?”

“Hold them off. Just delay until the gate closes.”

Deadbone said.

Soon, the black tide surged toward them.

Deadbone, Dolai, and Isloria took action one after another.

Dolai’s blazing flames spread out, easily incinerating entire streets of ordinary monsters. The Undead General precisely finished off the Elite-level monsters that were difficult to burn to death.

Isloria… she realized she was too lacking—in energy, that is. Her role in such a situation was extremely limited.

She could only provide support, casting buffs on Deadbone and Dolai.

The Undead General was already quite satisfied.

A teammate who could provide buffs was not bad.

The three of them stood like a reef, steadfastly resisting wave after wave of charges, unmoving.

At the center of the black tide, the colossal shadow that seemed to connect heaven and earth let out a low, hoarse roar.

“Invaders… die.”

“The Eagle Kingdom… wait for this king… to gather troops… and crush…”

The giant shadow repeated these words incessantly.

It possessed some intelligence, albeit very little, and gradually turned its gaze toward Deadbone and the others, who were resisting most effectively and whom the black tide monsters had failed to overcome.

An invisible pressure suddenly surged toward them.

Weighing down like a mountain.

“Step back.”

Lord Mu spoke. He stared at the terrifying shadow, not through the eyes of the Storm War Falcon. He had personally arrived at the spatial gate, standing just a step away from the Wicked City.

Standing here, he could also feel the suffocating pressure emanating from the terrifying shadow.

Stronger than the Great Serpent that had descended.

An Incarnation of obsession? A fallen demon? A monstrous mutation? What it was no longer mattered. What mattered was that the shadow posed a threat to the safety of the Tianyuan Territory.

The colossal shadow turned its gaze toward him.

Lord Mu returned the gaze.

His short hair began to lengthen, and a faint yet stronger energy pressure than Dolai or Deadbone’s emanated from his body.

(Isloria: As expected, the Lord is truly the strongest, isn’t he!)

Mu Yuan extended his hand, palm facing upward as if holding up the sky.

“Technique, come!”

Several kilometers away, at the core of the Tianyuan Territory.Within the massive silver cauldron-like Spell Furnace, crimson and azure radiance suddenly shot into the clouds, while thunder roared across the land as if a dragon were bellowing in fury.

One after another, dragons with bodies of flame and scales forged from lightning stretched across the sky, casting brilliant shadows over the Wilderness several kilometers away.

The Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon!

This large-scale spell possessed considerable variability and versatility, yet truly mastering such a technique containing terrifying energy was extremely difficult!

Or rather, nearly impossible! Typically, one could only follow preset configurations to launch the large-scale spell.

But at this moment,

Lord Mu’s veins bulged. After utilizing the Dolai template, his already formidable Mental Energy seemed to break through its limits.

Using his innate talent ‘Mental Link’ as a foundation, his Mental Energy transformed into threads, firmly grasping the irritable giant Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon. With a fierce motion, he hurled it toward the narrow, jagged-edged spatial gate.

Whoosh—

The Thunderflame Dragon howled past Undead General, Deadbone, and Dolai, unfurling its colossal thunder-and-flame body once more in the dim, shadowy Wicked City. It loomed over the tide of monsters, casting endless light and scorching heat!

It dove downward.

Black monsters turned to ashes inch by inch, while the ground cracked and collapsed under searing, charred marks.

The Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon charged straight at the massive shadowy figure.

As if illuminating the figure’s form.

His body was gaunt as dried wood, with sunken eye sockets and a black crown upon his head. Endless black mist enveloped him, magnifying his presence to a sky-piercing, earth-shaking scale, like a king overlooking the mortal realm.

He manipulated the black mist, faintly shaping it into an intangible giant hand that reached out to seize the Thunderflame Dragon.

Another vein bulged on Mu Yuan’s forehead.

His mind spread like a net across the heavens and earth.

Energy blazed like raging flames.

The Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon, with agility belying its massive form, spiraled through the air, slipping through the gap of the black mist hand. It coiled around the giant shadow—a form molded from black mist—winding tighter and tighter with each loop.

Scorching fire and annihilating thunder struck point-blank, sizzling and dispersing the black mist. Before the shadow could roar again, Lord Mu raised his hand as if propping up the sky and clenched it fiercely.

Extreme light erupted from the Thunderflame Dragon, like a sun rising in the pitch-black land.

Wherever the light fell, the surrounding black mist and monsters vanished into smoke.

The radiance finally reached its peak.

A deafening, sky-rending explosion—audible even beyond the city—shattered the silence. A massive Blazing Sun clamped down upon the earth, and a visible shockwave radiated outward from the epicenter.

Where it passed, the black monsters twisted and were torn apart.

Grand and humble buildings alike were instantly demolished, with rubble and broken timber swept up in the hurricane-force winds, hurled outward.

Even the ground and roads were torn up in vast swathes, forming a devastated zone centered on the blast point, spanning at least several kilometers in diameter.

Undead General stood guard before the spatial gate, raising massive bones from the earth to form a solid Wall of Buried Bones. Yet the impact still made it creak and crack, fissures continuously healing only to reappear.

In less deeply affected areas, players were flung dozens of meters by the residual shockwave.

They scrambled to their feet, climbing to the tops of still-standing high-rises in the area to gaze out.

Their eyes were frozen in stunned disbelief.”The black tide is almost gone.”

A player murmured. The monster horde that had been chasing them like death had suddenly been mostly wiped out. Were they safe now?

But they couldn’t laugh, couldn’t relax.

Their hearts were still trembling under the overwhelming might that had just destroyed heaven and earth.

Humans are so insignificant.

What exactly happened?

Suddenly, a player looked up.

Above the Wicked City shrouded in black mist and dark clouds, a massive hole had appeared at some point. Beams of heavenly light streamed down one after another, incredibly bright.

They illuminated the land of the Wicked City that had never seen light before, and also fell upon some players.

They froze for a moment, as if awakening from a deep dream. “No matter what, we survived through this great catastrophe.”

…

Outside the Wicked City, a powerful figure came treading through the air.

His eyes shone with divine light as he gazed at the Wicked City enveloped in dark clouds and black mist, as if covered by a giant lid. His expression gradually grew solemn.

“Ominous.”

“Terrible, something ominous has been born here. It will bring disaster.”

“No, I must quickly report to the City Lord, but the situation is somewhat unclear…”

Just as he hesitated between immediately turning back to deliver the message or briefly entering the city to investigate…

Extreme, brilliant, dazzling flames shot up into the sky, tearing apart the perpetual black clouds above the Wicked City. It was like a fiery heavenly sword stabbed into the city, scattering light that swept everything clean.

It also seemed to reflect the face of the powerful figure standing mid-air, majestic and imposing, yet gradually showing astonishment.

Shock! Shock! Shock!

“What exactly happened?”

…

At the same time, without caring whether the Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon could achieve anything, Mu Someone noticed the spatial door closing significantly faster and immediately called Deadbone and the others to make a quick escape.

He watched and waited.

One second, two seconds, eight and a half seconds.

The spatial door finally closed completely, without a single gap left.

Although updates are a bit slow, I still want to weakly ask for double monthly votes (with a longing face)

(End of chapter)