Chapter 261 – How Do You Have So Many God-Level Generals!

Information about Fallen God Attendants is scarce. In the exploration experiences of most Lords, they haven’t even encountered an Attendant’s descent.

Mu Yuan had encountered them several times.

But during those encounters, the power of the Attendants he witnessed was less than one percent of their true strength.

Mu Yuan had once asked the Cold Moon City Lord what an Attendant was.

She replied as follows:

“Attendants are the claws and teeth of the Fallen Gods. They are among the monsters, the few individuals favored by the Fallen Gods and granted power.”

“Attendants can be considered weak in a sense—the vast majority of their ‘Realms’ are very low, and they don’t possess Domains. They rely on the power granted by the Fallen Gods to become strong.”

“But Attendants are not weak either. They are extensions of the Fallen Gods’ power. Although they lack Domains and Willpower Light, they possess many abilities that even legends find difficult to comprehend.”

“They spread Filth and harvest believers for their masters. They can command monsters and descend thousands of miles away through mediums. However…”

“The descent of Attendants is usually restricted. They cannot stray far from their point of descent, and the power the totem carrier can withstand is limited. Unless…”

During the Crimson Mist disaster month, the power of Attendants can spread along with the Crimson Mist.

Attendants can command all monsters, making creatures that only charge forward instinctively become flexible. The reason the battle at Stone Ridge Town was so brutal was because an Attendant was secretly directing it.

Outside his own territory, Mu Yuan initially thought there were none.

The monster waves were still charging forward rigidly, and intelligent monsters could only command a small portion of them.

But at this moment, as the Great Serpent appeared, the monster waves suddenly became more ferocious. Groups of monsters that hadn’t Awakened intelligence but had high Ranks emerged from various corners, launching assaults on the City Walls.

In an instant, several third-Rank monsters scaled the walls.

A Skeleton General was slain.

The situation in the North District of the city was even more critical.

The Serpent Attendant had been hiding and waiting, only now revealing its fierce fangs. What made it more troublesome was that not long ago, Deadbone and other powerful generals had left the territory.

When Deadbone and the others left, they did so discreetly. The Serpent Attendant most likely hadn’t noticed.

It just coincidentally chose the most perfect moment to attack.

…

“Human…”

The Serpent Attendant glanced around but didn’t find that Prodigy general who must be eliminated as soon as possible and absolutely cannot be left alive. However, it did discover the Lord of this territory.

The Great Serpent didn’t recognize this Lord.

But he was a servant of the god, possessing Divine Power. In his eyes, human Lords were as obvious as torches in the night—he could spot them at a glance.

He extended his long forked tongue and licked his lips, “Although this human Lord might just be an accessory to that Prodigy general…”

In his long life, he had seen such combinations before.

Powerful generals and their useless Lords.

But as long as the Lord is killed, even the strongest general will become like water without a source or a tree without roots, instantly losing half their effectiveness.

His cold serpent eyes had firmly locked onto the distant figure.A violent force rampaged unchecked, stirring up waves of black storms. This was the source of the Great Serpent’s confidence. His true form still couldn’t truly leave the Red Mist Zone, but this Incarnation carried much of his power, possessing might that surpassed the Fourth-Order Commander Tier!

Even Domains could be easily shattered by him with the aid of divine power.

He also lacked weaknesses like a totem foundation.

He couldn’t imagine how he could possibly lose.

The earliest battle erupted in the area just one to two hundred meters to the left of the Great Serpent.

The swiftly moving Eight-Armed Snakemen caught up with the Flower Fairies, who had been intimidated and fallen to the ground. At this time, the generals of Tianyuan Territory were all on the City Walls, still far from the central area of the North District.

The Eight-Armed Snakeman let out a sinister, cackling laugh.

The natural spirit ‘Flower Spirit’, only half a meter tall and adorably soft, spread its arms wide, shielding the Flower Fairies.

It was somewhat afraid, biting its lip, but didn’t retreat a single step.

“Don’t you come any closer!”

A crimson glow shimmered along the blade of the Eight-Armed Snakeman’s Saber as it swung down.

Facing the incoming Saber light that seemed to carry overwhelming bloodlust, the Flower Spirit couldn’t help but close its eyes. However, being a creature born for battle, even though it had been engaged in farming, it still retained much of its combat instincts.

While its eyes were closed, an intangible force of growth spread out.

Tender sprouts around it grew wildly, entangling the Eight-Armed Snakeman’s body.

Grass and Vine Entanglement!

This wasn’t just the power of a growth skill; it was also influenced by its nature as a ‘Guardian of Flora’. The Flower Spirit was the protector of plants, and the plants, in turn, were its protectors.

These botanical guards frantically absorbed energy from their surroundings, coiling around the Snakeman’s body and continuously constricting.

A mesmerizing fragrance also wafted from the Flower Spirit.

Just as the Eight-Armed Snakeman began to feel dazed, its entire head was twisted off by the entwining plants.

It rolled and tumbled to a stop right in front of the Flower Spirit.

The Flower Spirit opened its eyes, “Huh? Huh?!”

But as more and more Snakemen swarmed in, the Flower Spirit and Wood Spirit were struggling to hold their ground.

At that moment, a shimmering blue portal materialized.

Arriving on the Battlefield at this critical moment was Isloria, Chief Administrative Officer of Tianyuan Territory, Dean of Tianyuan Academy, Head of the Tianyuan Research Group, and the Chosen Workhorse.

“Even though I’m a civil official, at a time like this…”

She pointed her staff.

Boom—!!

Her hair flew back as a brilliant, starry blue beam shot from the tip of her staff, blasting a Snakeman leaping mid-air into dust.

Simultaneously, six magical orbs whirred into action.

Three flew to the nine, eleven, and three o’clock positions, erecting a hemispherical shield composed of countless crystals.

In the next instant,

Clang—! Boom! Boom!

Saber light descended, and two roaring fiery dragons surged forward, both solidly blocked by the three shields. Isloria had predicted the timing and location of the enemy’s attacks, using precisely the right amount of power to intercept these three lethal strikes.

Then, in the split second when the Saber light and fiery dragons’ energy was spent, and before new attacks could be launched…

The three shields dimmed and vanished, the three orbs sinking slightly.

At the same time, the other three orbs rose, taking their positions. From their eye-like fronts, three beams of accumulated starlight-blue energy erupted.

Like laser beams, they pierced through and annihilated half the bodies of nearby Snakemen, then continued unabated for another one to two hundred meters before dissipating.In just a few seconds, Isloria had achieved four kills.

Her targets were no ordinary creatures—they were high-tier monsters qualified to serve as chieftains or elders in many large tribes.

Had it not been for the spread of the Crimson Mist, which accelerated the emergence of high-tier monsters, even the Great Serpent would have found it difficult to recruit such high-tier subordinates.

“This is a true expert,” the Serpent Attendant mused, slightly surprised.

But considering this territory already had a prodigy commander who had grasped a Domain early on, it made sense for the Lord to recruit another formidable expert.

The Great Serpent had no intention of turning back.

His target had always been one and only one: the Lord of this land.

If the high-tier monsters he brought could exhaust or distract the local commanders, so much the better.

At this moment,

The Lord was rushing over, accompanied by several commanders—but not the prodigy in the black cloak.

Even if that commander were present, the Great Serpent was 1000% confident, let alone in their absence.

Foolish Lord.

Yet, the Great Serpent had seen many such foolish lords.

He waited a moment, allowing the Lord to draw closer, before striking decisively.

The shadow of the giant serpent solidified, resembling a vivid, hundred-meter-long behemoth rising upright to overlook the land.

A black storm swept out under its influence.

Threads of Crimson Mist also descended, encroaching upon the Tianyuan Territory.

The territory was being corrupted.

In Mu Yuan’s ears, an alarm blared far more urgently and loudly than ever before.

“Beep beep beep beep beep—”

「Warning! Warning!」

He glanced at the panel.

When the Great Serpent appeared, numerous conspicuous red dots representing monsters had emerged across the North District.

Among them, the red dots symbolizing Fourth-Order monsters were noticeably larger than those of Third-Order monsters—more accurately described as red glowing masses.

Yet, only when the Great Serpent unleashed his power did the red dot representing the Serpent Attendant finally appear.

Scarlet! Crimson!

Vast swathes of blood-red tides engulfed the North District of the territory.

If ordinary monsters were represented as small red dots and Fourth-Order monsters as red glowing masses, the Serpent Attendant’s symbol was at least a red mist ring!

They were on completely different scales.

Moreover, an energy pressure akin to a tsunami surged forth, overturning soil and stone, suffocating the troops and making it hard for them to breathe.

“This energy is far too immense!!”

Isloria stole a glance and couldn’t help but feel horrified.

Her own energy reserves were substantial. After the Lord’s baptism and her own cultivation and development, even among Fourth-Order Commander Tier experts, her energy was six to seven times that of her peers.

The Undead General’s energy was roughly ten to twenty times that of his peers.

General Dolai’s energy was about thirty to forty times that of its peers? Or even more.

Yet, in her eyes, the Serpent Attendant’s energy was at least a hundred times that of an average Fourth-Order expert! Its mere energy pressure could make Third and Fourth-Order experts feel as if they were carrying mountains.

Boom—

The Serpent Attendant struck, enveloping the area with an invisible gravitational force.

The ground cracked, shattered, and collapsed incessantly, forming a massive pit over a hundred meters in diameter in the blink of an eye—a deep abyss threatening to Devour everything.

Nearby plants, crops, and structures were instantly crushed into dust by the terrifying gravity.

With just this one strike, the Tianyuan Territory suffered significant losses.Mu Yuan had anticipated this. Engaging in battle with an entity of the Serpent Attendant’s Rank inevitably came with losses, yet witnessing it firsthand still wrenched his heart.

Dolai’s eyes turned red with fury.

A terrifying gravitational force crushed its body out of shape, but it immediately unleashed a black-and-white Domain. The Domain seemed to prop up space itself, deflecting the gravitational influence like flowing water.

Domains were incredibly versatile; typically, only a Domain could counter another Domain.

The Serpent Attendant did not possess a Domain.

However, beneath them, the Land of Filth continuously spread, actually corroding the Domain. In mere seconds, Dolai’s Domain became unstable and shattered, unable to hold.

“You no longer have a Domain. Now, it is my time.”

He was, in fact, somewhat surprised.

Another Domain-level powerhouse.

Yet, compared to the prodigy commander who possessed a Domain at the Elite Rank, this Domain-level powerhouse before him was already Fourth Order, which wasn’t particularly exaggerated.

The Great Serpent was merely astonished that this territory had so many powerful commanders.

Among human territories, it was undoubtedly one of the most promising.

They must not be allowed to survive!

…

“They must not be allowed to survive!”

Mu Yuan stared intently at the distant black figure.

A terrifying gravitational force enveloped him, squeezing his bones until they creaked. His entire body struggled to remain upright, as if being choked, nearly suffocating from the discomfort.

But compared to the physical agony, the anguish in his heart was even harder to bear.

He had to act quickly, eliminating this Great Serpent at the fastest possible speed. Otherwise, if a battle of this level truly erupted, the entire North District would be insufficient to withstand the devastation. The losses would be immeasurable!

The Great Serpent was the most deserving of death he had ever encountered!

The massive shadow of the Great Serpent pounced downward.

Beside him, Xiliu roared, gathering a crimson Dragon Claw at full power and slamming it upward, forcefully repelling the diving Great Serpent.

Claw marks were left on the Great Serpent’s scales.

“An epic lifeform, the Red Dragon?”

The Great Serpent was astonished—another powerful commander.

But his surprise was fleeting. Though the Red Dragon was strong, it remained insignificant before his colossal serpent form.

Roar!!!

An even more ferocious and sinister frost Dragon emerged from the side.

It did not lunge to bite, but instead, the soulfire in its eyes blazed brightly, unleashing an Extreme Cold Tide that surged like waves, inch by inch covering the Great Serpent.

The Great Serpent twisted its body, erupting with an earthy yellow glow.

The frost shattered and fell away, but then crackled and reformed layer by layer.

Yet another epic lifeform!

The thought had just surfaced when—

Mid-air, Dolai, unable to maintain its hovering stance under the gravitational force, viciously stretched its mouth open to its ears.

It knew that with the Great Serpent’s terrifying mass, Space Devour couldn’t swallow it whole.

It couldn’t be devoured in one go.

So, Dolai shifted the focus of its skill to ‘Bite Crush.’ Aiming at the Great Serpent’s tail, tooth-mark-like spatial cracks spread out with a series of cracks.

Buzz—

The Great Serpent dared not maintain the gravitational field any longer.

It erupted with a brilliant earthy yellow glow all over, rolling black storms swirling around it. With all its might, it broke free from the spatial restraints, and the ice crystals covering its body shattered with a crash.

But the next moment, the Slime Dolai beneath the girl Dolai also opened its giant maw.

Tooth-mark-like spatial cracks spread once more.

This time—

Crack—

Boom!!!

One-third of the Great Serpent’s body shattered into thick black mist, vanishing into the endless darkness along with the collapsing space.The remaining two-thirds of its body also became withered and blurred.

The Great Serpent stood directly before Mu Yuan, the straight-line distance no more than fifty meters.

Eyes as large as sedans were filled with shock and bewilderment.

Facing those eyes, Mu Yuan, who had long raised both hands, pulled his palms apart as if unzipping a massive maw.

Crunch, crunch—

An enormous, jagged bite mark, even longer than Dolai’s previous Space Devour, abruptly appeared, enveloping the remaining body of the Great Serpent.

Space froze.

Those cold, reptilian pupils struggled frantically, and the next moment…

Shattered completely!

Space resembled a broken mirror, some fragments reflecting half a vertical pupil, others showing scales shrouded in black mist, all ultimately sinking into the collapsing black hole.

The black mist dissipated.

The Crimson Mist vanished.

The Land of Filth ceased its spread, and vitality slowly returned.

「Prompt: You have slain the externalized form of ‘Attendant·Great Serpent,’ inflicting severe damage upon the Great Serpent.」

Where the Great Serpent’s body had vanished, a crystal wreathed in ominous crimson light slowly descended.

「Polluted Externalization Crystal·Fragment」

「Category: Materials」

「Grade: Special」

「Description: An Externalization Crystal is a wondrous artifact capable of bearing one’s own power and refining it into a permanent Incarnation. An Incarnation forged through an Externalization Crystal shares consciousness with the main body and can perfectly utilize all of the user’s abilities, though its power cannot reach the legendary tier.」

「Note: This Externalization Crystal is damaged and has been corrupted by Filth. It can be purified using the power of heaven and earth.」

Mu Yuan stepped forward and gently touched it.

The purifying light of heaven and earth did not immediately erupt; instead, a soft chime sounded.

「Prompt: Purify ‘Polluted Externalization Crystal·Fragment’? This purification will consume 16,960g of Soul Sand.」

Mu Yuan: “…”

It actually costs money!

What could he do? Of course, he had to pay.

Strands of purifying radiance burst forth, far less dazzling than when purifying the Root of Filth.

Moments later, the ominous crimson light surrounding the crystal had completely vanished.

「Externalization Crystal·Fragment」

「Description: Gather enough fragments to synthesize a complete Externalization Crystal. Current completion: 23.56%.」

Although he had obtained a precious material…

Under the terrifying gravitational influence of the Great Serpent and the residual shockwaves of their battle, the area spanning hundreds of meters was utterly devastated.

Large patches of Golden Fertile Soil were completely ruined, and the rare-grade crops and medicinal herbs planted on them were naturally destroyed in the process.

The losses were immense!

The only surviving treasure tree in this area was the Icy Purity Fruit Tree, protected by the barrier Isloria had erected. Even so, this precious tree looked as if it had been ravaged by a category-ten hurricane, with countless branches and leaves broken and its life force dimmed.

Dolai, Xiliu, Isloria, and other commanders relentlessly pummeled the remaining high-tier monsters to death.

The battle within the city walls completely ended 67.4 seconds later.

“We will remember this grudge against the Great Serpent!”

…

At the same time, the situation in Stone Ridge Town was precarious.

Several high-tier monsters, hidden within the tide, suddenly charged out. They stepped on the monsters beneath them, leaping onto the city walls over ten meters high, and lunged at the third-tier halberdiers clad in silver armor inside.

Thud! Thud! Thud!Two high-level monsters were pierced by thunder pillars blasted from the Thundercoil Towers, while one had its shoulder blade split by a halberdier. However, the halberdier also perished on the spot due to the high-level monster’s mutual destruction tactics.

Exchanging one Third Order commander for the lives of a Fourth Order high-level monster and countless mid-to-low-level monsters was a bloody bargain for the monster side.

It further demoralized the human defenders.

After all, the defenders of Stone Ridge Town were composed of teams from various Lords and players. While the Lords understood the necessity of holding the defense line at all costs, they still couldn’t achieve complete selflessness and disregard for their own lives.

This was only human nature.

Everyone fears death. No one wants to see their trusted commanders—those they’ve invested countless resources and emotions in—perish here.

Thus, the already disadvantageous situation became increasingly difficult.

“Found it!”

“The location of the highest-level intelligent monster hiding behind the monster tide!”

(End of Chapter)