“Benefactor, I’ll find a place for them to settle,” Anna said as she took charge of leading the powerhouses away.
The area around the Tree of Life was John’s private domain and off-limits, but the Vein of the Earth was an excellent alternative.
The spiritual energy in the vein of the Earth was even more concentrated than around the Tree of Life, making it an ideal location.
The Black Turtle remained behind, looking at John with concern. “Kid, where did you find so many powerful beings?”
He seemed worried, as some of these individuals were far stronger than him, especially Behemoth, a terrifying creature known for feasting on dragons.
With so many strong beings now in the area, he feared that if they had any ill intentions, he would be powerless to stop them.
John, sensing the Black Turtle’s concerns, reassured him, “Don’t worry. They won’t dare make any moves, not with your grandpa turtle around.”
“Hmm?” The Black Turtle frowned, annoyed. “Are you trying to make fun of me, kid?”
“Make fun of you?” John paused, realizing the misunderstanding, and quickly explained, “I meant your grandpa turtle, as in Senior Tony.”
“Grandpa Tony?” The Black Turtle was confused at first but then suddenly realized
something, his eyes widening in surprise. “Did you really enter the Abyss? Are these guys all from the Abyss?”
John nodded in confirmation.
“And where’s Grandpa Tony?” The Black Turtle asked, not seeing Tony among the group, his concern evident.
“Don’t worry, Senior Tony is fine. Do you know Senior Ben? He’s there too,” John replied.
The Black Turtle breathed a sigh of relief, but his curiosity remained. “Senior Ben was imprisoned in the Abyss as well? They couldn’t leave?”
John explained, “It’s not that they couldn’t leave; they chose not to. If you want to see them, I can take you to the Abyss.”
“Uh, no thanks. I’d rather not disturb the seniors,” the Black Turtle quickly declined.
It seeming a bit fearful of both Tony and Ben.
John didn’t press the issue and turned to Sini, asking, “Did anything major happen while I was away?”
“Yes, quite a lot actually,” Sini nodded as she led John to a treehouse, where she began summarizing the events of the past month.
The Faction System had launched not long after John entered the Abyss.
First, the Angel Race’s Temple Faction was introduced, followed by the Dark Humans’ Dark City Faction and the Orcs’ Land of Corruption Faction.
These three factions were all backed by the gods.
Players could choose to join a faction, each offering different attribute bonuses.
The Temple granted 1 point of Divinity, the Dark Humans’ Dark City increased physical and magical damage by 10%, and the Orcs’ Land of Corruption provided a 10% boost to health points.
“Divinity?” John was puzzled. The last time he killed a Two-Winged Angel, he plundered 1 point of Divinity from it.
Curious, he asked, “Sini, do you know what this Divinity is?”
Sini shook her head, “I’m not sure. There’s been a lot of speculation among players, though- many think it might be related to the gods.”
The gods?
John wasn’t convinced. He had obtained Divinity by Plundering it from a Two-Winged Angel, who was only a Tier 7 being. It seemed unlikely that it had anything directly to do with the gods.
“And there’s more,” Sini continued. “After the Faction System opened, several new races appeared, and the resources in the world of Gods have doubled, including the number of monsters. Some of these new races have attacked cities belonging to the Dark Humans as well as player-built cities. Both Saint Martial Sect and Flame City were attacked, but we managed to defend them without much trouble.”
“Resources doubled? Monster numbers doubled?”
John thought this was a good development, as it would allow players to level up and grow stronger more quickly.
“Have any powerful beings from the Angel Race or Dark Humans appeared?” he asked, still concerned about these two races.
He knew they had Tier 9 powerhouses among them.
With the Faction System now active, he wasn’t sure if those powerhouses would make their
move.
“No,” Sini replied, also finding it strange.
She had asked Tracy about it, but Tracy didn’t know what the Angel Race and Dark Humans were planning either.
“By the way, John, there’s something else,” Sini added, as another thought came to her. “Saint Martial Sect and Gates City have both unlocked faction missions. Once the city reaches Level 5, you can establish your own faction.”
“We can establish our own faction?” John was surprised.
This Faction System didn’t seem to exclusively benefit the races under the gods’ control.
“What about other cities? Can they establish factions too?” John thought about Ritchie’s
Flame City.
Sini shook her head, “No, only Saint Martial Sect and Gates City have triggered the faction missions.”
John furrowed his brow, suspecting he was onto something.
It seemed that only forces native to the world of Gods could unlock faction missions once they built cities. The attacks from various new races on Dark Humans’ cities and player-built cities were likely driven by this objective.
Gates City’s lord was Ada, once a princess of the Gates Empire and a native human of the world
of Gods.
As for Saint Martial Sect, John speculated that it might be related to the Sect’s development of a new class system.
John then asked, “Sini, how do we establish our own faction?”
Since the faction mission had been triggered, establishing their own faction would be a significant step, allowing players to further enhance their strength.
Sini recalled the details and said, “Once the city is upgraded to Level 5, the faction challenge mission automatically begins. It involves defending against a monster tide for twelve hours.”
“That easy?” John was a bit surprised.
Upgrading a city required specific altar upgrade stones, which could only be obtained one level at a time. The stones could be acquired by destroying Dark Humans’ cities.
John speculated that this was likely the reason why powerhouses from various races were attacking the Dark Humans’ cities.
As for defending against the monster tide, with the powerful beings under his command- three Tier 8 legendary powerhouses, plus the option to summon Tony and Ben whenever needed-he felt confident.
As long as there weren’t large numbers of Tier 9 powerhouses or god-level entities, holding
off the monster tide for twelve hours shouldn’t be a problem.
Sini then added, “By the way, there’s something else—you’ve fallen off the level
leaderboard.”
“What?” John was shocked and quickly opened the level leaderboard. Sure enough, his name
was nowhere to be found.
[1. Kent; Divine Messenger; Tier 6, Level 504]
[2. Toby; Light Mage; Tier 6, Level 502]
[3. Beast Emperor; Holy Mage; Tier 6, Level 500]
[4. Butcher; Berserker; Tier 6, Level 500]
…
The leaderboard was filled with powerhouses above Tier 6, Level 500.
The top spot was held by someone named Kent, a character John had never encountered
before, with the hidden class “Divine Messenger” at Tier 6, Level 504.
Judging by the name, John guessed this person was likely from the Azure Family.
It similar to how the Mike White Family had aligned themselves with the gods.
What surprised John even more was seeing Tracy on the list.
[10th Place: Star Dust; Alchemist; Tier 6, Level 500]
Even the last person on the leaderboard was at Tier 6, Level 500!
Apart from Tracy, everyone else on the list seemed to be from the Mike White Family or the
Azure Family.
John was astonished, knowing firsthand how difficult it was to level up.
He had spent an entire month in the Abyss, killing a vast number of high-level Abyss demons,
yet his level had only increased to 455.
The speed at which these others had leveled up was far from normal.
Sini continued, “I asked Tracy about it. She said they were helped by the Angel Race and were able to enter a secret area where they gained ten times the normal experience points.” “Ten times the experience?!” John was shocked. He hadn’t known that such a powerful secret area existed in the world of Gods.
If he could access it, he could quickly push his level to the peak of Tier 9.
The thought tempted him. If he reached the peak of Tier 9, he could refine the treasures of the Demon Race and Beast Clan, becoming a being on par with the gods.
However, knowing that the experience secret area was controlled by the Angel Race, John realized that acquiring access to it wouldn’t be easy.
“Let’s leave here for now and plan how to establish our own faction,” John decided, taking
Sini with him as they left Death Land.
The two reappeared at the Saint Martial Sect, where the signs of recent battles were evident. The sect had been under attack from several powerful beings lately.
Fortunately, with Anna, the Black Turtle, and others defending, they had managed to protect both the Saint Martial Sect and the City of Darkness.
Anna had left a marker at the Saint Martial Sect, allowing the powerful beings from the Land
of Darkness to be summoned at any time. If Flame City were to face danger, they could quickly
use the teleportation array at Saint Martial Sect to provide support.
Ding!
At that moment, Sini’s private chat alert sounded.
She glanced at the message, her brow furrowing, and then said, “John, it’s a message from
Ritchie. Flame City is under attack by the Demon Race again, and they’re requesting our
help.”
This was already the fourth time the Demon Race had attacked Flame City since the Faction System had launched.
It seemed the Demon Race had taken a particular interest in Flame City.
Usually, Sini and Anna would lead the reinforcements.
But with John now present, she felt more at ease.
“Let’s go,” John said. They quickly made their way to the Saint Martial Sect’s teleportation
array and transported directly to Flame City.
The city was eerily empty, with no signs of people in the streets. All the players had gathered
at the city walls. However, there were no sounds of battle, which indicated that the fight hadn’t yet begun.
“Let’s move!” John wrapped an arm around Sini and took off in Sword Flight, swiftly reaching
the city walls.
Outside the city, tens of thousands of Demon Race troops were gathered but hadn’t yet
launched their attack.
On the walls, the 10,000 members of the Flame Legion stood ready, their expressions
resolute, with no one showing any sign of retreat.
John couldn’t help but admire Ritchie’s leadership-his soldiers were all elite warriors. “Hey, isn’t that the Godslayer!” someone on the wall exclaimed, noticing John approaching
on his sword.
“It really is!”
“Haha, those Demon Race scum better tremble in fear. Our Godslayer is back!”
The mood shifted instantly from tense and somber to one of excitement and relief.
John was a bit surprised. He hadn’t realized he had gained such influence. “Boss, you finally made it!” Ritchie rushed over to greet John, clearly relieved.
At that moment, Ritchie looked disheveled and exhausted, with bloodshot eyes that suggested he hadn’t rested well in a long time.
The Bloodthirsty Demon Wolves behind him were also battered and worn, showing signs of
having endured numerous battles.
“You’ve been through a lot,” John said, patting Ritchie on the shoulder, realizing that the
past month had been tough for him.
“Heh, it’s nothing,” Ritchie replied, forcing a smile.
John turned his attention to the Demon Race army gathered outside the city and asked, “What’s the situation with these Demon Race forces?”