Elsa knew how difficult the task would be, but she still spoke firmly: “This is a direct order from the God of Light. We must help them reach the ninth tier as quickly as possible. I’m counting on you all to make it happen.”
“The God of Light’s command?” The angel dared not show any further dissatisfaction. He nodded and was about to leave.
At that moment, three system announcements echoed.
[Announcement: The elves have joined Flame City, initiating the elf faction quest. Defend against the monster tide for 12 hours to establish the faction.]
…
“Flame City?” The angel paused, turning back to Elsa. “My lady, that’s the city controlled by the Godslayer.”
“Curse him!” Elsa’s face darkened, her teeth clenched in anger.
She had initiated the Faction System to expand the influence of the Angel Race, only for this human to benefit in the end.
The angel cautiously asked, “Shall we try to stop them?”
“Stop them? How? Can you enter the World of Gods and kill two ninth-tier peak powerhouses?” Elsa snapped, glaring at him. The faction was being established, but no ninth-tier beings could descend. Unless the Godslayer came to City of Angels himself, there was nothing she could do.
“Go handle your own tasks,” she waved him away, clearly irritated.
The only way to deal with the Godslayer now was to open the passage between the World of Gods and Earth ahead of schedule.
Once the connection was made, not only ninth-tier powerhouses but gods themselves would be able to descend.
By then, no matter how many strong allies the Godslayer had, he would be doomed.
The six-winged angel bowed respectfully and quickly retreated.
“Godslayer, enjoy your time while it lasts,” Elsa muttered coldly before disappearing in a flash.
…
World of Gods, The Land of Darkness, Flame City.
The Flame Legion, elite disciples from the Saint Martial Sect, as well as John’s forces of elves and Beast Clan warriors, were all gathered, standing ready for the incoming monster tide.
Ritchie climbed the city wall to where John stood and asked, “Boss, now that the elves are establishing their faction in Flame City, can we join?”
Players who join a faction receive attribute buffs.
Currently, the available factions in the World of Gods included the Angel Race’s Temple, the Dark Humans’ Dark City, and the Saint Martial Sect of the Ancient Martial Arts families. The Temple and Dark City weren’t options Ritchie would consider.
While the Saint Martial Sect was an option, it wasn’t ideal for ordinary players.
The newly formed elf faction seemed like a great fit, especially since it was based in his territory.
John glanced at him and replied, “Don’t worry. From now on, Flame City will be co-managed by you and Bonnie. You’ll be equals. If you want to join the elf faction, you’re free to do so.”
“Really?” Ritchie looked over at Bonnie. The woman had an icy expression, radiating a dark aura, and didn’t seem very approachable.
John chuckled but didn’t explain further.
Bonnie may appear cold on the surface, but deep down, she wasn’t a bad person.
Moreover, the elves were only using Flame City to establish their faction. Most of the time, they would remain in Death Land, meaning they wouldn’t have much interaction with Ritchie.
Roar…
Suddenly, the roars of beasts echoed through the forest, the ground trembling slightly as countless fourth- and fifth-tier magical beasts charged toward the city.
The Flame Legion and the elite disciples of the Saint Martial Sect had all reached at least the fourth tier, making them barely capable of handling these beasts. John wasn’t in a rush to intervene.
Ritchie was already down by the city walls, commanding the army.
Knights and warriors formed the front lines, charging bravely while the priests behind them worked to heal, minimizing casualties as much as possible.
From atop the walls, mages, archers, and other ranged classes unleashed a barrage of attacks on the approaching horde of magical beasts.
The Beast Clan and elves joined the battle as well, focusing on the more powerful fifth-tier beasts.
As for the fourth-tier beasts, they intentionally left those for the human players to practice
on.
The battlefield was filled with the deafening sounds of battle-roars, the cries of beasts, and the shouts of warriors clashing in chaotic combat. The magical beasts continued to attack in suicidal waves.
John, along with Tony and Ben, stood on the city walls, observing the situation below.
The beasts were too weak for Tony and Ben to bother stepping in.
Before long, the monster tide had been completely slaughtered, and the bodies of beasts were piled high around the city, with scattered weapons, gear, and other loot littering the ground.
These drops were from the elite bosses and leader-level monsters.
John hadn’t lifted a finger, so there weren’t many significant drops.
Ritchie immediately ordered the members of the Flame Legion to clean up the battlefield and prepare for the second wave of the monster tide.
John, however, was unconcerned with the loot or the monster tide. He kept glancing at the sky, his focus elsewhere. What he was truly waiting for was the arrival of the Angel Race.
He needed to hunt Two-Winged Angels to plunder Divinity.
It didn’t need to be many-just one hundred angels would be enough.
“Commander,” an Assassin player approached Ritchie, reporting, “We’ve spotted a large army of the demon race in the forest-at least five hundred thousand strong!”
“What?” Ritchie was stunned, unable to believe his ears. “How many?”
The number was staggering, unlike anything he had ever encountered in battle before.
He quickly asked, “What about their strength?”
The Assassin replied, “They’re not particularly powerful. Most are third-tier demon soldiers, numbering around four hundred thousand. The leader, though I couldn’t gauge their
strength, but I think it’s an eighth-tier Demon King.”
“That’s nothing to worry about,” Ritchie breathed a sigh of relief. With two ninth-tier peak powerhouses, three eighth-tier elites, and over a hundred seventh-tier experts on their side, the demon race army, despite its overwhelming numbers, posed little threat.
Up on the walls, John and the others also sensed the presence of the demon race army in the
forest.
“Strange,” Ben muttered, his brows furrowed as he scanned Flame City. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to John and asked, “Kid, could this be the City of Darkness from the
demon race?”
John nodded, unsure of why Ben was asking these questions. “Is there a problem?” he
inquired.
Ben pressed further, “What about the Demon King’s Treasure Secret Area? Have you ever
unlocked it?”
“Yes, I’ve unlocked it. Some so-called demon race prodigy entered it and got the demon race’s treasure, but I’ve already killed him,” John answered honestly.
“Owen?” Ben and Tony exchanged a glance, both exclaiming in surprise.
“Yeah, Owen. Do you know him?” John was puzzled by their strong reaction.
The two of them were speechless for a moment.
Ben gave John a long look before saying, “You’ve made an enemy of the demon race for life.
It’s a good thing the demon race is in decline now; otherwise, you wouldn’t have lasted long.”
“Is the demon race really that powerful?” John asked, perplexed.
He had already killed many of the demon race’s top warriors-fifth-tier demon generals, sixth-tier demon lords, and even seventh-tier demon emperors.
Even Owen, the prodigy of the demon race who had inherited the eighth-tier Demon King’s legacy, had been killed by John using the divine avatar.
“Very powerful!” Tony replied with a grave expression. “At their peak, they were a force that
could rival the gods. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been imprisoned in the demon race’s Abyss. A thousand years ago, they were betrayed by their own allies, the Dark Humans, and with the gods receiving help from a mysterious faction, the demon race was eventually wiped out.”
“Rival the gods?” John frowned, finding it hard to believe.
At that moment, the demon race’s army arrived beneath the city walls-over 500,000 strong. However, most were just third-tier demon soldiers, weak and easily dealt with.
With this kind of strength, they didn’t even compare to the Dark Humans under the gods, let
alone the more powerful Angel Race.
How could they possibly have once rivaled the gods?
Tony noticed John’s doubt and added, “Don’t underestimate them. The demon race was
indeed very strong in the past, but after being outmaneuvered by the gods and losing their access to key cultivation resources, their strength has dwindled.”
Ben nodded in agreement. “Just to be safe, we should check out the Demon King’s Treasure Secret Area again later.”
“Is there something special about that Secret Area?” John asked, still confused.
He had entered the Demon King’s Treasure once before, along with Owen and Glenn from the
demon race. Other than a projection of the Demon King’s avatar, there hadn’t been any particularly powerful beings.
Ben thought for a moment and explained, “This is complicated to explain, but in simple terms, god-level beings are nearly impossible to kill. In the demon race, there were four god- level beings. Two were permanently imprisoned in a temple, while the other two- Michelle and Kamal-were slain, but their bodies vanished, and the gods were never able to find them. The remaining strongholds of the demon race are limited to three places: the Abyss, the City of Darkness’ Secret Area, and the most mysterious of all, the Dark Sea.”
“You mean to say that the bodies of those two Demon Gods might be hidden in one of these three places?” John asked in surprise.
The three Secret Areas Ben had mentioned were almost all under John’s control.
He completely controlled both the Abyss and the Demon King Treasure Secret Area, and he even had the scroll for the Sea of Death Secret Area, though it required seventh-tier strength
to unlock.
Ben nodded, then glanced at the battlefield where Sini was fighting the demon race soldiers. After a brief hesitation, he asked, “Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do,” John replied. Ben and Tony had helped him a great deal, and they had even
saved his life.
Ben then pointed toward Sini and asked, “And do you trust that girl?”
“Yes,” John responded, confused as to why Ben was asking.
“Between me and that girl, who do you trust more?” Ben pressed.
“Sini,” John replied without a moment’s hesitation.
“I…” Ben nearly swore, his eyes flaring with frustration. He realized he’d asked a pointless
question. Tony, standing off to the side, couldn’t hide his smile at Ben’s exasperation. John, however, remained unbothered and asked curiously, “Why do you ask, Ben? Is there something secret about Sini?”
From the moment these two had seen Sini, their reactions had been unusual, and John couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
Ben shot John a glare before continuing, “I’ve got a feeling you and the demon race are
headed for a major conflict, so I might as well tell you. We suspect that the girl, Sini, is the demon race’s princess-specifically, the daughter of the two Demon Gods, Michelle and Kamal.”
“W-what?” John gasped, stunned, as he instinctively glanced toward Tony for confirmation.
Tony nodded in agreement. “It’s likely true. That girl’s affinity for darkness is extraordinary. I can’t think of anyone other than a descendant of the Demon Gods who would have such a profound connection to the dark element.”