Chapter 0: Chaos (1)
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Fortunately, the sky was still a deep shade of black at this time,
Looking up, Lin Nan could see endless snowflakes falling from above.
However, she had already vaguely caught sight of a flicker of light on the eastern horizon.
In about half an hour, the entire sky would break into a fish-belly white.
Unknowingly, she had spent nearly six hours in the Temple, and now thinking back, if it weren’t for the little wooden carving that Firefly left her, she probably wouldn’t have had the chance to enter and exit the Temple and witness that unbelievable scene.
Firefly might have discovered something before dying, or perhaps had a sudden attack of conscience, which led her to hand over the wooden carving to Lin Nan.
But whatever her true intentions were, the person was gone, leaving just a faint, regretful memory behind.
Back at the castle, Lin Nan wasn’t feeling tired at all.
As Li Hanbo had anticipated the day before, while Lin Nan and her companions were enjoying breakfast, outside echoed with the thunderous cries of battle.
Members of the guild hurriedly made their way to the city walls, only to be stunned by the sight outside the City Lord’s Mansion—players armed to the teeth filled the streets, and archers crowded on nearby rooftops.
“Hey-ho, hey-ho!”
With the synchronized war cries, ten brawny men rushed toward the castle gate, carrying a massive battering ram made from thick wood.
The Heavenly Sword Sect guild immediately went into a panic.
Although they had made some preparations beforehand, they never expected the attackers to open with such a heavy hitting combo, clearly ready to go all in for a “either we d*e together or not at all” scenario.
Gongs and drums started ringing inside the castle, causing nearly everyone to rush towards the walls or gates, eager to fight back.
“Hot oil! Quickly, bring up the hot oil!”
Players cautiously carried a few large vats from the kitchen, filled with boiling hot oil.
With every clang of the ram on the city gates, the iron doors vibrated from the impact. The sturdy bolt was struggling to hold up under such relentless pounding, ominous cracks began to form.
“Douse them with it!” the on-site commander yelled hoarsely.
“Splash!”
A chorus of screams erupted from below the wall as people were scalded by the searing hot oil, instantly recoiling in agony, halting the siege attack momentarily.
However, before the defenders could breathe a sigh of relief, they were met with a rain of flaming arrows shooting from the opposite towering structures.
The members of the Heavenly Sword Sect scattered in panic, ducking for cover like headless chickens.
Taking advantage of the moment, the attackers quickly sent in reinforcements to replace the injured.
A new wave of aggression officially began.
For a time, both sides exchanged blows back and forth, with neither side making any significant breakthroughs.
But everyone was acutely aware that this was only temporary.
As the minions of both sides fought fiercely, it was clear that they wouldn’t determine the outcome; only when the key players made their appearance would the real battle begin.
Yet the leadership of both sides seemed to be biding their time, not one of them was casually showing up in the midst of chaos.
In the restaurant, Li Hanbo continued to leisurely enjoy his breakfast.
Lin Nan found it strange that despite being a Fallen Species, he still had an interest in human delicacies.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Li Hanbo put down his kn*fe and fork, shrugged, and said, “These guild leaders are seasoned veterans; they won’t rush in to be the first target. Even if they conspire against us, they’re not all on the same page. If they just send players in to d*e, we’ll happily keep them company. As long as our main force is intact, they won’t dare go all out.”
Lin Nan sighed, “This so-called guild battle has turned into a war of attrition.”
“This is something we expected long ago. Don’t think that Fallen Species can endlessly feast on flesh and bl**d.
Guys like Liu Fei’ang are oddities even among us Fallen. I don’t even know how he ended up that way.”
“By the way, I noticed there aren’t any injured camps or healing facilities in the castle; where did all those corpses go?” Lin Nan suddenly asked.
Li Hanbo replied, “The Temple.”
Lin Nan frowned slightly, “The Temple?”
“Did you think that the Man in Black Robe only cursed the heads of our guilds? Haha, let me tell you, the entire Sky Sword City has been cursed by him.”
Li Hanbo chuckled coldly, “If you don’t believe me, just call someone over and ask.”
Before long, the unfortunate Xiao Ai was dragged into the restaurant by the guards.
Li Hanbo tossed him some bread, and the poor kid happily stuffed it into his mouth, clearly starved for some proper food for a long time.
“Xiao Ai, tell us what you’ve been dreaming about these nights.”
Li Hanbo, oblivious to the shouts and cries from outside, looked at Xiao Ai with keen interest.
Xiao Ai opened his mouth, hesitating, “Um… I can’t say.”
Li Hanbo glanced at Lin Nan, then turned back to Xiao Ai, “Since you’re so eager to become one with the Temple and enjoy eternal peace from the Divine Realm, how about I help you out?”
Xiao Ai shook his head in terror, “No, no, no, I think it’s great right now; I don’t want to go early.”
“Then just tell the truth.”
“Y-yeah,” Xiao Ai wiped his cold sweat, “It should have started about ten days ago—every night we saw a magnificent, towering building in our dreams. At first, we didn’t know what it was, but a voice softly told us it was the home for all, the Temple.
As long as we could sincerely worship and pray, everyone who dies could enter the Divine Realm and live happily ever after.
The pain we endure, the bl**d we shed, is just a ticket to the Divine Realm; as long as we’re brave warriors, the gods will remember us.
Conversely, those who hesitate during battle and refuse to sacrifice will be nailed forever in hell, suffering endless torture for generations!”
Xiao Ai was clutching his head, “This is what the gods have taught us, really, I’m not lying!”
Lin Nan finally understood why these days in Sky Sword City, everything she observed felt so off.
Players indeed struggled to survive,
But among them, a portion seemed to be pumped up with adrenaline, almost like a s*icide squad, totally disregarding their own injuries or deaths.
Perhaps after being brainwashed for days, they had long unconditionally accepted the Temple’s existence.
Of course, there were still some skeptics, and Xiao Ai was clearly one of them, caught in between.
You could tell just from his demeanor.
“So you’re saying that you moved the corpses and injured folks to the Temple nearby?” Lin Nan asked Xiao Ai.
He nodded, fearfully replying, “On the first day, we moved them, but the next day, when we came back, there wasn’t a trace left. So everyone started saying they had gone to enjoy blessings in the Divine Realm.”
“Why did this happen?”
Li Hanbo sighed, “No one knows.”
“Boom!”
The ground even quaked slightly at the sound of the thunderous noise.
Li Hanbo’s expression changed, “Their main forces have arrived.”
