Chapter 67: Artist Faction Leader
Hang Yu gave the order to Xiao Ba.
He instructed the players to gather at the Lord’s Hall.
After he officially announced the news of the Day of Ultimate Darkness, he conveniently released related missions.
【Ding!】
【Triggered Team Story Mission!】
【Mission Name: Day of Ultimate Darkness!】
【Mission Content: The territory you live in will soon face threats from the Abyss forces. You must do your utmost to protect the territory, defend the Lord, and survive the perilous Day of Ultimate Darkness!】
【Mission Objective: Hold the territory until the end of the Day of Ultimate Darkness, or completely defeat the invading Abyss creatures.】
【Mission Rewards: 100-5000 Essence Points, 100-5000 Contribution Points, and a chance to obtain equipment, skills, or other valuable item rewards.】
【Special Tip: From now until the end of the Day of Ultimate Darkness, all players will have three free resurrection opportunities.】
Not long after.
Inside a certain barracks.
The players gathered there for a meeting.
This time, there was less of the usual joking and teasing among the players; every person's expression showed varying degrees of seriousness and even gravity, as the territory was about to face an extremely severe challenge.
Ye Li Meng said, "The rewards for this mission are generous, and I believe everyone, like me, is very tempted, but at the same time, we must realize that the greater the rewards, the higher the risks and difficulty."
"Yeah!"
"It was just speculation before!"
"This time it’s confirmed for real!"
"The Lord Core absolutely cannot be destroyed, and Lord Hang Yu must not fall either, or not only will our data be wiped, but the game will enter an indefinite shutdown. Even if it reopens, it will be a completely different world."
"Who would have thought that the dog planners would have such courage? Now the world's development is full of unknowns and no longer child's play, making it more challenging but also more real and immersive!"
"Honestly, it’s more thrilling and fun!"
"Every footprint we leave behind will become part of history!"
"Anyway, right now tens of millions of netizens are watching!"
"Whether the second round of closed beta can open depends on us."
"We must fight a beautiful battle!"
"I have confidence in our Fourth Calamity Army, and I have confidence in Lord Hang Yu’s strength. Precisely because so many people are watching, we must showcase our uniqueness and brilliance!"
"We can only win, not lose!"
"......"
It was not hard to see.
Although the challenge was enormous.
The players were still full of fighting spirit and showed no signs of retreat.
It was not just the lure of rich rewards, but also to defend their shared spiritual home, and to live up to the expectations of millions of cloud players; a strong sense of honor, immersion, and mission naturally arose in this process.
Only a corner of this marvelous and mysterious world had been unveiled.
No one was willing to let it end so soon.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, "There are at least three days left until the Day of Ultimate Darkness. Instead of passively preparing in the territory, we might as well take the initiative to attack and weaken the Abyss faction's strength in advance."
"Exactly!"
"I was thinking the same thing!"
"The mission was probably issued three days early because, with our current strength, we can't win a direct confrontation against Ma Yuanyi and his forces. But we can use this time to weaken their forces."
"Ma Yuanyi is a commander unit, and so is Lord Hang Yu. The two should cancel each other out!"
"So the key point of this operation lies in the comparison of army strength."
"Ma Yuanyi’s troops are indeed very strong!"
"But we have our own advantages!"
"Even if it’s through relentless assaults and piling up casualties, as long as we can deplete their forces before the big battle, it will make the territory much safer during the Day of Ultimate Darkness!"
"That's right, but we can't be reckless either. After all, dying too many times will cause us to lose levels."
"......"
Everyone was discussing battle strategies.
A Level 5 Ranger player called Ning Caichen II hurriedly arrived.
"Everyone, bad news, we were attacked at the He Ting Township teleportation point!"
Ye Li Meng asked, "What happened?"
Ning Caichen II said, "According to Zha Jiang Mian, who stayed nearby to farm Undead Minions, the Four Great Fallen under Ma Yuanyi left the core pollution zone a few minutes ago. They led a large force to occupy the ruined temple where the teleportation point is located."
He paused before continuing, "I just went to the hall to check. Currently, He Ting Township is in an unteleportable state. Lord Hang Yu said the Blessing Point has been polluted and needs to be reactivated before it can be used again."
Everyone looked at each other.
Street Slayer said, "So teleportation points can be shut down by the enemy."
Salted Fish Thrust said, "Oh no, without that forward base, we can only reach Hexi Village first and then take a boat to He Ting Township. This will greatly affect our efficiency."
Black-Eyed Rui Ge thought for a moment and said, "I think it’s not entirely a bad thing!"
Ye Li Meng said, "How so?"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, "If the Four Great Fallen kept hiding inside the core pollution zone, they would have home-field advantage, making it extremely difficult for us to defeat them."
Salted Fish Thrust’s eyes lit up, "That’s true! Now that they’ve come out on their own, isn’t this giving us the chance to wipe them out? Plus, it avoids the big boss, it's practically a godsend!"
"It won't be that easy!"
Mad Blade Old Wang shook his head, "The Four Great Fallen are far stronger than us, and they also have a powerful army. Even without home advantage and without Ma Yuanyi himself intervening, the disparity in strength remains overwhelming. A frontal assault would be suicidal."
"What about luring and defeating them in batches?"
"Are you stupid? The Abyss Fallen are intelligent beings; how could they fall for that?"
As everyone was at a loss.
Suddenly someone shouted loudly.
"I have a plan that might allow us to wipe them out!"
Everyone turned their gaze to a player named "Artist Faction Leader."
This player was a warlock who joined the game during the Hexi Village Defense Battle.
He did not participate in the expedition to Luoshui Execution Ground, but instead grouped up with a warrior named Niu Shisan and went elsewhere to clear the wilderness and farm monsters.
Who knows what kind of adventure they encountered.
Both of them had already reached Level 5 now.
Such a growth rate was indeed eye-catching.
Even Ye Li Meng, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, and the others, though senior players with deep foundations, did not dare to underestimate them.
There were hidden talents among the players.
But this guy’s tone was a bit too big.
Did he really understand what hundreds of elite units + four Abyss Fallen meant?
Artist Faction Leader said, "Although everyone here is an experienced veteran, sometimes too much experience can cause limitations in thinking."
This guy seemed to have something up his sleeve!
Ye Li Meng asked, "What do you mean?"
Artist Faction Leader said, "Everyone must always recognize one thing — this game is different from any we’ve played before. It might not even be called a game at all but a real world made into data!"
"Because of this, we must abandon game-like numerical thinking. We don’t have to fight monsters honorably and openly. We should use wisdom and strategy!"
"Humans have never been the strongest species in nature, yet humans can easily hunt elephants, whales, tigers, and lions!"
"By the same logic, even if we encounter monsters with stats or levels far beyond ours, we can still use special means or tactics to defeat them!"
Mad Blade Old Wang said, "You mean using traps?"
Ye Li Meng said, "We thought about that too. But the terrain around He Ting Township is flat, with no good ambush spots. And with our current capabilities, we can’t make traps strong enough to threaten them."
Artist Faction Leader said, "Do you know how I managed to reach Level 5 in just two days?"
Street Slayer said, "Stop keeping us in suspense, just say it!"
Artist Faction Leader said, "When Niu Shisan and I explored southeast of the territory, we discovered a swamp!"
"In that swamp, there are Level 2 monsters called 'Carrion Toads.' Hunting them can yield a material called 'Concentrated Toad Oil.'"
"After obtaining this material, we didn’t use it to complete supply quests!"
"Because through testing, I found that this toad oil is extremely flammable and explosive, with an energy density even higher than gasoline."
"After collecting fifty portions of toad oil, we teleported to Hexi Village, lured dozens to hundreds of Scorpion-Tailed Bulls and Skeletal Goats, and using their tendency to act in groups, led them into a trap and burned them all in one go."
After hearing Artist Faction Leader’s description.
Everyone widened their eyes.
Was that even possible?
"Three days is enough to collect materials, enough to set up the trap. If there’s no suitable environment, we’ll create one ourselves. In fact, what I want to say can be summed up in one sentence——"
Artist Faction Leader raised his hands and shouted loudly, "Art is Explosion!"