Chapter 231: Monster Siege (Part 1)

With books, life lengthens; without them, it shortens. Feng Xue spent his twentieth day in this game world as both a dungeon boss and a student of spells.

But today, his peaceful life could no longer be avoided—because at the very instant the sun rose, an inexplicable voice echoed in his mind—

"Siege Day unlocked."

Along with an explanation nearly identical to what others in Demon King City had described, Feng Xue finally confirmed that, at least regarding the siege, no one had lied to him.

Of course, if someone could pierce through the four layers of mental defense—Mo Ying, Huiye, Xiao Lingdang, and Gidora—and directly whisper into Feng Xue's mind, then Feng Xue had nothing to say; if they'd gone this far, not killing him was already mercy—why would he even want a bicycle?

After tidying his appearance in the mirror, Feng Xue readjusted the 【Monster X】 suit form, then transformed Liu Yunxi into a belt with ten indentations but no transformation function.

"Ready to leave?" As he stepped outside, Feng Xue faced a blue-haired mermaid floating midair waving at him; he nodded and said:

"Yeah, you coming too?"

"No, I'm heading to the coastline." Mei Luo, the oceanic songstress, offered an apologetic smile; Feng Xue wasn't surprised and set off toward the border city as planned.

At the moment he left Demon King City, that peculiar sensation returned—this time, he suddenly realized he now possessed control over monsters.

"So this ability only activates after participating in one siege?"

Feng Xue thought to himself, activated his Qi-Viewing Technique to check if he was being watched, and silently asked:

"Are the drones ready?"

"Fully prepared. Weather is excellent, coordinates stable—ready to launch anytime!"

Xiao Lingdang's sugary voice echoed in his mind; Feng Xue nodded silently:

"Don't get caught."

"No problem—they're all pre-civilization drones from the Ocean World, loaded with my code. I can remotely control them via a pseudo-divine descent method. No issues!"

Xiao Lingdang gave a confident assurance; Feng Xue said no more.

Over the past half-month, under the pretense of paying for Talisman and Spell distribution, Feng Xue crafted small items for nine colleagues. Strictly speaking, these items contained no hidden backdoors—they were genuinely practical and aesthetically pleasing. But since they were forged with Feng Xue's power, they inevitably carried his Qi signature, making tracking and localization possible via Xiao Lingdang.

The drones, activated with optical camouflage, slowly rose into the air; Feng Xue led his monster army toward the front lines. In twenty days, players had developed countless interesting spells—but due to the limited supply of Talisman and Spell, many had stopped carrying them altogether, focusing solely on spell research.

Now, standing on the grand battlefield, Feng Xue was eager to reclaim his returns.

…

On the other side, the player faction had also come online. Though it was a rest day, only a few logged on early; those now assembled in formation were mostly professional players.

Thanks to its status as the first virtual MMORPG, the game's gold-generation capacity remained strong, sustaining numerous guilds. Now, with the new update and the Talisman and Spell system breaking out of its niche, this long-running game had unexpectedly entered a second spring. Many studios that had begun preparing to shift toward the upcoming new game had resumed capital investment.

"We were already planning to switch—why the hell didn't they fix this stupid siege system?!" 【Super Invincible Dragon Warrior】, now playing a xianxia character, yawned irritably; his ever-present companion 【Super Invincible Treasure Dragon Display】 replied offhandedly:

"To maintain login rates, of course. He knows players can't stay online all day, yet forces siege to last all day—what else could be the point? Surely not to make it easier for the Demon King to break through?"

"Stop complaining—the big guilds just signaled. Looks like the first wave of monsters is here!" The science-obsessed player tossed a Talisman and Spell, grinning.

The group immediately pulled out their Talisman and Spell, then paused—hesitated—and slipped them back into their pockets. They hadn't forgotten: this siege's boss was almost certainly the guy who stole Talisman and Spell even inside dungeons!

"Boom—!"

Though the game's plot was weak, its physics engine was undeniably excellent: countless monstrous creatures surged over the horizon, kicking up dust, roaring chaotically, shaking the earth—all terrifyingly realistic. Even after dozens of sieges, it still sent adrenaline surging.

"Looks like this boss is traditional—no plan to directly ambush the main city…" Guan Er watched from afar with his four Bi teammates, recalling the day he first joined, when he'd received the sudden news that Blood Sister had attacked Wang Cheng.

But at that moment, a voice blared over the public channel:

"Meteor Group, prepare!"

The commander, elected by player vote, gave the order; a hundred elemental mages stepped forward—some from major guilds, others from casual squads lining the edges.

Though it seemed absurd for infantry to line up outside the city walls during defense, this was still a game. As the front-line monsters entered range—where archers would normally have begun volleys in past sieges—the commander held back, instead beginning a slow countdown:

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Fire!"

As the word "Fire" fell, though not perfectly synchronized, nearly all the lined-up mages began chanting the infamous Meteor Spell—a skill known for its long cast time, low damage, and only notable feature: area coverage.

But this time, the five-second chant lasted barely over one second. As the spell interruption effect exploded, glowing orbs shot from the mages' hands into the sky.

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar came from above; mountains of fire plummeted from the heavens, crashing into the monster horde. Instantly, the battle score board erupted with rapidly climbing numbers.

"Thunderstorm Group, begin chanting! Sword Saint Group, prepare!"

The second wave of elemental mages stepped forward to chant; a row of swordsmen stood before them, drawing their blades.

"After all these years of siege defense, I think this is the most awesome one yet!" Guan Er watched the thunderbolts falling like apocalypse, his tone tinged with awe; Bao Long nodded:

"Exactly! Before, it was just archers firing three volleys, mages burning through their mana, then melee rushing in to hack blindly—never anything like this! Those who skipped today out of boredom will regret it later!"

(End of Chapter)