Chapter 404: Lin Bai's Splashed Dirty Water

The Heavenly King Meng and the others had their rhythm disrupted by Lin Bai, and the God of War and the others, who had just joined forces, were also completely bewildered upon receiving the news.

"Left?" The God of Holy Light looked astonished. "What is Lin Bai trying to do?"

"Scared off by us?" the Goddess of the Moon frowned and said.

"Setting up the Magpie Bridge, using himself as bait to lure the Heavenly Kings into our world—from start to finish, his goal has been to incite a war between our two worlds," the Goddess of the Earth said. "The fall of the God of Darkness was his masterpiece."

"Discussing Lin Bai is meaningless. What we should be doing now is finding those Heavenly Kings and killing them," the God of War said impatiently. "Those Heavenly Kings are players. Now that they know of our world, regardless of whether Lin Bai exists, they will invade us sooner or later. Let's take advantage of the fact that we are all gathered together to find them, kill them, and put an end to their delusions."

"God of War, by doing this, you are falling right into Lin Bai's trap," the Goddess of the Forest said. "I think we should find them and work together to deal with Lin Bai..."

"You are the one who doesn't understand. Lin Bai is just a small fry who plays with schemes and tricks; he can be dealt with whenever he appears. The Heavenly Kings are our primary enemies," the God of War retorted. "Players have analyzed them; they are the strongest in the Immortal World, and our world is a new map to them. They will definitely develop this new map; that is the nature of players."

"Players told you this?" the Goddess of the Forest said. "Luodesi, do you know how many players are Lin Bai's people? How much of their dialogue with you contains ulterior motives?"

"Daisi, I have my own judgment. I may be big, but I'm not stupid. Players brought me games from their world; most game settings use various methods to increase player novelty, and they have mature means," the God of War said with disdain. "Thinking like you, relying purely on your own speculation to infer the development of events, is low-level and childish. Do you know what 'solo' is? Do you know what a 'buff' is? Do you know what a 'BUG' is?"

"..." The gods.

"You know nothing." A mocking smile crossed the God of War's lips. "You only react passively when you encounter things; you don't even want to spend the effort to understand your enemies..."

"Luodesi, what do you think we should do?" The Goddess of the Earth interrupted the God of War, who was lecturing the crowd, and asked.

"It's simple: find them, defeat them, and then drive them out of our world," the God of War Luodesi said, waving his fist. "If possible, counterattack their world and kill them until they are level zero, making them completely lose interest in the game. They play games for enjoyment; no one likes being abused by NPCs in a game. By comparison, I would rather cooperate with Lin Bai. First, he is not a player, and everything he has done so far has been to restrain the behavior of players; second, he holds the Magpie Bridge in his hands..."

The gods all looked at the God of War.

The God of War scanned the crowd and said, "It cannot be denied that Lin Bai has ambition, but he lacks sufficient strength. Furthermore, he is eager for quick success and instant benefits, lacks stability, and always thinks about reaching the sky in one step, which leads to an unstable foundation. But doesn't such a person mean they are easier to control? Once we use his Magpie Bridge to quell the player chaos, if we want to keep him, we can give him a small benefit; if we don't want to keep him, we can just kill him..."

"That makes sense." The God of Holy Light nodded. "Compared to the Heavenly Kings, Lin Bai is indeed very weak. He even tried to cover things up by creating a 'post-divine era'; it's enough to make one laugh their teeth out."

"The question is, who will contact Lin Bai?" The Goddess of the Earth also agreed with the God of War's plan and asked, "He has already left this world."

"Players and their media," the God of War said. "As long as we show enough goodwill to Lin Bai through the players, he will understand us. Of course, the premise is that we must drive the few Heavenly Kings out."

The Goddess of the Earth looked at the God of War and said, "Luodesi, let's do as you say. We will immediately mobilize our believers to search for the traces of those Heavenly Kings."

Lin Bai and the God of Darkness passed through the Magpie Bridge and arrived at the Ghost City.

The sky above the Ghost City was covered in thick clouds.

Beneath the dark clouds were dense ranks of skeleton soldiers, including death knights wrapped in armor with soul fire burning in their eye sockets. Bone dragons flew back and forth in the sky. Behind the skeleton army was a group of necromancers wrapped in black cloaks, as well as liches exuding an evil aura from head to toe...

"Alliance Leader, ahead is the Undead Army of the Necromancer Monarch," the God of Darkness said. "Thirteen hundred years ago, the Necromancer Monarch once wanted to dominate the world. Taking advantage of the Goddess of the Earth's slumber, he led his Undead Army to conquer half the continent. The Goddess of the Forest and the God of Holy Light retreated steadily. The God of War and his legions joined the battle, and only by combining the power of three gods were they able to force his Undead Army back to the Ghost City. That battle was known as the Undead Scourge."

"The Necromancer Monarch became famous for suppressing two Main Gods by his own strength, and his Divinity was almost on par with the Lord of the Abyss. Even after retreating to the Ghost City, his Divinity has not diminished much. I think he should not be interested in the struggle between you and the Heavenly Kings. He is assembling his army, likely wanting to take advantage of the battle between you and the Goddess of the Earth to re-occupy the entire world; he has always possessed a vigorous ambition..."

"Which one is the Necromancer Monarch?" Lin Bai asked.

"His weapon is a scythe. At this time, he should be resting and recuperating inside the Ghost City!" the God of Darkness said.

"What is his name?" Lin Bai looked toward the Ghost City and asked.

"Puluotuo," the God of Darkness said.

Before the words had even faded.

The thick dark clouds shrouding the sky above the Ghost City suddenly began to churn, and a massive eyeball suddenly appeared within the clouds.

Immediately after.

A death-gray beam of light shot out from the eyeball toward the direction where Lin Bai and the God of Darkness were located.

Lin Bai felt the terrifying power contained within that ray.

In a flash of thought.

The Darkness Divinity shared from the God of Darkness spread out, wrapping himself within it and also shrouding the dense skeleton army outside the Ghost City.

The Darkness Divinity is a very magical ability; in the space covered by it, he knows every creature inside like the back of his hand, and he also has vision outside the space, possessing a certain defensive capability.

Pfft!

The death-gray ray crashed into the Darkness Divinity, was weakened bit by bit, and then disappeared.

"Sikai lei, you are still alive?" An astonished voice came from the sky, and immediately after, beneath the dark clouds, a huge figure appeared, draped in a black cloak and holding a scythe.

"Yes, Monarch Puluote, I am still alive." The God of Darkness manifested a form outside the Darkness Divinity, staring from afar at the Necromancer Monarch in the sky.

"Why did rumors from the outside world say you were dead?" the Necromancer Monarch asked. "And I have verified it; several Darkness Divinities that appeared all had your aura. I have already sent people to seize those Darkness Divinities."

"Monarch Puluote, he is indeed not dead, but he has been turned into a Puppet by me." Lin Bai, disguised as the Heavenly King of Thunder and Lightning, also stood atop the Darkness Divinity. He was wrapped in lightning, utilizing his 'Dihua' ability. "The Darkness Divinities were merely bait I laid out, intended to confuse you foolish gods. But you foolish gods are too slow, so I had to take action myself to declare war on you. We are going to turn you gods into Puppets one by one and create a Zhujun Huanghun on the Shenmo Dalu."

"The news about those Divinities was clearly spread by Lin Bai," the Necromancer Monarch was not fooled.

"Do you really think Lin Bai can control everything? Everything he has done is merely being utilized by us." Lin Bai snorted with disdain and held the Thunder Hammer high. Countless bolts of lightning instantly filled the Darkness Divinity. With a hundredfold critical strike plus the double damage of lightning against undead creatures, hundreds of thousands of skeleton soldiers were silently shattered by the lightning. "Puluote, this is a greeting gift for you. I still have to issue a challenge to other gods. My partners and I will wait for you in the Mist Forest; that will be the burial ground for you gods..."

After speaking.

Without waiting for the Necromancer Monarch to respond.

Lin Bai had already used 'Shadow-Following', instantly disappearing from the Ghost City and leaving behind a pile of shattered skeleton debris.

The Necromancer Monarch looked at the broken bones on the ground, the soul fire in his eye sockets jumping with anger: "Arrogant."

Subsequently.

His figure disappeared in the sky.

However.

He did not go to the Mist Forest, but instead dove into the Abyss.

"What's the situation?" In the Ghost City, a player called 【Fallen Saint Knight】 widened his eyes. "The God of Darkness has actually become a Puppet of the Heavenly King of Thunder and Lightning, and the Heavenly King of Thunder and Lightning has brought him here to issue a challenge. The decisive battle location is the Mist Forest."

"Why do I feel like the direction of things is getting weirder and weirder?" Beside him was a player called 【Heijieke】. "Who is telling the truth?"

"Of course it's the Heavenly King of Thunder and Lightning," 【Fallen Saint Knight】 said. "He appeared together with the God of Darkness, while Lin Bai only used an article to deceive the world. The Xianxia Continent has the Wanhun Valley; they also have magical necromancy. It's too easy to imitate the God of Darkness."

"A decisive battle of the gods! This is big news," 【Heijieke】 said. "I'm going to expose this matter. That battlefield must be very interesting. When these BOSSes have their decisive battle, maybe we can go to the battlefield and pick up some scraps."

"Can you pick up scraps better than Lin Bai?" 【Fallen Angel】 said.

"Don't worry, he has already been scared off; he won't have the guts to appear in the Mist Forest," 【Heijieke】 laughed. "We can also use this to expose Lin Bai's hypocritical face and wake up those idiots who are obsessed with him."

"That's a good idea," the Fallen Angel said, eyes brightening.

……

The two players acted quickly; half an hour later, the video of the Lightning Heavenly King declaring war on the Undead Monarch in the name of the God of Darkness had spread across the entire game forum.

……

"The God of Darkness isn't dead? The God of Darkness in the Real World is a fake; Lin Bai deceived us..."

"It's truly hellish; to think I actually believed that by following him, we could launch a counterattack on the game world."

"It seems Lin Bai lost in this game of gods; he has no qualifications to participate in the war of top-tier bosses and only knows how to rely on petty tricks to work against us."

"But I keep feeling like something isn't right. It's been several days since the battle between the Lightning Heavenly King and the God of Darkness. What has he been doing during this time? Why isn't there even a shred of information about them?"

"It's simple: they are laying out a plan. Poor Lin Bai, he even lost to them in terms of intelligence."

"But I don't think this is a good thing. All nine Heavenly Kings are players. They defeated the gods of Shenmo Dalu; what will we rely on to defeat them? Are we to be enslaved by them just like the Celestials?"

"If the gods are defeated by them, then we can only rely on Lin Bai and his laws."

"If I have to choose between a Heavenly King and Lin Bai to be the King of All Worlds, I prefer Lin Bai more. After all, he isn't a player and possesses the possibility of being toppled by us."

"Lin Bai is going to hold a press conference in the real world. I want to go interview him in person. Why fabricate several fake Darkness Divinities? Clearly, he messed things up..."

……

Alliance of Gods.

The gods, who were just discussing how to gain Lin Bai's trust, were once again shocked by the sudden news.

The Moon Goddess turned pale and stammered, "They actually turned the God of Darkness into a Puppet?"

The War God said, "That's right. This is a player's method. In many games, they have settings to capture magical beasts as pets to fight alongside them, and they also hire NPCs."

The Forest Goddess's expression was not good; she gritted her teeth and said, "Damned settings."

The God of Holy Light said, "I am growing increasingly disgusted with those players."

The Love God asked, "Will they come to issue us a challenge?"

The God of Holy Light said, "They aren't stupid; they won't provoke gods on two fronts simultaneously. They will only defeat them one by one."

The War God said, "Perhaps they have set up some advantageous formation in the Mist Forest..."

The Moon Goddess asked, "Are we going to the Mist Forest?"

The Earth Goddess said, "Of course we must go. We must stop them from turning gods into Puppets. Even if the one turned into a Puppet is an Evil God, their power will only continue to grow."

The War God said, "Bairuisi is right. In this critical moment, we should no longer distinguish between righteous and evil. Turning a god into a Puppet is an insult to us. If we cannot defeat them, once our believers lose faith in us and our Divinity weakens, we will be even less of a match for them."

"Should we still contact Lin Bai?" the Forest Goddess asked.

"At this time, we should show even more goodwill toward Lin Bai." The War God glanced at the Forest Goddess and said, "Players cannot be killed. We must use his Magpie Bridge to launch a counterattack on the Immortal World."

……

Meng Laoda and the others were not good at disguising themselves; their physiques were incompatible with the people of Shenmo Dalu, and using the Magpie Bridge would expose their whereabouts. Therefore, they were traveling using the most primitive method, and while on the road, they were constantly monitoring the movements of the gods.

Upon learning of Lin Bai's flashy maneuvers, Huo Tianwang looked at the Lightning Heavenly King with a smile in his eyes: "Beigui, you turned the God of Darkness into a Puppet and declared war on the Undead Monarch?"

The Lightning Heavenly King was annoyed and ashamed: "I knew it; Lin Bai is never at peace. He is full of devious ideas. If we go to the Mist Forest again, we will fall for his trap once more. He is trying every possible way to sow discord between us and the NPCs."

Meng Laoda said, "No need to sow discord; we and the NPCs are already enemies."

Shui Tianwang asked, "Meng Laoda, Lin Bai has drawn enemies to us; are we still going to the Mist Forest?"

Meng Laoda sighed and said, "Lin Bai is there, why wouldn't we go? He passed the ability to disguise to us. If we miss this opportunity, where else can we find him? This isn't a hidden plot, it's an open one. He calculated that even if we saw through his scheme, we would still have to act according to his arrangements."

(End of this chapter)