Chapter 132: Fire at will!

The withered yellow earth was stained black by dried blood; looking around, one could see severed limbs and arms everywhere, along with corpses scattered across the ground.

This was the fifth layer of the Labyrinth, outside the encampment of the Skull-Crusher Tribe.

At this very moment, this frontier land, far removed from the Underworld, felt more like hell than any other place within a thousand miles!

So much so that—

The scene was so bloody that even the demons within the Demon Capital Arena couldn't help but swallow their saliva and tense their nerves...

Amidst the rolling yellow sand, a headless warrior clad in heavy armor knelt on the ground.

The longsword supporting the armor had already snapped in two, and the plate armor was covered in dents and wounds of all sizes.

Even a Bai Yin-tier powerhouse could not withstand the combined assault of a group of ogres and the continuous sneak attacks from goblin slings.

The transcendent are still mortal; they are still separated from the gods by the distance of a River Styx.

Especially since, standing opposite him, there was also a powerhouse who was no less capable than himself.

Standing before the headless corpse, Kasen Skull-Crusher spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and tucked the severed head into his belt.

Judging by the armor on the corpse, this person should have been a character like a Centurion, yet his strength was vaguely even greater than his own, the tribe leader! What a joke! He himself was only a tiny step away from the Golden tier!

And when it came to his battle experience, of which he was so proud, he had no reason to be at a disadvantage; having fought his way all the way here from the Dimensional Desert, he possessed a self-confidence that yielded to no one! Yet, even so, looking at the chipped battle blade in his hand, his bloodthirsty, fanatical pupils were finally tinged with a hint of apprehension—

There were five more people on the opposite side suspected of having strength similar to this guy!

That the Demon King actually possessed such a strong direct line of troops truly exceeded his expectations!

This force of five hundred regular soldiers alone already surpassed the entire Gray Wind Tribe of the fourth layer in combat power—those pointy-eared ones who only dared to huddle in the Misty Forest.

Even if that Tyrael Moonblade possessed Golden-tier strength, the overall combat power was hard to compare with this group of guys...

But fortunately, their opponents seemed to have realized that they were facing a tough nut to crack, and after suffering nearly 20% casualties, they decisively chose to retreat.

Kasen did not choose to pursue, but instead ordered the drums to be sounded to withdraw the troops.

The Skull-Crusher Tribe also needed to regroup.

The Ogre Priests would heal the injured tribesmen, while the living warriors would eat their brothers who could no longer survive.

Next time—

He would never lose! Kasen gritted his teeth, turned and walked through the gate of the encampment, taking heavy steps toward his majestic and awe-inspiring Bone Wang Zuo, and threw the head of the Bai Yin-tier demon he had slain beneath the skull seat.

Ogres had the habit of collecting heads.

The skulls of powerful prey were not only excellent decorations for them, but also medals symbolizing wealth and status.

Besides him, many ogre warriors also brought back their spoils of war.

It was also at this moment that Kasen, scanning the camp, caught sight of a corpse pierced by a long spear out of the corner of his eye.

He saw an ogre warrior with a scar tattooed on his chest laughing wantonly, and amidst the shrill laughter and jeers of a group of goblins, he set the corpse on fire and stuck it beside the tribe's totem pole.

The raging flames instantly engulfed the corpse drenched in hot oil, making it look like a bizarre torch! Kasen stared at the raging flames, not knowing why he couldn't look away, watching it burn until it was charred, leaving only a shocking skeleton on the spear.

The scene was so beautiful that it couldn't help but hold its breath, its turbid pupils emitting a glow of longing...

What a perfect trophy.

Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Watching the flames about to burn out, the ogre warrior prepared to pull up the spear stuck with the enemy's corpse, but was stopped by Kasen, who was sitting on the throne.

"Leave it there, let it continue to burn."

Hearing the leader's voice, the ogre warrior was slightly stunned, then bowed and saluted, leaving his spear there... along with the burning skeleton.

Kasen stared at the burning torch, "lost in thought," his pupils filled with desire vaguely seeming to glow with intoxication once again.

What he saw was no longer just flames.

And even less just burning skeletons.

But the end of the fate of all things! That wonderful feeling had never been experienced before; instantly enlightened, he felt as if he had become a poet, and the blood-soaked battlefield was the poem he had written on the earth.

But would anyone really notice this place? Never sentimental, a hint of regret suddenly welled up in his heart.

However, after only a moment, that regret was replaced by a stronger desire.

Someone could see it!

He could feel a pair of eyes watching this place, overlooking the entire earth, and even the entire world surrounded by chaos! That gaze seemed to come from the void, more distant than any distance!

It was also at this moment that a voice from the unknown appeared in his ears, injecting inexhaustible power into his tired and swollen body! "Kill them all—"

"Let them burn!"

"Use their corpses to please me!"

"Who are you!" Kasen growled, his fierce gaze sweeping around, looking for the source of the voice.

However, it was a pity that he found nothing.

But the turbid voice did not let him live in riddles, but like confessing its bloodthirsty desire, it confessed everything he was confused about exactly as it was.

"Kalmandes."

"Or—you can call me the fire that destroys everything!"

Kasen was still intoxicated in the illusion, and the ogres seemed to have realized how to please their king.

They one after another used spears to pierce the corpses they had picked up from the battlefield, regardless of whether they were friend or foe, lit them like torches, and stuck them on the dry and cracked earth inside the camp.

No one directed them to do so.

But all of them made almost the same choice.

It seemed to be a collective unconscious behavior.

Or perhaps it was guided by some great will...

In short, after they completed this ritual-like act, they quickly felt the joy from the bottom of their hearts.

Pain seemed to be no longer pain.

But a medal bestowed by the gods.

A steady stream of power surged from the burning corpses, and they would continue to fight with that inexhaustible power.

The voice from the unknown told them—

The more they kill, the stronger they will become!

The aged High Priest also looked up at the king sitting on the bones, and a moment of trance made him feel as if he saw the "Great Gluttonous King" who devours everything sitting there.

That unyielding majesty and grandeur were so similar to the legendary Him! It was simply that Great One visiting the mortal world in person! "Praise our King!"

The High Priest knelt on the ground tremblingly, offering his heartfelt prayer, even if it was just a beautiful misunderstanding.

And under the leadership of the High Priest, a group of Ogre Priests also crawled on the ground one after another.

It was also at this moment that they also felt the power that filled their whole bodies, as if it were inexhaustible!

Not far away, Kasen Skull-Crusher, who was accepting the worship of his tribesmen, also realized the changes gradually happening to himself.

His fat seemed to be thicker, and his skin was as tough as dragon skin, impervious to swords and spears, just like a real city wall! The entire tribe fell into a carnival celebrating blood and slaughter.

Only no one noticed that the prosperous pot had cooled down and was no longer bubbling.

And in the raging flames, an ominous aura was emanating...

Unceasing malice spread in the darkness.

And at this moment, whether it was the audience at the Demon Capital Arena or Xino Dragon who was on the battlefield, they were completely unaware of this.

This was not their fault.

After all, chaos is not something that can be seen at a glance, especially across such a long distance.

Facing the ogre army that refused to retreat in a death struggle, even though Xino was so unwilling that he gritted his teeth, he had to issue an order to retreat.

This did not mean he admitted defeat.

But a temporary detour.

That group of ogres wisely did not catch up.

Looking at the battlefield that was getting further and further away, Xino, riding on his warhorse, breathed a sigh of relief.

However, when he saw his battered subordinates, his heart, which had just relaxed, couldn't help but rise again.

Nearly a hundred casualties...

This was probably the heaviest loss since the establishment of the "Hellfire"!

What was even worse was that, in addition to the death of ordinary soldiers, a precious Bai Yin-tier Centurion was also lost on the battlefield!

He didn't even know how to explain it to his brother.

"Damn it!"

Xino spat a mouthful of saliva on the ground, his chest burning with monstrous hatred and anger, wishing he could tear those ogres into pieces and throw them into the fire to burn!

Generally speaking, siege warfare in a duel would not have such intensity; rarely would troops fight to the death for the glory of the nobility.

This was also the reason why the nobles of both sides did not meet on the battlefield.

According to the unwritten tacit understanding, the attacking side would not pursue the fleeing defenders, and the defenders were allowed to surrender when the situation was impossible.

However, what made Xino break his defense was that the ogre army in front of him seemed to be drugged, one by one rushing at him desperately.

He had lost nearly a hundred brothers here, and the casualties on the opposite side were conservative if they were ten times his; it might be twenty times at the start! As a result, these guys just wouldn't surrender.

When fighting humans, he had never seen these cannon fodder be so brave; why did they fight with real fire when fighting internally?!

Xino became more and more angry as he thought about it, especially when he thought that there was a group of spectators in the Demon Capital Arena watching, he was even more furious.

He could guess with his toes that there must be boos in the auditorium at this moment.

The only thing to be thankful for was that his opponent was considered to have given up on the siege.

Although he couldn't see the situation at Black Wind Castle, he could also guess with his toes that a thousand goblins couldn't take down that heavily guarded castle.

Let alone a thousand, ten million wouldn't be enough!

The exhausted team retreated to the vicinity of the teleportation array, and Xino was planning to arrange for people to keep watch, when he found a skeleton soldier sneaking nearby.

Just treating it as a monster in the labyrinth, Xino didn't care at first, and was about to solve it casually, but heard the skeleton soldier actually "spit out human words" and said.

"Don't do it! I have no malice!"

Although the game officials had issued an announcement prohibiting players from participating in the game CG, it still couldn't stop people from wanting to rub against the edge of the rules.

For example, this player with the ID 【Supreme Dad】 was like this.

Although you couldn't mix into the set during the plot animation, this was clearly an intermission being filmed, so it shouldn't be a big problem!

Looking at the skeleton that could speak in front of him, Xino showed a surprised expression on his face, but the battle axe held in his hand did not let go, and he asked sternly.

"Who are you people?"

Supreme Dad answered immediately.

"We are the minions of the Demon King! We are here to help you!"

Xino sneered and put away the battle axe.

"I don't need your help, just stand far away and don't get in the way."

The Demon King's subordinates actually ran over to help themselves.

Xino couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

It seems that this Demon King's popularity is not very good.

After waiting for a long time without waiting for a red card to be sent off, Supreme Dad breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly explained.

"It's not the kind of help you said, I mean a transaction!"

Xino frowned.

"Transaction?"

"Yes, yes," Supreme Dad nodded repeatedly, and while speaking, took out a tube of potion from the pocket at his waist, and diligently promoted it, "Understand the healing potion! One tube only costs 10,000 Underworld Coins, even monsters say it's good! Do you want one?"

This thing sold for 1,000 Underworld Coins in the NPC shop, and no one bought it at all usually.

After all, the server was currently dominated by skeleton soldiers, and there was no use for that thing at all.

Xino was slightly stunned, and just wanted to say that he had some, but found that the various potions in his waist bag seemed to have been used up in the battle just now.

After a moment of silence, he looked back at his subordinates, then looked at the skeleton soldier in front of him, and said in a low voice.

"I probably need about 50 or more here... how many do you have?"

Supreme Dad's eyes lit up when he heard this and said immediately.

"I only brought five with me! But if you have that need, I can let my friends send some more over!"

Xino was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly said.

"Then bring more, I want them all! By the way, what the hell is an Underworld Coin? I only have Kaila here, do you want it?"

Kaila is useful throughout the Underworld.

However, to his surprise, the skeleton soldier shook his head when he heard this and said as a matter of course.

"Buddy, I'm a dead person, do you think I need that thing?"

Xino was stunned, and then said. "Then... then what should I do? I don't have Underworld Coins..."

Supreme Dad hurriedly said in a persuasive tone.

"It doesn't matter, you can use dead people—cough! I mean, you can exchange it for equipment you don't need for the time being! For example, a set of armor... how about I count it as 100,000 Underworld Coins for you? For battle-damaged equipment, this price is very fair!"

Hearing this blatant talk, Xino didn't know whether to be angry or laugh for a while.

He even suspected that this was deliberately arranged by Luo Yan to mock him.

However—

He could take advantage of this.

Xino weighed it in his heart.

Although the armor of the "Hellfire" heavy infantry regiment was valuable, it was only about 100,000 to 200,000 Kaila, not exaggeratedly expensive.

Moreover, damaged equipment had to be replaced anyway.

If he could exchange the equipment that was originally going to be eliminated for some healing potions, not only could he restore his subordinates to full status, but at least one-third of the wounded could return to the battlefield.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Xino finally convinced himself and nodded through gritted teeth.

"Deal!"

Seeing the NPC in front of him agree to the deal, Supreme Dad was overjoyed and said.

"Thanks for your patronage! I'll arrange for my buddies to send the things over immediately."

Xino didn't wait too long.

A skeleton soldier running in small steps soon sent the healing potions he needed.

And it wasn't just healing potions and skeleton soldiers delivering medicine.

A large group of monsters who smelled business opportunities also surrounded them.

They carried large and small bags, and some pushed carts, and they actually set up street stalls near the teleportation array.

The entire temporary military camp had turned into a vegetable market.

Looking at the small carts emitting the aroma of food not far away, a group of demon warriors swallowed their saliva one after another, only feeling that the dry food in their hands was no longer fragrant.

I don't know what was burning in that iron bucket, but the smell was so tempting!

Looking at his hungry subordinates, Xino gritted his teeth and wanted to ignore the fragrance, but he also swallowed his saliva ungratefully.

After experiencing a great battle, he was just a little hungry at this moment. And these minions of the Demon King seemed to have seen this point, deliberately bringing the food in front of him, tempting him to speak.

So be it!

Xino finally convinced himself that this was to boost the morale of his subordinates, so he walked to the iron bucket emitting the fragrance and asked.

"What the hell is this?"

Gou Shi smiled and said.

"Roasted sweet potatoes!"

"How do you sell them?"

"100 Underworld Coins each!"

So expensive!

Xino felt a pain in his flesh, but thinking that a set of broken armor could be exchanged for 100,000 Underworld Coins, he suddenly felt it wasn't that expensive.

"Give me a thousand!"

Gou Shi was so surprised that he wanted to hug this guy and kiss him, and hurriedly shook people to help deliver the goods, while pouring all the inventory into the iron bucket.

"Okay brother! I'll roast it for you right now!"

The battlefield, which was deafening with killing sounds a second ago, was now filled with cooking smoke.

As more and more players set up stalls, there were not only roasted sweet potatoes on the scene, but also those selling wine and drinks, roasted skewers, and pancakes... in short, everything.

Hearing that there was a group of generous fools in the fifth layer of the labyrinth, the life-profession players who were originally slaughtering adventurers in Misty Town all ran over.

Some people had already tested the bottom line of the development team for them.

As long as they didn't directly participate in the battle, it seemed they wouldn't be locked in a dark room.

Looking at the fragrant snack stalls, the demon warriors sitting on the ground swallowed their saliva one after another, their expressions full of struggle and desire.

And it wasn't just them.

Even in the auditorium of the Demon Capital Arena, there were sounds of swallowing saliva one after another.

And at this time, the demon host with four arms seemed to have finally found an opportunity to speak, and complained in a tone that was hard to describe.

"It's incredible... The red and blue sides actually started a fire and cooked at the same time? It seems they intend to leave the decisive battle to the evening."

"..."

"This waste!"

Kamu Dragon, sitting in the VIP box, cursed, and cast his gaze on another floating large screen.

Fortunately, it wasn't just his younger brother who was greedy, a certain Demon King was the same.

I saw that more than a dozen fires had been lit in his pasture, and each fire was skewered with a skinned hell goat.

The large screen on the arena gave close-ups of those roasted golden-yellow goats from time to time, making the audience in the arena drool.

Although they couldn't smell the tempting aroma, just looking at the sizzling appearance was enough to whet the appetite of the demons.

"Can it be delicious if roasted like this?" Headmaster Aiwen muttered to himself, suddenly becoming a little curious.

Caesar, standing next to him, was obviously much better at enjoying than him; he stroked his chin and pondered for a long time, giving a pertinent evaluation.

"I see he hollowed out the goat's internal organs and stuffed spices into the goat's belly, so that the smell of the spices permeates the meat under the roasting of the charcoal fire, without overwhelming the aroma of the meat itself... Interesting."

This was the first time he had seen this rough roasting method.

He would let his servants get one to taste when he went back.

In the VIP box on the other side, Mi Ya's stomach was growling, and she kept swallowing her saliva, looking curious and wanting to taste it.

Because the red side hadn't fought for a long time, she almost forgot that this was a siege arena.

It was obviously not just her who forgot the game; Lady Sisi, who was standing on the side with her arms crossed, also had a suspicious expression.

Her interest in food was not as strong as her daughter's, but she became more and more curious about what the young man was trying to do.

"Is he trying to drag it out to a draw and then calculate the score to win?"

A certain vampire had also had such an idea.

Hearing his wife's words, Festin smiled faintly, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, and said in a chatting tone.

"If he had this intention from the beginning, then there was no need to accept the duel proposed by the second son of the Dragon family."

The Underworld is different from the surface.

Although a victory by opportunism is also a victory, it will not be recognized by anyone, and instead may be ridiculed by others.

After all, breaking a contract here is like eating and drinking; except for the rules set by the Demon God, other rules are not rules at all. Even the rules set by the Demon God are often only effective in the Demon Capital.

The meaning of a duel has never been to reach some unreliable contract, but to completely conquer the other party.

In the Underworld, this is more effective than any contract.

Sisi looked at her husband with watery eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Festin didn't say much, just said briefly.

"Let's keep watching... I can be sure that he is playing a big game, and in the end, everyone will be shocked by him."

"Why do you sound like you understand him so well?" Mi Ya looked at her old man suspiciously, her voice full of doubt.

Festin laughed and said kindly.

"After all, it's the person my precious daughter has taken a fancy to, so I naturally have to pay attention."

Hearing this, Mi Ya's cheeks turned red instantly, and she, who was usually spoiled and arrogant, became coy.

"I've said it several times, it's not what you think, it's just..."

"Just a superior-subordinate relationship, right? I understand." When he said this, a hint of nostalgia suddenly appeared on Festin's face, and he subconsciously looked at his wife on the side.

Feeling her husband's fiery gaze, Lady Sisi pursed her lips and smiled reservedly, the corners of her mouth also curling up with a hint of nostalgia.

"It's really nostalgic."

Every time she saw her daughter, she thought of herself when she was young.

Feeling the greasy, sour smell, Mi Ya couldn't help but roll her eyes and pressed her hot forehead against the cold floor-to-ceiling glass.

At this time, a new change finally appeared in the center of the red side's large screen—

The Demon King's roasted whole lamb was finally finished!...

Finally finished! It wasn't just the audience in the arena who breathed a sigh of relief, Luo Yan, who was standing on the scene, finally showed an expression of accomplishment.

Not easy! It's really not easy!

In order to teach this group of little demons the correct posture for roasting meat, Luo Yan ran to the official website to flip through the players' strategies for a while, and then personally demonstrated it, and finally pulled this group of guys who loved to make trouble, and finally restored the roasted whole lamb from Earth to seven or eight points.

Although there are no spices like cinnamon and star anise in the Underworld, there are similar substitutes.

After grinding those messy spices into powder and mixing them with crushed nuts and chili powder, the taste is not much different from the classic barbecue dipping sauce.

At the same time, not only were the eighteen roasted whole lambs on the grill finished, but also the twelve magic crystal cannons set up on the cliff.

This is the work of Iron Yacheng!

Since the battle in the Misty Forest, he had ordered the magic workshops in Iron Yacheng to produce a batch of artillery that could be disassembled and used.

In order to improve the production efficiency of the latter, he even specially borrowed Miranda to the workshop of the "I Think" Group, allowing her to use niche metal-based magic to cooperate with the latter for parts processing.

The Necropolis needs defensive weapons.

Especially "anti-large weapons".

This is not only to deal with threats on the ground, but also to deal with the traitors underground.

It's just that Luo Yan didn't expect that this batch of artillery hadn't been used in the labyrinth, but was moved to the Demon Capital first.

Can't say for sure—

This thing might open the market earlier than the Stone Man's defense!

Not far away, Oak, who was directing his subordinates to build positions, ran over, stood at attention in front of Luo Yan, raised his head and chest, and saluted.

"Report to the Demon King! The artillery is ready! It can be fired at any time!"

Encouraged, Oak seemed to have been reborn, his spirit completely different from before, his eyes shining brightly.

"Not bad!"

Luo Yan nodded appreciatively, and casually threw a freshly cut roasted lamb leg to the flattered Oak.

This wasn't over yet.

He called over a few goblins to help the little demons responsible for roasting meat to push the eighteen roasted whole lambs to the position.

Looking at the goblins swallowing their saliva, he said loudly in a loud voice.

"This King said I would let you eat meat, and now I will fulfill my promise—distribute the meat! Remember! Distribute the lamb legs and ribs to the most capable Gnoblars!"

Looking at the generous Demon King, the goblins on the position burst into excited cheers, moved to tears.

The Demon King actually prepared food for them himself!

And it was steaming roasted lamb! No master had ever treated them so kindly! Of course—

Kindness was just the most inconspicuous medal on that Great One's chest.

They wouldn't worship a Virgin Mary who only had kindness but no power; the reason they were truly convinced and bowed down before this Great One was because of his unyielding power and that "Gnoblar" that touched their hearts! This word seemed to have a magical quality, firmly grasping their hearts and even souls, making them willing to give everything.

They didn't realize what that was for the time being.

But Luo Yan knew.

That is identity recognition.

It is also the sprout of nationalism born after the Enlightenment—

"Awoo awoo awoo!!!"

"Long live the Demon King!!!"

"Long live the Gnoblars!!!"

Looking at the cheering goblins, Luo Yan had a happy smile on his face, pointed to the castle that looked like an antique three kilometers away, and announced the end of an era.

"Let our enemies tremble in the roar of the Gnoblars! Let their screams and wails accompany our banquet!"

"Now! Aim your magic crystal cannons at that castle! Then stuff the magic crystals into the filler port—just use the method Oak taught you!"

"The banquet has begun!"

"Fire at will!!!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 133 =====