Chapter 153: The Only Way to Overcome the Chaos Curse

That light falling from the dome shocked not only the four Demon Generals, but also the residents and adventurers active in Misty Town.

Looking at the suddenly bright dome, many human mercenaries patrolling with muskets on their backs had clearly surprised expressions on their faces.

"What is that?!"

"How come it suddenly got bright?"

"Could it be Chaos..."

"Shouldn't be, right?!"

The mobility of this mercenary line was very high, and many people had only been in the business for a few months, and hadn't seen the Misty Town of the past.

Everyone exchanged surprised glances, whispering in small voices.

Hearing these rookies chatting more and more outrageously, a slightly older mercenary curled his lips and finally couldn't help but say a few words.

"What's there to make a fuss about? This place was like this a year ago, it's just that it suddenly stopped being bright last year."

A young mercenary asked curiously.

"Is it because the Demon King went on an expedition to the surface?"

"Ghost knows why," the older mercenary shook his head, squinting at the dome emitting silver light, "But intuition tells me this is not a good thing."

Another mercenary standing on the side grinned and said in a chatty tone.

"Whether it's a good thing or not has nothing to do with us; let those noble lords worry about it, we just need to stand guard well."

A powerful labyrinth was never a good thing for the local human lord, especially hearing that Grand Duke Campbell had been in poor health recently, and the principality might usher in a change of power.

If the Demon King, who represented the forces of Hell, took the lead in recovering at this time, it would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the Campbell Principality.

However, for a mercenary, considering these things seemed too far away, and whether the Campbell Principality was good or not seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Must Grand Duke Campbell represent the interests of humans?

He used to believe this deeply, but after dealing with those noble lords for a long time, he found that those people actually weren't any more noble than demons.

What Saint Xisi and Demon God, they were just two sides of the same coin. It was precisely because he thought so in his heart that he had no sense of guilt for working for demons.

It might also be because the Demon King hadn't shown his evil side for the time being; at least now he felt this employer wasn't bad.

He believed that the respected Captain Alex was also thinking this way.

That gentleman was a true noble; even he wasn't worried about the rise of the labyrinth, so it seemed too ridiculous for him, a mercenary, to worry about these things.

The anomaly of the dome caused quite a stir in Misty Town.

However, as time passed, when people found that the silver-white light had no impact on them, they all settled down.

And at the same time, not far outside Misty Town, the Night Elves looking up at the dome were shocked by the anomaly for a long time and couldn't calm down.

Looking at the moonlight covering the forest, Helen's lips trembled lightly, and her wide eyes were like ripe almonds.

"Demon God above..."

"This, this, this... the crystals on the dome are fixed?!"

Sherry, sitting on the side, let out an exclamation, her eyes equally wide, her face filled with surprise and disbelief.

Praise Lord Demon King!

He really fulfilled his promise!

Although she hadn't doubted it, she hadn't thought this day would come so quickly.

Just then, the sound of a horn came from the forest.

Hearing that long horn sound, the two people who were immersed in joy a second ago instantly restrained the smiles on their faces, alertly standing up from the branch.

That was the horn of assembly!

Helen and Sherry looked at each other, immediately understood each other's eyes, and then jumped down from the tree, their figures soon hidden in the mist-shrouded forest.

The melodious horn sound spread further and further, and all the hunters in the forest moved, gathering in the direction the horn sounded!

The same scene didn't just happen on the fourth layer of the labyrinth.

Grack, who returned to the War Palace, summoned his subordinates, and nearly five thousand orc warriors picked up their gear and gathered under the banner of the clan.

From the War Corridor of the sixth to ninth layers, to the Desperate City on the tenth layer, and even the Cold Ice Sanctuary and the Demon King Palace on the lower layers... the mighty teams were all gathering in the same direction!

They were the family assets that Regi Dragong hadn't lost in the war.

They were also the last power of the entire labyrinth!

They, who had once been a scattered sand, gathered together again.

This time it was not for anyone's ambition—

But for themselves!

Banners fluttering, drums booming!

The fifth layer of the labyrinth, on the barren wilderness, green heads were gathering, and fierce light flickered in the murky pupils.

Unlike the pot-bellied ogres.

Their skeletons were straighter, and the muscles on their bodies were also stronger!

Except for the dark green skin and the tusks prying out of their mouths, their appearance was almost the same as humans on the surface!

Looking at the orc army gathering on the wilderness, the players who were grinding monsters showed surprised expressions one after another.

"Is there any new activity?"

"Damn! So many people!"

The murderous army gathered on the wilderness, and even the Gate of Chaos emitting ominous aura dimmed its light.

That was a true war machine.

Steel cast from blood and fire!

Their equipment couldn't be called refined, and could only be considered rough, but no one dared to doubt their combat power!

Standing in front of this bloodthirsty army, the heavy armored corps that had been fighting on the wilderness before seemed like well-made toys!

Although they didn't know what had happened, intuition told the players that this also seemed to be one of Lord Demon King's trump cards.

After all, they all had green names on their heads.

And the enemy they were facing was the mortal enemy of the Necropolis!

Looking at the orc army forming a formation on the wilderness, the Kao people active near the Gate of Chaos were also affected by that momentum, and bloodthirsty expressions appeared on their shriveled and ugly faces.

They were like ghosts crawling out of the abyss.

A powerful opponent not only didn't make them fear, but instead made them, who were addicted to killing, excited!

A knight riding a tall warhorse walked to the front of the formation.

Stern, pitch-black armor covered every inch of his skin, and standing on the battlefield, he was like a black tower.

Obscure incantations drifted from under the armor, and he raised the long sword in his hand, pointing toward the dome from afar.

Following the chanting of the obscure incantations, that long sword suddenly burst into a scorching flame like a struck match!

That flame crawled along the sword spine to his wrist, then crossed his forearm to cover his armor, and then shrouded the warhorse under him!

In a neigh of the warhorse, he was like a burning coal, completely bathing in the boiling flame!

An astonishing scene happened; the flame that destroyed everything didn't burn him, but instead bestowed him with infinite power!

"Kao—!"

A low roar came from his mouth, and thousands of servants around him also made shouting sounds, and gathered toward his direction.

As if he were a flag!

"Kao!!!"

In just a short while, a huge army had gathered on the wilderness. And standing at the forefront of this army were the ogres under Kasen Skull-Crusher!

It's just that they were no longer fighting for Hell, but like their leader, completely stood on the side of Chaos!

They believed!

"Flame of Destruction" Kalmandes was "Great Stomach King" Buldada!

They were the same god!

Standing at the forefront of the orc legion, Grack, holding a battle axe, narrowed his eyes slightly, and a trace of solemnity appeared in his brow.

Undoubtedly!

That was the God-Chosen of Chaos!

Just looking from afar, he couldn't judge that guy's strength at all, and could only judge by instinct that the burning flame came from another dimension!

Most of the power possessed by the God-Chosen of Chaos came from other worlds, and naturally couldn't be measured by the standards of the Aus Continent.

Just when Grack was ready for battle, the players eating melons standing not far away discovered new situations from the edge of the battlefield!

Only to see dust flying on the horizon in the distance, and as the rumbling sound got closer, a huge stag beetle like a mountain revealed its figure!

That deep blue carapace was like a moving fortress, and the entire earth seemed to be trembling under his trampling, emitting a groan that it couldn't bear.

He wasn't the only one who came here.

And there were thousands of descendants following closely behind him!

The dense insect swarm was like an avalanche, forming a deep blue torrent on the yellow-gray wilderness, turning everything it passed into frost!

"Damn! Such a big beetle!"

Knowledge Explosion's eyes were straight, his gaze completely stuck on this thing, and the soul fire of his skull was shaking with horrified light.

The Ayami little demon floating on the side swallowed her saliva.

"What kind of thing is this..."

"Don't know... but it seems to be on the same side as us." Gou Shi's face was filled with surprise.

He always felt that he had missed a few GBs of plot.

When did their Demon King, who was like a bare-pole commander, become so strong?!

The one who came back to his senses first had to be "One Gulp of Chemical Pool".

How could such an exciting thing be enjoyed alone?

He went offline immediately, ran to the official website, and posted to shake people.

"Brothers, get online quickly!!! Something big happened on the fifth layer of the labyrinth!"

Not long after the post was sent, a long string of replies soon refreshed below the post.

"???"

"Is it true?!"

"Damn! I'm still on the Chaos side!"

"What's the situation, tell me!"

"..."

Under the oil-adding and vinegar-pouring description of the chemical brother, the entire forum was as lively as a boiling oil pan, and players active on other floors gathered toward the fifth layer one after another.

Even some high-level players grinding monsters on "Planet Kao" were attracted by the situation on the fifth layer and gathered spontaneously. Looking at the giant frost-armored beetle appearing on the battlefield, the black knight standing at the forefront of the Chaos army clearly showed a surprised look.

But it was just surprise.

Unlike other God-Chosen of Chaos forces, Kalmandes's servants never knew what fear was, and powerful opponents would only make them more excited!

Not just that—

The stronger the opponent, the more power they had!

And this was precisely the most difficult part of Kalmandes's servants!

The atmosphere on the fifth layer of the labyrinth was tense, and both sides of the confrontation were ready for battle, just missing an order or a gunshot!

To be honest, Luo Yan didn't expect that the play he and Hino Dragong performed would have such an astonishing effect.

Even if it was just for the sake of the lingering prestige of the Dragong surname, the speed at which this group of rebels defected seemed too astonishing.

To the point that he even couldn't help but suspect that he had wronged them... this bunch of guys were actually still very loyal?

Of course.

Talking about loyalty in a place that follows the law of the jungle was as ridiculous as talking about stance with goblins.

Luo Yan didn't know what those demons had brain-filled without authorization, and could only try to combine what he had learned in the Demon King Academy to analyze.

And following his post-facto analysis, he also came up with a reasonable explanation.

The disintegration of the labyrinth was less because of the ambitionists' desire for power, and more because the demons who had been struggling on the lifeline for a long time had lost confidence in Hell's rule.

The previous Demon King didn't bring them substantial benefits, and every major decision was choosing the lesser of two evils between bad and worse results.

This was like Hell never expecting the labyrinth of Thunder County to be able to conquer a territory in the hinterland of the human world, yet Regi Dragong still launched a full-scale war without hesitation and placed all his hopes on the victory of the war.

And even if they achieved final victory, they wouldn't be able to enjoy any fruits of victory, because they would soon face the crusade of the Imperial Army.

In this desperate atmosphere, it was impossible for the vast majority of demons to have too much good feeling for the Demon King from the Demon Capital, and the motivation that restrained them from making more irrational behaviors was only the faith of the Demon God.

And now it was different.

With the gradual restoration of order, they, who were lurking in the shadows, saw hope again and had confidence in the future.

On the surface, this was a rebellion launched by local separatist forces, but in essence, it was a game between the local and the central regarding autonomy.

They didn't really intend to break away from Hell's system.

After understanding this point, Luo Yan felt a little relieved, turned and went to the nest of the Rock-Earth Soul to inspect the development of the magma worms.

The growth rate of these little guys was quite astonishing.

After a week of development, their number had gone from the initial tens of thousands of little tadpoles to hundreds of millions of "insect swarms," extending all the way down along the magma rock cracks around the magma, penetrating to the "upper mantle asthenosphere" tens of kilometers below the edge of the labyrinth.

There was high temperature of thousands of degrees and high pressure of thousands of atmospheres, which was basically the limit of magma worm growth.

These little guys wouldn't get too close to the magma, but lived in magma rock cracks that were relatively warm and had moderate pressure.

They were like the roots of plants, constantly drawing heat from the heat source and transferring it to minerals like crystals that could store magic power.

Therefore, Luo Yan just connected it with the crystals on the dome of the fourth layer of the labyrinth, and those crystals that could store magic power were naturally lit up.

This was as simple as connecting a light bulb to a power source, and didn't even need a spell.

Because they only lived in specific temperature and pressure ranges, they wouldn't over-diffuse and cause serious ecological crises.

Not just that, they would wrap around magma mineral veins like pipes, using their own adhesiveness to reinforce the rock mass around the magma, making the path of magma flow more stable, greatly reducing the probability of magma suddenly erupting from the illegal construction area of the Rock-Earth Soul!

Considering that underground thermal energy was almost inexhaustible, the energy produced by these magma worms could not only supply the lighting of the dome on the fourth layer of the labyrinth, but also use excess magic power in other areas of the labyrinth!

Currently, Luo Yan had already let the Mole People of Iron Yacheng and the goblin engineer Ouke start researching this matter.

If the situation was optimistic, the facilities created by Regi Dragong in the labyrinth using faith power could all be changed to use clean energy in the future!

It's a pity that magic power couldn't be converted into faith power in reverse; faith power could only rely on the prayers of individuals with souls to collect.

Otherwise, Luo Yan wouldn't need to worry about the residents of Thunder City, just seal the labyrinth and squeeze magic power from the magma, and that would be it.

Standing beside Luo Yan, the immovable old man, who was like a small mountain, looked at his clansmen fishing for magma with stone buckets not far away, and said in a slow voice.

"Truly incredible... I originally thought these little things would anger our Fountain of Life, but didn't expect them to make the magma more stable instead."

Not just that!

At first, he was also worried that these strange creatures would affect the health of his clansmen like moss, but soon he found that these little guys not only wouldn't affect their health, but could also enhance their digestive ability and improve their "gut flora."

By the way, he also learned the term "gut flora" from the Demon King in front of him; before this, he had never heard of similar concepts.

Thinking of this, he was even more impressed by the technology of the Demon Capital.

"This is the power of knowledge," Luo Yan smiled, regardless of whether this had anything to do with knowledge, and continued.

"Now do you still doubt my decision?"

"I dare not."

The immovable old man lowered his head respectfully, without any of the previous unruliness.

Luo Yan could see that this guy was completely convinced.

Of course.

This had nothing to do with knowledge or not, mainly because the Rock-Earth Soul tribe had received enough benefits from the Necropolis.

They not only got enough coal, but also lived a stable life, and what they paid were just some "excrement" they couldn't use.

As for the "stone eggs" contributed to the Necropolis, it wasn't too big a problem for the immovable old man either.

In their sloppy culture, their life started from the moment they broke out of the soil; when they couldn't move, they couldn't be considered complete lives, and naturally couldn't be considered part of the clansmen.

After inspecting the situation of the Rock-Earth Soul tribe, Luo Yan then went to Iron Yacheng for a stroll.

If the nest of the Rock-Earth Soul was the reactor of the labyrinth, then Iron Yacheng and the surrounding areas were the energy control hub of the labyrinth's future.

Currently, his overall planning for the labyrinth was basically centered on the general direction of "energy self-sufficiency."

Only in this way could he save precious faith power and use it in more worthy places.

For example, improving his own, players', and monsters' combat power.

Just when Luo Yan was reviewing various strange props designed by the life-profession players of the Necropolis, Hino Dragong, who had just returned from the lower layers of the labyrinth not long ago, walked toward his direction with big strides.

"How is it? Did I act like it?"

While speaking, that bull face was filled with pride.

Compared to the arrogance when they first met, this guy had completely changed his face, completely becoming the shape of the Demon King's minion.

In fact, Hino himself actually noticed some of it.

And this was also one of the reasons he decided to follow Luo Yan.

Not just to overcome the curse, he wanted to know more about what this human was besides being a bit smarter than him, and what else he was stronger than him in.

Looking at Hino, who was showing off, a smile appeared on Luo Yan's face, and he nodded in appreciation.

"You did very well, even better than I expected."

Looking at the Demon King nodding in appreciation, a hot expression appeared on Hino's face and said.

"Then my matter..."

Luo Yan nodded.

"I will of course help you, but just like I told you at the beginning, if you want to break the curse of Chaos, you still have to rely on yourself in the end."

Hino said in a muffled voice.

"I know, I will of course put in effort, after all, it's my own business... but you have to tell me what to do."

"I was just about to tell you."

Looking at Hino, whose expression was gradually becoming serious, Luo Yan paused for a moment, recalling the knowledge he had seen in the library of the Patridge family before, and combined with his own understanding, continued.

"The root of Chaos is the lack of faith. When we let extraordinary power act recklessly without restraint, Chaos will find an opportunity to spread toward us. You should have already realized that Chaos actually cannot directly affect your flesh; the corrosion of Chaos acts more on the part of your spirit that has nowhere to rest, such as magnifying the bloodthirsty side in your heart."

"Therefore, if you want to solve Kalmandes's curse, there is only one way—that is to face the part of your spiritual world that has been polluted."

Hino fell into thought.

However, Luo Yan didn't expect that heavy wooden brain to think of anything, so he shared his own experience.

"Before you came here, the Deceptive Mist Novell had targeted this place, and many people here were affected by Chaos, becoming 'Mad-Speakers'."

Hino asked immediately.

"And then? How did you defeat the curse of the Mad-Speakers?"

Luo Yan continued.

"We used unity to break the lies, used joint efforts to end the chaos... of course, the most critical thing is that we defeated Him, forcing Him to actively close the Gate of Chaos."

Hino looked at Luo Yan with a puzzled face.

"But I have already won against that ogre with chains tied to his stomach... I personally used an axe to chop off his head!"

"I know, otherwise you wouldn't have become the God-Chosen of Chaos," Luo Yan looked into his eyes and continued, "You got the wrong opponent you need to defeat, or rather, you and the ogre you defeated were both pawns of Kalmandes; whoever won among you was the same to Him... This is the essence of the Flame of Destruction; they burn themselves, and also burn others, as for victory or defeat, that is not what He cares about."

Doesn't care about victory or defeat?

How the hell is this supposed to be won—

No.

The moment he started considering victory or defeat, it seemed he had already lost!

Because the winner would become the new God-Chosen, the corrosion of Chaos would continue to spread, until all the fuel was burned out!

A cold sweat crossed Hino's forehead.

"So... who is the opponent I should defeat? Don't tell me it's—"

Luo Yan said without hesitation.

"Do I still need to say it? Of course it's Kalmandes, the 'Flame of Destruction' himself."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 154 =====