Chapter 18: The Wrath of the Rats!

As soon as the players put in the effort, the spiders in the labyrinth and the rat-men in the mines suffered.

Having found reliable teammates, Ye Zhiqiu decisively chose the cave spiders, which offered the highest returns, as their target for grinding.

Although those cave spiders looked intimidating—visually estimated to be level 10 to 20—he had already discovered that in this world of ultra-high freedom, levels didn't mean everything. The so-called attribute panels and health bars were for reference only! For instance, while those cave spiders had formidable combat power, their intelligence wasn't particularly high.

Furthermore, they possessed an extremely strong sense of territory; even their own offspring would be devoured if they approached rashly.

While this meant they were extremely dangerous, it conversely meant that as long as players didn't venture deep into their nests, they would likely only face one spider at a time.

And as long as they took down one cave spider, not only would they receive ten times the reward of killing a rat-man, but they could also wipe out the spider eggs near the web in one fell swoop! Additionally, Ye Zhiqiu paid special attention to every task in the quest log.

Clearing out the spider nest was almost the only task currently available that provided an unlimited amount of contribution points!

At their current leveling speed, they would soon hit the level 3 ceiling; acquiring contribution points was the primary task of the current version!

Excluding Ye Zhiqiu and a few other ambitious high-end players, the vast majority of players still chose the relatively "cuter" rat-men.

First of all, skeletons were not on the rat-men's menu.

Facing this group of skeleton soldiers whose intelligence was no less than that of humans, these rat-men were not just bewildered; they didn't even know how to take a bite.

Secondly, these rat-men not only had low health bars, but they could also drop equipment.

The only trouble was that their morale would bottom out at the slightest provocation, and their scurrying about affected the players' ability to harvest tails.

Unfortunately, the players' levels in the current version were too low, and they lacked skills capable of mowing down enemies effortlessly.

And since the undead came with an inherent fear aura, encountering such opponents who had absolutely no will to resist was indeed a headache...

The Underground Street of Lei Ming City.

Although this place also belonged to the parish of the Shengxisi Sect, it was one of the few places in Lei Ming City where the Holy Light did not shine.

Here, there were thieves fencing stolen goods, pirates with bounties on their heads, black-hearted merchants practicing usury, and smugglers conducting illicit trades... Some even jokingly boasted that even if the Demon King of Hell came here, he would have to leave two kidneys behind before he could leave.

There were even more exaggerated rumors that evil followers of Outer Gods were hiding in those dark alleys...

In short, this was not a good place.

In the tavern next to the Thieves' Guild, the greasy, shiny oak table was shrouded in smoke and mist.

Three men, who looked like no good news in terms of both dress and appearance, were playing "Beat the Noble."

Of course, this couldn't possibly be actual beating of nobles; it was just a card game, and it was said to have a thousand-year history, even having been popular in the court of the Kingdom of Lei En at one time.

Sometimes, Jie Ke couldn't help but wonder which king had such heavy tastes.

Was it really that fun to be beaten up?

"Speaking of which, how come I haven't seen that little girl Ke Lisi lately?"

He was a member of the Black Snake Gang and had some business dealings with a few fellows from the Silver Scimitar.

Especially Ke Lisi.

Although that woman was only a Black Iron-tier thief, she was quite skilled at kidnapping and extortion.

He happened to have a deal he wanted her to handle, but the middleman couldn't get in touch with her anymore.

It wasn't just her.

The entire Silver Scimitar seemed to have vanished, disappearing from Lei Ming City without a trace.

With his keen sense of smell, he couldn't help but suspect that this group of petty thieves had offended some incredible big shot.

Like the Andi Si family, for example...

The man with a scar carved on his face grinned and laughed.

"Ke Lisi? That one whose chest is flatter than mine? I think someone saw her at the Pavilion of Swords and Broken Swords yesterday."

The man puffing on his cigar threw a Black King onto the table, snatching the right to play from Jie Ke's hand.

"The tavern next to the Adventurers' Guild? What was she doing running over there?"

"Who knows, fishing for a sucker?"

The man puffing on his cigar stopped his hand, pondered for a moment, and said.

"It seems she really did catch one. I heard someone saw her leaving with a man who looked like a noble near the Beimen Station."

The man with the scar on his face laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha, which young master has such heavy tastes?"

"Beimen Station, is it? Thanks for the intel." Throwing out four fours on the table, Jie Ke said with interest.

The man puffing on his cigar indicated he couldn't beat that and took the cigar out of his mouth.

"What? Is she the only one who can do that job?"

"There aren't many agile female thieves... although others could do it, I'm used to using someone I know."

Speaking of this, Jie Ke paused for a moment.

"Besides, I'm a bit curious about what kind of trouble she got herself into."

The man with the scar on his face suddenly stopped smiling and gave him a meaningful look.

"... Lei Ming City hasn't been peaceful lately; you guys had better keep a low profile."

Jie Ke didn't care, however, and grinned indifferently.

"The commercial district is what's not peaceful; what does that have to do with our Underground Street?"

In the far suburbs north of Lei Ming City, deep within the Beifeng Mine, a fat, giant rat sat upon a pile of white bones.

His name was Jia Qi.

Until a few days ago, he was just a slave rat kept by the Demon King on the first floor of the labyrinth, but now he had become the leader of thousands of slave rats. Perhaps—

It wouldn't be long before he could possess his own clan, just like the ancestors of those great clans.

To achieve this great goal, he had to hurry and hoard more fat.

At this very moment, sitting on his throne of bones, he was surrounded by food stolen from human farms.

Among it was not only the meat of pigs, cows, and sheep, but also bread baked to a crispy golden brown and fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables.

Stuffed to the brim, Jia Qi's waistline and height expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a balloon filled with water.

Yet, miraculously, despite his gluttony, he didn't burst from the food; instead, he gained even greater strength from his bloated state.

This was also one of the characteristics of the rat-men.

By eating with their bellies wide open, they could not only stuff food far exceeding their own body weight into their stomachs, but also convert it into a part of themselves.

And besides their racial talent, there was also their faith.

Endless eating was precisely the sacrifice to please one of the three Rat Gods—the "Rat of Gluttony," Ge Erluo!

At this moment, Jia Qi did not realize that by following his instincts, he had actually stumbled into a divine selection ritual known as the "Ritual of Gluttony." Although his posture was clumsy and ridiculous, he had indeed succeeded in pleasing Ge Erluo, so much so that the latter had bestowed upon him a better appetite and strength far exceeding that of an ordinary slave rat! Watching their leader gorge himself, the slave rats on the side were so tempted their eyes glowed red, wanting to rush up and eat meat, but they didn't dare to step forward and act presumptuously.

Previously, a clueless little mouse had reached out its claw toward the food, only to be grabbed by their leader, who bit off its head and crunched it down.

Just as Jia Qi was eating with great satisfaction, a ragged rat-man suddenly ran in from the entrance, squeaking shrilly.

"Your Majesty! Lord Jia Qi! Something terrible has happened!"

Jia Qi, who hadn't stopped chewing, let out an incredibly long burp and replied in a lazy voice.

"What is it? If it's adventurers, don't bother me..."

The rich scent drifted from the pile of bones all the way to the entrance, making the group of rats drool onto the ground.

The ragged rat-man pressed his head firmly against the ground and continued to scream in a terrified voice.

"No! It's not adventurers! It's the Demon King!"

The Demon King?! The moment he heard this word, Jia Qi was so frightened that his fat body shook, and the chicken leg in his hand fell to the ground.

"The Demon King?!"

He screamed and tried to flip over and get up, but because he was too fat, he almost caused an earthquake.

The slave rats serving on his left and right squeaked and fled in all directions; seeing this, Jia Qi hurriedly reached out and grabbed them all back.

"Don't run! Get back here! Where can you run to? Back to the labyrinth to feed the spiders? Or do you expect human farms to take you in? Only I can give you a place to stay!"

He roared, intimidating those spineless turncoats, and then glared at the rat standing at the entrance, squeezing the vicious words through his teeth.

"You're lying! The Demon King is dead! We saw it with our own eyes! Otherwise... how would those spiders dare to occupy our nest!"

Just as his voice fell, several rat-men carrying short spears and clubs had already viciously stepped forward, preparing to take down that little mouse.

The thin, small rat-man trembled, his head pressed firmly against the ground, and blood even rubbed off from his dark forehead.

"What I said is true! Great King! The previous Demon King is indeed dead, we all saw it! But but but last night, a Demon King came back with a group of adventurers! And... he's also a Necromancer!"

Jia Qi froze.

The Demon King came back with adventurers? Are you kidding me?!

As for a Necromancer—

What kind of ability could a few skeletons have? Before he had eaten himself into this state, one rat could take on ten! "You're playing me! Chop him up!"

Jia Qi roared, and the slave rats, who had long been unable to hold back, swarmed up, chopped the screaming little mouse into meat paste, and then gnawed it up with squeaks.

Watching the slave rats tearing at their own kind, Jia Qi, sitting on the pile of bones, fell into deep thought.

A new Demon King...

It might actually be true.

In fact, he had been prepared for this; Hell would sooner or later send a new leader to clean up the mess, but he hadn't expected this parachuted leader to land on his own turf.

He had already escaped from the labyrinth; did he have to flee even further into the mountains? There wasn't enough food there, and he didn't want to, nor was it possible for him to leave human city-states! However—

These things couldn't be let his underlings know.

Looking at those unsatisfied rat-men, Jia Qi opened his loud mouth and roared shrilly.

"You! Once you're full, get into the mine and find those human things!"

"This mine is our territory!"

"If they dare to come in, let them know how powerful we are!!!"

"Squeak—!"

The group of rat-men waved the stained knives, spears, and clubs in their hands, and under the encouragement of their leader, let out shrill and vicious battle cries.

Looking at those swarming servants, Jia Qi's originally unsettled mood finally stabilized a little.

Perhaps—

Things weren't that bad.

This Demon King might be much weaker than he imagined, otherwise he wouldn't have been lingering at the entrance of the labyrinth.

Taking a step back, he also had ten thousand against a few.

No matter how you calculate it, the advantage was in his hands!

——

(Thanks to "Stone Statue by the Sea Waiting for the Time Ship" and other alliance leaders for their tips!!!) (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 19 =====