Chapter 440: Hope in the Ruins

"This is...... a ratman's tail, right?"

Deep in the night, south of Wheat Field Village, at the entrance of an abandoned village near the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain range, an undead rat squatting on the ground muttered.

The skeleton mage holding a magic wand walked behind the undead rat, looked around, and the soul fire burning in the skull shook with a trace of caution.

He communicated in a low voice with a clattering sound.

"Probably."

The two undead were not lonely ghosts wandering in the Twilight Forest, but players with a system under the Demon King.

Two weeks ago, they received a mission in the Graveyard square, and came to the devastated Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng through the Demon King's teleportation array to support "Saintess Kalian" and the salvation plan of the Salvation Army following her.

Although they were suspicious when they received the mission whether the dog planner had drunk too much when writing the script, putting the Demon King and the Saintess together, but for hardcore players, the plot was never the point, the point was mission rewards and achievements.

And as T0-tier high-end players in the Graveyard, the first mission they received was to clear obstacles for the Salvation Army's spring plowing plan and investigate the abandoned villages near Wheat Field Village.

Honestly, this mission was boring, it sounded like it was done for the Demon King's minions, not matching their noble "Demon General" status.

Especially the few villages they passed were empty, and the collapsed houses were even cleaner than their faces, scraped without a single bit of residue.

Instead, there were a few magic beasts with decent strength in the forest near the village, making their mission process not so boring.

【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 estimated that it was probably the planning team testing map bugs, and hadn't set corresponding plots in these villages yet.

So they didn't think much, based on the principle of quick battle and quick decision, they quickly clocked in at the villages marked in the mission log.

However, just when their mission was about to be completed, they discovered an abnormality in the last village in the mission log.

Ratman traces actually appeared here!?

As the natural enemies of dwarves and goblins, the rebellion engraved in the bones of ratmen destined them to never submit to anyone, only loyal to their own gods.

However, what is worth pondering is that the three gods believed in by ratmen are highly similar to three of the four Chaos gods.

For example, "Trickster Rat" Swelt and "Mist of Deception" Novell, for example, "Gluttonous Rat" Geluo and "Claw of Eternal Hunger" Ulgos.

As for "Bountiful Rat" Rifenda, although the god who preaches reproduction and indulgence seems to be inconsistent with the teachings of the four Chaos gods, the clans who believe in Rifenda often fall into endless civil war and mutual slaughter because of excessive "rat population."

They kill while reproducing, and this process is often accompanied by continuous destruction and plunder—this behavior is precisely what pleases "Flame of Destruction" Kalmandes.

It is precisely because of this that many ratmen themselves don't know what their belief is.

After all, for them, betrayal is a norm, and holding the banner of "Bountiful Rat" but actually holding the terrifying ritual of "Flame of Destruction" is just a common occurrence for them.

Anyway, as long as it brings power!

【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 cast his gaze toward the village not far away, and the curtain of night did not block his vision, but made his vision incomparably clear.

Since breaking through to Bai Yin-tier, his skeleton body had obvious changes, not only was spellcasting smoother, but his intuition for the breath of living things was also much sharper.

I saw red dots flickering in the village not far away, lying on the cold corpses and feasting. That bustling scene didn't look like there was any famine, but like they were having a party.

Those guys were obviously not humans.

It is not a rare anecdote for refugees to eat people to survive, but even guys who are hungry and dizzy wouldn't risk eating rotten corpses.

But ratmen don't have this problem, there is no organic matter in this world that they can't digest.

"I said how the corpses seen along the way were all gnawed clean, I was wondering if the appetite of humans in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng was too good......" 【Tauren Warrior】 carried the short sword on his shoulder and whispered behind 【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】.

【Pig-headed Knight】 didn't speak, just gripped the axe in his hand excitedly, licking his lips.

His big axe was already hungry and thirsty!

Not long ago, these two living treasures also broke through to Bai Yin-tier, and changed their race to Armored Dragon Lizardmen.

Although night combat ability was not as excellent as undead, melee ability was quite awesome.

Especially cooperating with the corpse awakening technique mastered by 【One Leaf Brother】, they could rise again with 80% attributes and strengthened physique in the form of undead after dying in battle!

It could be said to be very easy to use!

【Hu Wan】 stood up from the ground and cast an inquiring look at 【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 brother.

"How to say?"

Looking at the equally eager soul fire, 【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 had already guessed the companion's decision.

He lit up the magic wand in his hand, injected dark green nether power into the gem at the tip of the wand, and smiled faintly.

"...... Since the task the Demon King gave us is to ensure the progress of the spring plowing plan, we can't let him down."

Let's use the tails of these rats as the conclusion of their mission this time!

A burning arrow tore through the silent night sky and landed accurately in the center of the village.

The bursting sparks startled the ratmen around, they subconsciously wanted to escape, but found the ground shaking, causing the tunnels they dug to collapse.

The entire spellcasting action was done in one go.

【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 smoothly changed the posture of holding the magic wand, and immediately started the chanting of the third spell.

"Swift as the wind!"

Cyan air currents wrapped around the legs of the four players, especially the two lizardmen running in front, their charging speed was even a big chunk faster.

"Haha! Where are you looking! Your Grandpa Pig-Head is right here!" the Pig-Head Knight shrieked excitedly, swinging his battle-axe and charging forward with heavy steps, crashing straight into the pile of rats like a war chariot.

"Squeak squeak——!"

"Liz, lizardmen?!"

"How is it possible! Didn't those things sign an agreement with our boss! Why would they suddenly take action!"

"No! Not right! These lizardmen seem different!"

The ratmen screamed, grabbing rusty short knives and slings, trying to block this lizardman warrior waving a battle axe.

However, before they could make an effective reaction, another lizardman holding a sword and shield crashed from their flank, knocking countless ratmen away directly.

A ratman priest raised the withered bone magic wand in his hand, pointed at the lizardman waving the sword and shield, and chanted spells shrilly.

"Lizard thing! Die! Die—ga!"

However, before his spell was finished, a black light silently crossed his neck, and the vicious curse instantly turned into spurting blood, sprinkled all over the ground.

At the same time, a scorching fire dragon suddenly poured in from the direction of the village entrance, smashed into the center of the ratmen, split the battlefield, and completely destroyed their morale.

"Yee yee yee——!"

"These lizard things are crazy!"

"Quick! Quick retreat!"

The ratmen screamed, threw down the short knives and slings in their hands, and scurried toward the forest with both hands and feet.

Watching the fleeing figures, 【Pig-headed Knight】 couldn't help but curse.

"MMP! You scared the monsters away, how can I harvest!"

Damn mage!

This experience stealing is too shameless!

No wonder leveling up so fast!

【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】, who walked out of the darkness, touched the bridge of his nose that didn't exist, smiled slightly and said.

"I guess you want to say MVP."

He deliberately scared these ratmen away, and the purpose was naturally to find their lair.

Just now, he had already cast the Black Iron-tier undead spell "Shadow Mark" to mark three ratmen.

Unless they could undo the curse.

Otherwise, as long as they were within a range of five kilometers, no matter where they hid, he could find them.

Intuition told 【One Ye Ye Zhiqiu】 that the "main plot" of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng might be hidden in these rats who didn't know where they came from......

Outside Quemubao, the guards holding torches were patrolling, and the candlelight in the guest room deep in the tower was swaying quietly.

Helen Moonblade's figure was like moonlight printed on the stone bricks of the city wall, appearing silently in front of Luo Yan, kneeling on one knee, reporting respectfully.

"Demon King, the task you ordered has been completed by your subordinate!"

Her voice was crisp and efficient, without a trace of fatigue accumulated from days of rushing.

"After two weeks of uninterrupted spellcasting by the Night Elf Mage Corps, the one million acres of farmland planned around Wheat Field Village have been basically repaired and fertilized."

Luo Yan turned a page of the "New Testament" draft that hadn't been finished, nodded calmly, and gave affirmation and praise to the work of the Gray Wind Tribe in a majestic voice.

"You did a good job, this King will not forget your credit. However, this is just the beginning, the refugees in Quemubao will return to those abandoned villages one after another, and then I will need to trouble you to help those human peasants again."

"Obey."

Helen answered crisply, without a trace of hesitation.

However, she didn't retreat immediately after finishing the report, but after a moment of hesitation, she lowered her head and asked in a voice carrying a trace of confusion.

"Demon King, I don't doubt your order, it's just...... forgive me for being presumptuous, why do we have to consume so much magic power to help those humans who believe in Shengxisi? They are not worthy of your care at all, their suffering now is just the compensation for that fanatical folly a thousand years ago!"

When saying these words, Helen's mood was exceptionally complex.

The epics of Night Elves are different from humans, although the history recorded is also what really happened, more ink is spent on the stupidity of Shengxisi and the Dragon God trying to eliminate death.

Actually, if Luo Yan were to evaluate it, they weren't stupid at all, on the contrary, they successfully conquered the old world.

If it weren't for a certain Zetarian who was scared out of his wits by the so-called "higher civilization" and logical hallucinations after seeing Chaos, I'm afraid the lizardmen of the Janna Continent would also be sitting at the table of victors.

However, Luo Yan had no obligation to save face for his pets, and had no interest in popularizing the truth hidden in the epics to his subordinates.

As subordinates of the Demon King, they only needed to look up at his tall and majestic back, and then follow him firmly.

"...... The people here, although nominally still believe in Shengxisi, the teachings they actually follow have nothing to do with that Church in the Shengcheng."

In Helen's increasingly puzzled gaze, Luo Yan used a nonchalant voice to throw out the answer that shocked her.

"They are now all my people. Including their knights, and even their Saintess, are already my servants. Except for not swearing to join the Graveyard, they are no different from you who are in the Graveyard."

"Ser, servant?!"

Helen Moonblade was taken aback when she heard this, her open mouth could even fit an egg, and the whole person was stunned in place.

Obviously she didn't know that "Saintess Kalian" was just a village girl Luo Yan picked up on the road. And in the distant memory of this Night Elf, only the Church in the human Shengcheng could appoint a Saintess!

In just a few breaths, she had already made up a plot of ten thousand words in her mind, including the part in the labyrinth dungeon——

Even the Church's Saintess could be corrupted......

The awe and fanatical light in Helen's eyes instantly flickered, and her cheeks even flushed with a trace of faint red. 【440-104

That is the color of worship!

As expected of Lord Demon King—

Truly unfathomable!

Just as Helen's heart was stirred by the great power of Lord Demon King, an emotionless voice suddenly sounded beside her.

"Lord Demon King."

Helen was startled and turned her head in shock, only then discovering that Sarah had appeared beside her without her knowing when.

That indifferent expression was like a lifeless shadow, as if only the aura of one exalted being in this room was worth her attention.

Helen was not surprised that Sarah was here, but she did not expect that she, with her Golden-tier strength, had not even sensed the slightest bit of the other's aura!

This guy...

Could it be that she broke through again?!

That look of astonishment gradually turned into sour envy. Luo Yan didn't need to guess to know what Helen had misunderstood, but since she didn't say anything, he felt awkward explaining.

Along this journey, his guard Comrade Sarah had also been very hardworking... especially when it came to playing hide-and-seek with Taff.

Sarah did not mind Helen's lack of composure; she merely bowed slightly and reported to her Demon King Majesty in a calm manner.

"... When the Salvation Army's intelligence personnel were patrolling the south of Quemubao, they discovered signs of non-human activity near an abandoned village."

"After an in-depth investigation, they found traces of rat-men there!"

The Necropolis's aid to the Salvation Army was not just in agriculture and infrastructure; it naturally included the construction of the army, and intelligence work was a key focus among them.

To survive in this chaotic world, relying on ideals and slogans alone is not enough; in the end, one must rely on the sword in one's hand.

During this time, the training of the Salvation Army's intelligence personnel had been Sarah's responsibility, which was why she knew about this matter even before Saintess Kalian.

However, the Demon King sitting here obviously knew about it before she did.

Looking at the expressionless Sarah and the solemn-faced Helen, Luo Yan nodded, his calm expression unchanged.

As if he had long anticipated all of this.

"I understand. Tell Kalian for me, then keep observing... Helen, be careful when your people are operating outside."

The two answered in unison.

"Yes, Lord Demon King."

The rat-men's claw marks undoubtedly added fuel to the already chaotic situation in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, and as for how far this fire would burn, it was impossible to know for now.

Perhaps these rats were just eyeing this land eroded by famine, or perhaps a famine had also broken out in their home deep within the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain range.

Regardless of what the so-called "main quest" the players were enthusiastically searching for was, the refugees of the Quemubao territory had recently found their own life "main quest" and were gradually living their days with relish.

The next day.

The morning light spilled over the land of Wheatfield Village. Old Old Old Hanke rubbed his sun-cracked nose and sat up from the bed made of reeds.

As spring entered its second half, the season of endless rain had finally passed, and sunny days were gradually becoming more frequent.

And his old bones, which were nearly worn out, could finally rest a little.

"Morning, Old Old Hanke."

Seeing the young man walking toward him greet him, Old Old Old Hanke smiled and returned the greeting.

"Morning, have you eaten?"

He didn't know the young man's name, only remembering this simple face and sunny smile, which couldn't help but remind him of himself when he was young.

The young man smiled and said.

"Ate long ago. You should hurry too; those new guys can really eat. If you're any later, you might only be licking the bottom of the pot!"

"Haha, it shouldn't be that bad..."

Old Old Old Hanke laughed, but his heart tightened. He hurried to the Salvation Army's porridge station and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was still plenty in the pot.

His worry was indeed unnecessary.

According to the Saintess's oracle, the Salvation Army soldiers strictly adhered to the creed of salvation, only beginning their own meal after all the villagers had finished.

Filled with gratitude and praise for the Saintess and the Son of God, Old Old Old Hanke joined the queue, received a bowl of steaming wheat porridge from a soldier, and squatted by the field ridge to enjoy his first holy meal after waking up.

It seemed it used to be like this, too.

Every day when the bell rang, the serfs of Wheatfield Village would go to the lord's servants to receive a bowl of porridge, fill their stomachs, and go to work in the fields. At noon, they would go to receive the last meal of the day, then continue working in the afternoon.

As for what exactly they ate, that depended on how the harvest was, the specific season, and the temper of the lord.

Old Old Old Hanke vaguely remembered that the serfs working on the church's land had slightly better food because the Wheatfield Village church's property happened to have an apple orchard, which always left behind many unsold apples and unwanted raspberries.

Of course, it was a different situation in other villages.

And in recent years, all the villages had been having an exceptionally difficult time, so there was nothing to compare; never mind apple trees, even the tree bark had been gnawed clean by them.

But fortunately, days filled with hope seemed to be returning bit by bit.

Although Old Old Old Hanke didn't understand the difference between the Salvation Army and the previous lord, as long as the person leading could keep him fed and clothed, he had no objections.

Whether that Saintess was sent by the Church or came walking on her own from the Running River, the miracles she brought were indeed real.

And—

That oracle regarding the harvest seemed to be gradually coming true.

Looking at the patches of lush green wheat seedlings, Old Old Old Hanke was lost in thought for a moment.

After a long while, he muttered to himself in a low voice, having finished the last mouthful in his bowl.

"Actually made it in time..."

Two weeks had passed since the villagers of Wheatfield Village returned home. Recalling the events of the past two weeks, he really felt like he was dreaming.

At first, when they stepped onto this land, almost no one thought they could catch up with the progress of the spring plowing.

Yet, just as they were falling into despair, a miracle happened!

First, a group of "River Spirits" in cloaks used magic to clear the obstacles for the spring plowing, and then a group of "Holy Spirits" who claimed to be their ancestors came along with hoes to help them work.

Old Old Old Hanke was also seeing such strange undead—oh no, Holy Spirits—for the first time!

These skeleton frames acted in groups of three or five, commanded by a Holy Spirit, working tirelessly in the fields as if they would never get tired.

They didn't need to rest.

Human farmers needed to work for a day and rest for half a day on heavy labor, but they could work from sunrise to sunset, and then from sunset to sunrise.

That wasn't even the most outrageous part!

These Holy Spirits didn't just do simple work like turning the soil; they could also operate complex metal machines.

Under the command of a little guy who called himself a "Gnome," they drove machines called tractors, shuttling across the most stubborn land outside Wheatfield Village.

Those giant beasts spewed thick black smoke from their mouths, advancing amidst deafening roars. They seemed to have endless strength, and every time they drove past, they left behind rows of deep and neat furrows!

The steel plowshares tore through the hard soil that even magic couldn't break with ease, and their daily workload was worth more than a dozen farmers' month of hard labor!

With the help of these guys, the villagers' progress in catching up with the spring plowing could simply be described as having wings attached.

They only needed to carry baskets, follow behind those machines, and scatter the seeds and something called "fertilizer."

And after they finished this work, those cloaked spirits riding elk returned to the entrance of their village.

Just like before, those pointed-eared ones raised their magic wands without a word, casting spells on the barren land, and then those dormant seeds sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye, piercing through the soil above their heads!

Those spirits didn't continue to use magic to ripen the crops; after finishing these things, they left without a moment's delay.

Old Old Old Hanke had never imagined in his life that the heavy and laborious work of farming could be simplified to this extent.

He even felt a faint panic in his heart; if lords used this method to farm in the future, what would he do?

Oh right...

The Saintess seemed to have said that there would be no more lords here in the future.

As soon as he thought about how this lush green land belonged to him, the bit of worry that had just welled up in his heart vanished like smoke, replaced by a simple, foolish grin.

If all this wheat really belonged to him, how long would it take to eat it all...

As April drew to a close, the window for spring plowing gradually closed, and the focus of the Wheatfield Village villagers' work shifted from planting staple crops to other tasks.

Such as clearing vegetable gardens, repairing public pastures, helping villagers who were building houses, or finding a quiet place to procreate...

These tasks were directly related to whether they could move from the collective dormitory into warmer houses before the cold winter arrived, and sit in front of the fireplace with their families to share hot sauerkraut and pork knuckle soup.

Families with children or pregnant women would be given priority for independent wooden houses.

As for the work in the fields, they only needed to keep an eye on weeding, so those opportunistic wild grasses wouldn't steal the crops' nutrients.

Although these tasks weren't exactly easy, they were at least not as urgent as before.

Just as Old Old Old Hanke was burying himself in work, the sounds of clanging and banging were already coming from the village not far away.

The Holy Spirits who had helped the villagers clear the wheat fields a few days ago had just put down their hoes, only to turn around and help the Salvation Army soldiers build houses.

These ancestors really couldn't stop for a moment; Old Old Old Hanke couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them, having to work even after death.

At the same time, he silently prayed to the Saintess in his heart, hoping that when his time came, he could go easily and not be pulled back up to work the moment he closed his eyes.

It's just a pity that those "ancestors" working didn't know what this guy was thinking, otherwise they would definitely have laughed out loud on the spot.

Of course—

Maybe they would also pat the NPC on the head, sighing that this game was too realistic.

Even an old farmer in the background had such rich inner thoughts and ideas.

They certainly weren't working for free; Lord Demon King would distribute Nether Coins as rewards based on the amount of work they completed.

As for what Nether Coins were used for?

Their uses were immense!

Due to the dog developers' constant empty promises, "Catastrophe OL" had now become the dream of countless silly netizens to restart their second lives in another world.

Every day, a large number of fresh little leeks poured in, so Nether Coins never lacked buyers; it was just that the exchange rate fluctuated quite a bit.

For the "grinders" who would work themselves to death as long as they could earn, it wasn't much of a problem!

In order to harvest Lord Demon King's leeks as soon as possible, many people had already spent thousands!

Of course, there were also big shots with deep backgrounds like Long Xing Wan Li, who threw around real-world money as grandly as the Demon King threw Nether Coins, not caring at all.

In short, thanks to the efforts of the diligent and brave little players, new hope was brewing on the ruins of Wheatfield Village.

The tractor that had finished plowing the land once again served as an ox-cart for hauling goods, pulling timber filled to the brim from the direction of the riverbank.

In the past two weeks, it wasn't just the farmers of Wheatfield Village who were busy, but also the craftsmen by the Running River.

With the assistance of a dozen "Highlanders," the locals not only repaired the waterwheels and irrigation canals that had been abandoned for many years by the Running River, but also established a timber processing plant by the river.

Speaking of those "Highlanders," they were also a strange bunch. Although they couldn't speak clearly and didn't look very smart, they were unexpectedly nimble when it came to work.

Especially when operating machines!

Thanks to these generous guys, the water of the Running River finally filled the canals of Wheatfield Village once again.

Looking at the village that was getting better bit by bit, every villager's face was filled with hope.

And as the returning teams passed through this thriving village one after another, carrying tools and dry rations back to their original hometowns, they would soon bring hope to even more distant places.

Just like the dandelions blooming across the land of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng in May...