Chapter 141: Victory in the Campaign, Evil Overlord Strengthened

The Azure Star Sea, the Evil Moon Domain.

Having received energy from three nodes, Nai Xiu's suppressed mood eased.

Unlike the energy from the lower node and the Corrosion Core, energy from other nodes was Black Tide energy, usable directly without passing through the Gao Ta Furnace.

What saddened him was that the node providing Player Clan intelligence remained unreachable.

He had originally intended to have Spirit Warriors who had fought the Player Clan provide him with war assistance—or even replace him in commanding operations.

But according to the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye's feedback, the intelligence-providing node was locked in fierce battle with the Combat Insect Clan and could offer no aid.

"Evil Eye, divert part of the energy to upgrade the Gao Ta Furnace; channel all remaining energy into generating Apocalypse-class troops."

After Nai Xiu issued the order, his perception perspective instantly descended upon the front line.

Focusing his gaze, the churning black mist rapidly coalesced; batches of Apocalypse Warriors and Apocalypse Beasts emerged from within.

A new round of counterattack had begun.

Players engaged in combat with the Black Tide soon noticed something was wrong.

The intensity of the Black Tide had clearly surged, and the rank of the Black Tide Xie Sui being generated had risen significantly.

This made players curse aloud, yet also strengthened their resolve to crush the newborn Spirit Beings.

As one player in the regional voice channel put it: This kid's growth potential is terrifying—must not be allowed to survive!

Learning that the newborn Spirit Beings had immense growth potential, many casual and scenery players grew uneasy.

The Colorful Mist Coast region was a holy land for casual, scenery, and fishing players.

Unlike the high-intensity combat zones of the Emperor's Tomb Mountains, those in the Colorful Mist Coast region could freely choose what to do.

Upon hearing the Black Tide had strengthened, their first mental image was: the Evil Moon enveloping the Colorful Mist Coast, once sunlit beaches overrun with twisted Corrosion Cores, the azure sea turning into a blood-red Wang Yang, the refreshing sea breeze becoming a chilling dark wind, and all manner of delicious marine life destroyed by the Evil Moon.

Afterward, the Colorful Mist Coast region would continuously spawn repulsive, ugly derivative Xie Sui.

As one forum player who urged everyone to join the battle explained:

Think about it—you take your girlfriend out of the newbie village, sit on the beach eating spiritual food and singing, then suddenly the Evil Moon arrives, and a grotesque Blood Corpse spawns right on your face, making you lose your appetite—so this battle is also for yourselves; everyone, join the fight.

This statement had enormous impact on casual players.

It framed the offensive against the Evil Moon Domain as a counterattack against Black Tide invasion.

Countless players exploring new regions or fishing along the coast rushed toward the Evil Moon Domain, determined to contribute their strength and never allow the Colorful Mist Coast to fall under Black Tide rule.

This time, all players poured out en masse, determined to eliminate the newly arrived Spirit Beings.

The scene of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea reappeared.

Casual players' vehicles were equally varied, especially explorers who frequently traveled long distances and generally owned universal vehicles.

Meanwhile, inside the Evil Moon Domain, the great battle continued.

With energy from three nodes supporting him, Nai Xiu entered a frenzied mass-production mode, pushing players all the way to the shore.

Empowered, Nai Xiu's Spirit Beings surged with confidence, preparing to manipulate the Black Tide and swallow every player on the shore.

At that moment, a new wave of players arrived through the Evil Moon Domain.

These newly arrived players were far weaker in ability than the main force, but vastly superior in creativity.

For example, the fishing faction players.

Power poles, self-detonation poles, entangling poles, and more.

Their fishing rods were their weapons; various traits combined with rods were swung wildly across the battlefield.

During this time, a group of bizarre Pokémon-style players emerged.

These players all embedded Painful Painful Minghun and fought using beast-taming methods.

But unlike Yu Yun's control of Heavenly Soldiers.

These scenery faction players captured only low-hunting-level monsters.

The most absurd case was a player who brought fifty Golden Pincer Crabs—captured on the beach, hunting level 0—charging into the Black Tide; the scene left nearby players stunned.

Before this, Golden Pincer Crabs were classified as delicious ingredients, with combat power nearly zero.

Though pinching a finger hurt, their damage was limited to pain—not lethal.

Nearby players immediately shouted warnings: Don't waste them—keep the crabs for yourself to eat.

Many other bizarre monsters appeared, with combat power too pitiful to watch—purely for camaraderie.

These scenery faction players made considerable contributions to mapping the Monster World, but were truly weak in actual combat.

Yet not all scenery faction players were weak; some delivered impressive performances in battle.

These players deeply understood one truth: how far you go depends entirely on your own strength—your own power is the foundation for exploring the Monster World.

Five days later.

After continuous high-intensity combat, Nai Xiu realized the players could not be wiped out.

He had driven the Player Clan forces off the island multiple times, yet they quickly reorganized and returned.

The energy from the three supporting nodes was nearly depleted; the Gao Ta Furnace had not yet been upgraded, and its energy conversion speed could not keep pace with troop consumption.

If this trend continued, he would soon fall back into disadvantage.

But aside from continuing to fight, he had no way to withdraw.

The Black Tide, which had always grown stronger through battle, had become the party being consumed by the Player Clan—leaving Nai Xiu's Spirit Being truly frustrated.

Realizing he would inevitably lose if this continued, he once again sought support from other nodes.

……

The Heaven Abyss Domain Node.

Receiving the support request from the Azure Star Sea Node, the Di Nian Spirit Being, currently commanding the Black Tide against the Insect Tide, immediately prepared to refuse.

But the Evil Eye interrupted at this moment:

"Di Nian, the situation at the Azure Star Sea Node is dire—if this continues, it will be overrun by the Player Clan in no time."

"What does that have to do with me?" Di Nian Evil Spirit was very confused.

"I think we can find an opportunity to intervene and provide support."

Hearing these words, Di Nian Evil Spirit turned its head to look at the Evil Eye floating behind it; it knew that since the Evil Eye said so, there must be a reason for its thoughts.

"Speak, what other rebellious thoughts do you have?"

The Evil Eye blinked once and continued:

"According to intelligence shared with me by other nodes, there is a clear regulation in the region governed by the Monarch: all Evil Spirits that intervene and participate in the battle have the right to handle all resources of the battle-dead Evil Spirit nodes. Now, the node in the Cang Star Sea Area is locked in a bitter fight, and feedback indicates it may be annihilated by the Player Clan at any time. I suggest providing support before the Nai Xiu Evil Spirit dies, and offering remote command assistance."

"Good heavens, Evil Eye!" Hearing these words, Di Nian Evil Spirit immediately widened its eyes.

He finally understood why the Evil Eye suddenly changed its mind and wanted him to provide support.

The support was a pretense; collecting the corpse was the truth. By taking over the Hei Chao command authority at the last moment, he would take over and devour all the remaining energy controlled by the Nai Xiu Evil Spirit's node.

It looked like support, but was actually rebellious.

"Evil Eye, you are crazy; you are even plotting against your own people?"

"I am the Auxiliary Eye; I only provide suggestions. If you feel my suggestion is unreasonable, you can veto it... Additionally, I strongly suggest you veto my proposal; this indeed violates the Hei Chao decrees."

Hearing these words, Di Nian Evil Spirit immediately widened its eyes.

He discovered that the Evil Eye seemed to have learned to be bad.

The once innocent Evil Eye was now playing mind games with him, first offering a huge temptation, then apologizing and claiming he had given wrong advice, hoping he would not choose this suggestion.

"Evil Eye, your heart is dirty."

"I have no heart, so do you need me to refuse?" The Evil Eye blinked innocently.

"Wait, continue observing the situation of the Cang Star Sea Area node; provide full support at the critical moment."

"Di Nian, you just said this idea is rebellious and violates the Hei Chao decrees."

"We are all Evil Spirit warriors loyal to the Hei Chao; I have an obligation to provide help."

"Di Nian, your heart is dirty."

"Shut up."

After six consecutive days of fierce battles, the players fought with increasing excitement.

With high rewards plus extra contribution bonuses, the Evil Moon Domain islands in the Cang Star Sea Area were, in the players' eyes, simply a holy land for leveling up.

Most importantly, the strength of the Hei Chao Xie Sui here was far inferior to that in the Di Zhai Mountain Range region.

With the players' current combat power levels, it could be described as a continuous slaughter.

Although facing the surging Hei Chao inevitably led to death, once the cooldown in the small dark room ended, they were good men again, able to re-enter the battle very quickly.

Many players completed Painful Painful Minghun upgrades during this campaign, and even some players successfully raised their Body Tempering levels.

During this period, players discovered that the Hei Chao's tactics had changed.

They clearly bore the style of Di Nian Evil Spirit.

However, in the application of tactics, they were far less skilled than Di Nian Evil Spirit, obviously having just learned recently, with rather unfamiliar crowd control abilities.

Just as the players thought the great battle was heading toward victory, an unexpected scene occurred: a figure tore through the churning black mist and entered the battlefield, leading the Hei Chao Xie Sui to launch a counterattack against them.

The gaze of nearby players focused on the figure clad in ferocious pitch-black battle armor; analysis ability activated.

【Nai Xiu (Hei Chao Evil Spirit)】:

Hunting Level: 79

Target Analysis: Hei Chao Commander-level intelligent Evil Spirit warrior, conscripted from the Tian Luo Shi Jie.

Only then did the players learn that the Nai Xiu Evil Spirit controlling the Hei Chao had personally entered the fray.

What made the players even more puzzled was that the combat mode of the Hei Chao Xie Sui had also changed.

This sneaky tactical style immediately made the players think of one of the bullies in the Di Zhai Mountain Range region: Di Nian Evil Spirit.

Just as the players had guessed.

Facing their frenzied assault, Nai Xiu, already aware of his inevitable defeat, chose to apply for support from other nodes once again.

This time, Di Nian Evil Spirit in the Di Zhai Mountain Range region accepted the connection, gave a response, and expressed willingness to provide combat command.

This was also the reason Nai Xiu chose to personally enter the fray.

Now, Di Nian Evil Spirit was controlling the Hei Chao node in the Cang Star Sea Area; under his control, the Hei Chao began generating Disaster-type tank units.

Whenever life was damaged by around 50%, Di Nian would decisively control the injured Evil Spirits to retreat, completing disintegration and reshaping within the Hei Chao.

Players who found the fighting becoming increasingly wrong angrily cursed in the voice channel:

"Wait, I seem to have seen this sneaky last-hit denial technique somewhere; why does it feel so familiar?"

"Why did the Hei Chao's Apocalypse-type units change to Disaster-type tank units? This is exactly Di Nian Bully's no-damage meat shield tactic; the worst part is retreating at the slightest injury. The sneaky aura hits the face; I now seriously suspect the one commanding the battle is Di Nian Bully."

"Fortunately, the Hei Chao strength isn't high; otherwise, this tactic would truly make me sick to death. It is definitely Di Nian Bully's style."

"This skilled last-hit denial... Hiss... It's definitely that flavor. The Evil Spirit's AI learning speed is too fast; this fellow's potential is even more terrifying than Di Nian Bully's. We absolutely cannot leave him alive; otherwise, once he grows up, our Colorful Mist Coast region will be lost."

"Brothers, pull together; don't let the Hei Chao grow any further. We are only one step away from victory."

Just as the players were discussing the Hei Chao's tactical changes heatedly.

Nai Xiu Evil Spirit appeared extremely excited; at this moment, a purple-skinned Evil Eye was connected behind him, providing real-time combat assistance.

Charging into the crowd of players, it was like a demon god descending to the world; none of the nearby players were a match for even a single exchange.

This gave it the feeling of when it once campaigned in the small worlds.

Deep in his heart, he was immensely grateful to Di Nian Evil Spirit for coming to support.

It could be seen that under Di Nian Evil Spirit's control, the Hei Chao was more than a notch stronger than before; the flexible unit Fan Shi Zhong reshaping reduced Hei Chao energy loss to the minimum, and the combat rhythm was nothing short of perfect.

"As expected of a senior," Nai Xiu Evil Spirit couldn't help but praise in his heart.

Hearing these words, the purple-skinned Evil Spirit shook his head:

"Nai Xiu, Di Nian only arrived shortly before you. When he first came, his individual combat power was even inferior to yours. Judging by combat time, you are his senior."

Ignoring the purple-skinned Evil Eye's reminder, Nai Xiu connected with Di Nian Evil Spirit at this moment and said gratefully:

"Di Nian, thank you for your support."

"We are all members of the Black Tide Legion; supporting you is my duty." Di Nian Evil Spirit gave his response while continuing to command.

After expressing gratitude once more, Nai Xiu Evil Spirit completely let himself go. No longer needing to command the Black Tide, he transformed into a battlefield killing god, venting his power to his heart's content.

On the Gao Ta platform, a pitch-black eye appeared.

This was the auxiliary eye projection beside Di Nian Evil Spirit.

By connecting the Evil Eye to Gao Ta, Di Nian Evil Spirit's consciousness controlled the Black Tide's operations, continuously sensing the energy reserves within the Evil Moon Domain during the process.

What surprised Di Nian Evil Spirit was:

The energy reserves within this Evil Moon Domain were extremely high.

However, since Gao Ta had just been generated and the furnace had not yet been upgraded, the efficiency of converting energy was very low.

This was also one of the key factors causing Nai Xiu Evil Spirit's predicament.

The early Black Tide needed to purify energy through Gao Ta's furnace, transforming it into pure Black Tide energy.

The energy extracted by the Corrosion Core came from the Node Domain; it possessed only the characteristic of polluted energy but could not remove energy impurities, so the provided energy contained many impurities unsuitable for the Black Tide.

Upon learning the situation, Di Nian Evil Spirit immediately formed an idea, feeling that perhaps he could harvest the resources of this Black Tide Domain early, with no need to wait for the troublesome task of collecting corpses. It would also save the step of explanation.

At this moment, he connected with Nai Xiu Evil Spirit and asked in a deep voice:

"Nai Xiu, why has Gao Ta's furnace not been upgraded?"

"I have no time to upgrade. When I first descended, before Xie Yan Gao Ta was fully formed, the Player Clan attacked and tried to kill me. I could only continuously drive Gao Ta to generate Black Tide energy to create troops, without a single moment of rest throughout the entire process. This is also the main reason I needed to seek support."

"I understand. I have an idea that requires your permission. I want to transport the impure energy here to the Node Gao Ta where I am located, assist you in purifying the impure energy, generate Black Tide energy, and then transport it back."

Hearing Di Nian Evil Spirit's idea, Nai Xiu agreed without hesitation:

"You are now the commander here; I agree with your decision."

Having spoken, Nai Xiu Evil Spirit opened his mouth in his mind:

"Evil Eye, open energy permissions."

Hearing the order issued by Nai Xiu, the purple-skinned Evil Eye floating behind him completely released the permissions.

Immediately, the energy provided by the Corrosion Core surged like a tide through the node connection, transporting to the Xie Yan Gao Ta of the Tian Yuan Domain node.

The Tian Yuan Gao Ta furnace burned Xiong Xiong upon receiving the impure energy, and the churning Black Tide below became even more surging.

At this moment, Di Nian Evil Spirit laughed heartily in his heart, but he did not take all the energy; he still took out one-third and returned it to the Cang Xing Sea Region node.

Throughout this process, the Evil Eye provided cover, replacing the purple-skinned Evil Eye as the battlefield auxiliary eye, controlling all data information.

The great battle continued until the eighth day.

All the energy provided by the Corrosion Core had been transported to the Tian Yuan Domain node.

Nai Xiu Evil Spirit, already in a desperate situation, struggled to hold on.

But at this moment, Di Nian Evil Spirit proactively connected with Nai Xiu Evil Spirit and provided recorded visual information from the battlefield where he was located:

"Nai Xiu, I need to return to defend against the insect tide invasion. This support mission is over."

This news was like a bolt from the blue, causing Nai Xiu Evil Spirit, who was already in a bitter struggle, to completely panic.

However, Di Nian Evil Spirit had already provided him with days of command support; he had no reason to stop Di Nian Evil Spirit from returning to guard his own node.

"I understand. Thank you for your command, Di Nian."

"The battle situation is deteriorating. I suggest that after you retake command, contact the Monarch as soon as possible to request support."

Having spoken, the Evil Eye on the Gao Ta platform vanished, and Di Nian Evil Spirit's consciousness followed, returning to the Di Zhong Mountain Range region.

Feeling the surging energy surge beneath Gao Ta, Di Nian Evil Spirit couldn't help but laugh heartily.

This auxiliary command mission earned him the return he deserved; now it was time to launch a new round of troop upgrades.

But before that, he still had to act out another scene.

Then report this recorded information.

As for whether the Monarch would discover the anomaly, Di Nian was not worried.

His auxiliary eye possessed permissions to modify records; after discovering information errors, he could directly modify the content or perform deletion processing.

Just like the intelligence record of the last lunar phase change, even though this information had already been recorded in the information database, it could still be directly deleted.

As long as the Cang Xing Sea Region node did not report, there was no possibility of being discovered.

But he did not care about this issue at all.

Having fought countless major and minor battles against the Players, he was very familiar with the Player Clan's tactics and behavior.

Nai Xiu Evil Spirit is definitely doomed.

If he doesn't die, I have left a backup plan.

But the urgent task is to start the war as soon as possible and leave video records.

His perception perspective spread out at this moment; he locked onto the insect tide that was gnawing on the ground and controlled the Black Tide to launch a second fierce assault against the insect tide.

This time, he planned to lure the insect tide to the area near Gao Ta.

Turning an active provocation into a forced defensive battle.

On the other side, within the Evil Moon Domain of the Cang Xing Sea Region.

After Di Nian Evil Spirit left, Nai Xiu Evil Spirit, who was still fighting desperately, immediately returned to Gao Ta.

Seeing this, the players surrounding and killing Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit began speaking in the voice channel:

"Stop it! Don't let this brat escape—kill it and we win for sure."

"Those with Taunt Painful Painful Minghun, move now! Even one second of aggro will do—keep it pinned here, and a successful beheading wins us the fight."

Just as Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit struck down a wave of players trying to trap it and was about to retreat,

a figure blocked its path.

The figure radiated intense blood qi, its eyes lifeless, standing like a puppet.

The arrival was the Heavenly Soldier puppet, controlled by Yu Yun.

After ending his half-month wandering, he inquired for guidance and learned the residual mark within the Heavenly Soldier had vanished—he finally relaxed, turned back from Ghost Shadow Sea, and entered Evil Moon Domain.

Seeing his faction locked in battle with the Black Tide, he decisively joined the battlefield.

With the Heavenly Soldier's power, the dense battlefield of evil spirits seemed to him a money-printing machine, yielding substantial Evolution Points and Shou Shou Jili every second.

He had already reclaimed the Shou Shou Jili spent to control the Heavenly Soldier.

Now spotting Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit attempting to flee, he swiftly commanded the Heavenly Soldier to intercept it, raising his fist to strike.

Fist met fist; both Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit and the Heavenly Soldier slid backward over ten meters.

"Blocked! Brothers, charge! My good brother's coming back!"

After completing the block, Yu Yun swiftly commanded the Heavenly Soldier back to his side.

That punch—felt on the Heavenly Soldier's fist—hurt in his heart.

The Heavenly Soldier was his endless treasure—he couldn't let it die here, and he must minimize damage.

Because every injury required him to consume potions for healing, and those cost money.

While other players cursed him as "stingy" in the voice channel, they surged toward Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit, hurling bindings wildly to prevent its retreat.

The Taunt Painful Painful Minghun then unleashed its full power.

Though it couldn't control Nai Xiu for long, every time Nai Xiu tried to flee, the players' Taunt Painful Painful Minghun forcibly interrupted him, causing him to rage and swing his fist at the player who activated the Taunt Painful Painful Minghun.

At this moment, players entered the "sacrifice mode," all just to keep Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit trapped.

Surrounded, the exhausted Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit grew increasingly passive.

It simply could not break free.

Helpless, it growled:

"Evil Eye, retreat first—reconnect to Gao Ta and seize control of the Black Tide."

Upon hearing this, the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye said nothing; its tentacles embedded in Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit's spine retracted and floated toward Gao Ta.

Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit then roared.

A chilling wind surged; evil and death filled the air, the ground trembled, and then it opened its mouth and sucked in—a flood of nearby evil spirits rushed into its maw.

In an instant, Nai Xiu transformed into a monstrous giant formed of swirling black mist.

If Gao Ta were destroyed, it meant his journey in this world ended prematurely.

But he would never allow his failure.

He had prepared for this day for a long time.

The battles and struggles in the first three small worlds were all for this moment of glory.

Becoming the Black Tide commander was his dream—he would not let himself fall at the very start of his dream.

More and more player clan members rushed toward him; Nai Xiu roared, raised his massive limbs, and summoned a gale—where his misty claws swept, players were sliced and slain.

On the other side, the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye drifted to Gao Ta, extending its tentacles to connect and seize control of Gao Ta to aid Nai Xiu's escape.

But before its tentacles touched Gao Ta, a teleportation spiritual pattern spontaneously formed below.

The Purple-Skinned Evil Eye's eyes widened in shock; before it could react, it was teleported away.

When its vision cleared, it found itself standing on the shore, surrounded by the densest cluster of players.

The nearby players were equally stunned.

Forum players had analyzed the Black Tide's combat system, and many had inquired for guidance to understand it.

The Black Tide's combat core system consisted of three parts.

They were: the Command-Type Evil Spirit, the Strategist and Support Evil Eye, and the Black Tide and Evil Spirit troops.

Seeing the enemy strategist suddenly appear, the players froze.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

After a brief silence, damage skills rained down on the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye.

The Purple-Skinned Evil Eye swiftly formed a psychic barrier before itself to block the players' assault.

At that moment, a figure approached—the Taunt trait instantly enveloped it.

In a daze, the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye's psychic shield shattered; the players' concentrated attacks struck it instantly.

"Nai Xiu, my mission ends early—goodbye."

After transmitting its final message to Nai Xiu, the Purple-Skinned Evil Eye exploded violently, dissolving into a dazzling rain of colorful energy.

Learning this, Nai Xiu's Evil Spirit went utterly mad.

He didn't know what had happened, but it was likely the players executed a beheading tactic, ambushing and killing the Evil Eye near Gao Ta.

Now the Evil Eye was dead—without its aid, even if he gained control of Gao Ta, he could not command the Black Tide.

At this point, he was trapped in a dead end.

Three hours later, Nai Xiu, utterly spent, opened his arms and chose self-destruction to end his life.

The victorious players continued advancing toward the Black Tide's Gao Ta.

Without a commander, the Black Tide began randomly spawning various types of evil lifeforms to auto-defend against player incursions.

But they could not possibly resist the players' ferocious assault.

Before long, the player legion had pushed forward to Xie Yan Gao Ta, with the Speed Clone Pickaxe Battalion charging at the front, swinging their pickaxes and beginning to dismantle it.

The other players weren't idle either, unleashing various Painful Painful Minghun abilities to break down the tower's defenses.

Boom!

Before long, the tower collapsed with a roar, a flash of light bursting forth like dawn piercing the darkness.

Victory arrived at this moment.

Players embraced each other, weeping with joy; some raised both arms and shouted loudly. A hard-to-describe joy and sense of achievement filled the air, and smiles appeared on every player's face.

Amid the countless cheers were threads of excitement and exhilaration.

At this moment, all the exhaustion, all the effort, all the sweat had been rewarded.

The shouts of different players rang through the regional voice channel.

"Brothers, after nine days of fierce fighting, we've finally won!"

"Hahaha, I revived 34 times, survived entirely on nutrient fluids, didn't dare rest at all, and finally secured a top-100 honor ranking — feels amazing!"

"Beneath Di Zhao bro, time to settle the wages, why hasn't the Challenger prompt appeared yet (banging on table eating dirt. jpg)!"

"Everyone don't rush, hurry and occupy the nearby domain nodes, charge!"

……

The remaining players charged toward the domain nodes on the island at this moment.

After the players made contact with the domain crystals, three spatial black holes appeared in succession on the island.

The area of Di Zhong Village also expanded rapidly during this period.

The Challenger prompts also rang out in succession at this moment:

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to the player legion on successfully completing the Purge the Black Tide campaign, receiving additional contribution ranking rewards…….】

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to the legion on successfully containing the domain node: Black Dragon Pass (Mineral Resource Node), Di Zhong Village's area has expanded.】

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to the legion on successfully containing the domain node: Sky Spray Isle (Spiritual Qi Resource Node), Di Zhong Village's area has expanded.】

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to the legion on successfully containing the domain node: Coral Islet (Spiritual Qi Resource Node), Di Zhong Village's area has expanded.】

The core node where the last tower stood — a level-3 Spiritual Qi resource node, Coral Islet.

When the last node was successfully contained, the evil moon in the sky fluctuated violently, entering an unstable state like that of a phase transition.

Players looked up at the waning moon one after another.

Just then, the waning moon rapidly twisted and then suddenly dissipated. The sky was like a torn curtain, sliding open from the moon's position toward both sides, and finally vanishing.

The afterglow of the setting sun replaced the evil moon in illuminating the world; sea breeze swept across the long-unvisited island, brushing against the players' faces.

Whether the surviving players on-site or those watching the livestream in the little black room, everyone was cheering and jumping for joy.

This battle was far more difficult than the players had imagined.

Although they held the advantage for the vast majority of the time, the Black Tide was extremely tenacious, getting strengthened in waves from time to time, knocking them off the island several times.

But relying on the infinite-revival tactic, they ultimately achieved victory.

Every time they fought together, the participating players gained a deep sense of achievement.

And the Nai Xiu Evil Spirit became their stepping stone to higher places. All participating players in this battle received a massive Shou Shou Jili return, and many players' Painful Painful Minghun even leveled up 3 times.

As the great battle concluded, the Challenger prompt rang in their minds, initiating the campaign contribution settlement.

At the same time, the Honor Album appeared once more.

The album's background page was a panoramic view of a battlefield at sunset, golden afterglow spilling over the island battlefield where the smoke had yet to clear, the players' silhouettes stretching long in the afterglow — appearing both tiny and magnificent.

Clicking the video at the center of the background, one could see the edited campaign progression.

From the players' entrance and their slaughter of the sea-area evil entities, to the killing of the Nai Xiu Evil Spirit and the Purple-Skinned Xie Yan, and finally the destruction of Xie Yan Gao Ta.

Below the video was also a line of text:

【On this land that had lost long years, we used our sweat and hot blood to jointly write an immortal legend worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.】

Following that were screenshot after screenshot of brilliant moments being added to the album.

The first photo: a player stood in mid-air with hands clasped behind his back, a rotating Spirit Vessel Grand Formation behind him.

Clicking the photo, one could see a five-second sequence: the player reached out and pointed ahead, the Spirit Vessel Grand Formation spun forth, and swathes of evil entities were annihilated.

The second photo: a low-HP player held three Spirit Energy Bombs, charging out of the formation without hesitation toward the Black Tide, using his life to pave the way for the team.

The third photo: a group of players besieged the Purple-Skinned Xie Yan, and finally the eye exploded, gorgeous colored light rain spreading everywhere.

The fourth photo……

The brilliant moments on the battlefield were all captured by the Guide and recorded, collected into this campaign's highlight photo collection.

In the bottom-right corner of the album, one could also see this campaign's squad honor rankings and individual player contribution rankings.

All this content would be permanently preserved, and was also an important milestone on the player legion's path to rising.

During this process, the island's area shrank rapidly, ultimately leaving only less than one-fifth of its original area.

Large numbers of players fell into the sea; players who had been cheering excitedly the second before were instantly swept into the ocean depths by the surging seawater.

Contrary to the island, Di Zhong Village's area had expanded by nearly two-thirds.

Qi Sheng, who had been watching the entire battle behind the scenes, also had a smile appear on his face.

The Guide's feedback data flooded into his mind at this moment.

Besides the territory area and resource node containment, this campaign had brought him 74.63 million Shou Shou Jili in earnings.

This meant a new round of batch recruitment could begin.

This time he planned to open another exploration node, while simultaneously upgrading and renovating the main city (Di Zhong Village space).

But before that, he needed to carefully plan the allocation of his Shou Shou Jili usage.

To ensure there would be no overspending.

……

Several hours later.

A large number of players returned to Dizong Village.

Players with abundant Shou Shou Jili either upgraded their Body Strengthening level, went to the Testing Tower to reconfigure their Star Vein combinations, or headed to the Armed Vehicle Factory to upgrade their vehicles.

Players who suddenly became wealthy began retaliatory spending.

At this moment, before the Armed Vehicle Factory in Dizong Village's space, the God King stepped out of the factory door after finishing modifications to his armed vehicle.

He summoned the Guild panel, where he could see the member list and guild details.

In the upper right corner was the average level of the guild's players.

The members he recruited were all top-tier players in the player faction; after this battle, their average level had reached 36.5, average Body Strengthening 2.9, and average Star Vein Slots opened 4.7.

This battle raised the guild's average level by 3.2, significantly boosting its strength.

The campaign had ended, and the God King thought of the several domain nodes in the Dizong Mountain Range.

He had calculated the approximate average combat level needed to capture each node, and felt the time was now right.

With this surge in combat power, he should strike now while the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit had not yet caught up.

Take whatever he could; otherwise, if the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit suddenly grew stronger, they'd be dragged into another brutal fight.

Although the great battle had ended and he felt slightly mentally fatigued, he still decided to launch a joint operation.

With the idea formed, he immediately summoned his contact list and opened the group chat "Pinnacle of Players."

The group members were all guild leaders or senior management.

God King: Brothers, with this surge in power, any interest in a joint operation to seize a node in the Dizong Mountain Range?

Not long after, replies began appearing.

Wo Si Ni Die: God King, did you inject steroids? I'm exhausted, eating spirit fish by the coast—delicious.

Shen Yi: You've got insane stamina. You fought nonstop for nine days, and now you just want to sleep? You're a battle robot, right?

Yuan Zi Bao You Ni: Take a rest! Wait half a day before organizing—we're humans, not robots.

God King: Don't say that. Think carefully—how much effort have we poured into taking the Dizong Mountain Range? Strike now while we've got the advantage, catch the Earth-Nian Tyrant off guard. If we wait, it'll grow fat and we won't be able to beat it.

A certain expert: I agree with God King's idea. With this power surge, we've already pulled ahead of the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit. We can't take the Heaven-Deep Node's Xie Yan Gao Ta or kill the Tyrant, but capturing even one domain node would be good.

Fan Bu Liao Shen De Xian Yu: Whatever you decide—let me know once you've settled. If you're going, I'll call my allied guilds to gather in Dizong Village.

…

After discussion, under God King's persistent persuasion, senior management from major guilds began summoning their members.

They decided to strike the Earth-Nian Tyrant while their combat power advantage was still fresh.

The target was the domain node "Xing Zhai," located northwest of the Dizong Mountain Range.

This node was closer to Fengbo Pond and farther from the Heaven-Deep Node, making it a domain node with slower Black Tide reinforcement.

The organization process took two hours.

During this time, many guild members were still reconfiguring Star Veins in the Testing Tower or had only partially equipped their armed vehicles and couldn't spare time.

Once all personnel assembled, God King activated the Battle Group mode in Dizong Village's space, invited the senior managers of each guild into the battle group, and let each guild's managers add their own members to the team.

By checking the battle group panel's statistics, God King found that nearly all participants were guild members.

Indeed, in past joint operations, powerful solo players often doubled the numbers—but this time, most solo players had gathered by the coast after the battle, celebrating with the cool night sea breeze and food, and refused to join the fight.

God King found this frustrating.

But solo players weren't guild members; they hadn't received his guild benefits, so they had no obligation to answer his call.

Once all gathered players joined the battle group, God King gave the order over the voice channel:

"Brothers, leave the village—fight the Tyrant!"

God King felt confident about this joint operation.

After the power boost, guild members' strength had risen significantly; capturing one node should be no problem.

When the joint battle group arrived at the "Xing Zhai" domain node in the Dizong Mountain Range, aiming to seize it in one decisive push, an unexpected situation occurred.

The Black Tide ahead surged violently, continuously spawning Hei Chao Xie Sui.

Large numbers of Black Tide faction troops rapidly appeared and vanished from the tide.

Many were new hunting-tier troops the players had never seen before.

Apocalypse Line: Demon Pioneer, Despairer, Dark Roar, Annihilation Sphere, Ash Raider, Apocalypse Devourer.

Catastrophe Line: Death Spread, Necromancer, Shadow Reaper, Soul Walker, Death Knight.

Others included Disaster Line, Catastrophe Line, Destruction Line, Fear Line, Annihilation Line…

The joint battle group members froze in shock.

They suddenly realized one thing: the number one tyrant of the starter-village map, the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit, had once again cheated and grown stronger.

"Disgusting, so disgusting—why is it getting stronger again? And now it's added so many new troops? Is there no mercy?"

"More nauseating than eating a dead fly. Strength increases should at least have a reason. I won't complain about the AI learning system, but sudden power-ups are too much."

"Yeah, monster buffs can be explained as game design—but design needs logic. Did the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit eat another drop-in Tian Huo Fa Wang during our battle?"

"Huh? Another Tian Huo Fa Wang came to hand out XP? Really? Dammit… let the Earth-Nian Tyrant feast well."

…

At the same time, the Earth-Nian Evil Spirit was equally frustrated.

Seeing the player army attack again, its previously cheerful mood shattered instantly.

That damn thing has appeared again!

It realized its earlier assumptions were wrong—the player race hadn't switched battlefields or left; they'd simply vanished for several days due to some unknown reason and now returned in force.

The foreseeable future meant the Black Tide under its control would again enter a resource shortage phase.

"Disgusting—will this never end?!"

Standing on the Gao Ta platform, Di Nian Xie Ling spat contemptuously.

The Evil Eye floating behind him nodded again and again in agreement.

(End of chapter)