Chapter 249: It's Over, It's All Over

The cross-world war finally drew to a close when the Super Beast Legion's reinforcements arrived.

The entire player army's souls returned to Imperial Tomb Village.

But this battle also left the Lingxi race with devastating losses.

Among them, the Blood Pool Super Beast Legion under the Blood King lost more than half its forces, and the Blood King himself was gravely wounded to the brink of death, falling into a coma.

The great battle faded into desolation; the battlefield was utterly silent.

The scorched earth was soaked with the blood of Lingxi warriors, and crystalline residue left behind by Super Beast Legion soldiers lay scattered across the cracked ground.

The broken body of the Apocalypse Beast lay across the center of the battlefield like a collapsed mountain; its six pairs of crimson compound eyes had long since dimmed, and blood mist still drifted from the wounds on its surface.

A gale swept across the battlefield, kicking up fine ash.

Burned-out traces of blood, charred bone fragments, unextinguished embers… all that remained was a scene of ruin and carnage.

In the distance, surviving Lingxi warriors silently searched for the remains of their kin (residue).

Their steps were heavy, their eyes hollow; whenever they dragged out a wounded comrade still breathing from the residue left behind by extraction, they would immediately wrap them in flesh-and-blood mycelial mats and send them to the rear.

There was no victorious cheer on the scene, no joy of having survived a calamity—only suppressed panting and the occasional groan of pain.

At the very center of the battlefield, the Blood King was dragged out from the broken body of the Apocalypse Beast by priests of the Soul Pool Legion who had rushed to the scene.

During this, they continuously poured life energy into the Blood King's body.

This was a wound the Lingxi race had never encountered before.

In theory, as long as the Apocalypse Beast remained alive, the Blood King would not suffer any harm.

But the energy unleashed by the invading force seeped into the Apocalypse Beast's body and simultaneously inflicted severe wounds on the Blood King connected to it.

At this moment, purple stripes covered the Blood King's body, coiling across his surface like venomous snakes, ceaselessly draining his life force.

The Blood King's condition was like a candle guttering in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.

In the end, the war-priests who had come to reinforce wrapped the Blood King's severely wounded body in dark-red mycelium, forming a pulsing blood cocoon; by continuously infusing life force, they offset the ongoing damage caused by the withering power within him, forcibly keeping the Blood King alive.

The view pulled toward the distance.

The setting sun sank westward; the last sliver of light swept across the battlefield, illuminating countless broken bio-weapons and Super Beast remains.

Like tombstones on the battlefield, they recorded the savagery of this fight.

But everything belonging to the players had vanished without a trace.

No corpses, no weapons… as if they had never appeared, and this was merely an internal war among the Lingxi race.

But the cross-world war did not end with the conclusion of this battle.

Players continued to descend upon the Lingxi World in an endless stream through the spatial passage, spreading outward from the starting point to every corner of the Lingxi World; the war's form had been chaotic mode from the very beginning.

Even if the Super Beast Legion still had the strength to contend with the player army in a frontal war, facing such scattered forces made it difficult to wipe them out in one sweep.

The only feasible options were to garrison a few important cities and wait for the players to come,

or to split the legion's forces, establish hunting troops, and chase the players all over the world.

As for heading through the spatial tunnel to the world where the invading force resided, none of the remaining seven Wang Zuo dared to do so.

Because they did not know what lay on the other end of the spatial tunnel.

If they teleported over and walked into an ambush, they would then face a cornered-beast battle with no retreat.

Half a day later, Apocalypse City.

Beneath the dome of the Lingxi Royal Court.

Seven figures sat around a circular blood-crystal conference table, each figure a different form of life.

For the Lingxi race, the "core" of a clansman was the memory sac.

The bodies in their eyes were like different styles and colors of clothing in human eyes, or vehicles of different shapes—merely external objects.

On the conference table, of the eight seats that should have been there, one was empty.

The Blood King was still in a coma and unable to attend this meeting.

After the other seven Wang Zuo of the Lingxi race took their seats, none of them spoke; the fluorescent spores embedded in the dome flickered on and off, casting the seven Wang Zuo's faces in shifting light and shadow.

"The second nest has just finished hatching; the floating beasts can be sent to the invaders' world to begin investigation at any time, but the prerequisite is to take control of the area near the spatial passage as soon as possible."

The speaker was the Bone King of the Lingxi race; its voice was exceedingly hoarse, and its gaunt knuckles tapped the tabletop as it spoke.

Instantly, an image surfaced on the blood-crystal surface at the center of the conference table: the bodies of three hundred massive floating beasts were being generated under the weaving of countless fluorescent plankton.

Hearing these words, the Erosion King seated beside the Bone King nodded:

"What we find hard to distinguish is whether the force that has invaded and appeared at this stage is a probing force or their main army—what do you all think?"

This question was precisely what the other Wang Zuo were worried about.

Every time they randomly connected with a small world, the Lingxi race under their command would dispatch floating beasts and other reconnaissance forces to that world to conduct probing contact and investigation.

They would clarify the tier of that world's combat power before deciding whether to start a war.

This set of procedures was also experience accumulated through cross-world wars.

The Lingxi race's development had taken many wrong turns, and the developmental model of cross-world wars had also encountered crises of extinction.

Once, during an invasion war, the army they led encountered another force that had likewise descended to invade.

That battle left them fearful to this day.

Endless darkness blanketed the land; no matter how many warriors the Lingxi race dispatched, they would all be swallowed by the surging darkness.

This war was not a war of attrition.

From the very beginning, the Lingxi race had been treated as nourishment.

The enemy grew stronger the more they fought, but the Lingxi race's combat power only dwindled the longer the battle went on.

In the end, at the cost of three Wang Zuo's sacrifice, they fled back to their home world, urgently shattered the spatial source point, and closed the spatial passage.

Fortunately, the dark force did not pursue; otherwise, one could imagine the Lingxi World itself being swept toward destruction by this terrifying power.

Therefore, thoroughly investigating the situation of the other world was the most critical link in the Lingxi race's war model.

Therefore, they could not determine whether the invading force that had arrived was merely probing at this stage, or had already opened a full-scale war.

No one could answer this question, and the meeting once again fell into silence.

Just then, the Mycelium King, seated in the third position, spoke first:

"Regardless, this war can no longer be avoided. What matters most now is to seize the area where the spatial passage is located, so that we can then carry out an investigation. I propose that I and the Bone King take charge of the war in the spatial passage area, while the rest of you are responsible for assembling search-and-capture teams to hunt down the small invading groups still plundering throughout our world."

At this proposal, the remaining Wang Zuo nodded one after another in agreement.

"By the way, let's temporarily abandon the invasion of the blue world. Recall all forces stationed at the spatial source point — there's no need to waste resources continuing to maintain the spatial passage. What matters most now is defending our homeland, not invading outward." The Soul King, seated at the end, suddenly spoke up with this proposal.

Hearing these words from the Soul King, the Bone King immediately shook his head:

"I recommend keeping the spatial passage. The future direction of this war cannot be predicted. Keeping the spatial passage also leaves a retreat route for our Lingxi race. Suppose our strength is insufficient to resist the invading force — perhaps heading to the blue world would be the best choice."

Facing the rebuttal, the Soul King continued to explain:

"The combat power tier of the blue world has not yet been investigated. When the time truly comes that we cannot resist and prepare to withdraw, rashly heading to the blue world may not be the optimal choice — that place could also be the graveyard where the Lingxi race marches toward extinction. I stand by my view: close the spatial passage."

"I agree with keeping the spatial passage. The energy in the air of the blue world is thin, so the combat power won't be very strong — it will serve as a retreat route." The Corrosion King also at this moment voiced Ji De Xiang Fa.

"A retreat route? Corrosion King, when did you become so cowardly? For tens of thousands of years, the Lingxi race has trampled countless worlds — when have we ever needed to leave ourselves a fallback?"

Facing the questioning, the tentacles on the Corrosion King's body slowly writhed, his tone low:

"This is not cowardice, but strategy. We still haven't figured out the details of the invaders. Our initial main-force engagement already routed the Blood Pool Legion, and even pushed the Blood King to the brink of death. What does this mean? Is there an even larger force behind them? If the final war situation turns unfavorable, are we to drag the entire Lingxi race down with us to the grave?"

The Shadow King, who had remained silent all along, also nodded at this moment:

"I think the Corrosion King is right. This is not retreat, but preserving the spark. The blue world is poor in resources, but at least it doesn't have these damned invaders. If it truly comes to the worst step, we can at least evacuate with our core clansmen."

Hearing these words, the Evil King's emotions fluctuated greatly:

"Evacuate? What are you saying? Where is the glory of the Lingxi race? We have never shrunk back in war!"

"Glory cannot fill stomachs. If we cannot even guarantee the survival of our race, what glory is there to speak of? Evil King, you are of the younger generation, so you have never experienced despair." Saying this, the Soul King stood up, his gaze sweeping across the Wang Zuo present:

"Do you still remember the Endless Darkness? The shadow of that war is forever branded in my heart."

"It is not only our Lingxi race that are the sole invaders and plunderers. There are many powerful races out in the wider world. Insistently emphasizing glory will only lead us toward extinction. Leaving a retreat route is also for the future."

"Precisely because I lived through that era, I understand more clearly than you what true despair is... so I propose we continue to keep the spatial passage, and dispatch a portion of forces to garrison it."

Regarding whether to keep the spatial passage connecting to Earth, the seven great Wang Zuo engaged in heated discussion.

The newly ascended Wang Zuo and the old Wang Zuo are fundamentally different in their thinking.

The older generation of Wang Zuo experienced despair, and also witnessed the twists and turns of the Lingxi race's growth.

In their eyes, as long as the spark of the Lingxi race is preserved, there is hope for the future.

The new generation of Wang Zuo think very differently. They grew up under the war-and-plunder system, and are warriors who ascended to Wang Zuo through war.

Many warriors among them never experienced the most difficult years; the wars they faced were mostly ones of overwhelming momentum.

For this generation, the glory of war is above everything else in their eyes.

This is also the ideological imprint the older generation of Wang Zuo branded onto the next generation when they implemented the war-growth system.

Yet it has also become an obsession that shackles their thinking.

"Let's vote. The Blood King is absent, and his vote does not participate in this decision." Facing the deadlock, the Bone King spoke up at this moment.

The remaining Wang Zuo nodded one after another. From the memory sacs within their seven bodies, tentacles extended and simultaneously pressed against the red crystal at the center of the conference table.

The final decision was: keep the spatial passage, leaving a potential retreat route for the Lingxi race.

After the meeting ended, the seven great Wang Zuo launched into action.

Two super-beast legions, led by the Mycelium King and the Bone King, set out toward the players' Jiang Xiao Shi Jie location.

The remaining Wang Zuo split up their legion forces, stationing them in different cities to protect the cities from destruction by the small invading groups roaming about.

Next, hunting squads specifically targeting small-group players were rapidly assembled.

The squads were all led by war Shou Shou Jili.

The initial contact made the Lingxi race realize that even elite warriors found it hard to resist the powerful individuals among the invading force.

Only war Shou Shou Jili possessed the strength to suppress the small invading groups.

A network covering the Lingxi world unfurled. The life spores drifting in the air became informants, providing the hunting squads with coordinate information on the invading forces.

A massive anti-invasion war kicked off.

Compared to the tension of the Lingxi race, the players' side appeared incomparably relaxed.

After the first round of cross-world war ended, the God King quickly organized new war forces, preparing to once again airdrop into the Ru Xiao Shi Jie to launch a cross-world war.

Unfortunately, the God King was also devoured by the spatial counter-current during this round of teleportation, perishing on the spot and returning his soul to the Imperial Tomb Village.

The process of entering the Ru Xiao Shi Jie instance could be called drawing lots with one's life.

If luck is bad and you draw the anti-addiction lot, you'll be forcibly locked in a small dark room for an hour.

The problem is, the probability of hitting the anti-addiction lot is even higher than the probability of entering the instance.

Equally troubled was A-Lan.

Over 1.2 million Shou Shou Jili had already been mostly consumed.

As the initiator of the cross-world war, the energy supply for the spatial passage was his responsibility.

The expenditure to maintain spatial teleportation was enormous.

The spatial teleportation array he had set up was a simplified version to begin with; even though the teleportation scale was reduced, the energy loss remained very severe.

To keep the war going, he could only scrape together money from everywhere.

Fortunately, refund funds were still continuously coming in, barely enough to maintain the operation of the spatial passage.

In this round of cross-world war, the players who successfully entered the Ru Xiao Shi Jie instance struck it rich, but the development seed funds for their Moon Eclipse race were nearly being squeezed dry.

……

Blood Pool Legion garrison.

Viscous blood plasma churned within the enormous flesh cocoon, each pulsation accompanied by a piercing sound of flesh and blood tearing.

Beside the flesh cocoon, the remains of the End Beast soaked in a boiling blood pool.

Golden blood kept seeping from the wound, then was absorbed by the tentacles connected to the End Beast's body and sent back inside.

This should have been a viable healing cycle, but every time the flesh tried to mend, evil purple patterns would surface deep within the wound, suppressing the healing like a curse.

Hiss!

A broken bone spur was squeezed out from the End Beast's shoulder blade, splashing corrosive black blood onto the wall of the nearby flesh cocoon and instantly eating honeycomb-like holes into it.

The injuries left by the invading force forced the war priests hovering at the edge of the blood pool to heal by amputating body parts.

Beyond this method, they could find no other way.

At this moment, the Blood King was still in a coma.

The body wrapped inside the flesh cocoon was collapsing.

Connecting his body to the End Beast allowed the Withering property to spread into the Blood King's body as well.

Just like with the End Beast, the Blood King's wounds could not heal either, and his life could only be forcibly sustained by channeling life energy into him.

As long as the life infusion was interrupted, the Blood King's life would also come to an end.

"Still no good." The leading priest under the Soul King shook his head in regret.

To save the Blood King, they had already tried many methods.

But none could effectively disperse the curse power within the Blood King's body.

Just now, they had used their hair tendrils to connect to the flesh cocoon's neural network, trying to analyze the composition of the purple curse energy inside the Blood King.

Hoping to find a way to lift the curse.

But the purple curse energy could not be parsed for any information at all—it was a kind of energy they had never seen before.

At this rate, the old king was about to die under the curse's erosion.

Just as the war priests under the Soul King were at a loss, a figure appeared at the edge of the blood pool.

Seeing this figure, the hovering war priests landed one after another at the blood pool's edge, dropping to one knee respectfully:

"Soul King."

The figure called the Soul King was nearly three meters tall, his body not entirely composed of flesh and blood, somewhere between half flesh and half spirit form.

Dark silver mist-like substance constantly flowed across his surface, barely sketching out a human outline.

Countless tiny neural light points floated on the surface of the mist that made up his body, scattering and reforming with the Soul King's breath, trailing a hazy mist shadow behind him as he moved.

Where the five features of a face should have been, there was only a slowly rotating spiral of psychic vortex.

This was a trophy the Soul Pool Legion had taken in a Ci Kua Jie war, and the body the Soul King now used.

"How is the situation?"

Facing the Soul King's inquiry, the leading war priest faithfully reported the Blood King's physical condition.

Learning that the Blood King's wounds still could not heal, a blurred outline of five features appeared on the Soul King's spiral face:

"Have you parsed the curse substance?"

"We've tried, but couldn't extract any useful information."

"Can the memory sac be removed and a new body swapped in?"

"No, the memory sac has already been eroded by the curse."

Hearing this, the Soul King fell silent for a moment, then a red potion appeared in his hand, which he tossed to the leading war priest:

"Try this."

"What is this?" The war priest who caught the red potion looked very puzzled.

"A potion seized from the invading force. It should have a wound-restoring effect; perhaps it will work on the Blood King."

Hearing it was something seized from the invading force, the war priest immediately cut open the cap and extended a tentacle toward the liquid inside the bottle.

But the tentacle stopped before touching the liquid.

It realized that analyzing the potion's composition at this point was meaningless.

Apart from this bottle of potion, they had no other means whatsoever to treat the Blood King.

Even if this were a potion that worsened the curse, it would only hasten the Blood King's death—it wouldn't change the predetermined outcome.

Having thought it through, the war priest came above the blood cocoon.

The liquid in the transparent bottle poured down, and the instant it touched the flesh cocoon's surface, it quickly seeped into the writhing biological membrane.

The flesh cocoon trembled slightly, countless tiny blood vessel patterns surfacing on it, greedily sucking the energy from the potion.

An unexpected scene unfolded.

After the potion was transmitted to the Blood King, the bones that had already fractured over large areas due to the curse's weakening let out crisp joining sounds, the torn fascia rewove itself, and even those corroded organs began recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The curse power was also rapidly neutralized under this force's washing.

Under the war priests' expressions of disbelief, the Blood King's muscle fibers writhed and intertwined like living things, finally healing completely.

The purple patterns on the Blood King's body had not fully faded, but the restorative force brought by healed wounds was gradually dispersing the curse power on his surface.

His body officially entered a positive healing cycle.

During this process, the Blood King's consciousness also gradually awakened.

The power brought by the special-grade recovery potion eliminated all the damage he had suffered in the reverse-flow passage, and his dislocated consciousness recovered along with it.

He opened his dazed eyes at this moment, and the first thing he did was subconsciously summon his spatial pouch.

"That was close, the data's not lost… Holy shit!"

When he saw the 120,000 Shou Shou Jili, Xiao Xiao Fa was instantly stunned, his first thought being that a bug had occurred during transmission.

The Shou Shou Jili data had gone wrong when transmitted back, causing his Shou Shou Jili to skyrocket.

"Hope it won't get rolled back."

The excited Xiao Xiao Fa then summoned his contacts list, preparing to share the joy with his good brothers.

But when he opened his friends list and saw the 999+ private message requests along with the dense barrage of messages from his friends, he was instantly stunned.

"Xiao Xiao, have you gone mad? Quit the guild; our family can't afford to support such a big Buddha as you."

"Xiao Xiao, what's your situation now? You don't reply to my messages, just keep killing, right? A plotline where you're at war with the world? What benefits does a hidden plot offer to make you this crazy? Couldn't you find another way to cooperate with your fellow villagers and relay intelligence from within?"

"You'll stay in the Fu Ben Shi Jie for the rest of your life and never come back. Even if you return, you won't be able to leave the village; everyone outside wants to kill you. Your game will take place in the Fu Ben Shi Jie from now on. Your old man almost wanted to sever our father-son relationship."

Glancing at the Ping Bi Gong status icon in the bottom right corner, Xiao Xiao Fa was even more bewildered.

"Wait, I just failed a teleportation; is it really necessary..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xiao Fa realized that many new things seemed to have appeared in his mind.

The Blood King's memories, the process of him leading the Blood Pool Super Beast Legion in the identity of the Blood King and slaughtering players with a brutal demeanor... all this information surged into his heart as his injuries continued to heal.

He suddenly realized that he had not encountered data packet loss, but had been extremely lucky to draw a hidden plot during the teleportation process.

This mode could also be called an AFK mode; his consciousness was entirely managed by the Blood King's memories, allowing him to gain rewards just by idling.

But the problem was...

Thinking of what he had done while in AFK mode, Xiao Xiao Fa glanced again at the 999+ private message requests, and his mental state collapsed:

"It's over, it's all over, I'm doomed."

"I came here in good shape, but I can't go back."

(End of this chapter)