Chapter 341: The Overreach Contract, Come Back to Me (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Di Zhao Mountain Range, Tian Yuan Node.

The embers of the great battle scattered in the wind.

The wreckage of the Civilization Legion covered the battlefield; players who had utterly crushed the Civilization Legion were now snatching the weapons and equipment left behind by the Zerg kills, and even the debris on the ground was their target.

Anything with even a trace of spiritual awareness held value in the players' eyes.

Even if they couldn't use it themselves, they could still sacrifice it to Brother Di Zhao.

Since the Civilization Legion was destroyed, the alliance no longer existed.

The Zerg would be slaughtered without hesitation.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the Temple Guards had long since turned to ash, annihilated along with their Civilization Legion in the fury of the players and the Zerg.

At this moment, on the platform of the Xie Yan Gao Ta, the Di Nian Evil Spirit finally collapsed, falling into unconsciousness.

The dark red patterns on its surface gradually extinguished, like burning-out charcoal, leaving only a few wisps of black smoke energy swirling around the wounds, still corroding its body.

The four projections of the Four Tyrants, having lost control of the Gao Ta, stood dazed on the platform.

They had witnessed this incredible battle with their own eyes, bearing witness to the most impossible defense.

What made them feel even more incredulous was.

The player faction members, who had just been killing with bloodshot eyes, after a brief clash with the Zerg to seize resources, had actually begun to withdraw in an orderly fashion.

During this, some player faction members even threw glass bottles carrying an aura of rules up at the Gao Ta.

On the other side, the Zerg army also departed like a receding tide.

The Burrower Swarm burrowed underground, the Thunder Beasts retracted their claws and turned to sprint wildly, the Winged Swarm spread their wings and ascended... and the fungal carpet that had originally spread crazily across the ground followed suit, retreating northward.

When the last player squad disappeared from sight, the Four Tyrants still could not figure out this question.

Why did the Zerg and the player faction, these two beastly forces, do this?

"Is it possible that Di Nian Big Brother is their archenemy, so they are unwilling to let him die in the hands of other forces?" Ghost Fang fell into deep thought, offering a potential possibility.

"That is possible," Blood Pattern nodded, then asked with confusion:

"But putting ourselves in Di Nian Big Brother's shoes, viewing the Zerg and the player faction from his mindset, if there were an opportunity to slaughter either of these forces, what would he do?"

"Based on my understanding of Di Nian Big Brother, if it were him, he would definitely wipe them out completely," Iron Spine stated confidently.

Hearing Iron Spine's speculation, Corrupt Heart expressed deep agreement:

"Yes, whether it is the player faction or the Zerg, they have always been a poisonous thorn that Di Nian Big Brother could not erase from his heart... If not for the pincer attack by these two beastly forces, how could Di Nian Big Brother's growth have reached this point?"

"Especially during every Waning Moon phase, when Di Nian Big Brother wanted to expand outward, it was difficult; he could only huddle near the Gao Ta to defend."

"If I were Di Nian Big Brother, waiting for such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break free, I would certainly ride the momentum; even if I could only erase one side, it would clear an obstacle for the future and gain more room for development."

"Strike while the iron is hot; whether such an opportunity will appear again in the future is unpredictable, so it must be firmly grasped right now."

As they spoke, the gazes of the Four Tyrants unconsciously turned toward the unconscious Di Nian Evil Spirit.

Then they looked at each other.

No matter how they speculated, they could not come up with a reasonable logic to explain the behavior of the player faction and the Zerg.

"Let's return to the node first," Ghost Fang shook his head, giving up on thought:

"The Xie Yan is dead; without Di Nian Big Brother opening the permissions, staying here is futile for us."

Blood Pattern nodded in agreement:

"The Black Tide Core of the Gao Ta is still operating; once self-repair ends, it will mobilize the remaining Black Tide energy to repair Di Nian Big Brother's injuries. Let's go back."

As the words fell, the projections of the Four Tyrants faded in unison.

Ghost Fang's figure was the first to dissipate into a wisp of black smoke, followed by Blood Pattern's projection scattering like sand grains, Iron Spine's projection peeling away like rust, and finally Corrupt Heart's projection melting into the air like weathering.

At that moment, they all returned to their respective Gao Ta nodes they guarded.

The war ended there.

The damaged Gao Ta was still emitting a low hum; the remaining Black Tide energy, like thick ink, slowly wriggled along the cracks of the tower.

It quickly repaired the damaged Gao Ta along the way.

When the Black Tide energy climbed onto the platform, it had already thinned out like morning mist.

They hovered above the broken body of the Di Nian Evil Spirit, attempting to condense into form several times, only to be shattered by the rule energy dissipating from the wounds.

Some Black Tide energy tried to repair the Di Nian Evil Spirit's fractured spine, but the moment it made contact, it was burned into green smoke.

Just as the repair hit a stalemate and the Black Tide energy was about to run out.

The Black Tide energy manifested tentacles, suddenly stabbing into the platform surface.

Immediately, the platform above the Gao Ta rotted and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This was one of the Black Tide Core's mechanisms.

When energy is on the verge of exhaustion, it will devour all convertible matter to prioritize the safety of the Evil Spirit warriors' lives.

At this moment, every brick and stone constituting the Gao Ta was humming; the runes branded upon them extinguished one after another, and the Evil Crystals embedded in the walls burst in succession.

For every inch of the Gao Ta the Black Tide energy devoured, new Black Tide energy would surge forth from it.

During the devouring process, the Black Tide energy came into contact with the recovery potions thrown onto the Gao Ta by the players.

The frenzied Black Tide energy suddenly greedily sucked them in as if they were a treasure, devouring potions of all different qualities.

Immediately, the recovery speed of the Black Tide energy instantly increased by a large margin.

In fact, the priority of the healing potions was higher than the level of the Black Tide energy controlled by the Di Nian Evil Spirit.

The most correct method at this time would be to directly use the potion energy to heal the Di Nian Evil Spirit.

But the Black Tide energy has no self-awareness, does not think, and certainly cannot distinguish the quality of energy.

It only operates according to its set program.

With the aid of the potion energy obtained through devouring, the Black Tide once again pounced on the Di Nian Evil Spirit; this time, the repair efficiency suddenly soared.

The lingering aura of the Divine Eye and the Black Tide energy wore each other down through constant conflict.

During this period, the Black Tide energy also diverted a portion of its power to continue devouring Gao Ta.

Relying on a constant supply of energy replenishment, the Black Tide energy gradually gained the upper hand and began repairing the damaged body of the Di Nian Evil Spirit.

First was the deep, bone-exposing wound on the Di Nian Evil Spirit's chest; the Black Tide energy pulled the surrounding tissue together, stitched it, and filled the gap.

Subsequently, the broken bones, wrapped in Black Tide energy, emitted a crisp cracking sound, and the twisted bones were shattered and then reshaped.

Even the shattered symbiotic armor on the Di Nian Evil Spirit's body surface gradually returned to its original state under the influence of the Black Tide energy.

The most difficult parts to repair were the internal organs and nerves.

Especially the internal organs.

The Di Nian Evil Spirit's shattered heart (core) beat with abnormally weak force; as Gao Ta's matter was continuously transformed, more and more energy surged forward in succession to join the repair effort.

Finally, after multiple attempts, this energy core, covered in dark red veins, began to beat autonomously, pumping mixed energy throughout its body with every contraction.

At this moment, the Di Nian Evil Spirit completely broke free from its near-death state.

After completing the repairs, the Black Tide energy did not disperse.

Instead, it coated the Di Nian Evil Spirit's body surface with a layer of barrier, continuing to provide it with power and protecting the still-unconscious Di Nian Evil Spirit.

16 hours later.

The Di Nian Evil Spirit's consciousness slowly rose from the depths of darkness.

The first sense to recover was pain.

It felt as though every inch of its bones had been crushed and reassembled, and as if countless tiny blades were churning within its muscle fibers.

This pain made it instinctively want to curl up, yet it found even its fingertips were heavy as lead.

But after only a brief adjustment, the Di Nian Evil Spirit endured this pain that ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

It slowly opened its eyes, and the blurry vision gradually cleared.

It forced its heavy body to sit up.

Laid out before its eyes was the pockmarked Gao Ta platform; the light cast by the Evil Moon sprinkled across the platform, creating a ground scattered with broken light spots.

The air in its nostrils was filled with the unique scent of the Black Tide, yet mixed with a trace of a strange scent.

It seemed to be the lingering scent of the Evil Eye that had not yet fully dissipated.

Memories surged in like a tide.

The surprise attack by the Civilization Legion, the sacrifice of the Evil Eye, the bone lamps of the Temple Guards, the stubborn resistance of the Four Allies... and finally, that absurd scene.

The defensive line built by its two arch-enemies, and the sight of them charging the Civilization Legion without fear of death.

It knew it had survived.

But the question from that time remained unanswered.

Why did the Player Race and the Insect Race come to rescue it?

If it were in their place, it would have unhesitatingly slaughtered the Player Race and the Insect Race in crisis, leaving no possibility for a comeback.

Just as the Di Nian Evil Spirit fell into deep thought, a wave of fluctuation came from Gao Ta.

Sensing external information, the Di Nian Evil Spirit slowly raised its arm and spread its five fingers.

Immediately, countless black streams of light seeped from the cracks in Gao Ta, converging into its palm like a flock of crows returning to their nest.

These pitch-black energy streams coiled around its palm, gradually condensing into an irregular, multifaceted crystal.

The core's surface was covered in cracks, and turbid dark red energy surged within, resembling a heart violently stitched back together.

This was one of Gao Ta's cores.

Without the Evil Eye's assistance, it could only personally connect to Gao Ta's nodes.

When the Di Nian Evil Spirit pressed its palm against the core's surface, a violent stream of information crashed directly into its consciousness, completely bypassing the Evil Eye's filtration.

"Boss Di Nian, you're finally awake; you had me worried to death!"

"Boss Di Nian, welcome back; how do you feel now..."

The voices of the Four Allies exploded simultaneously in its consciousness layer, causing it to frown instinctively.

It slowly withdrew the hand pressing on the core, used its consciousness to maintain the connection to the mental network, and then spoke calmly:

"I'm fine."

These three simple words made the Four Bullies all breathe a sigh of relief.

Ghost Tooth couldn't wait to ask:

"Boss Di Nian, my auxiliary eye detected that the energy intensity of the Gao Ta you are in has downgraded."

Facing the question, the Di Nian Evil Spirit appeared very calm and recounted the process of Gao Ta decomposing to feed back energy to the Black Tide.

It explained that to repair its injuries, the Black Tide had actively decomposed a portion of Gao Ta, causing Gao Ta's strength to decrease.

And the positioning of Gao Ta and Black Tide energy was like the positioning of a player's Painful Painful Minghun comprehensive level and their vitality and spiritual power.

Of the Black Tide energy gained in each war, a portion would always be used by the Di Nian Evil Spirit to upgrade Gao Ta.

The stronger Gao Ta, the stronger the Black Tide energy released.

A weakening of Gao Ta's strength was like a player's Painful Painful Minghun level being weakened, directly affecting the attribute values of their vitality or spiritual power.

But regarding this, the Di Nian Evil Spirit did not care.

This ordeal was a near-death experience; it had almost perished because of it.

Just as the Evil Eye had said when it first arrived in the Monster World.

Accidents can happen at any moment; perhaps in the next second, they would turn to dust.

This was the cruelest truth of the Monster World: yesterday they were still planning grand blueprints for the future, and today they could become stepping stones for other races to climb to the peak.

The shadow of death was everywhere.

Weak monsters might be suddenly devoured in one bite by a powerful predator while foraging, and powerful overlords could also be erased by the power exerted by even stronger beings.

There is no eternal safe haven here.

Every breath could be the last; every war that seems a sure victory may, through some accident, turn into a fight for life and death.

Even if one survives by sheer luck, one never knows when the next crisis will descend.

The cruelty of Monster World lies in the fact that it never gives any living being room to catch its breath.

The sweet dream woven from endless resources and wealth has trapped countless races in this ceaseless cage of war, where beauty and death exist side by side.

Every day of being alive is a struggle against those four words: "the impermanence of fate."

He suddenly thought of that purple-skinned legion he had seen in the Frost Snow Plains region, which had fought against the gamer clan and clumsily imitated the Black Tide and Swarm systems.

When he had arrived.

The other side, despite holding a powerful advantage, had withdrawn without the slightest hesitation, unwilling to engage it even in a probing clash.

That scene was strikingly similar to his own encounters with the civilised powers.

It looked like an absolute advantage, but who could know whether even greater strength lay hidden behind that force?

The doubts that had clouded his heart back then were dispelled after he lived through this life-and-death tribulation.

There has never been any true absolute advantage in this world — it is merely a chip fate lends out during its impermanent flux.

Any arrogance bold enough to bet on its advantage, even if it wins great victories many times, will in the end be ground to dust beneath the fangs of the unknown.

But even knowing the truth, it would not change its own mode of warfare.

The Black Tide system was born to be a destructive flood that sweeps away everything.

And it, as an evil spirit warrior within the Black Tide flood, had had the devouring command etched into its body from the moment of its birth — there was no retreat.

The Gao Ta beneath its feet was proof enough; this is the established fact of "no migration."

This immovable core node is the proof that no evil spirit warrior can turn back.

From the day it entered Monster World, it became a single war-chess piece on the board.

Even now, as the strongest force in the Imperial Tomb Mountain Range region, when zoomed out to the macro view of Monster World, it is nothing more than an insignificant pawn in the Black Tide legion's ranks.

Precisely because they count for nothing, they never swerve aside out of fear.

Just then, Blood Mark's voice rang out in its mind:

"Boss Dianian, your Evil Eye has already been sacrificed. We urgently need to apply to the Sovereign for a new auxiliary eye. As for repairing Gao Ta and restoring strength, we can consider those after the new auxiliary eye is in place." Blood Mark's voice rang out in its mind.

Hearing these words, the look in the Dianian evil spirit's eyes turned dark.

Applying for a new auxiliary eye.

Those words were like a thorn driven into its still-unhealed wound.

Blood Mark spoke of it lightly, as though the Evil Eye were merely a tool that could be swapped out at will.

Perhaps in the eyes of the vast majority of evil spirit warriors, the auxiliary eye really was just a tool.

That included its own self when it had first come to Monster World.

But after more than two years of contact, it had long since regarded the Evil Eye as a comrade-in-arms, a being that had trusted and been trusted through countless battles.

The Evil Eye's death could have been redeemed.

But the Sovereign's indifference made the Evil Eye's sacrifice cheap.

It also put the first hairline crack in the faith it had long held in the Black Tide system.

Once, it had worshipped the Sovereign as a god, believing them to be the figures standing at the cloud-tops of the Black Tide system.

The most perfect embodiment of the destructive will nurtured through countless wars.

They were both the vanguard tearing through dimensions for the Black Tide legion, and the raging core that had devoured countless worlds — the ultimate form that all lowly evil spirits gazed up at in the darkness.

It too had once kowtowed before the Sovereign's projection, taking it as the goal to chase and climb toward for a lifetime.

The Evil Eye had once asked it what its ultimate goal was.

In its heart, the highest point it could reach was the Sovereign — that had once been its dream.

If it were still the old self, it would have taken every command from the Sovereign as supreme glory; even if ordered to fill the evil tide with its life, it would have seen it only as a trial of growth for this chess piece of itself.