Chapter 145: Disrespect the gods, and you deserve a beating!

He exhausted all his tricks, trying every way to teach this bunch of idiots how to cut wood panels and install them.

But the humans opposite him weren't afraid at all; instead they happily played around, even chatting and laughing.

His eyes kept twitching, and this made the Crazy King even angrier.

Clenching his fists, he kicked a warrior's big butt beside him.

"Damn it, hurry up!"

The big green-skinned one glanced back at him resentfully, didn't dare speak, and kept sticking out his butt to plane the wood.

Between directing and helping, the Crazy King was so busy sweat beaded on his forehead.

After expending great effort, he finally prepared a large pile of timber and vine ropes, ready to attempt a repair.

However…

"Brothers, the time for eating this fish is about up; I need to log off and get ready for work."

"Yeah, even if there's no class today, after grinding all night we should rest and clear our heads."

"Alright, we'll see each other later; anyway, we brothers stuck it out to the end, no loss of face!"

Thus the players disappeared one by one under the Crazy King's eyelids, and soon nobody was left.

"Holy shit..."

And in the next second, he suddenly heard a booming bell ringing in his ears.

Moreover, that bell sound was strange; clearly it was by his ear one second, and the next second it appeared inside his body.

Before he could think it over, he felt his head suddenly go numb.

When he finally regained consciousness and looked around, the old tapestries and dusty long tables had turned into the dilapidated castle where he used to live.

Looking out through the broken glass, everyone wore a dazed expression, as if all his clansmen had also been transported back to the troop barracks together with him.

"What happened? I…"

His heart jolted, and he strode out of the castle, rushing toward the direction he had previously left.

Clenching his teeth, he casually picked up a chunk of rubble and threw it.

The stone traced a beautiful arc in the air, but then suddenly halted mid‑fall, as if it had hit something, and dropped awkwardly.

"No… no!"

His voice grew louder and louder, like an angry rhinoceros, as he threw a punch.

This punch had enough force to snap a goblin warrior's spine, but striking it against that invisible wall was utterly meaningless.

There was no pain, no sensation—just like punching cotton.

The Crazy King lay sprawled on the air wall, straining to break free, but finding no breach, he could only sit helplessly on the ground.

They were just like a pile of toys: no matter how lively they were at midnight, come dawn they had to be locked back in the toy chest, with no way out.

Meanwhile, when squatting to urinate one cannot move, so players usually don't stay online but instead shift to the closed‑test group to keep chatting.

Fortunately, although many died, there were still a couple of good buddies willing to do a live stream, so they weren't all left blind.

Under the camera's recording, the scene of the goblin army suddenly vanishing en masse naturally fell into the players' view.

【Holy crap, where are the goblins?】

【Just note the time—it's exactly six in the morning.】

Huakaifugui: 【Friend, could you trouble yourself to take a look at that air wall again?】

This guy may be timid, but at the crucial moment he's also brave—he really dared to make the run.

【Brothers, the air wall is back, and it now has another countdown on it!】

【Look, goblins! They've all been sealed back into the troop barracks.】

【I get it—this is the game's hidden mechanic: the goblins can only come out to act for eight hours; even if you can't beat them, just surviving those eight hours counts as a win.】

【Maybe the game officials saw we were struggling too much and temporarily lowered the difficulty.】

【Pretty good—although there's no survey, it still feels quite humane.】

【Then I can log off to work with peace of mind; let's meet again tonight for a bloody battle on Lake Heart Island.】

Huakaifugui: 【Hold on, I advise everyone who can take daytime leave to still take a day off.】

Fu Le Xian typed out this line, followed by a long explanation.

Although last night's encounter ended in a player victory, it was only achieved by forcing the game mechanics to drag it out.

Moreover, by the end even the bridging was abandoned, showing that the players' entire war potential had been squeezed dry.

Although the goblins also suffered losses, it's far from being a crippling blow; tonight they can still organize a highly threatening offensive.

So if the players still want to win another round—even if they just want to clumsily drag out another night—they must urgently carry out a more comprehensive mobilization of war preparations and boost their combat power.

Otherwise, tonight will bring only a certain‑loss match.

【So I advise those who can stay online to do so, and in real life also find more friends to study and discuss things.】

【Our weapons and gear, strategies and tactics—even just personal combat power—need a quick upgrade; this is no time to let up.】

Of course, reasoning and emotional appeal alone aren't enough; we also need……

【Friends, this is a genuine money‑making big business—you all absolutely cannot be careless about it!】

The players pondered for a moment, hey, and discovered it really was.

Even discarding other income, just the reward money from Fan Shao Fan Zhu— a hundred per kill—already far exceeds what they earn from their day jobs.

It's not like they're asking you to quit outright—what's the harm in missing one day of work?

【Alright, then I'm going to ask my boss for leave right now!】

【Eight a. m., humph, I might as well not go!】

【Hehe, fortunately I've been off these days; I'll now contact my second cousin who served in the army to see how they train there.】

【Right, my grandfather's an old carpenter; our catapult is really rough, so I'll ask him if he has any upgrade suggestions.】

【I remember there's also a Pekingese who does carpentry in Dog Dog Village; whoever gets along well with him, quickly kidnap him and bring him to the island!】

Thus the players worked overtime feverishly, fully preparing for tonight's battle.

They were busy; as the designer and planner of all this, Ji Ming was not idle either.

First use 【Farewell Technique】 to suppress souls and gain control, then forcibly transmit via infinite energy, finally reactivate the Yang Moon formation to isolate.

This procedure, though experimental, was quite smooth.

It's unrealistic to have players fight goblins nonstop for four days and four nights, so he came up with this new mechanism.

Moreover, this is also a lure to draw the snake out of its hole; he doesn't believe the person behind the scenes, upon seeing the Mad King tossed back, could resist coming to see what's happening.

Sitting behind the curtains, he, about to get off work, began contacting all his colleagues.

【High God, the spirit tree monitoring net is all set up; do you have anything else to add?】

From the Troop Barracks, heading east leads out of the underground city into an underground plain.

Though called a plain, the underground plain is actually a long gentle slope; reaching the end brings you back to the surface.

Here, big and small, various demi-human and beastman tribes are scattered, with human merchants and mountain mercenaries present; this is Ji Ming's planned closed‑test site.

And if outsiders want to sneak in, the most convenient entry and exit point is right here.

Looking at the map sent by Ge Rui Sen, Ji Ming circled several spots on it.

【I need you to keep strengthening control here, see if you can extend it a bit further】

【By the way, since the Cross Bridge is broken, try to repair it; you can continue limited cooperation with the players, helping where appropriate】

After finishing matters with Ge Rui Sen, Ji Ming began contacting Huo Ke.

【Did you see last night's battle? How was it?】

Huo Ke's reply was excited.

【The players are formidable, not wasting my teaching—especially Dan Qiu Yi Si and Ao Li Gei; I never imagined martial skills could be used like this!】

【Good, I estimate they'll stay online today as well; please trouble yourself to teach them a bit more】

【No problem, this is what a centurion instructor ought to do】

In Ji Ming's conception, the players' side mainly relies on free‑range raising.

Besides, even if things go wrong, I have my own backups, so there's no need to arrange too much.

The pressing matter now is still to uncover the mysterious entity that woke the Mad King.

Thus his next contact was Bu Long Fei Er De.

【Report, please: any unusual movements among the eerie undead in the Ancient Battlefield tonight?】

……

【Bu Long Fei Er De?】

……

【？】

No, the system interface clearly shows she's not dead—how could a dragon over level forty just die so silently?

No choice—Ji Ming had to teleport himself right next to her.

As expected, she was asleep again.

He didn't dare use a poison gas bomb to wake her, so he merely gave her a tiny cramp technique.

「Ah! 」

A cramp is like a toothache—though it's not really an illness, whoever you are, when it hurts it's truly deadly.

Even if Ji Ming activated it for just an instant, it instantly woke Bu Long Fei Er De from pain.

She kept swinging her big tail.

「You… what did you do to me！？」

Ji Ming spread his hands, wearing an innocent look, and said with his twenty‑three points of charm.

「Nothing? 」

After all, I'm a giant dragon; even if I were a High God, my current body is just a level‑13 human—how could I hurt myself?

Thus Bu Long Fei Er De lay prone, stretched out a claw, and opened the system message.

「Oh, this… they stirred a bit when I arrived, but after that there was no movement at all. 」

「If you don't believe me, you can ask Ge Rui Sen, or that little dog over there that keeps running back and forth. 」

That's certain; otherwise Ge Rui Sen would have notified me long ago.

But since he's already here, he might as well check on how Cloi is doing.

All I can say is, unlike the motionless Bu Long Fei Er De, she's probably the hard‑working type.

It's already this late, yet she's still out patrolling.

How nice—I clearly did nothing, yet how can there be such an honest person?

Cloi: I'm testing……

「Work hard, I won't let you down! 」

……How did it start running faster?

Watching the huge magic wolf fade into the distance, Ji Ming turned his head toward the ogre tribe not far away.

He had previously considered making this the fifth stage, but seeing the current difficulty, it seems unnecessary.

Anyway, they'll all die cleanly sooner or later; better to keep them as appetizers for thousands of players during the closed test.

But as he watched, Ji Ming's expression grew solemn, for he suddenly sensed an ominous premonition.

【Xi Er Wei Ya……】

Leaning against the post of his hut, the ogre chieftain, already five meters tall, widened his eyes.

Because in the endless chaos and madness, he actually found that something seemed to be speaking beside his ear.

It said "slaughter", it said "revenge", it said "resentment", it said… "Fuck!"

???

The seductive voice abruptly stopped, as if it had never existed.

But that's enough.

He struggled to stand, and the Ogre Chieftain hammered his head twice hard.

His blood‑red eyes regained some clarity, and his parched throat recovered the ability to speak.

Staggering out of the shack, he raised his voice.

"Tonight, come with me…"

Beyond the Tribe he could not see, a giant dragon was soaring in the sky.

"What a coward, he's fast—appeared and vanished in an instant."

The moment Ji Ming sensed an ominous premonition, the first to notice the anomaly was not Ge Ruìsen but the clearly idling Bu Long Fei Er De.

"How about it, can you still track him?"

"He's a stealth master, and his level isn't low; I'm afraid it's already impossible."

The earlier burst of speed seemed to have drained all her energy; Bu Long Fei Er De flapped her wings twice more and fell to the ground.

"By the way, the rabid ogres in this Tribe have also been awakened; do you need—uh, Xi Er Wei Ya, Ge Ruìsen, or the like—to quickly exterminate them?"

"No need."

Ji Ming activated the system and began erecting an air wall here.

"Adding a bit more difficulty is fine; let me see how strong this group of players can unleash."

"Moreover, actually Xi Er Wei Ya has already arrived at the garrison camp, waiting for their appearance."

In the northern part of the Great Holy Seat, a bewildered rabid kobold suddenly sensed a faint rustle of wind.

What on earth are these things, and why is my intuition so sensitive!?

The black shadow, filled with disbelief, realized that he had never left the underground fortress, but had been lurking at its edge all along.

At first, he indeed thought of being a rogue, sneaking an attack on some of the beings there.

But after the Goblin Mad King led his tribe out in droves, awakening the entire underground city, he realized what kind of dragon‑pit he had entered.

A pure‑blood silver dragon, a solitary treant, an angel walking the mortal world, even the ones darting before him—all were a werewolf already rare in the wild frontier.

And those clearly just hired hands; the real boss behind the scenes was someone else.

He dared not move, truly he couldn't move!

He stayed crouched until dawn before moving again, but just after contacting the Ogre Chieftain, he felt a massive force rapidly closing in.

Damn, the dragon's here!

Frightened, he scrambled away, leaving the ogre behind and bolting.

And if his stealth ability hadn't actually passed, he'd probably have been left there!

The black shadow, still shaken, only calmed down after running far away.

Thinking it over, I've already probed the depths here, laid the hidden pieces and mines; now the only thing left to do is…

WTF?

But when he used his powerful formation‑breaking ability to cross the invisible array, trying to leave quickly, he discovered…

The garrison camp that was clearly empty before is now packed with goblins.

Could there be more masters?

Summoning courage, he approached the ruined castle and saw the Mad King, matching the setting's style, slumped despondently in a high‑back chair.

He condensed his thoughts into mental force and communicated with the Mad King's mind.

【What… happened…】

The Mad King snapped his eyes open, and the vast hall contained nothing but a few clueless warriors.

【Don't be afraid… you can use your inner voice… to talk to me…】

Ah, it's that lord!

The Mad King quickly composed himself and began speaking earnestly in his mind.

【Lord, I was about to win, but inexplicably I was thrown back and then blocked by an invisible wall!】

The black shadow frowned; being able to forcibly teleport thousands of hostile lives—how powerful must that be…

Suddenly, his combat instincts rang an alarm.

Just a few meters away, a cloud of dust rose—the after‑effect of a great sword slashing the ground.

"Thief, your pathetic life of hiding and revealing ends now."

An angel, fully encased in armor, appeared beside him and, without hesitation, swung another sword.

"Damned!"

The black shadow could only phase again, but at such speed the concealment mist could no longer hold, and it was extinguished by the angel's innate holy aura.

Xi Er Wei Ya lifted her head and spat.

"Ugh, how disgusting."

It turned out the mysterious infiltrator in the dungeon wasn't human at all, but an eye demon with a skull‑like body, a huge single eye, and tentacles covering it.

Who would have thought that after hearing Xi Er Wei Ya's sharp critique, the dripping creature angrily squinted.

"Anyone can call us eye demons disgusting, but you angels can't, you bunch of…"

"Seeking death!"

The blade of Xi Er Wei Ya instantly ignited with raging flames, the scorching heat seemed to burn the very air.

Her next sword strike had already left the realm of physical attacks, for alongside the sword wind rose a sharp, arcing blade of flame.

The Eye Demon barely dodged amid the shaking, yet its mental clamor continued unabated.

"You twisted, evil beings who drive ordinary creatures mad with a single glance, what right do you have to despise all things?"

Having said that, his mental energy condensed into several invisible spikes, which he hurled back at Xi Er Wei Ya.

It can only be said that, as beings that can affect others' minds through their eyes, angels and Eye Demons in this world may harbor a slight racial grudge.

Unfortunately, Xi Er Wei Ya merely turned her sword blade, a flash of light flaring, and she sliced away those mental spikes.

But that was precisely the Eye Demon's aim; unskilled in close combat, it used that move to buy time and distance itself from the terrifying Angel.

He could sense that the opponent's condition was flawed, now able to exert only a little over forty levels of combat power.

As for himself, he was at a towering fifty‑six levels, having completed the transition to a Soul Mage.

A physical duel might take a long time, but a clash of souls is measured in mere seconds.

With such a mighty talent and combat power, perhaps today he could slay this Angel and then depart!

And an Eye Demon that has killed an Angel…

Blissfully, his name would be recorded in the bloodline, basking in the worship of posterity!

It sounds lengthy, but in the Eye Demon's agile mind it was only a moment.

"Angel, I do not know who your master is, but he can already prepare to weep for you."

He unfurled all his tentacles, his mental energy nearly solidified, ready to use his strongest strike to slay the opponent.

On the other side, Xi Er Wei Ya's great sword crumbled inch by inch, turning into specks of light that drifted away.

Her armor slowly opened, revealing not flesh but an overflow of white light.

?

The Eye Demon's bloodline inheritance includes certain histories and skills, but…

The promised two wings covering the face, two wings covering the feet, two wings for flight—when it opens its eyes, it emits a lion‑like roar and shoots red lightning across the sky, resembling a long serpent?

At the very least it should have four faces and four wings: a human face forward, a lion face on the right, a bull face on the left, and an eagle face at the rear; the upper two wings spread and meet, the lower two wings cover the body, the legs are straight, the hooves resemble calf hooves, and the whole body is covered with eyes!

How could it be…

"Disrespecting the Supreme Deity, you shall be struck!"

Within the pristine white, a blinding blaze swept outward—this is the Angel race's most ferocious purification spell.

The Eye Demon's attack was shattered instantly, fragile as ice touched by spring.

Too Ha people, too Ha people!

With a single glance, he could no longer summon any thought of resistance, only the urge to quickly channel magic and flee.

But the Angel's spells seemed costless, one after another without pause.

The erected spell shield shattered with a boom, and the innate Spiritual Wall crumbled.

Even the precious life‑saving accessory bought at great expense was smashed into glass shards by the Angel's relentless Triple Light Burst Bomb.

Being an Eye Demon adept at developing downstream contacts, borrowing dogs to scout, and accustomed to covert stealth for preemptive survival, the seasoned sixth‑rank Eye Demon dared to say he had never…

Fearing he could not avoid it, he fled like a dog whose home was lost, panicking and choosing any path.

Is it her peculiarity? Or has the being behind her already intervened?

Escape is no longer possible; all that remains is negotiation!

He quickly halted, frantically conveying a hypnotically induced goodwill.

"Hold on, let's talk. I am a member of the Eerie Council, I mean no harm, we can cooperate!"

"Why don't you say you're from Undead Island or the Death Court?"

What met him was the Angel's full‑force light blade, and the searing pain of his burning body.

The Eye Demon's huge eye gradually filled with blood, emitting endless wails.

"Ah, even if you're strong, you can't just ignore reason like this…"

The reply was the Angel's cold snort.

"Eye Demon, deceitful and cunning, not a word of yours can be trusted!"

Having said that, Xi Er Wei Ya gathered the light sphere, shaping the outer armor into something like a cannon barrel.

"I know you'll never surrender, so just die here outright!"

Eye Demon:?

"No, sir, I am willing…"

Yet the scorching pillar of light poured out instantly; amid the dazzling endless energy, he died before finishing his words.

"With my lord's words, a good death!"

The dazzling light subdued, the pure white heavy armor reassembled, and Xi Er Wei Ya returned to her normal state—

a tall, gracefully‑shaped woman whose entire body was encased in armor.

She had been about to turn and leave, but suddenly seemed to sense something; at the spot where the Eye Demon vanished she reached out, grasped an eye stone and, linked to it, a magical conduit stretching straight into the void.

This is a tool used by senior professionals for relaying messages; could it be that this Eye Demon truly belongs to some organization?

She dragged the conduit, flying toward the Great Holy Seat.