Chapter 470: The Battle Royale Begins

Thinking of this, Ji Ming glanced again at the steep slope west of the temple.

"Ah—!"

As it happened, he saw the Second Commander screaming in pain, as if something unknown had struck his cheek, tilting his neck and flapping his wings to try to distance himself.

However, the giant dragon's body was still strong, so she merely shook her head and flew back, continuing to spew dragon breath, trying to be obstinate.

Hmm, this group of magic dragons seems to have held an internal discussion beforehand.

They knew that for themselves, killing all enemies wasn't actually the victory condition; dragging it out until the Demon Lord's succession succeeded was the true success.

But as time passed, under the attraction of the divine aura and purple light, the mysterious beings gathered around Fall God Peak grew more and more numerous.

Moreover, they also knew this mission was dangerous, very likely to be an unrestricted melee battle royale, so without prior agreement, only the strong dared to come.

The lowest among them were level forty, while there were several high-end combatants of level seventy or above, truly worthy of being called immortals as numerous as hemp.

But…

Those of level seventy were clearly only three in the Royal Capital on the surface, and even nationwide, with the church included, reaching double digits was enough to boast; I truly don't know where these guys usually hide.

Ji Ming didn't mind this; since they were hiding, it showed they were potential risks, allowing conflicts to erupt in one place and be quickly resolved, which was favorable to his plan.

If these cats and dogs were dragged into the Yang Month upheaval, or even the official move of the Cycle Month, and then exploded, it would only add trouble for me, so any possibility of disturbance must be eliminated beforehand.

But not everyone can step back and think like Ji Ming; for those who have recently suffered setbacks and are almost about to be completely driven out of Hui Guang, they are now frantic.

So after observing a while, thinking that the magic dragons had no other cards left, several mystic hooded figures who had pawned everything they could, climbed up the cliff "flying".

Needless to say, their parkour skills were still impressive, maneuvering without even breathing hard, they reached the temple platform.

It's a pity their eyesight wasn't good; they didn't notice Ji Ming watching the excitement from the shadows, and instead he saw through them at a glance.

"Heh, a few sixty-level Evil God High Priests dare to show up, little boss—do you think any of those six will walk out alive?"

【Uh, none?】

"Hard to say."

However, those few weren't in a hurry to study how that purple stone wall worked; instead, like a flashy idol group debut, they foolishly began saluting the howling wind around them.

They also proactively lifted their hoods, revealing the iron‑blue, stiff face hidden beneath.

"We… see that you all seem unwilling to act, so let us take the initiative to… touch this ill omen, how about that?"

Like corpses, like statues, like zombies—but not like those lunatics who treat a mere proto‑god as their dear father and fawn over it.

Could it be…?

Not only Ji Ming was thinking; everyone present should be pondering the reason.

Moreover, Ji Ming could directly see others' levels thanks to the Savior's system privilege; ordinary people wanting to investigate would still need some means.

So until more than ten seconds later, no sound came from the platform, taken as the group's tacit acceptance of them being the first.

"Okay, thanks."

And these six conducted themselves properly; after receiving that silent approval, they slowly walked toward the long staircase that resembled a stairway to god.

However, "person" had agreed—what about the dragon?

"Woof! Woof!"

The dragonblood kobolds living in the temple weren't just the few flying above; as they reached halfway, a large crowd rushed out from the building complex.

Moreover, this pack of ugly dog‑things may look ugly, but their combat power is not bad; a single belch from their huge mouths and a flap of their wings unleashes a gale that can tear flesh from bone.

Yet the evil‑god priests were also prepared; members from various churches each displayed their powers—water, fire, lightning, electricity—everywhere, jointly blocking this attack.

"Delay brings change, everyone act quickly!"

Moreover, this alone wasn't enough; they then produced various engravings on the spot, mobilized magical power, and like building blocks assembled a massive summoning circle on the long staircase.

Before everyone—including the dragonblood kobolds—could react, they began chanting an obscure incantation.

After a long string of gibberish, they suddenly raised a hand, turned their fingers into blades, and without hesitation slit their own throats.

At the same time they spoke their last words in this life.

"I offer my body as a vessel, respectfully inviting the divine to descend!"

Then everyone finally understood why they looked like corpses—they had already been on the verge of death.

Before arriving, they had relied on various bodily alchemy secret techniques and potions, refining their bodies as "raw material".

And at the point of death they retained this final breath, only now fully dying, serving as a container for their deity to descend.

It sounds like pure nonsense—after all, they do not worship a true god that must establish a divine nation outside the Yang Month, nor can such a true god easily intervene for world stability.

These proto‑gods and lesser gods are merely beings that exist in the main world, following their believers here; why go through all these twists?

But since their backing can only be someone else's minor lackey, if they still want to turn the tide against the odds, they must give it their all.

Thus, in their plan, they intended to sacrifice a few priests over level fifty, using an extremely wicked heretical secret method to temporarily raise their bodily strength to level sixty.

Then, by various means, they would secretly send them to Guanghui Capital, find a suitable spot to covertly summon the gods of each faction, and achieve descent through possession‑sacrifice.

In this way, they could exploit a cheat‑like operation, forcibly stacking two level‑sixty cards to create one level‑seventy card.

Next, they would let these six artificially created top‑notch experts, who could collapse at any moment, cause a huge disturbance in Qixia City, completely muddying the waters of Hui Guang.

However, doing so would require the six allied evil‑god churches each to sacrifice a high‑level, highly loyal, supremely respected high priest.

But if they could divert the Holy Light Church's gaze from the south, gaining a breathing space, for the evil‑gods already being pressed step by step by the Holy Light Church allied with players and nearly driven out of Hui Guang Kingdom, it would undoubtedly be worthwhile.

Especially now, they even have a chance to come into contact with that true‑god aura and obtain its treasure!

Then there's nothing more to say—let's bet!

Therefore, after those six utterly chaotic but lacking the thick divine aura in the stone wall dissipated, those six evil‑god priests had already been transformed into indescribable existences.

At the end of their arms were not hands but several writhing tentacles; where the ankles should be grew a mass of bone spurs; the features on their faces were horrifying to the extreme, like early AI‑generated faces.

Such forms resemble the stitched‑together monsters made by alchemy maniacs, or like a naughty child tearing apart toys and clumsily re‑sewing them with thick stitches.

But no matter how, our advanced ugly things have completely surpassed those outdated ugly things!

These beings, so wicked they can only be called "divine aberrations," merely made a slight move, and the dragonblood kobolds turned into helpless children unable to truss a chicken.

Punches and kicks, magical bombardments—under divine power, this group of terrifying creatures whose average level can reach forty is nothing but being slaughtered like chickens by the gods.

Soon, as the last dog was torn in half alive, they obliterated their final obstacle to press on... right?

The answer was no—just as they waved their limbs, crawling, running, leaping, pressing on toward the cliff at the mountain summit, the sky filled with dragon roars.

Those were the six servant dragons that had gone out on patrol with the Second Commander, disappearing for a long time; Ji Ming thought they had encountered enemies elsewhere and were locked in fierce battle.

Unexpectedly, they appeared as reserve forces at this moment, and without holding back, six breaths of plague dragon poured down like a heavenly faucet, splish‑splash.

Moreover, this is the key asset that the evil spirit magic dragons and the giant dragons have relied on in their ten‑thousand‑year war; it's not something that a few foul breaths from draconic kobolds can match.

So this group of godspawn has suffered a great disaster, especially that one who not only didn't dodge, but because he wasn't afraid, even flew up to the heavens with tiger‑like vigor to try to measure himself against them.

Even shielded by divine power, they were still invaded by this extraordinarily strange energy, which began to corrode them like a bone‑deep ulcer.

"Cough! Cough! Damn it, I am a god—how dare you act so arrogantly!"

They fell to the ground in a sorry state, habitually talking tough while trying to suppress the spread of that strange energy.

Then they failed.

Otherwise? The godspawn, due to forcibly exploiting a bug, have unstable life forms, making their nominal level seventy extremely hollow.

Moreover, this plague dragon breath happens to target the life source of living beings; burning them with it is a perfect professional match.

The other five could still, because they had less exposure, force it out with their own divine power, but this brute directly gulped it down whole.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late; their whole body engulfed in "fire", they could only let out a painful wail,

"Ugh, ah! Quick, quick, save me!"

But unfortunately, everyone had only gathered together to survive.

Now that one of them is clearly about to die, how could the others possibly wade into this muddy water?

Naturally, they fled as far as they could, fearing that damned plague might accidentally infect them again.

"Damn it!"

That brute seemed to have seen that, once he was defeated and his true form weakened, his everything would be divided up by those former allies, and he snarled through clenched teeth.

"You're not trustworthy friends… Today you sold me; someday you'll sell someone else! In the end, you all will die badly!"

And after uttering that vile curse, the evil god whose name no one knows exited the historical stage; though not completely annihilated, it was practically gone.

"Sigh…"

Although it was ultimately the other five evil gods who abandoned him, there still came a sigh from somewhere unknown, the sorrow of a comrade's loss.

Moreover, the dead are long gone, but they still have to face those few magic dragons.

Seeing their mouths again emit a green light, they hurriedly each displayed their divine abilities, hoping to achieve the feat each using their own means.

But the magic dragons have been able to war with the giant dragons for ten thousand years, relying on far more than mere personal strength.

Therefore, don't think those six servant dragons look stupid as humans; now, having taken dragon form and clashing fiercely with this group of godspawn, they actually employ a myriad of tactics.

The six dragon breaths formed a heavenly net and earthly trap; not only are their spray angles extremely tricky, they can even start and stop abruptly, intensifying their force precisely when the godspawn are most vulnerable.

The godspawn who had thought they seized the initiative thus became donkeys being chased, left only to run ragged.

But amidst the panic, a clear‑minded god strained their throat to issue a sharp warning.

"They're toying with us; their dragon breath actually doesn't need any preparation at all!"

Even the weakest of the five godspawn, whose skin drum is literally on fire, can only desperately try to extinguish it while desperately howling.

"So what should we do now!"

……

"Victory or defeat hangs on this one move—let's give it our all!"

"Give it our all?"

"Give it our all!"

Whether they were talking to themselves or to others, the godspawn repeated the phrase like a broken record, over and over, and finally, despite the risk of being hit by the dragon breath, they launched a counterattack.

The collision of high‑level professionals is astonishing, especially when it's a clear‑cut fight to the death.

In an instant, a violent explosion erupted above the long staircase; amid the deafening roar, large sections of the temple's buildings collapsed.

When the smoke and chaotic energy cleared, only two could still stand on the ground, while not a single dragon shadow remained in the sky.

No matter how hollow, a nominal seventy‑level combat strength still ultimately falls short compared to the godspawn's edge.

However, only three dragon corpses lay on the ground; the other three are missing.

But the two surviving godspawn no longer cared about that; having finally cleared this final gate, they just wanted to quickly claim their rightful reward.

Unfortunately, it's still that same question—"huh?"

"Heh heh heh…"

With a villain's trademark laugh, a lithe figure shot out from beneath the northern cliff.

This apparent woman is neither of the Radiant Sect nor the Deep Forest Sect; she should be a so‑called hermit hidden away beneath the world's wind and rain.

Although there's even a saying that Earth has a shortcut to Zhongnan, true hermits who are indifferent to fame and fortune and just want to keep to themselves might exist, but certainly not this person before us.

Thus, as she leapt onto the long staircase, she suddenly hurled two bowl‑sized ring blades, which flew toward the godspawn's necks.

"Hmph, seeking death!?"

One of the godspawn, quite likely a pretender king, immediately whipped out its tentacles to seize it on the spot, but only upon touching the interior of the ring did it realize the feel was off.

(End of chapter)