Chapter 77

A Level 30 legendary monster, the Night Rakshasa, suddenly burst out of the fog of war,

its eyes bloodshot, charging madly at her Lord Crystal, its gaze filled with greed.

Yet before it could get within ten meters of the Crimson Witch, its body erupted in crimson flames.

The crimson flames burned — silent, formless.

A Level 30 legendary monster simply dissipated just like that.

As if erasing a painting with an ink brush, it was light as wind, faint as clouds;

the Night Rakshasa left no trace upon the world.

The crimson flame was the ink, and the Crimson Witch was the brush.

The world as she saw it was the canvas.

The silent crimson flames danced and leapt,

as red and clear as glazed glass,

and just like the Crimson Witch's agate-like crimson pupils.

……

Myriad Realms City, First Layer, a humble chamber.

A woman whose beauty outshone the very stars and moonlight, dressed in cloud-gauze palace robes, kept her head lowered.

Beads of cold sweat seeped from her pale forehead.

The seven figures within the humble chamber all watched her, and she dared not raise her head.

For she knew

that these were the Seven Divine Thrones who stood at the pinnacle of the Myriad Realms,

behind them representing the seven great races of the Myriad Realms.

Yet the seven great races of the Myriad Realms had not earned their place among the seven because of their race's might —

it was because these seven existed that their races were the seven great races of the Myriad Realms.

Even though she was the exalted Moon Goddess of the Myriad Realms,

before these seven she could only tremble and lower her head.

"It truly wasn't someone from your Moon God Palace?"

the crimson-haired old man asked with a furrowed brow.

"Absolutely, truly — it was not!"

The Moon Goddess bit her red lip gently with her jade teeth, responding with resolute and ringing certainty.

"You may leave now."

"Yes!"

As she left the humble chamber, the Moon Goddess's taut heartstrings finally loosened;

only now did her heart dare to pound loud and violently.

A trace of grievance and wounded pride surfaced in her beautiful, star-like eyes.

That "Never-Falling" Lord — why take "Moonfall" as a nickname?

Did he not know that everyone in Moon God Palace bore the surname Yue…

That very night, countless people named Yue Luo were investigated.

The Moon Rabbit Clan were like startled birds, living in constant trepidation.

Only now did her heart dare to beat loudly and violently.

A trace of quiet resentment and hurt appeared in her beautiful, starry eyes.

Why would the lord of the "Never-Falling" city take a nickname like "Moonfall"?

Don't they know everyone from her Moon God Palace is surnamed Moon...

That night, countless people named "Moonfall" were investigated.

The Moon Rabbit clan, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, were terrified.

The headquarters of the Demonblood Alliance,

is an underground city.

In the Myriad Realms Battlefield, the [Indestructible] terrain makes it difficult to dig deep underground.

So this underground city,

though it appears to be beneath the ground, was actually built upwards.

Because it was constructed by filling in earth within an extremely sunken valley.

From the outside, it looks like flat ground,

while the city extends deep underground.

This approach has one very obvious advantage:

people operate by habitual thinking.

Once they're convinced that the [Indestructible] terrain lies underground,

they would never easily imagine that beneath the flat, open wilderness, there is an underground city.

This avoids most reconnaissance and attacks from monsters —

a superb camouflage.

Furthermore,

the territory crystal is located at the very bottom, increasing the difficulty of assault and the strength of the defense.

"Hello! I'm a mercenary answering the recruitment notice, here to report!"

A tauren warrior, 2.3 meters tall, battle-axe in hand,

stood with chest out and head high, giving a military salute.

"Enter." The guard on gate duty merely glanced up at him casually,

not paying much attention.

In the Myriad Realms Battlefield,

besides territory units and monster units, there also exist neutral units.

Most neutral units were once likely troop types or heroes

who failed to protect their territory's lord crystal.

Once the crystal was shattered, the lord lost their lordship status,

and they were left to roam and live in the wilds of the Myriad Realms Battlefield.

Not every lord will take in the troops of another lord.

Not wiping them out entirely is already a considerable act of mercy.

Territories can recruit neutral units through hiring.

Neutral units cannot, like troop types and heroes, pledge unwavering loyalty to a territory.

They only look at their own interests.

Moreover, some territories have to be on guard against neutral units.

Monster units who breach a lord crystal can gain massive experience, even raising their grade.

If a neutral unit breaches a lord crystal of level 7 or above, a new lord crystal will be generated,

and they themselves will become a new lord of the Myriad Realms Battlefield!

So the temptation of a level 7 or higher lord crystal for neutral units is, one might say, considerable.

It's just that neutral units hold low status in the Myriad Realms Battlefield and cannot form a force.

Territories that have been breached by neutral units are extremely rare.

A level 7 territory — those are all quite formidable territories within the Myriad Realms Battlefield.

But because of this, very few neutral units can ever gain important positions in a territory.

Are the heroes not appealing enough, or are the troop types not plentiful enough?

To cultivate a neutral unit...

Usually, neutral units are used by lords as suicide squads.

When they need to tackle some powerful monster, they’ll recruit troops and buy horses.

And neutral units could not resist the allure the territory offered.

Being able to take shelter under a territory was far safer than staying out in the wilds alone.

The minotaur, Night Liliana,

was one such neutral unit.

Curious, she descended along the staircase,

the surroundings on all sides open and hollowed out.

Though she was underground, it felt like walking on a staircase suspended in the sky.

Tier after tier of the ring-shaped underground city bustled with activity, brightly lit throughout.

Square staircases, set into every level, plunged straight downward.

Night Liliana arrived at the underground first floor, at the reception for minotaur neutral units.

"Well met, brave warrior."

"Welcome to the Demonblood Compact."

A minotaur pounded his chest with a fist — the traditional greeting of the minotaur race.

Night Liliana, who had shapeshifted into a minotaur,

followed his lead and pounded her own chest in turn.

In the guise of a minotaur mercenary, she successfully joined the Demonblood Compact.

The Demonblood Compact was formed from the giant crab clan, the spider demons, the stone golems, the minotaurs, and the tiger-headed men —

five great racial factions in total.

It encompassed dozens of lords.

Which meant the bottom of this underground city held dozens of lord crystals!

Among them, the spider demon clan took the lead.

The most powerful lord was the Spider Empress, Nianthus,

and according to reports, her level was above 50.

Once Night Liliana learned this news,

she immediately assassinated a neutral unit, a spider demoness, in secret.

Then she took on her appearance,

and used her heart-bewitching power to make those minotaurs forget ever recruiting a minotaur warrior neutral unit.

Regrettably, when an enemy troop type was assassinated, the lord terminal would still report the death.

Otherwise, she could have simply transformed into one of the Spider Empress’s own troops

instead of a neutral unit.

"Though you are but mercenaries, as members of my spider demon clan, I hold you as dear as the troops under my command."

"Do not disappoint me in this mission."

The Spider Empress gazed down upon the many spider demons kneeling in the great hall.

"We obey, Your Majesty the Empress!"

The many spider demons pressed their eight hind legs tight against the floor to signal their submission.

Night Liliana, who had blended in among them, felt her eyes light up.

Before long, the spider demon swarm set out.

"I'm sorry — I'm a spy."

A night-sickle sliced across a companion's neck,

and the spider demon squad on the mission was completely wiped out.

Upon learning the news, the Spider Empress merely furrowed her brow.

Fortunately, only neutral units had died, not her own troop types.

Night Liliana assumed a new identity and continued infiltrating the Demonblood Compact,

and then, following the same pattern, kept transforming into spider demons recruited by the Spider Empress.

She plundered an entire stockpile of treasures and resources — she wondered how her master would reward her...

Her eyes brimmed with laughter, utterly bewitching.

[Congratulations — your hero, Typhon · Night Liliana, has advanced to level 2. All abilities have improved.]

[Congratulations — your hero, Typhon · Night Liliana, has advanced to level 3. All abilities have improved.]

[Congratulations — your hero, Typhon · Night Liliana, has advanced to level 20. All abilities have improved.]

[Your hero, Typhon · Night Liliana, has deposited the following resources into the lord crystal:

Territory Energy ×10,000,000.

Advanced · Spirit Field Blueprint, Advanced · Refinement Stone, Advanced · Recipe, Advanced · Cloud Ladder Blueprint...

Rare · KBBF Crystal, Rare · Experience Fruit, Rare · Golden Fertilizer Jin Kela...]

Su Yu, having just exited the All-Human Civilization Lord Selection Tournament,

found himself at loose ends.

In recent days, he had not re-entered the TW Simulated Battle,

because he wanted to keep winning and develop his territory's strength further before queuing again.

The TW points earned from consecutive victories were remarkably substantial, and his heart was greatly moved.

So now, he only fought the standard single All-Humanity Selection match each day.

At this moment,

his eyes suddenly flew wide open as he watched the lord terminal flood with information.

He let out a bizarre yelp: "Ohh! Yeliyana! My hero!"

Through the hero terminal, the massive resources deposited into the lord crystal practically dazzled his eyes.

Spirit field — accelerates plant growth. And the territory just happens to have experience fruit tree seeds!

Refinement stone — can refine weapons and equipment to make them stronger!

Recipes — improve the territory's meals. He'd been getting a little tired of the chef's cooking lately!

Cloud ladder — makes going up and down the mountain a lot more convenient!

Is he seeing this right?!

Rare-grade KBBF crystal!

The essential material for crafting the rare defense tower: the Laser Tower!

And a huge amount of experience fruit — this quantity is probably enough to level him straight to 20...

Chemical fertilizer Jin Kela — can force-ripen plants. The territory can harvest its first batch of experience fruit right away!

Yeliyana's skyrocketing level

and the enormous resources transmitted back

nearly made Su Yu faint from bliss.

He shouted, "Yeliyana, my hero!"

which left Sylph and Yiluodi in the territory feeling deeply sour.

"Pop."

The game character Sylph was controlling died.

She set down her lord terminal and pursed her lips, somewhat losing the will to keep playing.

Having been idle so long, she kind of wanted to find something to do...

The six wings behind Yiluodi abruptly materialized, quivered twice, yet she chose not to fly.

Su Yu had already forbidden her from going out to explore anymore, afraid of drawing attention.

What could she do for the lord...

A pair of cold brows furrowed slightly,

a sight so moving it stirred sorrow — what trouble could cast a melancholy look on such a peerlessly beautiful woman?

One would gladly spill one's guts to relieve her of her cares,

go through fire and boiling water without a single word of refusal.