May 30th!
The Yanhai City God-Making Project commenced. Organized by the department, a large group of experienced workers began cordoning off the area in the city center, preparing to erect a statue of Lin Fan.
The statue's creation was entrusted to a factory, with the specific requirement that they hire the top statue masters in the country. No matter what, the statue had to be lifelike. They couldn't let it end up looking monstrous; that would be a disgrace not only to them but to the entire country.
The department wasn't short of money, but it was short of face.
As long as they saved face, nothing else mattered.
Jin He Li walked in, dressed sexily. She had always dressed this way since starting work at the special department. According to scientific research, having a beautiful woman dressed provocatively in the office could improve colleagues' work efficiency.
This wasn't just empty talk.
It was proven by facts.
"We just received news from headquarters. Madonna of Haiyun Nation is demanding the return of the trident. They claim it's a weapon of the Sea God, stolen by an evil entity and left in our Yanhai City. They hope we'll return it," Jin He Li reported.
One-Eyed Man listened to Jin He Li's report with a dumbfounded expression.
"He really did that?"
Honestly, One-Eyed Man was truly stunned. Regardless of anything else, Madonna was the head of the Sea God Pavilion of Haiyun Nation, holding a status equivalent to Chief Xu of Xia Du. Anyone with a bit of sense would know that making such a claim was a shameful thing to do.
But unexpectedly,
Madonna wasn't afraid of losing face.
What was face compared to his master's weapon?
To retrieve the Sea God's trident, he wouldn't regret losing all face.
Jin He Li said, "Yes, and he made the request in the name of the nation."
One-Eyed Man pondered. Returning it was impossible. What fell into their hands was theirs, especially something like the Sea God's weapon. Returning it just because of a few complaints and protests would be a loss of face.
"Reply to Haiyun Nation. Tell them we're truly sorry, but we didn't know it was the Sea God's weapon. We thought it was some kind of metallic waste, and because it took up too much space, we've already melted it down."
"Also, issue a notice in the name of the special department."
After thinking it over, he felt this was the best approach.
Jin He Li was astonished. "Chief, are we really going to do this?"
One-Eyed Man said, "It's a very impartial explanation, and it gives Haiyun Nation a response. I think this is something both sides can accept. If they can't accept it, we'll take another step. We can send them back the melted material."
"Of course, they'll have to cover the shipping costs themselves."
Jin He Li hadn't expected the chief to be so ruthless. If they said this, no one would believe it, but even if they didn't believe it, there was nothing they could do. The words would be spoken, believe it or not, they simply weren't returning the trident.
After leaving the office, she set about handling the matter.
When netizens saw the announcement, their expressions became complicated.
Regarding the Sea God's Weapon, We Deeply Apologize
The general meaning was as One-Eyed Man had stated: they melted it down, truly believing it was trash.
Netizens couldn't help but laugh.
With Madonna's increasingly bizarre actions coming to light, more and more people felt that there was something fishy about the evil entity's invasion of Yanhai City, as if the Sea God himself had orchestrated it.
Xia Du, aware of Yanhai City's response, didn't interfere further with Madonna's affairs. They left him to deal with his own problems, claiming they couldn't manage Yanhai City's situation.
Madonna wanted to cough up blood.
Damn bastards.
He hadn't expected Long Nation to be so disrespectful. Even if they disrespected him, they were disrespecting the Sea God. Did they have no regard for the Sea God at all?
Tahala Desert.
Remote and one of the harshest environments in the world.
Scorching hot during the day.
Bitterly cold at night.
Even in such a harsh environment, people still lived there. These were the indigenous people of the Tahala Desert, who had lived there for generations, continuing the lifestyle of their ancestors.
Even their faith remained the same.
At that moment,
A deep pit appeared in the desert, as if someone had detonated a bomb underground, blasting a crater in the sand.
Boom!
Thick black fog erupted from the pit, instantly blotting out the sky, turning it dark and gloomy.
"Ya ya ya..."
In the indigenous settlement, they had just found some food in the desert and were preparing to eat lunch. Seeing the black fog in the distance, they put down what they were doing, prostrated themselves on the ground, and chanted in an ancient language.
Translated, it meant: Ancient, great, and in control of life and death, the Great God.
An elderly, hunched-over native chattered to the surrounding tribespeople, then, receiving their agreement, picked up some food and walked towards the source of the black fog.
The elderly native led over a hundred tribespeople towards the place they believed their god resided.
Not long after,
When they arrived at the scene and saw the pyramid before them, identical to the totem passed down through their generations, they knelt in excitement and prayed.
"Great Death God!"
"Great Death God!"
The original pit was gone, replaced by an ancient pyramid. To the natives, this was their faith, their god had finally appeared.
These natives appeared humble and insignificant before the pyramid, kneeling and worshipping at its base.
Suddenly,
Their cries intensified.
At the top of the pyramid, a sarcophagus floated up. With a rumble, the sarcophagus opened, revealing a black fog-shrouded interior. Nothing could be seen inside. Moments later, the black fog dissipated, revealing a jackal-headed god lying inside the sarcophagus, arms crossed over his chest.
The jackal-headed god opened his eyes, emitting black light, and floated out of the sarcophagus. The scepter beside him was his symbol.
The Death God's Scepter.
The scepter was inlaid with a gem, surrounded by swirling souls. Looking closely, one could see the agonizing expressions on the faces of these souls, as if they had suffered immense torment during their lives.
The jackal-headed god looked down at the natives, spread his arms, and countless black mists billowed out from behind him. The natives cheered; the Death God was responding to them.
But soon,
They discovered something terrifying. The black fog spread towards them, entwining around their bodies.
"Ah!"
Screams erupted.
The black fog seemed to possess sentience, pouring into their orifices. Their bodies mutated, and in an instant, they transformed into mindless, walking corpses.
The jackal-headed god raised his scepter high, chanting some kind of incantation.
Boom!
Boom!
The desert cracked open, and countless corpses buried in the desert were pulled out by an unseen force, rising from the ground. The undead had returned.
The jackal-headed god led the vast army of undead towards the nations bordering the Tahala Desert.
Afternoon!
A small city with a population of several hundred thousand was in complete chaos.
"What is that?"
"I don't know, it looks like a swarm of mosquitoes."
Countless citizens stopped, looking up at the pitch-black sky, thinking it was just a swarm of insects. They looked on in surprise, unaware that it was the Death God coming to reap their lives.
In the blink of an eye,
The black fog swept over them, engulfing the onlookers. Screams echoed as the black fog attacked, leaving behind only mindless, walking corpses.
A powerful human lived in seclusion in the small city.
"What is that?" Inside a tavern, an old man who was telling children stories about heroes battling evil entities felt a dangerous aura. He put down his glass and said gently, "Children, go hide in Grandpa's cellar. Don't come out, no matter who calls you, don't come out."
"Grandpa Sumit, what's wrong?" a child asked.
Sumit said gravely, "An evil force is coming. Hurry and hide."
The children obeyed Grandpa Sumit, skillfully opening the tavern floor and hiding inside. The small city was often harassed by evil entities, so the cellar was stocked with enough food for dozens of people to survive for a month.
"Everyone, there's danger outside. You all need to find a place to hide," Sumit warned.
A drunken patron chuckled, "Old Man Sumit, you're drunk again, telling us stories, aren't you?"
No one believed Sumit's words.
Sumit had mentioned before that he was once a powerful warrior, having experienced many things, but they hadn't believed him, taking him for a tavern owner who liked to boast.
Sumit said, "I'm not joking. Go quickly. I hope this isn't the last time we see each other."
The patrons still didn't take him seriously, raising their glasses to Sumit.
"Old man, have a drink."
A figure burst through the tavern door, letting out a low growl from its throat.
The noisy tavern instantly fell silent.
Everyone stared at the intruder.
"Huh?"
"Isn't that the fruit vendor?"
"What's he doing at the tavern in broad daylight? Does he want a drink? Isn't he afraid his wife will catch him and beat him up?"
The patrons laughed. Although they felt something was strange about him, they didn't pay it much mind. After all, it was broad daylight; what could go wrong?
A patron stepped forward, intending to pat the man on the shoulder and ask if he'd been beaten by his wife and had come out for a drink to relax.
"Don't go near him," Sumit shouted, instantly taking action. He sensed something was wrong; the man exuded an aura of death.
The man roared, trying to tear apart the approaching patron. The patron was stunned, frightened silly. Fortunately, Sumit was fast enough. He struck out with a palm, sending the man flying.
Immediately after,
Noisy commotion came from outside.
"Help!"
"Run, everyone run!"
"What are these things? Why are these things appearing?"
Cries for help came continuously from outside.
The patrons instantly sobered up. They went outside, saw the chaotic scene, and ran in terror. They hadn't expected it to be true.
The tavern was empty.
Sumit opened the floorboards. "Children, hide well, don't come out."
"We understand, Grandpa Sumit."
"We'll hide well."
"Will there be danger?"
Sumit said, "Your brave Grandpa Sumit will protect this city, and protect you."
He covered the floorboards and concealed them with a rug.
Pushing open the tavern door, the situation outside was dire. The sentient black fog continued to harm people. Those enveloped by the fog were transformed into mindless, walking corpses amidst screams of agony.
"How could this be?"
"Evil entities?"
"No, if they were evil entities, even if the stationed experts here weren't very strong, they wouldn't let evil entities attack the city."
Sumit stared intently into the distance, towards the center of the black fog. All the black fog originated from there. Some of the black fog noticed Sumit and surged towards him, attempting to possess his body.
"Hmph, you're courting death."
Boom!
Just as the black fog was about to reach Sumit, it was shattered.
Bang!
Sumit soared into the air, landing on the roof. He leaped again, heading towards the distance. As he approached the center of the black fog, he felt an immense pressure weighing down on him.
What a terrifying aura.
What an evil aura.
Such a small city, yet it concealed a Heavenly King level expert. If others knew this, they wouldn't believe it. After all, such an expert, no matter where they were, could become a department chief.
And this Sumit was far more powerful than One-Eyed Man.
This small city was Sumit's hometown. He was an orphan, raised by the kind people of this city. Later, he met his mentor and left, only returning at the ripe old age of eighty, tired and seeking the place that had nurtured him.
A strong man was struggling to hold on. Sumit appeared beside him, striking down a grotesque walking corpse with a single palm.
"Where are the city's guardians?" Sumit asked.
The rescued guardian looked at Sumit with a stunned expression. He hadn't expected the tavern owner he frequented to be such a powerful expert.
Hearing the question,
The guardian said with a sorrowful expression, "Dead, they're all dead."
"How is that possible?" Sumit exclaimed. "If I remember correctly, the chief here is a City Protector level expert. Is he dead too?"
"Dead. We encountered a god," the guardian said.
Sumit knew about the Sea God's appearance in Haiyun Nation, but now the culprit about to slaughter this city was also a god?
He didn't believe it.
"Senior, this isn't something we can withstand. You should leave. This city can't be saved."
Sumit said, "My home is here. I won't go anywhere. Even if it's a god, I'll make him pay."
He then looked towards the black fog.
He could vaguely make out a figure at the center of the fog.
He leaped into the air and punched towards the black fog. Boom! A deafening roar echoed through the heavens. The black fog trembled as his fist was blocked by a layer of light, unable to inflict any damage.
"Who are you? Why are you harming these ordinary people?" Sumit roared furiously, preparing for battle. The situation before him was strange, unlike any evil entity he had encountered before.
If this was also considered a god,
Then it could only be an evil god.