"Collect the team."
Baibai emerged in the Devil's Woods, flanked by his hellhounds. After murmuring a few words, the Storm Legion surrounding the forest halted, turned, and swiftly departed.
Bai Yi surveyed the ground, noting the absence of the original black soil of hell. This indicated that the devil had returned to his realm. A twinge of regret lingered in Bai Yi's heart.
Zero: [The bone dragon has been summoned.]
As Zero's mechanical voice echoed, a massive shadow descended from the sky.
Bai Yi seized the neck of one hellhound, leapt into the air, and soared toward Dongwu City atop the bone dragon. He needed a quiet place to select his expertise and solidify the effects of the Blade of Evil.
Upon returning to the City Lord's Mansion, Bai Yi deposited most of the rare minerals into the treasury and instructed Xilun to stand guard at the treasury door.
"Your task is to protect this place. No one enters without my command," he ordered before heading toward the pavilion in the center of the lake.
Seated by the lake, the moonlight danced on the water's surface, and a cool breeze swept through the air, soothing his senses ravaged by the White Plague. Taking a deep breath, Bai Yi began to review his rewards, starting with the title.
[Name: Hell Hunter]
Attribute: Title
Star Rating: ★★★★★
Wearing Effect: Your hands, stained with the blood of hell creatures, grant you a natural intimidation against them, increasing the damage you deal by 10%.
Wearing Requirements: Negative Charm
Introduction: Hunter of Hell. Your dark side is always on the hunt.
The title was quite beneficial, offering a passive advantage against hell creatures. Next, he enabled the optional effect of the Blade of Evil.
[You have enabled the optional effect of the Blade of Evil × 2.]
Please choose two of the five special effects below:
Bloodthirsty Blade: Any damage caused by the Sinister Blade inflicts severe bleeding. Enemies require significant energy to expel this effect, which increases as the blade grows. Current bleeding effect: 0.1% per second.
Poisonous Blade: The Blade of Extreme Evil has absorbed Hell's malice, causing all damage to be poisoned.
Armor Break: The Evil Blade bypasses a percentage of the enemy's armor and stamina, with a minimum armor break of 10%.
Sturdiness: Durability of the Evil Blade increases by +100.
Ghost Assassin: Holding the Evil Blade allows entry into an invisible state for three seconds, temporarily transforming the wielder into a ghost form, ignoring physical collisions.
Bai Yi deliberated on the five effects, reflecting on his dark side's tendencies. He followed a one-sword assassin path, focusing all his strength into a single strike, aiming to end battles swiftly. If he failed, his mechanical army would deliver the finishing blow, overwhelming any gold-level opponents.
The armor-piercing effect was essential, and he dismissed the poisonous blade—his alchemy could create poisons far deadlier than hell's. He had no need to stack durability either; he had plenty of methods to sustain his weapon.
Now, he faced a choice between the Bloodthirsty Blade and Ghost Assassin.
While invisibility was crucial for an assassin, his agility of 580 made even a brief moment of invisibility seem unnecessary. Moreover, he could learn invisibility skills in the Hall of Knowledge.
The bleeding effect, however, was enticing. If he combined it with his other skills, the first strike of White Plague could yield devastating results: alchemical poison, a backstab critical strike, high soul damage, and the bleeding effect—totaling 380% mixed damage with ongoing damage.
After making his choice, the properties of the Evil Blade transformed.
[Name: Blade of Extreme Evil]
Quality: Silver
Equipment Durability: 80/80
Effect 1: Sharpness: 80
Effect 2: Armor Penetration: The Sinister Blade ignores a percentage of enemy armor and stamina. Minimum armor penetration: 10%.
Effect 3: Bloodthirsty Blade: Inflicts high bleeding with every strike. Current bleeding effect: 0.1% per second.
Growth: Absorbs blood, malice, and souls.
Current Growth Rate: 7%
Equipment Requirements: Exclusive Equipment.
Introduction: The exclusive weapon of extremely evil creatures, growing alongside them. It may become a divine weapon.
Price: Cannot be sold.
Bai Yi felt satisfaction with the blade's silver-level attributes. He planned to soak it in a blood pool later, curious if it could reach gold level after absorption.
Next, he examined the optional specialties on the dark side.
[You have enabled optional expertise x1.]
Please select one of the three specialties below:
Malicious Injury: Your attack carries extreme malice, increasing all damage pain by +100%.
Malicious Deception: Condenses a controllable phantom with your appearance, breath, and weapons, which dissipates when attacked. Number of phantoms increases with dark side intelligence. Currently can condense: 19.
Bloody Malice: Enemy malice excites you. In this state, sanity decreases by 30%, pain is reduced by 80%, recovery increases by 30%, and strength, speed, and endurance increase by 10% each.
Bai Yi's eyes brightened slightly. The first option seemed more suited for interrogation than combat, as any enemy strong enough to face him would possess remarkable willpower. He dismissed it; he preferred dead foes.
The third option's sanity reduction was a red flag. His dark side was already eroding his soul, and further diminishing his sanity was unwise.
The second option, however, caught his interest. It would enhance his assassin abilities without requiring combat. A controllable projection would offer tactical advantages.
He chose Malicious Deception, feeling the dark power within him shift subtly as inherited memories surfaced—visions of hellish creatures from birth to adulthood.
This awakening seemed to empower his projection tactics, aligning with the growth path of evil gods. Joy filled Bai Yi; his combat power had increased once more, and his tactical options had more than doubled.
He ordered in his mind: [Notify Eric, Heidinger, and Sabo. Inform them I'm heading to Nanling City. There's no need for concern.]
Zero: [Sent.]
Baibai: [Send all the content of the Hell Game to Sabo. If he's confident, he can summon some games to play.]
Zero: [Sent.]
Bai Yi noted the date: October 25, 1537, in the Dawn Calendar. He had 25 days until the event Charles mentioned.
He retrieved the information from God's Window. The task was to locate the unconceived evil spirits in advance.
A simple note read: [Found the scavenger, Sid.] Beneath it lay a map pinpointing a valley three thousand kilometers from Nanling City—Death Valley.
Known as a chaotic gathering place, players who ventured there rarely survived. Established by the dark races, it was rife with pig-headed creatures, trolls, minotaurs, kobolds, and others shunned by order.
In this chaos, beings from the abyss, hell, and the undead found balance. Players dubbed it the city of sin, built beneath the nose of order.
Dawn allowed such chaos to persist due to the powerful beings inhabiting it—gold-level entities who posed no threat to the order, maintaining a fragile peace.
As the lord of Dongwu City, Bai Yi understood the Federation's deeper implications. Just as Diane, the necromancer, was accepted and trained, the strong who ruled the City of Sin could not integrate into order but created their own as long as they grew stronger.
Bai Yi contemplated the three federations, which rejected the truly malevolent beings that viewed all life as fodder.
Summoning the bone dragon, he realized the destination lay nearly 50,000 kilometers away—far too far for a steam train or spaceship. Riding the dragon would allow him to practice Backstab and Demon Flash en route, enhancing his combat prowess for the journey to Sin City.
"Fly at a normal speed," he commanded.
The bone dragon took off, cutting through the wind toward the south.
On the inner city wall, Eric and Heidinger watched the dragon soar, their expressions mixed.
"Has he not explained the situation regarding the one favored by the ancient god yet?" Heidinger asked, exasperated.
Eric chuckled. "Why worry? Did you sense that aura? As long as they remain within the Federation's territory, no one can harm him for a while. He'll call for aid."
He sighed, reflecting. "But these geniuses grow too fast. What about those in the capital?"
"The highest is 68, the lowest is 52," Heidinger replied with a shake of his head. "The oldest is 31; they're all forbidden seeds."
"Let's focus on the two young ones in the city. They need more protection," Eric suggested, turning back to the bustling night of the city, feeling somewhat fulfilled.
Heidinger watched him, bemused by Eric's indulgence. What had Baibai experienced in the nightmare world?
Meanwhile, in the Dawn Pharmacy, Luo Ning stirred uneasily in her sleep, sensing a nightmare approaching. Yet, beneath the glow of a large crystal ball on her table, her anxiety gradually faded, pulling her into a deeper slumber.
"Old Wei, do you think we've been abandoned?"
Demacia emerged from the Hall of Knowledge, disappointment coloring his voice. "There's such a great task, but White Blight chose someone else! I feel cheated. What's going on?"
Wei Lu sighed, exasperated. "He's the city lord; you're just a level 10 player. What were you expecting? Wait until you reach level 20."
Demacia's disappointment lingered. "Now that Dongwu City is nearly complete, I feel our purpose here is fading. How about we venture outside the city for some fun?"
Wei Lu pondered before responding, "Alright, we need to enjoy ourselves. I've noticed some anomalies in the information I've gathered. Let's go check it out. I'll take you with me this time."
Excitement sparked in Demacia's eyes. "What are we waiting for? Anomalies mean action! If we can kickstart the main plot early, we might unlock a god-level quest!"
"You guessed it. But let's keep it under wraps for now; I'm not entirely sure," Wei Lu replied, leading Demacia toward an airport.
Helicopters had become popular due to their low cost, making them accessible to many extraordinary individuals. For players, renting a helicopter—only ten silver coins for a full day—was far preferable to purchasing one.
As the helicopter soared out of the city, it took five hours to reach a valley 500 kilometers away. They instructed the driver to wait five kilometers away before cautiously entering the valley under the cover of night.
After winding through the terrain, Wei Lu raised his hand, signaling for silence. He carefully parted a vine blocking their view and typed in the team channel: [Have you seen these people before?]
Demacia squinted into the distance. A peak had been cleared, and several figures were busily moving items in and out.
["Aren't they just wild folk? The Federation will capture them and send them to mine, right? What's the point of transforming them into order?"]
["Don't panic. Look closely."]
As Wei Lu's figure faded into transparency, Demacia felt a twinge of confusion. Suddenly, a small stone flew from his hand, striking a piece of metal in the distance.
Clang!
A sharp sound echoed through the valley, causing the busy figures to freeze. Whether human or elf, their eyes glowed a bright scarlet.
Above their heads, health bars appeared in the players' view.
Demacia's eyes widened: [What the hell? Are those monsters?]
Before he could react further, the scarlet eyes shifted toward him.
Demacia stammered, "I'm your uncle's guard! You're trying to cheat me?"