Chapter 54
Chapter 54
“You still dare to deny it!”
Lei Qianjue was so furious that his nose nearly twisted out of shape.
He couldn’t imagine how a thief could speak with such righteous conviction.
“Am I wrong?”
Zhou Ming pointed passionately toward the sky. “Gold coins go missing, yet instead of suspecting those three Demon Gods, you immediately accuse an adventurer fighting on the same side as you?”
He could say with near certainty that if he left the slightest opening now, he would be killed on the spot.
“I…”
Lei Qianjue’s facial muscles twitched, his complexion darkening like he’d been smeared with soy sauce. He wanted to retort, but couldn’t find the words.
“I’m fighting with everything I have to defend Qingshui Town!” Zhou Ming proclaimed with righteous fervor while battling the second wave of demonized lions invading the mayor’s residence. “Yet you’d rather suspect an adventurer bravely defending his home than confront the Demon Gods yourself. All you dare to send down is a projection!”
“How could our Light Faction produce a god-tier expert who bullies the weak and fears the strong like you?”
“You!”
Lei Qianjue’s eyes bulged, and he nearly spat fire.
The thief actually dared to turn the accusation back on him?
“Or do you have evidence proving I stole anything?” Zhou Ming abruptly changed tack.
With a god-tier expert guiding him, Zhou Ming refused to believe they could have left any clues behind.
“…”
Lei Qianjue couldn’t produce a single word.
Finding evidence would be extremely difficult. Worse, Zhou Ming had deliberately scattered some of the illicit money among other players, making it impossible for Lei Qianjue to recover the coins through the world’s rules.
After all, the law couldn’t punish the masses.
“You don’t have a scrap of evidence, so how dare you come here to condemn me?” Zhou Ming demanded. “The Light Faction’s god-tier experts truly have no shame!”
The three Demon Gods outside the city looked at one another.
“Cangxuan was right. I underestimated him!” Amy said, dumbfounded.
Steal gold coins!
Use the gold coins to buy people’s support!
Then seize the moral high ground and argue a god-tier expert into silence!
She had never imagined such an extraordinary man could exist in this world.
“It doesn’t matter!”
The Tenth Demon God, Goddess of Enchantment · Alice, looked down upon the scene below. “With all three of us attacking, even the Divine Ember Queen won’t be able to protect him!”
Using adventurers against Zhouyou Shijie had been the Light Faction’s idea. Their true objective was to seize the God-Demon Orb ahead of everyone else.
Now that the plan had failed, the Dark Faction was naturally delighted.
“Agreed!”
Amy and Balen both nodded.
No devious scheme could make much of a splash in the face of absolute power.
Zhouyou Shijie’s actions had certainly exceeded their expectations, but he still couldn’t escape from their grasp.
…
“Let’s see how long you keep smiling!” Lei Qianjue withdrew his projection in bitter frustration.
The Light Faction’s gods absolutely couldn’t act now. If they did, they would be dragged into the battlefield and forced by the conflict between factions to fight the Demon Gods.
That would only allow Zhouyou Shijie to reap all the benefits in the end.
Having cleanly washed away the utterly baseless accusation that he was a thief, Zhou Ming continued dealing with the demonized lions that knew nothing but slaughter.
It was effortless!
The Level 20 Silver Boss at the rear went down after only a few swings of his sword.
“He defended the entire city all by himself?”
“Are we even playing the same game?”
Countless players exclaimed in astonishment.
“That’s only because all of you sold out the moment you saw money!” Gaibang Laoer cursed. “Otherwise, the Gaibang Guild would have taken him down ages ago!”
Every player in Qingshui City other than Zhouyou Shijie had been wiped out. Only their ghosts remained to watch, and they would have to wait until the event ended before they could revive.
By now, nearly all of Qingshui City had been reduced to broken walls and ruins. Only the city lord’s residence remained standing.
At around two in the afternoon, the Dark Faction sounded the horn for its final assault.
[Warning: The flying-insect army led by the Level 40 Gold Boss Blood-Devouring Queen will launch the third wave of the assault!]
[A god-tier Boss is hidden within Qingshui Town, drawing the attention of Windwalker · Balen, Blood Elf · Amy, and Goddess of Enchantment · Alice. The story event Demon Gods Descend has been triggered!]
…
BOOM!!
In an instant, the terrifying pressure of god-tier experts descended from every direction, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
The whole of Qingshui City seemed frozen in place.
“They clearly came here to kill me. The system sure knows how to invent an excuse!”
Zhou Ming’s expression turned grave as he gazed into the sky. Balen and Alice hurtled toward him wrapped in boundless wind and fire, their momentum unstoppable. Farther away, Amy drew her bow, charging a blood-red arrow that chilled the soul.
Endless elemental energy converged and boiled with violence.
“!!”
The dead players awaiting revival held their breath despite themselves.
At the final possible instant, the God-Demon Orb in Zhou Ming’s inventory erupted with brilliant white light. A silver-haired young woman charged out with sword in hand.
Hiss!
Amy’s arrow had been loosed last, but arrived first.
Qianying caught it in her left hand and crushed it to fragments. Her right hand swept out with her sword, sending forth a wave of sword energy that forcibly drove back the two Demon Gods closing in on Zhou Ming.
“Divine Ember Queen, do you truly think you can fight all three of us alone?”
Balen showed no fear. His sword descended, unleashing a sweeping tempest. Qianying split the storm in two and erased it completely.
“You won’t last long!”
Amy drew her bow again and again, sending energy arrows down like a driving rain.
Countless firebirds flew out from behind Alice. Every one of them exploded violently as it neared Qianying.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle among the four soared high into the heavens, scattering clouds and warping the weather itself.
With the situation growing desperate, Zhou Ming shouted solemnly, “Xuanniao, come out!”
Desperate times called for desperate measures!
He needed to do something extreme to help Qianying win.
[Your pet Celestial Spirit Beast · Xuanniao has refused your summon!]
“I don’t have time to play this endless game with you!” Zhou Ming said coldly. “You want to run, don’t you? I can give you that chance!”
“Chirp?”
Xuanniao emerged from the pet space and looked at Zhou Ming in confusion.
He was actually willing to let it go?
“I order you to help Qianying deal with the Demon Gods!” Zhou Ming commanded decisively.
Xuanniao had always been his trump card against the Demon Gods.
Every time Zhou Ming had summoned it before, Qianying had shielded it from outside sight. Not even god-tier experts had been able to spy on it, so there was no chance they had prepared for this.
“Chirp, chirp…”
Xuanniao’s eyes widened in panic, as if asking how a support pet was supposed to fight Demon Gods.
“What are you scared of?” Zhou Ming urged. “Fly up there. Qianying will know what to do!”
“???”
Xuanniao couldn’t make sense of that at all. Yet it had no choice but to obey its master’s forced command, so it steeled itself, spread its wings, and labored toward the clouds.
For some inexplicable reason, unease stirred in its heart.
High above, explosions from colliding elemental powers followed one after another.
Qianying had fallen into a disadvantage against three Demon Gods.
“There you are!”
The moment Xuanniao approached, Qianying’s senses locked onto it. She immediately formed a layer of pure white energy around the bird, protecting it from being killed by the battle’s shockwaves.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Light-element energy surged in from every direction and gathered around Qianying’s right foot. With unstoppable momentum, she charged straight at Xuanniao.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Xuanniao cried out, still having no idea how it was supposed to help.
“It’ll be fine!” Qianying reassured it. “Just endure it for a moment. It’ll be over soon!”
Terrifying light-element energy trembled around her right foot, dazzling as the blazing sun. The power of her next strike was clearly anything but ordinary.
Xuanniao froze.
Without another word, Qianying spun through the air with the grace of a startled swan. Then her right foot slammed into the white barrier protecting Xuanniao and launched it away like a ball.
A perfect midair volley!
Terrifying white light imbued with divine might erupted across the sky.
“A cheap little trick!”
Balen raised his sword. A vast tempest surged around the blade, making even space itself tremble.
Carrying his divine power, the sword of wind crashed down upon the white light.
…
“SCREECH!”
A piercing birdcall faintly echoed between heaven and earth.
A massive explosion of energy bloomed in the sky.
Zhou Ming’s sword paused in his hand. Then he hurriedly collected himself. “I’ve been staying up too late lately. Now I’m hearing things!”
…