Chapter 35: Chapter 35: City Massacre, the Fall of the Imperial Guild
Chapter 35: City Massacre, the Fall of the Imperial Guild
Ritchie, trembling uncontrollably, hid behind John, fearfully eyeing the monstrous beasts. These creatures were immense, like armored giants, blood-red demonic wolves with terrifying visages, enchantresses of unparalleled beauty with bewitching charm, fanged and winged tigers enveloped in flames...
Even the powerful black dragon on the ground seemed like a mere toy in their presence.
"Handsome, what do you need us to do?" the succubus asked John, batting her eyelashes seductively.
Unmoved, John pointed towards the city ahead and casually uttered, "Massacre!"
The creatures' eyes lit up at John's command. They had been imprisoned for far too long and craved blood to awaken their savage instincts.
"What are you waiting for? Declare war!" John urged Ritchie, who was still quaking with fear. Swallowing hard, Ritchie glanced at the countless monstrous beings and then at John. It took him a while to process the situation, and he hesitantly asked, "Boss, did you summon all these creatures?"
John impatiently nodded, snapping, "Look at you, all scared and useless."
Instead of feeling offended, Ritchie was thrilled. With these terrifying beasts at their disposal, conquering Imperial City would be a piece of cake, even if it were a level 4 city. To declare war on a level 1 city, Ritchie had to pay 100 gold coins.
It nearly all he had. Without hesitation, he made the payment.
[Announcement: Player Ritchie has declared war on Imperial City.]
...
The announcement echoed through the world of Gods three times.
It causing a frenzy in the chat channels.
Ritchie, however, paid no mind to the chatter, his eyes fixed on the fearsome beasts before him.
His gaze landed on the blood-red wolf, and he exclaimed, "Boss, this red wolf looks so cool!"
"You've got good taste, kid," the blood-red wolf responded, speaking human words, startling Ritchie.
Examining the wolf closely, Ritchie's excitement grew, and he asked, "Brother Blood Wolf, may I ride you?"
John's eyes narrowed in caution, focusing on the blood-red wolf.
The agreement he had with these beasts was tenuous at best, not true subjugation.
Riding a powerful beast was a grave insult, and John feared the wolf might lash out and kill Ritchie.
The blood-red wolf, however, scrutinized Ritchie and then nodded, "Kid, I like you. Just this once. Get on."
"Thank you!" Ritchie was overjoyed, climbing onto the wolf's back amidst the astonished gazes of the other beasts.
"Boss, let's go!" Ritchie urged, patting the wolf's fur. "Brother Blood Wolf, let's go." Howling.
The blood-red wolf leaped forward with incredible agility, a crimson blur charging ahead. The other beasts followed suit.
John, curious about the wolf's behavior, mounted the black dragon, Aevis. With a gust of wind, they soared into the sky, heading straight for Imperial City.
...
At Imperial City, Gaia had just fended off the last wave of the monster tide when he heard the system announcement.
"Ritchie, you really dare to come!" he scoffed disdainfully.
Gaia knew that Ritchie wouldn't let things slide and was likely to cause trouble today, so he had made comprehensive preparations. Hidden within the city was a squad of third-tier guards, elite forces from the third-level city, Ling Yue City, specifically prepared for Ritchie. However, he was confident that the elite members of the Imperial Guild were more than capable of handling Ritchie, making the reinforcements unnecessary.
Crash!
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, trees toppled in the forest, and an overwhelming pressure filled the air.
It felt like hundreds of terrifying beasts were charging toward them.
The gathered guild players in front of the city started to panic, a deep-seated fear welling up inside them, knowing they couldn't possibly withstand this threat.
Whoosh!
The wind howled and the ground shook.
Hundreds of colossal, fearsome monsters emerged from the air and the forest.
Cries of alarm filled the crowd.
"What... what the hell is that?"
"Bosses! They're all bosses, and we can't see their information. They must be at least tier- four!"
"This damn system is screwing us! How do we fight that?"
"Mom, I want to go home..."
The crowd was in chaos, with many players logging off on the spot.
"Damn it! Nobody retreat! We're almost done defending the city, hold the line!" Gaia roared in fury, kicking at his ground dragon.
But the once proud and aloof ground dragon now cowered like a frightened puppy, trembling
in fear.
Realizing these beasts were unstoppable, Gaia quickly sent a distress signal to the elite soldiers hidden within the city.
But there was no response. Those soldiers had already fled at the first sign of the monstrous
beasts.
"Gaia, didn't expect karma to hit you so fast, huh?" A loud shout rang out as Ritchie, riding the blood-red wolf, charged directly at Gaia.
"Ritchie!" Gaia spotted him, then his eyes were drawn to the massive, fearsome blood-red wolf beneath Ritchie, filled with envy and jealousy.
He couldn't understand why Ritchie always had the best things.
Gaia's face turned grim, and he tried to appease Ritchie, "Ritchie, I'll return the Diamond Giant Shield and compensate for your losses. Can we call it even?"
Ritchie scoffed, "Regret now? Too late!"
"Ritchie, don't push it. You know the power behind me. If you dare destroy my Imperial City, it will be a fight to the death!" Gaia threatened, invoking his family's influence. "Hmph, we've been at odds for a while now," Ritchie replied dismissively. He patted the blood-red wolf beneath him, "Brother Blood Wolf, please, tear him apart."
Ritchie had just reached level 12 and was no match for Gaia.
"No problem," the blood-red wolf responded, becoming a crimson blur that instantly
appeared before Gaia.
Slash!
With a sickening crunch, the earth dragon's head was bitten off, killed instantly.
"Dragon!" Gaia cried out, eyes wide with shock. Pets couldn't be resurrected like players.
He barely had time to mourn before he felt a searing pain in his chest, his body being torn in
two directions.
He realized, too late, that the blood-red wolf had ripped him in half.
His vision faded to white as his consciousness slipped away, and he vanished in a burst of
light.
One-shot kill!
"Brother Blood Wolf, you're so brutal, but I love it!" Ritchie exclaimed, his blood boiling
with excitement. He commanded the blood-red wolf to charge straight into the Imperial
Guild's players.
Despite the ten thousand elite players of the Imperial Guild, they stood no chance against the monstrous beasts. They were mercilessly slaughtered, turning into flashes of white light and
reviving back in the city.
They thought the battle was over once they respawned, but their nightmare was just
beginning.
John, riding on Aivis, flew directly above the city's respawn point.
Watching the constant stream of players reappearing, he unleashed a Rain of Fire without
hesitation.
The freshly revived players, still in a state of shock and panic, were instantly killed again.
Gaia, who had just revived, was also mercilessly killed. Receiving the system notification, he glared furiously up at John. "Godslayer, we have no grudge against each other! Why attack
me?"
John responded with a cold laugh, raising his hand to unleash another Rain of Fire, killing Gaia once more. "Now we have a grudge, don't we?"
"Ah! You bastard, I'll kill you!" Gaia cursed, on the verge of madness.
This Godslayer was guarding the respawn point, killing them the moment they revived, putting them back in combat status. This meant they couldn't teleport or log off.
If this continued, Gaia feared he would soon drop to level 1 and be sent back to the beginner's
village, just like Ritchie.
Whoosh!
Another Rain of Fire descended, silencing the cursing players who had just revived, turning
them into white light once again.
Many players didn't reappear at the respawn point, indicating they had dropped to level 1 and
were now respawning in the beginner's village.
John watched the respawn point filled with players, leisurely casting Rain of Fire whenever
the cooldown ended.
Unfortunately, killing players didn't plunder any attributes like killing monsters did.
The entire city was filled with flashes of white light, accompanied by screams and curses.
In less than half an hour, the city had turned into ruins, with all players gathering at the respawn point, their numbers dwindling.
Many players, having died too many times, dropped to level 1 and returned to the beginner's
village.
"Boss, isn't this a bit too cruel?" Ritchie, having finished his own battle, arrived at the scene, feeling a pang of guilt at the sight.
"Cruel?" John scoffed. If it weren't for the fact that players above level 1 couldn't enter the beginner's village, he would have gone there to slaughter them even more.
He fixed Ritchie with a serious look, "Remember, showing mercy to your enemies is the greatest cruelty to yourself."
Ritchie nodded. He and Gaia were already at odds, so he might as well see it through to the
end.
John continued to guard the respawn point, slaughtering for another half hour until no more players revived. Only then did he relent.
Equipment was scattered all around the respawn point, and Ritchie's eyes lit up with
excitement as he eagerly picked up the loot.
Initially, spending 100 gold coins to wage war against Imperial City had made him feel a bit of
pain, but now he had completely recouped his investment.
"Now, for the second task," John said, turning to the assembled beasts behind him. "Guard
the surrounding beginner villages. If any level 10 players appear, send them right back. The time frame is one month."
He had given it some thought and settled on a one-month period. Missing a month of development time, he didn't believe Gaia would be able to recover.
"No problem," the colossal beasts agreed, nodding.
The blood-red wolf looked at John and asked, "And what about the third task, human?"
John considered for a moment before replying, "The third task is to kill as many Dark Humans
as possible. It's also for your own sake."
"Understood."
"Take care, human. We hope to meet again someday."
The beasts bid farewell and dispersed.