48: The Phoenix Empress's gamble! The horror of the Nine-Book World!

The eight-hour truce period quietly passed amidst an eerie atmosphere of intertwined silence and restlessness.

The temporary alliance channel named "Demon-Slaying Expeditionary Force" became the only place in the entire war zone that pulsed with a faint heartbeat.

The channel's emblem was a golden phoenix reborn from fire.

Arrogant and resolute.

This stood in stark contrast to the suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere within the channel.

Phoenix Empress did not conduct any pre-war mobilization.

Her voice, presented through cold text, appeared before everyone, devoid of any human emotion.

"Phoenix Empress": "The order of attack starts with me. Afterwards, it will follow the ranking by strength. Any objections?"

The channel was utterly silent.

No one dared to object.

"Phoenix Empress": "Very good. The rules are as stated before. I go first. If I win, all spoils of war are mine. If I lose, the next person goes. The final killer gets half, and the rest is divided equally."

Her voice paused.

As if a cold gaze penetrated the screen, sweeping over everyone.

"Phoenix Empress": "If anyone refuses to distribute the spoils of war and breaks the rules… they will be an enemy of the entire Demon-Slaying Expeditionary Force."

Every word she spoke was like a cold chain, forcefully binding these survivors, each with their own hidden motives, together.

Lin Feng looked at these messages, his eyes calm and unperturbed, a hint of amusement even surfacing in his heart.

He had long seen through the calculations of this so-called Empress.

She fundamentally did not trust this rabble.

She merely needed them as witnesses, as stepping stones for her ascent to the throne.

And… if she were to fail, as cannon fodder to deplete the enemy's strength on her behalf.

One lord after another typed "Agree" into the channel.

They had no choice.

In the face of the insurmountable dark mountain that was "Little Devil," Phoenix Empress was their only and last hope.

Even if this hope was laced with venom.

"Swift Wind Swordsman": "Empress is mighty! I wish you a swift victory and that you may cut off the demon's head!"

"Holy Light Priest": "Your Majesty Empress, please rest assured, we will never break the rules!"

Amidst a flurry of flattery, the eight-hour truce countdown finally reached its end.

"System Announcement: Truce period has ended! PVP function has been enabled!"

The moment the announcement appeared!

The avatar of "Phoenix Empress," the golden phoenix feigning sleep with closed eyes, suddenly opened them!

Raging flames of destruction burned within!

She did not hesitate, directly challenging the terrifying ID that hung at the top of the rankings!

"System Prompt: Lord 'Phoenix Empress' has launched an attack on Lord 'Little Devil'! Do you wish to enter spectator mode?"

Lin Feng's will unhesitatingly chose "Yes."

The next second, an irresistible force tore at his consciousness, instantly spanning endless space.

His perspective, like an indifferent Eye of God, hovered above a vast, suffocating fortress enveloped in thick blood mist.

This was "Little Devil's" territory.

In stark contrast to Lin Feng's compact and efficient defensive layout,

Little Devil's fortress emphasized one word—extravagance.

His city walls were not simple linear defenses but layered and spreading outwards like a labyrinth, forming a huge, cruel, and visually unobstructed killing field in the shape of a Chinese character 'hui' (times).

In the innermost core of the fortress, two pitch-black Hell Towers, with dark red lava burning at their tops, even taller and more monstrous than Lin Feng's Hell Tower, stood like two silent grim reapers, guarding the central Level 9 headquarters.

The terrifying heat emanating from those two lava crystals even caused the air above to visibly distort.

A scent of sulfur and destruction assailed them, making all spectators' hearts pound.

And surrounding the two Hell Towers were a full eight purple Star Fury Mage Towers!

They were evenly distributed in a Bagua formation, with brilliant arcane starlight swirling at their tops, forming an impenetrable magical net capable of annihilating any intruder.

The arcane energies resonated with each other, creating an energy field that was almost tangible; any creature stepping into it would be instantly slowed and disintegrated.

Just seeing this formation, a cry of utter despair echoed through the alliance channel.

"Two… two Hell Towers? My god… how the hell do we fight this? I can't even handle one, and he has two!"

"It's over, this isn't even a battle of the same dimension! Look at those eight Mage Towers, they've protected the entire core area. Any troops rushing in will be instantly vaporized! This is simply unsolvable!"

"Are we… are we challenging a Demon King…?"

However, Phoenix Empress was clearly not among them.

The moment the battle began, accompanied by a piercing phoenix cry that could shatter gold and stone, seemingly tearing souls, twenty-five dazzling golden lights, like a divine judgment from heaven, slammed down onto the attacker's starting area!

As the light dissipated,

twenty-five burly, muscular warriors, clad in dark golden heavy armor and wielding massive battle axes, let out a unified, earth-shshattering war cry.

Their roars converged into a tangible sound wave, actually shaking the dust on the ground into the sky!

"Barbarian Elite"

"Health: 500"

"Attack: 200"

"Armor: 50"

"Trait: [High Morale] — When health is above 50%, attack power and attack speed increase by 50%."

These terrifying stats left all spectators speechless.

These were no longer ordinary troops.

This was practically a small hero army!

Each unit possessed terrifying attributes comparable to a low-level hero!

Immediately after, an even more magnificent and sacred figure descended behind the Barbarian army.

It was a Holy Phoenix, entirely composed of liquid holy light; it had no physical form but emanated a light warmer and brighter than the sun.

Each flap of its wings scattered golden light rain, providing continuous healing power to the surrounding Barbarian Elites.

"Hero: Holy Phoenix (Level 25)"

"Trait: [Holy Aura] — Restores 200 health per second to all friendly units on the battlefield."

"Active Skill: [Holy Sanctuary] — Grants all friendly units within the specified range invincibility, immune to all damage, lasting 5 seconds."

Looking at this luxurious offensive lineup, Lin Feng's eyes remained cold.

His brain, like a supercomputer, instantly completed a preliminary analysis of the battle situation.

"The troop quality is extremely high, and the hero is a pure support and core for survival."

"Phoenix Empress's strategy is clear: to crush the enemy head-on with absolute troop quality."

"The five seconds of invincibility from [Holy Sanctuary] is her key method for breaking through that Mage Tower's firepower net."

"But…"

Lin Feng's gaze fell upon the eight Star Fury Mage Towers, and the corner of his mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile.

"Her strategy is too arrogant."

"If the opponent has any means of prohibiting healing, her seemingly invincible army would instantly become living targets."