50: The demonic tide has arrived, and my ATM is here!
BOOM—!!!
When that colossal crimson spatial rift, like a giant eye opened by a demon, suddenly tore open above the City of Glory, the entire world of the epoch seemed to have the pause button pressed.
Time solidified at that moment.
All players, whether they were discussing matters inside the main city or eagerly preparing for battle outside, simultaneously halted their movements, looking up at the sky, their faces filled with shock and fervor.
The rift was so massive, spanning the horizon, as if it intended to split the entire sky in two.
Inside the rift was a deep, chaotic dark red, with countless distorted lights and shadows swirling within, occasionally revealing massive, heart-stopping black figures flashing past.
An energy filled with the scent of sulfur, blood, and destruction, like a bursting dam, poured down from the rift, staining the sky around the City of Glory with an ominous layer of crimson.
“It’s here... it’s really here!”
“Oh my god! This effect is too realistic! I feel like I can’t breathe!”
“Is this... the Demon Invasion?”
The dead silence lasted only three short seconds.
The next second, earth-shattering cheers and shouts, like a volcanic eruption, soared up from every corner of the City of Glory, almost overturning the crimson sky!
“ROAR—!!!”
As if responding to the players' fervor, a roar filled with tyranny and bloodlust suddenly erupted from the spatial rift.
Immediately after, a scene that made everyone’s scalp tingle appeared.
Countless dense black dots, like locusts swarming out of their nest, poured overwhelmingly from the crimson rift!
They were varied in form; some were like winged Imps, some were like goblins holding rusty iron forks, and others were like constantly wriggling slime monsters.
They had only one target—the prosperous, vibrant land below!
“Demonic creatures! The monsters have spawned!”
“Brothers, Charge! Grab the first wave of resources!”
“For the Guild's glory!”
Outside the city, the elite teams of the major guilds, already assembled and waiting, led by their respective guild masters, initiated a Charge towards the monster landing zones immediately, like sharks smelling blood.
Swordsmen activated Charge, mages chanted spells, and the arrows of the Archers rained down.
A grand war sweeping across the entire server was instantly ignited within the first minute of the version update.
City of Glory, Central Plaza, next to the teleportation array.
Summer Rain and Iron Wall were waiting anxiously.
They were also shocked by the anomaly in the sky, but they were more concerned and curious about Lin Mo.
“Why isn't Brother Mo here yet? We’re going to miss the first wave!”
Iron Wall, carrying his signature massive tower shield, was scratching his head in frustration.
“Don't rush, he definitely has his own plan.”
Although Summer Rain was also anxious, she had almost blind trust in Lin Mo.
This man always seemed to find the only path to victory within the fog that no one else could comprehend.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared silently behind them, like a ghost.
“Let’s go, it’s time for us to depart.”
Lin Mo’s voice was calm and collected, as if the overwhelming demonic tide sweeping across the entire server was nothing more than an insignificant drizzle in his eyes.
“Brother Mo!”
Iron Wall turned around in surprise, “You finally made it! Which gate should we go to? East Gate has the most people from the Ba Tian Guild and the Oracle Guild, so let’s go to the West Gate.
There are more solo players there, making it easier to grab monsters!”
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Lin Mo shook his head.
“Huh?”
Summer Rain and Iron Wall were stunned.
“Follow me.”
Lin Mo didn't explain further, leaving only a mysterious smile before turning and walking towards a secluded corner inside the city.
Summer Rain and Iron Wall exchanged glances.
Although full of questions, they followed him without hesitation.
Led by Lin Mo, the three passed through the noisy crowd, avoided all the main roads leading to the city gates, and finally arrived next to a long-abandoned, overgrown stable.
“Brother Mo, what are we doing here?”
Iron Wall was utterly confused, looking at the dilapidated scene before them.
Lin Mo didn't answer.
Instead, he pulled a yellowed scroll with complex patterns drawn on it from his backpack.
[Fixed-Point Teleportation Scroll (Rare)]
This was a reward he received for completing a hidden quest previously.
It could teleport to a non-safe zone at a specified coordinate, and he had always kept it as a strategic ace up his sleeve.
“Stand next to me.”
Lin Mo unrolled the scroll and entered a coordinate he had long since memorized.
Buzz!
A soft white light enveloped the three of them, and accompanied by a slight sense of spatial distortion, their figures instantly vanished from the spot.
When their vision cleared again, the earth-shattering sounds of battle had vanished, replaced by dead silence, and... a nauseating stench of decay.
They were standing atop a barren hill.
The land here exhibited a strange black-purple hue, as if soaked in Deadly Poison for a thousand years.
Bald, withered trees and toxic swamps were everywhere.
The crimson rift was still visible in the sky, but it seemed exceptionally distant.
“Is this... the Foul Smelling Hills?”
Summer Rain looked at the map and asked uncertainly, “This is a Level 25 map, but there are very few monsters, and the environmental damage is very high.
No one usually comes here.”
“That’s right, this is it.”
Lin Mo curled his lips into a hunter’s smile, “For others, this is a wasteland.
But for us, this... is a gold mine.”
Before he finished speaking, a piercing "squeak" suddenly came from the sky above their heads.
The two looked up and saw dozens of huge, dark greenish-black bats with wingspans exceeding three meters flying out of a distant cave.
Their eyes were crimson, their fangs exposed, and foul-smelling black mucus constantly dripped from their bodies.
The air itself seemed corroded wherever they passed.
[Plague Demon Bat (Demonized Creature)]
[Level: 25]
[Life: 8000]
[Skills: Plague Tear, Abyssal Corrosion]
“It’s a new version monster!”
Iron Wall immediately raised his tower shield in front of him, adopting a fighting stance.
“Brother Mo, be careful! Someone on the forum said that the attacks of these demonized creatures apply a status called [Abyssal Corrosion], which causes continuous loss of health and mana, and also reduces stats.
It's really nasty!”
“I know.”
Lin Mo’s expression was unusually relaxed, even carrying a hint of anticipation.
“Watch closely.
What comes next is the moment to witness a miracle.”
Not only did he not retreat, but he actively walked toward the swarm of Plague Demon Bats.
“Screech—!”
The bat swarm clearly spotted him as “delicious” prey, letting out excited shrieks and diving down like a dark cloud overhead!
“Lin Mo!”
Summer Rain’s heart instantly jumped to her throat, and the tip of her staff was already glowing with the light of a Healer spell.
However, the next second, a scene that left both her and Iron Wall dumbfounded occurred.
Lin Mo neither dodged nor retreated, allowing seven or eight bats to tear at him with their sharp claws and fangs.
“- 88!”
“- 95!”
“- 101!”
... A string of minimal damage numbers popped up above his head, but the expected terrifying [Abyssal Corrosion] status effect failed to appear!
[Ding! You have received the Blessing of the Saintess, and are immune to this instance of the [Abyssal Corrosion] effect!]
A system notification that only Lin Mo could see quietly floated past.
“How is that possible! He... he is actually immune to the Corrosion effect?”
Iron Wall’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head.
As for Lin Mo, after tanking the first wave of attacks and confirming that the Blessing of the Saintess effect had perfectly triggered, the smile on his lips deepened.
“Now, it’s my turn.”
A cold light flashed in his eyes, and a skill he had long prepared was instantly unleashed!
[Plague Link]!
A faint green energy chain accurately struck the Plague Demon Bat charging at the very front.
Immediately after, that energy chain, as if possessing Life, began bouncing madly through the dense bat swarm at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track!
Ten links in a row!
A hundred links in a row!
In an instant, the entire bat swarm was completely linked together by this bizarre green energy chain!
“- 888!”
“- 888!”
“- 888!”
... In an instant, continuous poison damage numbers began popping up furiously above the heads of all the linked Plague Demon Bats!
That wasn't all!
The moment he finished casting Plague Link, the night's bite dagger in Lin Mo’s hand was already coated with Deadly Poison.
His figure turned into an afterimage, and he actively charged into the bat swarm!
[Shadow Strike]!
[Backstab]!
[Poison Blade]!
Every one of his attacks accurately struck a demon bat, applying several stacks of Deadly Poison to it.
And this Deadly Poison was perfectly copied and transmitted to all the bats present via the effect of Plague Link!
In just over ten seconds, the entire sky was completely covered by a dense screen of green damage numbers!
The scene was spectacular to the extreme!
Summer Rain and Iron Wall were completely dumbfounded.
They hadn't even had a chance to attack, yet the battle... seemed to be over?
“The feast is over.”
Lin Mo looked at the terrifying number of poison stacks accumulated on all the bats, and coldly uttered two words.
“[Poison Burst]!”
Boom—!!!
The Deadly Poison energy accumulated to its peak was simultaneously detonated at this moment!
A chain reaction occurred!
The explosion of one bat detonated the poison on another bat nearby, followed by the third, the fourth...
In an instant, the entire sky seemed to erupt in a grand yet deadly green fireworks display!
“- 15899!”
“- 16032!”
“- 15988!”
... Countless red critical hit damage numbers cascaded down the screen like a waterfall!
The dozens of arrogant Plague Demon Bats were blasted into scattered bits of flesh in mid-air before they could even let out a single cry of agony!
[Ding! You have killed a [Plague Demon Bat], gaining 1200 experience points!]
[Ding! You have killed a [Plague Demon Bat], gaining 1200 experience points!]
... [Ding! You picked up [Demonized Blood] * 1!]
[Ding! You picked up [Damaged Bat Wing] * 1!]
... Massive amounts of experience and item pickup notifications furiously flooded Lin Mo’s system channel.
In less than a minute, a swarm of demon bats that would have been tricky for other player teams was easily wiped out by him alone!
“Gulp...”
Iron Wall swallowed hard, looking at Lin Mo as if he were a monster.
“Bro... Brother Mo, are you cheating?”
Lin Mo smiled, offering no explanation, merely pointing at the distant cave from which new bats were continuously flying out, and said lightly:
“No, this isn't cheating.”
“This is called... the wealth code.”
... Meanwhile, on a plain not far from the Foul Smelling Hills, a fierce battle was underway.
“Hold the line! All Shield Warriors in the front, hold them back! Healers, focus on dispelling [Abyssal Corrosion]!”
Mad Dragon Slash, the elite commander of the Mad Dragon Guild, was hoarsely commanding his hundred-man team, struggling to resist wave after wave of monster attacks.
However, the effect of [Abyssal Corrosion] was simply too tyrannical.
Even though they had prepared a large number of dispelling potions, many team members were still torn apart by the monsters and returned to the city as white light because their stats were reduced too severely.
“Brother Slash! We can't hold them! There are too many Plague Demon Bats here!
Their Corrosion effect stacks, and our Healers can't keep up with the healing!”
A Rogue responsible for scouting scrambled back from afar, his face filled with terror.
“A bunch of trash!”
Mad Dragon Slash cursed angrily, his heart filled with irritation as he watched his team constantly losing members.
Just then, the Rogue suddenly pointed in one direction, stuttering as if he had discovered a new continent: “Sla... Brother Slash! Look over there!
It seems... it seems like someone is farming the demon bats! And... the efficiency is terrifyingly high!”
“What?”
Mad Dragon Slash was startled.
Following the direction he pointed, he indeed saw green fireworks constantly exploding over the distant hills, accompanied by Plague Demon Bats falling in droves, like dumplings dropped into a pot.
“Damn it! Did some guild find a bug?”
Mad Dragon Slash’s eyes flashed with greed, and he immediately ordered: “Leave half the men here to hold the line.
The rest of you, follow me to check it out! If there’s really profit to be made, we can’t let someone else hog it all!”
Having said that, he immediately led a fifty-man elite squad and aggressively charged toward the Foul Smelling Hills.
When they breathlessly climbed up the hillside and saw the scene inside the valley, everyone froze in place, as if paralyzed by a stunning spell.
Inside the valley, there was only one three-person team.
A Shield Warrior and a Priest stood boredly picking up items, while an Assassin wearing black leather armor, alone, strolled leisurely through the sky-filling swarm of demon bats, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.
The terrifying Plague Demon Bats were as fragile as paper mâché before him, being slaughtered in massive numbers.
And the ID of that Assassin made Mad Dragon Slash’s pupils violently contract.
Lin Mo!
“It’s him!”
Mad Dragon Slash’s breathing instantly became ragged, and the flames of jealousy and greed instantly consumed his sanity.
He stared intently at Lin Mo’s unbelievable monster-clearing efficiency and the loot scattered everywhere, roaring: “So it’s you, you piece of trash! Brothers, get him! Steal this prime location!”