157: The level requirement of 499 is gone.

Inside the territory of the Peak of the Forbidden City.

Qilin Immortal Venerable looked up at the blood-red sky, an expression of extreme solemnity on his young face.

"Give the order immediately: have Nine Year Cicada bring his people back!"

"No matter how many people they can bring back, they must hurry back!!"

Just moments ago, Qilin Immortal Venerable also received news from the front line.

As the oldest living relic in the game, Qilin Immortal Venerable was completely unfamiliar with the Starry Sky Zerg Hive that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

He was certain that this type of monster had never appeared in the game before.

The power of the Starry Sky Zerg Hive made Qilin Immortal Venerable tremble inwardly.

He had previously led people to kill some Elementary and Intermediate God-level Monsters, but none of them could compare to the oppressive feeling brought by the Starry Sky Zerg Hive... The Starry Sky Zerg Hive had already broken away from the category of ordinary monsters.

It was a mobile War Fortress, so powerful that it induced despair and suffocation... Qilin Immortal Venerable was contemplating how to deal with the current situation when suddenly, he felt a certain seal on his body seemed to loosen.

"This is..."

"The loosening of the level restriction?"

Qilin Immortal Venerable suddenly widened his eyes.

"That’s right!"

"The level cap of 499 is gone!!"

...The blood-red color in the sky came quickly and disappeared just as fast.

The sky quickly returned to normal.

In this short period, the mood of countless players had plummeted to rock bottom.

Inside the Lord's Mansion at the very center of Yunlong City.

A burly general clad in golden armor stood before the entrance of the Lord's Mansion.

He held a bloody Edict in his hand and read it aloud to the empty square in front of him.

[The Starry Sky Zerg Hive is attacking!]

[city lords order!]

[All Warriors must go forth and kill the alien race. Upon the death of the alien race, Warriors can obtain corresponding points, which can be exchanged for generous rewards at the Lord's Mansion!]

[Furthermore! The Kill Ranking is now open!]

[Settlement occurs at 24:00 daily. The Warrior ranked No. 1 on the Kill Ranking will receive a City Lord Exclusive Reward!]

[By Imperial Decree!]

The voice of the golden-armored general spread throughout Yunlong City.

On the game panels of all players, the fifth ranking list appeared.

The Kill Points Ranking!

The appearance of this ranking list signaled the start of a new version update in the game.

Many players who did not know what the Starry Sky Zerg Hive was immediately developed a strong interest in it... On the battlefield outside the East Gate of Yunlong City, the fighting had mostly concluded.

After suffering nearly half their forces as casualties, the remaining players of Yunlong City's Three Great Factions fled the battlefield in disarray.

The ground ravaged by the war was a mess, covered entirely in large and small craters.

Starry Sky Zerg corpses were visible everywhere, forming a thick layer covering the ground.

Surrounding them, there was also a large amount of weapons and equipment dropped by players of the Three Great Factions, but unfortunately, no one dared to come collect them... The rift in the sky had now transformed into a massive black hole.

The purple Starry Sky Zerg Hive flew out of the black hole and slowly landed on the previous battlefield.

RUMBLE—

The ground shook violently. After the massive Starry Sky Zerg Hive landed, half of its body sank into the earth.

The tubes on its body temporarily stopped transporting Starry Sky Creatures and instead began transporting a mysterious purple liquid.

Gurgle gurgle—

After the purple liquid landed on the ground, it gathered into purple rivers, eroding outwards in all directions.

The originally brown ground visibly turned deep purple, and waves of immense Void Power condensed and formed on the surface... The purple liquid possessed extremely strong corrosive power.

In just the blink of an eye, it had corroded a circular area 10 li in diameter.

The circular area was marked with the Starry Sky Zerg Hive's unique insignia. From this moment on, this area became the territory of the Starry Sky Zerg Hive of Yunlong City.

Inside the Hive, countless Void Zerg swept out in all directions, beginning the defense of the territory... The Starry Sky Zerg Hive had taken root here.

In Tianxia City, located a dozen li away, the players of Rule the World were stunned speechless.

The players inside Tianxia City were now in chaos, and an atmosphere of panic and dread quickly spread throughout the city.

Inside the City Lord's Hall, the executives of Rule the World were gathered together, all wearing grim expressions.

Worry was visible on everyone's face.

"Patriarch, the Starry Sky Zerg Hive is so close to us, what should we do!"

"Someone just calculated it: the Starry Sky Zerg Hive is exactly 10 li away from us."

"Based on the speed of those monsters, they'll probably reach the walls of Tianxia City in less than two minutes. We need to find a solution fast!"

In the main seat, Ning Tianxiong's face was gloomy.

Even with Ning Tianxiong's composure, he felt like cursing right now.

Rule the World actually ran into such terrible luck.

The territory outside Yunlong City is so vast; why did the Starry Sky Zerg Hive have to land near Tianxia City of all places!

The Three Great Factions had already witnessed the power of the Starry Sky Zerg Hive earlier.

Even if all players from the Three Great Factions went all out, they would not be a match for the Starry Sky Zerg Hive, let alone Rule the World by itself... The executives of Rule the World were all waiting for Ning Tianxiong's decision.

But at this moment, Ning Tianxiong himself was deeply troubled!

There was simply no good way to break this deadlock.

"This incident happened too suddenly. Does anyone have any good suggestions?"

"Feel free to speak up!"

Ning Tianxiong tossed the difficult problem back to the executives of Rule the World.

The executives of Rule the World looked at each other, yet not a single person could think of a viable solution.

At this moment, Ning Fengya stepped forward.

She slowly uttered two words.

"Retreat!"

WHOOSH—

As soon as she said this, the hall immediately erupted into chaos, and a chorus of angry accusations arose.

"Tianxia City was built by Rule the World using countless manpower and resources. How can we abandon it so easily!"

"There are still 29 days until the Year of Death One. During the Year of Death One, if we don't even have a single city, how can we defend against attacks from players of other main cities?"

"This method is completely unfeasible; we cannot abandon Tianxia City!"

The voices inside the hall were surprisingly unified.

Ning Tianxiong looked at Ning Fengya with profound eyes.

"Fengya, what is your reasoning? Tell us."

Ning Fengya glanced around the hall and said plainly, "The retreat I mentioned does not mean all players should withdraw."

"Have the low-level players retreat first, and the high-level players remain in Tianxia City for now!"

"Additionally, recruit more Space-type players to draw up some Teleportation Arrays. If Void Creatures attack, we can respond quickly!"

After Ning Fengya finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Ning Tianxiong slowly sighed.

"Go call everyone online."

"For now, we will proceed as Fengya suggested!"

...