48: Chapter 48 The Great Array

The light in the eyes of Immovable as a Mountain contracted violently.

He looked at the man before him, dressed only in cloth clothes, with nothing but a mining pickaxe for a weapon—the very arch-rival who had sparred with him on the forums, denouncing his "steadiness" as "cowardice."

Tanking?

With this gear, which couldn't even make it out of the Novice Village?

With that iron pickaxe that would shatter at a single touch?

He wanted to say "Get lost," wanted to say "Don't come here to die," wanted to say "This isn't a place for you."

But the words, when they reached his lips, merely transformed into a heavy breath, slowly exhaled from his chest.

Because in the eyes of Charge to the End, he saw the same thing he saw in his own.

It was not a thirst for victory, nor was it a fear of death.

It was a kind of... determination that could not afford to lose.

"Good."

A single word, hitting the ground with heavy weight.

Immovable as a Mountain stopped looking at him, turned around, and roared at the group of Pot Lid Army members behind him, who were similarly poorly equipped but had determined gazes.

"All Shield Guards, take him as the spearhead, form a wedge formation! Prepare... to meet the impact!"

There was no time for any further communication.

Because the Demon Lord in the sky, Night Radiance, had already lost his last shred of patience.

"A bunch of ants, daring to perform this ridiculous farce before me."

His voice was no longer a mutter, but transformed into rolling thunder, roaring and piercing through the entire battlefield.

He slowly raised his hand—the hand that was not caressing the moon soul stone.

As his palm rose, all the light between heaven and earth seemed to be drained away, gathering entirely upon his palm.

Immediately after, he spread his five fingers and pressed down gently towards the earth below.

Hum—!

The world lost its voice.

An indescribable blood-colored ripple, with Night Radiance as the center, spread violently in all directions!

It was not a spell, not an impact, but a tampering with the rules.

Beneath the rolling demonic clouds, streaks of crimson like blood vessels appeared out of thin air. They wove, spread, and outlined themselves in the sky, and in an instant, they formed a massive, incredibly complex, and evil array diagram covering the entire firmament!

At the center of the array was a slowly rotating vortex composed of countless souls wailing in pain.

[Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array], activate!

At that very moment, a brand new and startling UI interface popped up on all the players' retinas.

It was an energy bar located above the health bar, emitting an ominous purple light.

Next to the energy bar were several bone-chilling, blood-red characters.

[Life Essence]

[Warning: You have entered the range of the "Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array," and your "Life Essence" will continuously drain.]

[Warning: The rate of Essence loss will intensify based on the damage you take, the number of times you die, and your distance from the core of the Grand Array.]

[Warning: When "Life Essence" reaches zero, your character imprint will be completely refined by the Grand Array, and your character will be—permanently deleted!]

Permanently deleted!

These four words were like an invisible blade, tempered in millions of years of ice, instantly piercing the hearts of all the players, known as the "fourth calamity."

Dead silence.

Whether it was the World Channel or the Legion Channel, everything fell into a dead silence.

You could respawn if you fell to your death, you could respawn if you were hacked to death by bandits, and you could respawn if you were stabbed to death by the Flying Sword of the Chen Family Cultivators.

No matter how high the cost, it was just time and resources.

But what did "permanently deleted" mean?

It meant that this character, into which they had poured countless efforts, emotions, and even accumulated a mountain of debt, this vessel that allowed them to experience another "life," would be completely and cleanly wiped from this world!

Not even a single trace would be left!

"...Fuck."

Don't know who it was, but someone in the channel cursed the first word in a trembling voice.

Immediately following that was a rage like a volcanic eruption!

"Permanently deleted?! Has this damn developer gone crazy?!"

"Damn it! I just took out a loan to buy that magic robe! If my account is deleted, who's going to pay back the loan?!"

"Brothers, don't panic! This must be a scripted death! It's just to scare us!"

"Scare your mom! Didn't you see that bar in the top right corner dropping?!"

Panic and anger intertwined, turning the already oppressive battlefield into a pot of boiling water in an instant.

But right in the midst of this chaos, one figure, carrying a pickaxe, took the first step.

Charge to the End, facing the demonic might that was enough to crush the spirit, walked to the front of the line.

He didn't look back, but his voice reached everyone through the channel.

"What are you scared of! When have I ever been afraid of dying in a game?!"

"Before it was losing levels, now it's account deletion, is there a difference? Aren't we all just starting over!"

"If we let this bastard steal our home today, and the Old Ancestor is gone, even if we keep our accounts, what the hell is the use!"

"Divine Wind Battalion! Those who are afraid of dying, get out now! Those who aren't afraid of dying, charge with me!"

His words were crude and direct, yet they were like an adrenaline shot, stabbing fiercely into the restless hearts of all the players.

That's right.

If the home is gone, why keep the account?

If that Old Ancestor who was always thinking about switching to a golden coffin was gone, where would they go to accept quests?

Where would they go to burn incense and get buffs?

Where would they go to listen to him paint big pictures?

That dilapidated ancestral hall had long since, unknowingly, become the spiritual anchor for all of them.

"Pot Lid Army, fight to the death and do not retreat!" The voice of Immovable as a Mountain followed immediately after.

"Skillful Hands Mending, all life-skill players, go to the back mountain! Protect the old blacksmith and the NPCs! Even if you die, you must protect them!" Skillful Hands Mending screamed in the life-skill channel.

"Damn it! My fashion set isn't even complete yet! Whoever dares to delete my account, I'll fight them to the death!" The roar of Appearance is Justice carried a crying tone.

"Engineering Department! Give me everything you've got! If the last leg of the war puppet isn't installed within five minutes, I'll dismantle your legs!" In the temporary command post, Liver Emperor V87, his eyes bloodshot, roared at a group of equally crazy production-class players.

The will to fight, in the soil of despair, reignited in a twisted and crazy manner!

"Kill!"

Night Radiance in the sky seemed impatient with the clamor of the ants below.

He waved his hand lightly.

From the ink-black demonic clouds behind him, three hundred Black Demon Guards, clad in black heavy armor and wielding hideous demonic weapons, plummeted like three hundred meteorites!

From every Black Demon Guard, a suffocating Foundation Establishment Stage pressure radiated!

Three hundred streams of pressure gathered together, as if tearing the entire sky apart!

"Here it comes!"

Immovable as a Mountain's eyes split open in anger; he slammed a captured door panel into the mud and hunched half his body behind it.

"Hold steady!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three hundred Black Demon Guards, without a single wasted movement, raised their demonic weapons in unison while still in mid-air.

The next second, three hundred beams of pitch-black demonic light, concentrated to the extreme, converged into a world-destroying torrent, pouring down towards the ridiculous and pathetic defensive line of the players, composed of pot lids, door panels, and table legs!

There was no loud explosion.

Only the teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.

Wherever the torrent of demonic light passed, the earth was corroded, the air was dissolved, and everything was silently annihilated.

"Hold it!!!"

Immovable as a Mountain roared wildly. He could feel the door panel in his hands becoming charred and brittle at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The players beside him, one after another, didn't even have time to scream before they were swallowed by the black light and turned into ashes.

Their "Life Essence" bars were wiped out by a large chunk in that instant!

The defensive line was on the verge of collapse in the very first moment of contact!

And right at the very front of this torrent, the figure carrying the pickaxe did not dodge.

Charge to the End, facing an attack capable of killing him instantly a hundred times over, did not retreat but advanced, letting out an earth-shattering roar!

"Come on!!!"

He raised that tattered iron pickaxe high, used all his strength, and smashed it fiercely towards that pitch-black curtain of light!

He wasn't trying to block it.

He was just using his own way to throw his first punch at this high-and-mighty demon lord!

In the horrified gaze of all the players, the moment the pickaxe touched the demonic light, it turned into the most insignificant powder.

Immediately after, his arm, his body...

The figure of Charge to the End was completely swallowed by that pure darkness.

[World Announcement: "Charge to the End" has died, Life Essence decreased by 30%.]

The world seemed to go quiet for a moment.

That reckless fool who charged up first, was he just... gone?

He didn't even hold on for a second.

Despair once again shrouded everyone's hearts.

However, just as the Black Demon Guards crossed the cleared area and were about to step into the player defensive line to begin a one-sided slaughter...

A sudden change occurred!

Where Charge to the End had disappeared, beneath the scorched earth plowed by the demonic light, a blinding red light suddenly ignited!

Immediately after, the earth cracked open!

Dozens of talismans flickering with an eerie red glow shot up from the ground, forming a crude but deadly talisman array, instantly enveloping the dozen or so Black Demon Guards who were charging at the front!

"Boom—!!!"

It was an explosion!

An explosion so violent it tore the eardrums!

That was the most powerful offensive talisman that Charge to the End had exchanged for with all his remaining contribution points!

Before he charged up, he had already buried them all beneath his feet!

He wasn't attacking; he was using himself as the switch for the detonator, a human bomb!

The violent flames and lightning completely swallowed those dozen or so caught-off-guard Black Demon Guards.

Although it only made them falter and caused their protective demonic light to flicker, it didn't cause any substantial damage.

But this was already enough!

This brief pause bought the most precious second for Immovable as a Mountain!

"Flanks! 'Anti-Magic Flow'! Pour it for me!"

Following the roar of Immovable as a Mountain, dozens of players who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the defensive line rushed out. They had no weapons in their hands, only jars and pots filled with all sorts of disgusting things.

Lime powder, night soil, chili water, poisonous insects... everything they could think of, the filthiest and most low-down things, were all thrown at the Black Demon Guards at once!

Battles between cultivators emphasize strict rules and pure spiritual energy.

When have they ever seen such... unreasonable fighting tactics?!

The Black Demon Guards charging at the front instinctively activated their protective demonic light, only to find that although these mundane things couldn't break their defense, they greatly interfered with their vision and spiritual energy circulation!

"Now! 'Divine Wind Battalion'! Avenge the boss!"

From another direction, the vice-commander who had temporarily taken over command, leading the extremely frustrated Divine Wind Battalion players, rushed into the gap in the Black Demon Guards' formation like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, killing their way in fiercely!

The battle erupted instantly in the most tragic, chaotic, and unbelievable way!

High in the sky, Night Radiance's brow furrowed slightly for the first time.

He didn't care about the slight disarray of those dozen or so Black Demon Guards, nor did he care about the death throes of the ants below.

What he cared about was the look in the eyes of the ant that had just self-destructed, as it looked at him before dying.

It was not fear, not hatred.

It was a kind of... mockery.

As if saying: Look, your time has been wasted by me for another second.

This made him feel a trace of irritation stemming from his very marrow.

His fingertips caressing the moon soul stone applied slight pressure.

"Yue'er... these bugs are more annoying than I imagined."

He decided not to wait any longer.

He would take action himself, crush these bugs who didn't know life from death, and get the only thing he wanted.

He stood up slowly, and that world-destroying pressure suddenly surged tenfold!

And just at this moment, in the temporary command post, Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation suddenly raised his head and grabbed the arm of Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet beside him.

"Little Trumpet! Quick! Ask Chen Kang! Ask him quickly! Does the Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array need a 'core' to stabilize it! A physically existing core that is independent of the caster!"