55: Chapter 55 Expanding Territory

The Ancestor's resonant voice still echoed over the ruins of the ancestral hall, turning into an uncontrollable tidal wave in the hearts of the players.

After that brief dead silence came a response like a volcanic eruption.

"The Immortal Bastion!!"

No one knew who roared it first, but it instantly ignited the entire channel.

"Damn, I'm fired up! This is what you call a fucking sense of epicness!"

"Say no more, let's do this! No one's stopping me today! I, Liver Emperor V87, am going to build a cyberpunk-style High Heaven Palace for the Ancestor on these ruins!"

"Don't leave, you in front, count me in! I, Infrastructure Maniac, have already drawn up the blueprints; I just need the brothers to put their lives on the line!"

Amidst their boiling shouts, a streak of dark-golden light shot up from the ancestral tablets into the sky, unfolding a vast quest scroll across the retinas of all players.

[Epic World Event (Phase 4): New Frontier Expansion Decree]

[Quest Background: The rift of the God Prison has appeared, and the turbulent waves of the apocalypse are brewing. As the first line of defense against the Old Days, you must transform the scorched earth left behind after Demon Sovereign Night Radiance's defeat into a bastion that will never fall. This place is your trial ground and the cradle of civilization.]

[Main Quest 1: Expanding the Territory]

- Objective: Enter the "Scar of the Fallen Star" (formerly the Demon Realm) as a guild/legion unit, clear out the remaining demonic creatures, and establish outposts.

For every outpost established that reaches the "Fortified" level, all participants will receive massive Contribution Points and "Pioneer" Reputation.

[Main Quest 2: The Living Territory]

- Objective: Explore the ecological mutations of the "Scar of the Fallen Star," collect and analyze data on the newly appearing "Mutated Demonic Creatures."

Each high-value analysis report submitted will unlock a new branch of the Family Tech Tree.

[Main Quest 3: Foundation of the Great Wall]

- Objective: Establish three fortress-level cities in the core area of the "Scar of the Fallen Star."

This quest is a server-level milestone; upon completion, the new [Legion War] and [Cross-Server Battlefield] systems will be unlocked.

[Warning: The Scar of the Fallen Star has been tainted by unknown forces; the territory itself possesses high uncertainty and growth potential. Death penalty increased by 50%. Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren, please act with caution and strive to be the first!]

Every word on the quest scroll was like boiling oil poured into the players' already burning passion.

"Holy shit! Death penalty increased by fifty percent! The dog planners really aren't acting like humans!"

"Fear what?! The rewards have doubled too! Charge! The first outpost must belong to our 'Divine Wind Battalion'!"

Charge to the End raised his arms and gave a shout, and hundreds of red-eyed PVP fanatics instantly gathered behind him.

Without any extra words, he pointed his long blade at the scorched earth shrouded in thin demonic energy and charged out, leading the way.

"Divine Wind Battalion! Charge with me!"

"Brothers of the Pot Lid Army, keep up! Protect our squishies!" A coarse voice rang out; it was the new Legion Commander of the "Pot Lid Army," "Iron Turtle."

He held a heavy door-panel shield in one hand and was actually carrying a giant iron pot lid in the other. Behind him followed a group of "tank" players similarly equipped in a mismatched fashion, forming a mobile Great Wall of Steel that closely followed the Divine Wind Battalion.

Chen Kang was completely numb.

Standing beside Little Trumpet, he watched this group of "madmen" who were immersed in the epic plot one second and transformed into a war machine with clear divisions of labor and goals the next, launching a suicidal charge toward that demon-tainted land that made even a local cultivator like him feel palpitations.

"They... they're just charging over like that?" Chen Kang's voice carried a hint of trembling. "That land was tainted by the Demon Sovereign's Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array for months; it has long since turned into demonic soil. If an ordinary living being steps in, their mind will be eroded by demonic energy within half an hour, turning them into a walking corpse that knows only slaughter."

"Oh, that. It's fine," Little Trumpet said without looking back while rapidly operating her recording interface. "We have the Ancestor's Incense buff protecting us, giving us +30% Demonic Energy Immunity. Besides, we were already a bunch of walking corpses who only know slaughter; the demonic energy at most just gives us a Berserk state."

Chen Kang: "..."

He felt his worldview of immortal cultivation being repeatedly rubbed into the ground by these people until not even crumbs remained.

Charge to the End was extremely fast; he was the first player to step into the "Scar of the Fallen Star."

The ground beneath his feet gave off a strange softness, and the air was filled with a mixture of sulfur and rot.

Within his field of vision, everything was deathly silent, with only charred tree trunks stretching toward the gray sky like ghost claws.

"Stay alert! Spread out the formation!" Charge to the End growled in the team channel.

Although he was reckless, he wasn't stupid.

Having experienced the bloody battle with the Demon Sovereign's army, he knew better than anyone that the price of underestimating the enemy was being sent back to the ancestral hall to wait out a respawn timer.

Soon, a lone demonic creature appeared ahead.

It was a "Rotten Bone Hound," the most common mob under the Demon Sovereign, with the strength of the early Qi Refining stage, agile movements, and poisonous claws and teeth.

In the previous war, players had already figured out over a dozen efficient ways to kill them.

"I'll take it!" A swordsman player from the Divine Wind Battalion volunteered. He slid forward, his long sword performing a flourish—the standard "Wind Breaking Slash" used to interrupt a Rotten Bone Hound's pounce.

This was experience summarized from thousands of battles; the moment the sword was struck, it would perfectly catch the hound right before it leaped.

However—

A bizarre scene occurred.

That Rotten Bone Hound actually moved first to pre-empt the strike. At the very moment the swordsman exerted force with his wrist, it didn't pounce forward; instead, it suddenly shifted half a step to the left.

It was that half-step that caused the sharp "Wind Breaking Slash" to barely graze its fur, striking nothing but air.

The swordsman was stunned; his old momentum was spent while new strength had yet to be generated, leaving a massive opening.

"Roar!"

The Rotten Bone Hound let out a low growl and bit back, its timing and angle as tricky as a battle-hardened assassin's!

"Watch out!"

Charge to the End's pupils constricted. It was too late for his long blade to move in for defense; he could only watch helplessly as the swordsman's throat was bitten through in one go.

A white light flashed, and the swordsman turned into a stream of data, returning to the city to resurrect.

The entire vanguard of the Divine Wind Battalion fell silent for a moment.

"What's the situation?!"

"Did Old Wang mess up? That shouldn't be; his proficiency with Wind Breaking Slash is top three in the whole battalion!"

"No! It's that dog! It... it seemed to predict Old Wang's attack!"

Charge to the End stared fixedly at the Rotten Bone Hound that had already resumed its stance, the shock in his heart beyond measure.

It hadn't dodged based on speed, nor was it a coincidence.

It was a kind of... evasion filled with "déjà vu," as if it had already seen through your next move.

"Go together! Kill it!"

After the brief shock came a raging fire of anger.

The players of the Divine Wind Battalion swarmed forward, and the hound was instantly submerged in a flurry of blades and swords.

Though the Rotten Bone Hound was strange, its strength was low after all. Under the siege of dozens of people, it didn't even last three seconds before turning into a wisp of black smoke, dropping a few copper coins and a blackened bone.

But the ease was gone from everyone's faces.

"Push forward another five hundred meters, scouts go first!" Charge to the End's voice became incredibly solemn.

Things were starting to get weird.

The team continued forward, and the strange occurrences they encountered only grew more frequent.

They met a small squad of "Demonized Goblins." These little things, which used to only scream and throw rocks, actually knew how to use the terrain this time, hiding behind charred rocks and waiting for players to get close before launching an ambush.

They also encountered a "Giant Strength Demon Ape." This monster, known for its strength, actually knew to prioritize attacking the healers in the group during the battle.

These behaviors had completely exceeded the scope of "Monster AI."

They... seemed to be learning.

After paying the price of over a dozen lives, the Divine Wind Battalion finally reached the first quest objective—an abandoned demon altar.

And entrenched here was a mini-boss.

"Abyssal Gazer."

A disgusting demonic creature shaped like a giant eyeball with dozens of tentacles, skilled in mental shocks and multi-angled energy rays.

"Standard procedure!" Charge to the End roared. "Pot Lid Army, hold the mental shocks from the front! Everyone else, prioritize cutting off its tentacles and interrupting the ray attacks! On my command, focus fire!"

"Copy that!" Iron Turtle roared, leading his "Pot Lid Army" forward, as door-panel shields formed a solid line of defense in front of them.

Hum—

An invisible mental shockwave emitted from the Abyssal Gazer's single eye.

The players of the Pot Lid Army shuddered, and negative statuses like "Stunned" and "Confused" popped up over their heads in unison.

"Now! Go!" Charge to the End seized the opportunity and led his men in a charge.

However, at the very moment they were about to get close, all of the Abyssal Gazer's tentacles did not fire energy rays randomly as they used to. Instead, they all pointed in one direction—the very center of the Pot Lid Army's defense line, where Iron Turtle was!

Dozens of dark-purple energy rays instantly merged into one, like a destructive light spear, accurately striking Iron Turtle's door-panel shield.

BOOM!!!

The loud explosion was deafening.

Iron Turtle, along with his shield, was sent flying by this force that far exceeded his limit of endurance, turning into a white light while still in mid-air.

With his death, a massive gap suddenly appeared in the Pot Lid Army's defense line.

"Oh no!" Charge to the End felt his soul leave his body.

The next second, the Abyssal Gazer's mental shock descended again.

Without the protection of the shield wall, the Divine Wind Battalion players charging in front fell like wheat being mown down, falling into stuns in large patches.

Following that was the merciless baptism of death rays.

White lights lit up one after another.

In just thirty seconds, the vanguard brought by Charge to the End suffered over seventy percent casualties.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!" he roared, his eyes nearly splitting. He personally stayed behind to cover the retreat, tanking two rays and being beaten down to a sliver of health before escaping the altar's range in a pathetic state.

The battle ended in a crushing defeat in an unprecedented manner.

[World Channel]

Charge to the End: "Don't fucking rush in anymore! There's something wrong with the mobs in the Scar of the Fallen Star! A big problem! They cooperate, they focus fire, and they exploit the weaknesses in our tactics!"

This bloody message of his acted like an alarm bell, waking up all the over-excited players.

The forums were even more of a mess.

Battle videos recorded by different players were uploaded; from the Rotten Bone Hound's strange footwork to the Abyssal Gazer's precise focus fire, the evidence was conclusive.

"Holy shit, has the AI evolved? Has it attained sentience?"

"I encountered it too! We used Fire Wall to deal with a group of 'Corpse Vines,' and as a result, the next batch of Corpse Vines we met actually rolled on the ground to get wet before charging through!"

"This isn't AI anymore; this is a fucking real-person sparring partner, isn't it?!"

Amidst the countless chaotic discussions, a post signed by "Outlaw Zhang San" was quickly pushed to the front page.

The title of the post was simple: "Preliminary Hypothesis Regarding the 'Living Territory': We Might Be Training Our Own Enemies."

The content was even more concise and clear, yet it made everyone who saw it feel a chill rise from their spine.

"Everyone, stop the meaningless discussions about 'AI sentience.' This is not a simple AI upgrade; this is a dynamic, learning-based world rule based on our player behavior data."

"Every attack we make, every cooperation, every successful tactic will be recorded and analyzed by this 'living' land, and then fed back to the demonic creatures here."

"The more we fight, the smarter they become and the more they can target us."

"Simply put, we aren't pioneering. We are using our lives to act as 'sparring partners' for this land, feeding an enemy that understands us best and can counter us most effectively."

"So, congratulations everyone. We are personally forging that Immortal Bastion to resist the apocalypse."

"At the same time, we are also training the most terrifying besiegers for this bastion."

At the end of the post, there was no summary, only a screenshot.

It was a scene Charge to the End had accidentally glimpsed while fleeing in a pathetic state.

Deep in the shadows of the altar, a new demonic creature was slowly taking shape.

It had the thick arms of a Demon Ape, the cunning eyes of a Goblin, its body was covered in a Corpse Vine-like cuticle, and its core was a slowly opening single eye—exactly like that of the "Abyssal Gazer."

It looked like a crude stitch-monster.

A monster... hand-crafted and "created" by the players.