8: Chapter 8: A Siege of Beasts, Divine Armor Stands Guard

Lin Chen stood on the roof of the City Lord's Manor, his hand resting on the god-slaying blade as he stared at Qingfeng City, which was enveloped in a golden pillar of light.

Players were running back and forth inside and outside the city walls carrying wood and ore, the sound of craftsmen's hammers ringing through the air.

"System Notification: Qingfeng City upgrade progress 10%, unlocked Temporary Defense Tower ×4, can be deployed at the four corners of the city wall."

With a wave of Lin Chen's hand, four blueprints for defense towers glowing with blue light appeared directly on the ground at the four corners of the wall.

"Who knows how to build defense towers? Deploy them immediately!" Lin Chen shouted toward the ground below.

"I'll do it! I'm a max-level builder!" A player wearing glasses rushed over with his hand raised. "I have the materials in my bag, I can build them in seconds!"

"System Notification: Player [Infrastructure Maniac] has successfully deployed a defense tower, unlocking the skill [Lightning Cannon]. Damage: 5,000/shot, Cooldown: 5 seconds."

"Sweet! This tower fights better than I do!" Infrastructure Maniac patted the metal casing of the defense tower.

"Lord Big Shot, there's movement outside the western wall!" A patrolling player's shout suddenly exploded across the World Channel.

Lin Chen leaped down from the roof, the stone slabs beneath his feet trembling upon impact. He gripped the god-slaying blade and headed straight for the western wall.

The players ran after him, and the channel instantly exploded with activity.

"No way? Causing trouble right after an upgrade? Devs, you really don't let people rest!"

"I just finished donating gold, and now they're delivering gear? Then I won't be polite!"

Lin Chen rushed onto the western wall and looked out; in the forest to the west, a dense beast tide was surging toward them.

Wild boars, gray wolves, giant bears, and several Rock Demons standing thirty feet tall were led by a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox with glowing red eyes. Its level displayed: Level 55, Lord-tier!

"System Notification: Triggered Territory Defense Battle [Siege of a Hundred Beasts]. Victory condition: Hold out for 24 hours until the Qingfeng City upgrade is complete; Failure condition: The city wall is breached or Lin Chen dies."

"System Notification: Reward Preview: Epic-tier Territory Core, God-tier Construction Blueprint ×1, All-Server Player Attribute Points +1."

A terrifying pressure washed over them as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox looked up and let out a shrill roar at Qingfeng City.

"Charge!"

The beast tide was like a flood, instantly breaking through the forest edge and pouncing toward the western wall.

"Defense towers, fire!" Lin Chen roared.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The four defense towers fired simultaneously, sending four lightning bolts into the beast tide and instantly blowing away a swathe of gray wolves.

"-5,000! -5,000! -5,000!..."

Damage numbers floated up in clusters.

"Mage group, Ice Wall! Block the Rock Demons in the front row!" Lin Chen continued to command.

"Roger that!"

Dozens of mages raised their hands at once, and a thick wall of ice appeared ten meters outside the city wall.

The Rock Demons crashed into the ice wall with dull, heavy thuds, and the ice was instantly covered in cracks.

"Shield Warriors, push forward! Archers, focus fire on the Rock Demons' eyes!"

"Healers, don't stop! The Shield Warriors' health bars are dropping fast!"

The players each performed their roles, and the battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

Lin Chen's gaze turned cold; he had his eyes on that Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

This thing was the core of the beast tide; if he killed it, the tide would surely fall into chaos.

"You guys hold the wall; I'm going to kill the boss!" Lin Chen shouted to the players around him.

"Lord Big Shot, be careful! That fox is a Level 55 Lord, five levels higher than Mar!" a healer girl reminded him urgently.

"Don't worry."

Lin Chen exerted force through his feet and leaped off the wall, the god-slaying blade tracing a red arc in mid-air.

"[Thrust]!"

The long blade stabbed straight toward the center of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's brow.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox whipped its tails, and its nine furry tails lashed out toward Lin Chen like steel whips.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Lin Chen swung his blade to parry, forced back several steps by the immense strength of the tails.

"-30,000!"

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has triggered the [god-slaying blade]'s life-steal effect, restoring 3,000 HP."

"Not bad." Lin Chen licked the corner of his mouth, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.

He activated his talent [Defense Break], and the effect that ignored 99% of defense once again enveloped the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"[Sweep]!"

The long blade swept across, cutting directly into one of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's tails.

"-150,000!"

Red critical hit numbers floated up, and one of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's tails was severed.

"Awoo!"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox let out a shrill scream, its gaze becoming even more ferocious.

It opened its mouth and spat out a burst of purple demon fire toward Lin Chen.

"[Holy Light Shield]!"

A golden shield suddenly appeared in front of Lin Chen, cast remotely by the healer girl.

"Bang!"

The shield shattered, and the power of the demon fire was mostly neutralized, leaving Lin Chen with only minor injuries.

"-10,000!"

"Thanks!" Lin Chen shouted toward the wall.

"Lord Big Shot, kill it quickly! My mana bar is almost empty!" the healer girl shouted.

Lin Chen's figure flickered as he circled behind the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox like a ghost, the god-slaying blade stabbing straight into its heart.

"-200,000!"

Another critical hit.

Just then, a system notification suddenly rang out.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen killed 100 ordinary monsters, cumulative experience has reached the threshold, level up! Current Level: 51!"

"System Notification: Obtained 5 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point!"

Lin Chen directly added all 5 attribute points to Strength and put the skill point into [God-Slaying Slash], reducing the cooldown from 60 seconds to 45 seconds.

"Sweet! Level 51!"

He raised his hand and slashed, unleashing [God-Slaying Slash] once more as a golden blade qi swept toward the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"-800,000!"

The massive damage number instantly took out a third of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's health.

The players instantly exploded with excitement.

"Holy crap! 800,000 damage! This fox won't last three hits!"

"Lord Big Shot is the GOAT! Is this the power of god-tier gear?"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was completely enraged; it waved its nine tails simultaneously, firing countless wind blades at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's feet didn't stop as he wove through the wind blades, swinging the god-slaying blade repeatedly, each strike accurately hitting the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's vitals.

"-120,000!"

"-130,000!"

"-140,000!"

Damage numbers kept flooding the screen.

On the city wall, the players were fighting with even more vigor.

"Brothers, Lord Big Shot is going on a killing spree, let's not hold him back!"

"Reload the defense towers! Keep blasting!"

"Fill the gaps with Ice Walls! Don't let the Rock Demons charge through!"

Just then, an accident happened.

A loud bang came from the eastern wall, followed by the screams of players.

"Oh no! The eastern wall has been smashed open by the Rock Demons!"

"The beast tide is rushing in! Support quickly!"

Lin Chen frowned.

He looked back toward the east; a dense mass of monsters had already rushed into the city.

"Fox, I owe you a slash!"

Lin Chen turned and rushed toward the eastern wall.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox tried to pursue but was tightly held back by several max-level warriors.

"Want to leave? You'll have to get past us first!"

"[Taunt]!"

The warriors activated Taunt, firmly holding the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's aggro.

Lin Chen sprinted all the way and rushed through the East Gate.

The scene before him was one of utter chaos.

Players and monsters were tangled in a chaotic melee, the ground was covered in corpses, and the light from the respawn point almost never stopped.

"I'm tired of running back from the respawn point; I just got up and was sent flying by a wild boar!" a player wailed in the channel.

"These Rock Demons are too tanky! Five of us are attacking one, and we've only taken half a health bar!" another player complained.

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold; he raised the god-slaying blade and slashed at the foremost Rock Demon.

"[God-Slaying Slash]!"

The golden blade qi fell, and the Rock Demon's body was instantly split in two.

"-1,000,000!"

Instant kill!

The surrounding players and monsters all came to a halt.

Three seconds later, the players erupted in a thunderous cheer.

"Lord Big Shot is here!"

"Charge! Follow Lord Big Shot and kill the monsters!"

Lin Chen waved his long blade: "Everyone, follow me and kill! Drive the monsters out of the city!"

"Roger that!"

The players' morale soared, and they followed Lin Chen into the mob of monsters.

With every swing of the god-slaying blade, hundreds of monsters' lives were taken, and the life-steal effect kept Lin Chen's health at its maximum.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen killed 1 Lord-tier monster, cumulative experience has reached the threshold, level up! Current Level: 52!"

"System Notification: Obtained 5 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point!"

Lin Chen added his attribute points to Agility, increasing his speed once more, and put the skill point into [Defense Break], increasing its duration to 30 seconds.

He was like a killing machine, rampaging through the monster mob with no one able to stop him.

In just ten short minutes, the monsters that had rushed into the city were cleared out completely.

The gap in the eastern wall was also temporarily blocked by players using wood and ore.

"System Notification: East Gate crisis resolved. Territory Defense Battle progress: 20%."

Lin Chen turned and rushed toward the western wall again.

Over there, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had already broken free from the warriors' entanglement and was pouncing toward the wall.

"Fox, your time is up!"

Lin Chen leaped into the air, raising the god-slaying blade high and gathering all his strength.

"[God-Slaying Slash]!"

The golden blade qi, like a dragon emerging from the sea, slashed toward the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"-900,000!"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's health bar instantly hit rock bottom.

A hint of fear flashed in its eyes as it tried to flee, but it was pierced through the brow by Lin Chen's blade.

"-100,000!"

The final blow completely ended its life.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen killed the Level 55 Lord [Nine-Tailed Demon Fox · Tamamo]. The beast tide is in chaos; all monsters' attack power is reduced by 30%, and defense is reduced by 30%."

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's corpse vanished, and a pile of shining gear appeared on the ground, with a golden fox-fur cloak being particularly dazzling.

"Loot dropped! Loot dropped!"

Players rushed over like crazy, wanting to snatch the gear.

"Nobody move!" Lin Chen shouted.

A terrifying pressure washed over them, and the players instantly stopped in their tracks.

Lin Chen stepped forward and picked up the fox-fur cloak.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has obtained the Epic-tier armor [nine-tailed heavenly fox cloak], unique across the entire server!"

[nine-tailed heavenly fox cloak]

Level: 52

Quality: Epic

Defense: +3,000

Effect 1: Wind Rider, movement speed increased by 50%, capable of short-distance flight

Effect 2: Demon Fox Protection, 30% chance to trigger an invincible shield for 1 second when attacked

Effect 3: Unique, only one in the entire server, cannot be dropped, cannot be traded

Lin Chen donned the cloak and, with a flash of his figure, flew directly onto the city wall.

He looked down at the chaotic beast tide and said calmly, "Everyone, focus fire! The beast tide won't last much longer!"

The players instantly exploded.

"Lord Big Shot's cloak is so cool! He can even fly!"

"Charge with Lord Big Shot! We must defend Qingfeng City today!"

Lin Chen was the first to dive down, swinging the god-slaying blade through the monster mob, the Wind Rider effect of the nine-tailed heavenly fox cloak making his speed incredibly fast.

The players followed close behind, their skills falling on the monsters like raindrops.

The defense towers' Lightning Cannons were also constantly firing.

The number of beasts decreased at a visible rate.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen killed 500 monsters, cumulative experience has reached the threshold, level up! Current Level: 53!"

"System Notification: Obtained 5 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point!"

Lin Chen added his attribute points to Stamina, increasing his maximum HP, and put the skill point into [God-Slaying Slash], increasing its power by 20%.

Time passed minute by minute, and Qingfeng City's upgrade progress continued to rise.

"System Notification: Qingfeng City upgrade progress 50%, unlocked Permanent Defense Tower ×8, unlocked Territory Skill [Holy Light Baptism], can restore all players' HP, Cooldown: 10 minutes."

"System Notification: Territory Skill [Holy Light Baptism] activated!"

A golden light enveloped the entirety of Qingfeng City.

All players' health was instantly fully restored.

"Sweet! This skill was so timely! I was just about to die!"

"Lord Big Shot is awesome! This Territory Skill is just invincible!"

As time went on, the number of beasts grew smaller and smaller, until only a few Rock Demons and giant bears remained.

Lin Chen killed them one by one.

"System Notification: Beast tide cleared. Territory Defense Battle victory!"

"System Notification: Qingfeng City upgrade progress 100%. Successfully upgraded to [Qingfeng Royal City]!"

"System Notification: Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to player Lin Chen. His territory [Qingfeng City] has successfully upgraded to the first Royal City in the Myriad Heavens, unlocking Royal City exclusive functions. All players on the server receive: Gold ×50,000, Experience ×500,000!"

The players instantly exploded.

"The first Royal City in the Myriad Heavens! Lord Big Shot is too fierce!"

"Following Lord Big Shot really pays off! This reward just leveled me up twice!"

Lin Chen stood on the wall of the Royal City, wearing the nine-tailed heavenly fox cloak and holding the god-slaying blade as he looked down at the cheering players.

He said calmly: "Qingfeng Royal City is officially established! From this day forward, this will be our foundation in the Myriad Heavens!"

"Long live Lord Big Shot!"

"Long live Qingfeng Royal City!"

The cheers echoed through the skies.

Just then, a system notification rang out once more.

"System Notification: Congratulations to player Lin Chen for completing the achievement [First City Lord of the Myriad Heavens]. Reward: God-tier Talent [Myriad Heavens Overlord], Royal City Expansion Card ×1, Exclusive Royal City Guard ×100!"

[Myriad Heavens Overlord]: A leadership talent. All units under your command (players, NPCs, armies) have their attack power increased by 50%, defense increased by 50%, and loyalty locked at 100%.

Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

A God-tier talent!

This talent was practically tailor-made for him.

He opened his system inventory and looked at the Royal City Expansion Card and the summoning card for the Exclusive Royal City Guard, a smile appearing on his face.

Having established a firm foothold in the Myriad Heavens, he had already taken a solid step forward.

But he knew this wasn't enough.

The words left by the man in black were constantly echoing in his ears.

The waters of the Myriad Heavens were indeed deep.

He had to become stronger to protect his territory and the people around him.

Lin Chen looked up toward the distant sky.

There, an icy gaze seemed to be watching him.

He gripped the god-slaying blade tightly and thought to himself: "No matter who you are, the next time we meet, I will make you pay the price!"

Just then, a player's shout suddenly came through.

"Lord Big Shot! A group of people has arrived at the Royal City gates, saying they are Lords of other territories and want to visit you!"

Lin Chen's gaze turned cold.

Lords from other territories?

They arrived at just the right time.

He wanted to see whether these people were friends or foes.

Lin Chen leaped into the air and flew toward the Royal City gates.

A new game of chess was about to begin.