Endemic Plague Village

The truck couldn't go much further.

After passing through the city walls' checkpoint, there was still about five kilometers of quarantine zone, and the road here was in decent condition.

But once they left the quarantine zone, only an unusually bumpy, muddy road remained.

After driving another two kilometers, there was no road left for the car.

There were still over 10 kilometers to the Endemic Plague Village. The lush vegetation all around made Li Li, controlling his avatar, feel excited that he was finally about to showcase his skills.

This was his first time leaving the city, and he felt like everything was finally on the right track.

After clearing out the Endemic Plague Village, he planned to build a road here. Relying on the resources players produced from killing monsters, he would attract merchants from the city to trade at his stronghold.

With a trade caravan, he could utilize the vast resources of the Thirteen City Alliance to complete the construction of his stronghold, allowing players to resupply without returning to the city. Then, using the same model, he would gradually expand and establish new strongholds.

Once Broken Sword Valley was cleared, they could head to the Mist Forest outside the valley.

This was the plan: clear out strongholds, build roads, attract natives, establish cities, recruit players...

In this process, he would collect immense amounts of faith, gradually release more testing qualifications, allowing more players to join and creating a virtuous cycle.

Once he found a way for players to consistently reach Silver Rank, he would dare to release "testing qualifications" on a large scale.

That would be the day Glory Expedition OL would have its full public beta.

Li Li took a deep breath and gently nudged Aer.

Just as the players, who were being tossed around violently, poked their heads out from behind the cargo box, curious why the car had stopped, Aer got out of the passenger seat alone.

She walked to the front of the car, slightly bent her back, and suddenly clenched her fist forward. Her usually soft demeanor instantly became sharp and fierce.

The next moment, directly in front of where she clenched her fist, a distorted wind pressure formed.

The space 50 meters ahead of her twisted and compressed in an instant. Whether it was the towering ancient trees and massive rocks along the way or the annoying bushes and thorns, everything was crushed into fragments by this terrifying air pressure.

Red Falcon, peeking out from the back of the carriage, couldn't help but open her mouth wide.

As one of the unlucky ones forced to join the team, she had been suppressed by Aer with one hand just yesterday. She hadn't expected this Beast-Ear Race young lady to hide such terrifying power.

Was she Gold Rank? Or even stronger?

Was the world really going to be destroyed?

"It's Legendary Rank strength."

Li Yuan stood beside Red Falcon, stood on her tiptoes, and gently patted the girl's head, kindly explaining to the taller girl.

Aer was like a human bulldozer, clearing the path step by step.

Li Li, controlling his avatar, drove the truck slowly behind her.

In less than an hour, a "dirt road" capable of being driven on appeared between Iron Wall City and Endemic Plague Village.

Without considering wear and tear, this firmly packed dirt road was sufficient for large trucks to pass.

However, although the monsters along the way were also crushed into fragments by Aer.

The monsters killed by Aer did not turn into experience points; instead, they dissipated into the surrounding space and would "refresh" again after a few minutes.

This was why the Thirteen City Alliance had never expanded outwards.

Unless a powerhouse of Half-God Rank or higher personally intervened, they could not kill the corrupted monsters. All they could do was temporarily drive them away.

And for those who reached the "domain of gods," corruption awaited them. As long as they dared to leave the God Banning Barrier, they would soon become maddened Bosses.

Li Li didn't know how many lingering Gods were hidden within the Thirteen City Alliance.

But any discerning person could see that players who could completely kill monsters were more valuable than those existing Gods.

After all, this was the power of the Creator God, the effect called Divine Legion.

What would the Alliance do when they discovered the players' characteristics?

Woo them, buy them off, suppress them, or use unexpected methods?

Li Li had no idea.

He knew he was just a makeshift operation. He had no time, no channels, and no interest in understanding the composition, attitudes, and methods of various factions.

With his power, he only needed to deal with problems as they arose.

Parking the truck outside the Endemic Plague Village, Li Li glanced back at the dirt road.

If left unattended, this road would be covered by new vegetation within a few weeks.

To keep the road existing, it needed to be maintained by someone.

If possible, Li Li even wanted to pour a layer of concrete on it.

But regardless of the plan, he first had to clear out the monsters in the Endemic Plague Village.

"Saintess, Your Excellency, how should we clear the corruption here?"

Li Li, controlling a Beast-Ear Race player avatar of the panda subspecies, bowed to Aer, acting as the players' spokesperson.

Aer stared at Li Li for a long time before silently turning around, shifting her attention to the village built at the entrance of the valley.

She slowly walked to the village entrance, then lowered her body, adopted a horse stance, and suddenly threw a punch.

"Haa!!!"

In an instant, a powerful stream of air erupted from her fist, charging towards the village ahead, which was filled with scattered dark green poisonous gas. It blew all living creatures within the village into the air.

"Hmph!!!"

The girl retracted her fist. The dozens of monsters flying in mid-air were like iron filings encountering a magnet, rapidly flying towards the direction of her fist.

Bang, bang, bang...

These monsters fell to the ground, piling up like sliced tofu. Even the more experienced players were so shocked they couldn't speak.

In their live streams, the comments were also furiously discussing.

"What class is this skill from?"

"Judging by the visual effect, it looks like a concussive punch that deals non-lethal damage."

"Could it be the [Spatial Magician] coming out in the first week? A new class? But this doesn't look like magic either?"

"That punch has at least 100 levels of power. Why haven't we seen this NPC in the first week?"

These players, frozen in place, had completely forgotten what they were supposed to be doing.

Li Li had no choice but to control his avatar, raise his spear, and charge forward, stabbing at the crippled [Rat-ified Ghouls].

Only then did everyone react and start attacking, vying to claim the weakened monsters that had been crowd-controlled.

[You have killed "Rat-ified Ghoul", rewarded with 200 experience points.]

The system interface displayed the kill notification, something that hadn't existed in previous versions.

Amulet Owl continued to thrust his spear, introducing to the viewers in the live stream:

"Currently, only 4-player parties are open. Experience will be divided equally after killing monsters, with an additional 15% party experience bonus for each person."

"Seize this opportunity. You might not encounter such a free experience welfare mission again in the future."

As he spoke, the fallen [Rat-ified Ghouls] exploded, splitting into countless [Ghoul Rats] the size of arms.

But before these little rats could even move, they were pinned to the ground by a powerful aura.

After these little rats died, they exploded like bombs, releasing a large area of poisonous gas. However, the wind pressure scattered over the "monster pile" blew the poisonous gas away the moment it appeared.

[Red Falcon] had already transformed into her Magical Girl form, but she was asked by her senior not to attack.

Her mind was completely jumbled.

This scene of slaughtering monsters like an assembly line had exceeded her understanding, causing her to overlook something she shouldn't have.

After these monsters died, their corpses dissipated into countless rays of light. Some of them merged into the bodies of those strange creatures, some dissipated into the world, and some condensed into something.

Under this somewhat absurd slaughter, this plague-ridden village was slowly, slowly being purified.