Wrath of the Gluttonous Rat!

One Leaf Knows Autumn decisively chose the Cave Spider, which offered the highest returns, as their monster-grinding target after finding reliable teammates.

Although those Cave Spiders looked like trouble at first glance, estimated to be around level 10 or 20, he had already discovered that in this world of extremely high freedom, levels didn't mean everything, and the so-called attribute panels and health bars were just for reference! For example, although those Cave Spiders were formidable in combat, their intelligence wasn't very high.

Furthermore, they had a strong sense of territory, and even their own offspring would be eaten if they approached rashly.

While this meant they were extremely dangerous, it also meant that as long as players didn't venture too deep, they would likely only face one spider at a time.

And as long as they took down a Cave Spider, they would not only receive ten times the rewards of killing Slave Rats, but they could also wipe out the spider eggs near the web in one fell swoop! In addition, One Leaf Knows Autumn paid special attention to every task in the taskbar.

Clear Spider Nest was almost the only task that could provide contribution points without limit!

At the current leveling speed, they would soon reach the level 3 ceiling, and acquiring contribution points was the top priority in the current version!

Apart from One Leaf Knows Autumn and some other ambitious high-level players, the vast majority of players still chose the relatively "cute" Slave Rats.

First of all, skeletons were not on the Slave Rats' menu.

Faced with this group of Skeleton Soldiers whose intelligence was not inferior to humans, these Slave Rats were not only confused, but also didn't know how to bite.

Secondly, these Slave Rats not only had low health bars, but they could also drop equipment.

The only trouble was that their morale would often drop to zero, and they would scurry around, affecting the players' ability to cut off their tails.

Unfortunately, the players' levels were too low in the current version, and they didn't have any skills to mow down enemies effortlessly.

And the undead had their own fear aura, so it was indeed a headache to encounter such opponents with no will to resist...

The underground street of Thunder City.

Although this place also belonged to the Saint Siss Church's parish, it was one of the few places in Thunder City that the Holy Light couldn't reach.

Here were thieves selling stolen goods, pirates with bounties on their heads, black-hearted merchants lending money at exorbitant rates, and smugglers engaged in illegal transactions... Some even exaggeratedly joked that even the Demon Lord of hell would have to leave two kidneys behind before leaving.

There were even more exaggerated rumors that evil Outer God believers were hiding in the dark alleys...

In short, this was not a good place.

In the tavern next to the Thieves' Guild, the greasy oak table was shrouded in smoke.

Three men who didn't look like good people, whether in dress or appearance, were playing "Beat the Noble."

Of course, this couldn't really be beating nobles, it was just a card game, and it was said to have a history of a thousand years, and was once popular in the Ryan Kingdom's court.

Sometimes Jack couldn't help but wonder which king had such a heavy taste.

Did they enjoy being beaten?

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen that little Chris lately."

He was a member of the Black Snake Gang and had some business dealings with some of the Silver Scimitar's guys.

Especially Chris.

Although that woman was only a Black Iron-level thief, her kidnapping and extortion skills were quite something.

He happened to have a deal he wanted her to do, but the middleman couldn't contact that guy.

It wasn't just her.

The entire Silver Scimitar seemed to have disappeared, vanishing from Thunder City without a trace.

With his keen sense of smell, he couldn't help but suspect that these petty thieves had offended some big shot.

Like the Andes Family or something...

The man with the scar on his face grinned.

"Chris? That flat-chested broad? Someone saw her at the Sword and Broken Sword Pavilion yesterday, I think."

The man exhaling smoke threw a black king on the table, snatching the right to play from Jack's hand.

"The tavern next to the Adventurers' Guild? What's she doing there?"

"Who knows, fishing for rich guys?"

The man exhaling smoke paused his hand, thought for a moment, and said.

"Seems like she really hooked one. I heard someone saw her with a noble-looking man near the North Gate Station."

The man with the scar on his face laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha, which young master has such heavy tastes?"

"North Gate Station, huh? Thanks for the info." Throwing four fours on the table, Jack said with interest.

The man exhaling smoke indicated he couldn't beat it, and took the cigar from his mouth.

"What? Does it have to be her for that mission?"

"There aren't many nimble female thieves... although others could do it, I'm just used to working with familiar faces."

At this point, Jack paused for a moment.

"Besides, I'm a little curious about what she did."

The man with the scar on his face suddenly stopped smiling, and gave him a meaningful look.

"...Thunder City has been uneasy lately, you guys better keep a low profile."

Jack didn't care, and grinned nonchalantly.

"It's the commercial district that's uneasy, what does it have to do with our underground district."

In the remote northern suburbs of Thunder City, deep within the North Peak Mine, a fat giant rat sat on a pile of white bones.

His name was Gachi.

Until a few days ago, he was just a Slave Rat raised by the Demon Lord on the first floor of the Maze, but now he has become the leader of thousands of Slave Rats.

Perhaps—

Before long, he will be able to have his own clan, just like the ancestors of those great clans.

To achieve this great goal, he had to seize the time to hoard more fat.

At this moment, sitting on the throne of bones, he was surrounded by food stolen from the human farms.

Among them were not only the meat of pigs, cattle, and sheep, but also bread baked to a golden crisp and fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables.

Gachi, eating his fill, expanded in waistline and height at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a balloon filled with water.

Yet, miraculously, he didn't burst from stuffing himself, but instead gained even greater strength from his bulk.

This was one of the characteristics of the Ratfolk.

They could not only stuff themselves with food far exceeding their own weight when they ate with abandon, but also transform it into a part of themselves.

And besides their racial talent, there was also their faith.

Endless eating was precisely the sacrifice to please one of the Three Rat Gods—Gerlo, the "Gluttonous Rat"!

At this moment, Gachi didn't realize that, by following his instincts, he was actually performing a divine selection ritual called the "Gluttony Ritual" by accident. Although his posture was clumsy and ridiculous, he did indeed succeed in pleasing Gerlo, so much so that the latter bestowed upon him a better appetite and strength far exceeding that of ordinary Slave Rats! Watching their leader feast, the Slave Rats on the side were green with envy, wanting to rush up and eat meat, but they didn't dare to step forward presumptuously.

Earlier, an ignorant little rat had reached out its claws to the food, only to be grabbed by their leader and have its head bitten off, crunched and eaten.

Just as Gachi was enjoying his meal, a ragged Ratfolk suddenly ran in from the cave entrance, squealing shrilly.

"Your Majesty! Lord Gachi! Something terrible has happened!"

Gachi, chewing incessantly, let out a super-long burp and replied in a lazy voice.

"What is it? If it's adventurers, don't bother me..."

The rich smell wafted from the piles of bones all the way to the cave entrance, making the rats' mouths water and drip on the ground.

The ragged Ratfolk pressed his head tightly to the ground, screaming in a terrified voice.

"No! It's not adventurers! It's the Demon Lord!"

Demon Lord?! The moment he heard this word, Gachi was so frightened that his fat trembled, and the chicken leg in his hand fell to the ground.

"Demon Lord?!"

He screamed, trying to turn over and get up, but because he had eaten too much and was too fat, he almost caused an earthquake.

The Slave Rats serving on the left and right all squeaked and ran away. Seeing this, Gachi quickly reached out and grabbed them all back.

"Don't run! Get back here! Where can you run to! Are you going back to the Maze to feed the spiders? Or are you hoping the human farms will take you in? Only I can give you a place to stay!"

He roared, deterring those spineless traitors, then glared at the rat standing at the cave entrance, squeezing the vicious words out from between his teeth.

"You're lying! The Demon Lord is dead! We saw it with our own eyes! Otherwise... how dare those spiders occupy our nest!"

Just as he finished speaking, several Ratfolk carrying short guns and clubs stepped forward fiercely, ready to take down the little rat.

The skinny Ratfolk trembled, his head pressed tightly against the ground, and blood even rubbed out of the dark fur on his forehead.

"What I said is true! Your Majesty! The previous Demon Lord is indeed dead, we all saw it! But but but last night, a Demon Lord came back with a group of adventurers! And... he's a Necromancer!"

Gachi was stunned.

The Demon Lord came back with adventurers? What a joke?!

As for the Necromancer—

What could a few Skeleton Soldiers possibly do? Before he'd become like this from eating, even a single rat could take on ten! "Are you kidding me! Chop him up for me!"

Gachi roared, and the Slave Rats, unable to restrain themselves any longer, swarmed forward, chopping the screaming little rat into mincemeat, then gobbling it up with gurgling sounds.

Watching the Slave Rats tearing at their own kind, Gachi, sitting on the pile of bones, fell into thought.

A new Demon Lord…

It might actually be true.

In fact, he had been prepared for it. Sooner or later, Hell would send a new boss to clean up the mess, but he hadn't expected this parachuted-in boss to land on his territory.

He had already escaped from the Maze, did he have to flee to even more distant mountains? There wouldn't be enough food there at all, he didn't want to and simply couldn't leave the human city-states! But—

He couldn't let his underlings know about these things.

Looking at the rat-men who were still not satisfied, Gachi cleared his loud voice and shouted shrilly.

"You! Once you're full, get into the mine and find those human things!"

"This mine is our territory!"

"If they dare to come in, let them know how powerful we are!!!"

"Squeak—!"

The rat-men waved the stained knives, guns, and clubs in their hands, and under the encouragement of their leader, they let out a shrill battle cry.

Looking at the dense mass of servants, Gachi's previously uneasy mood finally settled down a bit.

Perhaps—

Things weren't so bad after all.

This Demon Lord might be much weaker than he imagined, otherwise he wouldn't have been lingering at the entrance of the Maze.

Even if he had to retreat ten thousand steps, it was still ten thousand against a few.

No matter how he calculated it, the advantage was in his hands!

(Thanks to "Seaside Stone Statue Waiting for a Time Machine" and other alliance leaders for the rewards!!!)