Night Watch General, Awaiting the Forbidden

With <Li Yèlái>'s decapitation of the Zhelan <King>, the Zhelan King's Banner crashed to the ground.

All the <Prairie Cavalry> scattered across the upper-level district instantly decayed, turning into flying ash.

At the same time, in a hidden room within <Border City No. 3>.

A plain-looking middle-aged man in a suit, holding a riding crop, suddenly opened his eyes in a daze. The Zhelan <King> was dead?

This wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, the Zhelan Iron Cavalry had faced handlers and the <Iron Guard>. Being killed was normal.

But why... was there a feedback of extreme fear?

"What did the Zhelan <King> encounter? Did the opponent use some terrifying <Forbidden Item> to kill him?"

The man in the suit frowned, lost in thought, and finally gave up his investigation.

This mission was undertaken by several <Ark> chosen ones. His role was only to activate God's Whip, summoning the cavalry armies of the <King> banners suppressed in various branches, thereby delaying the forces and attention of each branch.

Anything else was outside his plan.

"Although the Zhelan <King> is dead, he completed the task I gave him, releasing enough <Forbidden Items>. The rest is beyond my control." The man in the suit slightly pulled back the room's closed curtains, peeking at the chaos outside.

With the phantom band's songs, not only was the concert venue like hell, but even the broadcast songs carried weakened <Void Realm> power to varying degrees.

A small portion of the listeners' psionic potential would be forcibly awakened.

And this small portion, given <Giant City>'s population base, was a large number.

As a result, the outside world was already in chaos. The <Security Bureau>, the city defense forces, and handlers from major branches were almost all deployed.

But the number of affected people was too large; they could only suppress them step by step.

And the frenzied, uncontrolled people's emitted psionic energy was being quietly gathered.

Once the gathered psionic energy exceeded a certain critical point, a powerful <Void Realm> creature would descend upon <Border City No. 3>.

That would be the final chapter of the Song of Annihilation!

Under such circumstances, if the <Mad King> could still act, he wouldn't stand idly by.

Of course, there was another way to stop this action: kill the crowds providing the psionic energy.

But the handlers seemed to have no such intention. Such misplaced kindness!

Did they want to face that <Void Realm> creature?

The man in the suit drew the curtains shut and said softly, "Could it be that you are truly too old to fight anymore? What a great pity. Even the <Ark> chosen ones deeply admired your power. An aging hero..."

Meanwhile, <Li Yèlái> grabbed the Zhelan King's Banner and felt his speed increase slightly.

This was the effect of the Zhelan King's Banner. It was somewhat of a chicken rib, so to speak.

After all, this Zhelan King's Banner was not small and not light.

Carrying this thing to gain a little speed seemed to have little practical use.

<Li Yèlái> rolled up the Zhelan King's Banner and prepared to hand it over to <Cheese> and Shali, who were rushing over.

After the recent fierce battle, <Li Yèlái> was truly somewhat exhausted.

He first cut through the cavalry formation with the <Hegemon Facial Mask>, then was kited by the Zhelan Iron Cavalry's archery.

Later, he activated the <Champion Marquis Facial Mask> to break through the formation, and then pursued the Zhelan <King>.

Although he had the <Heart of Slaughter>, his strength seemed inexhaustible.

But after this series of battles, his psionic energy was almost depleted.

A soul-deep exhaustion made him want to fall asleep immediately.

"No!" <Li Yèlái> suddenly looked down at his bare upper body. The <Heart of Slaughter> was still beating.

"How long have I been wearing this?"

It was only now that <Li Yèlái> started to worry about this. It seemed he had been wearing it for quite a while. Could he have been influenced by the desire for slaughter?

<Cheese>, who had rushed over, quickly said, "It's been over an hour and a half. Take it off quickly!"

As she spoke, <Cheese>'s expression changed. She seemed to see something strange on <Li Yèlái> and immediately said, "Word Skill: Exploding Flame!"

"Holy crap, attacking me directly? No! I can still be saved."

No, there was something behind him!

<Li Yèlái> reacted with lightning speed, grabbing <Cheese>'s arm and speaking almost immediately after.

"<Mountain>!"

In an instant, an armored warrior appeared, raising a shield wall that protected <Li Yèlái> and <Cheese>.

Simultaneously, an explosion sounded, followed by three violent impacts.

The former was <Cheese>'s Word Skill attack; she had directly detonated the ambusher behind <Li Yèlái>.

The latter three impacts were from the three teammates who had originally come to support <Li Yèlái>.

They crashed headfirst into a suddenly appearing shield wall.

Immediately, they started wailing.

"Shadow Army? How do you have Netherworld abilities, kid?"

"Ah, my nose!"

"Night General, that's not fair! Let me in!"

Li Yèlái's mouth twitched. He'd really ended up friendly-firing his teammates.

So, he immediately cracked open a gap in the shield wall, letting Sand Grains and the other two slip through.

Only then did Li Yèlái have the time to look back.

He discovered that the attacker, blasted several meters away by Cheese, was none other than the Black Gargoyle that had been scared off by the doll's hair earlier.

At this moment, the gargoyle quickly got up, its shattered body rapidly reassembling and recovering.

It charged at the shield wall once more.

Without a moment to mourn the death of Zhe Lan Wang, it rushed to the battlefield: the Black Gargoyle!

It smashed a fist into the shield wall, causing it to tremble. Obvious cracks appeared on the shield.

Cheese could only swallow the saccharine and use her spirit speech to blast the gargoyle away again.

"How did this thing get here?" Li Yèlái was stunned. He'd seen this thing from afar while chasing Zhe Lan Wang, and now it had caught up?

With so many handlers and Forbidden Items on the way, why was it targeting him?

"Don't you understand yet?" At this moment, the Nuo mask on Sand Grains' face spoke. "This is your curse: you will always meet strong enemies! After Zhe Lan Wang died, a strong enemy was sent before you again! That's why I said, staying by his side, you'll eventually get into trouble!"

Li Yèlái frowned. This was the first time he'd learned about this curse.

Was this a form of bad luck?

If this Ghost Divination Nuo Mask wasn't mistaken, his luck was more than just bad.

This was fate itself arranging enemies for him. Was it tired of him not dying fast enough?

No, this must be Mr. Shadow's trick!

He was trying to force Li Yèlái into a deal, thus repeatedly luring strong enemies to put him in danger!

Li Yèlái suspected in his heart.

But if that were the case, why did he give him the Facial Mask?

If he didn't have the second Facial Mask, Li Yèlái would have had no choice but to make a deal with him.

Was this... playing hard to get?

No, he had to deal with this Black Gargoyle first, but his spiritual energy was already low.

Just then, someone burst into laughter, "Oh? Always meet strong enemies? That's a good thing? Comrades, gather! We'll lie in wait next to Night General!"

The one-armed Night Watch and White Poplar charged out of the corridor, laughing.

Holding a large saber, he swung it horizontally, a saber glow flashing in the air. White Poplar was a fourth-awakened True Martial Path Spirit Ability User, and this saber glow was his fourth ability: Sharp Saber Glow!

The next second, the Black Gargoyle was directly decapitated.

The decapitated gargoyle's body crawled up again, seemingly trying to retrieve its head.

However, several heavy footsteps sounded, and several Iron Guards pounced on the gargoyle's body together.

The weight of over ten tons directly pinned the gargoyle, preventing it from struggling.

At the same time, other Iron Guards grabbed the gargoyle's head, preventing it from returning to its body.

After a while, the gargoyle lost its vitality and turned back into stone.

The Black Gargoyle was successfully suppressed!

Meanwhile, more and more handlers and Iron Guards arrived, even civilian staff armed with handguns came to support.

Earlier, Li Yèlái's pursuit of Zhe Lan Wang's main force had alarmed almost everyone.

One person chasing and hacking at over a thousand cavalrymen was too exciting!

Some cared about the Heart of Slaughter on Li Yèlái's chest, while others thought Li Yèlái would be at a disadvantage chasing such a large group of cavalry.

Thus, they came to provide assistance one after another.

As a result, over twenty handlers and thirty Iron Guards arrived at the scene.

And closely following them, without a moment to mourn the suppression of the Black Gargoyle, it rushed to the battlefield: the Tree Spirit!

It seemed to have been fighting other handlers upstairs, and for some reason, it smashed through the ceiling, falling cleverly and appearing before Li Yèlái and the others.

Everyone immediately and joyfully rushed forward to beat up the Tree Spirit.

They had accepted this immense fortune!

Upon learning that Li Yèlái had the ability to attract monsters, those Night Watch members immediately made a decision.

They told Li Yèlái to rest and continue attracting monsters.

They were well-rested and prepared, suppressing the charging, living Forbidden Item.

"I've never fought such a rich war!"

"I hereby unilaterally declare Night, the Monster-Farming Cage, the hero of this suppression event!"

"Good! Encountering strong enemies, what a great encounter!"

The handlers smiled. With their numerical advantage, suppressing the Forbidden Item wasn't difficult.

And as the stump waiting for the rabbit, Li Yèlái had no objections to this.

He had carried the Heart of Slaughter for too long, nearly two hours. Far exceeding the safe time limit.

The Heart of Slaughter had to be removed immediately. With these teammates protecting him, his safety could be guaranteed.

Thus, he removed the Facial Mask of "Feng Lang Ju Xu" and leaned against the wall.

He watched Cheese slowly cut open the blood vessels of the Heart of Slaughter, removing it from his chest.

Or rather, the Heart of Slaughter voluntarily severed its own blood vessels, cooperating to detach from Li Yèlái.

Was even the Heart of Slaughter afraid of Li Yèlái's luck?

Or did the Heart of Slaughter glimpse something?

Li Yèlái didn't have time to wonder. As the Heart of Slaughter was removed, all his strength seemed to be drained away.

The fatigue accumulated from the previous battle surged back in an instant.

He soon closed his eyes and fell asleep leaning against the wall.

Cheese glanced at him, gently placed him on the ground, and then continued to treat his wounds.

Meanwhile, the handlers continued to beat and suppress the living Forbidden Item that had been attracted by certain 'coincidences'.

No one mentioned the second Facial Mask that Li Yèlái had displayed.

Similarly, no one knew what disaster was unfolding on the ground. Currently, everyone was doing their utmost to fulfill their duties.

On the other side, the ground of Border City No. 3.

As spiritual energy converged, a rift appeared out of thin air above the concert venue.

The rift expanded rapidly within seconds, instantly spreading to hundreds of meters.

Looking at the rift, all the handlers' faces turned pale.

From the rift, they felt a familiar power – the power of the Void Realm!

The power of the Void Realm had appeared directly in the physical world!

This meant disaster was about to befall Border City No. 3!

"How could this be? What are they trying to do? What are they doing?"

Starfire, who had returned to the battlefield after settling his sister. He was on the verge of collapse upon seeing this.

He couldn't understand why someone would do this.

What wrong had the people living in Giant City committed? Why did they have to suffer this ordeal?

Watching those once ordinary people struggle in pain, Starfire's heart ached.

But he was helpless, only able to continue suppressing the chaos with the handlers and rescuing people.

As the rift expanded to three hundred meters, a giant, scaly hand emerged from the rift and gripped its edges, pulling them apart.

It seemed to be trying to widen the rift to escape through it.

Seeing this, even the most elite Night Watch froze.

It was an overwhelming power on a different level of existence, a powerful being they couldn't resist.

But they still mustered their courage and roared, preparing for battle.

Border City must not fall!

Even if that being truly descended into the physical world, they would fight to repel the monster at all costs!

Watching this scene, the man in the suit hiding in the room let out a faint laugh.

"What a truly shocking scene. When disaster strikes, humanity stands ready, fighting to the death without retreat, displaying humanity's final glory." The man in the suit mused, "Unfortunately, all of this has become Border City's final brilliance."

"Old Mad King really didn't make a move. Either he's too old to fight anymore, or he's already died of old age."

"Since Border City No. 3 no longer has Old Mad King, then Black Source City and Doomsday Forest will likely advance, and Heavenly Realm probably won't remain indifferent either."

"All three forbidden zones will undergo changes. I wonder if the other Giant Citys can withstand the pressure." The man in the suit whispered his analysis and got up, preparing to leave. Leave Border City.

His mission was complete, and he could peacefully go to the 'Ark' to collect his reward.

Compared to Qin Zhi, who used the Song of Extinction in broad daylight, his mission was simply to secretly use the Whip of God within Giant City. Even Qin Zhi didn't know his identity.

It could be said to be the safest spectator seat.

Now, the performance was nearing its end, and it was time for him to leave.

However, when he turned around, he froze, and the Whip of God in his hand trembled slightly.

Because an old man, a very old man, stopped outside his room.

The old man's hair was snow white, his wrinkles were deep enough to kill flies, and his skin was as rough as an old pine tree's bark.

His body had shriveled beyond recognition, his back hunched, and he was less than five feet tall.

Yet, he held a Trident Double-Edged Blade.

He stood silently at the doorway.

The man in the suit froze, unable to move.

Then, the old man slowly stepped into the room.

With the first step, his skin began to regain its luster, wrinkles stretching and disappearing.

With the second step, his height increased, his shriveled muscles and bones filling out.

With the third step, his hair turned from white to black, all signs of age vanishing.

With the fourth step, his vital energy surged like an ancient behemoth.

With the fifth step, he stood before the man in the suit, now a towering figure over six feet tall, his messy long hair revealing a pair of golden eyes!

"Mad King," the man in the suit cried out the man's title in a mournful tone.

But the man ignored him, throwing the trident directly!

It streaked across the air like a meteor, smashing into the rift.

Furious roars erupted from the rift, but more hands reaching out from above vanished. The rift began to seal rapidly.

One throw. Just one throw forced back that mysterious entity!

The man in the suit was terrified, his body pinned by an oppressive aura, unable to make even the slightest movement.

Then, he saw the approaching palm of the Mad King.

"Ark, this isn't over."

(Slow typing, apologies)