Finally Appeared

"Skeleton God, aren't you going to pick up all this equipment?"

After Northern Frost and his group were killed, the ground at the base of the statue was littered with their loot. Equipment and potions shimmered with lights of every color.

Huo Silou's eyes gleamed at the sight, but with Jiang Cheng standing motionless, she didn't dare retrieve it herself.

But time was running out. In another minute, the items would despawn. Seeing Jiang Cheng still hadn't moved, Huo Silou grew anxious.

"Wait."

Jiang Cheng didn't answer her question, only uttering that single, soft word. The soulfire in his eye sockets remained fixed on the enormous stone statue before him.

Huo Silou failed to notice that his blade had never returned to its sheath.

"Wait? Wait for what? If we wait any longer, the equipment will disappear!"

"I know you don't care about anything below Legendary quality, Skeleton God, but it's such a waste. Don't worry, if you give it to me, I certainly won't complain."

Huo Silou added shamelessly.

"If you want to die so badly, go ahead and pick it up."

Jiang Cheng stepped aside, making an inviting gesture.

The soulfire in his eye sockets only burned brighter.

He gripped his Nether Blade even tighter.

"You're just trying to scare me, Skeleton God. How could I die just from picking up some loot?"

Huo Silou pouted. She glanced around, but everything seemed peaceful and fine.

With a disbelieving smirk, she swaggered toward the treasures at the statue's base.

"Be careful!"

Suddenly, a soft, sweet voice drifted from a distant stone slope, a clear warning.

"Huh? A Silly Cutie? You're telling me to be careful, too? Is there really danger? Impossible. This statue isn't showing any reaction at all."

"Little Lou! Get back, now! There's something strange about that statue!"

Path to Hell emerged from behind A Silly Cutie.

At the sound of that weathered voice, Huo Silou froze mid-stride. Her right foot hovered just above a piece of purple equipment, refusing to land.

Then, everything changed.

A thick mist descended with the night, instantly shrouding the area in a fog that made it impossible to see.

Huo Silou watched in horror as the corpses of Northern Frost and his men were suddenly dragged away. A black mist coiled around them, pulling them toward the giant stone statue.

The mist formed into countless humanoid hands, which clawed at the ground and left bloody trails as they hauled the bodies toward the priest statue.

Crunch, crunch... crunch crunch...

A sickening chewing sound echoed from somewhere nearby, like something gnawing on flesh and bone.

Although Huo Silou couldn't see a thing through the fog, the sound was utterly horrifying, sending a chill down her spine.

The noise seemed to come from all directions in the pitch-black darkness, as if something was feasting on a person right beside her. Her blood ran cold.

Gurgle.

Suddenly, a round object rolled out of the mist and bumped against her ankle.

Huo Silou shuddered and slowly looked down. Through the haze, she saw a skull. It wasn't completely clean. Half its flesh and hair still clung to the bone, and a single bloody eye stared right back at her.

"Ah! A ghost! A ghost!"

Terrified, Huo Silou jumped back and fled blindly into the mist, her screams echoing through the night.

"So, it finally shows itself."

Jiang Cheng's soulfire sharpened as his caution peaked. This opponent was on another level. The pressure it exerted was even greater than what he'd felt from the Mountain God.

"The black mist and the priest statue... they should be opposing forces, like darkness and light. Have they joined forces?"

His heart sank, and his grip on the Nether Blade tightened again.

"It seems that if the interests align, even light and darkness can work together."

Whoosh...

As Jiang Cheng stood vigilant, black clouds rapidly gathered above the giant priest statue. The sky, which had just begun to clear, darkened once more, completely obscuring the newly risen moon.

An oppressive darkness settled over the land for miles, making the very air feel stagnant. Even the wind died.

All of Luo Cloud City was now blanketed by a black cloud, creating a scene straight out of the apocalypse.

"Damn it, again? Can we even play The Great Wasteland anymore?"

"Shit, this is happening over Luo Cloud City! They just defended against Mirage Tower, and now this? The biggest targets always get hit first, I guess."

"This has to be that Blue Skeleton again. One-shotting all those players wasn't enough of a show for him, so now he's pulling this? Seriously, what is with that guy?"

"What the hell is going on? Why is every step so hard all of a sudden? It feels like I'm carrying a mountain on my back! Damn, I can barely breathe!"

"Me too... It feels like I'm in a room with ten times the gravity. I... can... barely... speak..."

As the darkness descended, every player and NPC in and around Luo Cloud City felt a mysterious pressure crushing down on them, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Clink. Clank.

Barely half a minute later, the lower-level players began to collapse. Their strength gave out completely, and their weapons fell from their hands, clattering against the ground.

The moment they hit the ground, their bodies began to shrivel. All the flesh was mysteriously sucked away, leaving behind nothing but dried husks scattered in disarray.

Then, as if summoned, the black mist surged back toward the priest statue, and visibility returned to the surrounding area.

The surviving players all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

But their relief was short-lived. The moment they looked around, they were met with a truly eerie sight.

For miles in every direction, the landscape had become a mass grave. Desiccated corpses littered the ground.

Their faces were frozen in ferocious snarls, and their dried-out eyes were wide open, staring at the living with an undying rage.

The more timid players screamed and scattered in a panic.

Those with a bit more courage simply trembled as they hastily gathered their belongings to flee.

Only a brave few remained, pondering what could have possibly happened when the mist rolled in.

"There's no blood, no signs of an attack. It's like their vitality was sucked dry in an instant."

"Could it have been that black mist?" one of them asked, nudging a dried corpse with their foot.

"It has to be. I just wonder what kind of monster could release a mist like that and kill so many people at once."

But before they could speculate any further, a voice like a massive, booming bell resonated across the heavens.

"Undead of the Netherworld! You pursue evil power and indulge in slaughter, reaping three million souls in a single battle. For this, you deserve death!"