Chapter 132: The Fourth Calamity Descends

Chapter 132: The Fourth Calamity Descends

It had been half a year since Justin left his family. With the help of the internet, he gradually adapted to life outside.

Half a month ago, after the guild function was updated in Conquest of Subdomains, he quit his job as a mercenary.

He had joined a player guild, earning money by grinding merit points for them. Though the pay wasn’t much, it was enough to scrape by.

Of course, his goal wasn’t just to play Conquest—he had also applied to a Magic Academy.

Originally, based on his Soul Power test results, it would have been difficult for him to meet the Magic Academy’s admission standards.

But whether it was fate favoring talent or sheer timing, this year, major Magic Academies suddenly expanded their enrollment. With his decent magical foundation, Justin was unsurprisingly accepted.

So now, his focus on Conquest served two purposes: first, to hone his magical skills through the game;

second, to save time so he could thoroughly review the fundamentals of magic. He didn’t want to fall too far behind once he entered the academy—after all, the slow bird had to start flying early!

Honestly, quitting his mercenary job had drastically reduced his income, and his quality of life had taken a nosedive.

But Justin didn’t regret it.

The bright future ahead filled him with motivation.

Of course, in the quiet of night, deep down, he occasionally fantasized about striking it rich overnight.

Unfortunately, while the Empire now had the internet and factories that employed large numbers of workers—ensuring no one starved for lack of work—the chances of sudden wealth were still limited to high-risk, life-threatening ventures.

As a future mage, he naturally wouldn’t throw away his principles just to dirty his record.

Still, when it came to getting rich quick, he couldn’t help but recall a post he’d seen earlier that day.

One poster had written: If only I could find a dragon’s lair—robbing one would make me filthy rich!

Someone immediately mocked the idea in the replies: Are you out of your mind? Robbing dwarves is where the money’s at! No strength, but loaded with cash—is there a better target?

The moment this reply appeared, it sparked heated discussion.

The more Justin read, the more tempted he felt.

Too bad the dwarves’ world was tens of thousands of miles away. Only top-tier mages or gods could traverse domains freely.

For small fry like him, the forum was the only place to indulge in such fantasies.

Justin chuckled and dismissed the unrealistic thought.

As night fell, he chewed on dry bread, preparing to log into Conquest.

The first half of the night was peak time for Conquest players, and Justin technically had the option to log in during off-peak hours.

But since he often needed teammates to practice magic, he had to sync his schedule with his grinding squad’s login times.

Before he could finish his bread, Conquest of Subdomains suddenly sent him a notification about a new update.

Justin froze.

He hastily stuffed the bread into his mouth, gulped down a mouthful of cold water to wash it down, and frantically logged into Conquest of Subdomains.

When his avatar materialized inside the guild headquarters of the player city in the Dofi domain’s fourth Magic Tower, the massive player city had already ground to a halt.

Countless players stood frozen in place, checking the newly updated content of [Conquest of Subdomains].

[Brave adventurers, the despicable and shameless Dwarven King Kaut has stolen the Internet God's production lines and refused to return them, even insulting the great Internet God! They are destined to pay for their shamelessness and arrogance! The Internet God has declared war on the dwarves—now is the time to offer your courage and resolve!]

[This update: A dungeon world has been opened. Currently available dungeon world—Kazad-dûm.]

[Mission Objective: Plunder the dwarves' wealth. All resources you obtain can be exchanged for gold coins, which are interchangeable with the Interconnected Bank and can be withdrawn at any Interconnected Bank branch on the Azarea Continent.]

[Note: Killing dwarves no longer grants merit points. Focus on looting wealth as your primary goal.]

[Warning: Each adventurer can only enter Kazad-dûm once every three days. Use your chance wisely! If you wish to revive in Kazad-dûm, purchase dungeon resurrection scrolls! Player guilds and mercenary groups can purchase airships, granting long-term stationing privileges!]

"What the hell is a dungeon?"

"Holy crap, everything we loot can be exchanged for gold coins and even withdrawn? Dwarves are famously greedy, just like dragons—if I can find their treasury, won’t I be rich?"

"Haha, good luck carrying it all!"

"No worries, my belly can hold ten tons of gold coins!"

"This is insane! Earth puppets can just merge into the ground, right?"

"Damn!"

"Seriously?! The cheapest airship costs at least 30,000 gold coins? That’s daylight robbery! Who can afford that?"

"Have you even seen the specs of an airship? Ten thousand meters in the air—even the God of Magic can’t fly that high!"

"Pfft, talk about a golden hoe in the emperor’s house!"

With the update to [Conquest of Subdomains], countless players went wild.

The newly opened "dungeon" was simply too tempting!

Forget everything else—just the fact that plundered wealth could be withdrawn at Interconnected Bank branches was enough to drive players into a frenzy!

After all, while games were fun, money was even better.

Playing a game and making money? A win-win—who wouldn’t love that?

Most importantly, dwarves were legendary for their greed, rivaling even dragons.

Rumors said their caves held more gold coins than iron ore.

How could anyone not be tempted?

Justin certainly was!

He was already as poor as dirt, and this sudden dungeon opening made him feel like the chosen one of the domain.

Just when he needed it most.

If he could find the dwarves’ hidden gold stash—no, even just a random dwarf household—he’d strike it rich!

Forget gold coins—even grabbing a few dwarf weapons would be a massive windfall.

Without a second thought, Justin sprinted toward the gathering point.

Kazad-dûm—here I come!

……

……

While the Fourth Calamity erupted in excitement, Kazad-dûm was also boiling with fervor.

The Internet God’s sudden betrayal had thoroughly enraged the dwarves!

The great Dwarven King Kaut convened a grand assembly of his people.

In the cavern of [Titan’s Light], King Kaut stood atop the tallest stalagmite-carved pillar, facing the densely packed crowd of his kin, and began his speech.

"Great people of the Titan! I trust you have all heard the news. Yesterday, we warmly welcomed the Internet God, only to suffer his humiliation! They demand our submission, to become his servants! Tell me, should I agree?"

"No—roar—!" The furious roars of the dwarves echoed through the cavern.

"Exactly! How could noble dwarves ever bow to an evil god? But the despicable and shameless Internet God launched a sudden attack, taking eleven of our chieftains from us forever, sending them back to the Titan's embrace! This is a disgrace to our people!"

"Roar—!"

"Kill them!"

Countless dwarves bellowed in rage!

Dwarven King Kaut watched his people's fury with immense satisfaction. He spread his arms and declared passionately:

"Great people of the Titan! Ever since our god, the Titan, departed, we have been coveted by evil gods from all sides!"

"They lust after our forging techniques, our gleaming gold coins—they even want us to abandon the Titan and worship them! But is that possible?"

"Impossible—!" The thunderous response reverberated through the cavern.

"Exactly! Impossible!"

"No one can make the mighty dwarves submit! Not the God of Death, not the God of Life, not the God of War, not the Earth Mother Goddess, not the Beast God—and least of all, the Internet God!"

"Roar—!" Another earth-shaking roar trembled through the cavern.

These proud achievements filled the dwarves with excitement and pride!

"But we must prepare. Though we cannot yet kill the Internet God, we can sell our weapons to his enemies—let them kill him for us!"

"Right!"

"Roar roar roar!"

The dwarves grew frenzied, shouting and pounding their chests and shields.

"Now I declare—the dwarven race enters a state of war! All tribes must decipher and replicate the production lines as quickly as possible, restoring the markets the Internet God stole from us!"

"At the same time, every tribe must be ready. If the Internet God dares invade, we will take up our weapons and carve his armies apart piece by piece, just as we did to our enemies of old—slowly, like a blunt knife cutting flesh—and feed every last scrap to the giant worms!"

"Roar roar—!" The dwarves beat their leather armor, howling in exhilaration!

"Disaster strikes!"

At that moment, a panicked voice suddenly rang through the cavern, silencing the frenzied dwarves.

"Mountain Keeper, why the alarm?" Dwarven King Kaut frowned in displeasure.

"Great King... the Internet God... has launched his attack!" The Mountain Keeper's voice echoed through the cavern.

"What?!" Kaut's face paled.

"Activate the magic projection!"

"Yes!"

At the king's command, the fluorescent veins in the ceiling of Titan's Light suddenly brightened, interweaving until they formed a vast illusory screen.

The image it displayed was none other than the peak of Lonely Mountain.

There, a massive portal—like a colossal full moon—unfurled ten thousand meters above the summit.

From it emerged an enormous, oval-shaped construct, painted with exaggerated eyes and jagged teeth, resembling a monstrous deep-sea shark!

Its belly glowed ominously as beams of light shot toward the ground.

Within those beams, countless magic earth puppets descended densely from the sky, landing and swiftly merging into the earth—vanishing without a trace.

The Fourth Calamity had arrived!

Its belly lit up, and beams of light shot toward the ground.

Within the beams, countless magic earth puppets descended densely from the sky. Upon landing, they swiftly merged into the earth and vanished.

The Fourth Calamity had arrived!