Chapter 88: Heart-Piercing Scheme

Chapter 88: Heart-Piercing Scheme

“You’re really… Xi Ze?”

Hanfrey stared in shock at the frail young man lying motionless under the eaves, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Since the invasion of Keville by the Five Great Righteous Gods, the influx of refugees from towns and villages had left Baton City overcrowded overnight, and public order rapidly deteriorated.

Fortunately, Keville had the internet, which made communication extremely efficient!

Using the internet as a link and organizing by villages and towns, the city quickly became orderly under the Magistrate’s command.

Moreover, the Internet God had unlocked the ability to summon puppets.

Not only did this divert the attention and energy of a significant portion of the young and able-bodied, drastically reducing crime rates, but it also provided the City Lord's Mansion with a massive labor force!

Some of the puppets were sent outside the city to search for and rescue survivors who couldn’t move quickly; others were organized into units and deployed into the wilderness, both to monitor harassment by small forces of the Five Great Righteous Gods and to seize opportunities for counter-infiltration and counter-hunting.

It was under these circumstances that Xi Ze, a high-level player, and his companion Hanfrey reunited in the real world.

When Hanfrey learned that Xi Ze’s real body was in the city, he insisted on meeting him, leading to the current scene.

“Of course, absolutely genuine!” Xi Ze chuckled bitterly. “Disappointed?”

“Not disappointed, just… surprised. You know, I always thought you were a magician,” Hanfrey said with a sigh. “Can your condition be treated? I know a Grand Magus—want me to introduce you?”

“Sure!” Xi Ze agreed readily, but then his expression shifted as he opened the internet.

At the same time, Hanfrey’s face also changed, and he opened the internet.

A message from the [Conquest of Subdomains] suddenly appeared, notifying them that they had been conscripted. They were instructed to wrap up their affairs as soon as possible and gather at the beginner village in Duofei City in three hours for unified deployment.

“Is this a conscription by the Internet God?”

Xi Ze and Hanfrey exchanged glances, and the next second, excitement burst from their eyes!

“This is great! The Internet God’s counterattack is here, hahaha…”

“Let’s kill those bastards!”

Hanfrey swung his arm fiercely.

Without any delay, the two controlled their puppets to report to the City Lord's Mansion, then followed the instructions from the [Conquest of Subdomains], leaving their earth puppets behind and creating new avatars.

Under the Six-Senses Sharing Contract, their consciousness—or rather, their six senses—awoke in the beginner village of Duofei City.

This experience was just like their first login to the [Conquest of Subdomains].

The only difference was that this time, they had an additional puppet option.

Among the available puppets, almost all were mid-to-high-level ones.

The abyss resembles a well, its walls like a honeycomb.

When they reached the surface via the elevator platform, they found that the once-crowded and bustling “resurrection point” was now much emptier.

On the altar, there were only a few hundred puppets.

However, as time passed, more and more high-level players gathered, and the altar soon became crowded and lively again.

“Long live the Internet God! I’ve been eyeing the lava puppet for ages—finally got one today!”

"Hahaha, same here!"

"Kill those five damned gods! Damn it, they destroyed my farm! I swear I’ll never let them live in peace!"

The scene grew lively as everyone either excitedly adjusted to their new puppets, greeted one another, or chattered away.

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, a melodious bell tolled abruptly in the ears of countless high-level players.

The crowd fell silent in an instant.

Instinctively, they looked around, only to see a virtual screen unfurl across the sky like a vast curtain, blotting out the sun.

For now, the screen remained pitch black.

"What’s this…?"

Confusion spread among the players.

Before anyone could voice their thoughts, a torrent of blood suddenly splashed across the screen, splattering into countless bloody plum blossoms.

The players were stunned by the abrupt scene.

As the bloody blossoms gradually faded, the screen revealed an old woman clutching at a sword tip protruding from her chest, wailing in despair before collapsing lifeless.

Behind her stood a sneering undead knight of the God of Life.

The images flickered violently, flashing through scenes and clips—

Villages trampled under the march of the undead army;

The elderly, the weak, women, and children slaughtered by the Undying Legion;

Captives taken by the God of War's Legion;

Blood, chaos, death, despair, screams… every imaginable human tragedy played out before their eyes.

A child knelt beside the corpses of their parents, weeping in confusion.

A trembling old man, knocked down by fleeing refugees, could no longer rise as the dark tide of the undead army loomed behind him.

Refugees who had just dashed into a magical shield were ultimately dragged down by ghouls emerging from beneath their feet.

Countless commoners turned to skeletons under the withering death breath.

At this moment, the players froze, their chests burning with fury, a roar building inside them, ready to incinerate the enemy!

A deep male voice echoed in the ears of countless high-level players:

"The enemy is slaughtering our kin. Tell me, what will you do?"

"Kill!"

"Slaughter them all!"

"Revenge!"

"Fuck their mothers!"

Countless players were consumed by rage, howling hysterically—among them were commoners like Xi Ze, as well as noble aristocrats.

But in this moment, their emotions resonated as one, transcending status.

"Kill!"

Their roars merged into a single cry, the flames of vengeance blazing fiercely!

"Hum—"

A portal suddenly materialized above the altar.

"Beyond lies the preaching zone of the five evil gods! Go forth—treat them as they have treated your kin! Unleash your courage and wisdom, take your revenge, wreak havoc!"

[Brave adventurers, Keville is under invasion by the five evil gods! Take up arms and defend your homeland!]

[Kill one enemy, earn 100 merit points!]

"Xi Ze, let’s go!"

"Move out!"

Countless high-level players, spurred by the footage, roared and charged into the portal without hesitation.

Dozens of breaths later, the scene fell utterly silent.

"Will they really force the Five Great Righteous Gods to retreat?"

In the temple of Duofei City, Aphnora watched the now-empty altar, her face etched with deep concern.

When Yu Sheng'an had messaged her, asking for her aid, she had agreed almost without hesitation.

But his first move… she had little faith in it.

"As far as I know, the Plen Union Kingdom has already launched an attack on the Five Great Righteous Gods. The God of Fertility has even deployed the Titan Descendants, and capturing the Belen Cathedral is imminent!"

"Do you know what the Belen Cathedral signifies? It’s the core church of the Belen Plain. Once it falls, the entire Belen Plain will be lost to the enemy."

"Yet, even so, the Five Great Righteous Gods still haven’t sent reinforcements! With the strength of these players, forcing them to retreat... won’t be easy."

Aphnora had contributed greatly to the formation of Yu Sheng'an’s Fourth Calamity, making her a founding elder and a key contributor.

From her initial distrust of this chaotic force to gradually recognizing its potential, she could be considered the one who understood the Fourth Calamity best.

She had to admit—the Fourth Calamity was truly extraordinary.

Their undying nature allowed the players to boldly experiment with all sorts of tactics, infiltrating enemy lines and wreaking havoc with remarkable effectiveness.

But this time was different from the past.

The Five Great Righteous Gods had gone mad, leaving their rear defenses to the God of the Sea and the Earth Mother Goddess while launching an all-out assault on Keville.

Their frenzied posture was terrifying!

She also realized that merely relying on rear harassment tactics to force the Five Great Righteous Gods to retreat was nothing short of wishful thinking.

"I know—this is the 'Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao' strategy, and it’s also my 'Heart-Piercing Scheme'!" Yu Sheng'an narrowed his eyes.

"'Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao'? 'Heart-Piercing Scheme'?" Aphnora echoed in confusion, her starry eyes reflecting Yu Sheng'an’s cold, stern face.

"Tell me, if I were to broadcast that footage we just saw to the frontline soldiers in Keville, how do you think the Five Great Righteous Gods’ troops would react?" Yu Sheng'an’s expression was grim.

"That footage?" Aphnora froze, her eyes widening abruptly.

Among the three great legions—the God of War's Legion, the Undying Legion, and the Undead Legion—even the Undead Legion, which had the fewest humans, concealed a large number of Necromancer Summoners. (Necromancer Summoners ≠ mages of Necromancy)

Because low-level undead possessed minimal intelligence, without summoners to control them, they couldn’t form an effective fighting force!

This was even more true for the God of War's Legion and the Undying Legion.

If the scenes of players ravaging the Preaching Zone of the Five Great Righteous Gods were simultaneously broadcast to the Keville frontlines, the blow to morale would be like Mount Tai collapsing before their very eyes!

This was outright psychological annihilation!

The moment Aphnora grasped this, a chill ran down her spine.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Yu Sheng'an’s next words sent another shock through her.