Demons were constantly coming up the winding mountain path, shaking their heads with ferocious expressions. Their deep-set eyes revealed a strong greed for killing.
Thick saliva flowed from the corners of their cracked mouths. Their bodies looked to be many times larger than normal humans.
A pair of dry foot bones stepped on the deep mud. As they approached step by step, they soon got into a melee with the incoming phantoms.
The two Ji Xingques stood side by side, and the power of their bombardment more than doubled.
The tacit understanding from the same brain directly created the densest network of firepower.
Under such cover, countless tall figures steadily raised a strong line of defense in front of the castle. In the fierce conflict, they completely blocked all the monsters in front of them.
Burnt, blackened limbs were scattered around, mixed with a disgusting, putrid smell.
Scattered sparks ignited the surrounding trees, and miserable roars filled the surroundings.
Under the killing of the phantom army, the fierce attack from the monsters was very strongly controlled. The ancient castle behind them was impregnable.
Chi Ting stood firmly at the rear of the battlefield. Sweat slowly slid down his hair. The moment it dripped, he wiped it away lightly.
His pupils flickered in the light of the fire. The corners of his mouth were curved in a shallow arc as always.
Under the frequent light of the fires, many phantoms were gradually weakened. Seeing that the demon army had a faint tendency to break through, a white light flashed and silently enveloped the phantom warriors on the battlefield.
Vaguely, the morale of the scene was raised. The corpses of monsters on the ground were stepped on, and the cracked defense line of the phantom army remained unmoved.
In the live stream room, there was a moment of confusion about what happened.
Qiu Ji was filled with thousands of words for a while, but he could finally only make a sound. "!"
He originally thought that Chi Ting's previous performance was shocking enough, but he never expected that it could develop into an even more outrageous development—the huge number of summoned phantoms seemed to have their own skills?!
Players in the unlimited world knew how valuable it was to awaken a personal skill. Ordinary players were often ecstatic if they could awaken just one basic skill, let alone possess multiple skills.
But just now, the white light from a phantom was a type of recovery ability. In addition, there was the phantom with the same output type ability as Ji Xingque… How was this a summoning type personal skill? It was completely a walking skills library!
The names of the current top 10 individuals on the rankings flashed through Qiu Ji's mind one by one. He thought of the personal skills of these people who resounded through the Sanctuary. For a moment, he actually had some doubts about who was stronger compared to Chi Ting.
Qiu Ji looked at the images on the live stream screen that were enough for him to remember for a lifetime. For the first time, he had a feeling of being in a trance.
Crazy. Really going crazy!
As the barrage in the live stream room gradually went crazy due to Chi Ting, all the players in the second-floor castle room were crowded beside the window, paying attention to the shocking battle situation below.
There were only three windows in total. Since Yue Ren occupied one alone, the players standing in front of the other two windows looked like rows of mushrooms growing from the windows.
As they watched, they rubbed their eyes several times. Then they were sure that the scene of the gods fighting in front of them wasn't a hallucination.
Zeng Yan had seen Chi Ting fight once, but at that time, his personal skill was restricted, and it could only be described as hand-to-hand combat. Once Zeng Yan saw Chi Ting's full firepower for the first time, he was completely dumbfounded. "These two people… are they really from the 13th World like us? Are they actually bigshots from the Sanctuary who deliberately claimed to be newcomers to deceive us?"
However, no one answered him.
The shock brought by such a scene was really too great. Looking down at it from an upstairs angle, the demon corpses gradually piled up like mountains and were surrounded by a sea of fire. It was as if they were really in hell.
In front of these monsters, what these monsters displayed was undoubtedly a more oppressive and powerful strength.
There were still demons coming from the ancient city at the bottom of the mountain. However, compared to the speed of the slaughter above, it seemed to give everyone the illusion that 'it isn't enough to kill at all.'
Was this really a power that a player could have? These demons were far beyond the existence of an A-grade monster after they completely awakened.
Yue Ren listened to the constant gasps of air around him. His eyes also reflected the firelight. Under his silent gaze, his expression was vaguely indistinguishable.
"What are you thinking about?"
The voice in his ears made Yue Ren look back. He met Cao Ji's gaze, and his mouth curved up slightly. "I was thinking that I was lucky to have saved a small life in an unknown place before."
Cao Ji: "?"
Yue Ren shifted his gaze back downstairs.
Tsk, the phantom army downstairs was all too familiar. There was even the one who pointed a gun at his forehead.
Now that he thought about it, it was a good thing that he hadn't angered Chi Ting. Otherwise, given the current situation, it was likely that Chi Ting would've demolished the apartment at the time and he might not be able to win…
Thinking of this, Yue Ren couldn't help his expression becoming more emotional.
At this time, he just looked at Chi Ting and chose to come out with this person. He never expected that after so many choices, he had fallen for a master who wasn't easy to mess with.
Cao Ji's puzzled guess obviously showed that he couldn't understand Yue Ren's sudden sadness.
However, he didn't have time to ask any more questions. He turned his head to look out the window in another direction, and his eyes were full of determination. "Here they come."
Naturally, Yue Ren also smelled the unpleasant smell of decay in the air. He reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the figure downstairs. The shadows under his feet slowly moved.
His tone sounded quite bored as he muttered in a low voice, "You asked me to stay here, but you only let a few of them reach here. Who are you playing with?"
The moment the words came out, the expressions of the players became panicked as they finally sensed the situation. Then the monsters' ugly figures gradually appeared at the door.
Before anyone could scream, several swift shadows moved along the wall on one side and sliced through the other party like sharp blades.
The heads fell to the ground while still retaining a bloodthirsty, hideous expression. They rolled several times before stopping along the wall.
Yue Ren noticed the horrified gazes all around him. He was covered in a dark shadow that almost enveloped the entire room, and laughed silently in the dim light.
However, once such an expression fell into the eyes of others, they only felt a chill go down their backs.
The players who almost wanted to run away: "..."
Why did they feel like this descendant of the heroes was more terrifying than the demon?
Downstairs, Chi Ting glanced in the direction of the castle as if feeling something. Then he looked back calmly.
Of course, he noticed the few figures that slipped through the path behind him.
He just thought that there was someone up there and decisively gave up on the idea of intervening.
Under the warm moonlight, the surrounding soil was soaked with blood. A strong rancid smell irritated his nasal passages.
The strong killing intent in his eyes made Chi Ting's expression look colder than before. The red thread wrapped around his wrist looked even more eerie due to his fair skin, giving him a very attractive madness in this hellish environment.
He was standing in the rear calmly like this, but as long as he was there, it meant that this army would stand firm!
Ji Xingque glanced back at such a figure. The fatigue that had just appeared in his eyes instantly turned into a blazing flame again.
He swallowed the blood that flooded his mouth and sneered. The giant gun loaded with ammunition regained its strength in an instant. "Keep going. Kill them!"
Monsters continued to pour in without giving them any chance to breathe. Wave after wave of charges were all intercepted and killed by the phantom army.
The bones and pieces of flesh visible everywhere filled the burning forest with the aura of death.
Here, it became the real burial ground of these monsters.
Before they knew it, the last round of attacks from the demons also came to an end.
The guard army standing at the front was still ready to fight.
Many phantoms returned to the appearance of the white bone beads under exhaustion, but the remaining figures, covered with endless carnage, still had a firm posture with upright backs.
From a distance, these translucent wandering souls were dotted with slight fluorescence. They were like beacons of faith standing in the darkness.
Chi Ting's gaze swept over the figures. He kicked away the limbs that had rolled to his feet with an expressionless face.
Finally, with the last gunshot, the night returned to tranquility.
Chi Ting stood in the middle of the mountain of corpses after all the monsters were slaughtered and lowered his eyes. He suppressed the frenzy in his eyes that was also ignited by the flames of war.
The moment he looked up, he had a slight smile on his face as he spoke in his usual gentle tone, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone."
What he got in response was the salutes of the phantoms standing upright.
It was just like after every battle in the past.
In a trance, it really seemed like nothing had changed.
Chi Ting smiled slightly. The red thread untied from his wrist fluttered gently in the wind. The bloody figures on the battlefield faded little by little before finally turning to complete nothingness.
The white bone beads scattered all over the mountain and forest quietly reconnected into a string and fell back into his hands.
After gently stroking it with his fingers, Chi Ting raised his eyes and looked at the only figure left on the battlefield beside him. He said, "Let's go back."
Ji Xingque obviously consumed a lot of physical strength after the fierce battle. He put away the giant gun and returned, panting and his chest heaving heavily.
He had rushed to the front from beginning to end. Under the crazy explosions, his clothes had long been stained with blood. His condition was obviously on the verge of complete madness. He followed Chi Ting all the way back to the castle, his eyes still filled with a strong killing intent. He looked completely different from the usual high-spirited and sunny young man.
Chi Ting was accustomed to Ji Xingque's post-battle state. He was keenly aware of it and asked as he walked up the stairs, "Do you miss them?"
The look in Ji Xingque's eyes flickered slightly. Then he seemed to be freed from the state of slaughter all over his body.
Along with the strong emotions that suddenly spread, the cold temperament on his face gradually turned to sadness. "Yes. I haven't seen them for a long time. The last time we fought side by side like this was the last time."
Such nonsense words made Chi Ting laugh silently. "Do you believe my intuition? There will definitely be a chance to meet again."
Ji Xingque was stunned for a moment. Once he realized the meaning of these words, he suddenly looked up and saw that Chi Ting had already taken a step forward toward the deepest room.
The moment he stepped through the door, he saw the miserable situation inside. Chi Ting was slightly stunned and raised an eyebrow. "Are you turning this into a slaughterhouse?"
Minced meat flying everywhere wasn't enough to describe the scene in front of him.
If he didn't say anything, just looking at this tragic appearance, he might've thought that this place was the main battlefield tonight.
This was also what Chi Ting couldn't understand at all.
He clearly remembered that there were only a few demons who slipped past. It wasn't a big deal and shouldn't be like this…
Yue Ren smiled slightly as if he read Chi Ting's inner thoughts. "I can't help it. Who told you to fight so fiercely downstairs? My hands were itchy for a while watching it. I had nothing to do, so I cut these monsters to pieces."
Chi Ting looked around speechlessly. All he received were pale but polite smiles from other players.
Just looking at these frightened expressions, it was obvious what type of fright they had just received.
"..."
Chi Ting silently pressed on his temples. He chose to ignore this guy and looked back at the descendants of the heroes led by Cao Ji.
It was a very plain description, but once he spoke it slowly, every word seemed to have a ring to it. "I have lived up to your trust. The demons will no longer exist."
Deep emotions could be seen on the faces of those NPCs.
Cao Ji exchanged looks with the others. Gradually, his eyes became a bit firmer.
Under everyone's attention, he walked straight to the stage and took down the treasure chest enshrined there. Finally, he stood in front of Chi Ting and stared steadily into his eyes. "Dear hero, please accept Aleran's sincere thank you gift."
He presented the treasure chest when he finished speaking. The other NPCs also got down on one knee.
They put their hands on their chest and performed the most noble rite belonging to the Aleran people with a pious attitude.
For a moment, the players just watched everything in front of them quietly.
In this situation, no one could doubt that compared to players like them who supported the sacrifice in order to solve everything and protect themselves, Chi Ting was indeed the undoubted, true 'hero.'
It was he and Ji Xingque who firmly brought real peace to the city.
Facing such a courtesy, Chi Ting didn't refuse.
He had always believed that once good intentions were taken for granted, it meant that evil thoughts would become unscrupulous sooner or later.
Giving might be a personal choice, but it didn't mean it should be taken for granted. In the past when he carried out a reckless search and rescue in the apocalypse, he had always been happy that humanity could retain a grateful heart.
It wasn't necessary to give something back. It was okay if someone really forgot about him saving their lives, but if they remembered to thank him, it only made these humans look cuter!
Chi Ting lowered his eyes calmly and looked at the pious figures half-kneeling in front of him. He smiled from the bottom of his heart. "I accept your thanks."
Just as he stretched out a hand to take the treasure chest, several system messages popped up in front of him one after another.
[A new hero has finally defeated the evil demons. The ancient city of Aleran has been completely restored to its former tranquility. The ancient legend has ushered in a new ending.]
[Ding dong—! Congratulations on completing the collective task: Find the treasure of the heroes (1/1)!]
The audience in the live stream room was still discussing the shocking battle that had just ended.
Along with the pop-up system message, the instance progress directly increased to 100% and the screen was completely cut off.
Apparently, the other players received the same message.
They exchanged looks with each other. Their first reaction was to repeatedly confirm it. "The final collective task is completed. Does this mean we have passed the instance? This is what it means, right?"
The many days of torture obviously left them physically and mentally exhausted. It was to the point where there was a clear sense of unreality at this moment.
Until this time, someone at the window shouted happily, "Look at the fountain square! It is a portal! The portal is coming out—!"
A group of people rushed over one after another. Sure enough, among the mottled lights of the city, a door that was very familiar to everyone appeared in the center of the empty square, faintly floating in the air.
It was only at this time that everyone truly realized that they had really passed this d*mn instance!
There was a round of cheers. Then people rushed out the door one after another. They couldn't wait to rush down the mountain."
"In fact, they are still very energetic…" Looking at these brisk figures, Chi Ting felt a bit emotional for a moment. Then he noticed a look and turned back to meet Yue Ren's gaze. "What?"
"It is nothing. I just have a question that made me very curious."
"Huh?"
Yue Ren pointed to the shocking mountain of corpses outside the window. It could be seen that he was asking very sincerely. "Before you decided to take the second choice, you probably didn't know that your ability could be restored, right? If you still couldn't use your beads at that time, what were you going to do in the face of so many monsters? You weren't really prepared to fight your way out with your bare hands, were you? That is obviously unrealistic."
Chi Ting shook his head. "Of course not. With such a large number of monsters, I could rush out alone at most. How could I defend everyone?"
Such an overly straightforward answer made Yue Ren even more surprised. Before he could ask further questions, he heard Chi Ting continue slowly, "So I thought about it early on. If the disparity in numbers is really too big, I will directly open the door and let you go out."
The expression on Yue Ren's face became slightly blank for a moment. "?"
Facing the rare expression of disbelief on the other person's face, Chi Ting patted his shoulder gently and smiled in a harmless manner. "I also support choice two, but in the final analysis, it is to protect you. For the choice you want, you should naturally be responsible for wiping your own butt. You think so too, right?"
"..."
After a brief silence, Yue Ren couldn't hold back his laughter. "It does make sense, Captain Chi."
The phrase 'Captain Chi' made Chi Ting stunned for a moment. He blinked and said nothing more. After relaxing, he finally stopped hiding the fatigue in his expression and gently rubbed his temples.
Yue Ren glanced at him.
It didn't seem like he acted personally but that level of combat intensity was indeed very exhausting.
He paused before lazily stretching his muscles. "I'm a bit tired. Why don't we go out and find a place to sleep first?"
Chi Ting nodded. "Okay."
After the first group of people rushed down the mountain, the surrounding area became empty.
The two of them walked side by side and walked down with the rest of the players.
It wasn't until he walked out the gate of the castle that Chi Ting suddenly noticed something. He looked back and saw Cao Ji staying at the gate with the descendants of the heroes. They had no intention of continuing to follow.
Chi Ting was slightly startled. "Aren't you going back together?"