Chapter 140 : Full Counterattack! Zhou Cang Regained His Sanity!
Chapter 140: Full Counterattack! Zhou Cang Regained His Sanity!
Hang Yu had studied and lived in the Land of the Stars for twenty years.
If chaos, disorder, strangeness, and mystery were the characteristics of the Abyss World—
Then the Land of the Stars was the epitome of order and prosperity, a place where myriad races coexisted yet with an excessively rigid hierarchy.
For Hang Yu to graduate from the Lord Academy as an outstanding graduate, despite belonging to a weak race that was looked down upon and constantly sneered at, the effort he had put in over the past twenty years far surpassed what most could imagine. While he might not claim superiority in every domain, at the very least, his theoretical knowledge was solid.
That was also why he could judge that Zhou Cang was still savable.
However, to reawaken Zhou Cang’s rationality and humanity was no easy task.
Hang Yu thought of the City Lord of Sanxiang Ancient City—Zhou Ji. This man had lived with Zhou Cang for over ten years. Though they were not related by blood, their bond was like father and son. Having Zhou Ji intervene might be enough to awaken Zhou Cang’s memories and humanity.
However—
Zhou Ji alone was not enough.
The corruption Zhou Cang had suffered was far too severe.
His mind, soul, and even his body had become distorted.
Under such circumstances, external assistance was required to preserve his reason. Otherwise, even if humanity briefly returned, his sanity would quickly be drowned by endless madness.
Hang Yu had no such means. However, there were many drugs or methods that could temporarily preserve one’s reason—at worst, he could purchase some from other Lords.
Items of this kind were typically quite expensive.
But the territory’s finances were still doing fine.
Once Woniu Mountain was cleared, a large influx of revenue would come in.
Hang Yu also still held one top-tier blueprint for the “Tomb of the Dragon-Lizard” that he had yet to sell, so there was no immediate pressure for him. And the effort to regain a formidable general was more than worth the investment.
Having thought of this—
He opened the trading market.
He began searching to purchase the relevant items.
Meanwhile, the battle in the Core Corruption Zone continued. Over a hundred elite Calamity Army soldiers fought to the death. Though they couldn’t threaten Zhang Bao and the others, they did manage to exhaust a small portion of the enemy's forces.
As players revived one after another in Sanxiang City—
They immediately teleported back to Qingniu Village within the Corruption Zone.
After completely eliminating the players invading the mountain stronghold, Zhang Bao quickly discovered a group from the Stars stationed at the mountain’s base and immediately commanded Zhou Cang to lead a squad to attack.
The battle raged on.
Using the Blessing Point as a stronghold—
The Calamity Army continuously replenished their forces.
Players attempted to engage the Abyssal Forces in a war of attrition.
This not only brought Hang Yu a decent income in Essence but also became an opportunity for the territory to reclaim Contribution Points.
After all, instant revival required spending Contribution Points, and teleportation via Blessing Points also consumed them. Though each use was inexpensive, the cumulative cost was no small amount, effectively accelerating the impoverishment of players.
The Abyssal Forces were not only powerful but also numerous.
The elite Calamity Army clearly felt overwhelmed in the short term.
At this rate, Qingniu Village's Blessing Point would surely fall. And once it did, the Abyssal Forces would spill out of the Corruption Zone, at which point Guan Yu’s clone—sealed within the cave—might be destroyed.
To prevent this from happening—
Ye Li Meng and others sent out distress calls via Sound Transmission Stones or the forum.
In no time, Cloud Players took notice. Online players also responded swiftly—hundreds of players, all no lower than Level 5, arrived directly on the battlefield through Blessing Points across Woniu Mountain or via the teleportation point at Sanxiang City.
At this stage, while players had begun forming factions, overall, they remained highly united.
This battle affected the entire Woniu Mountain region.
It also impacted the development of the territory.
More importantly, it concerned the players’ own interests.
Even though many players knew they were going to die as cannon fodder, they still paid the teleportation fee without hesitation to rush into the Core Corruption Zone. At one point, the number of players in Qingniu Village exceeded four hundred.
Although defending against the attacks remained difficult, the relentless sacrifices of the players ensured they could hold out for a period, giving Hang Yu enough time to make the necessary preparations and deployments.
……
Woniu Mountain.
Stone Monster Valley.
Arthur King's team had been farming monsters for a full day and night.
By now, Arthur King had successfully leveled up from Level 6 to Level 8. Most of his teammates were Level 6 or 7 as well. The leveling speed was impressive, and everyone was satisfied with their gains today.
The newly respawned Filthy Stone Monsters in the valley had all been slain.
Arthur King had battled for over twenty hours—aside from a few trips offline for toilet breaks and meals, all his time was spent fighting. Even when using a Gaming Capsule, such high-intensity gameplay was exhausting.
Just as he was about to log off for rest—
Monk-class player Moose Girl: “Oh my God, guys, look! There are several Sound Transmission messages—war has broken out in the Core Corruption Zone of Woniu Mountain and they need support from other players!”
Warlock-class player Dark Lucifer: “I saw it too. There’s a detailed post on the forum. Calamity Army experts recently entered the Corruption Zone. It looks like they’ve encountered the strongest BOSS of this timeline!”
Really?
Arthur King’s interest was piqued.
He quickly opened his player panel and logged onto the forum.
Ye Li Meng, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Toasting the Moon, and at least a dozen other players had posted there. Among them were livestreams exploring the Core Corruption Zone as well as recent calls for reinforcements.
Zhang Bao, Zhou Cang, Four Generals of the Mortal Realm, plus several Tier-Two elite Fallen Ones!
Nearly two hundred Tier-Two elite-level Yellow Turban Strongmen, and at least four to five hundred Level 10 elite Yellow Turban Demonized Soldiers.
Too insane!
Arthur King sucked in a cold breath.
Could current-stage players even fight such a force?
It might take the Lord personally leading his Personal Guard to stop them!
Moose Girl asked, “Arthur, are we going to help?”
Dark Lucifer said, “We’re too weak right now. Even if we go, we won’t help much. If we die too many times, the levels we’ve worked so hard to gain will drop back down.”
Warrior-class player Iron Fist Tough Guy Johnson said, “I agree—no need to join the chaos. Huaxia players already outnumber and outlevel us by a lot. It’s better to use these monsters to close that gap.”
Several other players supported this viewpoint.
But after a few seconds of thought, Arthur King shook his head and said, “No—we must go!”
Iron Fist Tough Guy Johnson asked, puzzled, “Why?”
Arthur King replied, “Precisely because we players from outside the Huaxia region are at such a disadvantage that we must work harder to integrate with them.”
Dark Lucifer: “Makes sense. If we get excluded by Huaxia players in future large-scale events, the gap between us might keep widening.”
Ranger-class player Gungnir: “Dying a few times is no big deal. Don’t you guys want to see what the highest-tier monsters look like? I know I do!”
“That’s right!”
“Participate in this kind of event!”
“I want to go back and brag to my fans!”
Arthur King, Dark Lucifer, and the others were ambitious players.
They already saw the enormous potential of this game and hoped to build or become a powerful force within it.
With such ambition—
They couldn’t run from this kind of major event.
Even if they lacked power now, they could still farm reputation and presence!
As for losing some Essence?
It was a trivial price to pay!
In the end, the ten-player team composed of non-Huaxia players chose to join the battle.
They quickly left Stone Monster Valley and headed to the nearest Blessing Point, paying 200 Contribution Points to teleport to Qingniu Village.
The moment the ten players arrived at Qingniu Mountain—
【You have been corrupted by the Abyssal aura. All attributes -25%, lose 45 HP per minute...】
“Oh! Sh*t!”
“This is way too brutal!”
“My HP is dropping too fast!”
Although the location of Qingniu Village was not the most severely polluted mountain stronghold, it was still within the range of the Core Corruption Zone, so players were affected to varying degrees.
Arthur King and his group were only up to Level 8 at most. The lower the level, the weaker the corruption resistance—HP was practically draining every second. Even with Healing Pills, they would only last about three minutes before dying on the spot.
All around were constant whooshing noises, explosions, and furious howls.
The battle in Qingniu Village was still ongoing.
Toasting the Moon was stationed near the Blessing Point, specially tasked with commanding and arranging the players being teleported in.
Arthur King and his group lacked combat strength, so Toasting the Moon assigned them to the flanks to intercept any Abyssal Creatures that slipped past the main force. Their goal wasn’t to kill—just to buy time and hold the line as best as they could.
“Leave it to us!”
Upon receiving his assignment, Arthur King immediately led his team to the designated combat area and launched an attack on a Demonized Soldier that had charged close.
Though many low-level players like Arthur King had arrived, that didn’t mean they were just cannon fodder.
Combat strength in Twisted Three Kingdoms wasn’t purely based on stats. Even Level 5 or 6 players could theoretically take down Tier-Two monsters with proper coordination or strong enough skills.
“Moose, heal!”
“These Demonized Soldiers are too fast—Lucifer, use the Great Peace Lightning Talisman to paralyze it!”
“Come on everyone! It’s just a few Demonized Soldiers—we can handle this!”
“……”
Hundreds of players threw themselves into the defense of Qingniu Village’s Blessing Point.
During this time, players kept dying, but they also revived and returned just as quickly. Though the Abyssal Forces had overwhelming numbers and strength, they still hadn’t been able to breach the small village after a lengthy fight.
The players’ undead ability was simply too broken!
And with the Blessing Point enabling rapid returns to the battlefield—
Unless the casualties inflicted by the Abyssal Forces far exceeded the players’ self-reinforcement rate, this stalemate could continue for some time.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Lone Boat, Ye Li Meng, Mad Blade Old Wang—these top-tier experts were all currently focusing their attacks on the leader of the Abyssal Forces: Zhou Cang in his Demonized form.
“Dark Assault!”
Lone Boat clashed with Zhou Cang through several rounds before suddenly activating Dark Assault, disappearing on the spot. Not only did he evade a deadly slash, but he instantly reappeared behind Zhou Cang, stabbing fiercely at his neck before the latter could react or sense anything.
Bang!
The Bloodstained Sword struck, sending sparks flying.
It shattered several pieces of bone armor, but failed to pierce through. In the end, it only dealt just over 80 points of damage—barely more than a tickle to the Demonized Zhou Cang.
Without landing a critical hit—
The Dark Assault technique lost most of its power!
Zhou Cang roared and immediately counterattacked. A ferocious blade light burst forth, accompanied by the roar of a frenzied tiger, stunning Lone Boat on the spot.
The next moment—
The blade light, wrapped in terrifying howls, came crashing down.
It cleaved a long gash ten meters deep into the ground ahead.
Lone Boat failed to dodge in time and was split clean in half by the strike.
Other high-level players quickly ramped up their output. Whether through spells or physical attacks, the damage inflicted remained extremely limited.
“So strong!”
“What kind of defense is that?”
“This is insane!”
“Never met a boss this tough before!”
“Come on! Even if it’s just chip damage, we’ll chip him to death!”
As a Level 15 Commander-tier existence, Zhou Cang’s power was overwhelming. However, the ten or twenty Tier-Two high-level players weren’t weak either. Though they couldn’t defeat Zhou Cang yet, they had managed to repel several of his attacks.
However—
After those failed assaults—
Zhou Cang became even more frenzied.
He once again activated his Transformation State, igniting in flames and soaring into the sky, then hurtling like a flaming meteor through the defensive line. He landed in the rear of the Calamity Army’s formation, incinerating dozens of players to ash in the fiery explosion.
“This is bad!”
“Stop him!”
“We can’t let him get any closer!”
Zhou Cang had now entered his second combat form again. From a humanoid figure clad in skeletal armor, he transformed into a five-meter-tall behemoth with molten lava flowing all over its body.
Based on prior combat experience, players knew—
Zhou Cang’s two states had their own pros and cons. The first state had extremely high defense and was hard to break. The second state had drastically increased attack power, but its defense would be noticeably reduced—technically the best time for players to kill him.
However—
He was now less than fifty meters away from the Blessing Point!
If Zhou Cang approached and made any contact with the Blessing Point, the Abyssal aura radiating from him would corrupt it, rendering all its functions and effects useless.
If that happened—
The Calamity Army would face certain defeat!
Zhang Bao and the other Fallen Ones hadn’t even acted yet. At least half their forces hadn’t joined the battle. Even with the current pressure, the players were barely holding on—if the Blessing Point were corrupted, there would be no hope for victory.
Fifty meters!
Forty meters!
Thirty meters!
Zhou Cang drew ever closer to the Blessing Point.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge and the others turned pale. “We’re too late!”
Zhou Cang let out a deafening growl. His lava-coated giant claw instantly obliterated Toasting the Moon as he rushed forward, and with a flaming tail swipe, flung eight or nine nearby players away.
He was now less than twenty meters from the Blessing Point.
“Damn!”
“We can’t hold it!”
“Damn it! I’m not willing to give up!”
The Calamity Army had already done all they could.
Most players had died at least two or three times.
Before assaulting the Core Corruption Zone, most elite Calamity Army players had already died once during the battle against the Dual-Form Fallen Ones.
Though the Calamity Army was immortal, frequent deaths in a short time would double their in-game Fatigue Value repeatedly, and once Fatigue reached a threshold, it would affect their stats.
Some players were already in light fatigue status, which reduced combat effectiveness. At this moment, Lone Boat and several other high-mobility elites had just been eliminated and hadn’t yet returned. The others had no time to stop Zhou Cang from reaching the Blessing Point.
If that Blessing Point was corrupted—
There would be no chance of a comeback.
If they couldn’t stop a berserk Zhou Cang, what would the Calamity Army use to conquer the Core Corruption Zone?
The players had underestimated the power of the Abyssal Forces in the Core Corruption Zone. If the Day of Absolute Darkness erupted soon, the entire Abyssal horde would resurrect and return even stronger. Then nearby towns—and even Sanxiang Ancient City—would be in grave danger!
At that moment, the Blessing Point lit up with a glow!
One after another, powerful figures descended nearby.
Leading them was a man clad in golden armor, wielding a long spear, mounted on a Fiery Warhorse—majestic and imposing, exuding an overwhelming aura. Who else could it be but the great Lord himself?
Demonized Zhou Cang instinctively sensed danger. He growled low and lashed out with blazing claw light toward Hang Yu.
Zhang San and Li Si, the two Personal Guards, instantly stepped in front. Swinging their massive blades, two Qi-Slashes—each over twenty meters long—clashed with the claw light and neutralized it.
“Great Peace Lightning Talisman!”
Warlock-class Wang Wu unleashed a bolt of lightning that struck Zhou Cang directly. The violent force knocked him back a few steps, paralyzed him, and inflicted considerable damage.
“God Yu is here!”
“Aha! I knew it—our Lord would never stand idly by. He strikes when it matters most!”
“Even though the Lord gives us every chance to earn merits, looks like we just couldn’t handle it this time. With him stepping in, our quest rating might drop a rank…”
“The Lord’s Personal Guard NPCs are getting stronger and stronger!”
“Brother Three, Brother Four, Brother Five, Brother Six—those four combined might already rival Zhou Cang!”
“……”
Hang Yu’s appearance stirred both excitement and regret within the Calamity Army.
Although all players deeply admired the Lord, for large-scale quests with rich rewards, they would usually rather die a few more times—even lose levels—just to complete the mission through their own efforts.
Everyone knew the Lord was invincible!
As long as the Lord took action, almost any mission could be crushed with ease.
But once the Lord stepped in, the quest rating would be affected, and when the rating dropped, the final rewards would be significantly reduced.
However, in this case—
The Lord had no choice but to intervene.
Hang Yu swept his gaze over the players and calmly said, “Fall back. Leave this Demon Zhou Cang to me.”
At that moment, Zhou Cang growled and broke free from the effect of the Great Peace Lightning Talisman, once again launching an attack at the immensely powerful presence before him. Yet Hang Yu still had no intention of making a move—because just then, a figure stepped in front of him.
“Foster father!”
Zhou Cang visibly froze.
The terrifying flaming claw halted before the man.
The players were all stunned. Soon someone recognized him—that was the NPC Zhou Ji from Sanxiang Ancient City!
“Old Zhou? That’s him!”
“Old Zhou is the one who adopted Zhou Cang as his disciple!”
“Don’t tell me there’s some hidden storyline between them?”
“The Lord specifically brought Old Zhou here—surely it’s not just for a final farewell!”
“Look! Zhou Cang stopped his attack! Could he still have his sanity? If that’s the case, maybe the Lord didn’t come just to bail us out, but has an even greater plan!”
“……”
The players became excited.
They had originally thought recruiting Zhou Cang was hopeless.
But now, it didn’t seem impossible anymore!
“Could it be that even Ji’er is unrecognizable to you now, foster father?”
Zhou Ji couldn’t stop his tears as he looked at his foster father—now deformed into a molten giant beast.
“A true man, born between Heaven and Earth, knows what to do and what not to do—those were your teachings to me. I do not believe a hero like you would submit to the Will of the Abyss.”
“Roar—!”
Demon Zhou Cang’s face twisted in pain, thick black aura continuously rising from his body, like two wills locked in a fierce internal struggle. Seeing this, the surrounding players erupted in hope.
“There’s a chance!”
“This is great!”
“Everyone, hold off the other mobs!”
“Give the Lord and Old Zhou the space they need!”
“……”
Ye Li Meng, Mad Blade Old Wang, and others immediately switched targets. They stopped attacking Zhou Cang and began intercepting the smaller enemies to prevent any disruption to the Lord and Zhou Ji.
“Who am I?”
This thought emerged in Zhou Cang’s mind—
All he felt was unfamiliarity.
His shattered sea of consciousness hadn’t produced such a clear and intact thought in a very long time.
Fifteen years ago, to assist Guan Yu in sealing the corruption, Zhou Cang—already partially demonized—had entered the Corruption Zone without hesitation.
Alone, he stalled Zhang Bao and the others so that Guan Yu could complete the seal on the Corruption Source. Although this successfully prevented the Nightmare from leaking out, it also trapped Zhou Cang within the Nightmare, possibly forever!
Zhou Cang had long known that his complete fall and corruption was just a matter of time.
Yet he continued to battle Zhang Bao.
Though he lacked the ability to slay Nightmares, his body and mind were repeatedly corroded in every cycle of Nightmare Restart. The pain he endured exceeded any worldly torture.
Over time—
He grew numb.
His consciousness became muddled and disordered.
He began to act on instinct alone.
This was a sign of complete assimilation by the Abyss.
Even so, a sliver of unwillingness remained deep within Zhou Cang’s soul. This was why his madness grew, ultimately turning him into a near-mindless, chaotic beast.
I am Zhou Cang!
This is Ji’er!
It seems many years have passed!
At this moment, Zhou Cang’s fragmented mind and memories briefly returned to clarity.
He couldn’t even recall the last time he had regained sanity. He only knew that his lucidity was precious and fragile—at most, it could last just a few seconds, and the process was extremely painful.
“Go… now!”
Zhou Cang pounded his head madly.
“I can’t control myself!”
Zhou Ji was overjoyed to see Zhou Cang regain a sliver of rationality, yet he also felt how fragile it was. Even maintaining that state for one second seemed to inflict a pain like being sliced by a thousand blades.
“My Lord!”
Zhou Ji knelt before Hang Yu.
“I beg you—save my foster father!”
“Ji is willing to repay this great kindness even as an ox or a horse!”
Having spoken, he kowtowed with all his strength. At this point, all his hopes rested on this unfathomable Lord.
Hang Yu calmly nodded and had his guards lift Zhou Ji up, then reassured him, “You’ve done more than enough. Leave the rest to me.”
As he spoke—
Hang Yu produced a golden talisman paper, the “Pure Gold Talisman” he had just bought from the trading market for 1000 Abyssal Magic Crystals.
This was a special Tier-Two consumable, designed to protect the mind and soul—at least temporarily—from the attention and influence of Abyssal consciousness. Because it was Tier-Two, it could only be used on Tier-Two units.
This item couldn’t reverse the deformation of an Abyss Walker directly, but it could temporarily suppress corruption and madness, easing the pain and helping them maintain clarity longer.
Zhou Cang’s humanity had returned.
Now was the moment to use it.
The Pure Gold Talisman turned into hundreds of golden starlights and merged into Zhou Cang’s body.
His second form was automatically dispelled.
Zhou Cang reverted to his first form.
He could clearly sense the filthy whispers echoing in his ears, his sea of consciousness, and his spirit and soul—vanish. He felt the deep madness and chaos within his soul suppressed. His fragile awareness, now protected by light, could finally function without interference.
Zhou Cang understood—
This was only temporary.
The protective layer around his consciousness was being consumed. Once that power ran out, the madness would return in full force. Yet even this brief clarity was something extremely difficult to attain.
Hang Yu asked, “How do you feel?”
Zhou Cang’s body remained demonized and warped—his height over ten feet made Hang Yu look like a child by comparison. Yet Zhou Cang bowed respectfully and said, “Thank you, my Lord. I am willing to slay Zhang Bao and purify the corruption for you!”
The players were utterly stunned by what they witnessed.
The second-biggest boss in Woniu Mountain, second only to Zhang Bao—
Had been turned with a few moves by the Lord!
If Zhou Cang truly defected and helped the Calamity Army, then even without the Lord’s direct involvement, there was a good chance they could win this battle.
What more could they say? The Lord was simply too incredible!
The Calamity Army’s morale soared on the spot!