Chapter 142 : Final Showdown
Chapter 142: Final Showdown! Emperor Guan the Saint VS Lord-sama!
“Is this going to be a cutscene now?”
All the players on-site looked expectant.
Although everyone was full of confidence in Lord-sama, the five strange shadowy figures appearing before them didn’t seem easy to deal with either—there was bound to be a spectacular battle.
“Anyone got a high-grade Photography Crystal?”
“This is such an important story animation.”
“No matter what, we’ve gotta record this!”
“……”
The Calamity Army players began prepping their Photography Crystals, hoping to capture some valuable footage—whether for keepsakes or bragging rights, it would be great material either way.
At this moment, the five Projections of the Huangtian Descendants had fully locked their attention on Hang Yu. Although their true consciousnesses hadn’t fully descended, they could still sense the pressure radiating from him.
Just a mere human from the Starsea?
He had actually grown this powerful?
Even putting aside his own strength, the number and quality of his troops were nothing like what an average low-tier Lord could possess.
After all, in a treacherous plane like this, unless one belonged to a naturally strong race with a high growth ceiling, forming a high-quality army was incredibly difficult—without ten or even eight years of grinding, it was practically impossible.
Hang Yu calmly said, “Seen enough?”
One of the Huangtian Descendants replied coldly, “Do you even understand what kind of existence you’re facing? If you know what’s good for you, cease at once and crawl back to the Stars. This world is not a place where mere humans can take root.”
Hang Yu gave a serene smile. “This Lord and you all have no quarrel, for now. I advise you not to get in my way—otherwise, even if only your projections are slain, I’m afraid it’ll still leave damage on your minds, won’t it?”
Another Huangtian Descendant: “Such arrogance. Trash like you—I could crush ten with one hand.”
Yet another Huangtian Descendant added, “Though your strength is decent, and although we can’t even unleash a thousandth of our true bodies’ power right now, to think you can take on all five of us is just plain delusional.”
“So you’re all not planning to settle this peacefully.”
Hang Yu let out a light sigh. “So be it!”
The instant he uttered the final word, a surge of mana poured into the twin-bladed spear in his hands. The snow-bright blades instantly flared crimson. A violent, overwhelming aura caused the air around him to boil and ignite.
“What skill is that?!”
“Why have I never seen it before!”
The players were all stunned at Hang Yu’s move.
Street Slayer said, “It kind of looks like my Frenzied Tiger Blade Qi, but the momentum and power… that’s on a whole other level.”
This so-called Frenzied Tiger Blade Qi…
Was actually a fusion combo of Qi-Gathering Slash and Frenzied Tiger Slash.
Qi-Gathering Slash was a technique that gathered Qi into a single slash and unleashed it all at once.
Frenzied Tiger Slash enhanced every Normal Attack by infusing it with Qi energy.
When these two skills were fused at the Enlightenment Tower, there was a high chance of producing Frenzied Tiger Blade Qi, which combined the Qi-projecting aspect of Qi-Gathering Slash with bonus damage on every strike.
It essentially became a spammable Normal Attack skill with no cooldown.
As long as one had mana.
Of course, what Hang Yu used now was not Frenzied Tiger Blade Qi, but a newly fused technique from combining Frenzied Tiger Blade Qi with Frenzied Tiger Roar Slash, forming the advanced skill—
Fiery Tiger Wild Blade.
This skill could also be called Fiery Tiger Blade Qi. Though its mana consumption was massive, its power was terrifying. Likewise, it had no cooldown and delivered critical-strike-tier damage on every hit.
“Courting death!”
That this weak human dared to take the initiative enraged the five Huangtian Descendants!
ㄴBut just as they were about to react—
Hang Yu suddenly vanished on the spot. He charged forward at a speed far exceeding the current reaction capabilities of the Huangtian Descendants. The blazing twin-bladed spear struck directly into the body of one of the projections.
At the moment of impact—
A massive burst of flame erupted from the blazing spear blades.
The explosion was like a raging tiger opening its maw to bite down on the Huangtian Descendant. The terrifying blast and searing heat swept forth, engulfing everything.
The very next moment—
Hang Yu appeared in front of the second, third, fourth, and fifth Huangtian Descendants in succession. Each was met with a direct strike, with no wasted movement.
In the next breath—
Hang Yu returned to his original position.
The entire assault had been performed while in Transparent State, and the speed was so fast that even the players on-site couldn’t perceive what had happened. They only felt as though—
All five Big Bosses exploded simultaneously!
–
4652（Lethal Critical）–
4552（Lethal Critical）–
5057（Lethal Critical）
………
The five Huangtian Descendants only managed to let out unwilling growls before they could no longer maintain their projections. Under such overwhelming and savage assault, the twisted shadows shattered like pricked bubbles—vanishing completely.
Swiftflash Assault + Fiery Tiger Wild Blade!
All five Huangtian Descendants were obliterated in one breath!
Just as the players had expected a dramatic and intense fight—Lord-sama ended the battle in an instant.
“This…”
The players stood dumbfounded.
They could barely comprehend what had just happened.
If they hadn’t witnessed Lord-sama using a skill themselves, they might have suspected the five Huangtian Descendants had gone mad and self-destructed.
These Huangtian Descendants had just demonstrated their terrifying strength—definitely not some random trash mobs. Yet in Lord-sama’s hands, they had crumbled like clay chickens and porcelain dogs.
“This is impossible!”
Zhang Bao fell into utter despair upon seeing the scene.
He couldn’t accept it—couldn’t even believe it.
“It’s over!”
“Clean up the battlefield!”
Unfortunately, these incomplete projections didn’t drop any loot.
After eliminating the five Huangtian Descendants, Hang Yu immediately ordered the players to wipe out the remaining Abyssal Forces.
“Yes!”
The morale of the Calamity Army surged once again!
ㄴEven though most of them were suffering from mild to moderate Fatigue due to repeated deaths and long playtime, they were now brimming with energy like they had been injected with adrenaline.
“Long live the Lord!”
“Long live the Calamity!”
“You stupid Abyssal mutts—now you know how fierce we are? With your sorry asses, you think you have the right to shout before my Lord Yu?”
“Go die!”
“……”
Zhang Bao, after summoning the reinforcement of Great Huangtian, had already fallen into an extremely weakened state. In the end, consumed by despair and rage, he was completely overwhelmed by the players.
On the other side, the fused Corrupted Four Generals of the Mortal Realm were also eliminated under the siege of the Four Personal Guards and high-level players.
Hang Yu received a notification from the Will of the Stars:
【Ding—You have acquired “Core Abyssal Nightmare Source Fragment”. Would you like to absorb it now? Yes / No!】
The Core Nightmare Source was in hand!
“Absorb it!”
【Ding—Absorption successful. You’ve gained +7 Tier-Two Talent Points. You’ve obtained “Abyssal Nightmare Key” +1, “Abyssal Treasure Chest (Green)” +1!】
Same routine as always.
Absorb the Core Corruption Source.
Hang Yu would gain a large number of Talent Points.
Tier-Two Talent Points were ten times more valuable than Tier-One ones, so they were harder to obtain. Even defeating someone like Zhang Bao only earned him 7.
As it happened—
Hang Yu already had 3 Tier-Two Contribution Points.
Now with the 7 new Talent Points, he had just enough to unlock his first Tier-Two Talent.
Hang Yu was now level 20, and he had enough Essence to break through to Tier-Three anytime. The only thing blocking his breakthrough was the lack of two activated Tier-Two Talents.
Human Lords had two Tier-Two Talents—
The first was Soul of the King, and the second was Overlord of the Stars.
【You are about to activate ‘Soul of the King’. This activation will consume 10 Tier-Two Talent Points. Confirm activation? Yes / No!】
Hang Yu chose to activate Soul of the King first.
“Yes!”
【Your Lord Talent “Soul of the King” has been awakened!】
Hang Yu successfully awakened his first Tier-Two Lord Talent and quickly checked its details.
【Soul of the King】: Tier-Two Lord Talent. Current Talent Level 1. Every time your population increases tenfold, your HP and MP +10%. When your population exceeds 10,000, you unlock the talent skill “Majestic King’s Might”.
A Lord’s strength largely depended on territory and population size.
Soul of the King scaled with population.
Hang Yu’s population had already surpassed 10,000. 10 people, 100 people, 1,000 people, 10,000 people—each milestone stacked the bonus, giving him a 40% total increase in HP and MP.
On top of that—
Once the population exceeded 10,000—
The talent skill would awaken:
【Majestic King’s Might】: Talent Skill. You may unleash indiscriminate pressure over a 200-meter radius, reducing all attributes of affected targets by 20 and with a chance to inflict Stun or Unconscious status. You can also imbue this pressure into offensive skills, concentrating it into a single release that grants +100% effect bonus. Cooldown: 300 seconds.
After reading the talent’s description—
Only one thought came to Hang Yu’s mind:
“Conqueror’s Haki?”
Majestic King’s Might was an active skill. Its effects resembled Conqueror’s Haki from a certain anime. The skill’s area of effect and its boost on other skills were not only tied to the level of Soul of the King, but also to the size of the Lord's population.
Overall—
It was a complementary bonus skill.
But it was extremely practical.
This was also the reason why Hang Yu prioritized awakening the Soul of the King talent.
Besides Talent Points, hunting down Core Nightmare Sources would also reward players with a Abyssal Nightmare Key and a Abyssal Treasure Chest.
The former was a key used to unlock new maps. It had to be used within seven days of acquisition, or it would auto-unlock.
The latter was a treasure chest containing a large amount of loot. The quantity and quality of the rewards far surpassed that of a regular Fate Treasure Chest, but since the occasion wasn’t suitable for checking spoils, Hang Yu temporarily stowed the items away.
The players had already fallen into celebration.
“We won!”
“We did it!”
“We’ve cleared Wo Niu Mountain!”
“Hahaha! It feels like a dream—I can’t believe we actually won like this!”
“All thanks to Lord-sama! Without his help, we wouldn't have had a chance!”
“High EQ: There’s still a lot of room for us players to grow.”
“Low EQ: Players are a bunch of noobs! Without Lord-sama, we’d screw up everything!”
“……”
Hang Yu generously issued rewards in a timely manner.
【Ding, Quest Completed. Abyssal Essence +18,500, Contribution Points +24,000, Silver Treasure Chest +1!】
【Ding, Quest Completed. Abyssal Essence +17,600, Contribution Points +23,000, Silver Treasure Chest +1!】
【……】
【Ding, Quest Completed. Abyssal Essence +9,000, Contribution Points +13,500, Bronze Treasure Chest +1!】
【Ding, Quest Completed. Abyssal Essence +9,500, Contribution Points +14,500, Bronze Treasure Chest +1!】
【……】
【Ding, Quest Completed. Abyssal Essence +800, Contribution Points +1,200!】
A total of 1.48 million Essence was distributed.
This was basically in line with the budget.
Anyone who participated got a reward. Among them, 35 Silver-level rewards, 81 Bronze-level rewards. No players received evaluation or treasure chests beyond that, and none obtained a Gold-level reward.
This showed that player performance still had considerable room for improvement.
“If we had cleared the Corruption Zone on our own power… if we’d managed to kill Zhang Bao before he summoned reinforcements, then most of these Silver evaluations would’ve become Gold evaluations!”
“Yeah!”
“Such a pity!”
“We lost out on so many rewards!”
“We underestimated the difficulty of the Core Corruption Zone!”
“Well, it is what it is. No use regretting it. Even the current rewards are pretty great!”
“……”
Some players had already started opening their chests.
Chimera Wraith opened her Silver-level reward chest.
【Ding, you opened a Silver Treasure Chest. Dragon-Pattern Essence Pill +1, High-Grade Photography Crystal +1!】
Chimera Wraith was visibly stunned. In the past, the items inside quest chests were usually physical gear. Occasionally, you might get Skill Cards, Enhancement Cards, or game-item-type functional rewards.
This time, it was actually a pill.
【Dragon-Pattern Essence Pill】: Tier-One Rare Pill, Green-Quality (Superior). After use, permanently increases Max HP by 50. Can only take effect once per person.
After seeing the pill’s effect—
Chimera Wraith was overjoyed.
It was actually a pill that could permanently increase attributes.
50 HP—an entire 50 points! For glass-cannon or anemic players, this was an incredibly powerful enhancement.
“Holy sh*t!”
“What’s this?!”
“I got a Dragon-Pattern Bone-Fortifying Pill that increases Strength!”
“……”
Midnight Pig Slayer showcased his reward.
【Dragon-Pattern Bone-Fortifying Pill】: Tier-One Rare Pill, Green-Quality (Superior). After use, permanently increases Strength by 10. Can only take effect once per person.
Dozens of Silver Chests mostly gave out Attribute Pills.
So far, only two types had appeared: one was the HP-boosting Essence Pill, the other was the Strength-boosting Bone-Fortifying Pill. After seeing the effects of these Attribute Pills, players were visibly revitalized.
The Essence Pill seemed more valuable.
After all, current methods of increasing HP were very limited.
The Bone-Fortifying Pill, though not bad as a Strength-boosting pill, was slightly less popular since Strength could be raised through skill training. Not every class pursued Strength either.
Of course, this kind of Strength Pill, granting +10 permanent Strength in one go, was equivalent to maxing out a White-Quality skill’s buff. Even for high-level warriors, it could raise their power significantly.
And what, other classes didn’t need Strength?
Of course they did.
In Twisted Three Kingdoms, the Strength stat wasn’t just narrowly defined physical power. It referred broadly to a character’s overall bodily strength in the system—including Qi force and Constitution.
Classes like Warlocks had very little Strength scaling, resulting in very fragile bodies. If they could increase Strength via Attribute Pills, it could be a complete game-changer.
Furthermore—
If a Warlock gained 10 points in Strength—
They could meet the stat requirements for certain Strength-based skills in advance.
Take Qi-Gathering Slash, for example. Its threshold was very low—only 18 Strength to learn. A low-level Warlock who took a Bone-Fortifying Pill would meet the requirement by level 5 or 6.
If a Warlock learned Qi-Gathering Slash and trained it to Level 10, they’d gain another +10 Strength. With that, they could unlock new Strength-based skills like Savage Charge.
As their training progressed—
Stats would keep stacking.
In theory, even a Warlock could end up with a body and strength not much worse than a Warrior. Who knows—some players might even develop into melee Warlocks or combat Warlocks. That +10 Strength from the Bone-Fortifying Pill would be extremely valuable.
Once players realized the true value of these Attribute Pills, everyone was thrilled.
“Insane!”
“This stuff is priceless!”
“I’d say it’s worth at least as much as one or two Green-Quality equipment pieces!”
“Lord-sama is so generous—just giving out such precious pills like this!”
“Will future quest rewards include Attribute Pills too? If so, I’m definitely going to step up my game!”
“……”
Hang Yu had bulk-purchased the Attribute Pills from the Alchemy Workshop. He did not distribute them directly or sell them. Instead, they were handed out through quest rewards or other activity incentives.
The main reason was that these Attribute Pills were hard to craft and in limited supply.
It was precisely because they were rare that rewards had to be based on merit—
Not sold to the highest bidder.
Of course, Attribute Pills weren’t trade-locked. If players wanted to sell theirs to some rich players for a high price, that was their own choice. Hang Yu would not interfere.
Now that the players realized they’d have to perform well in quests and actively join events to get Attribute Pills, their motivation and enthusiasm would undoubtedly soar.
Because these were bonus attributes.
And they could be used to widen the gap between players.
The players who got Attribute Pills from their chests were all ecstatic. As for those who didn’t even get a chest or a pill—at this moment, they were filled with a sense of urgency and resolved to work harder in the next mission.
At the same time—
The battlefield clean-up was almost complete.
Drops from the Demonized Soldiers and Strongmen were mostly uniform.
The truly notable loot came from the corrupted elite bosses.
Especially the top-tier ones—Zhang Bao and the fused Corrupted Four Generals of the Mortal Realm.
【You looted: Essence +100,000, Abyssal Magic Crystal +800, Forging Crystal +200, Tier-Two Corruption Gem +200, Nine-Curve Cursed Staff +1, Huangtian Rune Ring +1.】
【You looted: Essence +80,000, Abyssal Magic Crystal +300, Forging Crystal +100, Tier-Two Corruption Gem +100, Four Ghost Helmet +1.】
As expected—
Both bosses dropped substantial loot.
Especially Zhang Bao, being the Core Corruption Source.
In addition to the usual Essence and Magic Crystals, he dropped a large number of Forging Crystals (used to raise item Tier), Corruption Gems (used to improve item Grade), and of course, Green-Quality equipment.
【Nine-Curve Cursed Staff】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green-Quality (Superior). +48 Spell Attack, +15 Spirit, +10 Willpower, +10 Spiritual Spell Amplification. Comes with the skill Soul Capture. Durability 24/50.
【Huangtian Rune Ring】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green-Quality (Superior). +10 Spell Attack, +10 Spirit, +10 Willpower. -10 Mana Cost for Talisman Skills, +10 Casting Speed. Durability 30/50.
【Four Ghost Helmet】: Tier-Two Equipment, Green-Quality (Standard). +30 Damage Reduction, +72 Independent Defense, +4 All Attributes. Comes with the skill Ghostface Change. Durability 32/50.
All three Green-Quality equipment pieces were excellent.
The Nine-Curve Cursed Staff not only had high attributes, but also came with Soul Capture—
A control-type skill that could manipulate a target’s actions or even thoughts.
The Huangtian Rune Ring also had great stats. While it didn’t come with a skill, it reduced Mana cost for Talisman Spells and boosted casting speed, making it very practical.
As for the Four Ghost Helmet—
Its defense was extremely high, and it came with Ghostface Change, a skill that let the wearer switch between different masks to gain bonus effects like Spell Attack, Physical Attack, Defense, or Recovery.
Very practical!
All of them were excellent pieces of equipment!
As for how to distribute them—
That was an internal matter of the Calamity Army, and Hang Yu wouldn’t interfere.
Zhou Cang and Zhou Ji came to stand before Hang Yu. Zhou Cang bowed respectfully to him.
Several players followed behind Zhou Cang. They had already explained the situation to him. Now, two paths lay before Zhou Cang—he could either choose to rest in peace, or attempt to recover and join the Territory.
Hang Yu asked, “Have you made your decision?”
Zhou Cang cupped his hands respectfully and said, “Zhou is willing to join Lord-sama’s command, to serve loyally and dutifully in return for Lord-sama’s grace of salvation!”
Very good!
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction.
That Zhou Cang would make this choice was no surprise.
After all, he was a loyal and upright warrior to begin with. As long as he could shake off the corruption of the Abyss, he naturally wished to do his part for this chaotic and tainted world.
Human Lords were extremely rare—
But emotionally speaking, they were far easier to accept.
What’s more, the strength of the Lord standing before him, along with his army that was undead, unkillable, and swarmed like a Calamity of locusts, left Zhou Cang deeply shaken—so he chose to join without hesitation.
“Very well. In that case, let us go meet Emperor Guan the Saint together!”
Hang Yu led Zhou Cang and the players out of the Core Corruption Zone and into the Sealed Cavern. From a distance, he saw a massive dark-red crystal pillar standing in the center of the cave. When looking through the pillar, one could vaguely see a towering figure within.
“You have finally shown yourself?”
Upon sensing Hang Yu, Guan Yu immediately awakened from his slumber.
Hang Yu responded humbly, “This junior, Hang Yu, is deeply ashamed to have kept Emperor Guan waiting!”
Guan Yu clearly didn’t care about that. Instead, he directly asked, “I sensed the aura of Huangtian just now. Have the Descendants of Huangtian descended into this space?”
“A few mongrel chickens and stray dogs—hardly worth mentioning.”
“Hahaha, you truly are an interesting Lord of the human Starsea.”
Hang Yu looked Guan Yu over. “Emperor Guan’s condition doesn’t seem good.”
Guan Yu said calmly, “My true body has fallen into slumber and cannot attend to worldly matters. This avatar has accumulated too much corruption and is on the verge of losing control and demonizing.”
Hang Yu frowned slightly. “In such a condition, wouldn’t helping Zhou Cang dispel his corruption only make things worse?”
Guan Yu replied calmly, “It matters not—merely an insignificant avatar. If I can still be of use before I perish, then that is not a bad outcome… Zhou Cang, step forward!”
Zhou Cang quickly stepped up and cupped his hands respectfully. “Greetings, General Guan!”
Guan Yu said evenly, “You have followed me through countless parallel spaces, battling across the lands—a true brother-in-arms who has shared life and death. Now that you can follow a Lord like Hang Yu, it is not only your great fortune, but perhaps the fortune of all humankind across Shenzhou!”
The players began whispering among themselves.
Perhaps the alliance between locals and Lords wasn’t something new.
After all, in normal circumstances, only the Starsea could purify the Abyss.
But did that mean there were other versions—other ages, independently acting versions of Zhou Cang? What would happen if two different Zhou Cangs met? Why could Guan Yu consolidate all of his consciousness, but Zhou Cang could not?
Before players could dwell on it—
Guan Yu continued: “Abyssal Corruption can be transferred and absorbed, but physical constitution is hard to change. I can only transfer and absorb the corruption within your body. That will be enough to keep you rational for a long time. When the time comes, as long as the Lord grants you the Starsea Mark, you will be protected from the Will of the Abyss. However, it will be difficult for you to ever return to your original form.”
Zhou Cang said, “As long as I can remain clear-minded, this body is of no concern.”
Guan Yu nodded. “I have one request.”
“Please speak!”
“A true man may die in battle, but must not die in disgrace. I ask that the Lord spar with me—and personally send me off!”
Upon hearing this—
All players were stunned.
Emperor Guan the Saint wanted to challenge Lord-sama?
Every player’s eyes lit up. This was a blockbuster headline of epic proportions!
Hang Yu thought for two seconds, then nodded and said, “It would be my honor!”