Chapter 180 : Strange! Terrifying! The Calamity Army Falls Deep into the City of Wailing!
Chapter 180: Strange! Terrifying! The Calamity Army Falls Deep into the City of Wailing!
Not long after.
On the Official Forum.
A new post quickly attracted widespread attention.
《Live Update Thread: The Main Force of the Calamity Army Has Gathered — The Pioneering Operation in the City of Wailing, Xinye, Is Underway!》
The poster was Qingchen from the Divine Feather Palace Legion. She was a level-14 Ranger player of the Divine Feather Palace Legion. In the real world, she was also a well-known journalist with rich experience and had previously produced many influential reports.
The Battle of Xinye was a major event.
The leaders of several legions felt that it was necessary to share it through a full-network live broadcast.
Although Twisted Three Kingdoms did not yet support video livestreaming, players could still record the progress of events through text and images in forum posts.
“Hello everyone, I’m Qingchen, a Ranger from the Divine Feather Palace. I’m currently on the way to the City of Wailing, Xinye!”
“Many of you may be curious why this famous historical city, Xinye, is called the City of Wailing. To explain that, I need to start with an encounter we had not long ago.”
“【Image.jpg】”
“…”
Qingchen uploaded photos from the moment when the territory’s army encountered the Wan City forces. She also briefly described the clash in the post, including the remote confrontation between Lord Hang Yu and City Lord Zhang Xiu, as well as the information and intelligence gained from the operation.
Naturally, this sparked discussions among the Cloud Players.
“So Zhang Xiu is actually that strong?”
“As expected of the man known as the Spear King!”
“It’s kind of a pity he didn’t end up fighting the lord. Otherwise we could’ve watched another spectacular showdown!”
“Heh, what’s the rush? They didn’t fight now because they share a common threat. Once this Day of Absolute Darkness passes, I bet a hundred packs of spicy strips the two sides will definitely clash!”
“Talking about that now is pointless!”
“Shouldn’t the real focus be the Battle of Xinye?”
“The lord is truly a saint. He actually gave the players a full day so these guys could earn merit!”
“The boss in Xinye is Deng Ai? But why Deng Ai? Why did Zhang Xiu call him ‘Living Sound’? That monster sounds so abstract. I don’t even know how you’re supposed to fight it!”
“Interesting!”
“Waiting to watch the Calamity Army get creatively tortured!”
“I’ve already prepared sunflower seeds, instant noodles, and soda!”
Cloud Players who failed to obtain game slots loved watching the Calamity Army suffer.
Every day, the forum was filled with stories of players getting brutally beaten in the game. It had practically become the daily “side dish” for Cloud Players during their meals.
However, some players also expressed frustration.
One Cloud Player wrote:
“Can you guys step it up this time? Don’t embarrass us Cloud Players, okay? Think about how long it’s been since you got a perfect quest rating. Do you deserve the generous cultivation from Feather God?!”
“Easy for you to say.”
“If you’re so capable, why don’t you do it yourself?”
“You think I don’t want to?!”
A member of the Calamity Army replied online:
“Our quest ratings are getting lower? Where exactly are they low? It’s been the same rating for years, stop making things up… Being the Calamity Army is hard. Sometimes you should look at yourselves instead. Have your expectations for us dropped these past few days? Did you even reserve the game properly? I’m going crazy~!”
“Haha, the closed-beta veterans are memeing again.”
“I think the big shots are already doing great. The main problem is the game difficulty is just too high. Getting beaten up is normal. Don’t feel too pressured—just do your best. Anyway, if things collapse, Feather God will come out and clean up the mess!”
“Update faster!”
“My titanium-alloy F5 key is already broken!”
“…”
The Battle of Xinye attracted the attention of countless players.
Everyone was eager to see how the Calamity Army would perform in this battle, and at the same time they were extremely curious about the appearance of the new boss: Evil Infant Deng Ai.
More than eight hundred players had already arrived near Xinye City.
Little Bell said, “Wow, is that Xinye up ahead? It’s huge! I feel like it’s even bigger than Sanxiang Ancient City.”
The city was indeed large.
Yet it gave off an especially gloomy and desolate feeling.
Although Xinye City had been abandoned for over a hundred years, the city’s basic outline remained intact. The entire city was shrouded in thick dark-red mist.
The Calamity Army attempted to send in a Thunderhorn Eagle for reconnaissance.
However, any Thunderhorn Eagle that approached the city was instantly killed by an unknown force.
There was no other choice.
They could only explore it in person.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, “Everyone be careful. This operation’s difficulty definitely won’t be lower than Centipede Canyon. Even though our strength and numbers have been increasing, we still need to be mentally prepared!”
“Yes!”
Everyone nodded.
Each player was filled with both tension and anticipation.
That was the thrill of this game—you never knew what you might encounter. Everything had to be discovered by the players themselves.
Toasting the Moon said, “Honestly speaking, the chance that we clear this in one attempt is pretty low. This time our main objective is reconnaissance and gathering intelligence. If anything feels wrong, retreat immediately!”
Ye Li Meng agreed. “Sounds good!”
The eight hundred players quickly divided their roles.
They split into smaller units by legion or squad and cautiously advanced toward the dark city enveloped in mist.
One thousand meters!
Eight hundred meters!
Five hundred meters!
Every member of the Calamity Army stayed alert, constantly watching their surroundings to prevent monster attacks.
Eventually they stopped at the city gates.
“So tall!”
“So huge!”
The players looked up at the desolate city walls covered with blood-red vines.
The fall and destruction of this city had clearly not occurred when the Abyss first descended. It likely resisted for several years before finally falling to the Abyss. Because of this, the walls had obviously been reinforced and heightened, and many traces of past battles remained on them.
For safety reasons.
The players did not all rush inside.
Following their usual strategy, they decided to send a small reconnaissance team first.
The main force of the Calamity Army stayed outside the city.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Lone Boat, Toasting the Moon, Qingchen, and several other top Rangers quickly formed separate squads. They planned to explore Xinye City from three different directions.
First, they would figure out the terrain and monster distribution inside.
Then they would formulate a more detailed battle plan.
“Waaah—!”
“Waaah waaah—!”
Just as Rui Ge and the others were about to act—
A piercing, ear-splitting cry suddenly rang out, resembling the cry of an infant.
When they heard the sound, everyone present felt slightly dazed.
The source seemed far away, yet also strangely close.
“What was that sound?!”
“Did you all hear it?”
“Yeah… it sounded like a baby crying. Could it be…?”
An ominous feeling rose in everyone’s hearts.
Brother Xiao Ma, a level-15 Warlock, suddenly shouted in shock:
“Holy crap! Look ahead! Where did the city go?!”
What?
Such a massive city—
How could it just disappear?
Yet to their absolute astonishment—
In the blink of an eye, the entire city had truly vanished, as though it had evaporated from the world without leaving a trace.
“What the hell…”
“Waaah! Waaah! Aaaaah!”
The eerie infant cry sounded again, even sharper than before.
It seemed to come from several directions at once.
“Well…”
“We’ve been hit!”
Ye Li Meng pulled out his giant hammer and said, “This must be the Evil Infant boss of Xinye City messing with us. Didn’t expect this guy to be so sharp. We hadn’t even entered the city yet and he already locked onto us.”
“Prepare for battle!”
“What kind of ability is this? An illusion?”
“How did an entire city just disappear out of thin air?!”
“….”
Little Bell asked in confusion:
“Shouldn’t a general’s abilities be related to their historical experiences or folklore image? In history and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Deng Ai was basically a farming administrator. How could he possibly have such reality-altering abilities?”
The players had already noticed something.
Whether it was Guan Yu, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji, or Jia Xu—
The characters in the game had abilities and images closely tied to their identities and reputations.
Perhaps this was the result of their legends and fate being reshaped over centuries.
Midnight Pig Slayer said, “Deng Ai wasn’t just some random farming official. He was famous for deception and surprise tactics. His most famous battle was secretly crossing Yinping to destroy Shu. So having some ‘stealing heaven and changing fate’ kind of ability that hides an entire city doesn’t seem that strange.”
“Well… that’s kind of a stretch.”
“And besides, this Deng Ai died shortly after birth. He probably has little to do with the historical Deng Ai.”
Everyone voiced their opinions.
Chimera Wraith said, “I also think this Deng Ai has little connection to the one we know.”
Dawnlight nodded in agreement.
“There’s a difference between Abyssal Inhabitants and Abyssal Monsters.”
“People like Zhang Bao or Ma Yuanyi that we encountered before—even though they were mutated and demonized—still had intelligence and clarity.”
“But completely monstrous creatures are different.”
“Their distortion level is much higher, and their abilities are far more unpredictable.”
Hearing this explanation, the others felt it made sense.
This kind of corrupted monster had appeared before.
The corrupted twin entities in Woniu Mountain and the Four Generals of the Mortal Realm who served Zhang Bao were examples.
As for the Evil Infant Deng Ai inside Xinye City—
It had no intelligence and no self-awareness.
It was a completely monstrous existence.
Its historical image was meaningless as reference.
And creatures like this tended to possess far more bizarre and unpredictable abilities.
The Calamity Army found themselves completely confused by the situation.
They suspected they had fallen into an illusion.
But after trying several methods to break it, they discovered none of them worked.
“Fall back first!”
After a quick discussion among the legion commanders—
They realized the enemy was hidden while they were exposed.
This was extremely disadvantageous.
To avoid meaningless casualties, they decided to retreat and reassess.
Everyone immediately summoned their Spirit Horses and galloped away.
But after running nearly a kilometer—
They still couldn’t find the village stronghold.
“What’s going on?”
“Did the village disappear too?”
“No! It’s not the village or the city!”
“We’ve been affected by that strange crying sound!”
“Check the map! Our location is weird!”
“….”
Twisted Three Kingdoms had already introduced a Map System.
Although it was a paid feature, it was extremely useful. Players could track their own positions or those of teammates through the in-game map, so most players had activated it.
But when the players opened their maps—
They were completely stunned.
Not only had the Calamity Army failed to retreat from Xinye—
According to the map, they had already entered the city.
This made the players suspect the map system was malfunctioning or being interfered with.
The infant’s crying continued.
Sharp. Eerie. Drifting.
Suddenly—
Hundreds of players felt a sharp pain in their heads, as if someone had struck them with a blunt weapon.
Their health bars dropped.
“You were attacked by ‘Evil Wailing’ and suffered 50 points of Spirit Damage!”
“You have been marked by ‘Wailing Curse’. Willpower attribute −10%. Duration: 100 minutes!”
“Damn!”
“It deals damage!”
“That crying sound can attack us!”
The players quickly took Healing Pills to restore their lost health.
They continued moving, hoping to escape the Evil Infant’s range.
But soon they discovered—
No matter which direction they moved—
They were still inside Xinye City.
Even though they were supposedly inside the city—
The surrounding area was empty.
Not a single building could be seen.
The crying continued endlessly.
Waves of sound seemed almost visible, spreading strange energy into the air.
The empty wilderness before their eyes began to change.
The dark-red fog grew thicker and thicker.
It flowed like liquid, surging and forming strange blooming waves, swirling vortices, and distorted patterns.
It felt as though the crying itself was visible.
As though it could twist reality.
Everyone felt as if they had stepped into an abstract oil painting that was melting and constantly changing.
Colors and shapes warped and collapsed into chaos.
The Calamity Army was trapped.
They dared not act rashly.
But at that moment—
The blunt shock struck again.
“You were attacked by ‘Evil Wailing’…”
“You were attacked by ‘Evil Wailing’…”
Every time the infant cry sounded—
Everyone present suffered damage.
Additionally, the curse continued weakening their attributes.
Although it couldn’t immediately kill the Calamity Army, it continuously drained their resources.
If they couldn’t find a solution—
Even with endless potions and supplies—
The only ending would be death.
“This is insane!”
“We can’t even see the boss!”
“How are we supposed to fight?!”
“….”
Since its founding, the Calamity Army had faced many powerful enemies.
Some had overwhelming strength that pressured players immensely.
But they had never encountered a situation like this.
It wasn’t that the enemy was overwhelmingly powerful.
It was simply too bizarre.
Whether the Calamity Army could defeat it or not was another matter.
But not even having a target to attack—
That was extremely frustrating.
At this moment, the earth, sky, and air became increasingly distorted.
Everything seemed made of wax and melting under intense heat.
The entire world twisted and warped.
Like a childish scribble drawn by a mind that hadn’t yet matured.
Only the players of the Calamity Army maintained their stable forms within this distorted world.
Unable to distinguish direction—
The players felt both nervous and excited.
“Interesting!”
“This is a new experience!”
“Even if we die here, seeing such visual effects is worth it!”
“Twisted Three Kingdoms really put effort into this!”
“Yeah! No reskinned monsters!”
“More crazy mechanics like this make the game fun!”
“….”
An ordinary person trapped in such a situation might have collapsed mentally long ago.
But the players of the Calamity Army found it entertaining.
After all—
Games were meant to be fun.
And nothing was more exciting than encountering something completely new.
Ye Li Meng saw some players starting to joke around instead of taking things seriously.
He quickly said:
“Hey! Get serious!”
“We’re on a mission here. Even if we’re in trouble, we can’t just sit around waiting to die!”
“Toasting the Moon said, “We need to be more aggressive.”
Rui Ge suggested, “Let’s split up and move in different directions simultaneously. Maybe one group can find the correct exit.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“What if the boss is trying to isolate us and kill us one by one?”
“Come on, what’s there to fear? We came here to test the waters anyway. I never expected to leave alive.”
“If you’re afraid of dying, you’re not Calamity Army!”
After a brief discussion and vote—
Most players supported the plan to split up.
The Calamity Army divided into twenty to thirty squads, each taking a different route.
Even the player leaders knew—
This decision would most likely result in a total party wipe.
But given the current situation, this was the only way to gamble for a breakthrough.
As long as one squad managed to escape alive—
They could analyze the escape route and potentially discover the pattern behind this strange space.
Ye Li Meng led more than ten elite members of the War God Hall as they moved through the maze-like currents of twisted colors and fog.
“Waaah—!”
The crying never stopped.
It sounded as though hundreds of infants were crying simultaneously.
“You were attacked by ‘Evil Wailing’…”
Glorious Years quickly consumed a Qi-Restoration Pill and cast healing spells to restore everyone’s health.
While health could be recovered—
Attribute reductions could not be quickly restored.
Especially after Willpower was reduced.
Many of the Monk’s skills became weaker.
And the damage from Spirit Attacks increased, causing more negative effects such as dizziness, confusion, and unconsciousness.
“Ignore the attacks!”
“Just keep moving forward!”
Ye Li Meng tried to force their way through the area.
But suddenly—
The fog ahead began to ripple like water.
Massive and grotesque figures slowly emerged from it.
“Careful! Monsters!”
Lone Boat wore a mask and drew his bow.
An arrow shot into the fog.
A piercing scream came from within.
Then the creature crawled out.
“So there really are monsters!”
The others examined it carefully.
It was a giant spider roughly the size of a truck.
But upon closer inspection—
The spider was made entirely from human bodies.
It had far more legs than a normal spider.
Each leg was actually a thin, elongated human arm with five sharp claws dripping with toxic energy.
The two front limbs held swords.
Its bloated body was formed from melted human torsos.
As for the head—
It consisted of dozens of half-melted human heads fused together.
At the center was an insect-like mouthpart surrounded by several enormous mandibles.
【Xinye Remnant Citizen】 — Level 20 Elite Unit
Description: Once citizens of Xinye City. After falling into the Abyssal Nightmare, they mutated and were twisted together through repeated cycles of nightmare reincarnation into horrifying monsters.
At last—
Monsters had spawned.
At least that was some kind of progress.
“Level is a bit high, but still Tier-Two monsters. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“These monsters were formed from Undead Citizens? I didn’t expect Undead Citizens to fuse into something like this.”
“….”
Eight Xinye Remnant Citizens appeared from the surrounding distorted space.
Although Level 20 elites were not weak—
There were fewer than ten of them.
This squad could handle it.
Mad Blade Old Wang said, “Don’t get careless. Test their attack patterns first.”
“I’ll do it!”
Lone Boat instantly used Dark Assault and teleported into the monsters.
The Bloodstained Sword plunged into one monster’s head.
—1222 (Critical Hit!)
Half the monster’s health bar vanished instantly.
The strike also triggered the Crimson Spell from the Bloodstained Sword, preventing the wound from healing and further weakening the monster’s attributes.
“ROAR!”
The monster retaliated with more than a dozen claws.
But Lone Boat calmly parried them all.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as sword and claws collided.
Then the monster’s two sword-holding limbs slashed forward.
Two crimson Blade Lights swept toward Lone Boat.
Meanwhile, the other monsters surrounded him.
They spat sticky white webs that formed massive nets in the air.
Lone Boat dodged the blade lights.
Then he unleashed a Qi-Slash, tearing apart the incoming webs.
He retreated quickly, baiting the wounded monster into chasing him.
The monster lunged.
At that exact moment—
Lone Boat spotted an opening.
His retreating body suddenly shot forward like a released slingshot.
The sword roared like a tiger.
—1085 (Critical Hit!)
The monster screamed and collapsed.
However—
At that exact moment—
“You were attacked by ‘Evil Wailing’!”
“You suffered 88 damage and entered Stunned State for 1 second!”
The periodic attack struck again.
Because their Willpower had been heavily reduced—
The damage was now higher.
Three Xinye Remnant Citizens seized the moment to counterattack.
Glorious Years and Ning Caichen II were instantly torn apart.
Enraged, Ye Li Meng and the others launched a furious counterattack and eventually killed the monsters.
The battle itself wasn’t very difficult.
But even this elite squad lost two members.
And one of them was their healer.
Their situation had immediately become far more dangerous.
Yet the most frustrating thing was—
After the monsters died—
Their corpses vanished.
It seemed some unknown force had removed them from the strange space.
Meaning—
No loot could be collected.
Even a top-tier squad like this had suffered.
Other squads were likely in far worse conditions.
“Damn it!”
“What the hell is going on?!”
“Does it never end?!”
Before they could think further—
More spider-like figures appeared in the fog.
The Xinye Remnant Citizens weren’t particularly complex enemies.
But they were fast, powerful, and deadly.
When their numbers increased—
The battle became extremely difficult.
Especially since—
The players had no terrain advantage.
And the crying continued to disrupt them.
…
Outside Xinye City.
Inside Wangzhuang Village.
Hang Yu looked at the constantly appearing data notifications.
He couldn’t help sighing.
“This is more brutal than expected.”
“Player ‘Aching Snail’ has died. Abyssal Essence Points +3000…”
“Player ‘Nuclear Hotpot’ has died. Abyssal Essence Points +4000…”
“Player ‘Knight of Dawn’ has died. Abyssal Essence Points +5200…”
“Player ‘Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind’ has died. Abyssal Essence Points +6400…”
“….”
The number of player deaths was rapidly increasing.
Even Hang Yu was surprised by the situation the Calamity Army had fallen into.
No wonder Zhang Xiu feared this place so much.
The big boss inside Xinye City—
The Evil Infant—
Really was something else.