Chapter 220 : The Defiled Idol! Harvesting Leeks Like Crazy! A Great Victory for the Calamity Army!
Chapter 220: The Defiled Idol! Harvesting Leeks Like Crazy! A Great Victory for the Calamity Army!
Early in the morning.
Hua Mulan logged in.
This Level 20 Calamity Army member was one of the top warriors of the Divine Feather Palace Legion.
After resting for most of the night, her fatigue had been completely cleared.
When she stepped out of the barracks feeling refreshed, she immediately noticed many unfamiliar faces throughout the territory.
“Greetings, Senior!”
“Newbie paying respects to Senior!”
“Wow, that spear looks amazing! What quality equipment is it? Can we touch it?”
“...”
The latest recruitment wave had begun yesterday.
According to the official recruitment plan,
at least 11,500 new players would be recruited this round.
The total Calamity Army force was expected to exceed 15,000 players.
Both its scale and strength would increase dramatically.
Hua Mulan was an enthusiastic and generous player.
She did not mind offering advice and assistance to newcomers whenever possible.
After all,
doing so helped enhance the reputation of the Divine Feather Palace Legion,
making it easier to recruit quality newcomers in the future.
However,
not today.
She needed to prepare for the mission.
Hua Mulan quickly purchased sufficient medicine, arrows, and other consumable supplies.
She then headed to Kiba Grand Restaurant,
where she met up with Little Bell, Dawn, Qingchen, Meow Meow, Lu Xiaoyou, and several close friends.
They enjoyed a luxurious feast,
stacking food buffs on themselves.
Afterward,
they immediately rushed to Xinye.
“Looks like almost everyone has arrived!”
“This mission has a total of 2,868 participating players.”
Chi Mei Wang Liang said,
“The minimum registration requirement was Level 9. That means our Calamity Army already has roughly three thousand players above Level 9. Everyone's growth rate is pretty impressive!”
Dawn replied,
“Although our strength keeps increasing, we're still far from powerful enough. Forget the thousands of Tier-Three elites in Old Wan City—even fighting the skeleton army invading Wolong Mountain is still extremely difficult.”
That was certainly true.
The current strength disparity within the Calamity Army was enormous.
The top-tier players were already comparable to elite units of the same level.
Some were even capable of fighting Commander-level units.
Yet the middle-tier players and recruits remained weak.
A handful of top players could not support an entire massive army by themselves.
More time and effort would still be required.
Until the Calamity Army fully matured,
the safety of the territory would depend on the Lord and the NPCs.
Today's mission not only offered enormous rewards,
it would determine whether the territory successfully recruited Jia Xu.
Naturally,
everyone intended to complete it flawlessly.
“The time's up.”
“Why hasn't it started yet?”
“The Lord has arrived!”
Once all participating players had assembled,
the Lord personally teleported to the Xinye Blessing Point with his subordinates.
A group of followers accompanied him,
including Zhang San, Li Si, and the other Azure Dragon Guards.
Together,
they carried a massive stone coffin.
Besides them,
there were two figures with white hair.
One was the white-haired, white-bearded, kind-faced Zhang Zhongjing.
The other was a black-robed Daoist with white hair and crimson eyes.
“The Calamity Army greets the Lord!”
Ye Li Meng, Black Pupil Sharp Brother, Little Bell, Raising a Cup to Gaze at the Moon, and Arthur King—the five legion commanders—took the lead in kneeling.
The other players quickly followed suit,
paying respects to the great and majestic Lord.
“Wait... that's Jia Xu!”
“Why is he here?”
“Isn't he our target? He looks perfectly fine!”
“...”
Upon seeing Jia Xu in person,
the players were both delighted and confused.
“Heroes of the Calamity Army, we meet again. I apologize for my previous offenses.”
Jia Xu politely cupped his fists toward them.
Although this was technically their first meeting,
many players had already crossed paths with him before.
The circumstances, however,
had not been particularly pleasant.
“Hahaha!”
“No big deal!”
“We'll all be on the same side now!”
“We hope Mr. Jia will take care of us in the future!”
Little Bell asked,
“Mr. Jia, you don't seem injured at all!”
Jia Xu proceeded to explain his condition and the Lord's plan in detail.
“Although I appear normal, I am actually beyond saving.”
“Only by completely destroying this body can I obtain a chance at survival.”
Jia Xu continued,
“Once I merge with the flesh of the Evil God’s offspring and fully release the Abyssal corruption and chaotic consciousness within me, the result will inevitably be the birth of a monstrous creature.”
“That creature will be the complete corruption of my physical body.”
“Driven by instinct, it will seek to devour my soul and achieve a more perfect state of completion.”
Zhang Zhongjing added,
“I can temporarily stabilize Mr. Jia’s soul. And with the Lord present, the creature will never succeed.”
Only then did the Calamity Army fully understand the mission.
After becoming corrupted,
Jia Xu had somehow separated his soul in time.
The method was astonishing.
Yet it was precisely because of that decision that he still had a chance to be saved.
And to save him,
his body had to be completely destroyed.
Ye Li Meng immediately shouted,
“With the Lord overseeing everything, Lord Jia’s soul will definitely remain safe!”
“As for destroying the monster and purifying the corruption, leave it to the Calamity Army!”
Black Pupil Sharp Brother also declared,
“The Calamity Army guarantees mission success!”
Naturally,
Hang Yu accepted the Calamity Army’s request.
The players were all eager.
This mission was unique.
It was important,
interesting,
and highly challenging.
It perfectly matched what players wanted.
No time to waste!
The Azure Dragon Guards placed the Soul-Sealing Coffin near the Xinye Blessing Point.
Jia Xu walked approximately five hundred meters outside the city.
Because his body contained no soul,
and his soul remained sealed inside the coffin,
this was the maximum distance he could safely maintain.
Success or failure would be decided here.
Jia Xu had always valued his own life.
His creation of the Six-Direction Fate Grand Formation for New Wan had never stemmed from noble ideals.
It had simply been an act of self-preservation.
By nature,
he preferred manipulating events from the shadows.
He had never fully trusted anyone.
Nor had he ever entrusted his fate completely to another person.
This was the only exception.
Still,
he believed he would not regret it.
This was both a gamble with enormous rewards
and a token of allegiance offered to this mysterious Lord.
He swallowed the flesh.
In one motion,
he consumed it.
Without hesitation,
Jia Xu immediately severed all remaining connections to his body,
preventing the rapidly awakening chaos and corruption from invading his soul.
“It's beginning!”
Every player present could feel the endless madness and corruption of the Abyss erupting like a volcanic explosion.
The entire Xinye region was swallowed by it.
Twisted phantoms appeared everywhere.
Ultimately,
a purple-black domain of chaos formed.
The city and surrounding lands seemed to be dragged into another dimension.
It felt as though they had been transported to some dark corner of the universe,
surrounded by shattered galaxies and black holes.
“Holy crap! This is awesome!”
“Hahaha! This is exactly the kind of spectacle a Boss battle should have!”
“Don't be scared! No matter how strong it is, it's only one monster!”
“Exactly! There are thousands of us! We could drown it in spit!”
“Kill!”
“Charge!”
“...”
Once they judged the timing right,
the Calamity Army advanced according to the planned formation.
Passing through distorted illusions and chaotic black mist,
they soon reached the source of the darkness.
Jia Xu was gone.
In his place stood an enormous malformed mountain of flesh.
The grotesque mass stood nearly one hundred meters tall.
It resembled a giant egg,
a colossal heart,
or a monstrous tumor.
The thing writhed constantly,
as though nurturing something inside.
“What the hell is that?”
“Who cares? Blow it up!”
The players had no idea what the gigantic flesh mountain was.
However,
it clearly appeared to be undergoing some kind of development.
According to common gaming logic,
this was obviously the best opportunity to attack.
“Attack!”
The Calamity Army swarmed forward.
Unexpectedly,
the giant egg-like monstrosity underwent a sudden transformation.
Something growing inside tore through its flesh,
causing it to burst apart in an instant.
The next moment,
countless streams of thick black liquid erupted outward.
The substance resembled coagulated blood or molten asphalt.
Like a flood,
it covered hundreds of meters around the creature.
The approaching players had no time to react.
【You have been affected by “Idol Roar.”】
【You suffered 450 Mental Damage and entered a Stunned state for 10 seconds!】
【You have been affected by “Extreme Filth Corrosion.”】
【-100 HP per second for 60 seconds!】
【...】
The attack was absurdly powerful.
Almost every player instantly received four or five negative status effects.
Stun.
Madness.
Weakness.
And more.
Meanwhile,
their HP drained at a terrifying rate.
……
Inside Xinye City.
“My Lord, I have stabilized Mr. Jia’s soul using the Golden Needle Secret Art.”
Zhang Zhongjing reported.
“This technique will ensure that his soul does not disperse for a period of time.”
“It will also prevent contamination or soul extraction.”
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction.
Jia Xu possessed a secret method capable of transforming himself into a ghost-like existence upon death.
However,
he could not do that yet.
Body and soul remained connected.
As long as even the slightest connection existed,
his soul would instantly become corrupted.
Temporarily sealing it was the safest solution.
Yet at that moment,
a roar reached the city.
It could not be heard with normal ears.
Instead,
it directly invaded the soul and mind.
The sound carried unimaginable madness and corruption.
Even from within the city,
everyone felt its effects.
Zhang Zhongjing’s expression changed.
The entire coffin began trembling violently.
The golden needles and threads covering its surface rapidly dimmed.
Some force was attempting to drag away both the coffin and its contents.
Hang Yu immediately activated King’s Soul.
Two invisible forces collided and canceled each other out.
“This thing really isn't simple.”
At that exact moment,
he received an enormous flood of death notifications.
【Player “Bald from Staying Up Late” has died. Abyss Essence +5200...】
【Player “Outlaw Madman” has died. Abyss Essence +4000...】
【Player “Breaking Dawn Bell” has died. Abyss Essence +4000...】
【...】
【Player “Ye Li Meng” has died. Abyss Essence +46000...】
【Player “Black Pupil Sharp Brother” has died. Abyss Essence +46000...】
【Player “Raising a Cup to Gaze at the Moon” has died. Abyss Essence +40000...】
【...】
Before the battle had even truly begun,
the entire Calamity Army had been wiped out.
Although Hang Yu anticipated that this specially arranged Boss battle would be difficult,
he had not expected the players to be annihilated so cleanly.
Nearly 2,900 players.
Around twenty Tier-Three players.
Nearly one thousand Tier-Two players.
And another eighteen hundred players at Level 9 or above.
This lineup was unprecedented.
Compared to the Xinye Campaign or the Ultimate Darkness Defense Battle,
both the quality and quantity were vastly superior.
After a rough calculation,
the first wipe alone generated approximately 14 million Essence.
Hang Yu felt extremely satisfied.
Arranging this event had indeed been a wise decision.
Hopefully,
the profits would become even greater.
Soon afterward,
the players revived inside the city.
Midnight Pig-Slaughtering Man shouted,
“Holy crap! What happened? Why did I suddenly die?”
Little Ma replied,
“We were careless! That was a classic instant-kill opening mechanic! We advanced too quickly!”
Chi Mei Wang Liang said,
“Talking about it now is pointless! Reform the formation immediately!”
“We absolutely cannot let the monster enter the city!”
Artist Pai Zong added,
“Exactly! If the Lord has to intervene, our mission rating is finished!”
“And our rewards are finished too!”
Little Bell shouted,
“Who cares about ratings? The important thing is that the Lord is watching us!”
“I refuse to embarrass myself in front of the Lord!”
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
The Calamity Army did not become discouraged.
With remarkable efficiency,
they reorganized and launched another assault.
To everyone's surprise,
the Boss had not moved.
However,
its appearance had changed dramatically.
It now resembled a massive lump of writhing flesh soaking within a pool of asphalt-like liquid.
The enormous flesh mass remained gigantic.
Its shape was difficult to describe.
It resembled a grotesquely swollen tree growing from a black lake,
its surface covered in tumors and eyeballs.
This time,
the players could finally view its information.
【Defiled Idol】, Level 29 Overlord Unit...
【Description: A terrifying Abyssal monster created from the corrupted body of Extreme Yin Jia Xu fused with an Evil God offspring. It possesses immense power and boundless malice.】
“So that's what it is?”
“Not exactly what I imagined.”
“Level 29 Overlord. This should be the strongest Abyssal monster we've encountered besides Dian Wei!”
“Be careful!”
“...”
Before the players could discuss tactics,
the ground suddenly shook.
Massive flesh tentacles burst from beneath the earth.
Many players were struck before they could react.
Though flexible in appearance,
the tentacles were razor-sharp.
Their attack power was terrifying.
Armor was effortlessly torn apart.
Bodies were skewered through.
Multiple players were strung together like candied hawthorn skewers.
“Damn it!”
“We've entered its attack range!”
“This thing has an enormous attack radius!”
“Don't panic! They're just tentacles! Not a big problem!”
“Let's all rush it!”
“...”
The Calamity Army pressed forward despite casualties.
Yet once they entered the black lake,
the asphalt-like substance took effect.
Players became completely paralyzed.
Simultaneously,
Extreme Filth Corrosion rapidly consumed their health.
“Damn!”
“Melee fighters can't get close!”
“Then long-range attacks are our only option!”
Little Bell, Chi Mei Wang Liang, Little Ma, Artist Pai Zong, and the other Warlocks unleashed their strongest spells.
Rangers and Warriors also launched ranged attacks with bows and other weapons.
However,
something unexpected happened.
The Defiled Idol did not suffer damage from elemental spells.
Instead,
it directly absorbed magical energy,
healing and strengthening itself.
In other words—
Magic attacks were nearly useless.
Meanwhile,
its enormous size meant it possessed no obvious weak point.
Physical ranged attacks dealt pitiful damage.
Not even enough to outpace its regeneration.
“This is ridiculous!”
“How are we supposed to fight this?”
Unable to approach.
Magic immunity.
Extremely high physical resistance.
Massive attack radius.
The players were completely stunned.
Then,
another unexpected development occurred.
The tumors growing on the Defiled Idol reached maturity.
They detached and fell into the black lake.
Moments later,
they transformed into monsters.
Each had a unique appearance.
Their only common trait was their horrifying deformity.
Players quickly identified them.
【Defiled Servant】, Level 26 Lord Unit...
【Description: Servants created by the Defiled Idol. Each possesses unique abilities, and their numbers are virtually endless.】
Within moments,
over twenty Defiled Servants had appeared.
Each was a Commander-level monster of Level 25 or 26.
All possessed tremendous combat power.
They immediately launched an assault.
The Calamity Army was caught completely off guard.
Casualties skyrocketed.
Players fell continuously.
Attempts to intensify attacks against the Defiled Idol failed.
Meanwhile,
the tentacles and Defiled Servants massacred players relentlessly.
“This isn't good!”
“How are we supposed to win?”
“...”
The players gradually realized something.
The Defiled Idol was a summoner-type Boss.
Its actual combat ability wasn't especially high.
It relied almost entirely on tentacles and summoned servants.
The black lake prevented enemies from approaching.
It was nearly immune to magic.
And possessed extreme physical resistance.
Killing it was absurdly difficult.
Although it was technically an Overlord close in level,
it was vastly stronger than Zhang Xiu’s Corrupted Child form.
Its difficulty likely qualified as top-tier among Overlords.
The Calamity Army suffered enormous casualties.
Fortunately,
they were fighting right outside Xinye City.
Every fallen player revived quickly and returned to battle.
As a result,
despite being completely dominated,
their numbers never significantly decreased.
No surrender.
No retreat.
The Calamity Army was getting angry.
“No Boss is perfect!”
“I refuse to believe it has no weakness!”
“I also refuse to believe it has infinite power!”
“Damn it! Even if I die ten times today, I'll kill this thing!”
“Stop rushing blindly!”
“Figure out the mechanics first!”
“...”
The players continued fighting while analyzing.
“I've figured it out!”
Raising a Cup to Gaze at the Moon suddenly noticed something.
“Stop attacking the Idol!”
“Focus on killing the servants!”
“Why?”
“Against summoner bosses, shouldn't we ignore the summons and attack the source?”
“That logic normally works.”
“But our attacks can't currently threaten the Idol.”
“We're better off targeting its servants.”
Black Pupil Sharp Brother immediately agreed.
“That makes sense!”
“The servants aren't being summoned from nothing.”
“If we keep killing them, I think we'll drain the Idol itself.”
They had no better option.
So they tried it.
Soon,
they discovered that every slain servant mysteriously reduced the Idol’s HP.
“Hahaha!”
“We were right!”
The players erupted in joy.
Although the Defiled Idol could endlessly create servants,
those servants were formed directly from its own body.
Destroying them damaged the Boss.
This was the correct strategy.
Although nearly everyone had already died at least twice,
morale surged higher than ever.
The players organized themselves,
systematically hunting the Commander-level servants.
The Defiled Servants were powerful.
Their abilities varied wildly.
Yet they faced an overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
Against the endless, immortal Calamity Army,
they could not prevail.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
As more and more servants fell,
the Defiled Idol visibly weakened.
Its HP approached critical levels.
“We're going to win!”
“Hahaha! See? As long as we use our brains instead of attacking randomly, victory is easy!”
“Keep pushing!”
“Glory belongs to the Calamity Army!”
“...”
Under the increasingly fierce assault,
the Defiled Idol visibly shriveled.
It seemed unable to create more servants.
Only its tentacles remained.
They were no longer enough.
The players merely needed to continue attacking from range.
Within minutes,
the Boss would die.
However,
at that moment,
the Defiled Idol transformed once again.
All surrounding black water was absorbed into its body.
The grotesque flesh tree released enormous amounts of asphalt-like substance.
The material gathered in the air,
forming a humanoid silhouette.
【Corrupted Child: Jia Xu】, Level 28 Overlord...
The moment this creature appeared,
every player stared in shock.
Profanities erupted across the battlefield.
Unlike the giant Idol,
this demonized Jia Xu stood only three or four meters tall.
Although vaguely humanoid,
his body consisted entirely of filthy asphalt-like material.
He possessed five or six arms,
two or three heads,
and a pair of malformed wings.
Then he attacked.
Thousands of invisible threads burst from his body.
Whenever one touched a player,
that player instantly lost control.
They became puppets under Jia Xu’s command.
Immediately,
they turned on their allies.
At the same time,
countless powerful spells and sinister secret arts rained down upon the battlefield.
The players were thrown into chaos once again.
Casualties skyrocketed.
“Counterattack!”
“Quick!”
“This has to be the Boss’s final form!”
“If we survive this stage, victory is ours!”
The players launched a desperate assault.
Yet they quickly discovered that Jia Xu possessed enormous HP and regeneration.
Furthermore,
he had no obvious weak point.
Killing him quickly was impossible.
At that moment,
Black Pupil Sharp Brother finally understood.
“Demon Jia Xu is too strong!”
“Don't fight him directly!”
“Pin him down!”
“Create an opening to attack the Idol!”
The players immediately adjusted their tactics.
The Defiled Idol no longer possessed any real protection.
Why waste time fighting Jia Xu directly?
The Calamity Army split into two forces.
One group occupied Demon Jia Xu.
The other attacked the Idol.
Demon Jia Xu appeared to possess some intelligence.
Upon noticing their strategy,
he controlled additional players and attempted to block the assault team.
“Kill them!”
Without hesitation,
the Calamity Army slaughtered their own controlled allies.
Their ruthless efficiency quickly destroyed Jia Xu’s puppet forces.
Before he could seize control of more players,
Black Pupil Sharp Brother, Slash the Street, Ye Li Meng, Lone Boat, Old Wang the Mad Blade, and others successfully reached the Idol.
They unleashed their strongest attacks.
The Idol's HP was already nearly depleted.
At last,
it reached zero.
The Corrupted Child Jia Xu let out a roar filled with madness and unwillingness.
His body lost stability and collapsed.
Once again,
black rain erupted across the battlefield.
Large numbers of players died in the aftermath.
“We did it!”
The surviving players watched as the flesh Idol lost all life.
Its body rapidly petrified.
Purifying energy poured out from within.
Ultimately,
it condensed into a blue loot sphere.
The battle was over.
“We won!”
“We actually won!”
“The Lord never intervened!”
“We earned this victory ourselves!”
Faced with the powerful blue loot sphere,
every Calamity Army player felt overwhelming joy and accomplishment.
This was not their first blue loot sphere.
But Zhang Xiu’s battle had essentially been a lucky steal.
This was completely different.
In the past,
the Calamity Army rarely completed major events entirely on their own.
NPC assistance was usually required.
Sometimes even the Lord personally intervened.
This time was different.
Despite suffering hardships,
the players had relied upon their own strength and intelligence to defeat a true super Boss.
“Tears in my eyes.”
“We actually did it.”
“The Calamity Army did it.”
“Long live the Calamity Army!”
“Glory belongs to the Calamity Army!”
“...”
From inside Xinye City,
Hang Yu watched the celebration.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Honestly,
this outcome was not surprising.
Even though the Defiled Idol was a Level 29 top-tier Overlord,
it still faced an entire army.
And the Calamity Army could never truly be killed.
Still,
they had performed exceptionally well.
Hang Yu approved of their efforts.
Whether in teamwork,
battlefield intelligence gathering,
analysis,
or adaptability,
the Calamity Army's performance had been excellent.
This force was becoming increasingly mature and experienced.
Of course,
the Defiled Idol had also performed admirably.
Not only did it provide substantial loot,
it repeatedly slaughtered the Calamity Army,
harvesting an enormous crop of leeks in the process.