Scourge Messenger

Chapter 361 Choose Your Own Divine Ability!
The two steam-powered generals have been killed in action.

The Holy Shield cycle itself wasn't the problem, but with the Hundred Guardians flanking it, their Holy Shields were first broken by the arrow rain, then hit by the True Demon's Shadow Flame. They only had a little over ten thousand health points, and died after a couple of hits. However, they were originally meant to be cannon fodder to hold off the True Demon, and Yan Qing was somewhat impressed with himself for holding out this long. He truly lived up to his reputation as a top-tier gamer; even a casually assembled lineup possessed near-invincible strength.

Now that they're dead, Yan Qing can finally deal with the Hundred Guards!

"Third-Tier Dragon Clan - Thorn Dragon"

Attack Power: 14000

Health: 17000

"Trait: Thorns: This puppet gains 100/300 attribute points each time it is attacked in battle."

/
"Triple-Turn Mechanism - Steam Turret"

Attack power: 0 (constantly 0)

Health: 17200

"Trait - Hold the Line: Whenever another puppet is attacked, the turret deals 500 points of area damage to the attacker."

When the massive, three-zhang-tall Thorn Dragon blocked Yan Qing and the others' path, it immediately drew a volley of fire from the Baibao Guards. Then, the continuous roar of the steam-powered cannons bombarded the Baibao Guards' position.
While the Thorn Dragon's enhanced hit rate is insufficient to compensate for the damage inflicted by the Guardian Angel, it can extend the Thorn Dragon's lifespan to some extent.

The real killer move is the steam turret. 500 points of area damage is nothing to the Hundred Guards, but it can destroy their foothold! They just ran to the rooftops to get a commanding view of the enemy and used the slopes to create firing space. Once they land on the ground, the Hundred Guards themselves will become obstacles to each other's shooting, and their lethality will plummet!
The Thorn Dragon crashed to the ground, and Yan Qing immediately summoned another puppet with high health to tank in front. He had prepared beforehand, having enough puppet cards and his elite guards to buy time!
"A sweet soul!"

The True Demon unleashed another triple shadow pressure attack, and this time two of the shadow pressures landed on the Hyakubo Guards! However, having learned from their previous experience, they were now positioned more widely, and the two shadow pressures only hit 11 people, still failing to break the damage sharing among the three hundred Hyakubo Guards!
But this incident completely changed the strategy of the commander of the Hundred Guards. They ignored Yan Qing and the others and, without exception, drew their bows into the sky, and arrows rained down like a waterfall!
The damage from an upward shot is naturally far less than that from a direct shot, amounting to little more than the force of gravity causing a fall. However, the commander of the Hundred Guards had already realized that Yan Qing and his group were a sweet bait, a trap to distribute firepower. Since their target was the True Demon, then they should eliminate their strongest puppet, forcing them to either give up or risk a fight with the Hundred Guards!

Without the two generals holding the front, and sandwiched between the guards, the health of Qiongqi, the cloned Qiongqi, and the ascended Liu Er was rapidly declining, but—their output was too high!

The three-headed monsters, with a combined attack power of nearly 1.8 million, quickly depleted the True Demon's health, even though it could withstand the combined fire of hundreds of players. At this point, Yan Qing had no more brilliant strategies; it was now a test of sheer strength. He would see if his monster lineup, which he had spent so much time cultivating, could truly crush the demons and monsters of the Demon Gathering Land!

As the true demon's form grew smaller, the flames within it intensified. When it crossed a certain threshold, its entire body burst into flames, and its ancient, majestic voice, filled with boundless malice, declared: "I need more souls!"

It actually grew two huge black wings that blotted out the sky and covered the earth!
It flapped its wings with abandon, causing the ground to crack in a spiderweb pattern, with boiling molten lava leaping and splashing within; the Demon Gathering Land trembled and shook, and even the dragons in the sky withdrew their flames, as if they themselves had to retreat.

The world was plunged into darkness in an instant, with only the flames of the Demon of Freedom and Innocence dancing in the air.

It really is dancing.

Before witnessing it with his own eyes, Yan Qing would never have believed that such a terrifyingly enormous monster could actually twist its waist. At this moment, its ferocious hands seemed to transform into alluring, supple hands, casually manipulating everyone's heartbeats, like a shaman from a barbaric era dancing to please the god of death. The fragments of iron, glowing red-hot from the molten lava, spun and rose into the air with its dance, a dance both alluring and ferocious, eerie and solemn.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, awestruck by the dance of this magnificent creation, forced to watch helplessly as it plunged the world into purgatory. It wasn't that they didn't want to move, but their bodies were enveloped by the mournful, desolate song, like children clinging to departing parents, like wives reluctant to part with their husbands going to war, like death trying to hold onto fading life!

A lament that breaks one's heart!

With supernatural-level crowd control and supernatural-level chanting, what follows will undoubtedly be a grand performance of supernatural-level quality!

If they could observe other places, they would see that the demon army was fleeing at this moment. This was not because of fear, of course, as demons do not have the concept of fear. Rather, it was because if they continued to stay nearby, it would be very unfair to the players who dared to challenge the true demons.

"Soul, belong to me!"

The true demon spread its arms wide with glee, as if to embrace the world, its wings swelling to their fullest extent, every shadow cast by them proclaiming its arrogance. Thousands of souls escaped from its body, howling, screaming, chanting, and burning—the vengeful spirits captured by the true demon, the embodiment of a lament, tearing apart all living beings with storms and flames!
At this moment, all living beings are permitted to flee; they must not look directly at the majesty of the true demon!
By the time Yan Qing came to his senses, the puppet in front of them was already dead. There were two burn marks on the ground, and the blue bricks on the ground had actually melted. He felt a chill run down his spine. They were already quite far from the true demon, and they had only been hit by two wraiths, yet the puppet with over 10,000 health points had still died instantly. This meant that the damage from a single wraith was probably close to 10,000, and the true demon had just released thousands of wraiths!
The dragon's flames blazed once more, and Yan Qing and the other two looked at the battlefield, immediately gasping in shock.

The Imperial Guards no longer exist.

Yan Qing could even see human-shaped marks on the ground, clearly branded into the earth by vengeful spirits. Further away, only armor remained, the people inside having been burned to ashes.

There are too many of them, and they bear the brunt of the vengeful spirits. If they are hit by a hundred of these spirits, it will be a million damages. Even if there are three hundred people, each person will have to share more than three thousand damages, and even the protective mirror will be destroyed.

Although Yan Qing had guessed that the True Demon possessed a full-screen attack, he hadn't expected it to be this terrifying. The Hundred Guards, once rampant in the Demon Gathering Lands, the strongest army that even Yan Qing found extremely troublesome, had actually melted away in a lament and a dance, without even having time to utter a sigh. But Yan Qing had no time to mourn for the Hundred Guards, because he still had the biggest problem to solve... and it was even possible that the two problems had merged into one.

"Souls, I will devour them!"

The True Demon proclaimed in an aria-like voice that the vengeful spirits that had just escaped from it had returned, passing through Yan Qing and the others and stirring up gusts of eerie wind, but causing no harm. The vengeful spirits merged into the True Demon's body, making its shadowy form grow stronger once more, and the molten lava within it blazing even hotter. It had completely transformed into a crown filled with flames, and the surrounding terrain had turned into a lava field. It had clearly entered the second stage; it was now the ruler of purgatory!

If Yan Qing wasn't mistaken, the newly returned vengeful spirit would replenish its health based on the number of kills. One strike slaughters all living beings, another heals itself, and simultaneously enters a stronger new form... One can imagine how desperate the player would feel facing this situation. Second phase is one thing, but isn't the health regeneration a bit excessive? It feels like all that effort was for nothing.

Ying Rushi clung tightly to Yan Qing's arm; now, at the slightest disturbance, she would run away with Yan Qing in her arms. Murong Hui gazed at the True Demon with longing; she had shown similar expressions to both Yan Qing and Ying Rushi, as innocent and yearning as a child encountering their most cherished toy.

Yan Qing wasn't too worried. After all, the Hundred Guards and assassins had already been lost, and he had completed his most important task. If he couldn't defeat the True Demon today, he could simply let Ye Si complete the task. Supernatural powers would eventually be obtained; the mystical were good, but the imagery was acceptable.

Moreover, if the second phase of the True Demon is related to the number of kills, perhaps... he will still have the advantage!
The puppet's health loss also reveals a clue: the True Demon has become stronger, but not by much; its normal attack damage has only increased to 15,000. It definitely regenerated health, but how much could it possibly recover after killing only 300 Baibao? According to the official concept, its "Elegy Dance" just now would have unleashed thousands of attacks; even if only a third of them were victorious, that should still amount to one or two thousand kills.

There are only three hundred people now, which is like turning a grand feast into instant noodles. It has only eaten a little bit and is still far from being full. Sure enough, the True Demon's body is weakening at a visible speed. However, Yan Qing's puppets are also nearing their limit. After all, they are standing in the closest place to the True Demon, and each of them has taken at least a dozen hits from the vengeful spirits.

The cloned Qiongqi was the first to perish.

"It's time to collect new items!"

The true demon let out a maniacal laugh, reached out and swallowed the cloned Qiongqi's soul, clearly recovering some of its strength. Yan Qing thought to himself that this BOSS was too disgusting; it could even sustain itself through battle. In other words, it wasn't enough for the players to be strong; they also had to prevent weaker players from coming to their doom, otherwise it might become stronger the more they fought.

Now that only Yan Qing has come to challenge it, he has inadvertently cracked its strongest advantage.

The Ascended Six Ears was the second to die in battle.

Yan Qing took a step back, and Murong Hui grabbed his other arm. No one suggested moving; they weren't qualified to participate in this cataclysmic battle, but witnessing the puppets fight to the very end was their responsibility.

As Qiongqi crashed into him, the True Demon's body swayed, and the molten lava in his heart extinguished. Yan Qing and the other two held their breath, quietly awaiting the historic moment.

He suddenly realized that in all these years of the Demon Gathering Lands, he had been the only player; surely no one had dared to challenge the True Demon before. With so many springs and autumns passing, if the land were so inclined, might it also be awaiting a worthy opponent?

“Gradually fading away,” the True Demon’s voice was low and desolate, “gradually receding into the distance.”

The flames engulfed its shadow, transforming it into a gigantic torch that illuminated almost the entire Demon Gathering Land. Before the horrified eyes of Yan Qing and his companions, a time reversal occurred within the Demon Gathering Land, unaffected only by their presence. The rubble transformed back into houses, the lava receded into the earth, and even the dead demons reappeared. Only the True Demon Torch rose high, bestowing upon them an undying radiance!
Yan Qing lifted the Blood and Flesh Cage bracelet and found three new lines of information:

"Under the True Demonic Flame, the respawn time of all demons is increased tenfold; high-level puppets will now spawn in all locations."

In player-versus-player battles, the winner will acquire a random puppet from the loser.

"Now, you only need to obtain three identical puppet cards to ascend your puppet."

The doubts that had been lingering in Yan Qing's mind were answered at this moment.

He had been thinking that while it was good to set up the True Demon as a boss to attract players to chase it, wouldn't players feel empty after the True Demon died? As a group activity lasting fifteen days, this design clearly had a big problem.

Now he understands that once the true demon is killed, the Demon Gathering Land will enter the second stage, with faster development, encouragement of PVP, and easier puppet ascension.

Before the True Demon dies, the player's goal is to kill the True Demon; after the True Demon dies, the player's goal is to conquer the Guiding Lands and become the strongest!
It's hard to imagine what kind of chaotic scene the last day of the Demon Gathering Land in my past life would be like. There would probably be millions of bodies everywhere, tens of millions of bodies would be worthless, and bodies less than a hundred million would be nothing more than ants.

These thoughts flashed through Yan Qing's mind, but his attention was completely drawn to a newly appeared, blood-red, dazzling change card, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

"Transformation at Will: Mastering a Mysterious Supernatural Power"

use!

Three golden cards appeared above the bracelet, shining brightly and dazzlingly!
【Life-Giving Strings】, 【Epitaph】, 【Rain-Woven Net】!
(End of this chapter)