I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Instead, thick, gloomy clouds covered the sky.

The clouds resembled deep volcanic ash after a volcanic eruption, spreading from the other side of the horizon and obscuring the sky.

Between the clouds, crimson lightning flashed, as if it were about to devour the world.

"Is this a demonic tide?"

Old Eggplant suddenly recalled the scene he had seen in "The Tide of Demons": the fierce cold wind sweeping across the massive single storm, accompanied by countless gray-white winter wolves rushing in, destroying everything in sight.

Despite having experienced those desperate scenes in movies and witnessed the overwhelming force of monsters charging in various games and films, Old Eggplant still felt an instinctive shiver when he actually stood before such immense power.

A gust of wind swept in, causing the wheat ears to sway. The players looked over there curiously, while the townspeople, unusually, showed expressions other than numbness and the joy of eating ordinary bread.

That was fear.

"Is this a demonic tide?"

Drizzt gazed out the window; the sudden change in the sky was hardly a cause for celebration in this exotic land.

He had been to the Kingdom of Night before, and his previous mission also involved experiencing a demonic tide. However, that was when he had just become a Chosen One, and it was on the [Mortal] difficulty. At that time, Drizzt and several rangers and mages were stationed in a stronghold near a human town, not on the front line of the fight against monsters like Lu Ban.

Nevertheless, Trist witnessed the terror of those monsters. Humans struggled to withstand even the monsters that managed to escape. Longswords were broken, shields were pierced, and only the crimson blood moon dyed the earth red.

"No, according to the observations of the kingdom's chief mages, the next demonic tide is at least six months away, and the blood moon has not yet risen. This should just be weather pollution caused by the migration of some collectively moving demons."

Jost looked up from the file, stared at it for a moment, and then pondered for a while.

"But we'd better be prepared. The monsters themselves are irrational and quite chaotic. They could very well cross the forest and attack here."

Chapter 717 The Last Courage

"Prepare for battle."

Brown cried out, his hands trembling so badly he could barely hold the sword. In fact, even his voice was shaking. His armor was his only remaining support.

Brown had never faced a real monster, or even a common beast. No, to put it another way, he had never actually fought a life-or-death battle with a human. Most of the time, Brown was the guy who led a group of people to bully others.

He knew this wasn't a demonic tide, and those monsters might not even pass through Dusk Town, but the instinctive fear still made Brown grit his teeth, afraid that if he gave in, his knees would buckle along with his buttocks, and he would collapse completely.

At this moment, Brown saw that the "players" had all picked up weapons and come to the edge of the fields they had cultivated, attempting to surround the town.

They wore no armor, only their original cloth clothes, yet they felt no fear.

In fact, what Brown saw in these people's eyes was...excitement and anticipation.

Is this a monster?

Those monsters, far more ferocious and cruel than wild beasts!

Aren't they afraid of dying?!

Well, it seems they really aren't afraid of death.

Brown suddenly realized that players, these summoned creatures, were indeed not afraid of death. Even if their physical bodies died, they could quickly crawl out of the mire and regenerate. He even envied these people a little.

But Brown doesn't want to be one of those people.

Because, to put it simply, these players, though they seem smart, are actually quite simple-minded.

Who would help others farm, clear land, and build houses without expecting anything in return? Moreover, these players are incredibly curious and have an exceptionally high level of initiative. They have absolutely no worries; if they die, they can always start over.

Moreover, they are very satisfied with just a small reward.

Brown doesn't understand.

But having these players blocking the way in front seems pretty good, doesn't it?

The knights he led were cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong; they were inexperienced and had never seen the world. Faced with the impending storm, they were already at their limit just being able to hold their swords. If the monsters came out of the forest, these men would probably abandon their armor and flee in all directions.

At this moment, Old Eggplant stood in the field, holding the sword that Lu Ban had given him.

He had never actually fought a war, nor had he ever played live-action CS. Old Eggplant thought about it for a moment and felt that they couldn't just stand there doing nothing.

We need at least some cover.

So the old eggplant squatted down and hid behind the ridge of the field.

The thunderclouds roared, the whole forest swayed, and the air grew cold; Old Eggplant even felt he could exhale white breath.

Ahead, in the deep forest, something seemed to be speeding past.

Old Eggplant gripped his sword tighter.

This feeling is like a hobbit hiding in a tree hole, worried that the Ringwraiths will find him, his heart pounding, afraid that they will suddenly stop and discover him.

Fortunately, although the sounds were noisy and chaotic, they quickly swept through the forest and seemed not to have noticed the town of Dusk.

Just as Old Eggplant heard the sounds of wild beasts running through the forest gradually subside and assumed that the monsters had left, suddenly, the entire forest fell into an eerie silence.

Old Eggplant immediately held his breath, trying to hide himself.

But it's not that simple.

Old Eggplant heard a rustling sound, like a thousand worms moving on a smooth surface, their hundreds of legs constantly intertwining.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

Old Eggplant is half a southerner, and he has seen large cockroaches in the south. He also saw all sorts of strange insects on trees when he was a child, but he still overestimated his ability to accept them.

A shadow spread out from the bushes.

Old Eggplant saw that those materialized shadows were not some strange or extraordinary phenomenon, but insects.

A centipede the size of a football is hurtling towards him.

Most of those insects had six to ten legs, small bodies, and their heads were full of eyes. Some insects were bloated and fat like worms, while others had wings, slender bodies, and mouthparts that were like mosquitoes, long and thin steel needles.

Old Eggplant felt a chill run down his spine, his heart pounded at its fastest, all the blood rushed to his head, and his eardrums buzzed as if someone was pounding them wildly.

These are not insects at all, but the deepest nightmares from hell!

The moment the insects attacked, a roaring sound rang out.

Players on the front lines used shouts to alleviate their fear, wielding longswords, spears, hammers, and other weapons, fighting against the insects with their mortal bodies.

But the next moment, the torrent spread, and the players' bodies were too fragile to withstand it. In the blink of an eye, they were completely overwhelmed by the swarm of insects.

Old Eggplant suddenly felt a sense of relaxation.

Just like when you're nervous for half an hour because you have to give a presentation for a class assignment, your body becomes numb and you feel relieved.

He held a sword in his hand and slashed at the insects.

To Old Eggplant's surprise, the seemingly tattered longsword easily sliced ​​open the insect's head, cleaving open countless eyeballs—red, yellow, green—as they burst with fluid.

Old Eggplant felt as if he were possessed by the souls of all sorts of awesome game protagonists at this moment.

However, the next moment, a steel needle-like mouthpart pierced through his chest. Before he could even experience the pain of the game, Old Eggplant was overwhelmed, torn apart, and killed by several insects.

The first line of defense formed by the players was quickly eroded.

The insects swarmed across the fertile fields toward Sunset Town.

The townspeople witnessed the players' sacrifice. Terrified and panicked, they could only desperately protect themselves with their hoes and sickles.

Brown was now completely gripped by a fear beyond death. He stopped trembling, because his legs were completely stiff, as if they were made of cement, and he couldn't move at all.

As the swarms of insects approached, the light of hope in everyone's eyes was about to be extinguished.

Brown stared wide-eyed, his teeth clenched so hard he could practically grind them down, as the insects came right in front of him.

Behind him, the townspeople had already scattered in fear, their wails and cries echoing everywhere.

Brown never dreamed that he would die under such circumstances while protecting these ordinary people.

Suddenly, Brown felt much lighter. He raised his sword and charged towards the swarm of insects.

Perhaps people can be this at ease when they are about to die.

he thought.

Then, Brown saw the swarm of insects in front of him suddenly burst open like balloons.

Chapter 718 Intense Sunlight

The insects seemed to be torn apart by some invisible force, their black, white, yellow, and green sap scattering in all directions, turning into a nauseating rain in the air, falling down and splashing all over Brown.

Before he could turn around to check, he saw the swarm of insects that had come from the forest explode one after another. Their inferior intelligence was completely unable to understand what was happening. In an instant, the insects' sap irrigated the golden wheat fields, turning the crops a pure black color.

This wave of insect attacks was thus halted.

Brown hurriedly turned around and saw Sia, dressed in heavy armor and wearing a cloak, raising her right hand. With a snap of her fingers, the insects further behind were crushed into pieces as if by a giant hand.

The storm quickly passed, and sunlight pierced through the clouds to illuminate the earth. The remaining insects, seemingly afraid of Sia or perhaps of the sunlight, scurried into the forest and remained silent.

It wasn't even a fight; it was just a one-sided crushing defeat.

At that moment, the old eggplant, which had just crawled out of the mud, ran headfirst into the insects.

"Holy crap, they're even camping corpses now?"

He cursed, and since he had no weapons at hand, Old Eggplant had no choice but to prepare to fight the insects with his bare hands.

But the insects didn't even glance at Old Eggplant and the others, and went straight into the deeper part of the forest.

"what?"

Old Eggplant remained cautious for a moment, and only after confirming that the swarm of insects had indeed not returned did he quickly return to town.

At first, he thought that the insects had left because everyone in the town had been killed.

When he saw Brown and the townspeople completely unharmed, Old Eggplant was stunned.

Of course, the fact that his crops were still being ruined made Old Eggplant feel heartbroken and increased his hatred for those monsters.

He then discovered that the crops in the field, after being contaminated with the monster's sap, did not wither but instead grew even better.

However, those plump ears of wheat looked like insect eggs, wriggling slightly, which was nauseating and quite horrifying.

“These areas are already contaminated, and powerful purification methods are needed to remove the contamination.”

Xia observed the wheat ears and said.

"My God, that was at least a seventh-tier spell, right? To be able to use it without any chanting or preparation rituals... Is this the future of mages?"