I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

At the fortress in Sunset Town, the battle between the players and the demonic tide truly entered its most intense phase.

Chapter 744 A Spark

A fortress somewhere in the Land of Night.

The swarm of insects had blotted out the entire sky, rising from the twisted vegetation of the Black Forest, and even trying to gnaw at the rocks in sight.

The remaining knights in the fortress wore tattered armor. They had withstood two waves of insect swarms, but most of them had perished. The survivors had empty eyes and numb expressions. Clearly, in this desperate battle, not only their bodies but also their minds had been tormented. Even if they were lucky enough to survive, their understanding of the world would be drastically changed, and they would never be able to go back to the past.

A knight looked at the swarms of insects covering the mountains outside the fortress. His eyes flickered, and he looked down at the longsword in his hand, which was full of nicks from constantly slaying insects. He felt a sense of weariness.

What am I doing here?

What is the reason I keep fighting?

This world will eventually be devoured and destroyed by monsters, and the torment I am enduring here is meaningless.

He felt a soft whisper in his ear, coaxing him.

The knight raised his sword and held it horizontally against his neck.

People around him noticed his actions, and some stood up to try to stop him, but their movements betrayed their hesitation.

Despair spread, and the knight slashed his neck with his sword. The rough, nicked blade still tore open the flesh, and blood gushed out.

The knight remained silent, blood and foam already choking his throat. A final look of regret flashed in his eyes as he gripped the wound in his throat with both hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. He kicked wildly, but eventually lost all strength and collapsed, meeting his end.

The others exchanged glances, realizing it was impossible for them not to have similar thoughts.

Boom—

Just then, a shockwave struck, and the wall in front finally collapsed due to the swarm of insects devouring it. The dark swarm of insects surged into the fortress, and the knights suddenly felt a pang of regret, wanting to follow the person who had committed suicide.

But time had already given them no more chances.

Moments later, the fortress was completely razed to the ground, and the knights were not even left behind, not even their corpses, only the howling wind remained.

Such situations are commonplace in the Night Kingdom today.

This situation will continue for several more days in the Land of Night.

In this world, which is more torturous than hell, even a normal death is a luxury.

In a village near the Black Forest, two elderly people, too weak to walk, sat on a bench, watching the swarms of insects fill the sky. They held each other's hands tightly, and as the insects swooped down, they closed their eyes.

In a larger town a little further away, a mother held her child, looking at the insects flying in mid-air, her eyes filled with despair.

Even the nobles, seeing the sky gradually being devoured in the distance, had no choice but to flee.

In the face of the demonic tide, power, status, strength, identity—all differences are erased at the speed of light; only death is the sole form of equality.

Sunset Town.

The appearance of the Pale Knights greatly excited all the players present.

The swarm's attacks seemed to have weakened considerably; some insects, finding it difficult to breach this area, turned to other regions to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, the insects attacking the fortress were blocked by the players' various strange and extraordinary items, making it difficult for them to break through the building.

A beam of light burst forth from the pale knight's banner, piercing the blocking swarm of insects like a sharp knife. The light burst forth, forcefully parting a path through the sea of ​​insects.

The knights marched toward the fortress at great speed, as if they were riding steeds, even though they were only on foot—a result of magic, of course.

In a short while, the knights arrived in the town. They raised their barriers and continuously released flames and frost to attack the swarms of insects hovering in the sky, protecting the people of the town.

Time passed second by second.

Even though the defenses of Dusk Town could temporarily hold off the swarm of insects, death and wailing were everywhere in the rest of the Night Kingdom.

Jost stood atop the tower, before him lay scattered parchment scrolls, on which were written the final ritual of the magic net.

In a flash of inspiration, Jost finally completed what could be the greatest spell ever cast in the Night Kingdom, from ancient times to the present, in any time and place.

Now, all that's left is to light it.

However, Jost hesitated.

Is such a decision truly something he can make unilaterally?

He looked into the distance.

The fortress teetered on the brink of collapse amidst the swarm's storm, with the undead players rising one after another, constantly respawning from the mire and gathering to charge onto the battlefield.

The town's mages raised their banners high, facing the surging insect horde without fear of death. Even as their bodies were corrupted, they continued to use magic to protect the townspeople.

On the watchtower of the fortress, which echoes the gray tower, Lu Ban and the others who helped them were also doing their best to break the swarm of insects.

In such a world, I feel out of place.

Jost heard a rumbling sound.

Perhaps because the progress here was too slow, or perhaps because the presence of the Chosen Ones had attracted the attention of the monsters, a giant worm appeared on the horizon.

Beneath its chitinous exoskeleton lay a soft, slimy body. It was enormous and bloated, like a diseased tumor. Floating in mid-air, it drooped countless wriggling tentacles, resembling a lump of rotting flesh, exuding a terrifying and grotesque aura. Its sixteen eyes looked in different directions, sending chills down one's spine.

There are many more insects like this.

Like balloons floating in, the swarm of insects made way for them, creating pathways through the gaps.

Seeing this, Xia's expression changed slightly.

"Take care of those bugs first."

She pointed to the one at the very front.

Immediately, the magic in his hand traversed a distance of a hundred meters and flew towards the insect.

But before the magic could hit, the insect exploded.

Boom—

A flash of light, enough to temporarily blind someone, burst forth, followed by a tremendous roar. The insect exploded like a balloon, and the resulting shockwave, accompanied by flames, engulfed its kin. The blast wave rushed towards the fortress, causing Sia's hair to flutter wildly.

In Sia's time, there were such mutated insects in the Thousand-Legged Forest. Although they moved relatively slowly, their destructive power was astonishing. If the Spirit Torch had not blocked them, these swarms could have easily entered the vicinity of the fortress, detonated themselves, and destroyed the fortifications.

More importantly, with their numerical advantage, the explosions are endless.

Mages can use various methods to snipe these insects from a distance, but if even one escapes, all their efforts will be in vain.

In addition, there are insects that move faster, like rolling balls, but with slightly less destructive power, as well as insects that devour magic, insects that specialize in cutting steel, insects that can hide their form, and various other specialized insects.

These insects usually appear on the second or third day of the blood moon, and that's when the real hardship begins.

But now, only half a day after the demonic tide began, these mutated insects have already appeared on the battlefield.

Boom—

Xia saw that a watchtower in the foreground had been hit by the exploding bug, a small mushroom cloud rose up, and after the smoke dissipated, only ruins remained.

More exploding insects appeared on the battlefield. Shea didn't know if this was a ripple in history caused by the arrival of the Chosen One. She only knew that if this continued, the damage caused by this demonic tide would be much greater than in history, more territories would fall, and the butterfly effect might affect more of history.

This is the struggle of the Night Kingdom.

Even if humanity triumphs for thousands of years, the monsters only need to win once to decide the outcome.

whoosh-

Several smaller, shuttle-like insects fell from the exploding insect. They were extremely fast and numerous, and in the blink of an eye, they passed the swarm of insects, passed the fortress, and hit the magical barrier in the town, and the standing gray tower.

Rumble rumble rumble—

A series of explosions rang out, and Trist saw that beneath the smoke, the magical barrier, though still present, had been damaged considerably, with cracks appearing. The mages inside were struggling to hold on, their attack frequency decreasing as the pollution accelerated its erosion.

As for the towering gray tower, the explosion damaged its structure, leaving the entire tower swaying precariously like a candle in the wind.

Jost was jolted and fell to the ground, blood streaming down his arm. He coughed incessantly, the blood splattering onto the parchment in a horrifying sight.

He knew it was time.

Jost stood up; he stood at the top of the Gray Tower.

Whoosh whoosh—

Hundreds more similar insects appeared, moving toward the gray tower in chaotic patterns.

They seemed to be in fear of something, in awe of something, and dreading something, eager to destroy this tower that had not yet served any purpose.

Sia did everything in her power to intercept the insects.

But the quantity is simply too large.

Even if only one of these hundreds of insects escapes, it is enough to cause enormous damage.

Under absolute firepower suppression, even magic appears pale and powerless.

Boom—

Despite meticulous planning, a single worm struck the gray tower.

Amid the explosions, countless pieces of building debris flew out.

Xia's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose.

She saw that the gray tower was riddled with holes in the smoke and dust, as if it would collapse at any moment.

However, the Grey Tower still stands.

At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to this dilapidated tower.

At the top of the tower stood a person.

He was wearing a long red robe, his face was haggard, and there was still blood on the corner of his mouth.

Jost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He smiled because he had finally found the answer.

In this dark, hopeless world shrouded in night, a spark is indeed needed.

This flame is neither a god who has abandoned humanity, nor an Old One who created monsters.

Jost now finally understood that flame.

It was him.