下载大智慧经典版

“I don’t understand,” the temple keeper said with a smile.

“What I mean is, I welcome your return, and I hope…”

“I don’t understand.”

The City Lord looked at the temple keeper for a long time.

The weather was getting colder and colder, so cold that they all had to chop down trees to keep warm.

The expression on the temple keeper’s face reminded the City Lord of a tree he had seen when he was younger, green in color, occupying a whole hill by itself, with no other plants around.

Under the barren soil lay the tree’s root systems, resembling blood vessels, which the pestilence had transformed into a disease tree that devoured everything, but on the outside, it looked lush and even somewhat gentle.

Just like the temple keeper in front of him.

Swallowing hard, the City Lord forced himself to say, “What I mean is, as long as my territory can be returned, I am willing to wage war for the Demon Lord Temple. All the people obtained can become followers of the Demon Lord Temple, and they will wholeheartedly worship you.”

Finally hearing something materially beneficial from the City Lord, the temple keeper tilted her head and revealed a dark smile.

Her pupils had turned black, her toothless mouth showing a ferocious smile, and copious amounts of pestilence vapors emanated from it.

“Agreed, the pact is sealed. Remember your words, City Lord,” she said.

Then, she stretched out her withered hand and reached into her mouth.

For a moment, the City Lord held his breath.

He saw the fingers wriggle at her throat, causing the startled worms beneath her skin to scatter, creating a tingling sensation that made one’s skin crawl.

The sight beyond the comprehension of ordinary people made the City Lord feel nauseated; even his battle-hardened soldiers turned pale, struggling just to stand firm.

The withered hand delved deeper, and something was extracted from her belly —it was astonishingly a clutch of black eggs.

After coughing twice, the temple keeper tossed the object in front of the City Lord.

Staring at the pile, the City Lord asked in bewilderment, “What is this?”

“Disease Bug, a kind of worm that can absorb pestilence and then transform it into strength. Once ingested, the Disease Bug will parasitize within the body. Soldiers will become immensely strong, fearless, never weary, and will obey your every command. Their food will become pestilence, removing the need for supplies. How does that sound, quite remarkable, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing that the Demon Lord Temple actually had such amazing things, the City Lord hesitated.

After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “What is the downside?”

“Savagery, bloodlust, and they may mutate different organs. We have experimented on bandits. However, the resistance of the bandits to the medicine was too slight, so we tried to refine it once more; this time, it should be better.”

Hearing that the Demon Lord Temple had actually experimented on bandits caused an instant change in the expressions of the City Lord’s two Personal Soldiers. However, the City Lord remained unusually calm.

He had long suspected that the bandits were covertly supported by the Demon Lord Temple; otherwise, how could those fellows have escaped the ravages of the disease vapor?

Patted his two Personal Soldiers, he signaled them to sit down, then continued to inquire, “I want to ask, do the Disease Beasts have anything to do with you as well?”

“The small ones, no, but the large ones, yes.”

“As I thought.” The elderly City Lord burst into laughter, slapping his thigh as he spoke, “Indeed.”

After he had laughed his fill, he looked at her and asked, “Last question, can it be used on the dead?”

“As long as they’re not too long dead. And the better the body, the better the effect.”

“Understood. I’m sorry, don’t blame me.”

Standing up, the City Lord drew his waist knife and said to his two Personal Soldiers, “Turn around, I am going to behead this evil being.”

The two Personal Soldiers didn’t suspect a thing and immediately turned around, their backs facing the City Lord.

Immediately after, a chopping sound was heard, the wet sound of a neck being severed.

Only, the sound seemed a bit too far away…

Before the Personal Soldiers could react, their own necks were cut open. The last thing one of them saw was the City Lord picking up an egg and forcefully stuffing it into his wound.

A little farther away, the temple keeper was still sitting unmoved in her place.

And his companion had already been parasitized by the eggs, the wounds on his neck gone, with only the blood remaining.

His abdomen swelled ominously, something lively barely visible within.

Glaring at the City Lord, he opened his bloody mouth and let out a forceful scream, then his eyes feebly closed.

In front of him, the City Lord’s eyes held not a ripple of emotion, mechanically repeating, “Don’t blame me.”

The Personal Soldier’s consciousness faded, and when he opened his eyes again, his appearance had completely changed.

His body looked like a melted candle that had just solidified, muscles, nerves, and skin merging into one mass, then amalgamating with armor and weapon into a different kind of weapon altogether.

Vast amounts of Disease Qi gathered, making the already imposing Soldier even more terrifying, his completely abnormal body unrecognizable, virtually indistinguishable from the Disease Beasts outside.

To thoroughly destroy and cultivate weapons, the City Lord skillfully combined the two into one action.

And this indicated he had wholly sided with the Demon Lord Temple, becoming a pawn under the Demon Lord Temple’s flag.

Looking at the expressionless City Lord, the temple keeper wore a satisfied smile.

Approaching, she gently stroked the City Lord’s head and said with a smile, “Welcome back to the righteous path, my child.”

Outside, the medical practitioners were eagerly launching their life-saving operations.

Some constantly roamed about, others tirelessly scouted.

Knowing they could instigate greater events, nearly all medical practitioners excitedly declared it would be a pity not to join in on such significant actions.

A portion of medical practitioners didn’t directly partake in the insurrection but supported them in another manner.

That was to write battle reports.

Chen Rang was among the best of them.

With excellent writing skills and a wide network, he had witnessed the first siege from start to finish and recorded every moment worthy of song with an objective and detailed style.

He wasn’t particularly interested in the matter himself, as he preferred to spend more time frolicking with his Mukuai.

But his Mukuai found his work quite interesting, so Chen Rang found it interesting as well.

To prevent his Mukuai from being reclaimed by the Heavenly Tao, he even spent money to buy “Bl®” from game merchants and with it, purchased a pink dress and other trinkets, transforming a regular Mukuai into a dainty one.

The clothes were indeed nice, incredibly so when worn.

But the fact that the clothes couldn’t be destroyed made some players feel it was unrealistic and claimed it was definitely a bug.

So, Fang Cheng Studio, don’t be ungrateful, hurry up and fix the bug!

Today, having finished work early, Chen Rang immediately left the office, made a hasty dinner, and logged into ” gg” only to see Mukuai dozing off on the table inside their home.

The house had also been bought with “ft®.”

The game didn’t allow for the purchase of real estate, but one could buy materials to hire villagers to help build a house.

Building a house had become a common thing among players; after all, few wanted their Mukuai to be without shelter, so even without the other’s request, they desired to provide a home.

Chen Rang, after logging in, didn’t want to disturb Mukuai, but the sound of his footsteps woke her.

Stretching like a little cat, Mukuai rubbed her eyes and said to the entering Chen Rang, “Old Chen, you’re back. You’re early today.”

“Yeah, the medical practitioners in this area are finally preparing to attack. I plan to work on a battlefield report.”

“Won’t that be tiring? Oh, I made dinner for you. Go eat.”

“…I’m not hungry.”

“I promise the potatoes are dead this time! No eyes in them! Even if there are, they taste just like poached eggs after being boiled!”

“…I’m not hungry.”

“Eat, you must eat! Can’t let me suffer alone!”

“You really had no good intentions, and that thing is definitely messed up!”

While Mukuai was forcing Chen Rang to eat, they heard a massive thudding of footsteps.

Chen Rang poked his head out in confusion and realized a gigantic creature was approaching their location.

Watching the creature and confirming its path, Chen Rang looked at his own house and said helplessly, “My newly bought house, three thousand ‘ft®’…”