Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
With a command from (Player Name) (M), various magical lights intertwined, nearly illuminating the entire sky. These spells flew to a certain altitude, passed through Doggrulem’s illusion, and exploded, causing no damage.
“Kekeke! You lowly human trash, you cannot harm me! Tremble in boundless fear and panic! Keke!”
Doggrulem was terrified, but outwardly maintained a calm, even arrogant, demeanor. He was dedicated to his strategy, determined to make these humans feel despair and fear. His power stemmed from fear; he didn’t need much, just for half the people here to feel fear. Then he could bring down a disaster, bring death, and use death to breed more fear.
But nothing! Absolutely nothing! These humans felt no fear at all!
(Player Name) (M) couldn’t see that Doggrulem’s avatar was bluffing, but he did realize that the BOSS in the sky was not its true form. Nobody Does Human Things (M) also saw this through the live stream provided by (Player Name) (M) and immediately prompted him:
“This illusion is likely a distraction. You should continue bombarding that patch of ground!”
“Great minds think alike.”
(Player Name) (M) approached the edge of the crater where the explosion occurred and could vaguely see a simple altar buried under the sand. He sneered, “This Doggrulem avatar is trying to lure us away, player… Although I don’t know why he’s stalling for time, attacking the altar should work, right?”
With that, he drew the long sword on his back and executed a Mad Lion’s Strike, a move learned from Xi Wei, slashing towards the altar in the crater.
“Boom—”
Although the unleashed lion-shaped Qi was not as spectacular as Xi Wei’s, it still made the ground vibrate for a moment. The ferocious wind pressure blew away the dirt on the altar, causing the blood pool to tremble. The blood crows and the blood moon in the sky also distorted for a moment.
“The BOSS is losing health!”
“So its true form was in the pit! What a guy!”
“Kekeke! Little weakling, you’ve fallen into my hands!”
Many players noticed (Player Name) (M)’s actions and their effects. They became even more excited, like they’d been injected with chicken blood. They let out roars similar to green-skinned goblins, collectively mocking the Old Ones Incarnation, and then redirected their Qi Slashes and spells towards the pit. What kind of defense could an altar, set up by an ordinary person, possibly have? It was instantly smashed to pieces, and the Old Ones Incarnation and blood moon in the sky vanished.
All players near the manor received a system prompt:
[You participated in the killing of the Blood Moon Phantom and Doggrulem’s avatar. You have gained 120,000 Experience Points and five Copper Coins. Other rewards can be obtained by speaking with the Goddess of Life, Loli. (Only one player needs to represent the group for the conversation. The conversation is only effective once.)]
…
In Winter City, the moment the blood moon disappeared, Loli noticed it. Clemon, who had been monitoring the players’ movements, reappeared beside Loli like a ghost now that the players had won.
“Your Grace, Goddess, these players did indeed unearth something beneath that manor. It seems to have been an avatar of a fiend, and it has now been defeated.”
Loli looked at the still-noisy crowd in the plaza. Everyone was still caught up in the excitement, and it would be difficult to ask them to return just yet. So, she lowered her voice and said to Clemon, “Alright, please ask these foreigners not to spread this matter around indiscriminately. It might still cause panic among the city’s residents. Let the celebrations continue tonight, but please trouble the city guards to work a little harder and strengthen the patrols around Winter City. Their pay for this month will be doubled.”
“Praise your benevolence, Your Grace, Goddess.”
Clemon’s figure slowly receded. The blood moon incident, which had shocked all of Winter City and even the Eagle Territory, ended anticlimactically. Many cities in the Eagle Territory hadn’t even had time to start their celebrations. However, as their Goddess had not called a halt, the celebrations eventually proceeded.
Years later, although the blood moon never appeared again, this time of year was always called Rose Moon Day. Perhaps blessed by the Goddess, couples who got engaged or married on this day seemed to have received unknown good fortune in the future, and this festival became one of the most influential holidays in the Wintery Empire.
As for the players, Loli did not mistreat them. She personally used her divine power to bestow blessings upon all players in Winter City. Players received a permanent buff: [Song of Life] – Max HP increased by 5%, damage against evil forces increased by 10%. Although there were no equipment or skill rewards, this blessing alone was comparable to a good piece of equipment.
The person who regretted it the most was (Player Name) (M). “If I had known the rewards were so amazing, I would have done it myself.” He complained to Nobody Does Human Things (M) on the other side of the screen. However, Nobody Does Human Things (M) was clearly not someone who offered good comfort; he immediately began to mock (Player Name) (M) ruthlessly.
“You really are a regretful person, (Player Name)~(M)!”
“The rewards, which were split among so many players, were already such a powerful buff. How much more would you have received if you had kept it all to yourself? You might have become the strongest player overnight.”
“Stop, everything you say just brings tears to my eyes.” (Player Name) (M) comforted himself. “At least I can go back to Claudia for comfort.”
“Oh.” A malicious laugh came from the other side of the screen: “Too bad you only have one girl to comfort, while I… have five! Kekeke!” He switched the screen. As seen, two more girls appeared where Mia had been lying before. Now, three girls were cleaning up! Two other girls were massaging his shoulders and feeding him cherries!
(Player Name) (M)’s mouth twitched. He clenched his fists and mentally chanted “Pure love is invincible, pure love is eternal” ten times. Those women were only after Nobody Does Human Things (M)’s identity; it wasn’t love at all, just a superficial pretense maintained by money and power. After this self-consolation, he felt much better. Then, with a “slap,” he cut off the connection, rushing to the inner city’s pharmacy before it closed to sell ten bottles of Lively Dragon Potions to the lecherous apothecary. Tomorrow morning, he and Claudia, only one of them would be able to get out of bed.
…
The blood moon incident was over, but its aftermath continued. Doggrulem’s pathetic attack was circulated among all the Old Ones Rulers. They ridiculed Doggrulem while also strengthening their resolve to invade the Cain Continent. In countless eons, they had devoured innumerable worlds, and no world had ever escaped their corruption. Blue Star could not. Cain would not either!
