Chapter 69 Chaos is Approaching, the Demon Seal is Half Loose.
Arip came and went in a hurry, he really only slept for a while and didn't even have dinner before leaving.
East lay on the bed, now devoid of the warmth of another person, staring into the pitch-black space. He forced a smile, and for a moment, he regretted not keeping Aripor a little longer.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
Easter rolled out of bed, quickly changed his clothes, and went to open the door.
Cai Cai, standing at the door, said, "Little one, come and eat."
East closed the door and followed Cai Cai downstairs, where the hustle and bustle immediately enveloped them.
Downstairs in the living room, there were little fire figures of all shapes and sizes. Some were lying down, some were sitting, and they filled the sofa and living room. They chatted in twos and threes, and some were even eating and talking at the same time, making a lively scene.
Standing at the corner of the stairs, looking at this vibrant scene, East's expression softened. He thought that having a lover willing to travel thousands of miles for him and having so many lovely players were the two luckiest things in his life.
The players downstairs noticed Ister coming down the stairs.
The player with the ID [Qiuqiu] patted his friend next to him and said, "Look, look! That's our king! He's even more handsome than in the advertisements. His aura is amazing!"
“If it weren’t for King Tu’s face, how could I possibly play this game? It’s totally worth the money.” Her friend, ID [Mimi], sat up abruptly, her beady eyes staring longingly at Ister.
"Don't just look at their faces," said a small red and black fire-man with the ID [Ink Nightmare]. "This king is quite strong too, very capable in combat." He was one of the people who stayed in the kingdom this morning, thinking he was going to protect the king, but he didn't expect to fight alongside him. The king's swift and powerful movements had impressed countless people.
"What do you mean?" Qiuqiu asked. She and her friends had only been playing this game for a short time and had just joined the crowd to participate in a siege battle today, so they hadn't seen what happened this morning.
“The king is very skilled; he doesn’t necessarily need our protection,” Mo Yan said.
“Isn’t that normal? This is our king. If he weren’t strong, he would just be a pretty face. His charm and attractiveness would be too low.” Mimi sat cross-legged like a little fireman, her chubby little hands supporting her chin, and she knew exactly what she was talking about.
"You still have the nerve to talk about what the king looks like? Aren't you tired?" A little gray fireman, ID [Little Gray], said sullenly. "Siege warfare is not for humans. The hardest part is cleaning up the mess. Isn't it all just data? Why restrict players from killing each other?"
In their player siege battles, whenever their opponents are unable to resist, their attacks can no longer land on the enemy. Therefore, they cannot simply leave their enemies on the spot; they must find a new place to imprison them, which is redundant. Monsters can turn into a sparkling crystal after they die, so why can't human enemies?
"Because we must have reverence for life." The voice rang out from above, and the little fire people all looked up to see their king.
Easter carried the dinner that Cai Cai had prepared for him, a gentle smile on his face, the epitome of a warm and welcoming presence.
He put down his dinner, turned to face the players, and continued, "I don't want you to lose your reverence for life."
East knows that for most players, this is just a game, but the truth is that it is a real world. Whether the players are aware of the truth or not, he does not want them to bear the "sins" that do not belong to them.
Players reacted differently; some were dismissive, while others seemed thoughtful, but none said anything more.
Easter calmly began eating his dinner, forking a piece of meat with his fork and putting it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, the juices bursting out and the rich aroma of meat filling his mouth.
Easter ate with his eyes narrowed, picking up a vegetable roll made of fresh vegetables with his fork.
————
"Crack~ Boom~" A sudden sound rang in his ears. East lost his grip on the fork and made a piercing sound as it scraped across the porcelain plate.
[Host, something bad has happened.] the system said immediately.
The three voices made Esther's head buzz. He pressed his temples and asked, "What's going on?" Then it suddenly dawned on him, "The demon seal has loosened?"
The system made no secret of it: "Host, it's already reached fifty percent."
Easter put down his fork, his good mood completely gone. "How could this happen so suddenly?"
System, [Host, the speed at which the seal loosens is beyond human control; I cannot give a precise answer.]
Easter's fingertips twitched slightly. He thought of what happened after the dwarf Wistan swore allegiance to him that day. Was that the future he saw? He didn't want to admit it. That was the future he saw. His life had finally gotten a little better. He had finally started to feel that living had some meaning. He didn't want the world he lived in to become lifeless.
Easter closed his eyes. The people and gods in this world weren't all useless; it wasn't time for that yet. Forcing himself to calm down, he asked, "System, how is the players' attack on the Kingdom of Ramon going?"
[Host, given the current situation, we can conquer more than just the Kingdom of Ramon and the Kingdom of Rivia.] Even the system's usually emotionless voice carried a complex mix of emotions.
After a moment's thought, Easter figured it out. "You decide on the arrangements. When the time is right, just take action." After saying this, he hesitated. He was considering whether to let more players log on, but the current number of players was already quite large, and adding more might overwhelm the system.
Without Ister's hesitation, the system asked directly: "Host, with the increase in monsters and the expansion of territory, the current number of players is probably insufficient. Should we open up more slots?"
After hesitating for a moment, East gave his answer, "Not for now, let's wait until the land area is truly determined."
Since the system's task for him is to unify the continent, the system will likely receive some rewards after the territory expands. At that time, when more slots are opened, the system's power should be sufficient.
The system didn't refute its host, replying, "No problem."
————
Easter's communication with the system came to a temporary end. He looked at the food on the table, but his appetite had vanished.
"Little one, what happened?" Cai Cai had been watching Esther for a while. Not only him, but almost all the players in the living room heard the sound of the fork scraping against the plate. However, because of Esther's serious expression, they did not immediately go up to ask.
East turned his head to the left towards Nana, noticing the concern in Nana's eyes. He adjusted his expression and said, "Something not so nice happened."
Cai Cai asked, "Is it convenient to talk about it? Maybe it will make you feel better."
Easter gently rubbed Cai Cai's little tuft of hair.
Cai Cai wanted to avoid it, but was worried that Esther's mood would get even worse, so she forced herself to stay where she was. The little fire person was extremely conflicted and confused.
East wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass by. He rubbed it a couple more times and said with a smile, "It's serious in a way, and it's unexpected. But you could also say it's not serious; it was something that was bound to happen."
Cai Cai dodged East's "clutches" in an annoyed tone, "Can you stop playing games?" She rolled her eyes at him.
Ister noticed that the players were really relaxing, like giant fruit jelly. He rubbed his fingers together and said with a smile, "Don't be angry. It's just that in the years to come, this continent will fall into complete chaos." Afraid that Cai Cai wouldn't understand, he added, "The monster seal has been loosened by half, and more monsters will escape."
Cai Cai looked East up and down.
Easter felt awkward under his gaze. "What's wrong?"
Cai Cai shook his head, "It's nothing." But looking at the king's current behavior, he had almost forgotten the king's solemn expression just now. What a stubborn but soft-hearted little brat.
He said gently, "Don't be afraid, little one, we will protect you."
East felt confused. Had he expressed any fear? It didn't seem so.
“Son, no matter how worried you are, you have to eat well. There’s always a way to solve things. If your health deteriorates, then there’s really nothing that can be done.” Cai Cai tiptoed to collect the plates in front of East. “These are all cold. I’ll go reheat them for you.” He turned and walked towards the kitchen.
“System, my players are all very nice. Thank you for letting me meet them.” East withdrew his gaze from Cai Cai.
System: [Host, you're welcome. This is fate between us and them.]
Stirred, Easter lightly touched the invisible thread with his fingertips.
What appears before my eyes is a contrasting picture: one half is a magnificent and prosperous scene, and the other half is a deathly silence piled with corpses.
East couldn't see very clearly, only having a vague feeling that the bustling half seemed like a lively banquet, while the desolate half looked like piles of bones along the banquet walls.
East couldn't think any further. He reached for his ear with the stud, touched it lightly, and then recoiled as if pricked by a needle. He curled his fingers and furrowed his brow in discomfort, as if enduring some kind of pain.
The ear with the stud turned from jade white to crimson, as if it might bleed at any moment.
The system noticed that something was wrong with Easter and immediately asked with concern, "Host, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the earring?"
After the burning pain subsided, East reached out and touched the earring again. Although it was still slightly hot, the searing pain of the first touch was gone.
East gently touched the earring, and asked uncertainly, "Is it because there's too much 'monster contamination'?"
[This might be the function of the earring.] The system was puzzled. This shouldn't be the case. When Areber gave Ister this earring, he had examined its function. It was a very powerful alchemical item. As Areber said, it could isolate "monster contamination." For such a powerful earring to get hot, it would require a lot of "monster contamination," right? But in his scan, everything was normal.
As the earring cooled, East felt a similar question arise in his mind as the system: Was there really that much "monster contamination" here? Or was there another reason?
Cai Cai carried the reheated food out of the kitchen and noticed Esther's movements. She paused. Since the banquet, the man named Arip had not appeared again. Did that man only see the king's son as a "one-night stand"? Thinking of this, Cai Cai's face turned pale.
East tilted his head in confusion. What's wrong with him lately? All sorts of problems have been coming his way, and now, this perfectly normal little player's mood has changed so drastically just from going into the kitchen.
"If you find cooking troublesome, you can go out and fight monsters with them." This was the only explanation I could think of. After all, who would be happy doing the same thing over and over again? Even if it's something you really enjoy, there will always be times when you get tired of it.
"No, I'm happy to cook for you, Zai Zai." Cai Cai quickly denied it, but he didn't want to bring up the question in his heart, so he could only brush it off for now.
East still had doubts, but Cai Cai's behavior made him reluctant to ask too many questions.
…………
As Ist ate the food he had reheated, which was still incredibly delicious, the players attacking the city were about to achieve victory in this war.
This is mainly due to the loosening of the demon seal, allowing countless demons to rampage out. As the number of demons increased, they gathered together to form a "small abyss." Without any restraints, the demons could freely enter and exit the "small abyss." The demons, greedy for flesh and blood, were attracted by the stench of blood and found the location of the battlefield. Under these circumstances, the two sides in the battle could not continue fighting. Not only could they not continue fighting, but they also had to cooperate in order to deal with the threat of the demons.
This is the situation faced by players attacking the city from the outside, while the war taking place inside the royal city has also reached a stalemate due to the sudden appearance of monsters.
Although there have been no monster invasions inside the royal city, the existence of so many monsters is enough to make them consider whether it is worthwhile to use all their troops to deal with the players.
A group of little firemen gathered together. They had also received the news that the number of monsters had increased. For the first few little firemen to log in, this was not a good thing.
Yunmu said worriedly, "What should we do?" She believed that strength could overcome many obstacles, but how strong would she need to deal with so many demons? She was only level 15 at the moment, which was weak compared to the natives of this continent. She could only barely deal with low-level demons. The thought made her feel hopeless.
"Don't rush, we need to solve things one step at a time," Meimei reassured Yunmu, trying to calm her anxiety.
“That’s true, but how can we not be anxious?” Yunmu said. “Look at our levels, and then look at the increased number of monsters. Can this ‘game’ be reliable this time?” She said the last sentence through gritted teeth.
“This is what makes a good ‘game,’ always surprising, just like the real thing,” Meimei said, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
Ruobu Kao Digua raised his eyes and said, "This is not a problem that only we have to face; it is a problem that the entire continent has to face. For now, let's take care of our own side." He thought that, urged by the situation, the top powers on this continent should react.
"What's there to be anxious about?" Guaguagua was very confused. "How many players do we have right now? Considering the popularity of this game, isn't it obvious that we still have plenty of manpower?"
"You finally said something sensible this time." It was hard to tell whether Liang Jingjing was praising or criticizing her.
The quack quack gave everyone a heads-up, which made the atmosphere among the players much more relaxed, and they had more energy to face the upcoming battles.
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