Chapter 12 Call Me Demon King

The old man at the entrance of the village: "...In my opinion, the development team is planning a big game! The current black screen is all paving the way for the surprise later!"

The Dragon Emperor: "How do you know it's not for the big one?"

The old man at the entrance of the village: "..."

Candied Haws: "Don't scare you! I'm going online!"

Kebab: "The character creation page is here! Get it out for me now!"

Excited netizens: "That's it! GKD!"

Yiyezhiqiu: "Everyone calm down, the game is still in development, and there is only so much content to experience! I think the transition of covering the crystal ball with clothes is very clever compared to directly removing the DEMO!"

Dragon Slayer: "What the hell? Are you guys really into this?"

Knowledge explosion: "It must be fake!"

Jie Ao Yisheng: "I don't care! If they don't give me a helmet, it must be a lie!!! (Going crazy)"

Yi Ye Zhi Qiu: "Helmet? No need for a helmet, any pair of VR glasses will do... (sweat)"

Pig-Headed Knight: "Fuck, guys, we can log in now! Log in now!!!"

Yi Ye Zhi Qiu: “?!”

Xiao Wan was not full: "If you lie to me again, I will kill you all! (Angry)"

The official website of "Disaster Online".

There has been an uproar on the forums all day ever since an NPC covered the crystal ball, but the development team has remained silent throughout.

Zhao Jinyan has been observing secretly.

Currently, the posts on the forum can be basically divided into two types. One type believes that the development team has really developed a groundbreaking RPG online game, and the other type does not believe that the pie in the sky drawn by the developers and the so-called promotional PV are real at all.

Isn’t AI technology very popular recently?

Generating videos is not a difficult task.

To be honest, Zhao Jinyan is more inclined to the latter.

After all, a fully immersive virtual reality online game is too exaggerated no matter how you look at it. And if this technology really exists, will anyone use it to make games first? There should be a choice with higher returns! However, what surprised Zhao Jinyan was that after the internal test qualification and DEMO program were issued yesterday, some people on the forum seemed to have really played it? Although it was only a few hours, it sounded like the truth from what they said, and they even came up with some hypnosis theory.

Could it be that these people were also AI? Speaking of which, this was also what surprised him the most.

A game that has only been promoted for a few days has actually cultivated a group of die-hard fans with just a specious PV?

“…Is this game really that awesome?”

Zhao Jinyan, who was undecided, muttered to himself. After some hesitation, he finally picked up his phone and bought the cheapest second-hand VR device online.

A completely realistic virtual reality online game...

He has already invested a lot of money in supporting it.

The development team of "Natural Disaster Online" better not let him down! ...

The most prosperous neighborhoods in Thunder City are concentrated in the southeast corner near the harbor, so the further north you go, the more visibly depressed it becomes.

Especially outside the city gate, the houses crowded along the city wall were as dilapidated as cow sheds, squeezing out wrinkled alleys on the vast land.

Due to frequent wars, the houses along the city walls were always demolished and rebuilt, so both people and animals living here lived a very miserable life.

Following Ms. Chris, Luo Yan soon met several of her teammates.

As he expected, these four ferocious brothers were the ones he had seen in the tavern before.

But here, they still pretended to be meeting for the first time, greeted Luo Yan enthusiastically, and even made dirty jokes about him and Chris.

The man with a shaved head is called Am, a berserker who is good at using a two-handed axe and has bronze-level strength.

The other three were named Rexon, Bond and Greyhound, a Black Iron-level two-handed swordsman and two scouts without supernatural powers.

Is this the top combat force for exploring the maze?

Not as intimidating as Iger...

Luo Yan, who had spent three years in the Demon King Academy where silver was everywhere, was somewhat disappointed with these guys.

"Where is the entrance to the maze? When do we start?"

Luo Yan looked eager to try, as if he couldn't wait to dive into the maze.

That energetic look made Chris giggle, and the latter said teasingly.

"Don't worry. There are many entrances to the maze. If you rush in rashly, you will only get lost. The secret passage we found must be entered from the northernmost entrance, and we will have to take a carriage later... By the way, don't you want to go to the hotel to get a room and put your luggage? Sister can accompany you."

This thing looks quite like her cup of tea. It would be a shame if she didn't try it before eating it.

Besides, it is very troublesome to move the luggage back and forth, so you can just drop it off at the hotel in advance and come back with the key when you are done.

However, as luck would have it, that person was also a trouble-averse guy and was too lazy to come back again.

Pretending not to understand her hint, Luo Yan smiled shyly and said.

"No, I have some materials in my box, I can make medicine in case anyone gets hurt."

Chris gave him a surprised look.

"You can also make potions?"

"Of course!" Luo Yan smiled and nodded, "I know a lot of formulas, including healing potions and strength potions."

"That's incredible, kid. I didn't expect you to be that capable," the bald Am laughed and patted his shoulder. He then said to him, "I'm starting to like you!"

"Thank you."

Luo Yan smiled embarrassedly, and his thumb hidden in his fist accidentally touched the ring.

"Hurry up and finish it... I mean, hurry up and find the Demon King's treasure house and come back to sleep."

The scout named Greyhound yawned, interrupted the two people's greetings with an impatient look on his face, and jumped onto the carriage on the side of the road first.

"Go to the North Peak Mine."

When he heard the destination, the driver looked a little nervous.

"Going there at this time?"

The sky in the distance was already turning dim, and it would be dark in two hours at most.

Although this is the heart of the human world, it is still far from being safe.

To the southwest is the territory of the Lizardmen, and in the mountains to the north are wandering undead.

That’s not all.

When it is late at night and everyone is asleep, the most dangerous thing is not the undead, but people with guilty consciences.

"Stop talking nonsense and get going."

Greyhound threw a few silver coins next to the driver's seat and urged impatiently.

Seeing those silver coins, the driver gritted his teeth and finally took the business.

The group got on the bus, and after more than thirty minutes of bumpy ride, they finally arrived at the northernmost entrance to the maze.

This used to be a mine, and it is said that it was owned by the famous Andes family. There are several high-quality iron ore and coal veins buried underground.

However, as luck would have it, during a mine blast, the miners accidentally drove the mine into a maze.

Since then, the entire mine has become the territory of the undead and monsters.

Since it is close to the edge of the maze, there are usually no valuable treasures to be found in such places, so adventurers are generally unwilling to come here to explore without any special reasons.

The driver refused to go up the mountain no matter what, so the group had to get off the car at the foot of the mountain.

Fortunately, this place is not far from the mine, only about ten minutes away.

On the sunny side not far from the mine, Luo Yan saw a dilapidated hotel.

The hotel looked quite nice, but it looked shabby and had been abandoned for many years.

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious... Since the local lord is so troubled by the problem of the Demon King, why doesn't he seal the entrance to the maze?"

"Hahaha, do you think the demon king underground is a fool? Well, although he is indeed not very smart, it is much easier for them to dig it out than for us to block the road." Am smiled and patted his shoulder, as if he was completely familiar with him.

"Yes, I heard that there is something similar to a core in the maze that can easily change the underground terrain. In addition, the servants of the Demon King are all from the Hell race. They are very good at digging holes. I even heard that they built a city called Demon City in the deepest part of the ground."

Chris narrowed her eyes slightly, looked in the direction of the mine and spoke in a chatty tone.

"But thanks to the sewers of Thunder City, the maze can't spread to the main city area no matter how much it spreads. At most, it can dig holes in the area where we just took a ride... that is, the area outside the city wall."

The drainage system built during the reign of Isaac seems to still be in operation today, and has unexpectedly become an impregnable barrier to protect the city from the invasion of hellish forces.

Luo Yan estimated that the senior time traveler must have used things like steel bars and cement.

In short, he already understood the basic situation.

The old demon king's maze is mainly located in the northern part of Thunder City, from the city wall in the south to the North Peak Mine in the north.

Considering that the gang of traitors have already rebelled, he may have to move his hometown a little further north, expanding towards the Broken Rock Peak of the Wanren Mountains, and then connect it with the maze of the old Demon Lord's territory when the situation is right.

But then again, why haven’t these guides, who were picked up cheaply, taken action yet?

He has been waiting for a long time.

Looking at Ms. Chris playing with two daggers and walking towards the mine with graceful steps, Luo Yan couldn't help but feel a bit weird in his eyes.

Could it be that these guys are really here to look for the devil's treasure?

That's impossible...

Chris, who possesses extraordinary powers, leads the way, followed closely by two scouts.

Luo Yan followed closely behind Am and Rexon, holding a torch and stepping into the gloomy mine.

Perhaps because he had lived underground for many years, when he stepped into the mine, he felt like he was back home for a moment.

So familiar.

He felt that the whole world had become brighter, as if every pore had eyes.

Chris and her group were concentrating on keeping alert of their surroundings, while he only needed to be careful about the few humans around him.

The group walked along the mine for a distance, and soon a rustling sound was heard in the distance.

It's a ratman! And it's a slave rat!

Luo Yan had already guessed the identity of the visitor.

However, Chris, who was walking in front, frowned and thought hard for a long time, and it took her a long time to come to an ambiguous conclusion.

"Something's happening... It's either the undead or rats! Get ready for battle!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the rat man hiding in the darkness pounced on him, chirping.

Those red bean-like eyes emitted a frightening murderous light, and the anxious look was as if he had been hungry for a long time.

"Hahaha! Good job!"

The muscular Am grinned fiercely, dropped the torch in his hand, pulled out the two battle axes hanging at his waist, rushed forward with heavy steps, swinging the sharp blade vigorously, and in just a moment he chopped down more than a dozen ratmen carrying knives, guns, sticks and clubs.

Rexon, holding a greatsword, was unwilling to fall behind. He took a deep breath and gathered strength in his legs. Then he held up the half-man-high greatsword and blasted at the screaming rat soldiers like a cannonball.

Although it was only the strength of Black Iron, the terrifying sword blade was not inferior to the two-handed axe in Am's hand. With just a few pushes and pulls, it chopped up a group of corpses like a whirlwind.

The not-so-spacious mine was blocked by two axes and a sword, and the two scouts and thieves who were originally supporting nearby simply retreated.

Chris glanced proudly at the "Qin Shi Huang" standing behind her and was about to show off, but saw that the latter was indifferent.

She felt something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what it was.

At this moment, the battle in front had ended. Rexon knocked his two-handed sword to the ground, took a breath and said.

"It's done. Without further ado... let's just move on."

"Oh, thank you for your hard work."

Greyhound patted him on the shoulder and walked forward as if nothing had happened, but Rexon frowned.

Feeling more tired than usual?

Could it be that my strength has declined?

He shook his head, throwing away the unnatural distress.

It's an illusion.

Maybe I'm not in a good mood today.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Fortunately, he was not the only one in bad shape, the mice were the same. They left dozens of corpses behind and ran away screaming.

Most ratmen are like this. They rush forward and then scatter in a hurry. As cannon fodder, they are even more difficult to deal with than goblins.

After a fierce battle, the group defeated four or five waves of ratmen attackers in succession and finally arrived at the deepest part of the mine - the northern entrance to the underground maze of Thunder City.

From the moment he stepped into this last section of the mine, Luo Yan felt a strange atmosphere gradually spreading around him.

In the gloomy corners of the mine tunnel, one can see eerie white bones and corpses that have not yet completely decayed.

Luo Yan was so familiar with this aura that a hint of surprise appeared on his handsome face involuntarily.

I thought it would be good enough if these guys could lead me to find the entrance to the maze.

Unexpectedly, these guys not only sent him to his destination, but also brought him to such a good place.

"good."

I was worrying about not being familiar with the place and not being able to find a grave to dig, but I didn't expect there was a ready-made one right under my feet.

Luo Yan chuckled softly, reached into his arms, and took out the core of the Demon King's Territory.

It was a dark green cubic cone crystal.

Judging from the appearance, this thing is no different from an ordinary faith crystal, except that it is a little green. However, the magic formula integrated into this green crystal is the result of the wisdom and hard work of the hell magic academic community for a thousand years.

Only this thing can open up a territory belonging to hell on the land shrouded by holy light!

Most humans on the surface only know that the core of the Demon King's Territory is a statue of the demon god, but they don't know what it looks like before it is unfolded.

At this moment, Chris and her group did not notice the unusual expression on Luo Yan's face at all. Instead, they breathed a sigh of relief that "the mission was accomplished."

"We're almost there, right? This is no longer Saint Sis's territory... Do we really have to go into the maze?"

The first to break the silence was Greyhound.

Luo Yan could tell that this man with a gloomy expression had disliked him for a long time, but for some reason he had refrained from taking action.

"That... Qin... uh..." Chris suddenly turned around and looked at the handsome face, but for a moment she couldn't remember his name.

"Optimus Prime."

"Optimus Prime? Haha...Brother, your name is really hard to pronounce." Chris smiled embarrassedly.

Was that the name? She couldn't remember.

But it doesn’t matter. The name of the dead person is not important anyway.

"well enough."

Luo Yan wanted to say that he actually had a name that was even more difficult to pronounce, and three syllables was actually an exaggeration.

Chris took a deep breath, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up in a meaningful arc.

"Have you heard of it? It is said that... impious people will become homeless ghosts after death."

Luo Yan: "I think I've heard of it, what's the matter?"

In fact, not to mention the surface, it’s the same in hell.

Except for the clergy who serve the devil, most humans, demons or low-level demons will lose most of their memories after death and become undead.

This is not all due to the spells cast by the necromancers, but is the fate of the vast majority of living beings in this world since the fall of the underworld in the Second Era.

To put it simply, a public toilet was smashed, and a few robbers who were called gods moved the toilet back to their own homes.

Since none of them specialized in operating toilets, toilets suddenly became a scarce resource. Some people could poop while sitting down, but others could only poop in their crotches.

Those who become undead belong to the latter.

Among them are witches like Lady Susan who died unjustly, poor people who could not be buried in the church simply because of poverty, and unfortunate people who died in hell or in a maze where the holy light could not reach.

As for the nobles, maybe there are special channels?

He didn't know what the situation was like on the surface, but hell was indeed like this. High-level demons generally could not die, and if they died accidentally, they could be reincarnated as a high-level demon in the next life.

Luo Yan suddenly understood what these guys were planning and almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

It turned out that he was worried that he was actually some impoverished noble, and that when he died his soul would go directly to Saint Sith to complain, so he planned to kill himself and throw himself into the maze.

By the way, does Saint Sis have so much free time?

You still care about this kind of thing?

Or, the Adventurer's Guild has a mechanism similar to "Red Name".

"Later... I realized that they were simply poor and couldn't afford holy water, haha." Chris talked to herself and suddenly laughed out loud.

“So, having no money is really scary.”

"Indeed." Luo Yan nodded and said seriously, "I understand this very well... the feeling of having no coins in my pocket."

"Really? I don't think so. Your ring looks very valuable. And your skin color... I guess you are a noble of the Os Empire?"

Chris giggled and said in a sweet voice.

"But dear Qin... that little brother, you shouldn't worry. You are different from people like us. You should be reborn into a good family. Just remember to be careful in your next life... Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that this is a maze. Maybe there won't be a next time."

"I see... You are not targeting the Demon King's treasure, but me?" Luo Yan showed a strange smile on his face, "What a pity, I wanted to make you the generals of the country because you helped me return to the throne."

"Chris, you talk too much. Let's send this little brother on his way."

Rexon curled his lips and danced the sword in his hand, but he didn't expect that he would lose his grip suddenly, and the sword flew out and passed by the greyhound next to him.

Greyhound was almost killed by the sword. He was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and glared at Rexon fiercely.

"What are you doing?!"

Rexon was also confused.

Even if he was a little weak today, he couldn't even hold the sword, right? !

"I don't know—"

He had only said half of his words when his body suddenly sank and he fell to the ground as if everything had been hollowed out.

Everyone was suddenly shocked.

Bond was the first to react.

He said nothing from beginning to end, pulled out a flintlock rifle, held it in his hand, and pulled the trigger at Luo Yan without hesitation.

"Bang--!"

Tiny bullets sprayed like raindrops! However, Luo Yan, who was shot, looked like nothing had happened and just smiled at him.

"Stoneskin Armor!"

A creepy feeling instantly crawled through Chris's body, and she finally understood what that ominous premonition was.

She screamed and shouted.

"This guy is definitely not Black Iron! Hurry up!"

"ah--!"

Am, holding two axes, has already rushed forward, and the whistling axe blades are rolling towards Luo Yan like a storm!

However, without any surprise, this guy followed the great swordsman's footsteps and fell heavily to the ground, and was sucked away by Professor Lilith's ring until nothing was left.

Since entering the cave, Luo Yan had been secretly stabbing them in the back little by little, but he didn't let them suck all the blood in one gulp.

"It's too late."

After chanting the prayer, he loosened his right hand, and the green cubic crystal fell with a clink onto the magic circle he had drawn with the heel of his shoe.

Crunch——

A dark grey statue rose from the ground, and with it stood the skeleton that lay crookedly in the corner of the mine.

They held pickaxes in their hands, and their empty eyes exuded a faint chill.

Perhaps he saw something, Bond, who had been relatively calm, suddenly screamed, threw away his unloaded flintlock and turned to run away.

However, before he could run two steps, he was chopped into meat paste by the surrounding skeleton soldiers with pickaxes.

The greyhound still wanted to resist, but as soon as he raised the dagger, he collapsed due to muscle weakness. He could only watch as the skeletons surrounded him, and was scared to the point of shitting and pissing all over the floor.

"What did you do?!" Eminem was still struggling, trying to stand up.

He was the only bronze member of the Silver Scimitar, but at this moment he was suppressed by the mage who called himself Black Iron and had no power to fight back.

Realizing that the opponent's strength was far superior to hers, Chris widened her eyes in horror, and her pale face was filled with despair.

"You, you are a necromancer?!"

Standing in the center of the pentagram emitting a faint green light, Luo Yan watched with satisfaction as his faith value slowly rose.

[Faith value +1]

[Faith value +2]

【……】

The taste of fear

That's really good.

Although this growth rate is not as fast as the Demon King Academy's graduation ceremony, an increase of several dozen points is better than nothing.

That's right.

Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone.

"Necromancer?"

He took out a cloudy crystal ball from his arms and held it in his hand, quietly admiring the despair engraved on those faces, and by the way, reaping another wave of faith.

"Call me Demon King."

My schedule is messed up again, I'll upload it first, please help me fix the bugs

(End of this chapter)