"Hehehe, look at those demon wage-slaves picking up trash again!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, trash will always be trash!"
"Exactly. Only we third beta test human players are the truly outstanding ones!"
...
The third beta test human players looked down at the demon players fighting below while speaking with inexplicable pride and superiority.
"When you're saying all that, could you at least… move a little?"
Star said speechlessly, glancing at the third beta test human players lying inside the "battery pods"—no, wait, the energy supply chambers—AFK.
"Move? Impossible, Brother Star, you don't get it!"
"What's wrong with AFK? AFK is our ultimate form!"
"Let others do the work—we'll handle the AFK! Lying down and still winning—there's endless joy in that!"
...
The third beta test human players lay in the cabin of the Golden Warship, AFK without moving while replying skillfully.
"Fine, fine. As long as you're happy."
Star rolled his eyes, completely speechless.
"The enemy's here!"
Times Has Changed stood on the deck and immediately spotted numerous Ten Thousand Beast City soldiers soaring into the sky, charging over like a tidal wave.
"I'll handle this!"
God King Enel stepped to the bow, gripping the special device mounted at the front of the ship.
The next moment—
"Main cannon, full volley!!!"
With God King Enel's roar, two hundred cannons thundered at once. A single salvo blasted tens of thousands of charging Ten Thousand Beast City soldiers to pieces!
After several consecutive volleys, the Golden Warship annihilated all obstructing enemies and charged straight into the interior of Ten Thousand Beast City!
"!"
Very quickly, everyone saw the inner city!
A gigantic fortress shaped like a pyramid!
The entrance was located at the very top of the structure.
"Just as expected—a maze!"
"No shit. Evil Gods and labyrinths have always been inseparable!"
"This castle's built like a pyramid, and it's dark green too. Disgusting!"
...
Many players leaned over the deck railing to look down.
At that moment—
"Brothers of the Dark Soul Guild!"
Undomitable Bear Is Strong stepped onto the edge of the deck and shouted loudly.
"Aooo!"
In the next instant, more than forty players stepped forward in unison, standing behind Undomitable Bear Is Strong—all of them Dark Soul–type players.
Just as everyone was about to set off, He Yiming appeared once more.
"Undomitable Bear Is Strong, you only have twelve hours! Within twelve hours, you must stop the Evil God's descent! Remember this!"
He Yiming instructed word by word.
The system mission had only twelve hours remaining!
Time was truly tight!
"Holy crap, it's timed?"
"Damn, this is that intense?"
"My Dark Souls heart is burning!"
...
Many players grew even more excited. The more limited the time, the more tense and thrilling it was—this was what made it challenging!
"This disciple understands! Brother Ming, leave it to me! I will carve out the path forward for everyone!"
Undomitable Bear Is Strong nodded, then leapt into the air!
More than forty Dark Soul players simultaneously soared down, landing atop the pyramid-like inner-city fortress of Ten Thousand Beast City.
"!"
But at that moment, a massive dark-green face slowly manifested in the sky.
"!"
He Yiming frowned slightly, then realized this was only a projection—not a physical entity.
"A group of ants dares attempt to stop the descent of god? Hahahaha! Go ahead and enter! This inner city has already been transformed by my divine power into an endless labyrinth!"
"No matter how many of you enter, there is only one outcome!"
"That outcome is death!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
...
After speaking, the gigantic face gradually dissipated.
All the players were briefly startled—then every single one of them showed the same expression.
Utter disdain.
"Damn dog-planner really copied a Cthulhu maze again."
"Ugh, has the damn dog-planner finally run out of creativity?"
"So boring. Guess we can only hope the maze difficulty is high enough!"
...
The players all shook their heads. Before, it had only been speculation—now it was completely confirmed.
Still, the game design really was awesome. The storyline was top-tier. Brother Ming was insanely handsome!
It's just that the damn planner is an idiot!
It's already the year 2032, and he's still fooling people with a Cthulhu labyrinth. What a low-IQ idiot.
"Let's go!"
Undomitable Bear Is Strong didn't overthink it. He waved his hand and led the Dark Soul Guild players straight into the entrance.
"!"
A flash of light—
When Undomitable Bear Is Strong opened his eyes, everyone else was gone!
He found himself inside a small room.
Outside the room, everything was rusted. The ground was covered in dried bloodstains, and the air carried a thick stench of decay and death!
A familiar scent.
A familiar Dark Souls aura!
"Clang!"
With a casual flick of his hand, the Ice-Thunder Demon Blade Azzinoth appeared in his grasp.
"Cthulhu labyrinth? Dark Souls ancient city? No!"
"Evil God's Labyrinth—I, Undomitable Bear Is Strong, have come to challenge you!"
...
With a grin, Undomitable Bear Is Strong stepped forward into the Evil God's Labyrinth.
At the same time—
In the deepest part of Ten Thousand Beast City's inner city.
Inside a massive underground space.
Tens of thousands of figures had already gathered.
Most of them were grotesque beings whose flesh had nearly melted away, their facial features gone, leaving only a mouth. They sat cross-legged in four directions, faintly forming an ancient totem.
These grotesque beings, deeply corrupted by the Evil God's aura, were the crucial Evil God priests responsible for completing the descent ritual!
At this moment, the Evil God priests were chanting ancient words in low voices—words not belonging to this world, but from another realm. It was the language of the Evil God.
At the center of the tens of thousands of priests stood a high platform.
On the platform, a square black box was placed inside a pool of dark-green liquid.
Human Emperor Gu Aotian raised both arms and roared:
"The summoning ritual—begin!!!"
As his roar echoed out, countless Evil God priests opened their mouths and exhaled vast amounts of dark-green aura!
The dark-green aura gathered in midair, gradually forming a vortex that enveloped the square black box.
As time passed, the vortex grew larger and more solid!
"In at most six hours, our god! The great Evil God, the Supreme Lord, the Unspeakable One… Lord Suruk shall descend!"
Gu Aotian shouted excitedly.
"My lord Gu Aotian, those humans have begun breaking in,"
said Demon Palm Zaher, one of the Four Heavenly Kings—the same terrifying expert who had previously brought the square black box from the Ten Thousand Beast Prison to Ten Thousand Beast City.
"Hahahaha! They will never reach this place!"
Gu Aotian sneered coldly.
"This inner city has long been corroded and polluted by our god's power. Even space itself has twisted and changed—its interior is more than a hundred times larger than its actual size!"
"There are mechanisms, traps, and countless puppets and guardians everywhere!"
"More importantly, just in case, I have stationed those Ancient Beasts—purified by our god's power—along the key routes!"
"Even if the invaders can break through the traps and traverse the maze, they will never defeat those purified Ancient Beasts!"
"And within the labyrinth, there is also the descended will of our god's avatar! The whispers of a god, the betrayal of companions, the backstabs of illusions—things they absolutely cannot resist!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"However, just in case—you Four Heavenly Kings will each guard the final key gates!"
...
Though Gu Aotian was filled with confidence, he still issued the order as a precaution.
"Yes! But what about Lord Chi Mo…?"
"No need to worry. Chi Mo and his special guard will only act if a truly powerful enemy invades!"
"Understood!"
...
Demon Palm Zaher accepted the order and departed, joining the other Four Heavenly Kings to guard the final gates.
Gu Aotian turned his gaze toward the square black box.
"There is no need to call for help. No one is coming to save you!"
"What a pity. If our god had not discovered you, perhaps you would have remained sealed in some corner, waiting for your era to arrive—then rising as an invincible powerhouse!"
"But unfortunately, the moment our god detected your existence, your fate was sealed!"
"You can only become the vessel for our god's descent! Your supreme invincible bloodline will become nourishment for our god, allowing our god to descend into this world and become an invincible existence!"
...
Human Emperor Gu Aotian whispered each word with twisted malice.