Chapter 2213: Extortion
It was Xu Huo who made the first move.
Among the players who entered the temple again, there were not a few high-level players, and even several A-rank players. However, whether due to the influence of time items, these people suddenly froze and stopped moving as they approached the altar. Then, under the terrified gazes of the holy maidens, Xu Huo killed them one by one. More than thirty players didn't even last half a minute!
The sounds falling inside the temple came from the corpses sliced open by Space Ray Blades.
The players in the square were furious, their eyes wide with rage. They wanted to rush in and save their companions, but the Blockade Barrier not only trapped the outer zone players but also locked them in. Worried about damaging the Blockade Barrier around the temple, the old man even had to stop his companions. However, this situation didn't last long, because Xu Huo personally took action and broke through the Blockade Barrier outside the temple. Facing the local zone players who wished they could tear him apart, his cold face revealed a cruel smile. "I have no interest in killing ordinary people who can't fight back, but players are fair game."
He looked around at the crowd, his gaze landing on the old man. "It's just being stranded. Compared to entering a high-risk instance, it's better than dying right now. If you back off, I can guarantee I'll only kill the players from this district."
"Don't you dare!" the old man gritted his teeth, raising his item and slashing it at Xu Huo. The item's light curtain spanned the square and the temple, flying straight toward him. The light, which had a cutting effect, not only split the ground but also cleaved the temple's outer wall in two. Yet this seemingly powerful attack came to an abrupt halt when it collided with the "Space Sphere."
Xu Huo was completely unharmed.
"Why can his space items still be used!" a player behind the old man exclaimed in shock. Before the God's Birthday, Sanctuary City had deployed enough space items and jamming devices, and they had reinforced them again before making their move. Time and space items were incompatible with each other, causing mutual interference. They couldn't use theirs, and the outer zone players couldn't use theirs either, minimizing the scope of destruction as much as possible. But who would have thought that while their space items were useless, the outer zone players' items still worked!
The faces of the players present were far from pleasant. Xu Huo had displayed a level of power that was severely inconsistent with a B-rank player. His mental power could even control A-rank players. Didn't that mean he could kill anyone here today if he wanted to?
The local zone players were in grave danger, and the clearance players were equally wary of this non-ticket player!
As if he hadn't noticed the others' caution, Xu Huo asked the old man and his group again, "So, what do you think of my proposal? Will you die together with the people from this district, or endure a few more days and enter a random instance?"
Everyone feared death. These stranded players, who originally hadn't intended to interfere in the Goddess Cult's internal strife, had shown up because they were afraid of high-risk random instances. But now, it seemed they were only faced with two options: "die now" or "die later." Given the current situation, neither option seemed to offer them any chance to resist. Just Xu Huo's gaze alone made their scalps tingle and their backs break out in cold sweat!
"We can't retreat!" a player clenched his teeth. "We still have children in this district. Who's to say they won't go back on their word and massacre the city afterward!"
"We can't retreat!" another stranded player said. "I'd rather die now than go to a high-risk instance!"
More and more stranded players made up their minds, all turning their eyes to the old man. But the old man was no longer as angry as before. He tried to negotiate with Xu Huo. "Your goal is just to enhance your mental evolution. There's no need to go this far. This district has been shrouded in mental-type instances for years, producing many mental-type items over time. If you need them, you can take them all."
"Although your mental evolution is powerful, you should know the abilities of the instance goddess. How much benefit can a head-on clash bring you?"
"Anyway, your goal is just evolution. If you agree, not only can you take all the mental-type items from the Goddess Cult, but I can also tell you about a location where mental power is concentrated. There are no instances there, and you can come and go freely. It's much more suitable than this place."
Xu Huo didn't speak, seemingly considering it. After a moment, he said, "Really, all of it?"
The old man's expression relaxed. "I won't break my word!"
"Alright then," Xu Huo stretched lazily and walked back to the altar. "You've wasted a lot of my time today, and watching those old men perform was pretty boring. You'll have to compensate me."
Whether they were local zone players or local residents, everyone felt humiliated. He had come here, killed so many people, and now, after promising him benefits to send him away, he still wanted to extort them... But they were helpless. Xu Huo's strength was evident to all. Giving him a few things to send this plague away was better than a head-on clash that would result in heavy losses of players. After all, this district didn't have many players to begin with.
This time, Xu Huo didn't ask the old man. Instead, he lifted the last divine envoy. "Old man, do you agree or not?"
After today's upheaval, the divine envoy had fallen from his pedestal. The old man, driven by despair, felt a surge of anger. Suddenly, he reached into his clothes and pulled out an eyeball, aiming it at Xu Huo. "Blasphemer of the goddess, die!"
It was a living eyeball, very similar to the one on the goddess statue. When it opened, it aimed at Xu Huo. The overflowing mental power put pressure on everyone inside and outside the temple. But Xu Huo stood firmly in place, not only unaffected by the attack but also steadying the divine envoy and then reaching out to grab the eye.
"This eye isn't bad either. It's mine now." Xu Huo said lightly, even bringing the eyeball close to his face to look at it for a few seconds.
"You... you..." Watching the eye disappear, the divine envoy stumbled back in terror. Xu Huo didn't let him go this time. He kicked the man, who flew into the edge of another altar and died on the spot.
"Don't move!" the old man ordered the players behind him, forbidding them from retaliating for the divine envoy's death.
Xu Huo dusted off his hands and then turned to the holy maiden Xue Yi, who was kneeling to the side. He walked slowly toward her, but A Hai suddenly lunged forward, grabbing his leg and saying, "Don't hurt the holy maiden!"
"A Hai!" Holy Maiden Xue Yi quickly tried to stop him, but A Hai refused to let go. He looked up at Xu Huo. "I saved you once. Can you please not hurt my people anymore? They're all ordinary people, pitiful people too!"
Xu Huo looked down at him. "Even if you hadn't carried me out of the forest, I would have been fine."
"I know... I know..." A Hai was in tears. "But I saved you with a sincere heart... The goddess originally saved us to help... Why did things turn out like this? Is it because of these things that the goddess abandoned us..."
He was rambling incoherently. Xu Huo just watched him, then after a moment said, "Instances have always been a meat grinder for players. Yet you placed your hopes on something like that. No wonder after a hundred years of development, you're still so fragile... But you were right to beg me."
"According to our agreement, I'll take the things and leave. What happens to the rest of you, I don't care anymore."
(Chapter End)