Chapter 394 394-The Origin of the Dark Realm
No matter how astute Karthus was, he could never guess the true meaning behind John's words.
Or rather, what John was referring to was something only he understood.
To everyone else, they were merely participants in a game.
Even guild leaders like Adam and Blue Sea, known for their keen intuition, only occasionally marveled at the astonishing realism of the game Godslayer.
They never contemplated that the world they were inhabiting was, in fact, real.
From the beginning, John's target was Karthus and Kingserp.
Not because of their reprehensible actions within the game; in truth, John wasn't particularly driven by a sense of justice.
He might not actively pursue evil, but he wasn't consumed by a hatred for it either.
His real reason for opposing these two was singular.
It was because they had chosen to align themselves with the chaotic and evil faction represented by the Abyss.
Moreover, they had set their guild's base in the Dark Realm, located at the opposite end of Sunset Mountain.
Although John had never personally set foot in the Dark Realm, his understanding of it was remarkably detailed.
Whether it was information provided by NPCs within the game or discussions on gaming forums, John had a clear perception of the Dark Realm.
What was known as the Dark Realm was merely a name given by players and the various races of the Godslayer Continent to that area.
The inhabitants themselves called it the "Kingdom of Night"!
This land was once a part of the Godslayer Continent, ruled in ancient times by a power of considerable might.
Strong enough to deem themselves the first line of defense against the Abyss, they stood ready.
Then, the invasion of the Abyss began, sudden and relentless.
Initially, the warriors of the region fought valiantly, bolstered by support from the other great powers beyond Sunset Mountain.
The defenders of the Dark Realm vowed to protect their homeland to the death.
However, the strength of an arm can hardly twist a thigh.
The terror of the Abyss was beyond the wildest imaginations of mere mortals...
Inch by inch, the land of the Dark Realm fell.
The most despairing aspect for those defending their homes was the transformation of their once-familiar lands.
The sky, no longer azure, became oppressively overcast.
The fertile plains, under the corrupting influence of darkness, morphed into deadly, toxic marshes.
Those warriors who fell in defense of their homes were resurrected under the influence of the Abyss, turned into puppets to wield blades against their former comrades.
Such is the horrifying nature of the Abyss.
Its dark, malevolent corruption clings like a relentless maggot.
Any land conquered by the Abyss inevitably becomes a slave to darkness.
Upon realizing this grim truth, the remaining warriors lost all courage to face this colossal entity of the Abyss.
The collapse began!
In just a few days, the demons of the Abyss and their monstrous armies pushed the front line all the way to Sunset Mountain.
The vast plains north of Sunset Mountain fell completely into darkness.
Dozens of once peaceful and beautiful towns succumbed to this darkness, transforming into brutal, murderous wastelands akin to Asura realms.
Innocent civilians were mercilessly slaughtered, only to shakily rise again, becoming members of a Necromancer's undead legion.
Others were drained of their blood, sacrificed to some Devil…
Such hellish scenes unfolded in nearly every town.
The other powers of the Godslayer Continent finally recognized the true horror of the Abyss.
They formed a united army, pushing their forces to Sunset Mountain, vowing to prevent the enemy from crossing over and invading their homes.
The horrific scenes north of Sunset Mountain had profoundly shaken their souls.
Despite a clear understanding that the Abyss was beyond their capability to contend with, no one chose to surrender, nor did any desert their posts.
They all knew that when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken…
The demons and monstrous armies of the Abyss swept through like a plague of locusts, effortlessly crossing Sunset Mountain, intent on continuing their southward march.
Just when everyone was on the brink of despair, perhaps moved by the increasing prayers, the deities above finally intervened.
Those long-awaited, great deities finally entered the fray.
This was the first time the humans of the Godslayer Continent witnessed the true form of deities.
It was this war that truly revealed the terrifying extent of the Abyss, as even the seemingly invincible deities struggled in a back-and-forth battle with the Abyss...
The servants and soldiers from the Divine Realm, in their struggle against a single demon of the Abyss, could barely hold their own even with a strategy akin to a war of attrition.
This war came to be known by the world as "The War of the Gods."
The War of the Gods raged for a long time.
Though the battle was fierce and challenging, the united armies of the Godslayer Continent, along with the deities, eventually emerged victorious.
The invasion of the Abyss was firmly contained north of Sunset Mountain.
The region already consumed by darkness was beyond recovery, but at least the deities saved many more lives.
Afterward, the number of followers in various churches surged, leading to a situation where almost every professional was affiliated with a church of some deity.
Most people worshipped the deities who watched over all beings from on high.
However, there was a portion of the population filled with resentment towards these deities.
These were the original inhabitants of the Dark Realm, north of Sunset Mountain.
They couldn't understand why the deities, always watching over the battlefield, didn't intervene sooner.
Why did they wait until their homeland was completely lost and their lives plundered by the Abyss before making a belated appearance?
Did the lives south of Sunset Mountain hold more value?
Harboring this endless resentment for thousands of years, the people of the Dark Realm, through generations of teaching and influence, ultimately devoted themselves completely to darkness.
They became the most loyal servants of the Abyss and the vanguard for the next Abyssal invasion.
Therefore, John harbored such intense disdain for Karthus and Kingserp.
Their intentions were malevolent, actively choosing Dark Realm as their spawn point in the game, leading their top-tier guilds to fully embrace darkness.
This meant that in the event of an invasion from the parallel world, they were likely to become the vanguard of the Abyss's invasion into the real world.
John had once posed a question to Elder Anderson about why players were allowed to choose Dark Realm as their starting point in the game.
The answer he received was startling.
He vividly remembered Elder Anderson's wry smile and helpless expression as he said, "It's not that we don't want to prohibit it, but that we simply can't... Every player's initial choice of location when they enter the game is controlled by the system itself; we have no say in it!"
"And at the time, no one knew that the division of powers in the Godslayer world was so complex. We thought that after the fusion of the two worlds, our enemies would be everyone in the game world. Now it seems that the Abyss is more likely to be the greater threat..."
"By the time we wanted to intervene, it was already too late. A significant number of players had already chosen Dark Realm as their spawn point. We couldn't just eliminate all these players, could we?"
...
John understood that the governments of various countries were in a dilemma.
They were well aware that players who chose the chaotic and evil faction might end up opposing humanity in the war against the parallel world invasion.
But so much time had passed, and the number of these players had reached a substantial level.
Completely prohibiting their choice was now impossible!
So, after an urgent discussion, Elder Anderson and the others made a decision that somewhat surprised John.
That was, when the parallel world invasion occurred, they would simply disconnect these players' internet connections...
Although Elder Anderson was confident that this method could solve most of the hidden dangers, John was not as optimistic.
All attributes and abilities in the game Godslayer ultimately reflected onto the players' real-world bodies through some mysterious channel.
This meant that even if they did disconnect these players' internet connections during the war, their abilities could not be completely sealed.
However, John couldn't think of a better solution for the time being and had to let things take their course...
Returning to Hengfeng Valley, just as Karthus was utterly baffled, Kingserp, who had been under the control of the icy domain, finally broke free!
With a loud "bang," the ice encasing Kingserp shattered explosively.
Maintaining his black serpent form, Kingserp leaped out from the fragments.
Despite being covered in numerous small wounds and missing several scales, Kingserp's fighting spirit was still incredibly high.
This certified madman always became more eager to fight when faced with danger – the more perilous the battle, the greater his desire for combat!
After landing, the black mist around Kingserp churned as he finally shed his serpent form and returned to his human shape.
Kingserp then bellowed angrily, "Blue Sea, if you dare, fight me again!"
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