CHAPTER 610

【 LADY SALTY CAT I SHALL REMEMBER YOU FOR ETERNITY 】

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The broadcast on the crystal screen carried on, but before long, the tavern doors swung open and Little Salty Cat stepped inside, now clad in an entirely new set of equipment that immediately drew everyone’s attention.

As soon as she entered, the tavern erupted with cheers from the players.

“Sister Cat you’re back!”

“Sister Cat, you were so incredible out there! Absolutely the best!”

“Sister Cat, do you still need any lackeys? Please take care of me! I can even warm your bed!”

“If you’ve got spare equipment you don’t want, I’ll gladly take it. Even broken ones are fine, I won’t be picky.”

Little Salty Cat: “…”

She chuckled awkwardly and ignored their banter, heading straight toward Evé’s side. Along the way, she casually picked up a cup of floral tea from an elven waitress.

This mage, who had just revived after putting on quite a show on the battlefield, slumped into a chair, downed the tea in one gulp, and wore an expression of pure satisfaction.

“Ahh, that was so refreshing! I’ve never cast such an incredible spell beforehand! Receiving the Goddess’s divine favor really is amazing! Hehe, it seems the Goddess truly has blessed me!” she said excitedly to Evé.

With a slightly smug expression, the girl added,

“Well, Sister Féng, didn’t I tell you? As long as I’m I received the Goddess’s favor, I can absolutely one-shot any enemy!”

Evé: “…”

Well yes, of course.

Anyone outfitted with a complete set of divine equipment that enhanced magical output, raised to the level of Gold rank, strengthened by numerous layers of buffs, and further sustained by an abundance of potions, who then unleashed one of the most devastating explosion spells ever created at point-blank range—while even sacrificing their primary staff—would inevitably generate power comparable to a legendary-rank attack.

It would be more surprising if that Demon King wasn’t killed despite all that.

The only issue was performing such a stunt can only be done by someone with immense wealth.

Glancing at the new equipment Little Salty Cat had changed into, Evé raised an eyebrow slightly.

“You certainly have quite a collection of divine artifacts.”

“Ehh… not really. I’ve only managed to gather three full sets. The set I just used got damaged, so I’ll have it repaired later. It won’t cost too many contribution points anyway,” Little Salty Cat replied with a shrug.

Her casual tone, as though she were merely discussing today’s meal, made the corners of the nearby players’ mouths twitch involuntarily.

Counting divine artifacts by complete sets… this girl was probably the only one in the entire server capable of such a thing.

And what did she mean by “It won’t cost too many contribution points”?

Her staff exploding into pieces was one thing. After all, forcibly channeling the power of an artifact often resulted in a backlash, so the equipment sustaining heavy damage was to be expected. But with destructive spell of that magnitude, even if Salty Cat’s other divine equipment were not severely damaged, repairing them should cost at least several hundred thousand contribution points.

This must be what being filthy rich truly feels like…

The surrounding players eavesdropping upon their conversation seemed to emit the sour scent of lemons after hearing such an offhand remark.

Similarly, Eve’s expression also grew somewhat strange.

She had almost forgotten that the little girl’s nickname, “The Half Owner of Chosen City,” wasn’t for nothing. This pink-haired lass owned nearly half of Chosen City’s real estate, and Mountpeak City, which she had established, was flourishing as well. With such wealth, amassing multiple sets of full divine gear was only natural.

Nonetheless, it was obvious she made careful choices. For instance, the equipment she had worn in the earlier battle was not her most treasured set, so it probably didn’t cost that much.

Even so, Evé estimated that the explosive kamikaze stunt she had performed must have cost the girl at least two million contribution points.

“Was that staff those guys are scrambling over not bound to you?” Evé asked curiously, glancing at the crystal screen in which showed the aftermath, with players jostling and fighting over as to who could claim the broken artifact.

“Ah… I forgot. I’ve been repairing so many divine artifacts lately that I must have overlooked binding that one. Haha…” Little Salty Cat scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly after glancing at the screen.

The surrounding players: “…”

Evé felt the atmosphere in the tavern grow even more sour.

“Well, I still have four other staffs with similar effects so I’ll just consider that one as a giveaway. Besides, it already broke in half, so it probably can’t be used anymore. The repair costs would be enormous anyway. At most even if I retrieved it, I’ll probably just send it to the Goddess as an offering for a bit of contribution points.” Little Salty Cat spoke indifferently.

The surrounding players: “…”

The sourness in the air seemed to rise to yet another level.

Evé could not help but laugh inwardly.

She was about to say more when a sudden sensation stirred within her, and she turned her gaze southeast toward the Southern Mountains, relative to the Elven Forest.

At the same time, the announcer’s shocked voice rang out from the crystal screen:

“Look! Our great hero, Miss Little Salty Cat, seems to have blasted open something extraordinary with her explosion spell!”

“What is that, ladies and gentlemen? Could it perhaps be… a secret ruin!?”

The players inside the tavern were all drawn to the scene, and even Little Salty Cat herself was slightly taken aback as she turned toward the large crystal screen.

There right on the display, at the very site of the explosion, an enormous crater had formed. What was most remarkable, however, was that at its deepest point, a structure resembling a grand palace could now be seen.

The structure appeared to be ancient and was shrouded in layers of dark miasma.

Just as Little Salty Cat was curiously studying the newly revealed palace on the screen, Evé’s voice sounded beside her.

“It is about time. I should be going as well.”

Startled, Salty Cat turned her head, only to realize that Evé had already risen to her feet at some point without her noticing.

“Sister Féng, where are you going?” the girl asked with curiosity.

With a faint smile, Evé replied, “It seems like my turn has come to step onto the battlefield too.”

Little Salty Cat’s eyes lit up, and she pumped her fist in encouragement.

“Sister Féng, you can do it! Crush those demons! I hope the Goddess grant you her divine favor and you achieve a high kill streak!”

Evé chuckled softly, her lips curving into a small smile.

“Mhm… let us hope your words come true.”

With that, Evé turned and strode toward the tavern’s exit. The faint smile never left her face as she quietly disappeared into the bustling streets.

༺⟐༻

Back on the battlefield, chaos reigned as flashes of spells and bursts of combat skills illuminated the surroundings, mingling with the thunderous volleys of firearms and the guttural roars of demons.

The struggle for the Sealed Lands grew ever more intense with each passing moment, as an ever-increasing number of elves were summoned to join the fight. One by one, the Demon Kings that appeared were gradually suppressed by the newly arrived elves who had been granted the Goddess’s divine favor.

As the tide of battle shifted, the signs of the demons’ impending defeat became unmistakably clear.

The strongest among the Demon Kings appeared for only a few minutes before being brought down by a young female mage blessed with divine favor. In a blaze of mutual annihilation, both perished together, leaving only behind a massive crater in their wake.

As time went on, casualties among the demons mounted at an alarming pace.

Meanwhile, the elves who remained on the battlefield after enduring successive trials proved to be far stronger than the average combatant. Moreover, those few who had received the Goddess’s divine favor were elevated into warriors of exceptional might.

In time, the dwarves noticed that some of the elves who had once taken part in the First Summoning had returned to the battlefield.

Their arrival was the final weight that tipped the scales in favor of the allied forces.

Although the demons still held overwhelming numbers, the combined might of elves and dwarves had begun to reverse the tide of war and push forward with a counteroffensive.

Witnessing the shifting momentum, the dwarves were overcome with emotion.

Tonglu was no exception.

Yet alongside his excitement, there was also a trace of sorrow upon his face.

Gazing at the enormous crater hundreds of meters wide in the distance, the upright dwarven warrior let out a quiet sigh.

Only minutes ago, he had rejoiced at the sudden appearance of a familiar face. Yet within mere moments, Lady Little Salty Cat, that beautiful and lively elven maiden had chosen to perish together alongside a Demon King.

The image of her rushing forward with a radiant smile and blazing fervor toward that Demon King still replayed vividly before his eyes.

Until her final breath, Lady Salty Cat’s expression had remained calm and unafraid.

Although he had witnessed countless farewells and innumerable comrades of his had fallen in battle against the demons, the sacrifice of Lady Little Salty Cat still weighed heavily upon Tonglu’s heart.

Other dwarves were gathering the corpses of the fallen, while priests offered prayers for their souls.

Yet this kind and lovely elven maiden had left behind no body at all.

It was not like the other Chosen Ones who perished, whose remains were transported away by a summoning array.

The devastating explosion she unleashed had been so overwhelming that even the Demon King was reduced to ashes.

The fate of the elven maiden was obvious.

Caught at the very center of such destructive power, her soul itself had likely been obliterated.

Her sweet smile still lingered in his mind as Tonglu closed his eyes and traced a symbol of the hammer across his chest.

It was the sacred mark of the God of the Dwarves and Forging.

“Lady Little Salty Cat, I shall remember you for eternity. Though our time together was brief, know that I, Tonglu the Sky Knight will forever be your friend…” he said with a heavy heart.

Tonglu knew better than anyone how terrifying a high-ranking Demon King was. Having spent half his life fighting demons, he understood clearly that even he himself could not guarantee victory against such a foe within the Abyss-tainted grounds of the Sealed Lands.

Without Little Salty Cat’s sacrifice, the tide of battle would never have shifted so quickly. The casualties among the Chosen Ones would surely have been far more devastating.

It was precisely this knowledge that moved him so deeply.

This elven maiden… was a true warrior.

A warrior who gave everything and even sacrificed herself all for the sake of fighting against evil.

When this battle is over, I will forge a statue at the entrance to the Underground to commemorate her heroic deeds…

Such was the vow in Tonglu’s heart.

༺⟐༻

The fierce battle raged on.

As time passed, the smoke from the massive explosion gradually began to dissipate, curling upward from the crater that Little Salty Cat had created. Through the haze, the edge of an ancient-looking structure slowly emerged, as if revealing itself only now from centuries of concealment.

“What is that?” Tonglu murmured in surprise.

Beside him, however, the High Pontiff’s eyes widened in recognition, his expression growing increasingly animated.

Raising the staff in his hand, he pointed toward the palace-like structure now visible at the bottom of the crater and cried out, his voice ringing across the battlefield with uncontainable excitement:

“That is the palace where Evil God Barolte is imprisoned!”

“Everyone, forward! Storm that palace!”

Tonglu’s pupils constricted in shock.

“The palace that imprison Barolte?!”

Hearing the elderly dwarves shout, almost every elf on the battlefield had their eyes ignite with fervor. In an instant, nearly all of them shifted direction, their formations moving with uncanny precision as they surged toward the revealed structure.

Their coordination was so flawless that even the most rigorously trained armies would pale in comparison.

Yet just as the elves redirected their formation, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble faintly.

From the depths of the crater, a strange and unsettling power radiated outward. Every being it touched felt an inexplicable agitation deep within their hearts.

Dark, twisted thoughts began to surface, while waves of restlessness and violent impulses surged through their minds.

The elves fared better, showing only a brief frown before regaining their composure.

The dwarven warriors, however, were far less fortunate. Their eyes turned bloodshot, sweat poured down their faces, and their expressions twisted in pain.

Then, the dwarven warriors standing farthest from the statue of the Goddess of Life suddenly let out a frenzied roar as black smoke enveloped their entire bodies.

It was the unmistakable sign of corruption.

“This is bad… their soul is being corrupted!” the High Pontiff exclaimed.

Gritting his teeth, Greycloth hastily began to chant divine incantations, invoking the spell of soul purification.

A radiant holy light burst forth from his scepter, casting its brilliance across the battlefield.

Yet the effect was minimal. The corruption remained, writhing like a living thing within their soul.

The High Pontiff’s expression grew increasingly grave. As the leader of the dwarven faith, his own strength had long reached Legendary-rank. Hence for his spell to fail in purifying the corruption in those dwarven warrior’s soul could only mean one thing:

The source of this corruptive power was much stronger than he could contend with.

Having fought the demons that dwell in the Sealed Lands for many years, the dwarves were well aware of the limits of their enemies’ strength. They knew that no Demon King of Legendary rank was present in these lands, let alone a Demon Lord surpassing that rank.

This left only one possibility as to who was behind this overwhelming corruptive force.

“This is the power of a Demigod… It is Evil God Barolte! He has awakened!” the High Pontiff declared with an alarming tone.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, the ground trembled violently beneath their feet.

From within the palace in the crater poured an endless stream of abyssal miasma and along with it came a swarm of demons, both greater and lesser—so many that from a distance, it looked as if a hornet’s nest had been struck open.

At the same time, the demons already locked in combat with the elves underwent sudden, grotesque mutations. Many of them even began to evolve right there on the spot.

This was especially true for the few Demon Kings who had survived up to this point. Their auras flared sharply, each breaking through to a higher level right before the eyes of the elves. In particular, the three strongest among them advanced directly to the peak of Gold rank.

They sneered wickedly, hefted their weapons, and struck at the elves surrounding them.

Watching all of this unfold, Tonglu’s heart sank.

“This is bad!”

Although the elves blessed with their Goddess’s divine favor were formidable, they were not strong enough to withstand the might of those Demon Kings who had reached peak Gold-rank.

It was clear, given that one of them had been killed in an instant just moments ago.

Not everyone possessed the might of Little Salty Cat. From the fragments of conversation he had overheard, Tonglu understood that petite lass was regarded as the most powerful mage among the Chosen Ones.

I must save them!

The thought flashed instantly through his mind.

With a mighty roar that shook the air, the legendary dwarven warrior hefted his great axe and hurled it toward the strongest of the Demon Kings. He could not abandon his post guarding the statue of the Goddess of Life, no matter the cost—but by casting his weapon, he might at least disrupt the enemies and grant the Chosen Ones a chance to retreat.

The axe hurtled through the air, spinning toward the Demon King.

Yet the Demon King merely sneered in disdain. With a casual backhand, he caught the weapon in midair.

Seeing how his weapon was easily claimed just like that, Tonglu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“This… impossible!”

A heavy weight settled in his chest.

“Not good…”

His thrown axe had accomplished nothing.

The Demon Kings bellowed in fury, swinging their massive weapons at the elves surrounding them.

The sheer force of their blows was so overwhelming that some of the elves faltered in panic, unable to mount any defense.

The fate of the Chosen Ones seemed all but sealed.

But at the very moment the strikes were about to land, a brilliant radiance streaked forth from behind the elves.

The light split into three beams before transforming into blazing golden arrows that flew with deadly precision. In an instant, they pierced the chests of the three Demon Kings.

Before Tonglu’s astonished eyes, two of the Demon Kings were engulfed in golden flames, their shrieks cut short as they crumbled instantly into ash.

The strongest among them resisted, but even so, half of its body was torn apart.

Tonglu’s heart shook within his chest.

Such power!

Who had unleashed these arrows?!

Then, all around him, he heard the cheers of the elves:

“It’s Big Sister! Big Sister has come to support us!”

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