"What's wrong with Howard? Why is he screaming so loudly?"
Everyone was surprised, and they looked inside. Suddenly, everyone gasped!
Howard was seen floating in mid-air. His clothes were completely torn to pieces. Countless purple crystals, as long as knives, broke through his skin and slowly pierced out from his body, turning him into a "hedgehog"!
Drops of bright red blood slowly flowed down the amethyst, forming a pool of blood at his feet.
This scene was so weird and terrifying that everyone present was stunned.
Marshal Eddie looked in disbelief. He turned and asked Marcus: "What's going on? What happened to Howard's body?"
"...It looks like Howard was sacrificed!" Marcus was surprised. He had never seen such a situation, but he had seen similar records in ancient magic books.
When you want to cast a certain magic or activate a magic item, you will need a sacrifice.
The strength of magic and magic items determines the level of the sacrifice.
The level of inanimate sacrifices is relatively low, such as various rare metals and the bones and hair of certain animals.
The living sacrifices are of a higher level, among which the living ones are the highest level.
"Who did it? He actually used Howard as a sacrifice! What magic did he want to cast? Or what magic item did he want to activate?"
Marcus looked around and secretly guessed: "Could it be Ethan? He is the only one here who knows magic..."
At this moment, Ethan was hiding in a secret corner, watching the scene in front of him in shock.
"Holy Demon, is the [Ring of the Ability God] so terrifying? It actually turns the user into its sacrifice!"
That's right, it was not him who did this, but Howard himself.
Time goes back to ten minutes ago.
The door to the parliament hall was knocked open, and Marshal Eddie and Marcus rushed in with their men. They glared at Howard, the regicide rebel.
"Howard! Your end has come!"
Marshal Eddie pointed his sword at Howard and shouted: "Put down your weapons and accept justice!"
At this time, there were only seven or eight guards left around Howard. These people's faces were pale and they had long lost their fighting spirit. When more than a hundred people rushed in from the opposite side, they dropped their weapons on the spot and knelt down to beg for mercy.
"hehe……"
Howard looked calm. He touched the [Ring of the Ability God] in his hand and said to himself: "You think I'm finished? That's why you all abandoned me?"
He looked at the surrendered guards with disdain and said, "You guards and Ethan are all the same, haha...a bunch of bastards!"
"Fortunately, I discovered a new function of this ring!"
He raised his arms and laughed wildly: "As long as I meet its conditions, I can open a new login, and my army of players will come to me!"
After that, he looked at the green light screen in his field of vision, and there was a line of prompts on it.
[Do you want to contribute sacrifices and open a new lander? 】
【Yes or no? 】
"yes!"
Howard made his choice.
In fact, he didn't know what the sacrifice was, and the system didn't give any prompts.
Logically speaking, normal people should understand the situation before making a choice.
But Howard ran out of time.
The enemy is right in front of him. If he doesn't take action, the only thing waiting for him is death.
So, he decided to take a gamble and see if Lady Luck was still on his side.
[Since you have made a choice and are willing to be a sacrifice, then I will fulfill your wish and open a new login. 】
Howard was ecstatic when he saw this line of prompts, but he also felt something was wrong.
Because he has never seen such a "humanized" system prompt. Before, it was cold and formulaic, but this time it was completely different.
He felt as if the person talking to him behind the light curtain was a living person!
[Just use your body as the new login device! 】
[Congratulations, you have become the 33rd game login. 】
【Hey hey hey! 】
Seeing these lines of prompts, Howard began to panic. No matter how stupid he was, he could still understand the meaning of these sentences.
"No, no, I don't want to be a sacrifice! And you didn't make it clear just now what a sacrifice is!"
He stepped back repeatedly and shouted at the ring: "I changed my mind, don't open the login device, I...ah!"
An amethyst stone slowly pierced out of Howard's chest, and he spurted out a large mouthful of blood. He looked at his chest in shock, his mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Then, more amethysts swarmed out of his body...
And this scene happened to be seen by Zhang Ze, the angry Dragon King and others who had just rushed in.
…
At this moment, Howard in front of everyone has been completely torn into pieces by the amethyst. A huge purple crystal stands in front of people, with a crystal clear surface glowing with a strange luster.
"In order to allow players to log into this world, he actually turned himself into amethyst... What a cruel person!"
Zhang Ze sighed.
"Rakshasa, do you know what happened to Howard? Why did he become like this?" Marshal Eddie turned around and asked after hearing Zhang Ze's voice.
Zhang Ze shrugged and said: "Although some parts are not clear yet, I generally understand it."
He pointed at the amethyst: "Howard turned himself into the amethyst that players log in to, so that players can log in, but he also paid a bloody price."
"This is your own fault!" Liu Yueying said coldly next to Zhang Ze: "It was his greed for power that killed himself."
"Then, what should we do with this piece of amethyst?" Queen Louise asked with fear.
Amethyst actually appears in the palace. What a terrible thing it would be if the player logs into the game and appears from here!
"Leave this matter to me." Zhang Ze walked out of the crowd and said, "I can take it away, but..."
He looked up at the exquisite murals on the roof of the parliament hall and said, "A big hole may need to be opened here. Is the Queen willing to do it?"
"I'm willing to give it up!" Queen Louise nodded repeatedly: "As long as you can get this thing out of here, I don't have any objection to you demolishing the palace!"
Now, she doesn't want to see this terrible amethyst even for a second.
Zhang Ze opened the summoning space and saw that the Iron Titan still needed some cooling time, so he told Queen Louise to wait a moment.
On this side, Marcus was wandering around the amethyst, not knowing what he was looking for.
"Old man, what are you looking for?" Marshal Eddie asked curiously.
"Well, I'm looking for the reason why Howard was sacrificed. I guess it might be some kind of item containing powerful magic." Marcus rummaged through the rags and scraps of meat on the ground without raising his head.
Marshal Eddie also squatted down to help. The two old men searched for a long time, until Zhang Ze summoned the Steel Titan, broke open the roof, and took away the amethyst, but they didn't find anything.
"Is that thing no longer here?"
Marcus shook his head slightly and sighed: "I hope it won't be obtained by anyone with evil intentions..."
Speaking of evil intentions, he suddenly remembered something and asked: "Strange, where is Ethan?"
same moment.
A figure appeared out of thin air on the top of the city. Ethan turned his head to look in the direction of the palace, then looked down at the [Ring of the Ability God] in his hand, with a hint of a sinister smile on his face.
"Finally got you! Hahaha!"
…
The 33rd landing amethyst was also thrown into the flaming lava by Zhang Ze. At this point, all landing locations have been sealed, and players can no longer enter this world.
The crisis of the fourth disaster was lifted on the next day, the rebellious traitor Howard was also dead, and the people of the demon clan could finally live and work in peace and contentment.
Although His Majesty Kiir and a group of nobles were unfortunately killed, the people did not seem to feel much sadness. Everyone's face was filled with happy smiles, as if only a few dogs died.
Queen Louise also came out of her grief. She began to preside over state affairs and lead the war-torn country back on track.
Although Zhang Ze, Giant God and others were anxious and wanted to go to the next level of Demon Realm as soon as possible, the system did not prompt the end, so they could only stay here.
On this day, the Kingdom of Elterra was decorated with lights and colorful decorations to celebrate the kingdom's passage through the crisis, and everyone in the city was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.
Queen Louise personally presided over this celebration. She rewarded everyone based on their merits.
"Rakshasa."
Queen Louise called Zhang Ze in front of her and said with gratitude: "You are the biggest contributor in this crisis, and I will give you the supreme honor."
After that, she took the ribbon and sword from the attendant beside her and handed it to Zhang Ze with her own hands: "From today on, you are the Duke of the Kingdom of Eltra, with a hereditary title and ten fiefs!"
Duke is the highest status among all titles.
The number of fiefs is another proof of the duke's strength.
Generally, dukes only have one or two fiefdoms, which they have accumulated through generations of meritorious deeds.
Zhang Ze started with ten fiefs, equivalent to one-tenth of the kingdom's land area, which shows that Queen Louise valued Zhang Ze.
The Titans and the irascible Dragon King, among others, also received rewards, ranging from baron to viscount.
Although it is far behind Zhang Ze's title, no one has any complaints. After all, Zhang Ze has made the greatest contribution.
Moreover, they are just passers-by in this level of Demon Realm. After getting the key, they will go to the next level of Demon Realm.
Any title or fiefdom is just a cloud.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations on completing the mission of this level of Demon Realm."
Suddenly, Zhang Ze, Ju Shen and others heard the prompt sound at the same time. Everyone felt happy and immediately checked their system backpacks.
Sure enough, the key to customs clearance was already placed inside.
"Wow, I finally got the key!" Zhang Feng looked excited.
"But, where is the stone gate?" Tian Tian melancholy asked in confusion.
Ever since they came to this demonic realm, they had never seen Shimen.
Yiye Zhiqiu suggested: "Perhaps people here know clues to Shimen, and we can ask."
"Archmage Marcus should be the most knowledgeable person here. We can ask him."
Zhang Ze led everyone towards Marcus, who saw them coming and asked politely: "Guys, do you have anything to do with me?"
"Yes, have you ever seen a huge stone door?"
Zhang Ze briefly described the appearance of the stone gate. Marcus pondered for a moment and said, "Could it be that magic?"
Everyone looked confused and then heard Marcus continue: "In the library of the Magicians Association, there is a book that records a strange magic that can create a stone door leading to a strange world out of thin air."
"However, no one can enter the stone door. It seems that some kind of key is needed."
Marcus looked at Zhang Ze and others and asked curiously: "Did you get the key to the stone gate?"
"Well, can you help us create the stone gate?" Zhang Ze nodded.
Marcus readily agreed: "Of course, you are the heroes of the kingdom, and I am very willing to serve."
"Well, it's not very convenient here. Let's go out."
Everyone followed Marcus to the back garden of the palace. He spread his arms and cast magic on an open space.
The earth and rocks on the ground flew up automatically, slowly forming a simple stone gate, exactly the same as the stone gate used to clear the Demon Realm.
"It turns out that the stone gate in this demonic realm still needs the help of a magician." Shandao Bubu held his chin and said: "It seems that if you want to clear the level in the future, it is not enough to just get the key, you have to find the stone gate... Well, It’s getting more and more troublesome.”
The giant god smiled and said: "Anyway, we can pass the level. Let's go to the next level."
Everyone walked into the stone gate one after another.
Marcus hurriedly took Zhang Ze's hand and asked eagerly: "Your Majesty, where are you going?"
"This..." Zhang Ze scratched his head, not knowing how to explain.
Marcus asked, "Can you please take me with you?"
"Ah?" Zhang Ze was stunned: "Why?"
Marcus explained: "As a person who has studied magic for many years, I am very curious and want to see the other side of the stone gate. I hope the Duke can grant my request."
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
Zhang Ze smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Because you don't have the key, I can't take you through the stone gate."
"But... I see that the girl in white next to Baron Ichiu Ichiki also doesn't have a key. Can't she also pass?"
Marcus asked.
"No, the Snow Girl can pass because she was created overnight." Zhang Ze explained.
Ever since Yiyoshi Qiu used [Wish Drawing Paper] to resurrect the snow girl, the snow girl has become a part of him and is inseparable from him.
Only when Yiye Zhiqiu goes offline will the two separate.
When it goes online, the snow girl will appear directly next to Yiye Zhiqiu, which is very magical.
Therefore, even if the snow girl does not have the key, Yiye Zhiqiu can take her through the stone gate.
"So this is ah……"
Marcus's face showed deep disappointment. He was already over seventy years old and knew that his destiny was approaching. He wanted to explore a new world before he died, but unfortunately, he could not do so.
After thinking about it, he took out a thick ancient book from his arms and handed it to Zhang Ze.
"Your Excellency, I don't know if we can meet again after this separation. Please accept this book."
Zhang Ze took the book and his pupils suddenly shrank.
[Advanced Theory of Summoning]
Quality: SSS
Damage: 0
Effect: After learning, you can evolve [Summoning Technique].
Note: You need to pass the assessment to successfully evolve [Summoning Technique].
Durability: permanent
…
"Can [Summoning] be evolved?! Can natural skills be evolved?"
Zhang Ze was very shocked. He knew that talent skills could be upgraded, but he had never heard that they could be evolved.
So, what will [Summoning] look like after evolution?
"Thank you, Archmage Marcus!"
Zhang Ze was very happy and grateful because this book was so important to him.
Marcus stroked his gray beard and smiled: "Don't be polite, Duke. This book is of no use to me, because I don't know how to summon at all. Instead of leaving it here to eat ashes, I might as well give it to you, which is considered a waste." Its use.”
Thanking Marcus again, Zhang Ze waved goodbye to him, turned around and walked into the stone gate.
"Archman Marcus, have you seen the Duke?"
"Old man, where have Duke Rakshasa and the others gone?"
At this time, Queen Louise and Marshal Eddie hurriedly walked towards this side. They discovered the stone gate standing in the garden, with strange expressions on their faces.
"The Duke and his companions went to another world."
Marcus sighed and said, "Maybe I will never come back again..."
…
Zhang Ze and the others walked through the darkness, and everyone felt a little uneasy. They didn't know what kind of challenges the next level of the Demon Realm would bring.
Their eyes finally lit up, and they arrived at the 44th level of the Demon Realm.
Everyone looked around and found that they were in a modern town. However, the town was quiet and not a single soul could be seen. It seemed like a dead city.
Zhang Ze noticed a huge rusty sign hanging on the three-story building opposite, which read: "Welcome to Time Town."
