Boom!
Heavy rain began to pour from the sky.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed.
Under the torrential rain, the Blood Moon appeared even more crimson and terrifying.
Gripping his Diamond Minotaur Battleaxe, Mark warily scanned his surroundings.
Monsters began to spawn. Fortunately, his hunch was correct.
Monsters followed a specific spawning mechanism—they would not appear in areas lit by torches!
The chunk was filled with torches, forcing all zombies and skeletons to spawn outside its borders.
This was good news for everyone; at least they didn't have to worry about being ambushed and killed from behind.
Swinging his battleaxe, Mark was the first to charge out.
He was acting somewhat decisively. He knew that since the alliance had just formed, the rules and social hierarchy were still in flux.
If he chose to hide, people would inevitably look down on him, which would undermine his future authority.
He could tell as much from the attitudes of Kira Oakmoor, Kapil, and the others earlier.
Therefore, he had to take this opportunity to display his martial prowess, making them realize just how powerful he was.
[-17!]
While sprinting, he dealt extra damage. The area-of-effect strike knocked back a group of zombies and set them ablaze.
He stepped back for two paces to wait for the cooldown before triggering the charge state again with a horizontal sweep of his axe.
The zombies had no armor. Relying solely on their health pools, they couldn't withstand such high attack power; several died after only three or four swings.
Conversely, even though the zombies had been buffed, their attacks hit Mark with little effect.
Having obtained the crafting recipe for Fiery Ingots from the Lich Tower, Mark's defense had been significantly boosted by his new gear.
The attacks only dealt minor damage. As long as he wasn't surrounded, he could recover just by eating!
Gauging his own condition, Mark fought with increasing fervor, leaving the other contestants stunned.
"He's so strong. How can he be this powerful?"
"Those zombies deal a lot of damage—I almost died after two hits. How is Mark fine?"
"Yeah, even an iron set can't hold out for long, yet he's been slaughtering them for ages!"
"If I saw that right, his attacks even have a burning effect?"
"That big axe's damage is just as insane. If that hit me..."
Shock was written all over every contestant's face.
Before, it was mostly speculation, but now with this practical demonstration, they were truly intimidated by his strength.
Even the stronger ones, Kira Oakmoor and Ronan Mountwell, exchanged looks.
"That battleaxe deals massive damage. I'm afraid even using a SlashBlade would make it hard to compete with that."
"I've been to the Nether. If I remember correctly, the other Freedom Nation contestant is wearing an alloy set—it's even stronger than diamond armor!"
"With our current equipment, it'll be difficult to deal with them."
Although the crisis had begun and he had been mocked by the stream viewers for burying himself in the dirt out of fear of zombies, it was undeniable that Ronan Mountwell's progress was faster than most.
He was the first contestant to decode the secret of obsidian and enter the Nether, even if the process was a bit buffoonish.
In a way, he had briefly surpassed Galen Yu.
With a SlashBlade in hand, Kira Oakmoor was an even more formidable contestant, yet both of them admitted they couldn't handle Mark.
The other contestants were even less worth mentioning. Mark's show of force was a resounding success.
"Amazing!"
"Our Mark is the ultimate warrior!"
"Mark is the strongest in the alliance when it comes to combat. No objections, right?"
"Even if Oakmoor tried, a SlashBlade couldn't kill zombies this easily!"
"And with that new gear, he can both tank and deal damage!"
"Who would dare defy Mark now?"
After being overshadowed by the Nine Provinces for so long, the Freedom Nation audience finally regained some face.
But while praising Mark, the Freedom Nation viewers had also wised up, intentionally avoiding mentioning that bug-like existence, Galen Yu.
However, this situation didn't last long.
With Mark leading the way, all the contestants joined the fray, doing their best to clear the zombies.
But as mentioned before, their equipment was outdated and their strength limited. Often, they would be severely injured after killing only a few and be forced to retreat.
With a tangible comparison, their respect for Mark grew even deeper.
"This is exactly the effect I wanted," Jett thought, silently giving Mark a thumbs-up.
As the battle intensified, the number of zombies appearing during the Blood Moon became staggering.
In the early stages, they could rely on their gear to kill a round, but as the fight dragged on, the players grew exhausted while the zombies only increased in number.
The rain grew heavier, soaking the contestants' clothes.
Finally, at a certain point, the taut string in Mark's mind snapped.
"Creeper!"
He wasn't afraid of the skeletons' arrows because there was a pile of zombies in front of him; the arrows wouldn't pass through the zombies to hit him.
In fact, having more skeletons could even lure the zombies away, which was more beneficial than harmful.
But Creepers were the exception.
Those things weren't like zombies or skeletons. Getting approached by one would lead to a horrific end.
Especially since they had just filled the chunk with torches, there was no telling how much of their work the explosion would destroy.
"Retreat! Back to the house!"
Having sufficiently demonstrated his power, he hastily ordered a retreat.
Most of the contestants returned to the stone house, but Jett soon realized something was wrong.
"We only focused on the torches during the day and didn't expand the house. It can't hold this many people!"
He glanced outside at the few remaining contestants from minor nations, while all the core members were already inside.
Jett closed the heavy door without hesitation and took a deep breath.
"For the sake of the alliance and the safety of the majority, sacrifices are acceptable, right?"
Looking at Mark's half-smiling expression, everyone inside the room nodded.
As long as they were safe, why should they care about the others?
With a few fewer competitors, perhaps their share of rewards would be greater in the future.
The ones suffering were the players left outside.
"Open the door! I'm not in yet!"
"The zombies are coming! Didn't we agree on an alliance?"
"Dammit, these beasts are really abandoning us!"
"Hurry, build a shelter! We're no match for them!"
They cursed Mark loudly, but they also knew that now wasn't the time for talk.
They hurriedly pulled out their remaining blocks, attempting to build small dirt boxes to block the zombies.
However, their building speed couldn't match the zombies' speed. Furthermore, since zombies could climb walls, they were often killed just as they finished a wall.
[A contestant from Oceania has died. Punishment will arrive in thirty seconds!]
[A contestant from Haishan Nation has died. Punishment will arrive in thirty seconds!]
[...]
"You monsters! What is Mark doing?"
"Why did our contestant die? He could have been saved!"
"Zero alliance principles! Scumbags without a shred of honor!"
"Oh god, the punishment is coming! Freedom Nation, I won't let you off even as a ghost!"
Curses flooded the screens as several more patches of sky were shrouded in dark clouds.
As if the curses had taken effect, a massive thunderclap descended upon Mark's chunk.
Boom!
It struck a Creeper right on target, giving birth to a mutated species: a Charged Creeper!
It was stronger than a normal Creeper with double the blast power. More frighteningly, it was right next to a player outside the stone house, primed to explode.
"Wait, no!"
A scream rang out to stop it, but it was too late.
The stone house was blown open with a massive hole. Mark's expression changed instantly.
At the same time, during the same Blood Moon, in the same civilization...
Galen Yu sat quietly on the Great Wall, gazing at the distant sky.
As the saying goes, 'When one reaches the peak, all other mountains seem small.' The scenery from this height was laid bare. Below him, rails stretched out, and not a single zombie could be seen.
He whispered softly to himself.
"The evening breeze is pleasant today."
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