Chapter 25: Chapter25-Absorbing Countless Corpses, 10,000 Attribute Points!
[Congratulations, player! You have killed the S-rank Boss Old Emperor Level 50 and obtained EXP +25,000, gold coins +250, Reputation +5,000!]
John touched the churning crimson blood floating in the air, and the blood instantly sank into his body.
[Congratulations, player! You have obtained the SSS-rank special item, Phoenix Blood!]
One notification after another rang beside John’s ears.
Before he could even check them, a grand world announcement resounded through the sky.
[Congratulations to player "Outlander" from Starter Village No. 616 for killing the S-rank Boss Old Emperor Level 50. Reward: EXP +25,000, gold coins +250, Reputation +5,000!]
The announcement rang out three full times before finally fading away.
John remained calm and composed. He opened his backpack and took out the Phoenix Blood, which looked like a flame given physical form.
[Phoenix Blood]
[Type]: Special Item
[Effect]: After use, obtain the unique skill Nirvana Rebirth. Nirvana Rebirth allows the player to revive immediately after death and recover 100% HP!
Note: During the revival process of Nirvana Rebirth, the player will be in an invincible state. Cooldown: 24 hours.
...
"As expected, it’s an item with a resurrection effect."
The corners of John’s mouth curled upward. He used it without hesitation.
Phoenix Blood instantly turned into a streak of red light and sank into the space between his brows.
[You have used the SSS-rank item Phoenix Blood and obtained the special skill Nirvana Rebirth!]
Just as John was about to carefully sense the changes, a vast and complicated stream of memories suddenly surged into his mind.
"The empire, the throne, the lord..."
John’s pupils abruptly contracted.
What he was receiving at this moment was none other than the Old Emperor’s memories!
...
At the same time, on the battlefield outside the imperial city.
The final living corpse was slain and collapsed heavily to the ground.
After fighting bitterly for several hours, the NPC City Watch and the players could finally catch their breath for a moment.
However, at that exact moment, the announcement of John’s first kill of the S-rank Boss Old Emperor rang out in the sky.
The announcement echoed three times in a row.
For a moment, everyone reacted differently.
The ordinary players were filled with shock and jealousy.
"It’s Outlander again! When the hell did that guy sneak inside?"
"A Level 50 S-rank Boss... I can’t even imagine how high its base stats must have been. And he actually killed it alone!"
"Damn it! We fought to the death here, only for him to swoop in and take the prize!"
Overlord_Dawn, the guild master of Overlord Guild, looked toward the distant imperial city and sneered.
"As expected. In the end, that guy still monopolized everything."
The NPCs, on the other hand, wore complicated expressions.
After all, the one who had been killed was their former emperor.
Even if that emperor had already fallen, he was still a symbol they had clung to.
The next moment, an abnormal phenomenon appeared at the summit of the towering imperial city.
The blood-red sky began to swirl and gather, all of it being drawn into the top of the city.
When the crimson color condensed above the imperial city, it froze for a brief instant.
Immediately afterward, with the imperial city as the center, a terrifying wave of energy erupted outward.
Rumble!
The sky began to collapse on a massive scale, and horrifying abyssal cracks tore open across the ground.
Everyone’s expressions changed drastically. They immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Ignoring all orders, they frantically fled toward the dungeon exit behind them.
The City Watch also began to withdraw in an orderly manner under the lord’s command.
One figure after another turned into streaks of white light and appeared at the entrance of the bronze gate.
Soon, the open ground within ten square kilometers outside the mountain wall was packed with NPCs and players.
With solemn expressions, they stared at the high wall before them. Faintly, they could still hear muffled rumbling sounds coming from within.
"Is the inside about to collapse completely?"
...
Inside the Royal Court, John woke from the emperor’s memories.
He also sensed the heaven-rending, earth-shattering changes taking place outside.
John hurriedly aimed at the emperor’s corpse on the ground.
[You have devoured the corpse of the Level 50 Old Emperor and obtained free attribute points +5,000, Luck Points +20!]
Crash!
The palace began to collapse on a massive scale.
John’s figure flashed, transforming into a streak of light as he fled toward the outside of the city.
At this moment, due to the Old Emperor’s death and because the Phoenix Blood had been completely absorbed by John, the living corpses throughout the imperial city also collapsed one after another.
The entire city returned to dead silence.
John reacted extremely quickly. While moving at high speed, he swept past the corpses along the roadside and devoured them.
As for the large number of corpses outside the imperial city, he accepted them all with a smile. Wherever he passed, the surrounding mountains of corpses turned into white light and merged into his body.
Dense notification sounds rang beside his ears.
[You have devoured the corpse of a Level 15 Old Empire Soldier and obtained free attribute points +150!]
[You have devoured the corpse of a Level 25 Old-Era Knight and obtained free attribute points +250!]
[You...]
The sky had completely collapsed, and the ground had become a hollow void.
At the final moment before this world completely crumbled, John’s figure plunged into the bronze gate’s exit.
With a flash of white light, John appeared before everyone outside.
He opened his panel and glanced at it, only to discover that his gains this time were nothing short of terrifying.
Just from free attribute points alone, he had devoured and accumulated 100,000!
"Not bad."
The corners of John’s mouth lifted. Then, he walked toward the crowd not far away.
At this moment, everyone was in the middle of a heated discussion.
On the players’ side, they were all talking about how they had arrived here with such a massive force, yet in the end, aside from fighting one battle, they had gained absolutely nothing.
How was this grand operation, which had started with such momentum and ended so abruptly, supposed to be wrapped up?
The higher-ups of the various guilds all had splitting headaches right now, because they truly had not gained any benefits from this operation.
On the other side, the City Watch soldiers had even begun arguing outright.
Every City Watch soldier gathered around the lord, questioning him one after another.
"Lord, didn’t you tell us the empire was glorious and great? Why did it become like that?"
"Lord, what exactly happened to our empire?"
"You were the one who told us that one day, we would return to the empire! Now where is the empire?"
The lord looked at the collapsed expressions of these soldiers, and frustration surged within him as well.
Even he himself did not understand why the empire described in the records had fallen into such a state.
So how could he possibly answer these City Watch soldiers, who had believed in the empire for generations?
At that moment, a figure dressed in a white-gold military uniform finally walked into the crowd.
The instant everyone saw that person’s appearance and ID, the vast open space abruptly fell silent.
John swept his gaze across the crowd, his expression calm.
For many people, this was their first time seeing Outlander’s true appearance.
He wore a white-gold battle robe, his posture tall and straight, his face firm and handsome.
From head to toe, he exuded an aura of looking down upon the world.
His powerful presence instantly shocked the entire crowd into silence.
A moment later, two figures walked out from the crowd.
They were LoranBlade and the lord.
After the two of them walked toward John, Overlord_Dawn, the guild master of Overlord Guild, hesitated as he looked over, but ultimately chose not to follow.
John also noticed him, but he merely swept him with a cold glance and did not pause for even a moment.
"The matter is over. It’s time to split the spoils."
LoranBlade openly spread out his hand.
John gave him a slight nod. Then, he took a golden longsword from his backpack and tossed it into LoranBlade’s hand.
This was the sword he had taken from the Old Emperor. It was an A-rank longsword.
Before this, he had already promised that he would share part of the loot with LoranBlade, so naturally, he would not go back on his word.
John looked toward the lord.
"Let’s speak somewhere else."
