183: Chapter 183 Betrayal

The battlefield had turned into a chaotic, noisy marketplace filled with various strange cries.

Amidst the crowd, wailing was the dominant theme, but there were always a few "rationalists" trying to grasp at the last straw in their despair:

"Brothers! Hold on! There are only a few of them! No matter how powerful a battery is, it eventually runs out of power!"

"Right! Wear them down! Just grind it out! Can we really not outlast them?"

"Don't forget the big shots from 'Calamity' are watching from behind! If we wimp out now, will they let us off later?"

These words, like low-quality adrenaline shots, barely managed to give a boost to some who were about to break.

Right, people get tired! After fighting for a bit longer, they should run out of strength, shouldn't they?

On the third floor, Qi Yun heard those "rational analyses" below crystal clear.

He chuckled and turned to look at the three Unique Class supporters in his Tribe.

Ke Yun, passive skill: a super healer who automatically heals groups of allies within range.

Mo Lan, a cheat-like support who connects with allies to share experience points.

Qiao Xuan, a supporter who buffs teammates with Berserk and debuffs enemies with Weakness.

With this lineup, you want to compare stamina with these girls?

You'd be better off waiting for a rooster to lay an egg or a hen to crow.

An hour later.

Time ticked away.

The "weeding operation" on the battlefield hadn't stopped; instead, it seemed to be gaining momentum.

The girls fought more and more skillfully, their levels skyrocketing like rockets.

Looking at the cannon fodder side...

The numbers had dwindled from a dense black mass to a sparse scattering.

A rough estimate suggested only about seven thousand were still standing.

In the crowd, the initial "wear them down" had long since turned into ghostly wails and philosophical reflections:

"Damn it! Something's wrong! It's been over an hour! Why are these grandmas still so full of life?!"

"The one throwing lightning! Is she using us to practice new moves?! I think I saw her rolling a lightning ball for fun just now!"

"Oh my god! I'm bone dry! My calves are cramping!"

"They must be on drugs! The infinite refill kind!"

"You 'Calamity' lords in the back! Stop just watching the show, okay?! Do something! If you don't act now, we're going to be farmed to graduation by these female devils!"

The people from the Azure Alliance, who had been slacking in the crowd all along, were also feeling uneasy.

The Alliance Leader looked at the girls ahead, who fought with increasing courage like perpetual motion machines, then glanced back at the "Calamity" squad on the distant hillside, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He suddenly grabbed Situ Baichuan's shoulder:

"Baichuan! Get everyone ready for combat!"

Situ Baichuan's face darkened: "Boss, are we really going to make an enemy of Scourge? Have you forgotten what happened in the past?"

The Alliance Leader continued:

"No, but the ones we're going to hit are Calamity!"

The leader of the Azure Alliance had decided to bet on Scourge's side.

Situ Baichuan was stunned at first, then his eyes suddenly lit up with two sharp gleams!

Defecting?! Attacking 'Calamity'?!

A current of extreme excitement and the thrill of "causing big trouble" instantly surged through his body!

"Holy shit! I've wanted to do them in for a long time!" Situ Baichuan's voice trembled with excitement.

"Notify all our brothers to save their strength and wait for my signal!"

"Also, fan the flames! Spread the word about 'Calamity' using us as scapegoats, exaggerate it, and spread it as much as you can!!"

"Understood!" Situ Baichuan nodded heavily.

Another half hour passed, feeling as long as a century.

Less than four thousand of the allied forces were still standing.

The remaining ones had hollow eyes and stiff movements.

Despair, like a plague, infected everyone.

A roar rose from the crowd once again:

"Brothers! Stop throwing your lives away for 'Calamity'! We've been played for fools!"

"They're just sending us to our deaths to test that Tribe's depth! They don't care if we live or die!"

"They've blocked all our retreats! They want us all to die here!"

"Damn it! We're dead either way! Instead of being hacked to death by these valkyries, let's fight those 'Calamity' dogs! Maybe we can carve out a path to survival!"

"Right! Fight them! Killing one is breaking even, killing two is a profit!"

"The brothers from the Azure Alliance have already moved that way! They're rebelling too!"

"I'm done! Whoever wants to fight can fight! I'm going to slaughter those 'Calamity' bastards!"

These voices were like sparks thrown into a powder keg—'Boom!' It exploded!

Especially those who had seen their companions killed by the 'Calamity' enforcement squad; their eyes turned red instantly!

"Screw Calamity! I'll fight you to the end!"

"Brothers! Turn around! Fight back! Kill those dogs watching the show!"

"Charge! For our fallen brothers! Revenge!"

Collapsed morale, the instinct for survival, and the towering rage against 'Calamity' created a strange chemical reaction.

The remaining three or four thousand remnants, like a pack of mad dogs driven into a corner, eyes red and howling, turned around in unison and charged toward the 'Calamity' squad!

"Kill! Kill all the 'Calamity' lackeys!"

"Revenge! Kill them all!"

On the hillside, Luo Gao, who had been lounging with his legs crossed, waiting for the cannon fodder to exhaust the girls' stamina, saw this sudden and completely illogical scene, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

"They... they're... coming for us?!" Duan Yong's tongue was tied.

"Son of a bitch! These useless pieces of trash! Garbage! Scum!"

Luo Gao snapped out of it, the veins on his forehead throbbing as he cursed loudly.

While roaring, he shouted to the 'Calamity' members stationed around for enforcement:

"Everyone! Clear out this garbage trying to run away! Damn it, a bunch of death-seeking ants dare to bare their teeth!"

He was shaking with rage, but hadn't completely lost his head.

In his view, as long as they killed a few ringleaders to make an example, the rest would naturally turn back around.

Qi Yun, who had been watching the show, curled his lips into a smile.

He issued a clear command to all the girls:

"Attention everyone."

"Cease fire. Stop attacking those who turned around."

"Focus your attention on the Calamity members in red uniforms!"

On the battlefield, the girls, who were in the middle of a hacking spree, paused in unison.

Then, their eyes lit up simultaneously.

Killing these cannon fodder didn't provide much experience anymore, but those Calamity people were different.

The girls decisively abandoned the scattering 'mook experience packs' before them and turned their gaze toward Luo Gao's squads.

The cannon fodder charging toward 'Calamity' with bloodshot eyes suddenly realized that the reapers behind them had not only stopped but seemed to be targeting Calamity as well?

They were stunned for a moment, then ecstatic!

"They're not hacking at us anymore?!"

"They're attacking 'Calamity'!"

"Heaven is helping us! Brothers! Charge! Join them and kill these 'Calamity' bastards!"

"Avenge every grievance, settle every score!"

The situation on the battlefield took a 180-degree turn in an instant!

Luo Gao grinned savagely: "Let's remind these savages of the terror of Calamity."

His squad members were at least level 50 or above, and all were of combat-oriented rare classes.

Dealing with this mob, taking on a hundred each was an understatement.

Just then—

"Beep, beep, beep!"

The device on his wrist suddenly flashed a red light urgently!

Luo Gao instinctively looked down.

On the screen, shocking messages flashed by rapidly:

[Warning: Signal from the second combat detachment interrupted, collective loss of vital signs.]

[Warning: Signal from the third combat detachment lost.]

[Warning: Ninth combat detachment confirmed wiped out.]

Luo Gao's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking sharply.

The second, third, and ninth detachments... all gone?!

How long has it been?

His squad members were all elites over level 50 with rare combat classes!

"What's going on?!"

Duan Yong next to him also received the message of the squads' annihilation, his face turning deathly pale.

Luo Gao didn't answer; his fingers trembled as he opened the communicator and roared:

"All detachments! Abandon your current positions immediately! All of you, converge on me! I repeat, all of you, converge on me! Fast!!"

Too late.

Of the ten squads scattered on the periphery for blockade and enforcement, five more were taken out in just a minute or two!

This meant that several huge gaps had appeared in their carefully laid encirclement.

And those cannon fodder forces soon discovered these gaps.

"Over there! No one's blocking that way anymore!"

"A gap! There's a gap! We can escape!"

"Brothers! Stop fighting! Run for your lives!"

"Damn it, I'm not staying in this mess! Whoever wants to fight can fight!"

The instinct for survival overrode everything.

The remaining two or three thousand cannon fodder, like a flood breaking a dam, ignored Luo Gao and fled, howling and scrambling away in a pathetic state.

Within a few minutes, the originally noisy and chaotic battlefield quickly became empty.

Only the girls of Qi Yun's Tribe, Luo Gao, and his squad remained on the battlefield.

Just then, from the third floor of the stronghold, a figure took a step into the air.

She walked with elegant and composed steps, unhurriedly, step by step, treading on the void toward Luo Gao.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, she walked to a position diagonally above Luo Gao's squad, looking down from on high.

Li slightly lowered her head, her eyes falling on the red-haired brawny man below, Luo Gao:

"Long time no see, Luo Gao."

That familiar voice made Luo Gao's muscles tense up instantly!

He looked up at the figure in the sky, his face twisting into a provocative smile as he responded loudly:

"Li! I didn't expect you to actually still be alive!"

"Back this time specifically to settle scores with us?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "settle scores."

Li didn't answer his question, but calmly swept her gaze over him and said slowly:

"If I remember correctly."

"Back then, deep in those ruins..."

"The first person to sneak attack me was you, wasn't it, Luo Gao?"

Luo Gao unhurriedly took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with slightly trembling fingers, took a deep drag, and said in an almost maniacally arrogant tone:

"That's right! It was me!"

"That strike... it felt so damn good! I'll never forget it for the rest of my life!"

"Haha, that was the most satisfying moment of my life!"

Li quietly listened to Luo Gao's malicious boasting, her face still showing no change in expression.

She spoke again, asking a question that seemed to have troubled her for a long time:

"Is that so. However, I've always been somewhat curious."

"Back then, why did you... betray me?"

Her gaze swept over Luo Gao and the remaining, vaguely familiar faces behind him.

Some of these people were original members of 'Calamity' whom she had brought up herself.

Hearing this, Luo Gao suddenly burst into a fit of hysterical laughter:

"Hahaha! You actually still care about that?"

He stopped laughing, his eyes turning dark and full of resentment as he glared at Li:

"It's simple! Because we didn't need you anymore!"

"Yes, that's right! 'Calamity' was founded by you, and this territory in the Land of Beginning was carved out by you leading us, a bunch of remnants!"

"You were the Patriarch, you were 'Scourge,' you were impressive, you were invincible!"

His voice grew louder, carrying years of accumulated resentment and dissatisfaction:

"But do you fucking understand how the world works? Do you understand profit distribution? Do you understand power-sharing?!"

"In your eyes, there are only your goals, your rules, and your 'right'!"

"Following you, we could only ever live in your shadow! We were always just appendages to your reputation as Scourge!"

"We've had enough!"

"So, when there was a chance to pull a 'god' like you off your pedestal and divide the resources you left behind... do you think we would still hesitate?"

Luo Gao panted, threw his cigarette butt heavily to the ground, and crushed it with his foot as if crushing an insect.

"Betrayal? No, that's called a revolution! That's called taking back what belongs to us!"

"The current Calamity is ours! You are nothing more than a thing of the past that should have died long ago!"

He roared, pouring out all his dissatisfaction with Li over the years.

The battlefield was silent.

Li quietly listened to Luo Gao's roar filled with twisted logic and selfish justifications.

Then, she slowly nodded.

"I see."

"Not understanding how the world works."

"Not understanding profit distribution."

"Not understanding power-sharing."

She repeated Luo Gao's words, her tone still flat, but with a hint of boredom.

She raised her eyes to look at Luo Gao again, and in those deep purple eyes, there was finally a clear hint of emotion.

"I made a mistake back then; I trusted the wrong people."

"Since a mistake was made, it must be corrected."

"Today, I will let you experience once more what 'Scourge' truly means."

Luo Gao glared at Li, a provocative smile squeezed onto his face, his voice slightly out of tune with excitement:

"Li! You don't think... I only brought these people with me this time, do you?!"

He suddenly roared toward the surrounding forest:

"You've all seen enough of the show, haven't you?! What are you waiting for?! Get out here—now!!"

The next second—

"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"

The sound of air being pierced suddenly rang out from all directions!

"Long time no see... Li."

"I really didn't expect you, you bitch, to be so hard to kill."

"Li, how did that poison we used on you last time feel?"

"Lady Li, you're finally back... we've been missing you day and night."

"Missing your expression of pain, missing your wails of despair, missing the moment we thoroughly trample your pride into the mud..."

"We get to see it again today.""}],