72: Beneath the throne, there are only bones

The cold words, devoid of any warmth, were like a final judgment, starkly revealing the ultimate truth of this cruel world.

Heaven's Choice: “In this world… only the dead are truly reliable.”

The channel once again fell into a deathly silence, like an eternal night.

All the survivors understood.

In Heaven's Choice’s eyes, their so-called “value,” their pathetic will to survive, was utterly worthless.

He wasn't joking.

Nor was he threatening.

He was merely stating a fact that he was about to personally create.

However, just as everyone was immersed in this bone-chilling despair of being sentenced to death—

Rumble—!!!

An unprecedented system announcement, covering the entire War Zone and seemingly coming from a higher-dimensional will, suddenly lit up!

They weren't words, but golden oracles, directly branded deep into everyone's souls!

【War Zone Announcement: Detecting a sharp decrease in the number of Lords in the 8888 War Zone. To accelerate the evolution process of the War Zone, the “Final Selection” protocol will be executed starting tomorrow at 0:00 server time!】

【Rule One: All-Out War! Remove all daily limits on PVP (Player vs. Player) and PVE (Player vs. Environment) battles!】

【Rule Two: Joint Attack! Remove the limit on the number of attackers! Defenders can be attacked simultaneously by multiple attackers!】

【Rule Three: United Front! When a defender is jointly attacked by multiple players, for each additional attacker, all of the defender's units and buildings will receive a 10% additional health and attack bonus, capped at 200%!】

【Rule Four: High Penalty! In all attacks, if the main city is not destroyed, it will be judged as an attack failure! The attacker will permanently lose 50% of his Gold and heavy oil, and two of his highest-level defensive towers will be randomly destroyed! All penalties will be obtained by the defender as spoils of war!】

【Rule Five: Shell Ban! The 【Fortress Shield】 in the War Mall will be permanently removed! Purchased shields will immediately expire after their effect ends and cannot be repurchased!】

【Rule Six: Final Hour! This round of rules will continue until the number of surviving Lords in this War Zone is less than or equal to 100! At that time, the War Zone will merge and a new chapter will begin! All Lords, fight for survival!】

This announcement was like a nuclear bomb exploding in everyone's mind!

Every word transformed into the sharpest blade, deeply piercing the hearts of all survivors!

If Heaven's Choice's previous “roll call” had made them feel the fear of death…

Then this announcement had locked all of them, including Heaven's Choice, into a deadly game called “Gu” with no retreat!

The system was forcing them to fight Heaven's Choice to the death!

“He's crazy! Is the system crazy?!!!”

“We can launch joint attacks now! This is… this is giving us a chance!”

“A chance my ass! Look closely at the penalty! If the attack fails, you directly lose half your assets and two top-tier defensive towers! What the hell is the difference between that and deleting your account?!”

“But not fighting is also waiting to die! That lunatic Heaven's Choice is clearly going to settle accounts with us one by one!”

The channel instantly became a pot of boiling heavy oil.

Fear, despair, and a hint of madness born from being pushed to the brink, intertwined.

Zhinang’s avatar flashed frantically before he finally issued a calm yet bitter analysis.

【Zhinang】: “Everyone, calm down. This is an open conspiracy. The system has given us a seemingly viable ‘chance’ to defeat Heaven's Choice, but the cost is all of our lives and fortunes.”

【Zhinang】: “We only have one chance. Let's gather all our strength, go all out, and use our numerical advantage to stack the defense bonus to the limit. Perhaps… perhaps we really can crack his tough shell!”

His words ignited a faint spark of hope in everyone's hearts.

Yes, there were still dozens of them!

Dozens of SS-rank and A-rank powerhouses!

What a magnificent sight it would be to combine all their forces!

No matter how strong Heaven's Choice was, could he, alone, fight against the entire world?

Just as this atmosphere of shared animosity was brewing, and everyone felt they saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback—

That ID, which made their souls tremble, once again lit up, calm and unbothered.

Heaven's Choice: “Ants, no matter how many there are, when gathered together, they are still just a group of ants.”

There was even a hint of barely perceptible… annoyance in his words.

As if he found them too noisy.

Heaven's Choice: “I’ll be waiting for you at the base. Remember to bring all your belongings.”

Arrogant!

No, this was no longer arrogance.

This was a benevolent notification from a god to his sacrifices.

He didn't even bother to argue, merely confirming their ridiculous plan in a tone that was almost condescending.

As if to say: I've reserved all your belongings.

These words were like a basin of icy water from the Nine Nether River, instantly extinguishing all the fighting spirit that had just ignited in the crowd.

Their forced courage seemed like a huge joke in the face of this man's absolute confidence.

Lin Feng truly didn't take them seriously.

He closed the channel and began to tally his gains from this “cleanup.”

A series of massacres had accumulated enormous wealth for him.

【Gold: 548,750】

【heavy oil: 313,800】

The resources were outrageously abundant.

“Time to upgrade.”

Lin Feng's thoughts unhesitatingly clicked on the upgrade button for the Evil Fortress.

【Do you want to consume 160,000 Gold and 100,000 heavy oil to upgrade the Main City to Level 10?】

“Yes.”

Rumble—!

The entire fortress began to shake violently, as if a demon god from the depths of the earth was about to awaken!

Countless streams of jet-black magma erupted from underground, like billions of demonic dragons, enveloping the fortress in a pulsating, heart-like cocoon of lava!

Black fel energy and golden power of wealth wildly intertwined on the surface of the giant cocoon, pushing this war machine to evolve into a new, more terrifying form!

【Main City upgrading, estimated time: 10 minutes】

Ten minutes passed quickly.

When the last trace of light from the lava cocoon was completely absorbed, the colossal behemoth, covering the sky and sun, finally revealed its new appearance!

If the previous fortress was merely the dwelling of a Hell Lord—

Then now, this Level 10 fortress was Hell itself!

At its apex, countless twisted, spiraling spires, as if capable of piercing the firmament, stood tall, their tips burning with eternal soul fire!

Along its walls, magma patterns flowed like the veins of a giant beast, each pulse causing space to groan under the strain!

The entire silhouette of the fortress was like an ancient beast, coiled on the earth, ready to devour its prey! Merely gazing upon it was enough to shatter the souls of the weak-willed!

【Ding! Congratulations! Your Main City has successfully been upgraded to Level 10!】

【You have unlocked a new permission: Free Planning Mode!】

【You have unlocked a new building: Destiny Roulette!】

【You have unlocked new spells: Skeleton Summon, Bat Summon!】

【You have unlocked a new defensive tower: Air Cannon!】

A series of notification sounds announced the arrival of a new era.

Lin Feng's lips curled into a cold and cruel arc.

He looked at the “ants” in the channel, still fruitlessly discussing how to allocate troops and formulate tactics, his eyes filled with amusement.

Plan all you want.

Once I set up my new toys, I hope your “all-in” attack this time can bring me a tiny, little surprise.