92: Strike while the iron is hot! All players: Charge for the gear!

Dead silence.

An absolute dead silence enveloped the entire Outer Ring of the Celestial Realm.

The once glorious and holy Courtyard of Glory had now turned into a massive crater several kilometers in diameter, bottomless, with crimson lava still flowing along its edges. The clouds in the sky were brutally torn open, revealing the cold and dark Universe behind them.

A huge and beautiful mushroom cloud was slowly and silently rising and unfolding above the Celestial Realm, as if announcing the arrival of a new order to this world.

In a sense, Li Qiang had indeed brought "nuclear peace" in his own way.

Right at the very center of this silent Wasteland.

"Cough... cough cough..."

A burst of violent coughing broke this eternal tranquility.

From under a pile of charred, smoking carbonized matter, a mangled hand suddenly reached out.

Raphael stood up unsteadily from the massive pit.

He no longer possessed any of his previous elegant and handsome appearance.

The spotless white research lab coat had long since turned to ash. Half of his body was completely carbonized, revealing charred bones and mechanical structures flickering with electrical sparks underneath. The four emerald-like crystal wings he was once so proud of were now broken; three were snapped off, and the remaining one was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, dim and lifeless, hanging limply behind him.

On his face, one half was charcoal, and the other was covered in terrifying burns. His gold-rimmed glasses were nowhere to be found, and those eyes that were once full of wisdom and indifference now held only endless, palpable anger and pain.

He looked down at the massive cavity in his chest, an eternal wound left by the point-blank detonation of the fusion core. An alarmingly long health bar floated above his head; the red representing his HP had plummeted by more than two-thirds.

[Four-Winged Seraph Raphael LV.??? (Severely Weakened · Divine Collapse)]

"Ah——!!!"

Raphael threw back his head and let out a roar that echoed through the entire Celestial Realm—no longer elegant, no longer cold, leaving only pure pain and violence.

"Unforgivable!!"

"Unforgivable, ahhhhhhh——!!!"

Before his roar could fade, at the distant Respawn Point, one white light after another representing player Rebirths began to flash frantically like bamboo shoots after rain.

The players who had been instantly cleared by the nuclear bomb had respawned.

After a dozen seconds of silence, the World Channel instantly exploded with an unprecedented frenzy.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! What just happened? Was that a nuke? It was a nuke, right!"

"I saw it! That son of a bitch Li Qiang took the boss down with him by hugging a nuke! That was so damn cool!"

Brother Qiang is awesome! Real men should play with explosions!"

"Stop arguing! Look at the map! The BOSS isn't dead! He's not dead! But he's at low health!"

This message was like a drop of water into boiling oil, instantly igniting all the players who had just respawned and were still a bit dazed.

At the Respawn Point, Li Qiang stood bare-chested, holding a basic iron sword he'd just exchanged from the System shop. Looking at the charred figure roaring in the center of the crater far away, his eyes shone like two-thousand-watt lightbulbs.

Death penalty? Losing experience? Dropping equipment?

What are those? Can you eat them?

In front of a low-health, mobile, golden-glittering equipment vault, nothing else mattered!

"Brothers!"

Li Qiang raised his arm and shouted, issuing the command for a general offensive with his signature loud voice.

"The final BOSS is at low health! He can't fly anymore! He can't release poison! Right now, he's just an Advanced infantryman!"

"Strike while he's down! Take his life!"

"Think about how he just insta-killed us! Think about the brothers whose accounts were deleted! Then think about what he'll drop! Divine Artifacts! Definitely Divine Artifacts!"

"For the equipment! For the Horde! For the Earth! Charge for me!!!"

"Charge——!!!"

Tens of thousands of players—no, hundreds of thousands of players who had just been sent back by Raphael's spores and the subsequent nuclear blast—reached an unprecedented consensus at this moment.

Like a pack of sharks smelling blood, their eyes bloodshot, they let out unintelligible howls. Waving a variety of weapons—newly bought basic swords, entrenching shovels they couldn't bear to throw away, or even bare fists—they launched a tidal wave-like charge from all directions toward that massive crater.

This was the fourth calamity.

Play aggressively when winning, surrender when losing? No.

When losing, you have to be even more aggressive.

Raphael had just barely calmed down from his nuclear-induced rage when he felt that nauseating "swarm" filled with greed, violence, and chaos surging toward him from the horizon.

"A bunch of... ants who don't know the meaning of death..."

He tried to flap his only remaining broken wing, wanting to fly back into the air, but found that his energy core had been severely damaged in the explosion and couldn't provide enough lift.

He could only watch helplessly as the black mass of people rushed down the crater like a swarm of ants, surging toward him.

"Fine... then die once more in despair!"

Raphael roared and, dragging his heavily injured body, charged to meet the players. His remaining right arm transformed into a massive energy blade shimmering with an ominous green light. With one swing, he instantly sliced over a dozen players at the front, along with their shields, in half.

However, even more players stepped over their teammates' corpses, charging forward without fear of death.

What could be considered the most spectacular and most shameless BOSS gang-fight in gaming history officially began.

"All warriors! Push up! Form a human wall! Don't let him move!"

Retired Soldier King was shouting commands from behind the crowd. He knew that against this high-attack health tank, the most important thing was to restrict his movement.

Hundreds of heavy-armored warriors roared, activating all their defensive skills. Like a human pyramid, they crashed into Raphael's legs layer after layer.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Every one of Raphael's strikes could clear an area, but the fallen warriors turned into white light, and the white light at the Respawn Point would light up. A few seconds later, they would come charging back howling to continue grabbing his legs.

He was like he was stuck in a quagmire made of flesh and blood; every step became incredibly difficult.

"Ice Mages! Control him! Don't let him jump!"

Lin Xiaowan had already taken an advantageous position. Leading over a hundred mages from her guild, she poured all their mana onto Raphael's feet.

[Blizzard]! [Frost Nova]! [Absolute Zero]!

Countless ice spells stacked together, causing the temperature in the center of the crater to plummet, even forming a thick layer of frost on the scorching ground. Raphael's massive body slipped on the smooth ice, nearly falling.

"Beautifully done! Now's the time! Rogue team! Go! Give it to him in the face!"

A group of rogue players activated stealth and circled behind Raphael. They didn't attack; instead, they pulled bag after bag of... [Flash Powder], [Lime Powder], and even [Chili Powder] from their backpacks!

"Take this! Sand in the Eyes!"

"That'll teach you to act tough!"

Countless powders were smeared onto Raphael's face, half charred and half burned. Although it caused him no actual damage, it was extremely insulting. Raphael was choked into repeated coughing, and his vision was greatly impaired.

"Now! Everyone! Give him a pedicure!" Li Qiang roared.

Tens of thousands of players, like industrious ants, swarmed to Raphael's back and sides, using all their skills on his massive heels, knee joints, and anywhere else they could reach.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

For a time, the only sound on the battlefield was the dense, metallic clashing, like a blacksmith's shop.

-1

-1

-2 (Critical!)

-1

Although the damage numbers were pitifully low, they added up due to the sheer number of people. Raphael's alarmingly long health bar was slowly but visibly decreasing, segment by segment.

"Roar——!"

Raphael completely lost it. He felt he had never suffered such a great humiliation. He let out an unwilling roar to the heavens, and his body shook violently, a powerful shockwave sending the surrounding players flying.

"You all... shall die!"

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to spray that lethal biochemical toxic mist again.

"In your dreams!"

Li Qiang saw his chance; he had been waiting for this moment.

"Brothers! Pin him down!"

Before his voice finished, he was the first to charge up, using all his strength to death-grip one of Raphael's legs. Immediately after, hundreds and thousands of players pounced forward like a human pyramid.

Some grabbed legs, some hugged his waist, and some even climbed onto his back to use ropes to tie down his only remaining wing.

Tens of thousands of tons of weight literally forced this once-arrogant Seraph to his knees, unable to move.

Old Wang! Now!" Li Qiang let out a muffled roar from under the pile of people.

"Coming!"

Wang Wei was already prepared. He didn't attack; instead, he took out a row of [Goblin High-Explosive Grenades] he'd modified—powerful but extremely unstable—and distributed them to several of the strongest warrior players nearby.

"Target! His mouth! Stuff them in!"

The warrior players looked at each other, cruel and excited smiles appearing on their faces.

Together, they pried open Raphael's mouth, which was wide with rage. Under Raphael's terrified, confused, and humiliated gaze, they stuffed those grenades, which were still flashing with dangerous red light, one by one deep into his throat.

"Eat your fill before you go!"

One player patted Raphael's face, and then everyone quickly retreated.

Raphael knelt on the ground, making a "gurgling" sound in his throat. He wanted to spit those things out, but they were stuck tight. In his eyes, which had held only rage, a sliver of an emotion called "fear" appeared for the first and last time.

Boom——"

The explosion wasn't loud; it was even somewhat muffled.

But Raphael's body suddenly stiffened like a balloon being blown up from the inside.

The health bar above his head, which had been stubborn for so long, finally zeroed out completely after a period of violent fluctuation.

This high-ranking administrator of the Celestial Realm, the Four-Winged Seraph, didn't die by a god's judgment, nor by a demon's claws, nor even in the world-destroying nuclear blast.

He died from being mobbed by a swarm of "insects," dying from the humiliation of being literally stuffed to bursting.

His body, after maintaining its integrity for one last second, disintegrated with a bang, turning into a swirling stream of data as brilliant as a golden galaxy.

Immediately after, like a volcano that had been building up for ten thousand years, it erupted.

Ding!

[Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to players "Also a Ruthless Person", "Luban No. 7", "Rich Woman Hungry"... and all other members of the "Calamity" Legion for successfully killing the final BOSS of the Celestial Realm (Outer Ring)—Four-Winged Seraph Raphael!]

[Calculating rewards...]

Before the announcement could even finish, a thick golden pillar of light composed of countless loot orbs shot up from the center of the crater where Raphael's body had exploded, then scattered in all directions like heavenly flowers.

That sight was even more spectacular and more... tempting than the nuclear blast just now.

The entire battlefield, after a split second of silence, erupted into howls more frenzied than ever before.

"It dropped! It dropped! A massive drop!"

"Holy crap! Golden Legend! I see several pieces of orange equipment!"

"Don't touch it! That glowing sword is mine!"

"No one steal from me! I died twenty-three times! Those wings must be mine!"

Comrades who were just united against a common enemy instantly became the most dangerous competitors. Every player's eyes were red as they rushed toward the loot orbs scattered on the ground like stray dogs that hadn't eaten for three days and nights.

The scene fell into extreme chaos once again.

Li Qiang was quick-handed. He was the first to rush into the center of the light pillar and, among a pile of golden-glittering items, grabbed the most conspicuous one—Raphael's only remaining emerald-green crystal wing, covered in cracks but still emitting powerful energy fluctuations.

[Obtained: Shattered Seraph Wing (Legendary · Material/Special Equipment)]

Wang Wei didn't go for the equipment. He headed straight for the data core dropped from the BOSS's corpse. Amidst a pile of garbled code, he found a brain-like biological tissue glowing with green light.

[Obtained: Raphael's Biochemical Core (Mythic · Quest Item)]

As for Lin Xiaowan, she didn't personally join the fray. She just stood on high ground, commanding her guild members to organizedly and disciplinedly claim the largest loot area. This drew curses from countless solo players, but she didn't care at all, a harvest-time, capitalist-style smile on her face.

Snatching, cursing, and small-scale brawls triggered by unfair distribution... this carnival lasted for a full ten minutes.

Just when everyone was immersed in the joy of sudden wealth, a cold, grand System announcement, like a divine oracle from the Nine Heavens, descended into every player's ear, bringing all the clamor to an abrupt halt.

[Server-wide Announcement: Detected that the defense System of the Outer Ring of the Celestial Realm has completely collapsed. Seraph Raphael has fallen.]

[Warning: Celestial Realm Core Defense Protocol activated.]

[The final barrier leading to the "Supreme Sanctuary" has been lifted.]

[Ultimate Emergency Quest Triggered: Fall of God.]

[The final BOSS, "Celestial System Administrator Michael," has awakened and is coming online...]