"A worthy subordinate of the master," An Chen Yu remarked, observing him arrive beneath the city walls unscathed.
*Boom...*
Within two seconds, a section of the city wall was obliterated by Zhou Ning Dong, revealing a gaping hole dozens of meters long. Zhou Ning Dong charged into the city first, enduring the attacks of countless dark soldiers as he ascended the wall and began destroying the defensive structures.
"Kill! Stop them from destroying those buildings!" The three elite private legions of An Chen Shang appeared on the city wall, attempting to intervene. However, as more people poured in, the defensive structures on the wall were diminishing at a visible rate.
From the breach of the wall to the complete destruction of all defensive structures, it took no more than ten minutes.
And within those ten minutes, Zhou Ning Dong had endured countless attacks. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.
Zhou Ning Dong looked at the sounds of battle raging throughout the City Lord's manor, momentarily blurring the lines between the real world and the game. After all, for the past few months, he had led the 'Stingers' on a campaign across the Ninth Universe, encountering countless different races and battlefields. At their peak, they had captured three star domains and conquered hundreds of planets in a single day, witnessing far too much.
He himself didn't know how many lives he had taken. He had even, at one point, slaughtered the entire population of a planet.
"General Zhou, you've worked hard," An Chen Yu said, approaching with a few individuals. He gazed at the slaughter within the City Lord's manor with a hint of relief.
"I have another half hour. General An, once this is done, I hope you can stabilize the Dark God City as quickly as possible and fulfill His Majesty's wishes," Zhou Ning Dong said, suppressing a fleeting sentiment of pity.
"Half an hour is enough. General Zhou, once this is done, I owe you a favor," An Chen Yu stated, watching the hundred thousand human soldiers move through the blessed land as if no one were there.
"Haha, good, I'll remember that. However, General An, the awakened will fully awaken in another half a year. I hope you can become a true person in the real world before they do," Zhou Ning Dong said, patting An Chen Yu's shoulder before leaping off the city wall.
"I will do my best," An Chen Yu murmured, watching Zhou Ning Dong's retreating figure.
"Master, who is this General Zhou? Why is his strength so immense?" Liu Ye and the others watched Zhou Ning Dong depart, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Their minds were still filled with the violent image of him shattering the durability of the level fifty city wall with a single strike.
"What? You were all scared, weren't you? He is the third strongest subordinate under my master, and his foremost general!" Perhaps sensing the imminent control of Dark City, An Chen Yu's entire being felt more relaxed.
"Third strongest? Does this mean the rise of the human race is unstoppable?" The group exchanged glances, their hearts filled with shock.
"Yes. I stayed there for half a year and witnessed firsthand the terrifying speed of their rise."
"It can be said that the overall strength of the humans there has increased by at least tenfold since I entered Fengle City. That's why I immediately released myself and became your master's general," An Chen Yu said solemnly.
As An Chen Yu continued to describe Fengle City, the three legion commanders couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.
"Master, Qitian Tower has been captured. We're just waiting for you to claim it," not long after, Ji Wu Mei and Xuan Yuan escorted An Chen Shang over.
"An Chen Yu!! You've defected to the human race and betrayed our Dark Clan! You've defied the will of the higher powers, and you will die a horrible death!!"
"And you lot, aiding in evil! You will await punishment from the higher emissaries!!"
An Chen Shang, whose face had been drooping, erupted the moment he saw An Chen Yu.
"Higher emissary? Brother, are you not awake yet? You were the City Lord for half a year, you should know what the higher powers are, and more importantly, what we are?"
"To help them suppress humanity for millions of years, what did we get in return? To want a child, we need their grace? Or that awakening that only happens once in ten thousand years?" An Chen Yu questioned his elder brother.
"They are our creators, my Father God! By betraying them like this, are you trying to lead our Dark Clan to ruin!" An Chen Shang, though often ambitious, had never truly broken free.
"Ruin? Aren't we already in ruin? Dark City sounds grand, but isn't it just a cage they've built for us? An Chen Shang, I understand you want the Dark Clan to be strong, but what's the point of being strong? Can they become real? Can they escape the illusion of this 'heavenly dao'?"
An Chen Shang was stunned, staring blankly at his familiar yet unfamiliar fifth brother. He suddenly realized how small his own perspective had been. He hadn't expected An Chen Yu's goal to be to break free from the 'heavenly dao'.
"I didn't expect you to know of the 'illusion of the heavenly dao.' However, the higher powers monitor the heavenly dao. How can you escape? You are dancing on a tightrope. If you fail, my billions of Dark Clan members will disappear from this world entirely."
"You are concerned about billions of virtual clan members. I want freedom and inheritance."
An Chen Yu looked coldly at his brother's outburst, then shook his head gently. He signaled Ji Wu Mei and Xuan Yuan to take An Chen Shang, whose life force was less than a tenth, away.
His hands might be stained with the blood of his clan, but when it came to blood kin, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to act.
When Ji Wu Mei and the others returned, the battle within the City Lord's manor had completely concluded.
"Master, General Zhou has taken his people back. You can now proceed to take control of the entire Dark God City," Xuan Yuan said excitedly.
Although he was once a demon son, there were many individuals of higher status than him in the Demon Realm. But now? With the help of the human race, he and his master had ushered in a new era!
"Did he have any other instructions when he left?" An Chen Yu knew that Zhou Ning Dong was Ye Yun's right-hand man, and many of his words represented Ye Yun's intentions.
"Nothing specific, other than to remember that I owe him a favor," Xuan Yuan said respectfully from behind him.
...
With An Chen Yu's arrival, Dark City completely became a vassal of Fengle City. An Chen Yu immediately established a bidirectional teleportation array to Fengle City on the parade ground of his City Lord's manor.
However, this teleportation array could only be used by specific individuals.