The Council of Scorched Earth was located outside of all realms, in the void.

Looking at this place from afar, it appeared to be nothing more than a small, desolate, rocky islet floating in space.

But this island had no exits, and no entrances…

At least, in this universe, there was no physical way to get there.

However… there were still some special beings who could come here through special methods.

On this day, two archangels, four knights, two demons, and one demigod had gathered here.

“I don’t understand… why we have to waste time here with these filthy devils.” At this moment, Tominions, one of the archangels, was pacing anxiously, muttering to his fellow angel.

“Watch your language, my brother,” the other archangel, Uriel, replied in a deep voice. “In the Council of Scorched Earth, even the Holy Spirit must maintain due humility.”

“Well said, Uriel, you really should discipline your little brother who just reincarnated from the Underworld Sea,” Vincent, who was standing a few meters away chatting with Woody, turned his head maliciously and interjected, “If he keeps talking nonsense like that… he might get his feathers plucked again and thrown back into the sea.”

Before the words faded, Woody, next to him, let out a wretched “hehehe” laugh and cast a malicious glance at the two angels.

“Hmph…” Uriel was not intimidated by the words of the two devils. He snorted coldly and replied, “…It’s not up to you to teach me how to do things. Also… please stop eavesdropping on our conversation.”

“Eavesdropping?” Vincent smiled. “He’s speaking so loudly… is it my fault?”

“Did I say anything wrong?” Tominions responded with a provocative tone, showing no fear.

Two seconds after he finished speaking, Vincent suddenly put on an anxious expression, pacing back and forth pretentiously, then looked up and said to Woody in a complaining tone, “I don’t understand… why we have to waste words here with these moronic angels?”

“Hehehe… watch your language, bastard,” Woody replied with a smile. “In the Council of Scorched Earth, even devils must maintain due integrity.”

These two guys were indeed the most shameless and perfectly synchronized pair among the “Four Bastards of Hell.” These two impromptu imitations… the acting was flawless, the lines were ingenious. With no rehearsal, they made an appropriate satire based entirely on instant reaction.

“I’ve long heard that you two have the foulest mouths in hell, and today it seems… your reputation is well-deserved,” Tominions retorted sarcastically.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Hehehe… thank you for the compliment.”

Faced with the obvious cursing from the other side, the two guys were not ashamed but rather proud, accepting it with a smile.

“Ha… good, keep arguing, it’s best if you fight… fight to the death, perish together.” The Knight “War,” who was watching the confrontation from a distance, smiled excitedly.

“Brother War, what kind of deep hatred do you have…” Mr. You wiped his bald forehead with a handkerchief and said with a sweaty face, “I was bullied so badly by them back then, but I didn’t…”

“Enough nonsense!” War didn’t let Fatty You finish speaking, and shouted loudly, “What’s so great about your personal grudges?” He counted quickly on his fingers, “Think about our situation… the ‘Judgment Day’ has passed for more than half a century, and not a single seal has been broken; the original ‘Candidate Game’ has been turned into an online entertainment activity…” He raised his hand and pointed at Vincent and Woody, “All of this was caused by those four bastards!” He seemed very agitated, “What’s next? Are we, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, going to form a heavy metal band and release an album in the human world or something?”

“Uh… cough… cough…” Plague interjected at this time, “I want to state in advance… I can’t be the lead singer.”

“Sing your ass! Do you understand sarcasm?” War immediately turned his head and roared, “Don’t tell me you really want to go!”

“War…” At this time, “Death,” the eldest of the Four Horsemen, also spoke, “As Plague’s elder, I want to solemnly warn you… in the future, when you use the word ‘elder’ to Plague, you’d better be careful, or I’ll ‘replace’ you.”

“Okay, I was wrong.” The next second, War instantly put on a poker face and respectfully admitted his mistake.

“Your emotional transition is a bit too fast…” Seeing this scene, even Mr. You couldn’t help but complain.

“Sigh… a bunch of idiots…” The only female knight present, “Famine,” was too lazy to pay attention to those guys, standing alone in the distance, shaking her head and sighing.

Just as these nine people were talking, suddenly… several figures abruptly appeared in front of the desolate rocky round table high above.

“Oh? They’ve finally arrived…” Vincent turned his head and looked over, “The Council of Scorched Earth…”

“Hehehe… they’re always late…” Woody laughed.

Except for these two foul-mouthed guys, the other seven did not comment on the arrival of the council, but instead put on solemn expressions and looked at the round table.

“Everyone…” Before long, those figures uniformly emitted the same voice, “We have summoned you here this time to inform you of one matter…”

“Hehe… if there’s only one thing, wouldn’t it be better to send an email?” Woody interjected with a smile.

The Council’s voice ignored him and continued, “According to our observations during this period, both those present and those absent… all the ‘Bettors’ have interfered improperly in this ‘Candidate Game’ to some extent. Although Simon has prevented your violations to the greatest extent, the impact of some ‘small actions’ is still in effect.”

“Tch… despicable.”

“Hmph… shameless.”

Vincent and Woody took the opportunity to turn their heads to look at the other seven, with expressions of contempt on their faces.

“You two are also in the category of ‘everyone’! What are you being arrogant about!” War really wanted to slap these two shameless guys, but it wasn’t convenient to do so.

After a few seconds, the Council’s voice continued, “Therefore, the Council has decided… to completely erase these influences through this second ‘Peak Competition’ and return the ‘Candidate Game’ to a fair state.”

“Then what specifically does the Council plan to do?” Uriel asked immediately.

“First, all Bettors will be prohibited from entering Thriller Paradise and its connected spaces,” the Council’s voice replied.

“Hehehe… not even me?” Woody asked with a smile, “I am, after all, the boss and chief game designer of Dream Company, for routine maintenance checks and the like…”

“No.” The Council’s voice interrupted Woody’s words decisively, giving a clear answer.

“Tch…” Woody spat unhappily, “Okay.”

“Secondly…” The Council’s voice continued, “Starting from the second stage of the Peak Competition S2, the rules will be set by the Council.” They paused for a moment, “Woody, you will cooperate with us to execute them.”

“Fine~ Do whatever you want…” Woody had clearly shown an impatient attitude.

“Third… all information other than the above two items… cannot be disclosed.” The Council’s voice continued, “Alright… thank you all for making this trip, please convey these words to the other Bettors as soon as possible.” Having said that, they seemed about to leave.

“Wait!” At this moment, Tominions suddenly opened his mouth, “You only said ‘all Bettors are prohibited from entering’ just now, but what if the Bettors instigate those high-level beings who have not bet to enter the game?” While asking the question, he also glared at Vincent and Woody, it was obvious that this archangel had immediately thought of the tricks that those devils might play.

“Tominions…” The Council’s voice, like a choir, could consistently maintain the uniformity of its tone, and at this moment, they asked in unison with a strange tone, “Don’t forget… there are referees.”

Hearing this, Tominions’ expression froze slightly.

“If the situation you mentioned really happens, then…” The Council’s voice continued, “Simon will undoubtedly use the simplest and most direct method to deal with these ‘problems’.”