Driven by the promise of enormous profit, the families had united like never before. Those participating in the event tracked Han Wu’s every move through donation messages and were even aware that he had gained a new Digital Sprite, the Gluttony Heavenly Dog.
“We can’t let Han Wu keep getting stronger,” Gu Bei of the Destruction Clan muttered.
The family members around him nodded in agreement.
“Let’s move now!”
“Who’s going to handle the extra dog?”
“The Life Family will take it!”
After a round of assignments, dozens of families and over a hundred contestants advanced toward Han Wu’s position. Han Wu’s avatars had been watching their every step and relayed their positions and plans in full.
When Han Wu received the intel, he couldn’t help but break into a bright, confident grin. If these people wanted to come, they would have to be prepared to forfeit their spots in the competition. He knew he couldn’t fight over a hundred contestants on his own, so instead, he headed deeper into the Kingdom of Sin.
He kept only Stinger, the Greed Neo Vampsprite, and the Gluttony Heavenly Dog by his side. The rest of his Digital Sprites remained in the Microcosm, ready to be summoned when the fighting began.
The Sin Lords residing deeper in the Kingdom of Sin were naturally more powerful than those dwelling on the outskirts. These Sin Lords typically commanded one or more large Digital Sprite races that served them, with the promise of protection in return.
Guided by his avatars, Han Wu soon arrived at a ruined city. The city was full of crumbling buildings, with large numbers of Digital Sprites living inside them. Every one of these Digital Sprites shared a common trait. They were humanoid.
Some were fusions of machines and humans; others were half-human, half-beast; and a few resembled demons in human form. Their evolution levels varied, but they all bore distinctly human features.
From the intelligence his avatars had gathered, Han Wu learned this was the territory of the Sin Lord known as the Lust Dark Demon Queen, and she had a personal philosophy of only accepting humanoid Digital Sprites.
Han Wu glanced at his Digital Sprites, then chose to keep only Stinger by his side. He then called out Thunder Halberd as well. The two of them would guard him.
As he had the aura of someone from the Divine Civilization, his presence naturally drew hostility from the local humanoid Digital Sprites. The Digital Sprites stepped forward to drive him out, but Stinger and Thunder Halberd released their powerful ultimate-tier presences, and they immediately retreated. They couldn’t afford to provoke a Sin Lord.
Meanwhile, the family members followed the donation intel and closed in on the ruined city. The moment they set foot inside, they were similarly met with hostility from the humanoid Digital Sprites. The difference was that they actually attacked the invading group this time.
There were three reasons for this. First, the sheer number of them triggered the Digital Sprites’ collective anger. Second, most of the Digital Sprites these family members brought were non-humanoid, which violated the Lust Dark Demon Queen’s standards. Finally, the average evolution level of their Digital Sprites was relatively low, with few ultimates among them, and they looked like easier targets.
All three factors combined meant the family members were hit with a coordinated assault the instant they entered the ruined city. Han Wu’s group had pushed the humanoid Digital Sprites around and left them with nowhere to vent their frustration. This group of newcomers gave them the perfect opportunity to do so.
Still, the family elites weren’t pushovers, either. These were Digital Sprites from a defeated civilization. The fact that they dared to fight back was seen as audacious in itself. Thus, the counterattack began.
Over a hundred contestants directed their Digital Sprites in fierce retaliation. The scale of the battle was immense. Stray energy blasted a towering building to rubble virtually every second. Countless humanoid Digital Sprites died in the battle, and the contestants suffered losses too.
Three unlucky contestants had their protective barriers drained to zero by stray attacks and were forcibly teleported out of the competition.
Han Wu’s avatars watched the fiery spectacle with quiet amusement. May the war rage on. Ideally, they’ll tear each other apart.
While this was happening, Han Wu was hiding in a ruined building some distance away. His amusement didn’t last long as he felt a wave of overwhelming power sweep past overhead. He quickly had Stinger and Thunder Halberd surround him, shielding him from detection.
The surge of power almost certainly belonged to the Lust Dark Demon Queen. She had sensed Han Wu’s presence. The aura of someone from the Divine Civilization was like a firefly in the dark. It was nearly impossible to miss.
Despite detecting him, the Lust Dark Demon Queen didn’t go after him yet. Instead, she flew straight to the city’s edge, where the hundred-plus contestants had created a much bigger problem.
The Lust Dark Demon Queen descended and raised her hand. A black barrier rose from the ground, separating the contestants from the humanoid Digital Sprites. The barrier was incredibly sturdy, and no matter how hard the contestants’ ultimates attacked, they couldn’t break through.
The humanoid Digital Sprites, on the other hand, didn’t have that problem. Their attack freely passed through the barrier to strike the contestants. Two more contestants had their protective barriers drained to zero and were forcibly teleported out.
Gu Bei, the organizer of this whole operation, was losing his mind. They hadn’t even seen Han Wu yet, and they’d already lost five members. The cost was getting absurd. He would rather these contestants had died fighting Han Wu.
“Vile Gods, leave my territory,” the Lust Dark Demon Queen declared, her seductive voice carrying an icy edge that kept everyone at arm’s length.
Under the protection of his ultimate Digital Sprite, Iron Gorillasprite, Gu Bei approached the black barrier, forcing down his temper as he addressed the Dark Demon Queen, “We mean no disrespect. We merely seek someone who is hiding somewhere in this city! If you help us find him, we’ll leave immediately and even offer you a valuable gift!”
The Lust Dark Demon Queen was highly intelligent. Gu Bei’s words reminded her of the lone aura she had sensed on the way here. Perhaps letting them in was the quickest way to resolve this problem with minimal damage.
Still, having been at the mercy of the Divine Civilization before, the Dark Demon Queen was convinced that their denizens couldn’t be trusted. One careless mistake and they’d deceive her. She needed to negotiate terms carefully first.