Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Cruel Malevolence killed all the Gnomes, Goblins, and Houndhead Men that he saw.

  But these creatures were like pests that infested the entire place. At every interval, a group of half-naked creatures would run to him and shout various things.

  “Don’t kill me! I promise I won’t laugh…… hahahaha! I can’t help it!”


  “D*mn! We trained for so long not to laugh!”


  All were killed by Cruel Malevolence.

  Cruel Malevolence felt he was insulted by the same group of creatures!

  They would run to him half-naked and ask to be captured. After being captured, they would defect and claim to be Ancient Gods believers, but they weren’t believers. They even tried to obtain information from him.

  The most despicable thing about them was that they spoke nonsense, then they would laugh hysterically. Even if their comrades were killed and Cruel Malevolence used the most sadistic methods against them, they couldn’t stop laughing.

  Those “Hahahaha” laughs were like ridicule against Cruel Malevolence’s ignorance.

  Why were they not afraid of death? Did he not kill a few hundred of them? Why were they immune to the Murmurs of the Ancient Gods? Was it really Mana? Why did the thousand believers not return?

  Cruel Malevolence was worried about the thousand Ancient Gods believers, but there was no news. Cruel Malevolence couldn’t help thinking that they had perished.

  Wait, could those creatures who were always laughing and wanted to be captured be bait that released false information? Perhaps there were 20,000 enemy troops instead of 2,000!

  Cruel Malevolence became more worried. Logically, there shouldn’t be 20,000 enemy reinforcements near Winterfell.

  However, the numerous creatures that came to be killed made Cruel Malevolence very anxious.

  The worry was short-lived.

  The gamers tried many times to obtain information, but it was in vain. Besides seeing the countless believers occupying the Teleport Portal Main Hall, there was no other intelligence.

  Planning and strategies were discussed on the forum for tens of pages without any conclusion. The keyboard warriors’ tactics were just empty theories. Finally, Dragonborn couldn’t control himself and said, “Why don’t we attack directly? Why don’t we use the three-step combat strategy and finish the battle?”


  Everyone was taken aback, but they decided to give it a try.

  They gathered 1,000 volunteers for this combat legion. The rear included hundreds of Longbow and Short Bow archers, the first row consisted of shield-wielding gamers, and the second row consisted of Pikemen. They looked like a formidable legion.

  However, their numbers were far inferior to the Ancient Gods believers in the Winterfell Teleport Portal Main Hall.

  Cruel Malevolence saw that the enemy was attacking, so he gathered his forces and attacked preemptively.

  The Archers opposite the street attacked with arrows, but they weren’t familiar with the bows. They could have fired two volleys, but they only managed a single volley. On top of that, most of the shots were off target, with only a small portion of the arrows causing some damage.

  The gamers miscalculated the running speed of the Ancient Gods believers and weren’t versed in the range of the bows. It wasn’t practical to expect the gamers to master archery in this short time.

  The Ancient Gods believers charged at them.

  Cruel Malevolence saw that it was a one-sided massacre and smiled cruelly. Yes, massacre, bloodshed, and grotesque deaths!

  The battle ended in less than an hour.

  They only suffered slight casualties, but the Ancient Gods believers were shocked by the 1,000 gamers who could move freely even though they were subjected to the Murmurs of the Ancient Gods. All the gamers were eventually annihilated. Cruel Malevolence waved his hand. He decided to lead 2,000 of the Ancient Gods believers to attack the camp located at the Northern Gate. If the 1,000 gamers were the last batch of resistance, then Cruel Malevolence would be able to exterminate the despicable laughing Goblins, Gnomes, and Houndhead Men!

  The group of Ancient Gods believers set off immediately. On the way, they encountered the strange Goblins, Gnomes, and Houndhead Men.

  They would ransack chests, counters, and trash cans. Each of them was laden with equipment. They would also drag the Winterfell inhabitants who were trapped in the Nightmare into small alleys, the side of the streets, or the shops.

  When they saw the 2,000 Ancient Gods believers, they weren’t afraid, they would even gather and watch while shouting.

  “Gosh, the NPC legion is attacking!”


  “Post it on the forum!”


  “A new wave of benefits and equipment is coming!”


  “Shucks! Is that the commander of the Ancient Gods believers mentioned on the forum? Yes, that’s the Werewolf! The Strange Encounter NPC!”


  The Goblins and Gnomes were captured and tortured to death, but they were still smiling merrily.

  There were some Gnomes who hid in the shops and fired arrows at Cruel Malevolence and his troops.

  Cruel Malevolence didn’t understand why they weren’t counting their blessings when he didn’t attack them. Instead, they revealed their locations by jumping out. Some even shot arrows at him!

  Cruel Malevolence captured the Gnome that was hidden in the shop. He ignored the Gnome’s ugly face and strangled his throat viciously.

  “Why? Why did you shoot the arrows at me? If you stayed hidden, you wouldn’t die. Tell me the reason! Why?”


  The Gnome was suffocating, and his bones cracked, but he smiled and said, “Wow! The game interactivity is so awesome? I thought they were bluffing. I’ll create a post on the forum after I die!”


  Then the Gnome perished.

  “Ah—!”


  Cruel Malevolence wailed in pain and led the Ancient Gods believers to charge in the direction of the Northern Gate. He had to kill all of them!

  In Winterfell, which was shrouded in grey Mana, a tall figure wasn’t affected by the Murmurs of the Ancient Gods. He walked on the street and stared at a three-story building.

  This was a location far away from the Dungeon Core Main Hall and the Dungeon Lord Main Hall. Compared to other places where there were Nightmare-infected inhabitants, there was nobody around.

  Sherlock stood in front of the building. He pinched his chin as he walked one round and muttered, “This should be the place.”


  “Lord Sherlock, why didn’t you join in the exciting battle and do some Plot killings and Plot Animation? Instead, you’re wandering around in Winterfell for such a long time? What are you looking for? Are you looking for the Winterfell Bank?” Bru asked, puzzled.

  “Finding the source,” Sherlock said.

  “There are so many Ancient Gods believers in Winterfell, and even the Dungeon Core was corrupted. I don’t believe that the sealed Ancient Gods have the power to affect the Underworld.”


  “You are saying that someone planned everything?” Bru asked.

  “That’s right. The Murmurs of the Ancient Gods didn’t appear initially at the Dungeon Core. If it originally started in Winterfell, the believers wouldn’t make the abandoned sewers their stronghold or excavate the sewers to create their base.”


  Sherlock walked up to the building and placed his hand on the door. He said, “Using the time and space gap of Ancient Ruins No. 85 to connect the location of the Ancient Gods army, they enticed all the troops of the Dungeons to the time and space gap. Then they occupied the Winterfell Dungeon Core. I suspect that it wasn’t an accident for the gap to occur at Ancient Ruins No. 85. It was pre-planned. They pushed all the blame on the Black Dragon’s appearance. Even without the Dragon, they would use other reasons to create the false impression of an accident to prevent suspicion.”


  “Oh, this is a long term plan. The creature who was able to open up the time and space gap and spread the Murmurs of the Ancient Gods must be extremely powerful,” Bru said thoughtfully.

  “Who knows?”


  Mana ripples emanated from Sherlock’s hand. The Mana shield on the outside of the building rippled twice and vanished, and Sherlock opened the main door and entered briskly.