I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 563 Untitled
On the beach, Lin Ruoyu stood in an open area with relatively few demon corpses. His tall figure, covered in blue-gray armor, was like a silent reef, completely out of place with the noisy and chaotic post-war scene around him.

His gaze slowly swept across the entire beach, finally settling on two focal points.

The players whose bodies exhibited varying degrees of demonic characteristics, and the massive, ominous mound in the distance that Shanghai Pirate King and his companions were hastily trying to conceal... the corpse of the Abyss Dragon.

His gaze first fell on the mutated players. Looking at their twisted horns, mutated limbs, skin covered with keratinous scales, and the superhuman strength and savagery they displayed while working, Lin Ruoyu's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"I knew they were mutating from the videos uploaded by players of the second phase of the Revenge Fleet, but I didn't expect it to be this serious..."

They don't even look human anymore.

Just as Lin Ruoyu was making his judgment, a voice with a slightly hoarse and teasing tone sounded from behind him:
"Hey bro, what you just said was a bit hurtful."

Lin Ruoyu turned around without making a sound and saw the Shanghai Pirate King grinning and dragging his slightly tired steps toward him.

His breastplate was badly damaged, stained with dried blood and sand, and his face showed exhaustion from the fierce battle, but his eyes were still bright, even showing a kind of carefree magnanimity.

He pointed to the demonized players who were busy in the distance.

"What do you mean 'not quite like'... Okay, they do look a bit inhuman, but look at those muscles, that strength, they could carry two more boxes of artillery shells!"

As the Shanghai Pirate King spoke, he pointed to a man carrying ammunition boxes who was passing by, his arm muscles bulging and appearing exceptionally strong, trying to ease the tension with a joke.

Lin Ruoyu's gaze remained calmly fixed on the Shanghai Pirate King, unaffected by his banter.

"Using the power of demonic flesh and blood is extremely risky and can affect the player's emotions."

His voice, penetrating through his mask, carried a metallic quality, revealing no emotion, only the calmness of stating facts.

The Shanghai Pirate King dropped some of his joking tone, shrugged, and said with a hint of self-deprecation amidst his helplessness.

"There's nothing I can do, buddy. I can't control this situation. Nobody listens to me."

He paused, his tone becoming more serious.

"Besides, this matter... is like strong liquor, it's potent, but drinking too much will kill you. They just take a small sip, enough for them."

"Aren't you useful?"

The Shanghai Pirate King remained silent, not participating in the matter. However, this involved too many players, and given that without these mutated players in the previous battles, the eastern beach position would have fallen long ago. Therefore, he wanted to change the subject, turning his gaze to the covered dragon corpse and a slight smile appearing on his face.

"We've had quite a haul this time. Look over there, that big lizard. We risked our lives to take it down."

This thing is a treasure trove! Scales, bones, dragon heart... even just a few scraps would be enough for an average player to live comfortably for a while.

Lin Ruoyu followed his gaze to the demonic dragon's corpse, his tone remaining calm and indifferent.

"The remains of the Abyss Dragon do indeed have high research and material value. Do you want to exchange them for reputation and military merits, or do you want to use them yourselves?"

"I don't know, it's not something I can decide."

"You're a rather pathetic fleet commander."

"Who says it's not?"

……

On the eastern beach, although the second phase of the revenge fleet suffered heavy losses, a rough post-battle count showed that of the original 8,000, only 600 were still able to fight.

However, due to the presence of the Bagnia First Fleet on the sea and the continuous influx of veteran player reinforcements landing ashore, the demons in the Demon Grove no longer had the intention to continue attacking humans and exterminate them.

The players suffered heavy losses, but the demons didn't fare any better.

The bonfire burning the demon burned from noon until evening, the thick black smoke swirling above the beach like an unyielding ghost, mixed with the pungent smell of burning and sulfur.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the devastated battlefield with a dark red hue, which, when reflected in the still-burning flames, added to the scene of tragedy and grandeur.

However, such heavy casualties are not all bad for Shanghai Pirate King... After so many people died, the remaining Revenge Fleet players finally realized that they should listen to their leader.

A snake can't function without a head.

Reconstruction of the eastern beach base is in full swing, with the most important building being the respawn point... the Church of the Mechanicus. The demons seem to understand the importance of the respawn point to the players; when the players arrived at the ruins of the Mechanicus Church, they found the building had been completely razed to the ground.

The area was completely leveled. Even the steel bars and quick-drying cement pillars that the players had driven into the soft sand were dug up by the demons, leaving behind a large pit several meters deep and more than twenty meters in diameter.

Meanwhile, the pit was filled with blood, demonic and human blood, mixed together and congealed into a nauseating purplish-black viscous substance, emitting a strong stench and the filthy aura unique to the abyss.

"Damn it, these devils, they're really good at destroying houses!"

One player looked at the huge pit and cursed.

"This is troublesome. Rebuilding the respawn point is no small project."

"Rebuild my foot! Let's move to another place. This place will burn down if we pour oil on it..."

The suggestion immediately garnered approval, and soon flames shot into the sky. The players who set the fire could also hear occasional, inhuman, shrill screams from among the crowd.

It's obvious that the demon left a gift in the blood pit before leaving. If players try to explore it or empty the blood pit, many people will die.

Unfortunately, they gave up cleanly and decisively, and even set a fire, thwarting the devil's plan.

Reconstruction work proceeded rapidly.

Players, whether ordinary or those with demonic traits, temporarily set aside their previous differences and disputes and threw themselves into the arduous task.

Timber, stone, metal components salvaged from warships… all sorts of materials were being transported in continuously. The demonized players, with their formidable physiques and strength, played a crucial role in heavy physical labor such as moving heavy objects and laying foundations, achieving efficiency far exceeding that of ordinary people.

In just one night, a new combat base can reappear on the eastern beaches.

……

Meanwhile, on the sea outside Mooncrown City, the First Fleet's bombardment continued, albeit intermittently, while the Elven fleet maintained a subtle, vigilant distance nearby.

This is clearly the effect of the indiscriminate shelling by the First Fleet not long ago.

Although not many elves were accidentally injured, these long-eared creatures cared a great deal about it.

"It's really troublesome."

Inside the command center, Xiao Daozai leaned against the window, turning his head to look at the magical lights emanating from the distant elven warship.

"Long ears are really hard to deal with."

"That's the way it is."

Not far away, Lieutenant General Marlowe poured himself a glass of water and took a small sip.

"My meeting with the elves not long ago wasn't very pleasant. I told them why we came here, but they... well, they got caught up in some trivial details. Annoying."

"so……"

Xiao Daozai raised an eyebrow; he had a pretty good idea of ​​what Lieutenant General Marlowe wanted him to do.

"Continue with our mission, ignore those long-eared creatures."

Lieutenant General Marlowe said.

"The magical barrier in the center of Mooncrown City is annoying; it blocks any way we can observe the World Tree. Tomorrow, I hope you can lead the Mountain Tiger Legion ashore and, with the magic advisors, get as close as possible to the Elf Palace to ascertain the current state of the World Tree."

"This task is a bit challenging."

Xiao Dao nodded as he stabbed his buttocks.

"But you need to be prepared for heavy casualties. Also, I will be carrying signal flares, and the fleet must provide precise fire support when I need it."

"Do your best, Little Knife Battle Leader."

(End of this chapter)