September 21, 4419 in the solar calendar.
The Red Apple Church's plot to plot a plague was revealed.
All the relevant evidence was reported by the Fossil City Shelter, and the Six States Council held a large meeting to discuss how to deal with it. At the same time, the Sun Royal Family also received the news.
This was different from the gallery case and the square battle that Chen Lun had experienced a year and a half ago. Although the Red Apple Church was also the mastermind behind the incident, the negative impact caused by that incident was limited to the inner city of a city.
And because of Chen Lun's timely intervention, the situation did not become irreversible in the end.
So the outcome of the handling at that time was inconclusive.
The Empire stepped in to suppress all voices, and the Red Apple Church simply gave up the missionary rights in that area, thus declaring the matter over.
In fact, the Red Apple Church suffered no loss at all.
Such an "indulgent" situation is not what the Sun Royal Family wants, but it is not possible.
It is not the beginning of the founding of the country. For thousands of years, the drawbacks in many aspects have become more and more serious. These deep-rooted problems have involved too much energy of the Sun Royal Family. As the most powerful supernatural force, the Orthodox Church cannot be touched at will, even by the Sun Royal Family.
In the past, the royal family was not unaware of some of the little tricks of the Red Apple Church, but because the matter did not touch the "root", they simply turned a blind eye.
But this time the plague has spread across a large area, and has spread throughout the southern part of the State of Gem, affecting five or six cities, dozens of towns and hundreds of villages.
The death toll and the indirect economic losses are difficult to estimate.
The Red Apple Church cannot escape blame.
Most importantly, the evidence has been uploaded and made public.
The Sun Royal Family could no longer remain indifferent.
Regarding this matter, the Moon Church, the Star Sect, the History and Ritual Association, and even the usually very low-key Hailing Group and Madman School, all began to denounce the Red Apple Church.
The five major orthodox churches jointly suggested that the Sun Royal Family expel the Red Apple Church and even use force to suppress it if necessary.
They will all help.
But just when the Sun Royal Family was still hesitant, Prince Dazzlet, against all odds, solemnly announced that he would impose "divine sanctions" on the Red Apple Church - that is, to expel them completely from the country and prohibit the Lady Rose's faith from continuing to be preached within the empire.
As soon as this decision was made, it caused a wave of public opinion among the high-level circles in the royal city.
These are the seven great churches of God! They are the churches of the true God!
If we really do this, it will probably cause an unimaginable war!
But before the order was officially passed down, another piece of heavy news came first -
The United Kingdom of Anlong officially declared war on the Trisur Empire!
The situation on the western border suddenly became tense and solemn. Both sides began to mobilize troops and war was about to break out!
The entire empire then fell into madness, and the vast majority of the empire's residents raised flags and shouted, hoping that the empire's army would be able to defeat the United Kingdom of Anlong and regain the empire's territory that had been lost for hundreds of years.
Some people are also worried. After all, war is cruel, and the fighting between the two countries will ultimately result in the deaths of many people.
Less than two days after the United Kingdom of Anlong declared war, large-scale unrest suddenly broke out across the empire!
Towns were destroyed, countless civilians died, explosions and fires destroyed all houses and lives, presenting a tragic scene of purgatory on earth.
If you trace it back to its source, it was all the work of the Red Apple Church!
They seemed to know the decision of the Sun Royal Family and chose to strike first!
The turmoil in the empire has officially begun!
…
…
…
Gem State.
Hawksbill City.
This is a remote city, slightly smaller than other cities in the same state, but it is located in a valley, rich in industrial ores, and has developed heavy industry.
Among the many cities in the State of Gem, its status ranks quite high.
On this ordinary day, the Red Apple Church in the center of the city suddenly became a little strange.
Many believers who came to worship never came out after entering the church gate.
Even the family members of believers who came to the church to look for the deceased were unable to leave.
This soon attracted the attention of the police station, and they immediately dispatched police officers to investigate.
But the result was the same without exception: all the police officers who entered the Red Apple Church disappeared.
This Red Apple Church suddenly became a terrible forbidden area!
The once sacred building suddenly became horrible and terrifying, like a man-eating devil's den, and no one dared to approach it anymore.
Following the official recruitment announcement, a temporary group of about a hundred players followed the two teams of shelter investigators and came to the Red Apple Church to conduct an investigation.
The two team leaders are both extraordinary people.
But no one expected it.
As the church door opened, hundreds of people rushed out, muttering strange prayers, with crazy looks on their faces, like lunatics.
These people are all the missing persons!
Just a face-to-face encounter.
The investigators from the front row of the shelter were knocked down. The lunatics lay on top of them, biting them with their mouths open, like a group of starving beasts.
For a moment, the scene was chaotic and bloody.
“——Shit! Is this a zombie crisis?!”
"——How did the Red Apple Church become like this?!"
“——Kill, kill!!”
Although the players were surprised, they remained calm. For them, this was just a mission. No matter how strange it was, it was just about leveling up and killing monsters.
But soon, these players discovered that these crazy people rushing out of the church would not die even if they were stabbed seven or eight times or even shot in the head.
Even though his body was covered in blood and he had sustained injuries that would kill an ordinary person several times, he still had a ferocious face and kept muttering the word "eat".
Casualties among investigators and players begin to mount.
The leader of the extraordinary team of the shelter finally took action and killed the two hungry lunatics with overwhelming strength, but the two "corpses" instantly turned into "humanoid monsters" covered with flesh and blood tentacles!
The two team leaders immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and shouted to withdraw. This kind of "unkillable" monster is definitely not something that these people can deal with.
The player retreats with the asylum investigator, but the lunatics pursue them.
They cannot be called "human beings" but monsters with human appearance!
After investigation, the players saw the information of these monsters. Their physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people and reached the threshold of extraordinary people. Their names were all called "Fallen Believers".
"——This is a monster developed by the Red Apple Church!"
The players all understood.
"——Big event!"
"——It's chaos! It's all messed up!"
The bodies of these fallen believers exploded as they ran, like flowers of flesh and blood blooming. Their lower bodies still had human legs, running as hard as they could, but their upper bodies had become hideous and disgusting flesh tentacles.
Pedestrians, cats, dogs and horses wherever they pass are all sucked into their tentacles and eaten; even low-flying birds are not spared.
The players were shocked.
Looking at the city falling into chaos and killing, everyone realized that things were becoming increasingly out of control. This was a disaster!
At the same time.
Posts exploded on the game forum.
Players from all over the empire posted messages saying that a terrible disaster had broken out in their cities.
Countless man-eating "degenerate believers" spread like a virus, eating everyone they met, and any living creature was their target.
The police officers at the public security station were unable to resist, and ordinary people hid in their homes to pray. Only the shelters and the churches stationed in various places could effectively suppress the movement.
But chaos had already begun and panic was boiling over.
…
…
…
“Have you read the forum?”
Polaris was sitting on a sofa at this moment, and asked Dongyang, Chenxi, Goutoujin and others.
"You can see it even if you haven't seen it. The whole empire is in chaos now."
Dog-Head Gold said this while drinking a fruit juice drink.
The other experts nodded.
The matter has become a big deal, and almost every player knows that this is probably the main event of the version.
"It's just as Jack said. The Red Apple Church is the source of the unrest... Aren't those 'corrupted believers' the monsters we encountered in Red Flower Town?"
The centaur said.
"Yes, those monsters were from the Red Apple Church. They used some unknown means to transform ordinary people into 'tentacle monsters'. Ordinary weapons cannot kill them... You can imagine how chaotic the various regions are now."
Dongyang nodded and poured himself a glass of juice.
"Let's not talk about that for now. How is your mission going? I can't just stay here and wait forever."
Polaris raised her hand and indicated the silver snake ring on her finger.
Dongyang and Chenxi looked at each other, feeling somewhat envious.
"Brother Polaris, after listening to you talk about the benefits of upgrading the token, who among us doesn't want to upgrade it... We have put almost all our energy on this matter in the past two days."
He took out a purse, shook it gently, and the money inside jingled. He placed it solemnly in front of the North Star.
"Here are 200 gold pounds. This is my salary for you. Please wait patiently for two more days. No... just one day! Not only our Heroic Spirit Pavilion, but also Chuxi of Chenxi and Goutoujin and their God's Love Guild will gather enough people to come here."
"In that case, then all right."
Polaris looked reluctant.
He opened the purse and deftly put the gold coins inside into the panel.
But I was secretly happy in my heart.
According to the current black market price, this money is enough to be exchanged for more than one million credit points. The subsequent nursing expenses for grandma, as well as the electrical appliances and furniture for the new apartment, have all been settled.
Just at this moment.
The ten expert players in the room were all stunned at the same time.
At the same time, they received a pop-up message from the panel:
[The main mission of version 1.0 is officially launched! ]
[A-level main quest "Scarlet Festival" first stage: Entering the village! ]
[Please join any faction within ten days! Tip: The second ring of the main quest will be unlocked after joining a faction! Players who have not joined a faction will not be able to unlock the second ring of the main quest! ]
The bright red text stimulated the nerves of the players present.
"The main quest of version 1.0 is finally here?!"
Dongyang raised his eyebrows.
The other players were also very surprised.
Then, they received another reminder——
[You have joined the extraordinary organization "Circus" and completed the first stage of the main quest "Scarlet Festival"! ]
[Obtain mission rewards: 1000 experience points and 80 silver trophies! ]
[The second round of the A-level mainline mission "Scarlet Festival" is now open! For specific mission objectives, please check according to the faction you belong to! If it is not triggered, please wait patiently! ]
The top players present all stood up.
They clicked on their own panels to check and found that the description of the main task was still blank for the time being, but it was indeed shown as unlocked.
"The main quests are divided according to each faction, and each has a different goal... a bit like a faction war?"
The centaur was surprised.
"It seems to be the case. This unrest originated from the Red Apple Church, so they are most likely the boss of this version, and all forces will revolve around it..."
Dongyang analyzed with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Based on Jack's attitude, our circus should be hostile to the Red Apple Church, and the second round of the mission will most likely involve confronting them."
The others nodded.
Chenxi, Su Keying and Weiyin were browsing the posts on the game forum.
Their expressions showed surprise.
"Look at the forum. Other players have also received notifications that the main quest has been started. It's just like Dongyang said... The quest objectives for players from each faction are different ."
Polaris opened the forum built into the panel and found that there were a lot of newly published posts, and new ones popped up every second, and the scrolling speed was extremely fast.
He clicked on a few of them at random.
The content of the post is all shared by players, and even screenshots of the tasks are attached.
It has been open for public beta for about three months now, and the vast majority of players who are keen on exploration and adventure have joined various forces and are working hard to step into the mysterious realm and become a transcendent.
Such as the seven major orthodox churches, shelters and other secret supernatural organizations, and slightly lesser ones, have also joined the gangs, chambers of commerce and various strange associations in various places.
There are many players who have explicitly started the second round of missions, such as the Church of the Sun, the Shelter, and a few Orthodox Churches. Their goals are very unified, which is to eliminate a certain number of "corrupted believers" and maintain regional stability .
If you are able to kill the clergy and important figures of the Red Apple Church, the rewards and power contribution points you receive will be considerable, which is obviously encouraging players to fight against the Red Apple Church.
"It's exciting! Once the main quest is launched, these large supernatural organizations will definitely give out valuable rewards, such as supernatural knowledge."
Dongyang took a deep breath and chuckled.
"Soon, there will be more and more extraordinary people in the player community."
"Then you're still laughing? I'm afraid our advantage will soon be caught up by other players."
Chen Xi poured cold water on him.
But Dongyang shook his head.
"What are you afraid of... I have great confidence in the circus and Jack, and I also have confidence in our Heroic Spirit Pavilion. As long as this NPC is here, we will definitely be able to stay ahead! And it will only be fun when there are more extraordinary players!"
They chatted for a while longer.
Suddenly, Dongyang, Chenxi and other guild leaders seemed to have received some message and showed surprised expressions.
"Brother Polaris, our people are all here. No need to wait any longer... Later, everyone will use your 'Silver Snake Ring' to enter the circus's mission hall 'Lakeside House'! We can complete our mission!"
Dongyang said.
Chenxi and Goutoujin also responded.
I don't know if it's the emergence of the main quest that has made the guild's efficiency soar. I'm afraid the top leaders have also realized that time is precious, so they temporarily recruited some "strong men" to help Dongyang and other official circus members complete the task of "token upgrade" as soon as possible.
For individual players like Su Keying, Polaris and Weiyin, everyone has agreed that the three guilds, Yingling Pavilion, Chuxi and Shen'ai, will gather some people to help them meet the "number target".
We are all partners on the same front, so this little favor is nothing.
"good."
Polaris let out a sigh and nodded in response.
…
…
…
wonderland.
Lakeside cabin.
Players arrived one after another, and young men and women looked around the area curiously.
"Oh! Is this the public area of ​​the circus?"
“So beautiful!”
"It's really amazing! It's like a new world... According to what Polaris said, once our token is upgraded, we can enter here anytime and anywhere in the future. It's so convenient!"
"Anyway, as far as I know, players from other forces don't have this function at all."
"Yes, even the players of the Seven Orthodox Churches have never heard of such a convenient token."
The players who came in were talking a lot, wandering around in twos and threes, looking around and touching things, and were very interested in everything here.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the breeze blows across the endless grassland.
There are metal signs on the open spaces on both sides, and a wooden house in front. There is a grape vine in front of the house, and a statue of Mr. Jack next to it.
Beyond the wooden house, a lake can be vaguely seen behind.
The whole area is stunning.
When the total number of players reaches 50, new players will stop joining.
"Eh? It seems there's a limit on the number of players that can come in at a time... Only fifty players can come in at a time."
Dongyang discovered this phenomenon and told Polaris and others about it.
The other high-level players looked around and nodded.
“That’s true, but even so, it’s pretty good… After all, it’s a public space that’s not restricted by time or location. It’s very convenient for us.”
North Star said.
"The circus is a force that is truly extraordinary...or rather, Mr. Jack is extraordinary!"
Dongyang sighed.
Then he and Chenxi Dog-Head Gold walked up to the other players, gave them a few instructions, and asked them to explore the area on their own. When their sanity points were almost exhausted, they should leave. Then they would let other guild members in to replenish the number and always keep it at 50.
According to the current general level of players, the upper limit of each person's sanity value is approximately between 15 and 20. Dongyang and others only need to come in twice at most to complete the "token upgrade" task.
It's not that difficult.
Dongyang and ten other senior players who were the most experienced in the game just sat back and reaped the benefits. They simply sat down on the grass in the "intelligence exchange" area and chatted while waiting.
As for the other group of new circus members, they formed a new circle on the side and chatted with each other.
"Right now, the game 'Mysterious Age' is very popular. The number of players may have reached tens of millions, or even more...but the vast majority of them are just ordinary people."
Dongyang shared his guild's investigation report and shook his head.
"There's nothing we can do about it. Not to mention the difficulty of acquiring supernatural knowledge, most people are simply not interested in mystery and the supernatural..."
Chen Xi said.
"Many sisters in our Chuxi Guild know friends who also play this game, but they just treat this world as a beautiful dream during sleep time and experience life."
Dongyang nodded, hummed, and smiled:
"Yes, most of them are young people who are keen on fighting and adventure... In fact, many people just work in life-related secondary jobs, working and living in the game as a diversion from reality.
I have to say that even if you do some small jobs, you can earn some extra money in reality. After all, game coins are quite valuable nowadays.”
The North Star listened silently.
After a moment.
Dongyang took the lead and drank a bottle of "Spiritual Calming Agent" and said with a smile:
"I have to say, this place is indeed convenient, but it makes me lose my mind all the time, which is a bit inhumane..."
"You're taking advantage of me. It's good enough to have such a space. At most, you can stop bragging and spend less time doing real work."
Chen Xi also drank a bottle of "Calming Potion" to replenish his sanity.
She stood up and walked towards the statue in front of the cabin.
"It's time to get down to business. Let's go see if there are any missions... After all, the second part of our main mission hasn't appeared yet!"
"That makes sense. Miss Chenxi is still direct. I like it."
The centaur chuckled and stood up.
Seeing this, the other expert players simply stopped chatting and followed Chenxi towards the wooden house.
There are currently 59 players who are official members of the circus. Most of them did not come today, so there are only more than 20 people here now.
Together they came to the statue of Jack.
“So handsome…”
Goutoujin sighed.
Su Keying and Weiyin also nodded secretly, with auntie smiles on their faces.
A golden exclamation mark suddenly appeared above the statue's head.
The players were surprised at first, and then tried to interact.
[Trigger the second stage of the A-level main quest "Scarlet Festival": Hunting the Church! ]
Mission Description: The Red Apple Church begins to spread "corrupted believers" and allows killing to spread. As a formal member of the circus, you are required to hunt down the Red Apple Church!
Each time you kill a "Fallen Believer", you will get 1 contribution point.
Each time you kill a "clergyman", you will get 2 contribution points.
Every time you kill a "Transcendent (Sequence 9)", you will get 5 contribution points...
…
[Trigger the first stage of the A-level side quest "The Source of Tragedy": Investigation! ]
Mission Description: Mr. Jack, the head of the circus, is preparing to hunt down a saint of the sequence of destiny, who is called the tragic writer Howard.
Please always keep an eye on the whereabouts of this enemy and report any clues you have.
The team leader, Mr. Jack, will give corresponding rewards based on the value of the intelligence.
Note: This task is valid for a long time.
…
Dongyang and others seemed very surprised.
"The second part of our main quest seems to be consistent with the goals of those official forces... In other words, we are standing on the opposite side of the Red Apple Church, and we are also on the side of justice?"
He asked.
"I don't think so. The circus has always given me the impression of being neutral... The reason they have the same goals is most likely because Jack hates the Red Apple Church more."
Chen Xi said.
"I am more concerned about another side quest, the enemy of Captain Jack..."
"Howard, the tragic writer? Jack actually wants to hunt down a high-ranking extraordinary being!"
The centaur, the dog-headed golden and others were also shocked.
At this moment, they suddenly received another prompt from the panel -
["Fate Guide" Jackspeter disrupted the original deployment of the Red Apple Church. The main quest of version 1.0 "Scarlet Festival" was launched ahead of schedule. The overall strength of the Red Apple Church was indirectly weakened... The circus members are proud of it, and the regional singing degree is +1! ]
“?!”
The expressions of Dongyang and others froze.