Mr. Rogen stared at the crystal ball pressed close to his face, gazing with infatuation and smugness at the dark altar inside, continuously muttering to himself excitedly. Although he deliberately lowered his voice, one could still sense his excitement and desire, as well as his efforts to suppress it.

After being entranced for a short while, he regained his noble composure, placing the crystal ball back on top of a pillar in front of him with a gentle motion. It was the designated spot for placing a key sacred relic if one truly existed in this high tower altar.

Shifting his gaze from the high tower altar to Rogge Town below, one could see that the atmosphere there had become somewhat grim.

Teams of guards in Rogge Town, clad in armor, patrolled the empty streets in rotation. All residents were ordered to stay indoors and refrain from wandering around aimlessly.

On a certain street, the figures of three players suddenly appeared. Among them was a slender Assassin player dressed in black with a covered face, and two Gunman players holding firearms. They walked cautiously along the street while conversing with each other.

"I say, did we make the wrong choice by abandoning the mission to Saint City to take on this town defense task? The atmosphere in this town makes me feel this mission will be tough. Maybe going to that Saint City would have been easier, with at least more helpers."

One of the Gunmen complained to his companion beside him, a hint of regret in his voice.

"Haha, it's already lucky to have this task! Yesterday, I thought we'd all fail, but unexpectedly, that Baron was quite reasonable. He directly forgave our actions and even gave us a new task with treasure-grade equipment. Hehe, I went to inquire, and it's far superior to fine-grade equipment, probably what we players call exceptional-grade equipment. Do you think a task that rewards exceptional-grade equipment would be simple?"

The other Gunman was obviously dazzled by Mr. Rogen's promised reward. Exceptional-grade equipment, something rarely seen even on forums, if he could really complete the task and obtain one, it would be a huge leap forward.

"Don't be too optimistic. Last night, I investigated and found no warehouses in Rogge Town storing exceptional-grade equipment. I suspect that Baron is deceiving us."

The slender, black-clad, masked Assassin, who usually spoke little, expressed his suspicion of the task issuer, a suspicion that came from his investigation.

But the previously speaking Gunman player was displeased upon hearing this and immediately retorted:

"How could you expect to find the place where others put treasure-grade equipment so easily? Besides, if you really don't trust this task, why didn't you leave earlier? Just go to Frost Harbor and commission someone to craft it yourself."

"Stop arguing, the ritual is about to start, the protective barrier has been raised!"

Another Gunman player interrupted their conversation at this moment, pointing to the basin's edge surrounding the town. There, the massive array of light barriers that once blocked their escape was forming again, severing Rogge Town's connection to the outside of the basin.

"Eh... why has the protective barrier been raised? Is this measure necessary during this task?"

The interrupted Gunman player immediately became suspicious. He didn't recall anyone mentioning this measure during the mission.

"Maybe it's to prevent external monsters from attacking?"

His Gunman companion immediately guessed.

"But most surrounding monsters have already been cleared by those guards."

The Assassin player beside them immediately shook his head.

"In my opinion, they're probably raising the barrier to prevent internal people from escaping... I knew something was wrong with this task, good luck everyone."

He continued in a cold tone before quickly vanishing into invisibility.

"Look! There's a barrier rising around the high tower too!"

The Gunman player who first noticed the barrier around the town pointed in another direction. There, a recently constructed black-gray high tower appeared surrounded by a layer of white light, sealing it completely and isolating it from other parts of Rogge Town.

"This... really seems off... The entire town being encased in a barrier could still be for defending against external enemies, but why would the Baron isolate himself from the town? Is it to guard against internal threats? Could the enemies of this town defense task be so strong as to require two layers of defense?"

As this Gunman player expressed confusion, on the distant high tower altar now enclosed by the barrier, Mr. Rogen, dressed in luxurious noble attire, began his grand ritual. He knelt on the high tower platform, arms wide in passionate chanting:

"O Great Lord of Hell! Your humble servant presents to You the most brutal battle! To seek Your gift!"

"O Exalted Dark God! Your loyal believer offers You the most vibrant life! In exchange for Your blessing!"

"O Supreme Endless Abyss! Your devout people offer You the fiercest pain and hatred! Requesting You grant me the essence of ascension!"

...

"Sacrifice ritual! Begin!"

...

As the ruler of Rogge Town activated the entire ritual through a lengthy series of incantations, simultaneously, dramatic changes occurred both in Rogge Town and far away in Aifilan.

First in Rogge Town, the peaceful town protected by the light barrier was instantly disrupted. Dark fissures appeared out of thin air inside the town, and countless bloodthirsty monsters emerged from them! It was as if a vast number of monsters had been summoned directly into Rogge Town! Thus began a deadly cage fight with the entire town's inhabitants!

Meanwhile, in Aifilan, thirty or so professionals and players waiting in the dilapidated church suddenly saw the All-Seeing Crystal on the dark altar emit an evil red glow. They then heard endless tremors and roars from outside the church. It turned out that all the monsters in the ruins of the Holy City were agitated and began attacking them en masse!

"This... what is going on?! Wasn't it supposed to be a purification ritual? How did it suddenly anger the monsters outside? This is blatant murder!"

An NPC professional immediately shouted in shock and fury. Their reaction wasn't unjustified; the situation had become calamitous, tantamount to a deadly disaster!

The number of monsters in the ruins of the Holy City was more than a million, and many had significant strength. They had reached this point by moving cautiously with the help of the All-Seeing Crystal, but now that all the monsters discovered their location and attacked, leaving Aifilan again had become nearly impossible!

"Damn it! That bastard Baron! He's screwing us over like this! When I return, I'm going to shoot him full of holes!"

"Damn! This purification ritual is purifying us! We got tricked by that bastard Baron! Is he trying to silence us to avoid paying us?"

The players suddenly felt enormous pressure, like doomsday had arrived. They hadn't anticipated such an abrupt change in the task. The seemingly amiable Mr. Rogen was actually initiating a reckoning after they completed their mission!

"Impossible! The Baron would never do this!"

Sandra, the female Warrior who suddenly found herself surrounded by countless rushing monsters, was almost mindless with disbelief. She couldn't believe that the benevolent and wise noble in the minds of Rogge Town's residents would do such a thing and couldn't help but cry out.

At the same time, Wang Zhifan, hidden on the rooftop of a building far from the church, was deeply furrowing his brow.

"Why is he doing this? Just to silence us? Did he already achieve his goal through us?"

He couldn't understand why Mr. Rogen, who orchestrated all of this, suddenly turned lethal. After all, the Baron had invested heavily in their trip to the Holy City, providing rare equipment and arranging convoys. Even the All-Seeing Crystal had been brought in to aid their actions, yet now they hadn't even seen the shadow of the relic before becoming useless?

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