With the lure of exclusive Black Goat gear rewards, players became as energetic as if they had been injected with stimulants, all expressing their willingness to undertake the quest.
Zhang Pingfan seized the moment and released the mission.
As expected, players began accepting the quests, but these were solely from the Heavenly God Sect.
Currently, there are hundreds of thousands of players in the Heavenly God Sect. Counting those offline, tens of thousands have already accepted the mission.
Among them, Dou Youyou and others also accepted the quest. After all, it was a mission issued by their master. Seeing how difficult the mission appeared, they couldn't possibly not get involved.
"Master, we've accepted the mission too. Where should we gather to wait for you!"
Zhang Pingfan replied, "Gather at the City Lord's Mansion in the Barren City. I need to go there to inquire about the situation! You control the players from the Heavenly God Sect and prevent them from acting recklessly!"
"Yes, Master!"
Zhang Pingfan used the teleportation array and arrived at the Barren City alone.
As the true master of the Barren City, Zhang Pingfan's arrival quickly drew the attention of the Barren City Lord.
At this moment, the Barren City Lord personally came out to welcome Zhang Pingfan.
"Greetings, Master. Master, have you also sensed the great calamity that has befallen our Barren City!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded and said, "Yes, what exactly is going on? I have already gathered tens of thousands of people, I wonder if I can be of any help!"
The Barren City Lord stated, "Master, you are too kind. With the addition of your tens of thousands of people, our Southern City can be saved!"
Zhang Pingfan asked, "What exactly is happening? Why is there a sudden riot of these monsters?"
"I'm not entirely sure. The number of monsters rioting this time is very large, including a peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor. If it weren't for this Demon Emperor constantly tying us down, how would these small fry have the audacity to jump around in front of me!"
So that's how it is. No wonder the Barren City Lord couldn't handle it; there was a Demon Emperor. It was also at the peak ninth-tier.
"Is that Demon Emperor very strong?"
"Very. Its combat power is not inferior to mine, and it has several ninth-tier Demon Kings under its command. Our Barren City can currently only resist, but we cannot completely eliminate them!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded. If that were the case, it would indeed be very difficult.
"Should we ask City Lord Pingjiang and the others to come?"
"Yes, if they can come, our chances of winning will be greater!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded.
Soon, the three city lords and Black Emperor rushed over.
"Master, the atmosphere here feels a bit off!"
Black Emperor's intuition was always very sensitive. The moment he arrived, he sensed something different.
"Yes, outside the Barren City, there is a peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor and ninth-tier Demon Kings!"
"No wonder I've been feeling uneasy. The peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor's strength is even greater than that of the Barren City Lord!"
Black Emperor's words made the Barren City Lord's old face flush red.
Zhang Pingfan looked at the Barren City Lord with a strange expression.
"Didn't you say that the peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor is on par with you?"
"Indeed, they are about the same, just that he is slightly stronger!"
Zhang Pingfan shook his head helplessly. This fellow actually cared about his reputation.
"It's fine. Later, you take me to that peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor. Although I cannot directly kill the peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor, I haven't said I can't turn it into my servant!"
"Understood. With Master's power, even if that Demon Emperor is more powerful, it won't be Master's match!"
Zhang Pingfan wouldn't just sit idly by; his god-tier talent skill was not for show.
It's just that Zhang Pingfan hoped there was only one peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor.
If there was even one more, he couldn't handle it. He could only use his talent skill since he couldn't directly attack monsters, and this talent skill could only be used once every 24 hours. Therefore, Zhang Pingfan really didn't want another one to appear.
As players continued to arrive.
The Barren City was instantly crowded to the brim.
Although the Barren City was very large, even larger than Pingfan City, the main issue was that there were no safe zones. No matter where the players stood, it wasn't a safe place.
Therefore, there were constant reports of players being killed by monsters.
Of course, as the number of players increased, more and more monsters were overwhelmed by the players' sheer numbers.
An hour later, all monsters in the main urban area of the Barren City disappeared.
However, Zhang Pingfan discovered a problem.
There weren't enough people. The players had to face the Barren City, and the rioting monsters outside the main urban area. The monsters' levels were not just level 50!
Zhang Pingfan stood at the highest point of the Barren City, looking down at the players below.
Beside him, the Barren City Lord had a grim expression.
"Master, we still don't have the advantage in numbers. The main reason is that the people Master brought are not very capable!"
Zhang Pingfan chuckled awkwardly. Of course, if I could find experts, would I need you to tell me?
The vast number of monsters outside the main urban area of the Barren City made Zhang Pingfan's scalp tingle.
Especially behind these monsters, a massive phoenix was rising into the air.
The terrifying oppressive feeling was something ordinary people couldn't bear.
"Master, that is the peak ninth-tier Demon Emperor, the Undying Bird!"
"I see it. What are the characteristics of this Undying Bird?"
"Its characteristic is that it's immortal!"
"...Are you sure it's truly immortal?"
"Not exactly. The Undying Bird has a special Nirvana skill. When it sustains heavy injuries, it can undergo Nirvana rebirth on the spot, reviving with full health!"
Zhang Pingfan was speechless. This Undying Bird was a phoenix. This skill was indeed a bit unsolvable, but luckily, he had a more unsolvable skill.
Wait a moment, I'll go and gather more people.
So, Zhang Pingfan released the mission to the entire server once again.
This time, the number of people accepting the mission was not hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands.
Even though they knew they might be going to their deaths, at least they would die for a worthy cause. If they could get the mission rewards, they were willing to die no matter what.
As the number of players grew, the Barren City began to become crowded.
"Damn it, these aren't players from the Heavenly God Sect. What's going on? Why are you crowding?"
"Why are people in their twenties running around here?"
"Are you crazy? I even see people in their teens. Coming here, they'll probably die with just one touch from a monster. At least you should be able to withstand a few attacks, right? With you like this, you won't be able to get the mission rewards!"
Even so, many players came with a "give it a try" mentality.
When the number of players was sufficient.
Zhang Pingfan launched the final assault.
Led by the Barren City Lord, the players, NPCs, and the monsters on the opposite side began to clash.
"Charge! For the Village Chief!!! Kill!"
"Charge! For the Mission!!! Kill!"
Wait, why does this sound so awkward.
Under the cover of the Barren City Lord, Zhang Pingfan approached the Undying Bird step by step.
Beside the Undying Bird, several Demon Kings were poised for battle, but unfortunately, they were intercepted by the ninth-tier War Gods surrounding Zhang Pingfan.
The Undying Bird spewed fire in anger.
"Stubborn fools! Today, I shall obliterate your Barren City!"