Within the desolate city, over a dozen spatial rifts tore open.
From them emerged thirteen professional players from Eastern Nation, launching a surprise attack on the Dragon Nation players on the scene.
Although there were also dozens of Dragon Nation players present, their level, equipment, and awareness were entirely outmatched by the Eastern Nation players.
This was because the Dragon Nation players were just a scattered group hunting low-level demons in the area.
Meanwhile, the intruders were elite professional assassins from Eastern Nation who had undergone specialized training.
With screams echoing in the air, one Dragon Nation player after another was slaughtered.
The Eastern Nation players' signature move, the Mark of Death, caused the slain Dragon Nation players to disintegrate into ashes upon death.
In no time, only three people—two men and one woman—remained alive among the dozens of Dragon Nation players .
One of the surviving young warriors gritted his teeth and shouted in fury: "I'll fight you to the death!"
Gripping his sword, he was about to charge at the invading Eastern Nation players.
Suddenly, a deafening dragon roar, "ROARRRR!" echoed from the sky above.
Everyone on the battlefield instinctively looked up and saw a massive dark dragon streaking across the horizon, flying directly toward them.
"Zero!"
"Retreat!"
The Eastern Nation players, seeing the dragon as if they'd seen a ghost, immediately turned and ran toward the spatial rifts.
But they were still too slow.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Armageddon Black Dragon dove into attack range with blinding speed, opening its massive jaws and unleashing orbs of energy that blasted in all directions.
Each attack triggered splash damage from the [Radiant Apocalypse: Indestructible Magic Body], dealing critical hits of 700,000 to 800,000 damage, instantly annihilating ten Eastern Nation players.
By the time reinforcements arrived from all directions, drawn by the commotion to assist the Dragon Nation players, they saw only three remaining Eastern Nation players.
But those three didn't last long either.
The Armageddon Black Dragon descended from the sky and crushed them underfoot, one by one, turning them into white light.
The last one was swallowed whole.
BURP!
With a casual burp, the last Eastern Nation player disappeared in a flash of white light.
This scene brought immense satisfaction to everyone watching nearby.
Thanks to the timely intervention of the Armageddon Black Dragon, the two men and one woman from the Dragon Nation who had narrowly escaped death finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that all the invading Eastern Nation players had been eliminated, Zhang Yue flew through the city without stopping.
The increasing frequency of Eastern Nation incursions only made Zhang Yue more determined to clear the World 14 as quickly as possible and move on to the World 15 to uncover the secrets of the interdimensional pathways.
At that moment, one of the three rescued players, a cheerful-looking short-haired young assassin wearing a black combat suit, stepped forward. His ID read [Crimson Chain]. He approached Zhang Yue with a face full of gratitude and said, "Zero God, thank you for saving us!"
The other survivor, a long-haired warrior with a slight Eastern Nation style to his appearance, whose ID was [Nightshade], also came forward and expressed his thanks: "Yes, if it weren't for you, we'd be dead for sure!"
Zhang Yue smiled faintly and replied, "No need to thank me."
He turned, ready to leave.
Just then, Nightshade whispered something to the girl in their group.
The girl quickly chased after Zhang Yue.
Standing before him, she appeared shy and hesitant.
She was a Level 75 Priest with a pure and delicate appearance that evoked a sense of fragility and charm.
Her ID was [Sakura].
Her clear, water-like eyes gazed silently at Zhang Yue. She lowered her head slightly, avoiding prolonged eye contact, and softly said, "Brother Zero, thank you for saving us!"
Around them, the crowd of onlookers murmured in admiration.
"That Priest girl looks so cute and innocent! She's just my type!"
"Tsk, don't you see the way she's looking at Zero God? She was saved at the brink of death, and the one who saved her is someone as incredible as him. What girl wouldn't fall for that?"
"Come on, man, you're just a nobody. Don't even think about getting in her way!"
While the crowd buzzed, no one expected what happened next.
After Sakura invited Zhang Yue to have a meal together, he suddenly raised his staff and pointed it at her.
Magic power surged from the staff, causing Sakura to step back in fear.
Zhang Yue spoke coldly: "You're Eastern Nation."
"What? She's Eastern Nation? No way! There aren't any spatial rifts nearby."
"That can't be. I've seen her around for a long time. She didn't come from Eastern Nation!"
The crowd debated intensely.
Zhang Yue, however, saw through everything. "In the Otherworld, there's a language translation function. Even though you're speaking the Dragon Nation's language, as long as your identity isn't from the Dragon Nation, your words will trigger the system's translation."
"The system's translation is indistinguishable from a human voice, but your lip movements are 0.1 seconds slower than your speech. That's a sign of the system's translation function at work."
Sakura's two teammates, Crimson Chain and Nightshade, were stunned.
They couldn't believe Zhang Yue had noticed such a small detail and uncovered Sakura's true identity, hidden for over a decade.
Seeing the murderous intent in Zhang Yue's eyes, which suggested he could kill Sakura at any moment, Crimson Chain and Nightshade hurriedly stepped forward to defend her.
"Zero God, please don't misunderstand."
Nightshade looked at Sakura with a pained expression and said, "It's true that Sakura is Eastern Nation, but she's one of the good ones!"
Zhang Yue's cold gaze remained fixed on Sakura. Crimson Chain and Nightshade's explanation wasn't enough to change his mind.
He still intended to kill Sakura.
Terrified, Sakura was at a loss for what to do.
Nightshade quickly added, "Fifteen years ago, when relations between the Dragon Nation and Eastern Nation weren't as tense as they are now, our country sent a team to Eastern Nation for a cross-border meeting."
"But because the meeting fell apart, and Eastern Nation violated international agreements, our people were ambushed by Emperor Inoue Amano in Eastern Nation territory. Dozens of our diplomats nearly lost their lives. It was Sakura's father and his family who bravely resisted and protected our diplomats, allowing them to escape safely."
"However, the Sakura family was later executed for treason by Inoue Amano…" Nightshade's face was full of sorrow as he looked at Zhang Yue and said, "Zero God, if you don't believe me, you can investigate. This incident made the news back then!"
Zhang Yue glanced at Sakura but didn't speak.
Around them, the crowd began discussing the revelation.
"I looked it up—it's true! Nightshade is telling the truth."
"Damn! That Inoue Amano is such a scumbag, breaking international agreements like that."
"So, there are good people in Eastern Nation too! What a pity about the Sakura family…"
Nightshade continued, "There's one more thing. At the time, something was deliberately kept out of the news."
"Before the Sakura family was wiped out, their patriarch, Sakura Shin, entrusted his four-year-old daughter to our diplomats to take her to the Dragon Nation. That daughter is Sakura!"
Zhang Yue's gaze shifted from Sakura to Nightshade, and he asked, "If this wasn't reported in the news, how do you know about it? And why are you with her now?"
Nightshade hesitated for a moment.
"My father was one of the diplomats who attended that meeting in Eastern Nation."
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