Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

The murderous intent in Zenobia's eyes was unmistakable. Luca had not only disrupted her plans and taken the Celestial Pearl, preventing her from returning to her full power, but he had also stripped her of her divine rank, re-imprisoning her at the entrance to the Abyssal Realm. Her hatred for Luca now far exceeded that which she felt for the Ancient Gods, those who hid in the dark corners of existence.

Carmon, however, wore his signature grin. "This kid really is something," he said, "Too bad I can't stay in this world for long. Otherwise, I'd definitely like to meet him in person."

A mere human, yet he had survived the conflict between the Ancient Gods and Zenobia, and even successfully thwarted both sides' plans. The strings behind someone like him intrigued Carmon, to the point that he almost wanted to pull back the curtain and see what lay beneath.

"Provided, of course, that he gets the chance to survive long enough for that," Zenobia replied coldly, not bothering to look back. She stepped forward, and despite the ordinary nature of her stride, each step carried her several hundred meters.

Although she had lost her divine body, divine rank, and divine soul, it didn't mean she lacked the power to defend herself.

Within a few flickers of movement, Zenobia's figure vanished into the forest, heading straight toward Leaf City. Carmon, behind her, glanced at the purple pillar of light soaring into the sky. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he muttered to himself, "This game is getting more and more interesting, Your Majesty."

...

Meanwhile, in the sky above Leaf City, a torrential downpour of lightning struck the monster horde surrounding Luca. Massive bolts of lightning, as thick as a human arm, crashed down, one after another, into the sea of monsters.

The blinding white light made it impossible to look directly at, while the deafening thunder echoed all around. One by one, monsters, smoking with dark fumes, were blasted out of the sky, plummeting to the ground. In mere moments, half of the horde had been wiped out.

Simultaneously, two golden beams of light flared from Luca's body, signaling that his level had reached 63.

Just as he began to breathe a sigh of relief, Luca quickly realized that more high-tier monsters were barreling toward him, and the sheer number of low-tier monsters below seemed endless. The pull of the sin-driven divine rank was far stronger than Luca had anticipated.

Even Quagmire and the others, located in a different direction, were starting to feel the ripple effect. The lure of the sin-powered divine rank had a far-reaching influence on the monsters, drawing them in with an insatiable hunger.

After enduring several rounds of intense battle, Quagmire and the others had already exhausted most of their strength. They were now relying almost entirely on their armored units to fend off the monster attacks. Fortunately, the Dreamweaving Mist that Luca had set up earlier was still holding strong for a while. Unfortunately, as the monsters grew in number, Luca could not hold out much longer.

With the Eternal Game sealed away, his body had reverted to that of an ordinary human. Even with the sin-driven divine rank, he could only harness a fraction of its power. As the time for the mist to dissipate grew nearer, Luca continually pondered whether he should activate the divine rank's power once more, attracting even more monsters to his location.

Just as he was deep in thought, Luca sensed something. He swiftly slashed through a high-tier monster that had lunged at him and glanced toward the plains ahead, where Quagmire and the others were. Through the haze of dust, he could see black armored vehicles charging forward like wild beasts, followed by an uncountable number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and transport vehicles.

The transport vehicles were packed with fully armed soldiers, and at the front of the armored column stood two figures—one was Melania, completely wrapped in bandages, and the other was a burly man carrying a rocket launcher. Seeing this, both Luca and Quagmire's group couldn't help but break into smiles, exhaling deeply in relief.

After such a long wait, reinforcements had finally arrived!

At that moment, the Dreamweaving Mist's duration was finally up. The mist that had enveloped the civilians quickly dissipated, exposing the 100,000 people to the open air.
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The monsters, who had been completely drawn in by Luca's presence, suddenly noticed the vulnerable prey right under their noses. Several of them halted in their tracks and immediately surged toward the defenseless civilians.

"Stop them!" Quagmire and the others, despite their exhaustion, grabbed their weapons and positioned themselves in front of the civilians. Cornbark immediately gave orders for the soldiers and armored units to set up defenses.

The battle reignited with deafening explosions and monstrous roars filling the air. However, the sheer number of monsters was overwhelming. Some of them even bypassed the defenders and charged toward the helpless civilians.

By the time Quagmire and the others realized what was happening, the monsters had already reached the crowd. Blood splattered everywhere as several civilians were immediately slain by the monsters.

"Those bastards!" Cornbark's eyes practically turned red with fury. He started unloading his submachine gun into the monster horde, taking down a few, but it was like a drop in the ocean for the overwhelming swarm. Quagmire and the others were frantic, but there was no way to break free from the monsters in front of them. Just as they were preparing to make a desperate last stand, a shell trailing white smoke suddenly flew into the monster crowd.

An earth-shattering explosion followed, sending dirt flying. Several monsters were blown to pieces, limbs and torsos scattering in all directions. The group turned to see the massive figure of Tiltant, standing atop an armored vehicle, holding a rocket launcher. His face was stern and cold, and white smoke still billowed from the rocket launcher's muzzle.

"A bunch of idiots looking for death," Tiltant muttered under his breath as he discarded the rocket launcher. White energy surged around him, and with a sudden forceful push from his feet, the front end of the armored vehicle sank sharply into the ground.

In the next instant, he charged forward like a ferocious tiger, diving straight into the monster horde. His speed was so fast that afterimages were left in his wake. The commander of the Northern Territory group army was, as it turned out, a high-level martial artist!

Tiltant crashed into the monster horde like a missile. The resulting explosion of force was so intense that it was even more powerful than a shell. Those monsters who had surrounded him were instantly killed by the shockwave.

At the same time, Melania and the other armored vehicles charged forward, their weapons blazing. The monsters that had previously been rushing toward the civilians were quickly cleared away.

"Move out, now!" Cornbark shouted without hesitation, immediately ordering everyone to escort the civilians fleeing Leaf City to safety. As he saw that the civilians had made it out of immediate danger, Luca let out a sigh of relief. After such a tremendous effort, they had finally managed to get the people out of Leaf City.

Now, he needed to focus on how to escape. His gaze swept over the endless black ocean of monsters surrounding them. A flicker of purple light flashed in his eyes. The next moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and rain began to fall—but this wasn't ordinary rain. The downpour was black, exuding various malevolent energies. The moment the rain touched the monsters, they immediately began to stir restlessly. Their crimson eyes glowed with an even fiercer hunger and brutality.

Then, to everyone's shock, the monsters began to turn on each other. Countless monsters launched themselves at their own kind, tearing into each other with a frenzied savagery. The rain itself didn't harm them, but it seemed to amplify the desires within them, pushing them into a wild frenzy.

Luca, however, wasn't concerned with the chaos below. His gaze was fixed on the direction where the civilians from Celephais were evacuating.

A large group of civilians, escorted by the Northern Territory group army, was quickly heading toward a safe zone, away from the horde of monsters. It didn't take long for them to leave the danger zone.

With that thought in mind, Luca did not delay. His sin-driven divine rank began to shine with brilliant purple light, and the downpour in the sky intensified.

Far from Leaf City, Quagmire and the others looked up, and it seemed as though a hole had been torn in the sky itself. Endless black rain cascaded down like a waterfall.

The already ferocious monsters were now like a fire being doused with gasoline, turning into a frenzy of clawing and biting at their own kind. It was a chaotic scene, like demons dancing in madness.

At the same time, a figure streaked across the sky, resembling a meteor as it sped toward them. In the blink of an eye, Luca had arrived at the side of Quagmire and the others, who were still in the process of evacuating.

"All set." Luca smiled at Quagmire and the others, whose expressions were filled with excitement. "I really earned some big merit this time. Once we get back, I'm going to make sure I go ask that old man Drumph for a nice reward."

"Damn! You're incredible!" Quagmire immediately slapped Luca on the shoulder, his face turning red with excitement.

The others were equally thrilled. Cornbark and Donlow both wore expressions of relief, their faces breaking into smiles. They had originally thought they were as good as dead, but here they were, having actually made it out of Leaf City!

"Did you really save Leaf City?" At that moment, Tiltant, his face serious, stepped forward. His eagle-like eyes scanned Luca up and down as he furrowed his brow. The previously lively atmosphere suddenly cooled, as Tiltant's tone felt more like he was inspecting a prisoner than a hero.

"Yes, that's right," Luca replied nonchalantly, a smile tugging at his lips. "Is there something you'd like to discuss, General Tiltant?"

Everyone sensed the tension in the air and exchanged confused glances. Cornbark quickly stepped in front of Tiltant, his voice low and firm. "General, this man is the one who saved Leaf City. Don't do anything rash."

Tiltant ignored him, locking eyes with Luca. After a few seconds, he finally spoke, his tone much more somber. "You did well. This was my mistake. During the breakout, I didn't account for the monster horde blocking our path. I wasted precious time and almost cost everyone in Leaf City their lives. Thank you."

Without waiting for the stunned reactions of Cornbark and the others, Tiltant snapped to attention and saluted Luca with full military respect.

"Since I've joined Morning Star, this is just what I'm supposed to do," Luca replied, returning the salute with a clean, precise, and composed gesture.

Tiltant gave him a long look, but didn't say anything further. There was no time to drop their guard yet; they needed to get far from the monster horde before that rain stopped.

He took over command from Cornbark and began organizing the evacuation, making sure everything was carried out in an orderly fashion.