The morning light streamed in through the windows of the flying demon vehicle. Outside the windows, some clouds drifted lazily by. This high-altitude scene at dawn was simply breathtaking and refreshing to the soul.
Ye Chui walked into the cabin while checking his spellbook. He could feel the new power he had just acquired. The Lightning Body had fully merged into his body, or rather, into his spellbook. At the same time, after several hours of rest, the mana storage in his spellbook was completely full again.
The flying demon vehicle had now reached the vicinity of the Doomsday Mountains. Through the windows, one could faintly make out the overlapping shadows of the mountain ranges.
“I wonder if Debbie and the others have woken up yet?” Ye Chui thought to himself at this moment. The flying demon vehicle possessed powerful automatic navigation capabilities. Even without anyone watching, it could fly steadily in the air. The only issue was mana supply, but the swordmasters and magisters imprisoned inside the vehicle as power sources could provide that. He figured his companions were probably all still sleeping in. But soon after, Ye Chui realised his companions were far more energetic than he had imagined…
“It is my turn, my turn! Straight flush!”
“Beat that. I have a bomb!”
“Gunnie, that is not a bomb. A bomb needs four of the same card. You have two fours and one eight. How can you call that a bomb?”
“Oh… then I will tear this eight in half. Now it is four fours, right?”
“Do not tear it…”
Rip—
“…”
“Gunnie, poker is not played like that. In half an hour you have already ruined seven decks…”
Just then, they noticed Ye Chui appearing in the cabin. Everyone quickly stood up to greet him. Silas even came out from the small kitchen nearby carrying breakfast: toast bread and scrambled eggs with bacon. She said to Ye Chui, “We woke up ages ago, but since you were still in your room, we did not want to disturb you. Hurry and eat breakfast.”
“Mm…”
Ye Chui took the breakfast and sat down right on the empty floor in the middle of the cabin. Apart from the pilot seat, there were no other chairs in this cabin. So Debbie, Green, Gunnie, and the others simply sat on the floor to play poker. Ye Chui overheard their earlier conversation. Looking at the scattered pile of playing cards on the ground, he took a bite of scrambled eggs and said to Gunnie, “Didn’t you used to dislike playing poker? How come you are so into it now?”
The playing cards had been exchanged from a movie world by Ye Chui. A single point could get several decks. He had taught everyone how to play Fight the Landlord. Green and Debbie were particularly fond of this game, but Gunnie and Salome had little interest in such brainy games.
He still remembered the first time he taught them. Ye Chui had drawn the landlord role and said to the two girls, “I am the landlord. From now on, you two team up to fight me.”
“Oh.” Then the two straightforward girls immediately threw down their cards, picked up their weapons, and started attacking Ye Chui…
Not to mention they were not interested. Even if they became interested later, probably no one would dare play with them anymore.
This time, they had waited until Ye Chui was asleep and got bored. Lisa was busy comprehending the bible, Silas was busy cooking, so Debbie and Green had no choice but to drag Gunnie into playing.
But the girl’s way of thinking was truly bizarre. She had managed to ruin seven decks of cards.
“I used to think it was too hard, but now I have figured out the trick. Ye Chui, come play a round with me quick. I have an ultra-powerful move I can pull off,” Gunnie said excitedly.
“…Hehe, let us talk about it another time. We should enter the Doomsday Mountains now,” Ye Chui quickly refused. What kind of powerful move could there be in poker? And “pull it off”… Looking at the messy pile of cards on the floor, Ye Chui felt a strong sense of foreboding.
He wolfed down the breakfast in a few bites, then stretched his body and stood up. Under his control, the flying demon vehicle slowly began to descend.
The Doomsday Mountains ran almost straight across the entire Castro continent. They formed the boundary between the Star Empire, the Morning Wind Empire, and the Sacred Heart Kingdom. Countless years ago, when dwarves still roamed this continent, one dwarven race had lived beneath the Doomsday Mountains. Their underground tunnels were as intricate as an ant colony. Legend even said they had once hollowed out the entire mountain range.
After the dwarves perished, their tunnels became a perilous place connected to hell. Most had been destroyed by humans. Only a small portion remained. That was the haunted mine.
The Doomsday Mountains separated the three empires, but a tunnel ran through the middle, connecting both sides. This was a trade route that allowed commerce between the empires on either side of the mountains. The Star Empire and Morning Wind Empire each guarded one end of the tunnel. However, after the war broke out between the Star Empire and the Church, this tunnel had been completely sealed off. The Doomsday Mountains served as a natural barrier between the Church’s Sacred Heart Kingdom and the Star Empire. The tunnel was the only passage.
As long as this tunnel was guarded, the Church’s powerful forces could not enter the Star Empire.
At the same time, this tunnel was also part of the haunted mine. To enter the haunted mine, one had to go through this tunnel.
As Ye Chui navigated the direction and slowly lowered the flying demon vehicle, as expected, he saw heavy troops stationed at the entrance of the great tunnel. Part of them were the national guards of the Morning Wind Empire. Part were Church believers.
Ye Chui had obtained the Tomb Guardian decree from the Fearless City Lord. His purpose was obvious. So yesterday, after Ye Chui dealt with Lakin’s clone, Lakin immediately mobilised believers overnight to rush to the tunnel entrance and prepare to intercept Ye Chui.
Ye Chui had anticipated this scene long ago. His original plan had been to get captured under the name of the Thieves group and then enter the haunted mine smoothly and without trouble. But things had not gone smoothly. The situation had escalated until almost everyone knew about it. Since last night, the great tunnel had already been heavily guarded. So Ye Chui was not in a hurry. He had let his companions rest for eight hours before continuing the next step. After all, he himself also needed time to restore the mana in his spellbook.
“It looks like there are at least tens of thousands of people down there. Are we just charging straight in?” Through the observation screen of the flying demon vehicle, one could see the densely packed soldiers below standing ready. Debbie asked somewhat surprised.
“We have no choice but to charge in. The interior of the great tunnel has many branches. It is extremely intricate inside. As long as we get into the great tunnel, we can shake off anyone chasing us,” Ye Chui replied. He assigned tasks to his companions. “Later I will lead the charge and cause chaos. This is the perfect chance to test my Lightning Body. Longbao, transform into your true form to draw their fire. Green, stay with Longbao. Once Longbao reverts to child form, find a chance to teleport him to our side. Also Debbie, bring out Gilga. Later we will need her Excalibur Stick for a big move. Everyone else, stay inside Longgui’s rain shield as much as possible. Safety first.”
“Little brother, that Lakin’s true body should be down there too. I want to fight him and see how it goes,” Lisa suddenly suggested at this moment.
Ye Chui looked at Lisa. He knew she had comprehended something under the influence of the Great Compassion Mantra. But Lakin was a powerful believer who had reached the level of cardinal archbishop. Ye Chui was a little worried. “Are you sure?”
“Do not worry. I know I am definitely not his match right now. But I want to see exactly where the gap between us lies,” Lisa said with a smile. “I will not take risks.”
“Alright then. You must stay right beside Longgui at all times. Be very careful.”
“Mm, I know.”
“And also…” Ye Chui looked at the massive gate at the entrance of the great tunnel. It was forged from fine steel and blessed by the gods. Right now the iron gate was tightly shut. Opening this gate was clearly no easy task. Ye Chui sighed and patted the armrest of the pilot seat. “AIPAID, after we all leave the flying demon vehicle, activate full power. Use the flying demon vehicle to ram straight into the gate.”
“Master, are you sure? Actually, I think a few flying demon missiles would be enough to blast open that gate…” AIPAID’s voice rang in Ye Chui’s mind.
“I want spectacle! Just like a Hollywood blockbuster. Whether it works or not, crashing a few vehicles always looks cool. Anyway, we are not short on points right now…” Ye Chui said with a cold smile. His eyes swept over the believers below. In his eyes, those believers were now turning into individual point values one by one.
“Alright. You are the boss. You call the shots. I guarantee a grand scene later,” AIPAID promised.
“Good. Then let us begin the operation now,” Ye Chui said with a smile.
At this moment, the army of believers below had already noticed the flying demon vehicle appearing in the sky. They all showed alert and battle-ready postures. The hatch beneath the flying demon vehicle slowly opened. Ye Chui walked out from within.
The spellbook merged into his body, putting him into God Guard Mode 2.0. At the same time, lightning began to burn in his hands, eyes, and mouth. Lightning Body!
This innate skill allowed Ye Chui’s mana to directly transform into lightning. It also made him immune to all lightning attacks. Moreover, Ye Chui could even feel that he could replenish his mana from other lightning attacks. In other words, with this skill, he no longer had to fear heavenly thunder retribution.
Actually, at Ye Chui’s current level, there were much simpler ways to break into the great tunnel. For example, summoning a puppet war god to slap the faith army below flat with one palm, or first unleashing a barrage of bombardment. But that would not be fun. Ye Chui could not wait to test the power of his newly acquired Lightning Body. He leaped off the flying demon vehicle. Lightning coiled around his entire body. He descended like a falling bolt of thunder.
But Lightning Body alone seemed a bit plain?
At this moment, he suddenly felt something was missing. A BGM. At a time like this, that song was definitely the most fitting…
Boom!
Ye Chui’s body crashed down right in the middle of the believer army. Lightning scattered in all directions. It was as if the Thunder God had descended. Several believers around him were instantly flung away. At the same time, an intense and surging piece of music rang out. It was a song called “Immigrant Song”. When it came to the Thunder God, this song was simply perfect!
