The troll's business thrived because—
If players from the main world saw an injured ally, they would usually just take them back.
But among the Swallowing Heaven players, there were no kind-hearted individuals.
Injured players and demons could mostly only wait for death, or they might have a "comrade" come along and finish them off.
So now, during the [Anti-Expansion] event, killing allies would yield no rewards and even incur penalties. This meant that those Swallowing Heaven players and demons, who would usually enjoy causing trouble for others, had to leave their dying comrades on the battlefield in a pitiful state.
Naturally, Sterl was not actually injured; he was merely pretending. By spending 800 purple gold coins, he managed to seamlessly integrate himself into the ranks of Hell.
Otherwise, a normal pathway to join the Hell faction at this moment would require a review and approval under the divine-level demons.
The likelihood of encountering issues was low.
Yet, in keeping with Sterl's cautious nature, he preferred to spend a bit of money to ensure his safety.
Moreover, to him, purple gold coins had become merely a number; spending them felt more like an insignificant cost.
After the greedy troll pocketed the money, the chains binding Sterl automatically fell away, dissipating into sparkling light.
"Alright, I wish you smooth sailing and hope you earn plenty of resources during this event," the troll said with a hearty smile.
Sterl casually nodded in response, but soon he realized something...
His demeanor might be a bit too high-class.
"Get lost! Don't let me catch you!"
Sterl glared at the troll with a look of anguish over the loss of 800 purple gold coins, as if he were about to give him a good whack.
This was a perfect moment to blend into the character he was portraying.
Among the Swallowing Heaven players, those with strange, brutish temperaments made up at least 99 percent of the crowd.
Sterl didn't want to stand out; his character was meant to be quite ordinary, so he decided to go with the flow.
The troll, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, even mocking, "You better seize your chance then."
With that, he went off to collect money from others.
...
Sterl looked around as he wandered, and sure enough, under the leadership of the divine-level demons, the Hell faction had finally established a relatively normal settlement.
However, unlike the Blood Red Fortress, which had a comprehensive defense system, this was a large open-air town.
There were no protective measures in place because, after all, if enemies were to attack, the divine-level demons' power was more than sufficient to handle everything.
What? You say that those "people" killed before the divine-level demons could act were just unlucky!
The surrounding scenery finally ceased to be so primitive and wild.
Nearby, there were various gray-black spire-like buildings, a testament to the unique culture of the layer of Hell that a particular divine-level demon hailed from.
On those buildings hung dark green metal bells, which would ring whenever a violent incident occurred within the camp.
Don't get it twisted; the bells didn't stop the violence. Instead, they recorded the events, marking the final victor and deducting their contribution to the activity—essentially, a fine...
However, despite such deterrence, killings were rampant, and within the short time Sterl was wandering around, several players met gruesome ends.
Sterl soon entered a hall constructed from giant skulls.
However, the interior was surprisingly clean, with floor tiles made of some unknown material that felt refreshingly cool beneath his feet.
The dim yellow candlelight cast a strange atmosphere, but the flames seemed to have an inexplicable spirit and suppressive effect, causing the surrounding hellish players and demons to appear rather subdued.
His reasoning was clear; in the absence of sufficient Divine Power, if he wanted to reap rewards from danger, he would have to rely on formations.
"You must return alive," the Succubus Supreme said with unusual enthusiasm, lingering as she reluctantly pulled away from Sterl's embrace, reminding him.
With the abilities of a Succubus, enticing a man into bed was only a matter of time.
But if this Mephistopheles were to perish on the battlefield, it would truly be a shame...
Sterl couldn't help but feel slightly speechless. As an ordinary demigod in the main world, he had never received such treatment before.
In addition to accepting the task from the Heavenly Locking Formation, Sterl also took on several other killing tasks similar to eliminating enemy forces.
Once the battlefield shifted into a confrontation between two factions of deities, the entire event changed.
Sterl was unaware of the situation on the [Transcendence] side, but as for Swallowing Heaven, all previous activity contributions were canceled and replaced with new contributions for the event titled [Struggle of the Sequences].
However, since Sterl had not accrued any contributions initially, it did not affect him.
But the key point was...
The new event store had plenty of good items!
Nonetheless, Sterl didn't pay much attention to it; he still had a pile of loot spheres that he hadn't opened yet!
He planned to open them first, make sure to address any gaps in his strength, and then see if there were any items in the store that could enhance his abilities.
...
After accepting the task, Sterl left the hall, only to find a commotion ahead. True to the typical style of Swallowing Heaven players, he went over to check it out.
"Yeah, that's the one, come over there."
As Sterl approached, he hadn't fully grasped what was happening when he saw a general clad in blue-purple heavy armor riding on a massive black beast. Surrounding him were soldiers who were busy strapping armor onto a humanoid hell player. Despite struggling fiercely at first, once the armor completely covered him, he suddenly stopped moving, following the general like a puppet.
At that moment, the number of controlled demigod soldiers had already reached several hundred, while the demons and hell players watching the spectacle were mostly in non-human forms.
Every time a soldier was successfully controlled, loud cheers erupted from the onlookers.
Then...
One of the general's aides spotted Sterl, his eyes lighting up as he pointed at him, delivering the earlier line.
"Me?"
Sterl was taken aback, still unaware of what was happening.
The surrounding hell players and demons immediately scrambled away, clearing a path as if they feared being caught in the crossfire.
One by one, they hurried to distance themselves.
The aide, however, approached with a sinister grin. "What are you dawdling for? It's you."
"I see you're called Mephistopheles, right?"
"Nice name. We're about to execute a mission to break through the southeastern battlefield, and you've been recruited into our Necromancer's Armor Brigade."
"It's an honor!"
Though he claimed it was an honor, the expressions of the nearby hell players clearly conveyed that joining this army was anything but a good thing.
However, before Sterl could react, the general atop the beast suddenly unleashed a surge of power—Supreme-level strength!
Moreover, this general seemed to possess far greater power than the average Supreme. The sheer aura forced the surrounding demigod demons and players to kneel on the ground!
As for Sterl, who was directly impacted by the pressure, he felt an overwhelming weight... Well, in reality, it was more like a gentle breeze brushing against him. But as a seasoned veteran, his first instinct was to half-crouch, adopting a posture of submission.
At the same time...