Chapter Ninety-Three: The Encirclement of the Mad God Cult [Please vote with your monthly tickets!]

After running some distance, Lu Sheng also began to ponder what the man had just said.

The Mad God Cult was carrying out a sweep of this region?

Then he, too, was trapped inside the encirclement?

It seemed that the fellow in black-and-red garb, the one who had been chasing that small squad earlier, was one of the Mad God Cult.

That made things awkward. Unfortunately, his spatial positioning ability required a fixed point in order to swap locations, and he could only set one point. Otherwise, he would have come here, collected all the cards, and gone back, refusing to wade into this muddy water.

For now, he had no choice but to find a way out and observe the situation first.

He did not know exactly how strong the Mad God Cult was, but it had to be at least sixth tier, or they could never have sealed off this place.

Riding the White Cloud Horse, Lu Sheng shot straight for the exit to see whether it was truly blocked.

Along the way, the entire rocky strata region was in utter chaos, with red-and-black, corruptive Mad God Cult members everywhere, hunting people down.

There were not many of them, yet each one could chase down an entire squad. Their strength was clearly formidable.

Along the road, some of the cult members even tried to seize Lu Sheng, but they could not outrun the White Cloud Horse and could only leave in bitter frustration.

Seeing this, Lu Sheng felt a little more confident about escaping.

When he reached the exit, however, he nearly cursed out loud.

Inside, there were not many cultists. Outside, though, one appeared every few steps, forming a ring that sealed off every path and slowly tightened the encirclement.

If the Mad God Cult members he had seen so far were all fifth tier, then his chances of forcing his way out were extremely slim.

As soon as he was pinned down, the people nearby would rush in to reinforce them. Even if he had just gained the Desert Giant and tried to charge through, they would still take him down.

What was more, not far away stood a man atop a giant black vulture. Judging by the posture and presence, that one was definitely not fifth tier.

This route was out of the question. He could only see whether there were any experts within the rocky region and whether they could join forces to break out.

Otherwise, this clone of his might very well end its life here today, and that would not do.

With a helpless sigh, he turned back and returned to the rocky region.

Using his high-speed movement, he began contacting everyone across the entire area.

The Mad God Cult members could not catch him. Against someone of the same tier, how could they possibly outrun the White Cloud Horse, a mount specialized in speed?

In this way, Lu Sheng gradually found a number of people with decent strength.

Although the Mad God Cult’s members were all quite strong, they were not yet invincible among their peers. There were still people willing to stand up and resist.

However, such people were few, and they had very little information about what was happening.

Just right. With the White Cloud Horse, Lu Sheng quickly spread the news throughout the rocky region.

He told the stronger people about the current situation and had them help the weaker ones.

Then they would unite and deal with the Mad God Cult members who had broken in.

Very quickly, under Lu Sheng’s help, the people in the rocky region were twisted together into one rope, becoming a force no one could afford to ignore.

So long as the Mad God Cult was not allowed to pick them off one by one, the combined strength of these people was still considerable.

In the end, the gathered manpower numbered around a thousand, which was already everyone in this region.

Among them, only about two hundred were around fifth tier. They were mostly teams that had lived in the wilderness for years, and their strength and combat ability were decent enough.

Still, compared with the all-fifth-tier Mad God Cult, they remained slightly short.

Outside, the cult forces forming the encirclement numbered around three hundred. Including those searching inside, there were at least four or five hundred in total.

Not to mention the cult leader of unknown strength.

Although they had just won a small victory and driven out all the Mad God Cult members who had come in to hunt them, no one was in a good mood.

Everyone knew what they were about to face.

Even the three fifth-tier experts who had had their returning sands snatched back by Lu Sheng showed no intention of settling accounts with him now.

All of them stood together with dark, worried faces.

“What now? We’re all trapped here. The exit is blocked by the Mad God Cult, and inside is lizardman territory. Aren’t we basically dead already?”

“What are you panicking for? With so many of us gathered here, could we really not fight our way out?”

“Exactly. No matter what, we can’t just surrender, can we?”

“Who knows what the Mad God Cult wants with us? It can’t be anything good.”

“Everyone, be quiet! Let’s hear what Lu Sheng has to say!”

“That’s right, stop arguing! Since Lu Sheng had the ability to gather us all together, he must have a way to lead us out!”

The burly man wielding the door-panel-sized blade showed no intention of holding Lu Sheng’s earlier actions against him. Not only did he call for everyone to stop making noise, he was now staring at Lu Sheng eagerly, clearly wanting to hear what solution Lu Sheng had in mind.

At this moment, Lu Sheng stood beside two men.

One was dressed in a light blue Daoist robe, wore a Daoist crown, and carried a giant sword on his back, its length taking up nearly half of his spine.

The other was a slab of muscle from head to toe, with the look of a bandit carved into his face and a fierce expression that would make even children shrink back in fear. On his back was a huge broadsword.

The two were both very young. When Lu Sheng first met them, he had been quite astonished. Their appearances and temperaments were utterly different, yet they were a two-man team.

Now that someone wanted him to speak, Lu Sheng did not stand on ceremony. He stepped forward.

Facing the crowd, standing upright, he spoke with clear and forceful conviction: “It’s very simple. There is only one way out: fight our way through!”

Seeing the crowd begin to stir at his words, Lu Sheng raised a hand, signaling for silence.

“I will have the monster under my command take the lead. These two brothers will also charge at the front. But with only the three of us, we cannot break through the Mad God Cult’s encirclement.”

“So all fifth-tier people need to report their strength. The strongest will cut the path open. Those who are slightly weaker will guard the flanks from behind. We will break their encirclement in a spearhead formation.”

Seeing that some of them were still hesitating, he added, “Or do you want to be captured by the Mad God Cult?”

The burly man beside Lu Sheng, Xiong Zijie, roared in displeasure. “What are you hesitating for? I’ve already volunteered to take the lead, and you’re all acting as timid as eggs. If you’re this scared, then don’t come mixing around in the wilderness. Why not go hide in the Heavenfallen Main City and cower there instead?

“State your strength honestly. As the young master of Heroic Tiger Fort, I know a thing or two about the capabilities of people on the wilderness plains. Whoever lies will not get off lightly.”

Xiong Zijie stepped out and bellowed at the crowd. The effect was immediate.

He pointed at the man with the door-panel-sized blade and said, “You. Start. I can tell you’re a sensible man.”

Then, under a form of “voluntary” cooperation, one after another began reporting their strength. Anyone who tried to hide anything was lifted up and humiliated by Xiong Zijie like a chick in a henhouse.

After Xiong Zijie’s well-reasoned persuasion, they all obediently complied.

It was worth mentioning that in the wilderness, strength was reason.

Everyone was only hesitating; they were not cowards. If they were truly timid, as Xiong Zijie said, they would already have been hiding in the Heavenfallen Main City, struggling to survive in safety.

Xiong Zijie also understood that they were merely thinking things over. But there was no time left for deep thought. In the end, they would all have to fight with their lives on the line anyway. What was the point of overthinking it?