Chapter 198. Demons and Monsters (22) The Ten Thousand Year Campaign: The Ancient Burial Ground

   【Congratulations to survivor Ye Mo for completing main quest 2 in the ‘Demons and Monsters’ dungeon. Spirit attribute +50, Strength attribute +30, Agility attribute +30, Constitution attribute +30, free attribute points +30.】

     When the Half-Demons Base’s population exceeds 15,000, the system has additional bonus rewards: 【Congratulations to survivor Ye Mo for saving 15,000/10,000 half-demons, completing side quest 1. Reward: Spirit attribute +15, free attribute points +15.】

     And so on.

     Ye Mo no longer feels particularly surprised when she hears the system’s voice, unless her mental ability advances and unlocks, or her strength, agility, and constitution abilities awaken and unlock, then she might have some anticipation.

     Regarding the allocation of free attribute points, she mainly divided them into three portions: one-third to Spirit, one-third to Constitution, and the remaining one-third as a combat reserve, mostly allocated to Spirit + Strength + Agility.

     When the base population exceeded 30,000, the half-demon base expanded five and a half times its original ruins as the center, extending outwards in all four directions. In fact, such a large area wasn’t currently necessary, but this was Ye Mo’s suggestion and arrangement, for the sake of the future.

     The current base is somewhat like a community.

     The center is the conference room and the base core. The rest is divided into seven major areas: residential, dining, medical, work, academy, guard, and mission hall.

     Among these, the mission hall is located on the outermost ring of the base, beyond the second layer of the defensive formation.

     Each section within the seven areas has a main leader and several deputy leaders. The requirements, methods, and number of leaders selected for different sections vary. The first batch of junior leaders gradually emerged through their daily lives.

     For example, the Guard, the former leader of the foreign aid team, needed to be highly skilled in combat. The residential area was simple; residents voted to elect the person in charge.

     As for the academy, it offered various courses, so naturally, there were many outstanding individuals. The academy’s teachers (the academy leaders were called “Teacher” a term introduced by Watson..) were numerous, and anyone who could become the Head Teacher had to possess both talent and virtue.

     ………

     Rather than saying Ye Mo was a leader, it was more accurate to say she was a pioneer, symbolizing a spirit. Currently, the base’s affairs were all managed by Feng, who came from the guard team.

     The half-demons in the base might not clearly understand these relationships, but Feng’s gaze towards Ye Mo grew increasingly strange. Though Ye Mo had long since stepped back from management, Feng now meticulously reports every minor detail to her.  

     Like right now.  

     Watching Feng leave, Ye Mo glanced at the financial report in her hand with a hint of helplessness: “…”  

     Watson is replenishing water in the artificial pool. This artificial pool is a facility built for water-attribute half-demons. There were also fire pits, mineral caves, thunder towers, herb gardens, bird courtyards, and more.  

     His leaves, scorched yellow from alchemy, slowly unfurled in the water as he relaxed. “You taught him how to think. Now, he ponders the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything. He’ll make a qualified leader for the half-demons. You can rest assured.”  

     “It’s hard to feel at ease, but I have to let go.” Every dungeons left Ye Mo with regrets and lingering attachments. Not mentioning about them does not mean that she has forgotten.

     Watson understood. In the Demons and Monsters dungeon, he might not have built a base like Ye Mo, but he had family—and many clansmen who were like family to him. Much like Wang Xue, who was born into the Mohist school during the Spring and Autumn dungeon.

     Ye Mo comforted him in turn: “Don’t forget there are team dungeons. We can look forward to seeing them in the future.”

     When people are idle, they always tend to overthink. The two of them were acting a bit like retired colleagues fishing by the river, reminiscing about the major events in their lives.

     “…”

     Watson was rendered speechless by Ye Mo’s comment. Without Wang Xue, the two of them really did resemble old cadres.

     Just then, Feng, who had just left, reappeared. Not only did he have a hurried expression, but he even activated the base’s internal emergency spatial teleportation array.

     Ye Mo’s expression turned serious. “What’s wrong?”

     “More than a dozen large demon clan leaders, or elders, or warriors, are rushing towards the half-demon base. They seem to be together, and we don’t know what’s going on,” Feng said with a tight frown.

     Ye Mo repeated, “Together?”

     Almost 90 days had passed in the Demons and Monsters dungeon, and she had never heard of large demon clans being able to unite. Could it be that the half-demons made them feel threatened?

     “Time is of the essence. You arrange the other matters. I’ll go take a look at the mission and the trading hall on the outer ring of the base.”

     Watson floated up from the pool into the air. The water droplets on his body had disappeared. He landed on Ye Mo’s head, meaning that he would go to take a look together.

     After nodding to Feng, Ye Mo crushed the space crystal core and disappeared into the air in the blink of an eye.

     Feng also quickly rushed to the conference room and urgently activated the half-demon base’s broadcast-like device to inform the base’s half-demons of this news and the initial arrangements.

     This was the first time the base had used it.

     …

     On the other side, Ye Mo teleported to the entrance of the mission hall.

     The mission hall of the half-demon base was the first tall building in the Demons and Monsters world, with a total of seven floors.

     The first three floors were for ordinary missions, mainly involving the commission of weapons, potions, array disks, etc. The middle floors were more like a trading hall, primarily for exchanging energy sources like beast cores held by individuals, with the base reasonably charging a small fee for the venue and management. The seventh floor was for individual mercenaries to accept and post tasks, open to both demons and half-demons, and was currently the least busy floor.

     In an unexpected turn of events, a survivor actually posted his main quest to rescue five fellow clansmen on the seventh floor, inspired by Pushkin.

     Now, in this boundless forest, everyone knows about the half-demon base’s mission hall. It’s bustling every day, and you can see many demons wearing custom-made equipment or carrying custom-made weapons on their heads. Some are majestic, while others are quite chuuni.

     Today was no exception.

     However, these demons now had an added hint of nervousness and vigilance compared to usual. Clearly, they had already heard about the dozen or so large demon clans traveling together.

     Many demons were seeing the legendary half-demon leader Jing for the first time. They glanced at the five-colored deer ears on her head… oh, and there was a tuft of algae there too.

     Ye Mo didn’t have to wait long before she saw the group Feng had mentioned.

     Calling them a single group was inaccurate, they were more like a dozen groups. Not only were there differences in the demons’ appearances, but they were fundamentally advancing in separate factions.

     There was no coordination between them; instead, subtle gestures of caution could be observed.

     Seeing this, Ye Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they were here to cause trouble, as long as they weren’t united, there would be a way to deal with them, just like how they had dealt with the banyan tree spirit – defeating them one by one.

     What’s more, there are humans among this group of monsters, and a familiar-looking guy has fallen on the tail of the humans group.

     Wang Xue. She had become more robust and looked slightly unkempt. Unlike the others, her eyes were still bright and full of energy.

     Twenty-four hours prior, the information Wang Xue had sent made no mention of this at all. She had said that she only had one or two tasks left and that there shouldn’t be any major issues.

     Watson had no eyes, but Ye Mo and Wang Xue exchanged a brief glance. Her gaze conveyed a single word: ‘Bewildered.’ She had no idea of their destination.

     “I was wondering which half-demon it was, the human-deer, as expected, it’s you.” Before even getting closer, the human leader spoke up. She was one of those who took over the siege of the fox in the forest back then.

     Even though the current Ye Mo was completely different from the blood-and-mud-covered person she was back then, her five-colored beast ears were absolutely memorable, making her instantly recognizable.

     The human leader had always refused cooperation between humans and half-demons, and the reason was related to Ye Mo.

     Firstly, Ye Mo had snatched the spoils of war from under her nose and then vanished, practically challenging her authority. Secondly, apart from those beast ears, Ye Mo looked just like an undernourished minor from their own race, making it even harder to bow down to a half-human.

     Ye Mo hadn’t forgotten how she had nearly died at the hands of humans and foxes when she first entered this simulation. If it weren’t for Wang Xue being among the humans, and the fact that her storage ring contained the most human-forged weapons—she would never have allowed the half-demons to secretly interact with them. This tone was considered a public provocation.

     The spiritual fox leader had also arrived, and to be fair, their attitude was among the best here.

     “I am Jing, the leader of the half-demon base,” Ye Mo said, as if answering the human leader, while her eyes swept over the other demon groups. “Welcome to the half-demon base. We have weapons, equipment, and potions here.”

     “Do you have a dual ice-wood spirit-gathering array?” A black and white bear demon scratched his head and asked.

     “…Yes, different sizes, different prices.” Ye Mo paused and answered, looking up to see the two elders of the black and white bear demon pulling the fur of their silly leader from behind.

     The black and white bear demon successfully earned glares or disdain from the other demons, but he straightened his back.

     Next, through the leaders of the dark-attribute black sheep demons and the wood snake tribe, Ye Mo learned why they had come, and it had a slight connection to Pushkin’s words.

     It was common knowledge that in the ancient times of this world, all sentient beings could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to grow, forming different inner cores, constantly becoming stronger, and their lifespans also continuously increased.

     Thirty thousand years ago, the first war involving thousands of races finally erupted, resulting in countless casualties. The stories of those deceased legendary powerhouses still circulated among various creatures.

     The balance was broken.

     All of the above were legends, and there were also stories about half-demons. They might be a type of hybrid creature resulting from the union of different races, or a kind of atavistic phenomenon.

     Apart from the half-demons, the various demon races had almost forgotten the term “atavism.” In their eyes, half-demons were only slightly stronger than ordinary animals, until the appearance of Ye Mo.

     The spirits and demons were accustomed to licking blood off the edge of a blade for survival, but that didn’t mean they enjoyed or liked it. As resources dwindled, the battles between various races intensified.

     To some extent, the half-demon base established by Ye Mo alleviated part of the energy crisis and unlocked new possibilities—something unprecedented.  

     As Pushkin’s words spread (exaggerated words when retold), they sparked inspiration: this was a return to the ancient ways!

     All those present were great demon clans with histories stretching back over ten thousand years. They had come with the same purpose: to invite the leader of the half-demon base to join them in visiting the burial grounds of the 30,000-Year War.