Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 811: Emergency Meeting, Self-Rescue Plan

Fish had undoubtedly exaggerated the urgency and consequences of the situation.

Although it was true that some kind of Pure Abyss creation similar to the Deep Sea Sky Dome had been inverted over Lilee City, all the players were well aware that...

Even if there was some "conspiracy" or "scheming" at play, Lilee City probably still had plenty of time left.

After all, the Deep Sea Sky Dome's function was singular and exclusive—isolating the inside from the outside. This was something the native Night Valley dwellers couldn't possibly understand.

In fact, even the Mastermind's choice to use this kind of sealing item was definitely to buy themselves some time.

But the reason Fish had chosen to fire that shot was also simple.

The players' goal was merely to clear the dungeon, not to save Lilee City!

Whatever Mastermind there was could naturally be handled by the churches and the empire of Night Valley.

All they needed to do was finish the dungeon as quickly as possible.

Fish, Phoenix, Kui... even Lone Boat, who had once been a member of the Player Mutual Aid Association, were hardly the type of righteous, responsibility-driven, upright individuals.

Warning the supernaturals in the city to be prepared was already going above and beyond.

The chaos and panic that this extreme method of notification would cause was actually Fish's true intention.

She wanted to use that unknown barrier above their heads to throw the supernatural forces in the city into a state of confusion, even if only temporarily.

And judging by the looks of things now...

The plan was a complete success!

Inside the city hall's meeting room, representatives from all three major factions of Lilee City—the Empire, the Church, and the Tribunal of Heresy—had gathered.

The governor and councilors of Lilee City, along with the commander and deputy commander of the City Defense Knight Corps.

The bishop and knight commander of Lilee City's Holy Flame Church.

The deputy Inquisitor and a secretary of the Tribunal of Heresy.

Other than the Tribunal sending their second-in-command, every single most powerful figure in all of Lilee City was now present.

And after listening to Phoenix's report, which concealed all information about "Pure Abyss" and merely described the barrier's properties, combined with her speculation that some "demon" might be pulling the strings behind it, the atmosphere Fish had just created had left the entire meeting room steeped in panic.

"Damn it! A demon would actually do something like this? To think that in this day and age, a demon would dare to operate so brazenly!"

"It might not necessarily be a demon... But whatever it is, what it's after could very well be the souls and lives of Lilee City's millions of residents and tens of thousands of supernaturals."

"Can we call for reinforcements?"

"Impossible. That barrier stretches all the way into the sky and deep into the earth... All methods of communication have been completely cut off."

"Can't the Church and the Tribunal of Heresy sense the anomaly here?"

"As Lady Phoenix just said, the mana of this barrier is extremely peculiar, completely different from any known modern or ancient magic. If you hadn't pointed it out to us, even we wouldn't have realized it inside the city, let alone people outside."

"And on top of that, it's late at night, during curfew. There isn't much traffic between cities anyway... It really seems like this opponent came fully prepared."

Despite these high and mighty figures trying to maintain their composure for the sake of appearances, the pessimism creeping into their every word already revealed their helplessness and terror.

Humanity in the Night Valley Realm had held an overwhelming advantage over the dark race and the Abyss for nearly a century, allowing them to acquire more resources and enter a phase of rapid development, with the system of supernatural power advancing and changing every day.

But precisely because of this...

Those supernaturals who were supposed to be fierce and unafraid of death now included many who had almost never faced a "life-or-death crisis."

Especially in a city as large as this—while they did deal with dark races and even clashed with dangerous cultists from time to time...

All of that was simply a matter of rooting out rats hiding in the shadows from a position of superiority.

This feeling of being the one trapped in a jar was something these supernaturals of Lilee City... had almost no experience with.

No matter how great one's supernatural power or how high one's position, if one had never gone through something, then one simply hadn't.

How to face a potentially powerful dark race from a "disadvantaged" position, while protecting a city of a million people and also looking out for oneself—this was a question they had never once considered.

So...

After letting the atmosphere of panic ferment for a good long while, the players, who had been calmly drinking tea and nibbling on snacks in the meeting room, finally spoke up again.

Phoenix gently set down the bone china teacup in her hand and lightly tapped the rim with her silver spoon.

"Ting, ting."

The crisp sound, like the barrier being struck, instantly drew the attention of all the Night Valley natives in the meeting room.

"Esteemed sirs and ladies, giving up now is not a wise idea. Although calling for reinforcements is no longer possible, we can still rely on the forces within the city to save ourselves."

"Don't forget, the Mastermind set up this barrier but hasn't made a move yet... And since this barrier can block physical matter and hinder mana flow, if the Mastermind wants to do anything, they have to be inside this barrier... or at least have their people planted here."

As Phoenix spoke, the deputy Inquisitor of the Tribunal of Heresy caught on.

"I understand. You're saying that the person who constructed this barrier has people hidden inside the city, or could even be the barrier's creator themselves, correct?"

As the deputy Inquisitor said this, Phoenix nodded.

"Exactly. Moreover, the barrier itself proves... that at the very least, the creator isn't strong enough to ignore external reinforcements, nor could they instantly kill all the supernaturals in the city."

"So, if we can find the 'insider' inside this barrier, we might be able to buy a lot of time, stall until other cities realize something's wrong with Lilee City, or even alert the big shots of the Empire, the Church, or the Tribunal."

Phoenix said this with a serious expression.

After barely a moment's deliberation, the Lilee City higher-ups, who had been sinking into panic, chose to believe Phoenix's words completely.

"I understand," the governor of Lilee City spoke up. "We should immediately launch a carpet search... dispatch all available personnel inside and outside the city to find any possible Mastermind."

The governor's proposal was immediately approved by everyone present.

Kui then interjected at the right moment, "We'll help you too—everyone doesn't have to search aimlessly. The incidents today—the Tribunal's transport wagon being hijacked, the sacrificial murder case, and the potion workshop robbery—might all be connected to the Mastermind."

"After all, all these cases happening at once feels too much like a deliberate diversion of attention and sight... If we follow these leads, I think we might be in for a pleasant surprise."

Kui said with a smile, and both the Knight Corps commander and the Holy Flame Church bishop showed contemplative expressions.

"That... does make some sense."