"If the Nether Portal was that disastrous, I'm terrified to think about the Creeper Farm!"
"Will the chunk get blown up before the farm is even finished?"
"Honestly, considering Soren Park's track record, I wouldn't be surprised!"
"No, our Soren Park is strong. We believe he can succeed this time!"
"Exactly! The anvil and the Nether Portal proved Soren Park's skills are strong. His logic is sound; he just had a bit of bad luck!"
"Mark must have his reasons for believing in him. Go Alliance!"
Due to the previous accidents, most viewers remained skeptical.
However, a small portion, like the Stick Nation and Freedom Nation audiences, gave their full support.
Opiners were heavily polarized.
Regardless of the audience's view, the Horns incident had left its mark.
When Soren Park vowed to start construction again, most Alliance members looked conflicted, their true thoughts hidden.
They weren't necessarily stronger than Horns; they were all from small nations under similar conditions.
On the surface, they continued working, but their hearts had already begun to waver.
Undercurrents surged within the Alliance as the situation grew increasingly complex.
Things weren't entirely peaceful on the Sky Island either.
After building the Redstone Cannon, Galen Yu built several more around the perimeter just to be safe.
Surrounding the entire Sky Island might be overkill, but placing one at each of the four corners was perfectly reasonable.
Located at the edges, they didn't interfere with the interior.
Construction continued, patrols were made, and bread was tossed—everything was peaceful and serene.
Except for that one fellow in the wooden boat.
As the Crisis progressed, the weather became increasingly harsh.
Rare sights like the clear skies and white moon of previous days were replaced by the usual foggy Blood Moons.
With Redstone Cannons standing guard, the Sky Island's defenses were solid, but the edges were another story.
"Where on earth did this thing come from?!"
Feeling his scalp go numb from the frequent explosions, the Black Mage was at his wit's end.
Ever since he refused to yield, Galen Yu had suspended a contraption made of slime blocks right above his head.
To be honest, the Black Mage still didn't understand how Galen Yu had even built it.
'Did he pack 9,999 blocks of TNT in the sky? Where is he getting all these explosives?'
At first, he thought Galen Yu intended to kill him with TNT, which had genuinely terrified him.
Later, he realized the pistons were just pushing TNT out to blow up zombies and relieve the pressure on the defenses.
He was briefly happy, thinking he might finally break free and regain his liberty.
But he soon discovered the true purpose of the Redstone Cannon.
Since it only targeted fixed locations, zombies still approached from other directions—the only difference being a slight reduction in their numbers.
Instead, because the piston force varied, the TNT explosions became randomized.
They might land here or be pushed far away; the corners were positioned just right to deal a sliver of damage to him without destroying the wooden boat.
The Black Mage strongly suspected Galen Yu had calculated this distance with pinpoint precision.
No, it was definitely calculated!
He was being used as bait to lure and coordinate the zombies for the Redstone Cannon!
The worst part was that he was powerless to stop it.
He had exhausted every useful spell. He couldn't exactly blow up the lead, could he?
Hanging in the air, he could at least dodge the zombies and buy time to recover energy. If the lead broke, he'd be constantly fending off mobs.
He couldn't leave the wooden boat, and he would likely be swarmed to death in no time.
He wasn't that stupid.
He could only endure in silence, barely clinging to life.
"He must have run out of tricks by now. I survived the obsidian cage; surely it can't get any more cruel than this!"
Gritting his teeth, the Black Mage gradually adjusted to the intensity, believing he could hold out.
However, a new day shattered his resolve once again.
A crimson moon hung high in the sky for a fleeting moment.
It was immediately swallowed by an impenetrable fog, so thick one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.
Everything was shrouded in mist!
The unknown is the greatest fear, a truth that applies to every sentient being.
After the past few days, the Black Mage was confident he had enough experience to survive on the wooden boat without being killed.
But hearing the zombies' roars in his ears and the sky-shaking explosions above...
The constant fear of a zombie jumping out or TNT blast damage reaching him was slowly eroding his sanity.
To him, there was no torture more refined than this!
'Actually, come to think of it, being able to build so much and tame the Architect means he possesses peerless wisdom and ability.'
'Maybe... softening my stance wouldn't be such a bad idea?'
The Black Mage's stubborn pride finally began to crumble.
Occasionally, the camera would pass by, and the viewers laughed when they saw the Black Mage's micro-expressions through Galen Yu's perspective.
"God Yu is brutal! He's tortured the Black Mage into this state!"
"A few days ago, he was so arrogant, calling himself a 'noble mage.' Just look at him now!"
"He looks so haggard; he's practically skin and bones!"
"It's a good thing God Yu gives him two pieces of bread every day, otherwise he'd have died long ago."
"Definitely. There's no fun if he dies. Keeping him hanging by a thread is much better!"
"That's what he gets for being a greedy scammer. He wouldn't even behave after being put in prison!"
"The Black Mage seems pretty powerful though. I wonder why he was locked up in the first place?"
"If even someone that strong ended up like this, then mess with anyone but Galen Yu!"
The Black Mage's strength was evident to all; the entire Alliance combined might not even match him.
Even so, he couldn't escape Galen Yu's punishment.
Thinking of this, the Stick Nation and Samurai Nation viewers felt a sense of relief.
Thankfully, the new Crisis evolved quickly!
If even the Black Mage was reduced to this, imagine if Soren Park or Kira Oakmoor had been caught.
Their crimes were far worse than mere price gouging. With Galen Yu's temper, he'd probably be extracting their bones by now.
"Even a high-level chunk creature like the Black Mage can't escape Galen Yu's clutches!"
In the Research Institute, Fries joked.
Normally, when players encountered a high-level chunk creature, they'd be incredibly polite, fearing any slight.
Even those who had saved lives, like Ronan Mountwell and the Wandering Mage...
They never took advantage of that gratitude and always treated their guests with respect.
Then there's Galen Yu. One look he didn't like, and he hung the Black Mage out to dry for three days and nights.
He'd driven the man to a mental breakdown; those grey cheeks had turned black. One might think he'd been dead for days.
Only Galen Yu could pull something like this off!
"Speaking of which, is the Wandering Mage also a helper provided by the Block World?"
Being a wanderer, he would naturally travel everywhere.
This gives him a high probability of encountering players and offering assistance.
Looking at other players' feeds, they indeed met other contestants after leaving the Alliance and provided rewards for help.
He was a very warm-hearted and kind mage.
With the sudden appearance of characters like the Black Mage and the Wandering Mage, Fries guessed this was one of the ways the Block World helped players survive the Crisis.
"If other players encounter them, will Galen Yu too?"
With a Black Mage and the mysterious Architect already in his chunk, adding a Wandering Mage would certainly make things lively.
Just as he thought that, a familiar figure suddenly appeared on the Sky Island.
"He's actually here?!"
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