Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

Leaf City is located at the southernmost tip of the Northern Territory, where the three domains converge. It borders the Eastern and Southern domains, is close to Spring Country, and is also one of Summer Country's more developed trade cities.

The key point is that the city spans a vast area and has a large population. According to Coarmy's information, there are at least several million people living there, so attempting to rescue them is no small feat.

The only silver lining is that the military strongholds of the Northern Territory group are located around Leaf City. Four divisions of troops, approximately 50,000 soldiers, are stationed there.

When the game apocalypse first began, soldiers from the military strongholds were dispatched to Leaf City to form a defensive line, which barely managed to slow down the spread of the crisis.

If they hadn't arrived in time, Leaf City would likely have fallen already.

On the way to Leaf City, Luca and the others kept discussing how to rescue the people trapped there. According to the intel sent by the army group, while the military and civilians of Leaf City had been quickly gathered by the authorities in the first instance, the evacuation had been delayed due to the sheer number of people.

As a result, they were trapped in the central district of Leaf City. By the time the message reached Drumph, the Outer District of Leaf City had already been completely overrun and turned into a monster territory.

Breaking through the monster barrier to get inside would likely be difficult, let alone figuring out how to relieve the pressure on the military and help everyone escape from Leaf City.

They had been discussing their options for quite a while in the car, but they hadn't come up with any viable solutions.

"Let's first assess the situation when we get there. If it really becomes impossible, we'll figure something out then," Luca finally spoke, calming the group down.

Everyone else, except Luca who was driving, closed their eyes to rest.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, the black jeep sped down the road. On both sides of the highway, the wild wasteland was occasionally dotted with groups of monsters.

Some monsters, noticing the vehicle on the road, even launched attacks. However, the people in Luca's car were no pushovers, and typical monsters couldn't cause them any real harm.

After driving for a short while, Luca saw some car wreckage up ahead, with monsters feeding on the remains of the bodies inside.

As their jeep passed, the monsters lifted their heads warily. They didn't relax until the car was long gone from their line of sight.

"There seems to be someone up ahead," Donlow, who had been bored out of his mind, suddenly noticed something. He raised a hand and pointed toward the roadside.

Luca followed his finger and immediately spotted a figure running frantically across the wasteland.

It was a young man, probably in his twenties, wearing a blue shirt. His face was pale, and he looked terrified, sprinting quickly toward their direction.

From a distance, it could be seen that not far behind him, a pack of hungry dire wolves was following closely. The young man's legs moved as fast as Windfire wheels, and it was clear that his will to survive was incredibly strong.

"Are we going to save him?" Melania, sitting in the back, asked, her hand already resting on the hilt of her dagger.

Quagmire, sitting in the passenger seat, immediately responded, "Since we've seen him, of course we have to save him."

Without waiting, he flung the car door open and jumped out, regardless of how fast the car was moving.

"Help... help me..." At first, the young man had been thrilled to see a jeep coming toward him, thinking he had found a savior and was eager to catch a ride.

But before he could get any closer, he saw the jeep's door swing open, and a strong figure suddenly leap out.

Huh?! The young man's eyes widened in shock—how dare someone jump out of a moving car at that speed? Was he out of his mind?

What happened next was even more bewildering. As soon as Quagmire landed, he stamped his foot hard on the ground, and his entire body shot toward the young man like a cannonball.

In midair, his long blade was drawn.

In an instant, the blade glinted with a cold, deadly light through the air.

The young man felt an overwhelming sense of pressure and impending doom. He nearly thought he was about to die, and instinctively shut his eyes.

Then, he felt a gust of wind rush past him. A series of soft, squelching sounds followed by the thud of heavy bodies hitting the ground.

Confused, the young man opened his eyes and looked behind him, his eyes instantly widening in shock. All the dire wolves that had been following him—five or six of them—were now lying on the ground, their blood pouring from their necks. Their eyes, still wide open, rolled off their severed heads and fell to the side.

"Ahhh!!!" The young man screamed in terror, falling onto his backside. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, holding a cross, and started praying frantically. His face turned as pale as paper, and his body trembled violently—he probably had never witnessed such a bloody scene before.

At this moment, Luca and the others had also gotten out of the jeep. Seeing the young man's reaction, they couldn't help but stifle their laughter. Donlow couldn't resist chuckling, "Looks like your god really did protect you this time."

Quagmire, however, was much more direct. He grabbed the young man by the collar and lifted him off the ground, glaring at him with eyes as small as green beans. "Hey, kid, did you run away from Leaf City?"

While speaking, he drew out his Starseeker and placed it threateningly against the young man's neck, his expression one that clearly said, If you don't tell the truth, I'll slice you into pieces. The young man, already terrified, was now even more terrified by Quagmire's menacing look. He nearly wet himself. Who were these people? The more he looked, the more they resembled ruthless outlaws.

Seeing the impatience on Quagmire's face, the young man hurriedly nodded and said, "No… no, I did come from Leaf City. Please… please don't kill me. I'll give you anything you want."

As he spoke, he pulled out a pile of cash, credit cards, an ID card, some talismans, paper charms, and even a peach wood sword from his pockets.

Luca glanced at him with some surprise, not expecting this guy to be into such a mix of things.

Melania picked up his ID and student card and took a look.

Tuwnken, 22 years old, studying at university in Celephais.

From his clothes and demeanor, it was clear he was just an ordinary person.

"I don't want any of this," Quagmire said with annoyance, slapping the young man across the face, nearly knocking him to the ground. "Just tell us about Leaf City."

"Leaf City… Leaf City…" Tuwnken, dazed from the slap, saw Quagmire raise his hand again and immediately snapped to attention, realizing he'd better speak quickly. "Leaf City is surrounded by monsters! So many… so many people have died! Even the soldiers are trapped inside, and there's this one terrifying monster…"

As he said this, a look of deep fear appeared in Tuwnken's eyes, likely from witnessing some truly horrifying scene, his pupils dilating.

A terrifying monster? Luca and the others exchanged glances, none of them understanding exactly what he meant. When they asked him more, Tuwnken couldn't say another word. It was clear he was too terrified to speak.

For people like them, who believed in deities, the current world must feel like the apocalypse, and the monsters naturally seemed like demons.

Seeing that they couldn't get any more information out of him, they decided not to press him further. They were close enough to Leaf City now, and they would be able to assess the situation for themselves soon enough.
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"What are we going to do with him?" Donlow rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out what to do next.

If they were heading back to Celephais, they wouldn't mind taking Tuwnken along. The problem was, they were heading to Leaf City to complete a mission, and the chances were high that this kid would end up dead there.

"Are you going to walk on your own, or come with us?" Luca asked Tuwnken.

Perhaps because Luca looked young and approachable, Tuwnken's emotions slowly calmed down. After a moment of hesitation, he stammered, "Are… are you members of Morning Star?"

"You know about Morning Star?" Quagmire asked, surprised.

Tuwnken nodded. "I know someone from Morning Star. I'm a player myself."

He then extended his hand, and a soft golden light began to glow around it. Although faint, it radiated a distinct aura of holy light—a true divine energy. This guy was actually a priest.

"We're from Morning Star. What, you want to come with us to Celephais?" Quagmire answered openly, since there was nothing to hide.

At this, Tuwnken's expression shifted several times, clearly conflicted.

But in the end, he nodded and said, "I… I want to go with you. There's someone very important to me trapped in Celephais. I came out to find someone who can help rescue her. I hope you can help me."

Fuzzsir clicked his tongue and said, "I like to make friends with people like you—willing to sacrifice everything."

"Sacrifice everything?" Tuwnken let out a bitter smile. "It's my sister, not what you're thinking."

The guy seemed to have a decent personality. Quagmire, rarely serious, gave him a warning. "Just so you know, once we get to Celephais, we're under no obligation to help you find your sister. We won't be babysitting you either, so think carefully before you make your decision."

But Tuwnken nodded resolutely. "Don't worry. I just need to travel with you for a bit. After that, I'll figure out the rest on my own."

Seeing his determination, the group didn't press further. The jeep had enough space, and if he wanted to walk into danger, they weren't going to stop him.

Seeing that they'd agreed, gratitude quickly spread across Tuwnken's face. "Thank you… thank you so much. If you help rescue my sister, I'll pray for you every day."

"Haha, well, as long as you mean it," Quagmire said with a slap on Tuwnken's back, starting to like the naïve guy despite himself.

Once Tuwnken got into the vehicle, they quickly resumed their journey toward Leaf City.

This time, they sped up, as the sun was already beginning to set. If they waited until nightfall to continue, the danger would increase significantly.

Fortunately, Luca was a skilled driver, and there were no mishaps along the way.

As the sun slanted low and dusk began to fall.

The group finally spotted, in the distance, the massive city sitting on the desolate plain.