Chapter 174 – The Limit of Tianyuan's Regular Power

For veteran lords who were grinding and racking their brains on how to clear the stages, the appearance of a newcomer was like a pebble tossed into still waters, adding quite a bit of amusement to their uneventful lives.

They watched closely.

They even anticipated certain scenarios unfolding.

After all, having been tormented and tangled by the Land of Trials, seeking some entertainment to lift their spirits wasn’t a bad idea.

They temporarily halted their own progress, wanting to see how far the newcomer could go—no, more precisely, how long the newcomer could last in the first stage.

“I bet 100 seconds. After 100 seconds, we’ll see the newcomer questioning their life choices.”

“Not that bad, not that bad. Although I don’t think this young lad can clear the first stage, he should be able to hold out for 300 seconds. Anyone who makes it to the Land of Trials can’t be a complete weakling, right?”

“Is no one betting on the newcomer clearing the first stage? The first stage isn’t that hard… Okay, fine, it’s still pretty difficult.”

Unlike these dozen or so lords seeking amusement, one lord in the distance was watching with intense focus, her eyes almost unblinkingly fixed on the faint glimmer of light at the base of the Crimson Giant Tower, never looking away.

She was here on a mission.

A task from her master… ahem, her idol.

Although she was a few years older than the Cold Moon City Lord, she was an undeniable die-hard fan of the Cold Moon City Lord and one of the founders of the Cold Moon Fan Club.

Compared to lords like the ‘Demon Sword City Lord’ and ‘Wave City Lord,’ her reputation was even more illustrious, standing as a Great Lord at the very pinnacle of the mortal realm.

Linglong City Lord · Shen Linglong!

Though this title wasn’t as household as ‘Cold Moon,’ it was still extremely well-known, recognized by the vast majority of veteran and senior lords.

To avoid drawing attention, Shen Linglong had deliberately disguised herself before returning to the Crimson Giant Tower area.

After all,

this was a top-secret mission she was carrying out.

A task entrusted to her alone by Sister Han Yue—such immense trust and importance!

Shen Linglong wore bulky armor that completely concealed her figure and wrapped her entire head tightly in a headscarf, revealing only a pair of bright eyes that stared unwaveringly.

She could also hear the discussions from other lords in the distance.

“After all, this person is the rapidly rising Tianyuan. With his capabilities, it’s not impossible for him to clear the first stage, but…”

How could Tianyuan’s talent and brilliance even compare to their Lady Han Yue? Impossible!

Lady Han Yue was the one and only eternal goddess!

She firmly believed this without a doubt.

…

Inside the Crimson Giant Tower, the space was boundless, the heavens and earth shrouded in chaos.

Mu Yuan stood within, the prompt from the giant tower echoing in his ears.

“Please select the units to deploy.”

“The selected units will enter the battlefield in an ideological form and will not truly die here.”

The subtle hints from the rules informed him that the Crimson Giant Tower allowed the deployment of one hundred units, regardless of whether they were troops, heroes, or the lord themselves.

Mu Yuan had long prepared, having Deadbone and other commanders and elites remain on standby within the territory.

His fingers glided over the interface, as names, avatars, and troop classes appeared before him one by one.

He selected and deployed them one after another.

Deadbone, Dolai, Isloria, Rakshasa, Red Robe, Lu Liu…!

And so on and so forth!With the exception of non-combat units like Sophia, Daisy, and Ailin, as well as Niu Si, Laney, and Flower Spirit who remained to oversee the territory, he deployed nearly all Tianyuan Experts.

He also supplemented the main combat corps with dozens of Skeleton Generals and vengeful spirits.

It could be said that aside from his personal absence from the battlefield, this was Tianyuan’s most elite lineup—bar none.

Having long heard of the terrifying difficulty of the Land of Trials, where countless newcomers met their downfall, and with Liu Miumiu repeatedly warning him to brace for setbacks, Mu Yuan couldn’t afford to be careless.

Ding!

“Lineup confirmed.”

“The Crimson Giant Tower · First Layer Battlefield is generating…”

In the blink of an eye, the world transformed.

A vast, boundless grassland unfolded before them, lush with verdant grass and the earthy scent of soil filling the air.

This was an expansive scene, akin to the Hero Arena, existing somewhere between reality and illusion.

The battlefield for the First Tower · First Challenge!

Deadbone, Dolai, and the others materialized one after another.

They had been briefed in advance. Dolai was brimming with excitement, while the Undead General remained as composed and reliable as ever, immediately directing the entire formation into position upon arrival.

However,

the formation had barely begun to take shape when thunderous roars erupted from all directions.

In Mu Yuan’s vision, one massive figure after another emerged, densely packed, completely encircling their entire war party.

“Ironclad Giant Scorpions!”

These colossal scorpions, seemingly forged from steel with needle-like tails, were not only numerous but also far larger than any individual he had ever encountered.

Each stood as tall as a two-story building.

They were like moving iron fortresses!

Every one of these giant scorpions had reached the Second-Order Elite Tier, ranking at the mid-Elite level!

And there were precisely one hundred of these scorpions.

But this was not the end—it was only the beginning.

Upon the scorpions’ backs, faint golden rays of light shimmered into existence, coalescing into nuns clad in black robes and gowns, each wearing a Silver Cross over their chests.

They varied—some youthful, some mature, some petite, some curvaceous—but without exception, they radiated intense Holy Light energy.

They were bathed in light.

Each of them was an Elite-tier powerhouse.

And their numbers reached a staggering two hundred!

One hundred giant scorpions and two hundred nuns! All at their peak, strategically arranged based on the Lord’s deployed lineup. This was the opposition faced in the Land of Trials’ first challenge!

Without sufficient strength, one couldn’t even pass through the gate here!

There was no probing, not even enough time for the Tianyuan Territory corps to fully prepare, as the nuns, astride their fortress-like scorpion chariots, charged forth with a roar.

They immediately clashed with the Skeleton Generals positioned at the outermost perimeter.

The Skeleton Generals were rare three-star units, of a higher grade than the giant scorpions, yet the level disparity was too great. Upon impact, they staggered back several steps, the bones in their sword-wielding hands cracking audibly, their Heavy Swords nearly slipping from their grasp.

At that moment, the nuns atop the scorpion chariots, moving with flawless synergy, raised their Silver Crosses high, chanting radiant holy verses as brilliant, majestic beams of Holy Light cascaded down.

Several beams converged upon the stumbling Skeleton General simultaneously. The sacred, warm purifying light acted like the most corrosive poison in the world, causing the Skeleton General to emit smoke and sizzling sounds.

In just two seconds, the Skeleton General dissipated within the Holy Light, leaving behind a shattered suit of armor that clattered to the ground.

And by then, barely over ten seconds had passed since the battle began.The elite hundred-man corps of Tianyuan Territory had already suffered over a dozen casualties.

“No wonder newcomers are strongly discouraged from attempting this. This isn’t a challenge—it’s a slaughter.”

Mu Yuan’s expression turned grave.

Not only were the enemies far superior in rank, but they also held numerical advantage, making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

Even the super elites who had evolved into Bone Undertakers and Wraiths were struggling to hold their ground.

They dared not directly confront these Holy Light powers.

At the center of the corps, a giant tree was rapidly growing.

It was Tree Spirit Grandma! She had entered her most desperate state, draining all earthly energy and her own strength to unleash the field skill ‘Myriad Tree Realm.’

Boom—

Thick roots burst through the ground, transforming hundreds of meters into a dense forest in the blink of an eye. These roots coiled like serpents, entangling the nuns.

However, the Myriad Tree Realm, which could once suppress an entire monster tribe single-handedly, now seemed insufficiently powerful.

Under the sweeping attacks of the giant scorpions’ massive pincers, the incredibly resilient roots snapped and broke. The entire tree realm was being destroyed bit by bit, clearly unable to hold out for long.

Tree Spirit Grandma, who had yet to reach the Elite rank, possessed limitless potential, but her raw strength ultimately fell short.

Nevertheless, the formation of the tree realm allowed the various elite units of Tianyuan Territory to catch their breath. Using this advantageous terrain, they finally withstood the Charge of the scorpion chariots and shifted into a war of attrition.

Whoosh—

Seventeen stood on Tree Spirit Grandma’s branches, drawing her bow and releasing arrows that shot forth like meteors, weaving nimbly like swimming fish around obstacles before striking the giant scorpions… or more precisely, the nuns riding them.

One by one, unsuspecting nuns were picked off and exploded by her arrows.

In the blink of an eye, she achieved the top damage output with eight kills.

But the next moment, several giant scorpions raised their tails high, firing needle-like projectiles that shattered layer after layer of obstacles as they hurtled toward Seventeen.

Seventeen rolled and leaped, dodging frantically but still sustaining significant injuries. Tree Spirit Grandma’s body became pockmarked, with countless branches broken.

On other fronts, Tianyuan Generals like Rakshasa and Red Robe began their assaults. Initially, they achieved considerable success using their Advanced skills and talents, but they were soon surrounded and could only defend themselves clumsily.

In this Land of Trials, the enemies were not only numerous, high-ranked, and ability-countering but also knew how to coordinate and employ tactics, specifically targeting the strongest combatants!

Only veteran Lords leading fully developed corps could confront them head-on, gradually eliminating them with a few powerful fighters.

But the corps of Tianyuan Territory was too weak.

At this moment, Isloria also joined the fray, representing the strongest conventional force of Tianyuan Territory.

Whether in combat experience, technique, or raw strength and rank, she far surpassed Rakshasa, Red Robe, Lu Liu, and the others.

Her methods were incredibly diverse.

She moved through the battlefield as if teleporting, sometimes gathering wind into Sabers to slit the nuns’ throats, other times condensing thunder to strike drums, destroying the giant scorpions’ massive bodies from the inside out.

She was exceedingly elegant and at ease, like a spirit dancing across the battlefield. Even as the giant scorpions relentlessly besieged her, she evaded with effortless grace, showing none of the embarrassment displayed by Seventeen and the others.

She was, indeed, extremely powerful.

She also knew how to utilize the environment to maximize enemy casualties at the lowest cost.

But,

“Lord, I’m almost out,” she said helplessly.Her energy was nearly depleted, though the battle achievements she had secured were truly magnificent. By her own strength alone, she had slain over a hundred giant scorpions and nuns, significantly influencing the entire battlefield and creating advantages for the others.

However, such extreme maneuvers took a heavy toll on Isloria.

To kill an armored giant scorpion in a single strike, she had to exert her full power. Even when eliminating nuns, she had to gather considerable energy—the Elite-level nuns were far from as delicate as they appeared on the surface; their Physical Body strength alone could shatter walls and collapse buildings.

If not for her meticulous control over energy, conserving it again and again, she would have been drained dry several minutes earlier.

「Allies: 46」

「Enemies: 69」

Isloria panted heavily, but she had indeed single-handedly turned the tide of the entire battle, securing the chance for victory.

Without her, relying solely on the strength of commanders like Rakshasa, Red Robe, and Lu Liu, this stage would most likely have ended in defeat.

Yet even with her presence, overcoming this stage was far from easy.

“The power of an individual powerhouse has its limits.”

“She alone cannot prop up the collapsing sky.”

As the battle gradually concluded, Mu Yuan measured the upper limits of the Tianyuan Legion.

The upper limits under conventional combat strength.

As for the power of the Undead General and General Dolai… they hardly conformed to conventional standards.

Second update, meekly requesting monthly votes, caw~

(End of Chapter)