Chapter 232 – The Five Great Terrors

Within the Chaos Forest, Mu Yuan had Xiliu land to rest and keep watch over the surroundings.

The red dragon’s massive body rapidly shrank amid a burst of crimson radiance, returning to human form. She widened her eyes to scan the area, keeping close watch on any movement in the grass and trees.

After confirming the surroundings were safe, Mu Yuan switched to his Lord’s Vision.

No matter where a Lord was located, they maintained a very close connection with their territory, able to enter the Lord’s Vision at any time to overlook their domain and control various Miracle Buildings within it.

Through the Lord’s Vision, he could see the Crimson Mist drifting between heaven and earth.

Wispy strands, blood-red in color, carrying a thick sense of foreboding.

Casting a bloody hue over the entire world.

In the deeper Wilderness beyond his sight, Monster Tides might already be gathering and surging forth.

These Monster Tides were different from those encountered during the Lord trials.

During the Lord trials, only the territory would attract surrounding monsters, gathering to form Monster Tides of thousands or tens of thousands. These tides were not only small in scale, but since the monsters came from the vicinity, their ranks were generally low.

True Monster Tides brought monster hordes from the Deep Wilderness, containing countless terrifying existences.

“Of course, the Taixuan Alliance has established Pioneer Fortresses on the front lines, where Pioneer Group experts lead legions to crush the Monster Tides. Official strongholds like Stone Ridge Town also attract large numbers of monsters, but…”

Even when Monster Tides were crushed, they would still break into smaller waves, impacting all directions.

These smaller waves needed to be resisted by the Lords themselves.

Defending one’s own territory was originally the Lords’ responsibility.

Similar to the trial period, the higher the territory level, the larger the population, and the more buildings there were, the more monsters would naturally be attracted… This was what the Lords present were worried about.

They were indeed far stronger than their peers, super rising stars with limitless futures.

But their territories were also the most dazzling stars in the surrounding regions, bound to be focused by Monster Tides.

With the Lord absent and all the territory’s generals away, they couldn’t help but worry.

Lords from great nations felt the same.

After all,

“My territory has been built as solid as a fortress, with main legions stationed there. It won’t be breached by sudden Monster Tides, but…”

“When monsters attack the city, the entire territory will be leaderless, easily falling into chaos!”

A certain Godly Radiance Lord murmured.

Through his Lord’s Vision overlooking his territory, he could already see his subjects becoming panicked. The citizens gazed at the distant red clouds with alarm, speaking of ill omens.

Most critical were the territory legions.

Each main legion possessed extraordinary combat power, even condensing military souls, however… when the commanding general wasn’t present, the soldiers also became confused.

Among them, only a few had budding intelligence, their eyes filled with simple-minded confusion.

Having them patrol and fight enemies according to established routes was fine, but expecting these soldiers and minor officers to adapt to sudden situations was asking too much.

Never mind that they only possessed elementary or intermediate intelligence – even newly awakened self-aware generals without training and learning would be at a loss in such situations.

Moreover, the generals with self-awareness were all by his side right now.

Did they think self-awareness was so easy to awaken?

Among his luxurious team of ten generals, only seven had awakened self-awareness.

The Lord seemed to foresee his territory: Morale -1-1-1, Stability -1-1-1.

Fortunately,

“Two generals with self-awareness have already been eliminated from the competition. With them present, they can at least command the legions to face the enemy.”

The Godly Radiance Lord was shocked to discover that being eliminated was actually fortunate.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare casually withdraw from the competition.

A certain passerby Godly Radiance Lord who had been defeated by Tree Spirit Grandma and Red Robe early in the morning suddenly felt a strange sense of superiority, “Everyone else is worried about the Crimson Mist and Monster Tides, but I alone don’t need to worry. I can return to oversee my territory at any time.”

He shook his head – this sense of superiority really shouldn’t exist.

After all, he had been eliminated with a “zero” record, which was truly embarrassing.

But if… if the other Godly Radiance representatives also couldn’t last until the final moment and ended up with “zero” records like him, wouldn’t he be able to feel pleased?

…

Compared to other territories, Tianyuan Territory faced an even more dangerous situation due to its geographical location.

When the Crimson Mist surged from the horizon and drifted over Tianyuan Territory, the citizens inevitably felt some unease.

Isloria emerged from the City Lord’s Mansion.

After all, she was the highest official of the territory’s Town Hall, frequently interacting with the citizens and possessing considerable prestige. Her appearance to patrol and inspect quickly calmed the unrest.

“However, the most important thing is still territorial defense.”

In reality, regarding presence, prestige among citizens, and command of territorial legions, Isloria was inferior to Lu Liu in all aspects.

After all, Lu Liu was responsible for territorial defense, frequently patrolling, escorting refugees, maintaining order, and serving as commander of the Garrison Legion. Meanwhile, Isloria was merely a civil official.

With Lord’s instructions, she wouldn’t be unable to command the various legions, but it certainly wouldn’t be as convenient as the original commanders.

Fortunately, the territorial legions didn’t need her direct command.

For the Undead Legion, she could leave it to Bone Two Three Four.

For the Garrison Legion, she could entrust it to Deputy Commander ‘Niu Si’ and several other captains from the Imperial Guard, Archer, and Halberdier divisions. These generals had awakened self-awareness for several months and had emerged from among many squad leaders. Their command level and intelligence might not be exceptional, but were at least above average.

Among the Tree People division, except for the ten newly recruited Tree People, all others possessed self-awareness and needed no concern.

“In other words, I only need to handle the overall direction and operate the defensive buildings.”

Isloria pondered, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

She gazed into the distance, where the Crimson Mist outside the territory was thicker, so dense it seemed ready to condense into blood droplets.

She ordered the generals to quickly mobilize and prepare for battle. She herself also patrolled the territory, walking round after round.

The pressure was immense.

After all, Lord had just entrusted the territory to her hands. Regardless of the reason, she couldn’t allow any accidents to occur.

She dispatched Storm War Falcons one after another, and through their vision, soon saw…

Black monster waves appearing at the horizon’s edge, surging forward like a tide.

…

At the same time, within the Chaos Forest.

Many Lords from small and medium nations had already forfeited and withdrawn.

Their thinking was simple.

Originally, their chances of securing a spot were extremely slim. Since that was the case, they might as well give up and return home to defend their territories. The territory was their foundation.

Team after team disappeared in flashes of light, leaving only scrolls that fell with a thud onto the ground covered with dead branches and fallen leaves.

Some Lords, confident in their territorial defenses or unwilling to give up so easily, wanted to fight to the bitter end.

“This is also an opportunity,” they thought. “Since other Lords are forfeiting, doesn’t that mean my chances of securing a spot have increased?”

Naturally, none of the great nation representatives forfeited.

Even if some Lords harbored such thoughts, they didn’t dare act on them.

They developed other ideas.

“Accelerate!”

“Must accelerate!”

“As long as I eliminate as many competitors as possible, I can free up energy to control territorial buildings and respond to monster waves.”

Whether to accelerate or due to anxiety, many teams stopped hiding.

Fierce battles quickly erupted throughout the Chaos Forest.

Mu Yuan withdrew his gaze from above his territory and said to Xiliu, “Let’s go end this battle.”

“Roar!”

The dragon’s low roar echoed through the giant forest as Xiliu quickly pursued, following the scent of prey.

After killing two prey teams, her eyes suddenly brightened, and she couldn’t help licking her lips.

“Dragon, there’s the scent of dragons.”

“Hiss-ha~!”

Elsewhere,

“Who dares claim invincibility, who dares say they’re undefeated.”

“Brother Rakshasa, let’s charge together.”

The combination of Sario and Rakshasa was wreaking havoc throughout the giant forest.

Lu Liu, Seventeen, and Sophia also formed a hunting squad.

With their coordination, they had defeated countless strong opponents.

However, they also encountered a formidable enemy.

“Whoosh!”

An arrow shrouded in starlight shot from several kilometers away, weaving around tree after tree, bypassing the shield-bearing Lu Liu, and piercing through Sophia with lightning speed.

Crash—

Sophia’s pierced body dissolved into countless raven feathers that scattered and vanished, while she had already hidden in the dense forest.

Several kilometers away, a certain Princess from the Eternal Star Empire stood with hands on her hips.

“My Polar Star Arrow is invincible, especially in this environment. Even two or three Epics bound together might not be his match.”

This was the source of the Princess’s confidence.

She believed that with this Polar Star Arrow, the spot she secured would surely surpass her two imperial brothers.

Just like that black-armored warrior in the distance.

He was strong, but before the Polar Star Arrow, he might not even know who his enemy was before meeting his end.

Arrow after arrow flew like fish swimming through the giant forest.

Each arrow could blast craters several meters in diameter.

And they struck at extremely cunning angles and timing, harvesting bewildered enemies.

Like the black-armored strongman before her – he could defend against arrows for a while, but could he defend forever? As soon as he showed the slightest lapse, the arrows would claim his life.

The only way to break the deadlock was to find the Polar Star Arrow.

However,

The Princess glanced to one side, where she had a second Epic, a mage named ‘Starry Sky Scar’. His main abilities were support, possessing powerful defensive and teleportation spells.

Even if the Polar Star Arrow was discovered, with this Starry Sky Scar’s assistance, her squad could quickly relocate several kilometers away.

Re-conceal.

Re-hunt.

She stood firmly in an invincible position.

However, she didn’t notice that on distant treetops, several Black Crows with nearly imperceptible auras were staring with glowing eyes.

“Found you.”

Seventeen whispered from a treetop several kilometers away, ripples emanating around her as arrows naturally appeared on her Whispering Bow.

The Black Crows’ vision connected with hers.

The charged Nine Stars Aligned suddenly shot forth.

Thud—!

Several kilometers away, the mage in star-blue robes was pierced through the head and chest by multiple arrows. The rippling light walls before him provided no protection whatsoever.

The next moment, more Star Arrows flew from the forest like exposed shark fangs.

…

In another part of the giant forest, Dolai flew without any concealment.

Suddenly, she stopped before a giant tree, staring intently at markings on it with a thoughtful expression.

“This marking seems to be… a distress signal, gujii?”

“That’s right, it’s a distress signal!”

It was a marker left by other Taixuan Lords.

Each nation had its own communication codes, facilitating cooperation or warnings between different Lord squads. After Mu Yuan learned this system, he naturally taught it to Deadbone, Dolai, and other generals.

Dolai had learned it.

But Dolai had also quickly forgotten it.

Its brain capacity was limited, never quite able to remember things unrelated to eating, but it had been quite attentive when learning the codes.

After pondering for a moment, it followed the marker’s guidance.

Soon it discovered the second and third coded markers.

But when it reached the sixth marker, the code symbol had changed.

“What does this code mean?”

“Never mind, General Dolai will definitely rescue comrades in danger.”

“Hold on, General Dolai is coming!”

Dozens of seconds later, Dolai had reached the destination.

In the distance, three people lay there, covered in blood. The most severely injured had both legs completely severed.

It seemed to be… the Divine Cat Lord!

Dolai recognized this person.

The Divine Cat Lord also recognized Dolai and was dumbfounded, “Don’t come over, this is a trap!”

The enemy wanted to use her to lure out more Taixuan Lords.

But she had clearly changed the code markings.

“The enemy is far more than just strong, he possesses spa…”

Before the Divine Cat Lord could finish speaking.

Thud—

A faint human silhouette appeared behind Dolai, seemingly performing some kind of slash.

The Blue-haired Girl’s entire head was instantly severed.

The Divine Cat Lord was completely stunned, her eyes losing color, the scene before her seeming to fade to black and white.

She couldn’t speak.

The next moment,

A pair of hands caught the Blue-haired Girl’s head and pressed it back.

“That was close, the head almost flew away.”

Dolai breathed a long sigh of relief.

Divine Cat Lord: “???”

Dolai, who had pressed her head back without any suture lines, looked around.

Still no sign of any enemy.

The Divine Cat Lord snapped out of her daze and quickly said, “This enemy must be an Epic being. He possesses spatial abilities, not only able to hide in space but also teleport, making him almost impossible to defend against.”

Although she didn’t understand how this Tianyuan general had preserved her life, in the Divine Cat Lord’s eyes, the enemy was nearly unsolvable.

“Flee, don’t worry about me, just run.”

However, in Dolai’s dictionary, there were no words for retreat.

But how to fight?

It indeed couldn’t find any trace of the enemy. Even if it wanted to use Space Devour, it needed to lock onto a target first.

If Brother Deadbone encountered this situation, what tactics would he use to lure the enemy out?

Dolai thought, then shook her head.

“No, this isn’t right.”

It remembered what Lord had said.

「When in doubt, overwhelm with force.」

Tactics, we don’t need them!

Dolai’s head was unknowingly severed two more times.

“Let me see how many times you can regenerate.”

A ghostly voice came from all directions, echoing between heaven and earth. The enemy in the darkness wanted to use this to confuse the Blue-haired Girl’s judgment of his position.

Even though he held a great advantage, he still employed very cautious tactics.

But this trick was useless against Dolai.

It had no judgment to begin with.

It simply gradually moved away from the Divine Cat Lord and suddenly unleashed its aura. It consumed some food, slightly entering ‘Overlimit Mode’, transforming into light, into a Blazing Sun.

Terrifying light and heat swept outward, enveloping the entire world.

One hundred meters!

Three hundred meters!

One thousand meters!

A kilometer-diameter area was shrouded by the Blazing Sun, countless giant trees turning to ash in an instant.

A certain figure hidden in space widened his eyes. He teleported, but couldn’t teleport again in time before being caught by the endless light and heat, turning to ash along with the surrounding trees, earth, and stone in the twisted space.

At this moment, even in a region like the Chaos Forest, many strong individuals saw…

The sun, rising slowly.

…

Only a day and a half had passed.

The competition was halfway through.

Yet the number of generals and Lords who had withdrawn from the Chaos Forest far exceeded half.

“I saw the sun.”

“Damn, I was also killed by the sun.”

“I died at the hands of a group of undead.”

“This Lord was inexplicably pierced through the heart by an arrow, likely killed by the Eternal Star Empire’s Polar Star Arrow.”

“I died even more inexplicably, seemed to accidentally walk into some terrifying dense forest.”

Generals and Lords exchanged experiences.

Gradually they discovered that five great terrors seemed to exist within the Chaos Forest – encounter meant death.

4.5K, got stuck writing, a bit short on words, Or2

(End of Chapter)