Chapter 258 – The Storm is Coming

Mu Yuan had anticipated that Lu Liu would pass the Hero Trial with relative ease, but he never expected it to be this effortless.

No need for strategies or leveling up whatsoever.

He could simply defeat the boss right from the start.

Upon reflection, it made sense. The Hero Trial would adjust the trial environment based on the participant’s Rank, but this adjustment wasn’t necessarily equal to the participant’s level.

Those with lower Ranks faced significant disadvantages.

Back when Deadbone underwent the Hero Trial, he was just a small newcomer at the Apprentice Tier, while his trial opponents were all at the Professional Tier or Elite level.

Lu Liu was now at the Fourth Order, far surpassing the average level of trial participants. Moreover, this was a multi-participant trial.

With multi-participant balancing, Lu Liu’s advantage became even greater.

「Prompt: Your unit ‘Lu Liu’ has been promoted to a Hero unit.」

「Prompt: Hero ‘Lu Liu’ achieved a perfect evaluation in the trial, unlocking the Hero Aura and awakening the strategic talent ‘Fearless’ and the strategic skill ‘Will to Entrap’.」

「Prompt: Hero ‘Lu Liu’ has obtained a divine weapon: Fearless Spear-Shield.」

Lu Liu was likely a very conventional Hero, but conventional didn’t mean weak. He had maxed out all his attributes.

The strategic talent ‘Fearless’ was a teaching-type talent.

「Description ①: When Hero ‘Lu Liu’ trains the units under his command, there is a probability of awakening the ‘Fearless’ talent in them. Those with this talent gain increased willpower and can consistently exert 120% of their combat power.」

「Description ②: Whether the units under his command can awaken the Fearless talent depends on Hero Lu Liu’s training proficiency, training duration, Lu Liu’s own Rank, as well as the Rank, intelligence, and potential of the units under his command. Additionally, the more soldiers awaken the Fearless talent, the more feedback Hero Lu Liu receives, enhancing his own willpower.」

The strategic skill ‘Will to Entrap’ was an upgraded version of his field skill ‘Entrapment Battlefield’.

Its effect was simple and brutal.

It could temporarily enable the units under his command to achieve the effect of igniting Willpower Light.

Though not as powerful as the complete stability provided by Willpower Light—where severe injuries could still lead to falling and death—its duration was much longer compared to Willpower Light.

Compared to Deadbone’s ‘Death Legion’, Lu Liu’s strategic skill was the one that best complemented their own legion.

Will to Entrap + nascent legion soul.

If Deadbone and Lu Liu possessed equal power, and the Undead Legion and Garrison Legion under their command were equally powerful… the Garrison Legion would likely emerge victorious in a confrontation.

The combat power of the Garrison Legion was naturally far inferior to that of the Undead Legion, but under Lu Liu’s leadership, it could undoubtedly unleash immense strength.

The Tianyuan Territory now had five Heroes, capable of sharing a significant portion of the Lord’s workload.

Although, Dolai and Xiliu didn’t act like Heroes at all.

…

Over the next few days, everything seemed calm.

The Tianyuan Territory merely continued constructing more watchtowers and Arrow Towers, setting up Thunderflame Cannons one after another.

Perhaps the defense line had become more robust, or maybe they had grown accustomed to the rhythm of the monster tides, but Mu Yuan actually found the environment quite peaceful.

The pressure wasn’t too great.

They handled it with ease.

Going out felt routine.

But the Crimson Mist calamity month was still ongoing.Whether in the Eternal World or Blue Star, such tranquility felt more like the eerie calm before a storm.

Mu Yuan controlled the computer on Blue Star and opened the Taixuan Forum.

Newly appointed Lords from various regions, as well as semi-experienced Lords who had established their territories for one or two years, had mostly stabilized their situations by now. Those who failed to do so had already been eliminated and forced to withdraw during the earlier period.

“This Crimson Mist disaster month seems to be lasting longer than usual.”

“Yes, it’s been over a month now, and there’s no sign of it ending.”

“More than half of the newly appointed Lords in this batch seem to have had their territories breached? That’s quite tragic. I guess it’s just bad luck.”

“Even worse off are the latest batch—those pure newbies who were selected and entered the Eternal World about half a month ago. It’s said many of them have died.”

An experienced player remarked, and many fell silent at once.

The Eternal World selects newcomers at regular intervals, roughly once every six months.

Now, over six months had passed since Mu Yuan first set foot in this world.

It felt like a very long time had gone by.

Recalling six months ago, on the rudimentary screening forum, Mu Yuan had witnessed the tragic experiences of countless newbies—slaughtered by goblins, torn apart by gray wolves, or overwhelmed by walking corpses.

The newbies cried out in despair; with only ten one-star units at the start, they couldn’t hold out for long in such perilous zones.

The latest batch of pure newbies had a slight advantage over their predecessors—information advantage.

But they also faced an overwhelming disadvantage—environmental disadvantage.

With the Crimson Mist disaster month shrouding the land, there were no truly low-risk areas left in the entire Eternal World. Many new Lords, even if they immediately contacted local associations for support, couldn’t hold out until reinforcements arrived.

In fact, most of them couldn’t last even an hour or half an hour before monsters broke in and tore them apart.

Some time ago, Mu Yuan had also ordered War Falcons to search far and wide, but they found no trace of any new territories. The number of new players might be considerable, scattered across the vast Eternal World, but they were like drops of water—barely causing a ripple when they fell.

This batch of newbies was the most unfortunate, struggling without hope.

The previous batch of six-month newbies also had it rough—newly established territories found it hard to withstand the surging monster waves. Lords could indeed request assistance, but such support was only temporary. For a territory to endure in the Eternal World, it ultimately had to rely on its own strength.

“Comparing this, we veteran players are quite fortunate.”

“However, for peripheral Lords, this Crimson Mist disaster month is both a crisis and an Opportunity. If I’m not mistaken, after weathering these waves of monster attacks, those Lords must have profited immensely! I wish my own territory were in the periphery, but it’s not. I can only station troops in frontline strongholds and earn a modest income.”

“Don’t take it lightly. This Crimson Mist disaster month is different from previous years. Besides, do you think peripheral Lords are making easy profits? The premise of profit is being able to easily eliminate monsters. Once their territories are damaged or units perish, the losses can be huge—more than they can recoup.”

Nevertheless, most players, especially seasoned ones from the inland regions, viewed this disaster month as a hunting event.

Slaying high-tier monsters and purifying Lands of Filth yielded substantial rewards.

This excited many players, who exclaimed that such chances were rare.

Until…”A Foul Nest has been discovered in the Blue River Town area! The military stronghold of Blue River Town has fallen, with countless players and Lords perishing in battle!”

Such news climbed to the top of the Taixuan Forum’s trending list one day.

Countless players were horrified.

Mu Yuan looked it up.

Similar to their Stone Ridge Town area, the Blue River Town area had also suddenly discovered a Foul Nest one day. The difference was that the joint force organized by Blue River Town to purge the Foul Nest had strategically retreated during the first expedition when the situation turned unfavorable.

The second attempt also ended in failure, with even heavier losses.

On the third day—the third day since the Foul Nest was discovered in the Blue River Town area—this military stronghold was breached by a wave of monsters led by high-tier creatures.

A large number of players and Lords fell in battle, while the remaining half managed to break through and retreat.

The news published on the forum was described very briefly, with just a few lines, yet Mu Yuan could almost see mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

“Level 6 Lord, City Lord Sandstorm, has fallen in battle.”

“Level 4 Lord, Blue River Lord, has fallen in battle.”

“Level 4 Lord…”

The list of casualties already announced was enough to illustrate the brutality of the battle.

Mu Yuan had seen Stone Ridge Town before—its defensive capabilities were far superior to those of Tianyuan Territory. Yet, such a powerful military stronghold lasted only a few hours under the assault of the monster wave before being completely destroyed.

It couldn’t even hold out until reinforcements arrived.

If the Lords in their Stone Ridge Town area had failed to purify the Foul Nest that day… would the entire Stone Ridge Town area have followed in the footsteps of the Blue River Town area? Reduced to a land of death!

Mu Yuan suddenly felt a chill of fear.

He had always known the catastrophic nature of Foul Nests, but it was nothing compared to the visceral impact of witnessing such bloodshed firsthand.

It wasn’t just the Blue River Town area—in recent days, two other locations had also discovered Foul Nests, though they were eradicated in time.

But beyond the Taixuan Alliance, in the Wilderness where the Crimson Mist was even denser, how many more Foul Nests were lurking?

Mu Yuan had no idea.

During his deep explorations, Deadbone had not discovered any nest-level Lands of Filth. Of course, even if he had, there would have been nothing he could do.

The deeper a Foul Nest was located in the Wilderness, the harder it was to eradicate and purify.

Those would be on an entirely different scale compared to the Foul Nest they had previously purified.

“Not only that, but the concentration of Crimson Mist in the world has been subtly increasing these days.”

Mu Yuan’s visual judgment wasn’t precise.

Isloria conducted more detailed observations and measurements, confirming the trend.

On the Taixuan Forum, the Star Gazing Association had also issued a warning.

“Attention! Attention! The intensity of the monster waves is increasing and is expected to peak in a few days.”

Something big is coming.

…

At the same time, deep within the Twilight Plains.

Inside the hollow of a mountain.

Gears creaked and turned, and ritual tracks on the ground occasionally glowed brightly. Players dressed in various outfits busied themselves in this hidden base, though their expressions were somewhat haggard.

This was the base of the Divine Radiance Empire’s intelligence agency, the Eye of Divine Radiance, located in the Twilight Plains region.

A nail driven into the periphery of the Taixuan Alliance.

They were responsible for gathering intelligence and conducting infiltration missions. Over the past few months, their highest-priority task had been to locate and assassinate the Tianyuan Lord.

They had initially received significant attention and even managed to secure substantial funding.

However…When the Crimson Mist Disaster Moon arrived with unprecedented ferocity, this branch of the Eye of Divine Radiance became like an abandoned child, receiving no attention.

Boom! Boom!

Deafening roars echoed from the distance, causing dust to cascade from the ceiling of the Eye of Divinity Base.

In the central office of the base, the V-Mask Commander sat quietly in his office chair.

Beneath his mask, his eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were slightly clenched.

Through specialized equipment, he observed the distant outside world.

Crimson Mist drifted while monsters swarmed.

When the Eye of Divine Radiance constructed this base, they invested significant resources and deployed high-level barriers. Even during the Crimson Mist Disaster Moon, their base remained impervious to the mist’s erosion and undetectable by monsters.

They were completely concealed within the wilderness, relying on short-range teleportation arrays for entry and exit.

Extremely covert.

However,

this year’s Crimson Mist disaster was exceptionally violent, and the external environment had grown perilous. During this period, the elite agents of his branch had suffered continuous losses.

Another A-rank agent had fallen.

What worried the branch commander most was that this disaster moon was extraordinary, and their base no longer seemed entirely secure.

They could be caught in the crossfire of monster battles.

Nor could they rule out the possibility of being discovered by high-level intelligent monsters. If that happened, countless agents of their entire branch would perish at the hands of these creatures.

He hoped to be recalled to the homeland, resuming his duties only after the Crimson Mist Disaster Moon passed.

Yet, his application sank without a trace.

The V-Mask Commander could surmise the general reason.

With the ongoing Crimson Mist Disaster Moon and Blue Star approaching the Fusion stage, the Eye of Divine Radiance had diverted most of its resources to these two fronts. No one cared about his insignificant branch anymore.

They had no reinforcements, and returning was not an option.

Unless they could locate and assassinate Tianyuan, returning as Heroes!

“Soon, soon.”

“Headquarters must believe our branch has lost the capability to find Tianyuan, that we’ve missed the optimal window for his assassination. But they’re wrong—we’ve already uncovered Tianyuan’s traces!”

He owed this rapid discovery to the Crimson Mist Disaster Moon.

The disaster and monster tides had allowed them to capture more clues.

He also had to thank Lady Luck.

For fortunately placing Tianyuan Territory not far from their branch.

Destiny was on their side.

“Soon, soon, we’ll pinpoint him soon.”

He murmured, the bloodshot veins beneath his mask growing more pronounced.

…

Tianyuan Territory.

Lord Mu slept at two and woke at six, healthy in body and vigorous in spirit.

As usual, he inspected his territory, walking along the high City Walls.

Simultaneously, he organized his thoughts on upcoming tasks.

“The Crimson Mist Disaster Moon is nearing its peak. The top priority is naturally to defend the territory, preventing the monster tides from crossing our boundaries.”

He had largely prepared for this.

Defensive lines were set, with only the Thunderflame Cannons still in continuous production.

But his ambitions extended beyond mere defense.

“If Tianyuan Territory retains surplus strength while facing the monster tides, we can ignite the ‘Calamity-Inducing Demon Flower.’ This will both attract more monsters for harvesting and alleviate pressure on surrounding territories.”

“Secondly, situations may arise requiring us to reinforce other territories.”

Such as Stone Ridge Town.Stone Ridge Town was bearing the greatest regional pressure. Although Mu Yuan didn’t believe anything would happen there, he still stationed Seventeen to guard the town.

“The second important matter remains collecting Remnant Souls. We must take advantage of the price drop during the disaster month to purchase as many as possible.”

Such large-scale purchases might draw unwanted attention.

But he had to do it.

Blue Star was about to undergo Fusion. Once the Blue Star transit platform was gone, it would become much more difficult to purchase Unit Shards in bulk.

“The third matter concerns the Eye of Divine Radiance’s stronghold.”

Mu Yuan gazed beyond his territory.

He hadn’t forgotten that his territory had once been infiltrated by Agent Victor, an A-class operative, and that he had encountered players from the Eye of Divine Radiance in the surrounding areas.

All of this indicated that the Eye of Divine Radiance wasn’t far from him.

Like a thorn in his side.

He wanted to remove it.

(End of Chapter)