Chapter 346 – The Rule-Breaking Trial Challenger

In the Capital of the Pure White Kingdom, there was no chaos yet—the war had not reached this far—but the streets were already filled with hurried pedestrians, and a tense, desolate atmosphere hung in the air.

It was said that the entire Pure White Kingdom had been sealed off, cutting off all communication with the outside world.

Meanwhile, the tide of Filth continued to spread, step by step, closing in on the Capital of the Pure White Kingdom.

Dolai looked around, noticing that most shops along the street had shut down, and there wasn’t a single place in sight where it could sample the local delicacies.

It felt somewhat disappointed.

But then it thought, soon enough it would get to taste the flavors of monsters from the old era, so there was no need to be too disheartened.

Mu Yuan observed his surroundings and began to ponder:

“Judging by the situation in the Capital, although the circumstances are quite critical, they are far from the brink of national collapse or extinction. However, if we deduce from the historical outcome… No, there’s no need to look at history; just from the mission objectives alone, we can infer that the Pure White Kingdom cannot hold out for ten days.”

「Assist the Pure White Kingdom in resisting the Red Moon Disaster. Time limit: 10 days.」

If the Pure White Kingdom could last ten days, there would be no need for trial Lords like them.

“The normal strategy would indeed involve finding ways to weaken the enemy or searching for potential weaknesses to exploit, thereby delaying the enemy’s advance.”

“Moreover, the standard approach to clearing this trial likely requires uniting all trial Lords to have any chance of a perfect clearance.”

He based this speculation on two points.

The mission objectives leaned toward cooperation, as the Lords shared a common enemy and goal;

Yet, the highest reward from the world emphasized that only the most outstanding performer might obtain it, creating a direct competitive relationship among the trial-takers.

It was as if one of the trial’s purposes was to test whether the most exceptional trial Lord could subdue all other trial-takers and then unite them to confront the powerful enemy.

Mu Yuan actually wanted to follow the normal strategy, as it was the safest approach.

However, ten days was too long, and he had no choice.

He was forced into this.

He had no option but to find a way to break the rules and clear the trial ahead of schedule.

Was such a thing even possible?

“Historical trials almost completely replicate the scenes of the past. The rules and operational logic of this world are likely no different from those of the Real World.”

“In any case, whether it’s possible to break the rules and clear the trial unconventionally, trying it out will reveal the answer.”

“No need to waste time overthinking or guessing—just attempt it directly.”

The worst outcome would be failing the trial.

Failure merely meant exiting the trial world, wasting time and the entry ticket—a price he could afford.

He didn’t have the luxury of taking it slow.

Not far from the Church was a hall where ‘Ancient Heroes’ could accept missions. Without exception, these missions were extremely challenging and urgent; otherwise, they wouldn’t be listed here.

「The Sixth Corps of the Pure White Knights has lost contact at Tianmu Mountain. Investigate the situation.」

「A 60-meter-tall Flesh amalgamation monster spotted advancing toward Snowdrift City in the Northern Lands. Request support!」

「Urgent supply transport mission for the Third Legion.」

「Intelligence reconnaissance missions in sectors A2, A4, and A9.」

Mu Yuan browsed through the detailed information of each urgent mission.Nearby, trial lords such as the Golden Lion Prince and Glasses Man had already snatched up several missions and departed.

Although Mu Yuan intended to follow a ‘speedrun’ route, he wasn’t in a hurry at this moment. He was busy extracting relevant intelligence from the available missions.

“Among emergency missions, there are differences in difficulty. For instance, the mission involving the sudden loss of contact with the Sixth Corps of the Pure White Knights undoubtedly entails greater risks for those who accept it.”

By the time he arrived at the hall, Undead General, Red Robe, and the others had long dispersed throughout the capital to gather information.

They weren’t experts in intelligence collection.

But they knew a little.

Take Red Robe, for example. Even without resorting to ‘inhumane’ soul-reading abilities, she could effortlessly bypass numerous tedious steps of inquiry by using illusions. She could directly locate informants in the capital who held some status, weren’t too powerful, and possessed extensive knowledge.

Mu Yuan soon gained a relatively deep understanding of the Pure White Kingdom.

“The Pure White Knights are the kingdom’s strongest military force. Among them, the regiment leader and two deputy leaders are all existences of the Legendary Realm. Every knight in the regiment is an elite.”

“For example, the Sixth Corps of the Knights is led by a Peak Fourth-Order Expert. For such an elite corps to suddenly lose contact without even sending a message… it’s highly likely they encountered a Legendary Realm monster.”

This mission stood out as a particularly challenging one.

There were several other emergency missions that, at first glance, didn’t seem too dangerous. But upon deeper consideration, one could see that these missions also carried the risk of encountering Legendary monsters.

If a trial lord encountered a Legendary monster, even if they managed to escape, they would likely suffer heavy losses and pay a steep price.

When following conventional strategies to clear trial dungeons, lords needed to analyze intelligence and avoid dangers.

However, if one aimed for an extremely fast clearance, then…

“The most dangerous places are often where the most valuable intelligence can be found. Even without intelligence, taking down a few Legendary monsters wouldn’t be a loss.”

Mu Yuan pondered.

While others cautiously avoided areas where Legendary monsters appeared, Mu Yuan was already calculating the strategic value of eliminating a Legendary creature.

After all, they had not only faced Legendaries before but had also taken down quite a few. There wasn’t much awe left.

He counted them off.

“Currently, there are four areas with the highest value.”

Naturally, all four of these areas carried the possibility of encountering Legendary enemies.

Which one to tackle first?

Intelligence has a time limit. If he waited too long, any valuable clues might disappear.

Mu Yuan didn’t hesitate. “We’ll go to all of them simultaneously.”

This time, the officers from Tianyuan Territory who entered the Trial Realm were:

General Deadbone, General Dolai, Red Robe, Rakshasa, Uta, Xiliu, Laney, Flower Spirit, and the Polar Star Arrow ‘Zhou Yi’.

Zhou Yi was the most talented among the Polar Star Archers, aside from Seventeen.

His rank wasn’t high—only Third Order.

However, the Polar Star Arrow possessed ultra-long range and had learned the ‘Eagle Soaring’ skill from the elves. Regardless of combat power, the tactical value that Polar Star Arrow ‘Zhou Yi’ could provide was considerable.

And with Mu Yuan’s elite team, having one more or one less super-standard Fourth-Order Expert made little difference.Mu Yuan selected four targets and incidentally accepted three missions—well, it’s worth mentioning that these destinations were high-value targets he identified through mission information analysis, and were not equivalent to the emergency tasks issued by the kingdom.

Even the three emergency tasks he accepted were treated with an attitude of “take it or leave it.”

What? Emergency tasks are crucial and affect the situation?

He is the situation.

Deadbone led one team; Dolai led another; Mu Yuan himself commanded a team; and Uta, Rakshasa, Red Robe, and Zhou Yi formed the fourth team.

The four squads set off swiftly.

Several hours later,

Capital of the Pure White Kingdom.

The Golden Lion Prince, Glasses Man, Catwoman, and several other trial-takers gathered once more. Most of them had not left the capital, merely dispatching their trusted generals to lead teams and carry out missions.

For trial lords, if their subordinates perish, they can still continue the trial and seek hope. But if they themselves fall in battle, it’s an immediate game over.

Moreover, they needed to find ways to increase their weight in the eyes of the local legends. Only then could they influence the decisions of the Pure White Kingdom, invite the kingdom’s legends to assist at critical moments, and possess the power to break the deadlock.

Building friendly relations with legends was also part of the strategy.

However, kingdom reputation was equally indispensable. Only by combining both could they significantly enhance their standing in the eyes of the kingdom’s legends.

Usually, that was the case…

“Should we say, as expected of a prince from the Holy Griffin Empire?”

The looks Glasses Man and the others gave the Golden Lion Prince were somewhat complicated.

Just moments ago, they had met the leader of the Pure White Knights, known as the kingdom’s strongest—the Pure White Sword King. Originally, in the eyes of the kingdom’s legends, they were merely ‘decent pawns’ or ‘ancient spirits to be used vigorously.’ But after the Golden Lion Prince revealed his angel follower, the Pure White Sword King’s gaze changed.

His attitude became very friendly.

If quantified, it would be like +1+1+1 favorability.

“Originally, it might have taken us six or seven days to establish a solid enough relationship. Now, with the Golden Lion Prince’s influence, it might only take two or three days. The chance of clearing the trial has greatly increased!”

“Indeed, all thanks to Your Highness.”

“That Everstar Lord is probably still hitting walls everywhere at this point? But now that I think about it, aside from that brief encounter in the hall earlier, we haven’t seen Everstar Lord since.”

Magician muttered.

Glasses Man remained unoptimistic. “Our progress is decent so far, but the enemy’s terror seems to exceed expectations. Not long ago, my squad tried to snipe a forty-meter-tall flesh conglomerate but failed. And such thirty-to-forty-meter flesh conglomerates seem to appear from time to time on the front lines.”

Catwoman chimed in, “My squad… my squad nearly had a disaster! They brushed past a legendary monster! I deliberately avoided all the dangerous zones, yet we still almost encountered calamity. And this is only the first day!”

Glasses Man adjusted his glasses. “This only proves that the number of legendary monsters far exceeds our expectations.”

The Golden Lion Prince remained silent. He couldn’t very well join in complaining about the trial’s difficulty—he had his pride as the Golden Lion Prince to maintain. Even if, privately, he felt the same way.

He felt that something was off.Compared to the dozen or so historical trial records he had reviewed, the one he encountered this time… was it perhaps too difficult?

……

Boom—

A forty-meter-tall flesh amalgamation monster, its body covered in festering flesh, crashed heavily to the ground.

Mu Yuan wiped the blood off his clothes, deeply dissatisfied.

Six hours—a full six hours—and he still hadn’t encountered a single Legendary Realm monster. Was that reasonable?

He had deliberately ventured into the most dangerous areas!

Before him lay a town already submerged in blood and fire. By the time Mu Yuan arrived, few survivors remained, with only one elite soldier who had retreated from the front lines clinging to his last breath.

The soldier seemed to experience a final surge of vitality. He pulled out a blood-stained medal, coughing, “Please… you must deliver this message… back. There… there is a Legendary being at the Withered Wood Village a hundred kilometers away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldier breathed his last.

Delivering such critical intelligence could offset several urgent missions and significantly boost his kingdom’s reputation.

However…

Even if the trial Lord could summon Legendary reinforcements from the Capital City, the round trip—no, even a one-way journey—would take so long that the enemy would have long vanished.

“Xiliu, let’s go!”

With a roar from the Red Dragon, Mu Yuan mounted Xiliu and swiftly flew toward Withered Wood Village.

……

At the same time,

“Boom—”

Intense flames shot into the sky, their shockwaves spreading tens of thousands of meters in all directions.

Dolai was ostentatiously blasting monsters to pieces.

Intelligence indicated that several powerful ancient Heroes had recently fallen in this area.

Before their demise, these ancient Heroes had been ambushing flesh amalgamation monsters and other high-Order intelligent monsters.

Clearly, if kingdom elites hunted monsters too aggressively or conspicuously, they would draw the attention of Legendary monsters.

This situation wasn’t unique to this region.

It was happening everywhere, across all areas.

Thus, kingdom elites now had to exercise extreme caution when ambushing intelligent monsters, striking quickly and relocating immediately, never lingering or creating large-scale disturbances.

But Dolai…

“Lord said that killing more monsters is never wrong. Theoretically, if we eliminate the monster tides, the kingdom’s crisis will be resolved.”

So Dolai transformed into an artillery platform, firing relentlessly—boom, boom, boom!

At this level of output, it could maintain continuous fire for seven days and nights without rest.

The number of monsters it had annihilated was already beyond count, drastically reducing the pressure on the rear armies.

“But this method of slaughter is highly likely to attract Legendary beings from among the monsters!”

Over ten kilometers away, subordinates of trial Lords followed the commotion.

They, too, were elite Fourth Order experts.

Among them were top-tier masters wielding large-scale destructive skills, and even Heroes commanding devastating strategic Moves like ‘Meteorfall’ and ‘Sky-Scorching Flames.’

Using these Moves to annihilate one or two monster waves wouldn’t be difficult for them.

But then what?

They didn’t dare do it. Ambushing and eliminating a few high-Order intelligent monsters was feasible. But forcefully halting monster tides for short-term gains would inevitably lead to their own demise.

The sky suddenly darkened.

The earth transformed into a black swamp, spreading across two to three thousand meters.

“It’s… it’s the Legendary Realm! A Legendary Domain!”

The black swamp crept from the ground toward the sky.A pair of massive pincers, large as mountain peaks, surged from the black waters, lunging toward the delicate maiden riding a flying Slime in midair.

The girl, sitting cross-legged atop it, suddenly had her eyes light up.

Behind her emerged a black-and-white scroll.

From the white background of the scroll, a colossal black serpent shot out, and wherever it passed, the black swamp was erased like pencil marks under an eraser, leaving vast blank patches.

The black swamp Domain trembled violently, then froze in the next instant.

Just like the mountain-like pincers that had surged from the swamp’s black waters, now suspended motionless in midair.

Crack~! Crack~! Crack~!

Space shattered, the earth shattered, the Domain shattered, and the mountain-like pincers shattered as well.

The collapsing space engulfed hundreds of kilometers around, tearing apart and devouring everything in its vicinity, leaving only the girl seated upon the Slime, eternally poised at the center of the fractured void, like a deity or demon.

(End of Chapter)