Chapter 95 – Dawn

The battle was not yet over. After blasting the major enemy that had breached the territory to death, Mu Yuan still held his breath and quickly issued orders.

Groups of Skeleton Warriors immediately retrieved bundles of spell scrolls from various backup storage points. Under his meticulous mental control, they tore open the ‘Earth Hardening’ scrolls one by one, allowing their power to take effect on every inch of the territory’s land.

Yellowish-brown light bloomed, one beam after another.

In just over ten seconds, Mu Yuan had used more than twenty Earth Hardening scrolls, hardening all the land within the territory’s earthen walls, including the excavated cellar below.

Even dozens of meters deep, the ground had now become much harder.

This effect was temporary, but it was more than enough for a single battle.

The two holes within the earthen wall were quickly filled and compacted.

After finishing these tasks, Mu Yuan glanced outside. Deadbone, Dolai, and other commanders had already eliminated most of the enemies, leaving only a few Minotaur Warriors struggling to hold on.

At this point, it would still take twenty to thirty seconds for the fastest members of the distant monster horde to reach the battlefield.

Minotaur Warriors: “???”

…

The hardening scrolls seemed to have taken effect. The transport vehicle, the Burrowing Worm, could no longer emerge from inside the territory. The subsequent worms appeared outside the earthen walls one after another. As soon as half their bodies broke through the surface, they were met with a barrage of charged Bone Spears.

These sharp, energy-infused Bone Spears pierced deeply into the giant worms’ abdomens, drawing fluids and mixing with the blood of various monsters.

Some Professional Tier monsters, still inside the worms’ abdomens, had their vital points pierced by the Bone Spears and died in great distress.

This was completely different from the plan.

Why was this territory not in chaos at all?

…

In the distance, beneath the Crimson Mist, deep within the dense forest.

Several figures with serpentine lower bodies and human-like upper bodies coiled around high tree branches, gazing at the brightly lit human territory in the distance.

Five of these Snakemen had crimson eyes, constantly flicking their forked tongues and emitting hissing roars. They seemed agitated, unable to restrain the impulses arising from their flesh and Soul, eager to charge into the distant human territory and wreak havoc.

But they were forcibly restrained by the Snakefolk Tribe leader.

Ghost Chief watched, equally puzzled.

He had been hiding here observing for quite some time.

When the Goblin Army appeared, he wanted to strike, returning as an avenger to trample the human territory underfoot.

However, possessing intelligence far superior to ordinary Snakemen, he quickly suppressed the unnatural urgency rising from within.

Indeed, his calmness was justified. Those Goblins were utterly useless, failing even to breach the human territory’s gates.

If it were his Snakefolk Tribe, his…

Oh, his tribe was gone.

Ghost Chief clenched his fists. So he continued to wait, and indeed, perseverance paid off. When he saw the Burrowing Worms appear, he almost couldn’t resist punching the air in triumph.

“The underground tribe—those guys have indeed set their sights on the human territory too.”

“This is in the bag!”

“…Damn it!”

Chieftain Ghost Chief took deep breaths, deciding to observe a while longer.

…

At this moment, Tianyuan Territory had resolved its ‘internal troubles,’ but the situation remained perilous.The monsters surging in from outside were far too numerous, like a tribe driving hordes of them, a chaotic tide of mixed colors crashing toward the territory, overwhelming everything in their path.

Deep within the horde, a dark-skinned, tall figure rode a gray shadow leopard, swaying with the beast’s forward charge.

Most of her pupils were stained crimson.

Reason told her that even if she could capture the human territory now, her tribe would suffer heavy losses, only to benefit other monsters. Yet reality was, the closer she got to the human territory, the more the bloodshot veins in her eyes spread, as if a demonic voice in her mind incessantly urged her on.

She might resist it herself, but her trusted followers could not.

Gazing at the distant territory, her eyes flickered, “Kill!”

…

Boom!

The earth wall, covered in achievements and scars, finally gave way, collapsing in sections.

The Imperial Guards desperately holding the breach had no choice but to retreat.

The raging tide of monsters began flooding into the territory, clashing with Skeleton Warriors, Silver Slimes, Imperial Guards, and other units.

Dolai, its body steeled and wreathed in shimmering lightning, charged relentlessly through the monster horde.

It pushed forward, struck down with its palms, fighting back and forth seven times.

Yet the number of monsters was overwhelming, with many high-tier ones among them. Dolai felt it had slain at least a hundred or two, but the enemy showed no sign of thinning. Meanwhile, it was gradually succumbing to the lightning’s power, its body charred, steel shattering and reshaping, wounds splitting open and struggling to heal.

Inside the tightly sealed Mage Tower, Mu Yuan was equally tense, his Mental Energy strained.

He focused entirely on controlling the defensive structures and numerous units, while using several Hurricane Falcons and the territory’s vision to constantly seek out high-tier enemies in the monster tide.

The glow of the Mage Tower and coil towers rained down incessantly.

More than six Professional Tier foes had fallen to the hands of Lord Mu!

However, the monster tide was still too vast, and Tianyuan Territory lacked City Walls to stem the onslaught. If the battle continued, he could indeed wipe out this wave of monsters, but many would break through to the heartland, causing significant damage to the territory.

Seeing the monster tide breach the earth wall and surge inward, Ghost Chief vaguely sensed an opportunity.

“It’s time.”

Just as it was about to step out, the already dim world suddenly grew darker. A chilling wind swept through, as if countless ghosts were wailing. Thick Death energy gathered into a visible black vortex, churning the earth.

Within Tianyuan Territory, the Undead General, guarded by three Imperial Guards, raised Death Lament high.

The Death energy stored within roared out, connecting sky and earth like a black dragon sweeping across the field.

Deadbone’s eyes blazed with a sapphire glow, bright as two stars in the night.

It called.

Countless undead answered.

Skeleton Warriors bearing swords crawled out from the black surge; Specter figures emerged one after another in the gloom; and massive Abominations, bodies stitched together from countless flesh chunks, strode forth from gateways like the netherworld, sweeping through all directions.

At this moment, this place, was the domain of the undead.

They reveled.

Like a coronation ceremony.

Ghost Chief’s eyes widened, “Wait a bit longer—no, this place is no longer safe!”

Drawing on its superior serpent wisdom, it executed a strategic super-retreat.

…

Wangba Territory.Two and a half hours ago,

Wang Erteng stared at the high-altitude leaderboard, brimming with confidence. “I will stand above all lords.”

An hour and a half ago,

Wang Erteng’s expression turned grave. “The Tianyuan Lord… as expected of someone who surpassed this lord and topped the golden leaderboard. He truly cannot be underestimated. To truly catch up to him, I’m afraid I’ll have to take some risks.”

He retrieved a demon flower from the warehouse.

This peculiar plant, known as the Calamity-Inducing Demon Flower, would emit a unique floral fragrance when ignited, attracting hordes of monsters to surge forward relentlessly.

Wang Erteng lit it.

Half an hour ago,

An endless tide of monsters assaulted the Wangba Territory again and again.

Now,

The city walls had collapsed, several arrow towers had been destroyed, and the main force units had suffered successive losses.

Wang Erteng paid no mind to any of this. He simply stared fixedly at the golden leaderboard in the sky, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

But the facts were right before his eyes—it wasn’t just a matter of bad luck.

Gazing into the distance, he let out a despondent sigh.

“Why was Tianyuan born when Wang already existed?”

…

The trial battle was nearing its end. This year’s was more brutal than ever before. Most novice lords at this point had no time to pay attention to the trial’s golden leaderboard, instead focusing entirely on their own territories, gritting their teeth as they commanded their units to reinforce crumbling or already collapsed defense lines.

Remnants of defeated troops fought desperately against the monsters.

From time to time, units would fall, completely severing their connections.

It seemed that at any moment, their territories would be overrun by the monster tide.

Suddenly,

The pressure abruptly dissipated. No new monsters emerged, and some of the remaining ones scattered and fled. The monster tide had thinned out considerably.

Outside the territories, the Crimson Mist visibly faded, and rays of golden sunlight pierced through the thick dark clouds, illuminating the land.

After two days and three nights of grueling battle, the newcomers had finally welcomed…

The dawn.

(End of chapter)