Xu Qingqiang didn't bother pretending to be proper. Instead, he acted even more brazenly, addressing a ponytailed Holy Maiden. "No one's trying to get in. We're here for the Holy Lord. Where is he?"
The Holy Maiden, a seven-year-old girl barely reaching Xu's waist, flushed with anger at his disrespect, likely a first for her. "What's your name? Trespassing in a restricted area and insulting a Holy Maiden—I'll have you expelled!"
"Not very cute, are you?" Xu bared his fangs, a sliver of demonic tattoos peeking from his collar. His raw, violent dark energy overwhelmed the girl, making her tremble. Squatting to her level, he grinned, showing sharp, jagged teeth. "Where are the Holy Lord and Holy Guards, Holy Maiden?"
The girl, a Tier Four challenger like Dou Lin, lacked combat experience. Despite her rank, she was no match for a "criminal" forged in blood and carnage.
A vicious "criminal" had a doubled deterrent effect on the weak.
The Holy Maiden collapsed, legs giving out.
She was too scared to speak.
Wang, the captain nearby, clearly hadn't expected such audacity—threatening a Holy Maiden. He quickly distanced himself, stepping several meters away to show his stance.
But Xu's reckless demeanor and Criminal Sequence dispelled Wang's lingering doubts. Still, he cautioned, "You crazy? That's a Holy Maiden!"
Xu pinched the girl's chin, his pupils narrowing to menacing slits. "Alive, she's a Holy Maiden. Dead, she's a corpse. Plenty of backup Maidens—swap her out, right?"
His last question was directed at the other girl, standing fearfully behind.
Her eyes shifted, contemplating, a new glint in her gaze toward the Holy Maiden.
"Speak. Are the Holy Lord and Holy Guards out? I need to see them. Kindly pass it on, 'Holy Maiden.'"
Xu helped the girl up, forcing her to lead, clearly intent on using her to enter the restricted area.
Wang's scalp tingled.
This guy was bold, but this bold? Insane.
Who'd dare follow? Threatening a Holy Maiden and forcing her to guide—this wasn't just expulsion; it was a death sentence.
"Hey, you coming?" Xu, holding the girl's neck like a cat, took two steps and looked back at Wang with a sly grin.
Wang shook his head like a rattle.
Xu shrugged, bidding farewell to his old guide. He had a new one now.
Entering the "restricted area," the atmosphere shifted. Perhaps the environment or superior alloys made it feel cleaner, as if leaving a murky swamp.
The Holy Maiden, cowed by Xu's presence, stayed silent.
The other girl's eyes darted like a viper's, glancing at the Holy Maiden, then Xu, her thoughts unclear.
They crossed a wide parking lot and a camera-lined street. Underground guards passed, but whether distracted by the battle or reassured by the girls, Xu brazenly entered a heavily guarded building.
Wei Huan: "…"
A talent.
But here, his vision couldn't follow.
Cameras blanketed the area, especially the building, a surveillance web. The Demon Eye Lord's bizarre form couldn't pass.
Unsure what Xu would face, Wei Huan trusted the Kobold with him. If called, his waiting undead army could reinforce instantly.
With nothing immediate, Wei Huan switched to the other teams, finding their progress.
Instructor Xing, somehow, located the underground city's core energy zone, powering all operations. Disrupting it would trap residents briefly.
The Warrior King's team oddly joined a surface rescue unit, heading to aid tide-injured victims, directly under the Holy Guards.
Each team, with unique skills, neared critical targets.
Wei Huan's initial intelligence was key. Others infiltrating the base would need ages to gather such intel. Missing this chaos would mean missing the best chance.
His intel pinpointed core members. Capturing them would collapse the War Clan.
Three key Holy Guard members were must-captures.
Talent shone anywhere. The Azure Dragon Legion's crew weren't mediocre—they just hadn't found their stage. Each could execute orders flawlessly.
This eased Wei Huan's burden significantly.
On the surface, snow beasts were cleared. Vehicles were ordered to repair breached walls.
Three vehicles arrived, and a dozen people disembarked, including the mustached captain who chased Wei Huan.
A Tier Four Gambler: Shadowless, he moved swiftly, flickering to the ruins.
Hands on hips, he cursed, "Damn brats, wrecking such thick walls. This cursed Challenge World always stirs trouble!"
Kicking a broken alloy, he grumbled, "They collect bodies but leave scrap metal for me to haul."
He complained but worked, frowning after moving some debris. "Something's off here. Feels… uncomfortable, eerie. Not the snow—feel it. It's cold, like…"
His suspicion grew. "A dark profession? Should we report it?"
As captain, his crew agreed.
He sensed again. "Damn, some dark profession lingered here. Forget it? Don't want to be called paranoid."
"Right, Captain."
"Just do our job. More work, more mistakes."
"Exactly. Good tasks don't come to us—just grunt work."
The mustached captain glanced at his vehicle, able to contact the Holy Guards with his findings.
But his crew was right—more work, more errors.
As he decided, the Holy Lord was ending a video call with the Holy Guard captain, saying, "It's yours now. Snow beasts got underground—I need to check."
The captain thumped his chest. "Leave surface repairs to me."
The Holy Lord smiled, ending the call, his expression darkening.
No one stays cheerful seeing their hard-built walls destroyed.
He was livid.
Entering the underground, his anger flared—power was out!
Teams chasing snow beasts had triggered a fault, plunging areas into darkness.
Darkness bred fear, summoning Challenge World monsters, even dark beast lords.
Cities kept lights on at night. Without infrastructure, vehicles were required to shine.
In the Second-Level World, challengers paid a "nightlight tax."
The underground's northeast zone was blacked out, worsening the Holy Lord's mood. Cursing, he sent repair teams downstairs.
His vehicle navigated the dark, spiraling six-level tunnel, feeling like a descent to hell.
A green light flickered in his peripheral vision. His pupils shrank, but it was just an emergency sign.
False alarm, yet unease grew, as if many inconsistencies converged into a chilling omen.
Days ago, someone appeared at their territory's edge. Chased but dismissed as ruin-spawners, the bombed area and collapsed snow suggested more than accidental intruders.
Then this tide.
He'd faced super-large tides twice since building this territory. Their formation and attacks differed.
This time, walls fell too fast. The King-level beast and Generals barely breached two layers before being slaughtered.
But the innermost wall fell to ordinary snow beasts, reportedly spiders and bears, with explosions.
Recalling the footage, he felt he'd missed something.
Descending, intense unease prompted a new decision.
"Stop!"
The AI butler obeyed instantly.
Under his crew's puzzled gazes, he said, "Back to the Sanctuary. Pull all footage from this period."
His vehicle halted, others stopping too. Without explanation, he turned back.
The rest waited, then received orders: "Continue to repair the energy grid."
The Holy Lord, in his driver's seat, reviewed the sent footage.
From the tide's start, twenty feeds played, his focus on the Beast King and the first breached inner wall.
The walls fell fast—eight minutes for the first, seven for the second and third.
Snow beasts blended with the snowy world, initially showing no anomalies.
Then he saw the explosions before the wall's collapse.
Green flames, massive power, not one but many, precisely planned like engineered mines to maximize destruction in minimal time.
Seeing this, his heart raced, a name on the tip of his tongue.
Zooming in on the "snow spiders," he noticed thick snow on their backs—until a green glint flashed.
"Ah!"
He screamed, panic surging.
These weren't snow spiders. With six legs and black-white fur, they were Facehuggers summoned by the Burrow Beast Mother, bone-white from the snow!
The "snow bears" were zombie bears, six legs unmistakable. How had he missed it?
Bone Facehuggers, zombie bears—Wei Huan was here!
Wei Huan!
The Holy Lord felt the sky collapse.
He didn't know how he'd offended Wei Huan. His men took that fat guy from Wei's crew, aiming for leverage in Daxia. They lost a base, many died—did he complain?
He accepted the loss. Then Daxia hit their Haisang base.
Knowing Wei Huan was in the Fourth-Level World, he recalled most War Clan members, ordering others to lie low, avoiding Wei Huan to this extent…
"Damn it, did I dig up your ancestors' graves?"
Trembling with rage and fear, he knew Wei Huan's reputation—slaughtering 100,000 dark beasts. His combat prowess didn't need a War Clan Holy Lord to test it.
Such a formidable foe came to his base. Wasn't he afraid? Angry? It was incomprehensible!
He had to hide.
In a flash, he decided, "Doesn't matter if I lose face—surviving freely is winning. This scourge won't stay long in the Fourth-Level World. Hide deep enough, he won't find me. This world will still be mine."
As he ordered the butler to send the vehicle to the "Rest Space," he saw his "lair."
Called the Sanctuary, it was the War Clan's core decision-making hub, costing half the base's budget.
His supposedly impregnable safe house appeared calm, normal, reassuringly safe.
"Uh…"
This was his stronghold. Fleeing now felt wrong.
What about the others?
Even if Wei Huan infiltrated, he'd likely target the energy zone covertly. This was his turf. Using the Sanctuary's defenses, he could face Wei Huan's undead in a "chessmaster's" game.
If he won, even just repelling the undead while staying undefeated, it'd be a huge victory.
At worst, he could escape to the Rest Space instantly.
This thought rooted itself, unshakable.
Glancing at the dark path behind and the brightly lit, fortified Sanctuary, he succumbed to the ambition of crushing Wei Huan for fame.
"Drive straight in."
"Also, pull the Holy Guards from the surface. Prepare for battle, head to the underground energy zone." He paused, then added, "Tell them Wei Huan might be here, already inside."
"What? Wei Huan's inside?"
"How do you know, Holy Lord?"
"I knew this tide was off. Our walls are unbreakable—how could a mere tide breach our Fifth-Level defenses? It's Wei Huan's doing."
"You mean his undead are in our underground, hiding in the energy room? Holy Lord, why not… blow the energy room?"
"Good idea. It's separate from living areas, and we have backup energy. Destroying one to bury Wei Huan is worth it."
"This Wei Huan deserves death! For humanity to survive this civilization war, we should hide. He's making us more exposed! In this war of myriad races, only the final victor escapes… The tallest tree catches the wind—Wei Huan must die!"
With guards and advisors, the Holy Lord disembarked. Like an elevator to a CEO's office, this parking zone, after rigorous checks, led to the Sanctuary's core: the council hall, worship hall, and his residence.
"Welcome back, Holy Lord."
"Great Holy Lord, under your leadership, we've won again. Thank you, great one~"
"Welcome back!"
Over a dozen young maids greeted him, kneeling in two rows, offering fruits, cigarettes, and comfortable clothes, as always.
He declined pleasures, but their relaxed demeanor eased his tense shoulders.
This place was safe—Wei Huan's foul undead couldn't reach here.
"Where are the Holy Sons and Maidens?" Not seeing familiar faces, he frowned.
"They're in the worship hall, praying for the War Clan, unaware of your return. I'll fetch them."
"No need," he said, stepping forward. Realizing the worship hall was safer than the council hall, he turned. "I'll go myself."
The worship hall, behind the council hall, started as a sham.
These Blue Star criminals, despite their deeds, craved faith and forgiveness.
Thus, the "War God" was born under the Holy Lord's design.
Initially a spiritual crutch for followers, it proved surprisingly effective, birthing the "War Clan."
The War God wasn't a traditional war deity but a "Challenge God," a deity of the Challenge World, granting challengers boundless powers.
They worshipped the Challenge World itself.
A massive statue in the worship hall, a human male over 100 meters, half-shrouded in darkness, exuded oppressive awe, as if a god truly watched.
It stunned the ignorant masses.
Entering, the Holy Lord saw the Holy Sons and Maidens on the altar, gazing upward.
Their child companions, candidate Holy Sons and Maidens, served as playmates or attendants.
The titles began when he noticed children unable to return to Blue Star were recognized by the Challenge World from birth, gifted extraordinary power.
At six or seven, they reached Tier Four. Their adult potential was unimaginable.
He sought such children, later orchestrating their circumstances—killing parents in harsh environments, letting the Challenge World pity and keep them.
He'd raised over a thousand such children, each with astonishing potential.
He often envisioned the War Clan in ten years, a loyal, powerful legion, perhaps strong enough to challenge Daxia.
Seeing these innocent children, he saw his future, momentarily forgetting Wei Huan's threat.
A divine, kind smile spread across his face. "Mia, Laika, pause your prayers. I need to speak with you."
The two main Holy Son and Maiden turned, but all four children faced him, their expressions equally panicked.