The Warrior King who had advanced to Sequence Five aboard the vehicle now held a solid spot in Wei Huan's main strike force. He could join Xu Qingqiang in battle whenever Wei Huan cleared ruins.
Everyone here knew main-force slots were limited—space was tight, and the undead army already absorbed most firepower. Prime positions went first-come, first-served; no room for slackers.
No one who made it here wanted to coast.
Coasting belonged in Second- or Third-Level Worlds. Why hitch a ride to the front lines just to freeload?
Without the resolve to fight tooth and nail, they wouldn't have been selected in the first place.
The training squad jogged past Wei Huan in perfect unison, shouting cadences—men and women alike drenched in sweat, bursting with energy.
Wei Huan and Mu Zhong watched them for a long while until they disappeared, then spotted Captain Xue emerging from the training room.
Captain Xue, who had lost the race to become the vehicle's first Warrior King, was visibly frustrated. He'd been Sequence Four for over two years and was on the cusp of breakthrough. He'd assumed the title was his—until someone slipped ahead.
Lately, he fought whenever possible; otherwise, he trained under 10x gravity. Wei Huan had seen him twice—drenched, aura chaotic, clearly close to ascension.
Wei Huan had already tasked Mu Zhong with preparing Warrior King advancement materials. The moment Captain Xue met the threshold, he could ascend.
Another aboard—a Gambler—was also nearing Sequence Five, though likely a step behind Xue.
Beyond that, Wei Huan's war vehicle had undergone two upgrades:
- Vehicle Suspension → Level 6
- Vehicle Headlights → Level 6
Combined with the Level 6 shield from his first treasure chest, three components now sat at max tier.
Thanks to Senior Technician Old Bing's onboard contributions—numerous auxiliary facilities—the vehicle cracked the "Global Vehicle Performance Rankings":
Global Vehicle Performance Leaderboard
1. Aglis Franglin
2. Fang William
…
298. Wei Huan
Performance was Wei Huan's weakest board. If ranked from worst to best, the "Points Leaderboard" placed him second-to-last:
Global Points Leaderboard
1. Fang William
2. Andrei Cody
3. Kovalev
…
177. Wei Huan
Global Livability Leaderboard
1. Menghua
2. Nina Hayes
3. Jane Colvin
…
19. Wei Huan
…
24. Fang William
Global Combat Power Leaderboard
1. Fang William
2. Aglis Franglin
3. Wei Huan
Wei Huan never expected to climb the combat leaderboard so fast.
But with three pseudo-divine artifacts and a title buff, his Sequence Four strength genuinely ranked him world #3.
Still, he didn't delude himself into thinking that meant he feared no one but the top two.
Take Yake, for instance: give him enough "Angel Spear scrolls", and he could obliterate Wei Huan—or bombard the vehicle into scrap from safety.
Then there were high-burst Gamblers—innate skills, talent, perfect conditions—one critical hit could end him.
The combat leaderboard was just paper stats: proof he belonged among the apex, nothing more.
Such power still crushed Fourth-Level Worlds. Normal.
But soon—very soon—he'd enter the Fifth-Level Assessment Highway.
Every highway entry carried tension.
Third-Level: dark beast ambushes.
Fourth-Level: coalition strikes.
Yet nothing compared to what awaited.
"The dark beasts know us inside out now," Mu Zhong said in the briefing, recounting their Fourth-Level encounters to everyone in the war room—including Professor Ju and Instructor Xing. "They've mapped our weaknesses through extreme stacking. My blessings cause a vulnerability window in the undead. That window is our most dangerous moment."
No one was foolish enough to suggest ditching the Shaman buffs.
The undead's strength wasn't just endless regeneration—it was how the buffs negated the usual debuffs, letting the Status Master go all-out. Nearly every deployment tripled their power.
That's why weaker undead became nightmares: you couldn't insta-clear, so they stacked—then drowned you.
This was the "Wei Huan + Mu Zhong core combo".
But now dark beast lords knew: block Wei Huan with elite lords, force the buffs, burn the undead.
Two hours later? Vulnerability. 24-hour cooldown.
Drain half his army, and in the final siege, he'd be soldierless.
Victory tilts to the dark beasts.
Lack of tanks or siege breakers? Team composition—not Wei Huan's personal flaw.
Even without them, with Mu Zhong, he could grind any city down.
Current undead: 160,000.
A Fifth-Level city caps at 100,000 citizens.
Numbers: Wei Huan dominates.
"…We need variables—beyond dark beast predictions. More super energy cells. One or two absolute apex fighters.
If I hit Sequence Four fast, vulnerability drops sharply. Also huge."
Mu Zhong finished, scanning the room. "That's the situation. Casual chat—speak freely."
Captain Xue: "Don't count just undead. We're here too.
I know you fear casualties—but the day we swore in, death was off the table."
Others nodded:
"Count us."
"We're not afraid to die."
"One dark beast shows—we bury it."
Mu Zhong's eyes softened. He nodded, then looked to Wei Huan—who was watching Professor Ju.
A spark. "Professor Ju—your thoughts?"
Professor Ju smiled, eyes on Wei Huan. "Let's hear our commander first."
Called out, Wei Huan recalled Ju's recent lessons—suddenly nervous, like a pop quiz.
He straightened, cleared his throat: "Speed is the essence of war…"
…
Assessment Highways open on fixed schedules.
Initial Highway: once yearly, mandatory. All 20-year-olds enter on Challenge Year January 1—issued a starter vehicle, first chest yields 1–9 awakening potions.
Potion identical; star rating determines future advancement needs.
Wei Huan: diamond chest → x7 potion → no advancement potions needed until Sequence Eight.
Past life: no human reached Sequence Seven—couldn't kill king-tier monsters for cores.
Mu Zhong: Sequence Six.
But Driver sequence: x6.
Shaman sequence: x2 → potions every tier.
Most humans: x2 awakening. Lucky ones: x2 potion → surprise x3.
x4? Unicorn-rare.
Initial Highway: mandatory, life-defining—mediocrity, challenger, or elite legionnaire.
Over a million entered yearly. Early war loss: 50%+.
Now, with veterans returning: under 10%.
Post-Initial: optional.
Second-Level Highway: monthly opens—many attempt evolution.
Third & Fourth: quarterly—but staggered one month apart for prodigies.
Wei Huan's timeline:
- Initial → Second: 20 days
- Second → Third: 1 month
- Third → Fourth: 1 month
Total: 120 days to Fourth-Level.
Blistering pace.
Fifth-Level: biannual—mid-June, mid-December.
Post-assessment: Annual Grand Ceremony—diamond chest for yearly champion.
Only two highways yearly—perfect for dark beast planning.
June or December. No exceptions.
Wei Huan wasn't a rear-guard type. Personality demanded front lines; humanity needed spearheads to hold the sky with other leaders.
From the dark beasts' view: Wei Huan entering Fifth-Level = disaster.
First: Dark Beast Slayer title → encyclopedia → exposed tribal secrets.
Then: Dark Beast King Slayer → 25% stat boost.
A human who ascended by slaughtering dark beasts—hate list above even Fang William.
Grand battles: strategy, wins and losses—commander errors.
But Wei Huan?
In a dark beast lord's Third-Level world: 100,000 dark beasts dead.
Generational collapse. 1–2 years to recover.
Backstab to the kidney.
Dark beasts wanted him suffering eternally—death too kind.
Fueled by boiling hatred, dark beast royalty flooded the human Fifth-Level assessment with lords.
Waiting for Wei Huan.
A "fated" encounter.
Blood or bust.
Humanity predicted it—blasted warnings across channels: "STAY OUT. HELL DIFFICULTY."
[Why?]
[Heh… anyone not knowing is suspect dark beast spy.]
No why needed.
Human–dark beast enmity: irreconcilable.
Wei Huan–dark beast: same.
Death or nothing.
…
Time passed. Mid-June, Challenge Year.
Fifth-Level Assessment World opened.
At the final second, all registered vehicles—wherever they were—teleported in.
A white minivan materialized at the starting line.
Starter model—but Daxia Azure Dragon insignia on both sides.
Plus horizontal wheels and the Fifth-Level Highway itself—unmistakably elite.
Unchanged style, uniquely iconic: Wei Huan's little white vehicle.
Wei Huan sat in the commander's seat, scanning the starting zone.
From here: unknown territory.
Past life: survived ten years, never past Fourth-Level.
Beyond: secondhand intel only.
This world: Archipelago.
Behind: impassable water curtain—mainland visible, snow-capped peaks piercing clouds.
Temperature rose from there.
Meltwater formed a mighty river, nourishing banks, roaring to the coast.
Wei Huan's vehicle spawned at the grand river mouth.
Ahead: endless azure sea, pearl-like islands scattered.
Exit: deep ocean—a continent half the size of Australia.
Humanity's largest landmass before the deep sea.
Wei Huan looked left and right: 11 other vehicles materialized.
He sighed inwardly.
Daxia, with global allies, spammed warnings—burned resources—to deter entries.
Every Fifth-Level-capable vehicle: pillar against dark beast lords.
Yet some were arrogant—or overconfident.
Despite bombardment: 11 entered.
Chat exploded:
[That's Boss Wei Huan's ride?! Carry us!]
[Knew Boss Wei would run this!]
[Don't get the "don't enter" spam—but others did. Trying to solo chests?]
The last nearly choked Wei Huan.
Can't anyone listen?
Fourth-Level veterans—not idiots, right?
"These vehicles…" Mu Zhong started, hesitant.
Wei Huan shook his head. "Proceed as planned."
"Alright." Mu Zhong sighed, glancing at the approaching hopefuls. Powerless. They'd pay for recklessness.
"Housekeeper."
"Yes, Vice-Commander."
"Full speed to finish."
"Affirmative. Vehicle launching—full throttle."
WHOOSH!
The war vehicle blasted forward, slicing waves, 10-meter wakes.
A second later: sonic boom.
Waves crashed. Vehicle: gone.
The others froze.
[???]
[!!!]
[Boss Wei left?! No carry?!]
[Boss, we came from Third-Level together! Fourth too! Please!]
[Wei Huan—you'd abandon us?]
Confusion → panic → begging → threats.
Next three hours: chat a cesspool of abuse.
To protect morale, Wei Huan used superior Housekeeper AI privileges: vehicle-wide chat mute.
It became peaceful inside.
Some guessed—but without proof, endless possibilities.
One said: "Fifth-Level runners—prepared, right? Return scrolls cost a fortune, but everyone has one?"
"Exactly. Warnings spammed half a month. Still entered on luck? Pay the price."
"Opportunists. Even in Fifth-Level, they'd leech. Force return to Fourth-Level. Reflect."
"Spoiled brats."
The vehicle skimmed 30 meters above the sea, full speed.
Bypassed islands entirely.
No "plow-style" clearing. Only Sister Crow scouted far ahead.
Non-stop, day and night.
Even at night—facing sudden sea monsters—it evaded and maintained full speed.
Wei Huan's "speed is the essence of war" was crystal clear.
Those lucky-dip entrants had assumed: like before, Wei Huan would lead, crush everything, and carry them all.
Even humans believed it despite the warnings.
The dark beasts? They absolutely expected it.
It did not matter what they believed.
They would throw everything to trap him here—and no further.
If Wei Huan passed, his growth could evolve all humanity.
That was terrifying for the dark beasts.
So: mass lord deployment was confirmed.
The question: fight head-on?
Initially—even Mu Zhong—had expected yes.
But Wei Huan switched strategies.
The Archipelago terrain meant lords could not form a solid front early.
Rush the finish at maximum speed.
Lords needed time to build territories.
The faster he reached the end—even with heavy mainland deployment, even with royal dark beasts—if their territories remained underdeveloped: Wei Huan would win.
Royal dark beasts with only Fourth-Level domains? Helpless.
Blitz the finish line—claim the championship.
That was also a strategy.
Wei Huan excelled at siege flow—but he was not bound to it.
Day 1 at full speed: no lord encounters.
Lords needed transit time to the front half.
Only sky-dropped aquatic hordes remained in pursuit.
Archipelago drops were sea monsters—giant tentacles rising from the depths.
But after witnessing Murphy's terror? Child's play.
Liu Chengzhi even asked: "Can we catch a few? Grilled octopus?"
Nope.
The Challenge World left no corpses. No barbecue.
At dawn, they had sprinted over 60,000 kilometers.
The crew rotated in three shifts—eat, train, rest. Initial tension faded; they adapted to the marathon.
The Housekeeper reported: "Trailing monsters exceed ten thousand."
For caution, Wei Huan decided to clear a wave.
"Find an island."
Undead were weak in water; sea beasts dominated the waves. Land was safer.
The Housekeeper located the nearest island and stopped.
Everyone felt it.
"Battle?"
"Finally."
"A day-and-night tail of Fifth-Level monsters—only Colonel Wei would dare."
"Our colonel lives for siege. Here they come—look!!"
Inside, all combatants entered battle-ready status.
On the ground-floor plaza, they formed up.
Overhead mega-screens showed the exterior view.
Eight portals opened ahead.
- Burrow Beast Mothers—massive, lumbering
- Zombie Berserk Bears—clacking into ranks
- Swift Wolves—howling assembly
Ghost Crows blackened the sky and dove over the water.
The Demon Eye Lord ascended with its Kobold rider—green flames dancing on the giant eyeball.
Elite and hero units glowed green; Flying Monkeys took position.
Xu Qingqiang and the Warrior King formed the strike team outside.
Sky and ground—the entire coastline became a warfront.
Tense silence fell.
Far off: a tidal surge.
The sea beasts had arrived.