The area outside the city walls was also its territory. Within this zone, large amounts of resources would spawn, along with various barracks designed to help the Dark Beast Lords train troops or serve as level-restricted objectives. Defeating the troops within these barracks, acquiring resources, and upgrading the territory was what a Lord Challenge required every day.
The troops recruited by the Dark Beast Lords could roam freely across this expanse of their own wild lands, but once they reached the boundary, they could not take another step. This was the limit of their military reach, and it was also the reason for their crushing defeat in the siege against that Necromancer.
The cunning human exploited the weakness that their territory borders could not fully close, winding his way and launching surprise attacks until he was upon them before being discovered. Moreover, he not only waged war against Yong, killing it, but also dispatched Undead to forcefully engage their other two Kings, aiming to capture them all in one fell swoop. The hatred in King Lie's heart was as vast as the ocean.
While competition existed among the Royalty, these few limited members were the only kin they truly acknowledged, and they were the very cornerstone of the Dark Beast world. The death of a Royal member inevitably caused them anguish. It vowed to kill that Necromancer. It would kill him sooner or later.
However, for now, it had to exploit this territorial difference, utilizing the same loophole the Necromancer had grasped to turn the tables and secure its escape.
King Lie's strategy was quite simple. It did not need to hide and transform into a fish, waiting for the territory to fully vanish before sinking into the sea to escape. That path had already proven futile against an endless horde of Undead. Therefore, it could instead utilize the advantage of its territory being only Tier 3, meaning the border distance was very short. It just needed to charge into the sea at maximum speed before the Necromancer could react.
There might be Sea Beasts in the ocean, but as long as it did not encounter the human Challengers, it would not die. All it had to do was wait until it was out of combat before it could return. King Lie's mind worked quickly, and its self-preservation skills were top-notch.
It sprinted like a bolt of lightning, constantly vigilant of the Ghost Crows overhead. The Tier-4 Ghost Crows, unprecedented in the Dark Beast World, flew extremely fast. No matter how desperately it ran, they could easily keep pace. However, these Ghost Crows were not truly living beings with sufficient intelligence. They relied entirely on their controller's commands. Before a new order arrived, the instruction was to monitor it and ensure the combat state was maintained. Thus, even though King Lie had clearly fled, they could only rigidly execute the same command.
Its gamble had paid off.
King Lie ran with all its might, reaching the edge of the territory, or rather, the edge of the island. It leaped forcefully into the ocean. The instant it hit the water, it transformed into a fish and swam away. Ghost Crows, as long as they did not emerge from a spatial rift, were not afraid of the crushing pressure of the deep sea. They followed the massive fish, still faithfully executing their orders.
At a certain moment, a puzzled gaze shifted toward them. Clearly, the controller had noticed the change in their location and was questioning it. One Ghost Crow received an order and flew back. In barely a minute, a clear, unmistakable command was relayed to the deepest part of the Ghost Crow's soul: "Block it! Attack relentlessly!"
But it was too late. The 15-kilometer summoning distance was reached in a flash. Just as the Ghost Crows condensed into a spear-like formation, preparing for a full-power strike on that "giant fish," an invisible wall of air suddenly appeared before them. They could not advance any further and were forced to stop. They watched helplessly as the Dark Beast Royal, like a fish that had truly escaped to freedom, disappeared completely from sight after a few tail flicks.
Wei Huan was naturally furious upon learning that one Dark Beast Royal had successfully fled. He concentrated all his remaining forces on the final Dark Beast Royal's territory.
This Dark Beast Royal was named "Zhui". It was clearly more afraid of death but also slow to react. Even though King Lie had warned it before fleeing, it was many steps behind. It only reacted to what needed to be done after Wei Huan had killed King Yong and the neighboring territory had visibly begun to dissipate.
But by then, it was too late. It was instantly targeted by Wei Huan, who had successfully killed King Yong, shifted his gaze to the remaining two territories, and immediately noticed the anomaly. All the Undead swarmed the beast, which had frantically transformed into a yellow, antelope-like animal and was desperately fleeing through the ruins. After being discovered, it transformed again into a small, hamster-like creature and burrowed underground.
Finally, realizing it still could not escape, it revealed its true vicious nature, transforming into a massive yellow serpent covered in scales, bulging with muscles, and complete with claws. It fought back fiercely, and it took a considerable effort for Wei Huan to finally kill it.
As another Dark Beast Royal was slain, although no notification sound rang out, Wei Huan genuinely felt a sensation that he had torn apart an invisible, overarching net of the world, gaining a breath of fresh air.
"It's a pity one got away."
"The Dark Beast Royalty is cunning. Considering our calculations up to this point, being able to keep two here is already very lucky."
"It would have been better if all three had been killed."
"You've done an amazing job."
Mu Zhong was sitting beside Wei Huan, both their hands resting on the Colossus. The pinky fingers, which had been loosely touching, were now hooked together by Mu Zhong and gently swayed. Wei Huan turned to see a look of pure admiration in Mu Zhong's eyes.
Wei Huan ultimately suppressed the impulse to turn this world upside down, digging three feet deep to catch the escaped Dark Beast Royal. He knew it must have already escaped, and staying any longer would be futile.
Wei Huan nodded, and under the expectant gaze of everyone, he said, "Everyone has worked hard. Now, let's leave the Assessment World."
As his words fell, a burst of cheers erupted in the cockpit. Heavens! They had actually managed to not only reach the finish line but also kill two Dark Beast Royals, all while being besieged by tens of thousands of Dark Beasts, especially three Dark Beast Royals. It was unimaginable that they had played a part in such a momentous achievement.
"We weren't tired. It was the Boss who worked hard."
"Without the Boss, we wouldn't have this record. I'll never run out of accomplishments to brag about for the rest of my life."
"The Boss worked the hardest!"
Sometime during the battle, everyone in the carriage had started calling him Boss, just like Liu Chengzhi did. Although they were all selected from the regular military, there was a unique sense of cohesion on this carriage, making people unconsciously forget everything else, willing only to follow the Bosses in the carriage to accomplish great things.
Amidst these congratulations, the white vehicle encountered no further obstacles and smoothly arrived before the Teleportation Gate of the Assessment World. The illusion wall displayed all the experiences the carriage had gone through since entering the Assessment time, which was these past few days. They had pushed through Dark Beast territories, faced storms at the world's edge, battled the Sea Beast Royalty within those storms, and even encountered a reclusive individual from this world. Ultimately, they successfully used cunning tactics to easily kill two Dark Beast Royals before they could upgrade their territories to Tier 5, securing the final victory.
As they reached the finish line before the illusion wall, the wall's display turned into a live broadcast, showing their every move at that moment. The Vehicle still looked pristine, but it somehow gave off a precious, pearl-like quality. Finally, it drove without hesitation from the sea surface onto a large island. The other side of the illusion wall was the true Tier 5 world.
Wei Huan's heart was racing a little. He had finally caught up with the main force and reached the major front line where humans and Dark Beasts clashed. In this world, genuine grand adventures awaited him, and truly world-renowned powerhouses would emerge. They would cooperate, possibly compete, and together strive for the survival of humanity, pioneering this world to gain the civilization ticket into a higher world. The Tier 5 world adventure was about to begin from this large island.
---
[Wei Huan abandoned his compatriots and left alone. To save my life, I had no choice but to use the Return Talisman, but my companion, who did not have one, has been unable to return to this day. Wei Huan is a murderer.]
From the very first day of the Tier 5 Assessment World, a message was stickied at the top of the Challenger App forum. Seeing the thread with over a hundred million replies, people who had not logged into the app for a while would immediately click into it. They expected the replies in the thread to be filled with various curses against Wei Huan, calling him cold-blooded and ruthless, or a murderer.
However, upon clicking inside, they found that the person being "cyberbullied" was actually the original poster.
[Are you blind? Reminders were plastered everywhere every day not to sign up for this assessment, yet you went anyway. Serves you right!]
[Weren't there notices everywhere? A while ago, I was on the subway, and there were notices posted all over warning people not to enter the assessment, as if just anyone could go to the Tier 5 world.]
[I thought everyone who could go to the Tier 5 world was a big shot, and big shots were smart people. Turns out there are stupid ones too.]
[It's because the big shots were too smart. They thought they could cling to a powerful figure this time, believing they had preempted other people's preemption. A true 'Big Smart.']
[Mom said you should never do things you're told not to do. Isn't that common sense?]
The comments were overwhelmingly one-sided, mocking the original poster. Even Challengers from small countries joined in the fun.
[Your country had advertisements and warnings. Although mine didn't, logging into the Challenger World registration always showed warnings through various channels. Besides, you can cancel registration. I can't understand why people choose to sign up after seeing the warnings, then complain that others won't let them latch on after discovering the world difficulty is so high. Is it because they only went to be a parasite that they feel this strange sense of loss?]
[Wait, this isn't a Haisang Country person? It's a Daxia person? I thought the only people who would make such false accusations would be the Haisang Country people who have a grudge against Wei Huan. This is truly strange.]
Similar posts racked up over a hundred million floors and remained on the front page for most of Wei Huan's assessment period. The highly positive comments rendered the risk control team, which Daxia had specially formed for this matter, completely idle. It simply goes to show that there are more rational, fair, and kind people in the world.
However, because of this post, everyone on Blue Star realized that Wei Huan's current situation was likely very difficult. Speculative posts began to appear one after another, and quite a few posts claiming to contain internal information were shared online. The basic content differences were minimal: Wei Huan was being targeted by the Dark Beasts. Wei Huan's continuous actions against the Dark Beasts had changed the situation on the battlefield, and what was merely an "Ancient Battlefield" now might rapidly escalate into a major theater of war. Wei Huan was nothing short of a thorn in the side of the Dark Beast Royalty. Actions targeting him were inevitable.
Everyone was worried. The struggle between humans and Dark Beasts was a matter of life or death. Even those who had previously disliked Wei Huan's high-profile nature were now firmly standing on humanity's side regarding this matter. Anyone who made an enemy of the Dark Beasts was their human hero, and they desperately wished for him to achieve victory in every confrontation with them.
There was no live broadcast in the assessment battlefield. Even the few individuals who had entered and not yet used their Return Talismans could not relay any information about Wei Huan's situation, even if they knew it. It was only after a few days that some people who claimed to have returned gradually shared information: "Wei Huan closed the public channel. We tried to contact everyone in his carriage, but received no reply. We didn't know the situation and could only try to move forward. The monsters descending into the Tier 5 world are powerful, and we struggled to cope every time. We barely held on until the sixth day before we had to give up, as our vehicle was nearly scrapped after a Sea Beast attack, so we chose to return."
News from the sixth day finally came back. The people who returned today said on the Challenger App forum: "There are still 227 people left in the chat room, which means there are probably only three main battle chariots remaining. Aside from Wei Huan's carriage, the other carriages haven't spoken, so we don't know their specific situation. However, those who can hold on until now are probably not weak. There are too few Challengers in the Assessment World. The Royal level will descend on the strongest Vehicle, but everyone else still has to face the highest general-level Sea Beasts. Most critically, the environment of the Challenger World will become increasingly harsh over the remaining days, and even more Sea Beasts will certainly descend. It's almost time to give up. Wei Huan won't turn back. Although he is a hero to humanity, he is only a hero to humanity. Don't think he will change his overall plan for the sake of any single individual..."
---
"Captain, Yake is trying to contact you."
Just as Wei Huan was moving at full speed and about to rush past the illusion wall, the voice of the intelligent steward suddenly rang out.
"Wait! Stop!"
Wei Huan hurriedly called for a halt. At this moment, the front of his carriage had already reached the finish line marked by the red and black mosaic, and the very front of the carriage had already disappeared from this world. However, due to the emergency stop at the last second, the rear half of the carriage was still in this world and had not completely left.
Wei Huan was very glad he reacted quickly enough. He immediately recalled that in the Assessment World, contact with the outside world was impossible, except among Challengers in the same world. After subconsciously calling for a stop, Wei Huan looked at Mu Zhong in surprise.
At the same time, Mu Zhong looked back and asked, "Is Yake also in this world?"
Yake had always been a key focus for them. Since encountering Yake in the Tier 4 Assessment World, although they maintained a competitive and oppositional relationship in terms of standing, Yake's demeanor, rationality, and fair actions had truly impressed both of them.
When faced with the overwhelming pressure from Ausum, Yake never compromised, adhering to his internal sense of justice, and was even framed by the high-ranking officials of Ausum. The former glory of the arrogant Ausum was long gone, but the country itself seemed unable to accept its new identity and unwilling to look at the real world. In particular, the old guard controlling Ausum, being over the age limit and unable to become Challengers themselves, were simultaneously self-loathing and arrogant about this world, exhibiting extreme hostility towards all young people who threatened their power.
Facing these powerful young Challengers, capable of standing up against nuclear weapons, they sought to control their power while also fearing it, employing every conceivable method to win them over, divide them, and even using various means, both overt and covert, to verify their loyalty. Someone like Yake, who could not be tempted by power, would not be crushed by authority, and consistently maintained a pure heart, with a touch of naive stubbornness, had long been a piece of fat stuck in the throats of the Ausum power holders.
Their aversion to Yake was certainly not new. Yake had outstanding talent and immense strength. If he could have been patient and won over, they would have cherished him as a rare treasure, eager to protect him. But ultimately, Yake's lack of expediency broke their bottom line one last time. If you cannot be a sword in my hand, then you must be destroyed.
They issued a warrant for his arrest, and the charge was treason. Frankly, it was ridiculous, something that could never have happened in any country other than Ausum. In this era, the more powerful individuals a country had, the better; why would they drive away a talent like Yake?
For a long time, Wei Huan did not believe it. Even now, facing Yake's plea for help, a corner of his mind was still suspicious. Perhaps this was yet another conspiracy against him. The old guard in Aosam's government essentially did not care what would happen to humanity in ten or twenty years. They only wanted to eliminate all threats and firmly consolidate power while they were still capable of thinking.
If Wei Huan had one obvious weakness, it was the assumption that he, as a Necromancer, must be weak himself. Therefore, gaining his trust and getting close to him would naturally be the first thought in anyone who wished to harm him.
Yake's weary face was right before Wei Huan; he was only able to see Yake through the video communication of the Captain's driving seat. Despite the many hardships he had endured, Yake's youthful face still retained its handsomeness.
"I apologize," he said in a hoarse voice. "I didn't want to trouble you, but to successfully rush past the 80-line, I had to travel at full speed along the world's border. Not only do I have a huge number of Sea Beasts tailing me, but a Royal Sea Beast just descended as well. I must be honest: I don't want to die. I must live to clear my name. Since the day I was born, I have been proud to be an Ausum citizen. I deeply love my country, and all my actions in the Challenger World have been for the sake of making my homeland better and stronger. Therefore, I cannot accept this outcome, and I absolutely refuse to die a disgraced death. I apologize for the intrusion. If it does not affect your plans, could you help me deal with this group of Sea Beasts behind me? I still have 200,000 points, which I am willing to transfer to you entirely."
Wei Huan looked at Yake quietly. After some thought, he nodded. "I can."
Despite any dark thoughts in his mind, Wei Huan's thoughts returned to the previous life, where Yake, as one of the pillars of humanity, fearlessly charged through the Dark Beast tide. He held the utmost respect for such a hero. If he could save this person with his intervention, why wouldn't he?
Receiving the expected response, Yake visibly relaxed, the furrow in his brow easing noticeably. He quickly reported his coordinates and connected his steward AI with the AI in Mu Zhong's carriage so that both parties could pinpoint each other's location more accurately.
Upon seeing that Wei Huan was already at the finish line, the surprise on Yake's face was unhidden. "You've already reached the finish line."
Wei Huan did not hide the truth from him. "If you were a second later, you probably wouldn't have been able to contact me."
Yake smiled. "It seems Lady Luck is standing on my window ledge today."
Wei Huan said, "And your fairness and kindness. I'm grateful you testified for me during that confrontation with Haisang Country."
Yake shook his head. "It was merely a trick by the authorities, a grand play forcing me to declare my stance. They never truly intended to take action against Daxia, but they wanted the world to see that they had done their best to protect Haisang Country. I envy you greatly. Daxia genuinely protects you. I knew that day, no matter the outcome, it would not change Daxia's support for you."
Wei Huan smiled at this. He did indeed feel Daxia's protection, the kind of principled protection of its own that brought with it the feeling of being loved. Hearing it from Yake's mouth, Wei Huan felt a warmth spread through his chest, realizing his fortune even more clearly. If he were in Aosam, he would probably suffer the same political suppression as Yake, eventually escaping with heavy wounds, wouldn't he?
Wei Huan commanded the vehicle to turn around, then notified the crew, who were about to open the celebratory champagne, that the celebration would have to be postponed and that battle was likely about to begin. Everyone had no objections when they heard they were going to rescue Yake. Those who knew about Yake's situation were quite sympathetic to his stance and predicament. Furthermore, fighting Sea Beasts was very easy; they could gather materials and earn DKP, so what was there to lose?
Wei Huan ordered the opened champagne to be put back and for everyone to rest and recover their stamina in shifts. Yake had not yet crossed the 80-line, and he was being followed by an unknown number of Sea Beasts. It would take over a day for them to meet, which was perfect for a period of recuperation before another good fight.
Before ending the communication, Yake bashfully asked for some energy. After all, not everyone was like Wei Huan, who had Ghost Crows farming energy that could be used to supplement the power for full-speed advancement. Higher-level Vehicles naturally consumed more, and while the energy on a normal person's carriage could easily last three or four days, anything more was quite rare. Yake had probably not been able to replenish his energy while being pursued by Aosam. Now that he had entered the assessment time and was being tailed by a group of Sea Beasts, he had completely lost the opportunity to open treasure chests to replenish his energy.
Wei Huan traded a good amount of energy to Yake, sighing inwardly. Just barely, this pillar of the human race was on the verge of being wrecked and buried in this forgotten corner. What an immense loss that would have been for humanity.