Under Wei Huan's command, the ten teleportation portals that had already been deployed began to pour forth a literal waterfall of skeletal undead and swarthy, robust walking corpses. Though they surged out with frenetic intensity, they remained in perfect order, surrounding the Diamond Chest from all directions. They halted only when they reached the rear of the Prayer squad.
In that transition between motion and stillness, they resembled a seasoned army, disciplined and absolute.
The entire coastline was soon packed. The undead army began to expand outward, stretching toward the very edge of the horizon until they seemed to fill the entire world. Even the sky was swarming with massive numbers of Demon Eye Lords and Burrow Beasts, forming a total encirclement of the Diamond Chest.
Finally, the undead legion fell into a profound silence, save for the flickering green soul-fire rising within their eye sockets.
Despite knowing these were friendly forces, the surrounded Prayers could not help but swallow hard, their bodies tensed to the limit. Only those standing in the heart of this spectral encirclement could truly comprehend the sheer terror of such an aura.
Having completed the final deployment, Wei Huan looked toward his father-in-law on the screen and reported, "Commander Mu, the deployment is complete. We can initiate at any time!"
Mu Dehao returned a formal salute with a grave expression. "Good work." Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "All personnel evacuate! Await my command!"
The General Commander of Great Bear also waved a massive hand. "Evacuate! Prepare for action!"
When the war vehicle fleet had retreated thirty miles, Wei Huan's vehicle was the first to stop; this was the limit of his summoning range. The war vehicle specially arranged for him was a Tier 6 vehicle capable of flight. Currently, most chest monsters could not fly. Even if the colossal leaves of the Deceiver Remnants could pierce the heavens, it was not true flight and carried great limitations.
This Remnant's body was a hundred miles long; breaking through it from the outside was impossible. Furthermore, Wei Huan had to protect the Prayers who were risking their lives to open the chest.
As Wei Huan's vehicle hovered, the other war vehicles continued to distance themselves. Over the past few days, the Azure Dragon Army had acquired two Tier 6 vehicles, while Great Bear had one. Aside from Wei Huan's vehicle, the other two Tier 6 war vehicles chose to leave the immediate area; they would attack from the outside in.
Against a Diamond-tier monster, no one dared to face it head-on except for Wei Huan and his crew.
Soon, everyone was in position.
Countless micro-cameras flew over the Diamond Chest. At the highest point, a massive eye—rolling about with trailing fascia and blood vessels—looked down from above.
The time to begin drew near, and the atmosphere grew increasingly taut. Some Prayers could not help but wipe the sweat from their palms.
Finally, a voice crackled in their tactical headsets.
"Operation Start!"
The forty Prayers charged forward through the path cleared by the undead army. Some ran on foot, some used dash items, and one even had a "Bamboo Dragonfly" propeller on his head, leaping into the air.
Among them, one in particular caught Wei Huan's attention: a female Angel from Daxia. She was not Jiang Yue, yet at the moment of departure, a pair of angelic light-wings unfurled from her back, and she flew forward trailing a stream of shimmering light.
Wei Huan's gaze was drawn to her.
'Is that a skill? Or equipment?' Although the Challenge World was full of wonders, Wei Huan had lived two lives. Aside from Jiang Yue growing wings after turning into a Soul Angel upon death, he had never seen such angelic wings on a living person.
Wei Huan knew that he had changed too much of history, allowing some previously unknown talents to have a chance to shine. Would these wings provide a positive boost to her sequence? Since she had been selected for this mission, she couldn't have been completely obscure before.
However... the speed of those wings was truly nothing to brag about.
After all, the distance was only 100 meters. A young male Prayer from Great Bear, using an acceleration item, was much faster and successfully became the first to touch the chest.
The forty Prayers had been assigned to their respective leader vehicles before departure; any loot they opened would appear directly inside those war vehicles.
As the chest opened, the General Commander of Great Bear could not hide his joy. Mu Dehao, on the other hand, kept a stony face and said nothing. It appeared the young Great Bear Prayer had indeed touched the chest first.
The next step would be to see if he could obtain the Prayer Training Ground.
Wei Huan was conflicted about whether he should congratulate them. However, for the moment, he had his own work to do.
Upon opening the chest, a dazzling white light enveloped the area, instantly stripping everyone of their vision. Others watching via camera feeds saw nothing but a blank white screen for a long time.
Wei Huan's green-flaming eyes went wide. The Elite Demon Eye Lord he was possessing bulged its eyeball; black blood vessels spread like a spiderweb from behind the eye, covering the entire sphere. Wei Huan poured in his Nether Power, desperately trying to see through the white light.
Unbeknownst to him, under the pressure of his intense desire, the black veins on the Elite Demon Eye Lord reached a terrifying density. When that power finally surged into the depths of the eyeball—
'Boom!'
The white light vanished from Wei Huan's sight. He saw clearly as the monster was released from the chest. At this point, the chest had actually disappeared, but the monster inside seemed to still be emerging from a spatial tunnel.
His guess was correct: it was a Deceiver Remnant of the Plant Civilization.
Like a small clump of seaweed meeting air, it rapidly expanded and swelled. The leaves became thick and fleshy, the stems grew massive, and it spread outward at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it spanned several miles, expanding toward Wei Huan's true location.
But Wei Huan was not focused on that.
His vision fell upon those brave people who, with the fragile bodies of healers, were facing a Diamond-tier Boss for the sake of a mere possibility.
Wei Huan noticed that ten people had disappeared.
Great Bear had sent more males, so they were further ahead during the scramble; seven of them had vanished. Daxia had lost two females and one male Angel, including the woman with the wings of light.
These ten people had likely gone to accept the Training Ground trial, disappearing from this plane just like Xu Qingqiang had.
However, the remaining thirty people, having been a step too slow to be teleported, were now completely exposed to danger.
This was a Diamond-tier monster!
A nearby Angel from Great Bear, still blinded by the white light and unable to react, was pierced through the body by a thin vine. In the next second, that vine swelled to the size of a building. The man was torn apart so quickly that not even blood could be seen before he vanished.
Three or four others were swatted away by expanding leaves; there was no telling where they landed or if they were still alive.
Wei Huan ignored his own situation, focusing entirely on the Prayers. Under his command, the fastest Two-Headed Phantom Demons moved out.
Flapping their draconic wings, the Phantom Demons flew into the midst of the Prayers like lightning. Some snatched Prayers up with a claw, while others were grabbed by the legs by Prayers with faster reflexes. The Phantom Demons were racing against time, snatching lives from the Reaper's scythe.
The Phantom Demons that failed to save anyone turned into meat shields and bayonets, meeting the ferocious leaves and roots head-on. They used fangs and claws to tear at every attack that reached them.
Some Prayers were lucky and were rescued easily. Others were swatted down mid-evacuation and fell into the monster's encirclement, disappearing from sight.
By this time, Wei Huan's undead army had swarmed the monster. Some attacked, some searched, and others provided cover.
Wei Huan was multitasking to an extreme degree, commanding the undead down to the finest detail. 'This squad goes here, that squad must go to its death, the Demon Eye Lords in the sky must suppress this leaf—if they don't break it within ten seconds, the people below are dead.'
He calculated frantically, deploying his forces with single-minded focus. Finally, one by one, the Prayers were plucked from the crisis by his efforts.
In those brief thirty seconds, the people in the other war vehicles were still staring at white screens. Wei Huan, however, had already completed a masterclass in battlefield micromanagement.
Once the white light finally vanished and most of those who could be saved were rescued—as the sky-high black leaves spread across a hundred miles—Wei Huan suddenly snapped out of it.
'Had he just seen deep into the foliage? Could he see even the places obscured by the leaves?'
Realizing something, Wei Huan jumped his vision to a nearby Demon Eye Lord and looked back at the one he had just possessed. Everything became clear.
The Elite Demon Eye Lord he frequently possessed had advanced. It had become a Hero-tier Demon Eye Lord.
Its appearance had changed significantly. The blood vessels and muscle fibers behind it had doubled in number, splitting into two sides and forming a pair of black wings that spanned ten meters when unfurled. The wings were, of course, composed of muscle and vessels; upon closer inspection, they seemed alive, writhing in a sickening manner.
As its summoner, Wei Huan was extremely satisfied with this evolution.
The Hero-tier Demon Eye Lord's appearance was not only more imposing, but more importantly, it was practical. It increased the creature's flight speed, and its "antenna" was now a double-enhanced version. It granted him a 360-degree three-dimensional field of vision, and it could see into areas that were not completely sealed.
It was like looking at a closed box; he couldn't see inside, but if there were even a pinhole-sized opening, the obstruction would be blurred out, allowing him to see the interior clearly.
This "X-ray" ability might sound unseemly to some, but Wei Huan knew it was a massive upgrade, causing his command over the undead army to leap forward.
To have such an upgrade before the Opening Battle was fantastic. Wei Huan was exceptionally pleased with this evolution.
He then projected his vision back into the Hero Demon Eye Lord. As the great eye rolled, he used his deliberate observation to find a few more Prayers struggling deep within the leaves and roots.
'Finding them is enough.'
Wei Huan ordered a portion of the Phantom Demons to carry the rescued Prayers back to his location. The rest lunged once more into the depths of the Diamond-tier monster.
This time, the battle was slightly more difficult. After all, the monster had adapted to its environment after being unsealed and was moving with more agility, savagely lashing out at the undead.
However, it wasn't a major problem.
Small Kobolds had been pre-equipped onto the heads, shoulders, and waists of several Phantom Demons. Upon Wei Huan's command, they all looked like they were choking on food; their eyes rolled back, their necks stiffened, and they let out a collective: "Hock-tui!"
Xu Qingqiang, Captain Xue, Hammer Brother, and the others were spat out.
"Jie jie jie!"
"Grandson, your granddaddy is here!"
Upon appearing, they dove with clear purpose toward the root system, guided and supported by the undead as they carved a path straight underground.
After a minor struggle, the last three trapped Prayers were successfully rescued. Anyone else was either dead from the start or in a place even Wei Huan couldn't see—though the latter was unlikely, as the Hero-tier Demon Eye Lord's abilities were now god-like.
Once the people were saved, it was just a matter of killing the monster. They had killed a Diamond-tier monster once before; they were experienced now. Furthermore, everyone had improved in the interim, making the battle much easier.
Still, Wei Huan ordered a quick resolution. He didn't know when the ten people undergoing the trial would return. In such a chaotic scene, it would be a tragedy if someone finally obtained the Training Ground only to be killed the moment they stepped out.
No matter which country obtained the Prayer Training Ground, it would be a massive boost for humanity. With a great enemy looming, Wei Huan hoped Daxia would get it, but if they didn't, it was fine. He would just feel a bit of regret; life goes on. The only one Wei Huan was determined to secure was the Dancer Training Ground.
To Wei Huan's disappointment, the "core" of this Remnant was not at the chest's location. He had launched a full assault only to hit nothing but air. His undead and crew turned the surrounding three miles upside down but failed to find that disgusting "brain."
Next was a systematic purge from the inside out.
If they still couldn't find the core after the purge, there was one final trick: the war vehicle that held the loot would leave. The Challenge World would then teleport the monster directly in front of them.
The reason they didn't do this from the start was because Diamond-tier monsters were terrifyingly strong; the Great Bear leader vehicle likely couldn't tank it. Purging from the inside also ensured a safe environment for those returning from the trial. As long as they were safe, everything else was manageable.
The sheer numerical advantage of the undead army proved crucial against such a massive monster. For a time, every leaf was covered in undead. Shura Horses stepped on Facehuggers, flying onto the giant leaves. Though some were crushed, the vast majority gripped the leaves easily and searched downward along the stems.
The Demon Eye Lords' ranged attacks and the Phantom Demons were the primary damage dealers. The latter, in particular, possessed great destructive power. While they weren't as good at breakthrough as the crew members, they didn't fear death. They would sacrifice themselves at the critical moment to destroy a target. Wei Huan found them very easy to use.
He needed to continue recruiting Phantom Demons.
The Siphon Beasts were also very useful. To upgrade them, he needed to catch more to feed them, but his vision wasn't far enough yet. Those beasts were sensitive and could evade him.
'I hope another one dies soon,' he thought.
Wei Huan thought of the upcoming Great Battlefield. If he killed enough, he wondered if those dim-witted Siphon Beasts would appear in the Great Tomb world? That would confirm his earlier suspicions.
After a brief distraction, Wei Huan refocused and observed the surroundings.
Having returned to its true size, the Remnant's leaves were massive, attacking the war vehicles in the sky. Those vehicles were equipped with ample firepower; turrets and ranged units attacked simultaneously, destroying two large leaves in short order. Currently, they were entangled with roots emerging from the sea. Some roots were as long as the leaves, lunging like dragons and moving with great flexibility. The war vehicles maneuvered nimbly, their attacks shattering roots into pieces that fell into the sea. When roots struck the vehicles, they were blocked by shields, which then retaliated with Tier 6 lightning strikes, turning the roots to ash.
It looked hectic, but there were no major issues. If they truly couldn't win, they could fly higher. Wei Huan simply left some undead to help clear a landing spot.
As for the 300 war vehicles sent by both nations, they pushed in from the outside. Once Wei Huan confirmed the core wasn't at the chest's location, it became a game of "Find the Hidden Object." No one knew where it was hiding; perhaps it was at the very edge?
The battle proceeded according to plan. Though there were occasional scares, most were resolved. As more and more of the monster was cleared, everyone's attention shifted to the Prayers fighting for their destiny.
Wei Huan had saved twenty-one people, and ten had been teleported away. This meant nine had died on the spot. Healers were difficult to train, especially elite Angels who had reached Sequence 5. Every life lost was a significant loss for humanity. Unfortunately, death was the most common sight on the road of the Challenge.
Wei Huan wasn't sure when or how those undergoing the trial would return, so he cleared the surrounding area meticulously. Even a small severed blade of grass had to be dug out and crushed.
This focus was the reason why the Great Bear island base received the most direct benefit. Although the ground facilities were destroyed initially, the ground itself remained mostly intact despite the Diamond-tier monster's attack. This would make reconstruction much easier.
The Great Bear leader was constantly beaming. The loot was in their vehicle, meaning their crew member had a higher chance of taking the Training Ground. Furthermore, the damage to the island's facilities was not nearly as severe as he had imagined. These were all good things.
It was then that Wei Huan's spreading undead finally found the deeply hidden core of the Deceiver Remnant deep beneath the seabed. With a massive influx of undead and Wei Huan's crew being teleported over, the battle was nearing its end.
During this period, there were almost no unexpected incidents. Neither from monsters nor from humans.
The joint development by Daxia and Great Bear, combined with the return of humanity's strongest, Wei Huan, meant that if any other country had ideas about how "clumsy" they were or how difficult the Diamond monster was, they kept them to themselves. As for now, who dared to have ideas?
The kill was so smooth that appearing now would be like volunteering to be the next Boss. In front of Wei Huan, they probably wouldn't even qualify as a Boss. Wei Huan, having reached the Tier 6 world, truly held a greater deterrent over the nations still in Tier 5. They didn't dare before, and they dared even less now.
When the Diamond monster died, no matter how bitter Hodgson was behind the scenes, he was the first to send a message of congratulations.
"Congratulations to Great Bear and Daxia for the joint kill of the Diamond-tier monster. We wish the Prayer Training Ground trial every success, allowing the strength of the human race to take flight!"
Nations that didn't get along with Daxia saw this and followed suit, offering congratulations and even sending gifts. A Diamond monster that was planned to take three days to kill had been slain in just half a day.
For the rest of the time, the leaders of the two armies were primarily occupied with responding to congratulations from all sides. These nations weren't speaking up just to be polite; the Prayer Training Ground was important to every country. It was unwise to antagonize these two nations right now. Some even tried to use the success of the mission as an excuse to get in touch with Wei Huan, which would solve all their problems.
In the blink of an eye, night fell.
A tenth of the island base's reconstruction was complete, but the ten missing people had not returned.
Mu Dehao said, "Our Major Xu Qingqiang also obtained the Endless Prison Training Ground after fighting a Diamond-tier Remnant. He disappeared for a full three days before returning. In that trial, he was plunged into a bloody slaughter, fighting tens of thousands of monsters before successfully imprisoning them and obtaining the energy key to the prison. Be patient. They may be undergoing some form of suffering inside. We can only wish them well."
That night, no one slept. Even the leaders of other nations were watching, waiting for the result.
A Profession Training Ground was a wondrous thing, capable of improving a class's abilities and making up for its inherent weaknesses. Thus, their forms were not uniform. People were even curious: what would the Prayer Training Ground look like? Would it give them medical texts? Or bestow holy power directly?
"What do you think the Prayer Training Ground will look like?" Mu Zhong asked Wei Huan.
Wei Huan shook his head; he didn't know. In his previous life, humanity had failed at the Tier 6—or rather, the Tier 5 world. Many Training Grounds were never opened, which meant Wei Huan lacked a lot of foresight. Of the "Tank-Healer-DPS" trinity, they had only opened the Farmer sequence War Tower. The other two classes likely had low trigger rates because they were ranged; without this organized action, the Ranged and Healer Training Grounds might never have appeared.
However, if the Prayer trial also involved killing monsters, what then?
Wei Huan and Mu Zhong chatted idly. When it was time, they both entered the Profession Temple to cultivate.
In the kill of the Diamond monster, the Two-Headed Phantom Demons had once again shown incredible combat power, making Wei Huan desperate for the moment he could recruit them all and form an army. Today, he recruited Phantom Demons without hesitation. When his Nether Power ran low, he cultivated in the Great Tomb until his time reached the limit and his spirit was ejected.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that it was bright outside. Mu Zhong was waking him up.
Is it... morning?
"It's not dawn," Mu Zhong said, clearly knowing what he was thinking. He jumped off the bed and walked to the window. "It's not even midnight yet. You've only been cultivating for about four hours, but the sky suddenly lit up."
This was an anomaly.
Unless a monster had appeared, Wei Huan thought of the only possibility. He and Mu Zhong said simultaneously:
"The Training Ground!"
Indeed, if there was anything capable of such an anomaly—an anomaly that lit up the sky—it could only be the Prayer Training Ground that all of humanity was watching. It had finally emerged.