Soon, the Hero Squad set out again. Traveling light made them significantly faster, and with the energy detector crafted by Mu Zhong, they headed at full speed toward the next Dark Beast Royal territory.
Half a day later, they returned to the mountains. However, these peaks were far more massive than the ones they had encountered upon arrival. If the first mountain range Wei Huan had destroyed with bombs was as grand as the Himalayas, this range was a hundred times that scale. Even at a high velocity of 1,000 kilometers per hour, they had traveled into these mountains for half a day without reaching the Royal's domain.
"Almost there." Mu Zhong looked at his energy detector and then at the pillar-like mountain rising ahead of them. "It should be right there."
Wei Huan saw it too. In fact, he had spotted it thirty minutes prior. At that time, the mountain appeared as thin as a strand of hair—a black iron rod thrust from the heavens into the earth, with half lost in the sky and half buried deep underground, leaving only a small segment visible in between. Now, ten minutes later, the mountain appeared as thick as a water barrel, but its height had scaled exponentially. One had to tilt their head back to the limit to see where it vanished into the clouds.
In a place like this, you didn't need an energy detector to know it was extraordinary. One couldn't simply pass by without taking a look.
"Wei Huan, look down," Mu Zhong suddenly pointed. "The rocks below are shaped strangely, and there are fewer and fewer plants."
Wei Huan looked down. He had noticed the anomaly as well. The mountains stretching beneath them were no lower than Mount Everest, but unlike Everest's vertical peaks, these mountain tips looked as if they had been bent by a gargantuan wind, all curving away from the "Celestial Pillar."
While it wasn't uncommon on Earth for constant strong winds to shape mountains—making one side gentle and the other steep—this was different. These mountains looked 'soft'. They weren't just tilted; the tips were curled inward into circular arcs. What kind of environment could produce such shapes? Evidently, the minerals of the Dark Beast Plane possessed a flexible tenacity unlike those on Earth.
This strangeness put Wei Huan on high alert. He turned his gaze back to the pillar. After a moment of thought, he had "Dot Mom" release one of her "great-grandchildren."
Dot Mom was the Queen; the little dog-head was the successor (the Princess); the grandchildren had evolved into Burrow Beast Elites; and the newly emerged Facehugger Elites were what Wei Huan called the "great-grandchildren."
The pink elite Facehugger looked far from cute. Its ferocious form crawling out of Dot Mom's abdominal cavity and scurrying to Wei Huan's feet gave off a dangerous vibe. However, it was absolutely loyal. Having developed a sliver of intelligence as an elite, it understood Wei Huan was its "Creator" and regarded him with worship.
As it crouched motionless at his feet, the rest of the crew took notice.
"Wei Huan?" Mu Zhong asked, puzzled.
Wei Huan didn't speak. He simply issued a mental command. The pink Facehugger's legs coiled and snapped, launching it upward. Though only half a meter in size, its explosive power sent it ten meters high, leaping out of the air bubble Dot Mom maintained around her shell.
The moment it left the bubble, everything changed.
Everyone watched as the pink creature—like a petal caught in a hurricane—was instantly swatted backward. It vanished from sight in a blink.
The crew jerked their heads back in shock, only then realizing how hostile the external environment was. For the past few days, Wei Huan had consumed Mana to keep Dot Mom enlarged so everyone could ride on her back. They maintained a speed of 1,200 km/h, which was far beyond what Mu Zhong's standard wind-shields could handle. Consequently, Wei Huan had to expend even more Mana to keep Dot Mom's air bubble active at all times.
The Legendary-grade Hero's bubble insulated them from the outside world, keeping the ride fast and steady. They hadn't realized the wind outside had exceeded the limits of human endurance. The "great-grandchild" was a Level 5 elite, capable of dueling a Sequence 4 Challenger. It even had the ability to fly. Yet, in Wei Huan's perception, it was swept away without the slightest ability to resist. Within ten seconds, it was blown beyond the summoning range and returned to the Great Tomb.
This meant the wind speed exceeded 7,000 kilometers per hour—more than double the speed of their war vehicles. It was no wonder a Level 5 elite couldn't cope; while it wouldn't die, it lost all control over its body, flying a hundred miles in seconds.
"The wind is that strong?" Mu Zhong was stunned. "I guessed the terrain would make it windy, but not like this." He looked at the air bubble above them. "Thank god for Dot Mom. Without her, getting here would have been a nightmare."
Wei Huan looked thoughtful. "No wonder the journey felt long. Dot Mom must have been fighting the wind, slowing down without us realizing it."
"Are you saying... it might be hard to get closer?"
"I don't know. Let's try."
---
Dot Mom moved forward for another thirty minutes, but her speed slowed further. They could see the air bubble deforming under the pressure, threatening to burst.
"Screee—!!" Dot Mom warned.
Wei Huan acted instantly. "Captain Fang, open the shield."
A golden, semi-transparent dome materialized outside the air bubble, blocking the gale. The pressure on Dot Mom vanished, and the force of the wind she had been fighting suddenly propelled her forward. The scenery blurred past, revealing just how slow they had been moving.
But the relief was short-lived. Cracks appeared on Captain Fang's shield.
Fang sat cross-legged like a meditative Buddha, his face solemn. The cracks on the shield flickered with light as he rapidly repaired them.
'Crack! Crack!'
The sounds of shattering continued. Fang's expression grew strained; the external gale was too powerful. Wei Huan quickly ordered Dot Mom to slow down. Once they dropped to 500 km/h, the cracks stopped forming, and Fang's complexion improved.
However, the respite didn't last. As they edged closer, the cracks returned. Wei Huan didn't order another slowdown because doing so would mean spending more time in the wind, which would be a different kind of drain on Captain Fang.
The 163 people behind Fang sat in silence, their energies gradually linking together. Like streams flowing into a river, their power poured into Captain Fang. The new cracks flickered and vanished, leaving the shield as smooth as an eggshell.
But no one relaxed. They were still a long way from the mountain, yet they had nearly exhausted their trump cards. It was becoming clear that truly reaching that mountain would be nearly impossible.
After a long silence, Wei Huan suddenly asked Mu Zhong, "Was that encyclopedia complete?"
"What?"
"The 'Dark Beast Encyclopedia' rewarded from the 'Dark Beast Nemesis' title."
Mu Zhong thought it over. "I'm certain that was the whole book. I read it cover to cover. It only describes the Dark Beast species. Now that you mention it... why were there no entries for Royals or the King? And nothing about this plane's geographical anomalies. Perhaps we only got one volume. It's a 'Dark Beast' encyclopedia, not a 'Dark Beast World' encyclopedia."
Mu Zhong then tilted his head toward the cube on his shoulder. "You have it, don't you? You must have the data on this, or you wouldn't have told me which way to find the sea. Do I have to ask to get an answer?"
Wei Huan looked on expectantly. After a few seconds, instead of a translation from Mu Zhong, a new notification flickered on his virtual display.
[Main Quest: Rescue Companions 0/272 (FAILED)]
[Side Quest 1: Kill Dark Beast King 0/1 (INCOMPLETE)]
[Side Quest 2: Kill Dark Beast Royals 12/293 (INCOMPLETE)]
[Side Quest 3: Kill Dark Beast Lords 20,098 / 1,000,000 (INCOMPLETE)]
[Side Quest 4: Kill Dark Beasts 1,221,000 / 100,000,000 (INCOMPLETE)]
[Side Quest 5: Intelligence from the East 0/1 (COMPLETED)]
The failed main quest was minimized. Now, a sixth side quest appeared.
[Side Quest 6: Secrets of the Dark Beast Plane (INCOMPLETE)]
Explore "The Twin Celestial Pillars" (INCOMPLETE)
Explore "The Abyssal Trench" (INCOMPLETE)
Explore "The Shadow of the World" (INCOMPLETE)
Explore "The Radiant Stars" (INCOMPLETE)
Everyone with a system interface was stunned. Discussions broke out immediately.
"There are secrets in the Dark Beast Plane? What kind of secrets? I thought we just had to kill the King to win."
"Killing the King wins the war, but the world isn't as simple as we thought. To get an SSS-rank clearance, we have to dig deeper."
"Without 'Iron Heart,' who would have thought these existed?"
"It says it's suppressed by world consciousness and can't speak directly—this is basically a map! Every rule has a loophole."
Wei Huan looked at the small black cube. He was becoming increasingly interested in this high-level AI. It likely knew everything—including why humanity was chosen for the challenges—but was restricted by a higher authority. Why was it giving these clues now? Probably because they had already arrived here. The more they explored, the more "Iron Heart" could reveal.
The mountain in front of them was undoubtedly one of the "Twin Celestial Pillars." The description was too specific to be anything else. However, the term "Twin" suggested another mountain, but Wei Huan couldn't see anything else nearby.
The crew continued to speculate: "Where's the other one? Is one above ground and one below? Or does it split into two above the clouds?"
"Abyssal Trench, Shadow of the World, Radiant Stars... the names are so vague. How do we find them?"
"Shadow and Stars... does that refer to day and night? One for shadow, one for stars?"
"The Dark Beast plane has day and night cycles. Maybe 'Shadow' is the day and 'Stars' is the night."
While the names were ambiguous, everyone realized that without the AI's prompt, they wouldn't even know these places existed. "Iron Heart's" value jumped several notches in everyone's eyes; it was a pro-human "Core System" that was finding ways to leak critical intel.
Wei Huan was about to discuss the four secrets with Mu Zhong when another 'crack' sounded above. Even though Captain Fang repaired it instantly, it meant they had reached their limit. Wei Huan looked at the mountain and went silent.
"Iron Heart" had told them there were secrets here, but their strength was insufficient. They had used all their cards and were still likely over a thousand kilometers away from the actual mountain. This violent wind was an impassable chasm.
"Stop."
Wei Huan decided to call it. The gains from this trip were already sufficient. There was no need to risk everything. If Captain Fang reached his breaking point and the shield shattered, everyone would be exposed. Someone of Liu Chengzhi's level might be shredded instantly.
Everyone stood up, waiting for orders. Wei Huan said, "We stop here. Spend the next two days resting. There will be no further missions. Once we leave this plane, we head straight for the Level 6 world—there are plenty of ruins waiting for us there."
He ordered Dot Mom to turn back. With the wind at their backs, they flew rapidly. Once they reached a point where the wind was manageable, Wei Huan called for another stop. "I want to look at these mountains below."
Mu Zhong agreed. "I was thinking the same. These curved mountains won't appear once we go further back. Plus, there are some plants on them. Iron Heart can identify what's useful. We should take some samples back."
---
At this level of wind, Captain Fang could easily maintain the shield for everyone. The "Number One Knight of Daxia" was not to be underestimated. Within his protection, the crew could even step off Dot Mom's shell.
Under Fang's "permission," the rocks and plants of the Dark Beast Plane were allowed to pass into the shield. This allowed the team to study the strange terrain without leaving the protection.
The mountains had been bent by the wind into nearly circular arcs. On the leeward side, the rocks were craggy and layered. Tiny plants grew in the crevices—anything taller would never survive here. As for animals, there were none.
Mu Zhong jumped down, and the black cube flew from his shoulder, scanning the materials. "Plants that survive in such a harsh environment are no ordinary things," Mu Zhong said, winking at Wei Huan. "Iron Heart suggests we take them back for study."
He used his perfect-grade spatial box to store two "crooked-neck" trees, stone chips, and ore samples. The box wasn't large, yet Mu Zhong was squeezing space to fit these mystery items, making Wei Huan curious.
Wei Huan found another crooked tree within the shield's range. It was only half a meter tall with six leaves and two branches, looking severely malnourished. But when Wei Huan touched it, he froze. It didn't feel like a plant. The cold, hard leaves felt like jade. He tried to pinch it, but even with his 600 points of Strength, he couldn't leave a mark.
The others—Liu Chengzhi, Xiong Yi, Captain Xue—came over. They each tried to break the sapling and marveled at its durability. Even Hammer tried.
"So hard!"
"Is there really something I can't crush?"
"The universe is truly full of wonders."
"Take more of these back. If we can't break them, what machine on Earth could?"
Finally, even the "depressed" Xu Qingqiang was dragged over to touch it. Once the novelty wore off, Mu Zhong stored the tree.
"Do we need more?" Wei Huan asked.
Mu Zhong shook his head. "We don't know what it is yet—whether it's good or bad. We can't take it back to Earth yet. We'll study it in the Challenge World first."
"Fair. We'll keep it on the war vehicle. We have plenty of experts there."
"That was your foresight," Mu Zhong said. "At first, I didn't understand why you insisted on bringing so many experts into the Challenge World. Now I see. Many things we don't understand require professionals." He glanced at the cube. "Iron Heart definitely knows, but it's playing dead. Once our research reaches a certain point, the restriction will lift, and it will give us the answers."
"Fine. You're closer to it than I am anyway."
"What? Are you jealous?"
The people passing by immediately went silent, holding their breath and pretending to be furniture while straining their ears to listen.
Wei Huan replied with a half-smile, "It had better just be an AI."
The crew felt like they had just been fed a piece of candy. A stable relationship between the bosses was a blessing for the whole war vehicle.
Mu Zhong rubbed his slightly warm ear. "The wind here isn't too bad; the mountain is blocking it. Should we camp here or leave?"
"Let's leave," Wei Huan said.