Chapter 173: The Ninth Level (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Ten meters.
Twenty meters.
Fifty meters.
Eighty meters.
Until reaching a hundred meters high, their inertia was depleted, and they began freefalling.
Falling from a hundred meters high onto the sea surface was almost the same as falling onto the ground.
With a “plop” sound, they fell into the sea like dumplings.
Even the bodies of the Ocean Guardians made of special alchemical materials couldn’t withstand such a fierce impact.
The moment they touched the sea surface, their bodies shattered into pieces.
Seeing this scene, Ji Chen smiled.
This was his newly developed tactic, simple and brutal.
Using seawater to send enemies flying into the air and then using gravity to harm them.
This method consumed less mana than using water blades to kill enemies and had excellent results.
This wave only consumed a quarter of his mana but managed to kill over eight hundred Ocean Guardians.
After this one-time strike, it took half an hour for the next wave to appear.
There were still over a thousand Ocean Guardians in the new wave.
The battle began.
High above the sea, remnants of the Ocean Guardians’ bodies occasionally surfaced, some propelled into the air before crashing back down onto the water’s surface. Alongside them were the lifeless forms of Naga warriors, Dragon Blood Murlocs, and Pure Water Sea Pixies, all floating aimlessly.
Under the silent sea surface.
The battle continued incessantly.
Controlling the water blade, Ji Chen shattered the Ocean Guardian in front of him.
He felt relieved, but there was also a hint of exhaustion in his eyes.
No matter how strengthened his body was as a Tidal Lord profession, commanding the army and fighting with all his might for several hours still made him feel tired.
During these two hours, the number of Ocean Guardians he had slain remained unknown, as their shattered bodies blanketed the entire expanse of the sea surface, forming a layer several meters thick over an area spanning tens of meters, transforming the ocean into a graveyard of their remains.
At present, only a handful of Naga warriors lingered, a mere fraction of their former presence.
These loyal guards were still fighting fiercely despite being severely injured.
If their bone blades were bitten off, they used their arms; if their arms were broken, they used their mouths until they were torn apart and their bodies sank into the deep sea.
Only a few Dragon Blood Murlocs remained as well.
Each Dragon Blood Murloc had killed at least ten times the number of enemies, but their individual combat power, although strong, couldn’t withstand the siege of enemies several times their number, and they fell one by one.
Among the Pure Water Sea Pixies at the rear, only about ten remained.
All three units were almost completely wiped out.
At this point, among the three heroes, only Anina still had some combat power, but she also sustained injuries.
Alice had already depleted her mana and had a pale face as she leaned on the Nexus, her eyes filled with frustration.
Benbo was also covered in wounds, looking weary. In a previous defensive line, he almost collapsed, and when the Nexus was about to be attacked, he used Dragon Blood Murlocs as human shields to block the attack, severely injuring himself in the process.
Seeing the approaching Ocean Guardians in the distance, Ji Chen looked at the remaining time.
Less than ten minutes left until the end.
As long as they could hold on for these ten minutes, they would pa.s.s the eighth level.
Ji Chen held the mana pendant tightly in his hand, trying to restore his mana as quickly as possible.
The scarce tridents and water arrows shot out, shattering dozens of Ocean Guardians, but more were quickly approaching.
Anina rushed out, her slightly chubby face filled with determination.
This young girl, who appeared to be only in her teens, had already experienced countless trials and battles, honing her combat skills to be invincible.
Her fighting spirit was also unmatched, standing fearlessly in front of hundreds of enemies, vowing to stop them.
She managed to block one-third of the Ocean Guardians, but the rest bypa.s.sed her and headed straight for the Nexus.
Facing the overwhelming enemy force, they were like a lone boat in a storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
All remaining troops charged out and, after killing the last batch of enemies, got submerged in the enemy swarm.
Hundreds of Ocean Guardians did not hesitate, charging towards Ji Chen.
Ji Chen ignored the imminent attack, manipulating the water blade while absorbing the final bit of mana from the mana pendant into his body.
His eyes suddenly brightened.
He raised his right hand.
Once again, he manipulated the seawater, sending the approaching Ocean Guardians into the air.
After sending them out of the sea surface, Ji Chen’s face instantly turned extremely pale, and the mana pendant in his hand finally lost its radiance, depleting all the stored mana.
Feeling the emptiness inside him, the complete depletion of mana, Ji Chen’s face showed a hint of bitterness.
At this point, he was completely exhausted, and he couldn’t maintain a floating state in the water anymore.
When he was about to fall into the deep sea, his arm was held.
Turning his head, he saw Alice tightly gripping him, her face filled with concern.
Ji Chen’s heart warmed, shaking his head to indicate that he was fine.
Time pa.s.sed, and the countdown finally reached zero.
Until a pleasant system notification sounded in his ears.
“Ding- Illusory Realm Trial eighth level pa.s.sed, Nexus integrity ioo%.”
Ji Chen finally showed a relieved smile on his face.
Although he knew they couldn’t continue to challenge further, he was still delighted to have pa.s.sed the eighth level.
At this point, it was not so much about seeking the rewards of the elusive divine beings but rather wanting to see how far he could push himself, where his limits lay.
From the current situation, he estimated that he could only stop at the eighth level.
All the troops had been annihilated, and now only he and the three heroes remained alive. No matter how optimistic he was, it was impossible to pa.s.s the higher difficulty of the ninth level.
Although he couldn’t proceed, it didn’t hinder his curiosity to see what the ninth level was like.
Two hours later.
Adjusting himself to the peak state and looking at the remaining three heroes, Ji Chen resolutely started the challenge of the ninth level.
However, instead of encountering any enemies, a flash of white light suddenly appeared.
They returned to the stone hall where they started.
Just as Ji Chen was somewhat puzzled, suddenly hundreds of beams of light descended, and all the dead units reappeared.
At this moment, the system notification resounded.
“Congratulations on pa.s.sing all the trials.”
Pa.s.sed?
Ji Chen was dumbfounded.
But 1 haven’t even seen the ninth level yet!
As if sensing his inner doubt, the system notification continued.
“The High Tower Illusory Realm has a total of nine levels. The first eight levels are normal trials, while the ninth level is a test of courage. As long as the challenger opens the ninth level with the intention of challenging their limits, it will be considered a pa.s.s.”
“The rewards of the divine beings can be collected on the platform on the other side of the hall.”
After a while, Ji Chen finally snapped out of his daze.
His face looked somewhat strange.
How should 1 put it? It somehow feels like child’s play.
But no matter what, he still had some expectations for the so-called rewards of the divine beings.
Being bestowed with the name of divine beings, they shouldn’t be ordinary things, right?
As the system prompts ended, the white barrier on the other side of the hall’s pa.s.sage quietly disappeared.
Suppressing his excitement, Ji Chen walked briskly towards it.
At the end of the floating pa.s.sage was a high platform.
Ascending the steps onto the platform, Ji Chen saw three stone pillars.
Upon closer look, each stone pillar had something on it. On the left stone pillar, there was a diamond-shaped blue crystal.
It emitted a strange energy.
What is this?
Curious, Ji Chen picked it up and examined it.
[Control Crystal]
[Level: Special]
[Effect: 0 By refining it with mana, you can control all the Ruins Guardians and Ocean Guardians in the entire ancient land of the divine realm. @ After fusing the Control Crystal into the territory, it can automatically guard the territory with Ruins Guardians and Ocean Guardians.]
“Holy s.h.i.t!”
Ji Chen couldn’t help but swear, feeling an overwhelming excitement.
As for the Ruins Guardians and Ocean Guardians scattered across the vast ancient land of the divine realm, the exact number remaining eluded his knowledge, but it was certain that a significant quant.i.ty still persisted.
He had been coveting these two types of guards for a long time!
As the numbers of Ruins Guardians and Ocean Guardians grew, he would be forced to retreat. However, if he could successfully bring them back to his territory and harness their inherent alchemical abilities, configuring their settings accordingly, he would have an indefatigable and formidable group of guardians who could safeguard his territory ceaselessly.
As he thought about it, Ji Chen suddenly felt a pang of regret.
He had killed so many Ruins Guardians before, how many allies had he lost!?
Regret filled his heart, intense regret.
But with the excitement brought by the first reward, Ji Chen was eagerly antic.i.p.ating what would come next.
He put the control crystal into his backpack and looked at what was on the middle stone pillar.
His eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.
Was this still a crystal?