Plans

Starlight Forest was a gathering ground for High-Tier Ferocious Beasts. Its environment was ideal for them.

Some especially favorable areas had even been claimed by powerful Magic Beasts.

Golden-Bearded Mastiffs had claimed one stretch of fertile land after another. They were Tier 8 beasts that lived in groups; even Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts were unwilling to provoke them unless necessary.

A Golden-Bearded Mastiff needed only a month after birth to reach Tier 3 Combat Power. Their growth rate was frightening, though it then took nearly decades for them to reach adulthood.

So, among the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs' gathering grounds, some juveniles were still playing around.

But that was only by comparison. Even watching the enormous dogs, each more than three meters tall, play around was a shocking sight. An adult Golden-Bearded Mastiff stood over fifteen meters tall; when it rose upright, its head could reach above the trees.

"Too bad those juvenile Golden-Bearded Mastiffs don't have golden whiskers," Chen said regretfully as he looked them over.

The Golden-Bearded Mastiffs' golden whiskers symbolized their strength. They gradually changed from pale white to grayish yellow, and when they turned golden, it meant the beast had reached adulthood. The whiskers were also an extremely valuable material.

The proof required for this trial was fifteen strands of golden whiskers.

A Golden-Bearded Mastiff had only six whiskers, which meant each person had to kill at least three of them to gather enough.

"That's the leader of the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. It probably already has Tier 9 strength." Guen's eyes were fixed on an unusually large Golden-Bearded Mastiff in the distance. Every strand of its fur was golden. Even crawling, it stood taller than the other mastiffs on their feet. If it stood up, it would be at least thirty meters tall.

"This Golden-Bearded Mastiff group is too dangerous. Let's look for another one." Chen was already backing out.

"Yeah." Guen nodded.

A warrior's creed was to fear no challenge, but that didn't mean charging to one's death.

The leader of this group had already broken through the limit and reached Tier 9. There were also more than fifty adult Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. They couldn't afford to provoke them.

Guen and Chen immediately went to look for another group of Golden-Bearded Mastiffs.

Every Golden-Bearded Mastiff gathering ground had more than one group, usually between three and seven. Any more than that, and there probably wouldn't be enough territory to go around.

Figures flitted through the trees from time to time.

Everyone was after the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. This was one of the gathering grounds marked on the map, and with trial-takers from more than twenty villages and towns, as well as Leiquan City, spread across just a few gathering grounds, people were lying in wait near every group of mastiffs.

Still, everyone held back. No one made a move.

"Roar!"

The Golden-Bearded Mastiffs charged first, and the trial-takers hurriedly scattered.

The trial-takers showed no sign of attacking one another, but the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs could no longer hold back. The large number of humans gathered nearby made them uneasy, so they launched an attack to drive the intruders away.

Everyone feared the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs' might, so they gave way and retreated from the group.

Guen and Chen left as well. As they gathered information about the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs, they also asked around for news of Uncle Jack and the others.

They learned that the group they had just seen was considered small for this gathering ground. The largest group had five Tier 9 leaders and more than two hundred adult Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. Hardly anyone dared go near it.

For two days straight, there was no news of Uncle Jack, and no one dared make a move. Instead, the crowd kept growing.

Just as everyone was growing restless, a bald man approached Guen and Chen.

"Would you two be interested in taking on something big?"

Guen and Chen exchanged a glance. Chen asked coldly, "What kind of big?"

The bald man grinned. "Hunting Golden-Bearded Mastiffs, of course. We're planning to attack the largest group."

"What?" Chen was startled. "If you're looking to get yourself killed, count me out."

He turned to leave the bald man.

That group had a Tier 9 leader. Even Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts gave such groups a wide berth. How could anyone seriously plan to pick a fight with them? Most people were waiting for a chance to strike at a Golden-Bearded Mastiff on the edge of a group.

The bald man didn't get angry. Instead, he stopped Chen. "Everyone came here to pass the trial. To do that, we have to attack the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. Isn't that right?"

"But there's no need to attack the biggest group! That's just asking to die," Chen shot back.

"Of course. But what if everyone here attacks together?" the bald man said earnestly. "This trial includes more than twenty villages and towns in Starlight Forest, plus Leiquan City. There are over ten thousand trial-takers in all, but only five Golden-Bearded Mastiff gathering grounds. There are more than two thousand trial-takers just here. If everyone attacks at once, even the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs will struggle to hold us back. And don't forget, trial-takers range from Tier 6 to Tier 8. There are at least a hundred Tier 8 Warriors here. They can hold off the Tier 9 leaders while the rest of us deal with the other adult Golden-Bearded Mastiffs."

Guen and Chen were both tempted.

In terms of average strength, the more than two thousand trial-takers were slightly weaker than the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs, but not by much.

The problem was that the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs were more united, and as beasts, they had stronger bodies. They also had five Tier 9 leaders.

But the trial-takers weren't without an advantage. They had strength in numbers. An adult Golden-Bearded Mastiff would probably have to face nearly ten trial-takers at once, enough to make up for the difference in tier.

Before one reached Super Tier, the gap between tiers was hard to overcome only in a one-on-one fight. With enough people, even lower-tier warriors had a chance to win.

As long as the difference in tier wasn't too great.

In this trial, the lowest-ranked were Tier 6, and the highest were Tier 8. Most were Tier 7 Warriors, followed by Tier 8 Warriors, with Tier 6 Warriors coming last.

A regular Tier 8 Warrior could become a senior member of an organization through ordinary training and obtain the Transcendence Method. They didn't necessarily need to take part in a trial. But they received less recognition than warriors who passed one, so the Tier 8 Warriors who joined the trial were proud and ambitious. There weren't many of them, but there were still quite a few.

Tier 6 Warriors, on the other hand, were genuinely rare.

Tier 6 Warriors could only be considered Mid-Tier Warriors. They were at a serious disadvantage in a trial like this.

But on average, the trial-takers were Tier 7, only one tier below the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs. Ten against one gave them a good chance of killing a Golden-Bearded Mastiff.

Chen considered it. "But there's still no need to attack the biggest group. The risk is just too high."

The bald man shook his head. "That's not right. There are two thousand of us, and each person needs to hunt at least three Golden-Bearded Mastiffs to gather enough whiskers. Even if we're lucky, the largest group could provide enough whiskers for only seventy or eighty people. In reality, the number could be even lower. Only the largest group, with more than two hundred adult Golden-Bearded Mastiffs, is barely worth two thousand people attacking together. The second-largest group has just over a hundred and fifty adults. That's nowhere near enough to go around. We'll deal with the strongest group first. Those who still don't have enough can take on the remaining groups. We're just getting things started."

Chen understood at once.

There were only about four or five hundred Golden-Bearded Mastiffs in the entire gathering ground. That meant only a little over two hundred people could gather enough whiskers. Everyone else was doomed to fail.

"People say that, on average, two out of ten trial-takers pass. But that's only an average. Sometimes three out of ten pass; sometimes just one. Clearly, our trial is a difficult one. By the end, fewer than one in ten of us may pass. The opportunity is right in front of us. If you don't join in, then I may have to ask you to leave. This trial is hard enough as it is. We don't want people looking to pick up the scraps while we're fighting and bleeding," the bald man said bluntly. But Guen and Chen didn't take offense.

High-Tier Ferocious Beasts rarely lived in groups. Even Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts gave the Golden-Bearded Mastiffs a wide berth. A handful—or even a dozen—people couldn't possibly take them down.

"How many people have you gathered so far? If it's fewer than fifteen hundred, I'm not risking it," Guen said gravely.

The bald man replied confidently, "This time, Ganlan, the Leiquan City Lord's son, is leading the effort. You can trust his influence, can't you? You'll see tonight."

Leiquan City was one of the seven cities of the Aoyu Empire. Its city lord was not only a Super Tier powerhouse but was also known for his warmth and kindness, and was well loved. If this was the Leiquan City Lord's son, then it was possible he could gather more than two thousand people.

"We understand. If there are enough people, we'll join," Guen agreed.

The bald man nodded. "Good. I'll let you know again tonight."

Only after the bald man had left did Guen lower his voice. "Today's already the fifth day. Uncle Jack and the others were supposed to arrive here today, according to the plan, but they still haven't shown up. Something may have held them up... But we still have to pass the trial first."

Chen lowered his head. "I understand. I've already made up my mind and prepared myself for the trial."

Guen nodded.

After facing two hundred Golden-Bearded Mastiffs, how many of those two thousand people would still be left tomorrow?