Assassination

You could imagine how many warriors this sprawling camp, stretching nearly a hundred thousand kilometers, could hold.

A single territory on the Blood Luo Continent had a population in the hundreds of quadrillions. The total population there certainly exceeded that by a great deal. The Dragon Rock Battlefield had a somewhat smaller population, but its gathering of powerful warriors was even greater. This was a true meat grinder, as well as a proving ground for the strong.

Such a brutal world would temper countless powerful warriors.

The ship landed smoothly, and its hatch slid open. A Domain Lord in a purple uniform armor was already waiting outside.

The armor had hard, angular lines, and a faint halo of energy flowed across its surface. It was nothing unusual in a Universe Country, but here, it was extraordinarily precious.

Many Cosmic Level warriors in the ranks stared at the purple armor, their eyes filled with boundless longing. It was armor only Domain Lord powerhouses could wear, a symbol of status and prestige.

"Purple-gold armor. I wonder if I'll ever get to wear a set in my lifetime."

"We will. As long as we survive in the army, we'll have a chance to become Domain Lords."

The Cosmic Level warriors murmured among themselves. Becoming a Domain Lord, rising in status and gaining a longer lifespan—that was the ultimate goal for most of them.

Only after everyone had left the ship and lined up did the Domain Lord finally speak. "My name is Blood Fox. I'll be your commander from now on. Follow me."

"Wait."

A calm voice rang out. Zhang Dong stepped forward and said quietly, "As far as I know, if I choose to take on a bounty mission, I don't need to go through all these procedures, do I?"

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

"Bounty mission?!" Many of the Cosmic Level warriors were unfamiliar with the term and exchanged confused looks.

But a few who were more knowledgeable looked at Zhang Dong with added respect when they heard it.

Domain Lord Blood Fox narrowed his eyes slightly and sized Zhang Dong up. "You want to take on a bounty mission?"

Zhang Dong nodded without offering any further explanation. He couldn't be bothered to waste time here; the army's standard procedures were too slow. He wanted efficiency and to build up enough military merits as quickly as possible.

Then he could earn a Glory Medal, leave this place, demonstrate his strength, and join the Virtual Universe Company.

"Fine. I'll take you there first." Blood Fox's tone grew noticeably more courteous, but he soon barked at the other Cosmic Level warriors, "Stand by where you are and keep quiet!"

To a Domain Lord like Blood Fox, it was no secret that talented youngsters from the Ganwu Secret Realm occasionally came here to train.

These prodigies had powerful backgrounds and astonishing potential. Even if Zhang Dong wasn't a prince of the Ganwu Secret Realm, anyone bold enough to say he wanted to take on a bounty mission had to be strong enough to kill a Domain Lord.

Otherwise, when the mission deadline came and he hadn't completed it, he would still die.

Blood Fox said no more. He led Zhang Dong forward, and the two walked one behind the other through a heavily guarded gate. They completed several tedious identity registrations and system procedures, then walked nearly ten thousand kilometers before arriving at a black palace.

The area in front of the palace was spacious and completely unguarded.

"This is it, the Bounty Mission Hall." Blood Fox stopped at the entrance and smiled at Zhang Dong. "I'll head back and get those rookies settled."

"Sure. Thanks."

Zhang Dong gave a brief reply and walked into the palace. The interior was unusually spacious and dimly lit, with only a soft glow shining down from the dome.

In the center stood a broad alloy table. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the only thing on it was a consciousness interface helmet glowing with a faint blue light.

He'd expected to accept the missions manually, but the process was much like the mission system in the Jin World.

After putting on the interface, Zhang Dong's consciousness was instantly drawn into an independent virtual space.

He had already entered his information when he arrived. He was currently a new recruit on the Ninth Battlefield.

The Dragon Rock Battlefield had thirty-two battlefields in total, and major wars broke out almost every year. At the fiercest times, even Domain Lord Level warriors had to fight.

[Bounty Mission List.]

[1. Kill Sky Light, a Domain Lord Ninth Stage warrior on the Seventh Battlefield. Reward: 1,000,000 military merits.]

[2. Kill Wei He, a Domain Lord Ninth Stage warrior on the Twenty-Eighth Battlefield. Reward: 800,000 military merits.]

[3. Kill Yuan, a Domain Lord Ninth Stage warrior on the Tenth Battlefield. Reward: 750,000 military merits.]

Zhang Dong skimmed the first few missions. Almost all of the targets were Domain Lord Ninth Stage warriors, but the lowest reward was still 600,000 military merits.

The highest was a million.

To kill such powerful warriors, one needed to be at least a Realm Lord to be on the safe side. For someone at the Cosmic Level to fight a Realm Lord was practically a miracle, an earth-shattering feat.

Such a prodigy would have no trouble breaking through the Primordial Heaven-Reaching Mountain.

The requirements for the Universe Level Original Tongtian Mountain were equivalent to reaching the twelfth level of the Heavenly Bridge. Many undying beings couldn't reach that level of comprehension, let alone Zhang Dong, a prince of the Ganwu Secret Realm.

When Luo Feng first arrived on the Blood Luo Continent, even with his Earthling body and ninth-stage Cosmic Level strength, he'd only been confident of killing Domain Lords in the second or third stage in one-on-one combat.

The prodigies of the Ganwu Secret Realm were even less capable than Luo Feng.

The prodigies of the Ganwu Secret Realm could easily defeat low-stage Domain Lords one-on-one or hold their own against them.

But once they started fighting, they would be on their own, while the enemy could call in powerful reinforcements at any time.

They'd be in trouble if they were unlucky enough to run into a Realm Lord nearby.

"I'll take these three missions. They're all on the same battlefield, anyway." Zhang Dong quickly selected the three missions and clicked to accept them.

[Danger Warning: All three targets you selected are located on the Seventh Battlefield. Carrying out multiple assassination missions in the same battlefield could easily trigger a chain reaction and increase the risk of exposure. Please confirm that you still wish to accept these missions!]

The bright red warning flashed. Zhang Dong ignored the risk and accepted the missions anyway.

The confirmation was transmitted to the core command of the Ninth Battlefield.

Hundreds of millions of kilometers away, inside the majestic Central Temple.

A Domain Lord Ninth Stage warrior in charge of military affairs saw the notification appear on the virtual screen before him. He paused, tapped the screen, and pulled up Zhang Dong's brief profile.

Once the profile appeared, every Domain Lord in the temple could see it.

"Someone at the Cosmic Level dares to take on missions like these? He'd be considered extraordinarily powerful even outside the battlefield."

"The military merits for these three targets add up to exactly enough for a Glory Medal. That's interesting."

"Want to place a bet on how many years it'll take him to finish?"

The Domain Lords in the temple were all intrigued. Even when princes from the Ganwu Secret Realm came to train, few were this bold.

If it were a life-or-death arena battle, those prodigies from the Ganwu Secret Realm could easily handle a ninth-stage Cosmic Level warrior fighting a first-stage Domain Lord with slightly weaker laws.

After the missions were accepted, a large amount of information about the targets and their locations arrived, along with the time limit. Each mission had a time limit of one hundred years, but Zhang Dong had accepted all three at once.

That meant he had to kill three Domain Lords within a hundred years.