Contribution Points and the Rules of War Among the Myriad Races (Thanks to Yi Ren and Blue Aurora Slash for the recommendation votes!)

The next day, following the guidance of his smart terminal, Golden Horn arrived at Combat Readiness Room 328 in Zone F.

Along the way, he saw countless demons flying back and forth, spacecraft taking off and landing frequently, and the roar of engines rising and falling. The entire base was shrouded in a tense yet orderly atmosphere, making him feel that this was no simple patrol mission.

The combat readiness room was far larger than he had imagined, covering several hundred square meters.

The interior was simple yet practical. Along the north side stood a row of transparent refrigerated cabinets stocked with food and drinks. To the south was a small medical room, where neatly arranged medicines and medical equipment could be seen through the glass. Along the east wall were weapon racks filled with blades, spears, staffs, energy guns, cannons, and all manner of technological creations. The west side held a massive light Curtain playing instructional videos on battlefield basics.

Golden Horn was looking around when he heard a familiar voice.

"Silver Horn? Why are you here too?"

Golden Horn looked up and saw Scorpio sitting in the corner, waving at him. Two demons with considerable auras sat beside him.

"I received the mission notice and came over." Golden Horn walked over. "What about you?"

"Same here." Scorpio patted the chair beside him. "Come sit down. Let me introduce you to two friends."

He pointed to the pitch-black cat demon on the left. "Shadow Stinger, from the Shadow Cat Race." Then he pointed at the snow-white leopard demon on the right, whose gaze was cold and sharp. "Frost Blade, from the Snow Leopard Race. They arrived a few months before me."

Golden Horn nodded slightly in greeting.

"We were just talking about some intelligence we gathered earlier." Scorpio lowered his voice. "There are three types of battlefield missions."

"Fixed squads are teams formed by veterans. They are highly independent and carry out high-risk missions. Temporary squads are randomly assembled by the system, mixing veterans and recruits for medium-risk missions. Regular legions consist of hundreds or thousands of soldiers, trained uniformly to carry out large-scale battles."

He paused, then added, "We're all recruits, so there's a high chance we'll be assigned to a temporary squad. It won't be large, but at least veterans will lead us."

Golden Horn nodded. He had read related posts on the internal forum before. "Temporary squads" truly were the type of mission recruits encountered most often, with manageable danger.

"For this mission, I specifically bought a set of defensive armor. It cost five hundred Contribution Points." Scorpio grimaced. "I nearly didn't have enough Contribution Points. I had my eye on some spirit fruits and medicines that could raise one's genetic level, but they started at ten thousand points. We only get ten points a month now. Who knows how long it'll take to save enough?"

Golden Horn deeply sympathized. After buying his secret technique and weapons, he had less than five thousand points left in his account, and he had not yet had time to purchase anything else. As for ways to earn Contribution Points besides killing enemies, he had not had time to study that carefully either.

"The Monster Hunting Hall puts all these treasures before us just to lure us into charging ahead," Frost Blade said. "Besides killing enemies, breakthroughs in cultivation—such as raising your domain level, advancing from Stellar level to Universe level—and achieving good rankings in every ranking competition will all earn you a large one-time reward in Contribution Points."

He glanced at the other two before continuing, "In addition, fixed Contribution Points are issued every month based on the four ranks of Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, as well as cultivation level. For example, Yellow-rank Stellar level members like us receive ten points a month, while Profound-rank Stellar level members receive twenty. If you break through to Universe level, Yellow rank receives one hundred points a month, and so on."

"In short," Shadow Stinger concluded, "the Monster Hunting Hall is telling you that if you want more Contribution Points, go fight and go break through!"

Golden Horn nodded in agreement.

Time passed second by second, and several more people gradually entered the room.

At exactly eight o'clock, a burly Ironback Bear Monster strode before the light Curtain. He stood nearly three meters tall, his body covered in thick grayish-brown scales. A scar ran through his left eyebrow, and his aura was as steady as a mountain. Turning to face the crowd, he said in a booming voice, "I am your captain, Xiong Kui. Roll call begins now."

"Greedy Wolf."

"Here." A Wolf Demon with silver-gray fur answered lazily.

"Blood Fang."

"Here." A member of the lizard race in dark-red scales crouched in the corner, his voice hoarse.

"Silver Horn."

"Here," Golden Horn answered.

After the roll call, all twenty members were present.

Xiong Kui nodded and waved a large hand. A star map appeared on the light Curtain. A red route departed from Exterminate Qiu Star, curved around in a massive arc, marked more than a dozen planets, and finally returned.

"Mission background briefing. According to the latest battle report, Jialuo, the World Lord guarding the Qiu Shi Race's Withered Skeleton Galaxy, has been killed by Lord Nightmare Star of our Demon Race."

"What?!" The crowd erupted.

Golden Horn's heart stirred. Judging by that name, could he also be an expert of the Spacetime Nightmare Beast race?

Xiong Kui raised a hand to suppress the discussion and continued, "According to the rules of war, this star system has nominally been occupied by our Demon Race. Our mission is to patrol these dozens of planets and confirm whether the Qiu Shi Race's experts have already withdrawn."

The image on the light Curtain changed, displaying a detailed combat manual.

"For Qiu Shi Race members who have not withdrawn: from Planetary level to Universe level, those willing to surrender will be fitted with control chips and taken as slaves. Those unwilling to surrender will be killed on the spot. Those below Planetary level will not be dealt with for now. Once the main force arrives later, the entire planets will be taken over."

Someone could not help asking, "Captain, their World Lord is already dead. Why not have Lord Nightmare Star slaughter them all directly? Wouldn't that be much easier?"

Xiong Kui's expression darkened, and his gaze became blade-sharp. "Remember this. The war on Exterminate Qiu Star has lasted hundreds of years, and there is one ironclad rule: World Lords and stronger experts may only attack opponents of the same level. Attacking lower-level cultivators is strictly forbidden. Large-scale massacres are an even greater taboo."

He paused, his tone turning solemn. "This does not apply only here. Across the entire universe, as the myriad races vie for supremacy, every race shares this understanding."

"Why?" someone asked quietly.

"Because no one is stupid." Xiong Kui snorted coldly. "World Lords and Immortals are the foundations that guard each region. If they all went around slaughtering lower-level cultivators, war would become a competition of who could kill faster. Today, you slaughter one of my star systems; tomorrow, I destroy one of your star regions. In the end, no one survives."

His voice lowered. "That is why the races have this understanding: top experts only fight top experts. Once a World Lord dies, the core fighting strength of that star system collapses. The defeated side may choose to retreat. Their troops and civilians willing to relocate may all leave. No one will pursue them. That is the rule. Leave the defeated side a way out, so they do not fight like cornered dogs."

"Then can't they transfer World Lords over from elsewhere?" another recruit asked.

Xiong Kui shook his head. "Transfer World Lords? First, their numbers are limited. Every World Lord guards a region, and if one is pulled away, the defenses there may develop problems. Second, who would pour too much strength into a single star system? If you transfer three World Lords here, the other side can transfer four. If you add more, they add more. In the end, both sides would pile all their World Lords here. Then it would no longer be a struggle for one star system—it would be a decisive battle between two races."

His voice turned cold. "If you win a decisive battle, you can indeed seize vast territory. But if you lose, it means racial extinction. No race would dare gamble that heavily."

"So the essence of war is a contest of expert density. Whoever can maintain more World Lords along the border for a long time can slowly erode the other side's territory. But no one will push all their chips in at once, because they cannot afford to lose."

The hall fell silent. Many of them were hearing such an explanation for the first time.