Northern Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.
A bottomless ravine split the earth in two like an impassable chasm. Sticky strands covered the surrounding land, and a pitch-black High Tower rose from the ravine, piercing the clouds.
A massive dark red eye hovered above the spire, occasionally flashing with an eerie light as it watched for any movement nearby.
On the platform atop the tower stood a humanoid figure with its arms folded across its chest. It was over two meters tall, its skin dark red, as though repeatedly scorched by flames. Its eyes sank deep into their sockets like two lumps of burning charcoal, brimming with violence and destruction.
"The aura of an Against the Tide Legion warrior."
Just then, a slit opened in the Eye of Insight hovering above its head, and a hoarse voice came from within.
"What is the Against the Tide Legion?" the humanoid Evil Spirit asked indifferently.
"According to intelligence shared with me by the other nodes, it is a powerful legion composed of warriors who abandoned their faith. Their leader is called Against the Tide, and he is one of the greatest obstacles to our race's occupation of this world."
"Abandoned their faith?"
In response to the question, the dark red eye immediately explained:
"You have only just arrived from Dungeon World, so you do not yet understand this world's history. According to intelligence shared with me by the other nodes, this world once had a powerful god named Emperor Zhao. He was the true god worshipped by all life in this world... He fell for some unknown reason. The Against the Tide Legion was established thousands of years after Emperor Zhao's fall, with the initial purpose of opposing us. Its warriors believed Emperor Zhao had abandoned them, so they chose to forsake their faith and honor Against the Tide as their leader."
"A pointless faith." A trace of disdain appeared in the Evil Spirits Warrior's eyes.
"Do not underestimate the warriors of the Against the Tide Legion. Our warriors stationed at other nodes have fought them many times without gaining much of an advantage. Nor is the strength of this world's inhabitants comparable to those of Dungeon World, which you previously helped occupy. Set aside your contempt," the dark red eye warned solemnly.
The Evil Spirits Warrior ignored the Evil Eye's advice and looked toward the Blood Plains in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range. Black slime surged from its skin, coiling around its body and solidifying into a vicious-looking suit of armor, with a sharp black spike protruding from every joint.
"I'll test them."
With that, the Evil Spirits Warrior became a streak of pitch-black light that tore across the sky, racing straight toward the Blood Plains.
Northern Blood Plains.
Broken Star stared expressionlessly at the players skulking in the distance, peeking out as they waited for him to slaughter Evil Spirits. He could not even muster the urge to charge over and kill them.
By now, he had no idea how many he had killed. There was simply no end to them.
Sitting blankly on the ground, he had begun considering a question.
Should he abandon the trial and leave?
Pride clashed with frustration in his mind, and Broken Star could not help letting out a dejected sigh.
He wanted to persist, but he did not know how to continue.
These Mysterious Creatures dug three feet down even in places he had visited. There was no way to stockpile enough Evil Crystals to complete the trial.
Although his Rune Battle Armor had a recording function that could prove he had killed vast numbers of Evil Spirits Lifeforms, enough to complete the trial mission.
The examiner never used combat records as a reference, judging completion solely by the number of Evil Crystals obtained. Setbacks such as losing Evil Crystals along the way were also considered part of the assessment.
As Broken Star racked his brains, he suddenly sensed a powerful fluctuation of ability and abruptly looked up at the northwestern sky.
A streak of black light was hurtling toward him, carrying a dense aura of death.
"An Evil Spirit?!"
Realizing that an intelligent Evil Spirit was approaching, Broken Star's expression turned utterly grave.
He sprang to his feet and pressed a hand against the left side of his chest.
Click~ Click~ Click.
Gears meshed, and his Rune Battle Armor abruptly lit up. Surging energy spread outward from him in rippling waves.
His unruly blue hair danced in the wind stirred by the energy, and two sharp blades rapidly formed and extended from the backs of his hands.
Boom!
The Evil Spirit Warrior landed in front of Broken Star, sending gravel and dust sweeping outward.
As the dust cleared, the Evil Spirit Warrior revealed its vicious form, staring straight at Broken Star with a hint of madness in its eyes.
Shing!
Broken Star's two energy blades finished forming at that same moment.
Neither figure wasted any words upon meeting. Both moved at once, vanishing from their positions and colliding in the middle.
Their figures crossed and separated.
The Evil Spirit Warrior looked down at the blade marks on its chest, surprise flickering in its eyes. Its body abruptly shifted sideways, narrowly evading another slash at a perilous angle. Twisting, it sent the approaching Broken Star flying with a side kick, then immediately followed.
Boom!
Broken Star's blades collided with the Evil Spirit Warrior's bracers, scattering sparks.
A dense aura of death swept over him, and Broken Star immediately found it difficult to breathe.
"Kill!"
Faced with the Evil Spirit Warrior's frenzied assault, the fighting spirit in Broken Star's eyes blazed.
This was not his first battle with an Evil Spirit, but the one before him differed from those he had fought before. Its combat skills and physical regeneration were several times stronger.
Every wound his blades left on the Evil Spirit rapidly healed, while the wounds on his own body only multiplied.
The light shining from his Battle Armor dimmed under the repeated collisions. After over ten minutes of rapid clashes, Broken Star gradually began to weaken.
Boom!
Just then, the Evil Spirit Warrior's heavy fist slipped through a gap in the defense woven by his twin blades and slammed into his chest. Broken Star flew backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood. After landing, he continued tumbling from the momentum, throwing up a wave of dust before finally stopping.
Just as Broken Star gritted his teeth and prepared to fight again, a pitch-black figure pierced the swirling dust, driving its knee down into his chest.
Two black spikes pierced his Battle Armor's defenses and plunged into his chest.
Boom!
Broken Star's body sank into the earth, and his eyes, which had been shedding a red glow, briefly returned to pure white.
As Broken Star's consciousness blurred, his Rune Battle Armor seemed to be activated by some force. The energy mainspring over his left chest automatically turned.
Surging energy instantly erupted from the armor, throwing back the hideously grinning Evil Spirit Warrior. The energy continued pouring out, surrounding Broken Star and rapidly healing his wounds.
Broken Star rose again, his aura steadily climbing.
Feeling this new power, a trace of astonishment appeared in Broken Star's eyes.
"Father."
The Evil Spirit Warrior attacked again. Broken Star decisively met it, summoning his blades once more to clash with its fists.
Bang!
Amid the repeated collisions, ripples of energy spread outward in layers from the point where they fought.
With his injuries healed, Broken Star's strength had clearly increased considerably, but he remained at a disadvantage against the Evil Spirit Warrior. There was still a substantial gap in both combat skills and strength.
After an hour of fierce combat, Broken Star was drenched in blood, wounds split open across his body. He swayed on his feet, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment.
Yet his eyes still brimmed with boundless fighting spirit as he looked at the Evil Spirit Warrior.
The Evil Spirit Warrior, meanwhile, was hardly in good shape either.
Its rapidly regenerating pitch-black Battle Armor was now covered in cracks. Its broken left arm dangled from its shoulder, no longer able to heal.
Boom!
No longer able to sustain the fight, Broken Star collapsed.
At the sight, a vicious smile appeared on the Evil Spirit Warrior's lips. With a wave, it condensed a black spike, then slowly walked over and stopped before Broken Star.
Just as the black spike in its hand was about to plunge into Broken Star's face, a voice suddenly rang out:
"Taunt!"
With that shout, the Evil Spirit's memories automatically combined and rearranged themselves.
Intense hatred surged from the depths of its heart. The black spike aimed at Broken Star uncontrollably changed direction, stabbing toward the source of the voice.
But the inexplicable hatred lasted less than a second before the Evil Spirit Warrior's will broke free. Under its astonished gaze, a fat figure was sliced by the black spike in its hand, dissolving into Black Fog Dissipation.
"The power of rules?"
Just as the Evil Spirit was about to turn back and finish Broken Star first, another voice came from behind:
"Hey, eyes on me!"
Hatred struck again. The Evil Spirit uncontrollably turned, flinging the black spike behind it with boundless hatred.
It killed the target with a single strike, but fresh hatred welled up from the depths of its heart, making it instinctively turn toward a figure nearby.
Meanwhile, the Regional Voice Channel and the player Forum had erupted:
"Brothers, requesting backup! The God of Wealth is about to kick the bucket! Hurry over and save him! We can't hold out much longer!"
"Calling brothers from every region for emergency backup (attached: coordinates)! If the God of Wealth dies, who's going to hand out red envelopes to you?"
"Holy shit, the God of Wealth is really about to die? Absolutely not! I'm still counting on him to unlock my third star meridian! He can't die! I'm bringing the boys right now. Brothers nearby, hold on! You can do it!"
"No! I haven't even gotten a red envelope from the God of Wealth yet! He absolutely can't die! Protect him! Protect him!"
The news that the God of Wealth was about to die instantly caused an uproar among the players.
Over the past week, the wealth the God of Wealth had brought them had allowed many players to open their second star meridian slot.
In their eyes, the God of Wealth was a walking red-envelope dispenser. Running into him meant making a small fortune.
Although many players had yet to receive one of the God of Wealth's bonus red envelopes, that did not mean they would never have a chance. If the God of Wealth died, all future chances of receiving red envelopes would be gone.
Players who heard the news rushed toward the coordinates.