The Fiend assessment was no easy task; the continuous high-intensity battles had already reduced Jason's team to less than half its members.
"This is the fifteenth bandit stronghold." Cheryl glanced around. "Alright, today is the last day. Only thirteen people haven't met the standard yet. I won't make things difficult for you. There are no Highgod- level bandits on the other side, so you can do as you please. We'll head back to town after we're done."
Of the fifteen bandit strongholds, including the second one, seven had Highgod.
It's clear that these bandit strongholds were carefully selected by the Fiend Castle. Of course, it's also possible, as the previous leader mentioned, that many bandit gangs have recently moved to the vicinity.
In the subsequent battles, the team members learned their lesson and did not rush to hunt down the bandits. Most of the bandit gang members were opportunists and dared not participate in the melee of the Highgod. At most, they would launch some ranged attacks from afar as a show of force.
Our side directly concentrated all its efforts on attacking the enemy leader. With Kasabu holding the line, dozens of Midgod directly and forcefully besieged them. Each time, only one or two Highgod- level gods would be killed by a counterattack before they died. Sometimes, they could even kill the Highgod bandits without taking any damage.
With their leader dead, the bandits lost their will to fight. With the assistance of Kasabu's Highgod domain, it was basically a one-sided massacre for them.
The casualty rate is much lower than in the Midgod melee.
If you're lucky enough to withstand the bandit leader's dying counterattack, you'll basically win the battle.
There were more than twenty bandits, including sixteen Midgod, which was naturally not enough to go around, and a considerable dispute arose within the group.
In fact, internal strife had been occurring sporadically since the seventh day, but because everyone had cooperated well before, no one was killed.
This is the last chance; the cruelty of the Netherworld begins to be revealed.
Kasabu did not interfere, and the other Midgod who had already reached the standard did not join the melee.
One by one, some weaker Midgod voluntarily withdrew from the competition. They only had one life, but the Fiend assessment could be repeated next time.
The Lowgod among the bandits were all dead; the remaining dozen or so Midgod huddled in the middle, surrounded by seven or eight Midgod.
The bandits made several attempts to break through, but were blocked each time. They are only surviving because the participants in the assessment are fighting amongst themselves.
In the end, all the bandits died, and the five Midgod who participated in the assessment perished in the ensuing melee.
"Alright." Cheryl said, seeing the battle was over, "The assessment is over. Out of fifty-four people, thirty-one died in battle, eleven failed, and twelve passed. Honestly, your pass rate is way above the limit. I'm going to be punished in the city lord's room when I get back."
The remaining people looked at each other, but no one responded.
The ten teams returned one after another to the landing site of the Metallic Airship.
Jason glanced around and saw that the other teams only had a dozen or so people left, with one team even having only seven people left. Jason's team had twenty-three people surviving, which was already a very high survival rate.
It is unknown how many of those teams passed the assessment.
Cheryl said something to the man leading the group, and he nodded in understanding—it was expected that the high survival rate would be due to the presence of Highgod in her team, and the other team leaders did not seem to intend to cause trouble.
Back on the Metallic Lifeform, Melita was still unconscious, being supported by Jason using his Divine Power.
Jason spoke to the Metallic Lifeform, causing it to conjure a table, which he then placed on.
"We can pretend we didn't see you kill her here, but you won't have the chance once you get into the city," Cheryl teased from the side.
"If Melita can pull through, she'll definitely become a powerful Fiend in the future, so she's worth befriending," Jason said tactfully.
"Make friends? Heh, we'll almost certainly never see each other again," Cheryl said with a chuckle. The other tour leaders beside her laughed too, "Do you know where my hometown is? -- In ' Skyreach Prefecture, ' at the southernmost tip of the continent!"
Cheryl didn't beat around the bush and continued, "After becoming Fiend, I left Skyreach Prefecture during my third Fiend quest and never went back. Most of you will probably do the same. If you're not strong enough, don't take on dangerous long-distance quests with the idea of 'going back home,' or you'll lose your life before you even get back."
Jason thought of Linley's arduous journey from the Zijing Continent to the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the original story, and he knew that if he had encountered any of those dangers, he would have died a gruesome death.
Back in Falling Rain City, Jason donned the Fiend Medallion, a greyish-white badge with a single eye burning with green flames.
"This is Melita's badge; I've registered it." Cheryl wasn't heartless. "I see you all have some sense of loyalty. Whatever your motives, she's now under your care. You can decide what to do with her. If she pulls through, you can let her pledge her allegiance through blood."
Jason accepted the badge. "Thank you, until we meet again."
Back at their house, they settled Melita in a room.
Melita's soul was so weak it was almost extinguished. Jason tried to give her a Soul Gold Bead, but the Soul Essence was blocked by an invisible force as soon as it entered her mind.
It seems that the Laws of Heaven and Earth do not allow anyone to interfere with the process of Soul Mutation from the outside; at least Jason at his current level cannot interfere.
Helpless, Jason returned to the living room and, together with Landon and Kasabu, began to inventory the loot.
Landon and Kasabu communicated telepathically, but ultimately decided not to ask Jason about his previous "Thunderwing Angel" transformation. Instead, they had Landon's clone report to Delisha.
They fought a series of fierce battles, encountering a total of seven Highgod bandits, two of whom were defeated and five were killed.
Kasaer did not contest the kills of the Highgod, but Kasaer received all the relics of the Highgod.
"Five Highgod only have five High Godhead. It seems those bandits are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong; they've never actually killed Highgod." Although Kasabu complained, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
"Aside from the five High Godhead, the rest of the items add up to over 60 million Nether Stone. We actually made a profit on this trip," Landon tallied up the accounts.
(In the original story, Linley's Demon trial resulted in him obtaining combat items worth over 100 million. The bandits in this setting are weaker and less wealthy than the guards in the original story, and their combined wealth, including their Divine Spark, is less than 100 million.)
Jason didn't care about those things; he had a few books in his hand.
"These cultivation books are similar to those in the family and have little value. However, these atlases are quite good, especially the maps of Northbone Prefecture and the surrounding prefectures, which are drawn in great detail."
"Many in the family complained about the large sum of money we spent on this house. I think it's good to hand over all the refining materials, Soul Gold Bead, and Divine Artifact we seized this time, plus another 50 million Nether Stone." Kasabu glanced at the two of them, implying that they should accept five High Godhead plus more than 10 million Nether Stone.
It wasn't exactly embezzlement, since the three of them earned it through their own hard work and skill.
"I want those poisoned weapons that were captured. I don't care about the rest. Just give me whatever you think is fair."
Poisoned weapons are still quite useful for Jason at this stage; he doesn't care about Jason else.
Landon wasn't greedy either. "I saw some destructive armor on a Highgod -bandit I saw earlier. It's good quality, so I'll take it. You can give me the rest as you see fit."
"You two are really something. This is money we worked our butts to earn." Kasabu shook his head. "Alright, let's use those ten million Nether Stone to buy some refining materials for the family, consider it a contribution. We'll split the five High Godhead and the several hundred Mid Godhead among ourselves."
The next day, the three of them went to the North Skeleton Castle and sold off all the unused Divine Spark.
The Rhine Clan is no longer short of Deity-level can Refine Divine Spark, and the original owners of the five High Godhead they possess were not particularly powerful, so there's no need to keep them.
However, the Rhine Clan was in short supply of Divine Artifact and various materials, so all three of them stayed behind to hand them over.
The three divided the spoils, with Kasabu, being Highgod, naturally taking the lion's share; Jason received ten million Nether Stone, plus a dozen poisoned arrows and two poisoned weapons.
Without hesitation, he bought twenty Soul Gold Bead to protect his soul from injury.
After that, I browsed the third floor.
The destructive armor left behind by Landon was made of extremely high-quality material, with a hardness equivalent to that of Highgod Artifact. Furthermore, it had been nurtured by Highgod, making it a powerful trump card in battle.
After seeing this, Jason felt that he should also buy a Defensive Divine Artifact.
Currently, his only defensive Divine Artifact is the dragon scale armor bestowed upon him by Delisha, which is Highgod Artifact; his Death Clone uses Midgod Artifact -level Defensive Divine Artifact.
The material of the Dragon Scale Armor itself is too ordinary; it's just the skin of a Saint-level Thunder Dragon. In the first level of the North Skeleton Castle, it's sold by the bundle. The Highgod who created it originally intended to make money, and he barely managed to cultivate it to the level of Highgod Artifact before selling it.
"This leather armor is quite nice." Jason looked at a set of dark gold leather armor on the clothes rack. "It hasn't been nurtured by Divine Power, its hardness is equivalent to a low-grade Highgod Artifact, and it's compatible with lightning attributes. It's already very high-end for me; I can't afford anything more expensive."
Jason's lightning-type character is fast and has strong attacks, so of course he should buy leather armor.
As for weapons, Jason's two knives are already quite good; he'll buy a better one when he's stronger.
Jason acquired the leather armor worth nine million Nether Stone and headed towards the other two.
Landon bought a dark red greatsword with destructive properties; judging by its quality, the raw materials were of high quality.
Landon patted his broadsword. "Eight million Nether Stone."
"This one of mine is nine million."
Kasabu only had one clone and had no intention of changing the Divine Artifact. Instead, he bought one hundred Soul Gold Bead to make up for his shortcomings and spent another ten million Nether Stone to buy a bottle of top-grade Soul Poison.
The poisoned weapons given to Jason were quite powerful, but they couldn't even kill Highgod with a single blow. The bottle of soul poison in Kasabu's hand was said to have been made by Seven Star Fiend, and even Five-Star Fiend would find it difficult to withstand a single drop of it.
After buying some refining materials from the second floor, the three of them headed back home.