The Era of Gods

But all in all, whether in terms of cost-effectiveness or overall strength, these five units of Creation Energy were quite worth the expense, and they also raised his expectations for enhancing Naga in the future.

However, enhancing the Naga would have to wait for a while, as he needed to earn more Cards first.

Unlike enhancing the Fishman, if he were to enhance the Naga this time, it would be akin to the first metamorphosis and evolution of the Naga, consuming one of the new species’ five opportunities for metamorphosis and evolution. Therefore, he couldn’t just make adjustments carelessly; he needed to acquire some suitable Cards, such as powerful Skills, strong Talents, bloodlines, etc. When the time came, he would extract the best aspects of these and load them in, striving to maximize the value in this single opportunity for metamorphosis and evolution.

With an absolute gap in strength, 14,000 Fishmen directly overpowered Luo Yichen’s Clan, including 3,500 well-equipped Werewolves and Wolf Cavalry.

Individually, Werewolves were indeed much stronger than Fishmen, but the Fishmen held an absolute advantage in numbers. If they couldn’t beat one-on- one, they could go two-on-one.

Moreover, every Fishman knew the Salted Fish Charge, a move perfect for overcoming a stronger opponent, and he certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough not to use it.

In less than an hour, with the last batch of stubborn Wolf Cavalry unwilling to surrender being driven to the edge of the plane and eradicated, the system automatically judged the opponent as defeated.

Luo Yichen shouted with a face full of resentment:

“You have the strength to challenge the Bronze Tier, at worst stable at the Iron Tier, so why come to challenge me? Have I offended you?”

Lin Xiao scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed, and said:

” I wanted to try for the Iron Throne too, but I only have one Five Star Epic Card on hand; there’s nothing I can do.”

“Damnit!”

Luo Yichen almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, yelling in anguish:

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Would you have given me a Five Star Epic Card if I had said earlier?”

“As long as you’re not challenging me, I’d give you two.”

Lin Xiao…

“Too late!”

Feeling somewhat regretful for not thinking of this earlier, he scratched his head and left after dropping this remark.

After he and the sullen Luo Yichen left, a voice of thought echoed from the enormous pupil in the Virtual Plane Dome:

“Interesting, really interesting. I didn’t expect to see something so amusing at this lowly level.”

Lin Xiao opened his eyes, knowing that he had successfully won the challenge and had taken over Luo Yichen’s seat.

Although it was a Stone Throne, it was still a throne, much better than standing like the large crowd below who had no seat at all.

As he looked around, inspecting his seemingly ordinary Stone Throne, he was unaware that a small group of people below had dropped their jaws in shock, with almost everyone not expecting him to defeat the opponent and take over the seat.

A few seconds of silence in the crowd later, murmurs began, and Bai Ze slapped his thigh in frustration:

“Damn, what a mistake. If I had known this guy was so weak, I would’ve challenged him earlier. I really regret it.”

Bai Ze and Shang Xiaoxue also wore a look of pity and frustration, but they no longer had the chance to challenge.

Most of their group had the same expression of regret or remorse, but among them, several people had gleaming eyes, ready to make a move.

Above the Bronze Tier, Lin Xu’s eyes flashed with astonishment, then turned to Lin Xiao and asked:

” Is this what you got for borrowing ten billion Faith value?”

“Yep!”

“Nice, steady until the next stage.”

“I’ll do my utmost!”

At the same time, Shen Yuexin also sent a message:

“Congratulations.”

“Thankyou, auntie, for your support.”

This thank-you was heartfelt, though calling a pretty young girl ‘auntie’ felt a bit odd. Nevertheless, he could say it. After all, he had a mother who looked like a youthful twenty-year-old woman, so he was used to it.

In the crowd, Tang Ling looked at Lin Xiao, who was still feeling out his throne, with envious eyes and secretly thought:

“If this poor guy, who’s no match for me, can claim a seat, doesn’t that mean I could snatch it too?”

He looked around and saw several others with the same eager eyes, and his heart skipped a beat:

“No matter, I need to act first.”

With that thought, he immediately stepped out from the crowd while the others still hesitant with challenge opportunities and headed straight towards Lin Xiao.

Everyone was taken aback, instantly understanding his intentions. Bai Ze and Shang Xiaoxue were stunned for a moment, then pointed at Tang Ling and shouted:

“Tang Ling, that’s too much.”

Tang Ling sneered back:

“Anyone can fight for the seat, who set the rule that if he’s in it, I can’t contend for it? I’m not even close with him.”

The crowd fell silent and speechless, but it didn’t prevent them from looking at him with contempt, even the Silver Tier’s Ancient City frowned at the challenge.

“What a pity,”

“Indeed, it’s a pity. They’ve fought before, and Lin Xiao couldn’t defeat Tang Ling.”

“Then it’s all over.”

Everyone looked at Lin Xiao with pity in their eyes, remembering that his strength was definitely no match for Tang Ling. Just when he had finally seized an opportunity and grabbed a spot, it would immediately be snatched away by someone else.

“That’s not fair at all!”

Someone suddenly blurted out this sentence. Many people showed their agreement with the sentiment, but others sneered, viewing the complexities of human nature laid bare on paper.

Tang Ling strode over to Lin Xiao and, without any nonsense, issued a challenge.

This was exactly what he wanted. His consciousness sank, and once again, he was on the virtual plane above.

The True Bodies of both sides, bathed in divine light, stood at the opposite ends of the plane. Tang Ling summoned all his battle-ready Clan members, more than three thousand two hundred fully armed Bull Monsters, two hundred more than last time, as well as over nine thousand Prairie Goblins. Then, he looked up at Lin Xiao across from him, with a face full of smug laughter:

“Before we start fighting, allow me to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to take your place.”

“What a petty victory!”

Lin Xiao had no intention of communicating with this kind of person. He simply looked up at the huge pupil in the Vault of Heaven above them, reached out with his hand, and a blanket of white light descended from the sky upon the plane, revealing ferocious Fishmen each brandishing weapons of various nations.

The moment the Fishmen appeared, Tang Ling began to laugh:

“Only trash comes from small places. More than ten thousand, all Fishmen, you’ve brought…”

His voice stopped abruptly as he got a clear look at the Fishmen. The smile on his face disappeared:

“Your Fishmen… how did they change?”

“They’re not just pushovers!”

Lin Xiao smiled and issued a Divine-mandate:

“Kill all the enemies!”

Naga Slardar, the Epic Hero commanding the Central Army, lifted his heavy anchor and roared loudly:

“My children, the Supreme Creator has issued a Divine-mandate: kill all the heretics, kill!”

Without any tactical formation, the fourteen thousand Fishmen formed a single, long line and charged straight ahead.

Tang Ling, with a grim face, watched as each Fishman, now taller and stronger than before, wielding finer weapons, gave him an ominous feeling. But by now, he was riding the tiger and had to fight no matter what.

He took a deep breath, forcibly calmed himself down, and began issuing Divine-mandates to arrange his troops.

In this domain, he was skilled. Despite his character flaws, his ability was genuinely noteworthy, or he would not have received an invitation to the Super Newcomer Summer Camp.

However, under absolute strength suppression, even the most exquisite tactics were futile. The simple linear formation was just too overwhelming, and no command or strategy could help; he had to resist head-on.

Tang Ling, after observing, ordered the Bull Monsters to gather in the center, hoping to concentrate his superior forces to break through the enemy’s central command in one fell swoop. If he could kill the commanding hero, the rest would be easy to handle.

Slardar, stationed at the Central Army, easily discerned the enemy’s tactic, but he did not change the formation and simply proceeded as planned.

When Lin Xiao issued his Divine-mandate, Slardar had already fully understood the will of his worshipped Deity, knowing exactly what the outcome was meant to be, as if reading his god’s mind.

Above in the Vault of Heaven, a powerful will, different from last time but just as unfathomable, watched with interest the approach of two sets of troops from different Divine Realms in this plane. Its gaze swept over the robust forms of the Fishmen, then at the Naga, not as numerous, and finally rested on the Epic Hero surrounded by many Naga, muttering to itself:

“A Fishman with perfect genetic development, a new potential species, and an Epic Hero who is stepping onto the path of sainthood. I didn’t expect to find such a dusty gem at this lower level!”

Then abruptly changing tone, that will revealed a sense of pleasure:

“Everyone has gone to watch above, and I am the first to discover this gem.”

Looking again at Lin Xiao, who was completely unaware, it chuckled:

“Boy, I’ll mark you as mine, and from now on, you’ll be mine.”

Of course, Lin Xiao wouldn’t notice any change in himself. With his current strength, he couldn’t even perceive that will, and right now, all his focus was on the plane below, watching his Clan crushing Tang Ling.

Yes, crushing.

Just like Luo Yichen, whom he had defeated, said, his real strength now would comfortably secure him an Iron Throne, and he might even contend for a Bronze Throne, while Tang Ling wasn’t even sure of a Stone seat. How could they fight?

Use his head?

His strength wasn’t even as great as Luo Yichen’s, who had at least eight or nine thousand Hyenaman, including two thousand Hyenaman Wolf Cavalry. That was much stronger than Tang Ling’s few thousand Goblins.

Facing the head-on push of the Fishmen, there was no resisting.

Naga Slardar completely enforced his will, ordering his subordinates not even to use powerful skills like Salted Fish Charge and Thunder Strike but instead to rely on their own brute strength to suppress the several thousand Bull Monsters and Prairie Goblins head-on.

Although the Bull Monsters’ weapons and armor were still far superior to those of the Fishmen Naga, the Fishmen’s weapons had evolved from bone spears and stone tools to steel weapons, greatly enhancing their lethality.

Facing the fully armed Bull Monsters head-on was still slightly lacking, but fighting the cannon fodder Prairie Goblins was total domination. Any Fishman could easily manage one versus three without using skills.

In the Vault of Heaven above, Tang Ling was stunned. As soon as the clash between the forces began, with the main force of Bull Monsters being repelled by fewer than a thousand Naga and five thousand Fishmen, he began to question his life, feeling like he was dreaming.

He had easily defeated Lin Xiao not long ago; why, after just a week, has the tide of strength completely turned, with him being crushed instead?