The Era of Gods

But when taken together, whether in terms of cost-effectiveness or overall strength, the Creation Energy spent on these five units was quite worth it, which also increased his expectation for strengthening the Naga in the future.

However, the Naga’s strengthening would have to wait for a while; he needed to earn more cards first.

Unlike strengthening the Fishmen, this time, if he were to strengthen the Naga, it would be akin to its first metamorphosis and evolution, consuming one of the new species’ five chances for metamorphic evolution. He definitely couldn’t make adjustments carelessly; he had to get his hands on some suitable cards, such as powerful skills, strong talents, bloodlines, and so on. When the time came, he aimed to extract the advantages of these features and integrate them, striving to maximize value in this one chance for metamorphic evolution.

Leveraging the absolute difference in strength, 14,000 Fishmen directly crushed Luo Yichen’s Clan, including 3,500 well-armed Werewolves and Wolf Cavalry.

Indeed, in terms of individual strength, the Werewolves were much stronger than the Fishmen, but the Fishmen held an absolute advantage in numbers. If they couldn’t win one on one, they could always fight two against one.

Moreover, every Fishman knew how to use the Salted Fish Charge, a move designed to win against stronger opponents; he definitely wouldn’t be foolish enough not to use it.

In less than an hour, with the last batch of unwilling-to-surrender Wolf Cavalry cornered to the edge of the plane and exterminated by the Fishmen, the system automatically determined that the opponent had admitted defeat.

Luo Yichen shouted with an unwilling face:

“You literally have the strength to challenge the Bronze Tier, and at the very least, you’d have a secure spot in the Iron Tier. Why on earth are you challenging me? Did I offend you?”

Lin Xiao scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and said:

“I’d like to try for the Black Iron Throne as well, but I only have one five-star Epic card; there’s nothing I can do.”

“Damnit!”

Luo Yichen almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, shouting in grief and anger:

“Wiry didn’t you say that earlier?”

“Would you have given me a five-star Epic card if I had mentioned it earlier?”

“As long as you don’t challenge me, you’d have two.”

Lin Xiao…

“Too late!”

Feeling somewhat regretful that he hadn’t thought of this earlier, he scratched his head, dropped this remark, and left.

As he left with the gloomy Luo Yichen, a thought voice rose from within the giant pupil of the Virtual Plane Dome:

“Interesting, truly interesting. I didn’t expect to see such fascinating things at this low level.”

When Lin Xiao opened his eyes, he knew that he had successfully challenged and already taken Luo Yichen’s seat.

Although it was a Stone throne, it was still a seat, much better than the large crowd below who, without a seat, could only stand.

As he looked around at his seemingly ordinary Stone throne, he was unaware that a small cluster of people below had their jaws dropped, nearly all of whom hadn’t expected him to be able to overturn his opponent and take the seat.

After a few seconds of silence in the crowd, a flurry of discussion broke out. Bai Ze slapped his thigh with a look of annoyance on his face:

“Damn, what a mistake! If I knew this guy was so weak, I would have challenged him earlier. I regret it so much.”

Bai Ze and Shang Xiaoxue also looked regretful and annoyed, but they no longer had the chance to challenge.

Most of the group wore the same expression of regret and annoyance, or regret, but among them, several individuals had flickering eyes and seemed ready to act.

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

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

“Yeah!”

“Good, hold steady until the next stage.”

“I’ll do my best!”

Meanwhile, Shen Yuexin also sent a message:

“Congratulations to you.”

“Thanks for Auntie’s support.”

This thank you came from the heart. Although calling a pretty young woman ‘Auntie’ felt a bit strange, he was still able to say it, given that he himself had a mother who looked like a young woman in her twenties; he was used to it.

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

“If this pauper who’s no match for me can take up the seat, doesn’t that mean I can also snatch it?”

She looked around and saw several pairs of eyes with the same gleaming intent and felt a sudden urge:

“Forget it, striking first is stronger.”

With this thought, she immediately stepped out of the crowd while those with remaining challenge opportunities were still hesitating, heading straight towards Lin Xiao.

Everyone was shocked, immediately understanding what she wanted to do. Bai Ze and Shang Xiaoxue stunned for a moment, then pointed at Tang Ling and shouted:

“That’s too much, Tang Ling.”

Tang Ling snorted coldly and said:

“Anyone can fight for the seat; who said that just because he took it, I can’t compete for it? I’m not close with him anyway.”

People fell silent, speechless, but that didn’t stop them from looking at her disdainfully, while even those in the Silver Tier facing challenges in the Ancient City frowned.

“What a pity.”

“It really is a pity; they’ve fought before, and Lin Xiao couldn’t beat Tang Ling.”

“Then it’s a dead end.”

Everyone looked at Lin Xiao with pity, recalling that in their experience, Lin Xiao’s strength was definitely no match for Tang Ling. Hardly had he gained an opportunity and snatched a seat when it was about to be taken away from him immediately.

“This is not righteous!”

Someone suddenly blurted out, and many people showed agreement, but others were disdainful, showcasing the complexity of human nature.

Tang Ling walked up to Lin Xiao without wasting words and launched a challenge.

This was exactly what he wanted. With his consciousness sinking, he once again arrived above the Virtual Plane.

Shrouded in divine light, their True Bodies stood at opposite ends of the plane. Tang Ling summoned all the combat-ready members of his Clan, more than three thousand two hundred fully armed Bull Monsters, two hundred more than the previous time, as well as over nine thousand Prairie Goblins. Then, he raised his head to look at Lin Xiao across from him and laughed proudly:

“Before the battle begins, allow me to say thank you, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take my seat here.”

“A petty man reveling in his newfound status!”

Lin Xiao had no intention of conversing with such a person. He merely glanced up at the massive pupil above the plane, reached out with an empty grip, and a sky full of white light descended from the heavens, revealing fiendishly fierce Fishmen, each holding weapons of various nations.

The moment the Fishmen appeared, Tang Ling burst into laughter:

“Trash always comes from small places, over ten thousand Fishmen, all of you bring…”

His voice stopped abruptly as he got a clear look at the Fishmen, and the smile on his face vanished:

“How have your Fishmen… changed?”

“They’re nothing but simpletons!”

Lin Xiao smiled and issued a Divine-mandate:

“Kill all the enemies!”

Situated in the Central Army, the Epic Hero Naga Slardar raised his heavy anchor and roared loudly:

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

Without any strategic formation, the fourteen thousand Fishmen formed an extremely long single file line and charged directly.

Tang Ling, with a gloomy face, observed the Fishmen who were taller and clearly stronger than those in his memory, wielding more sophisticated weapons, and he had a sinking feeling. But it was too late to back out, and he had to fight regardless.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down forcibly, he started to issue Divine- mandates to arrange his troops.

He had a knack for this aspect. Though not a man of great character, his ability was genuinely competent, which was the reason he received an invitation to the Super Newcomer Summer Camp.

However, under absolute strength suppression, the most ingenious tactics were useless. The super simple single file line rumbled forward, nullifying any command or tactic, forcing them to meet the charge head-on.

Observing for a while, Tang Ling ordered the Bull Monsters to gather in the center, hoping to concentrate superior forces to break through the Central Army in one fell swoop. If they could kill the hero commanding the Central Army, the battle thereafter would be easier.

Located in the Central Army, Slardar easily saw the enemy’s tactics, but he did not change the formation and stuck to the original plan to fight through.

When Lin Xiao issued the Divine-mandate, Slardar had already fully understood the intentions of the Deity he worshipped, as if knowing what his master desired was as easy as knowing the worms in his own stomach.

Above the Vault of Heaven within that huge pupil, a powerful will different from the previous, but equally inscrutable, was observing with great interest the two forces from different Divine Realms gradually approaching within the plane. Its gaze briefly passed over each robust Fishman and then moved to the few Naga, finally resting on the Epic Hero surrounded by many Nagas, muttering to itself:

“Fishmen with perfectly developed genes, a new potential species, and an Epic Hero embarking on the path of a Saint. I hadn’t expected to find a dusty gem in the depths!”

The will then took a turn in tone, revealing a hint of joy:

“Everyone else has gone to look up there; I’m the first to find this gem.”

Looking at Lin Xiao, who was oblivious, it chuckled:

“Kid, I’m marking you. From nowon, you’re mine.”

Lin Xiao certainly wouldn’t notice any change in himself, with his current strength, he couldn’t even perceive that will, let alone now when his entire attention was focused on the plane, watching his clan overwhelming Tang Ling.

Yes, overwhelming.

Just as Luo Yichen, whom he had defeated, had said, his true strength was enough to secure him an Iron Throne, and he might even contend for a Bronze Throne. Meanwhile, Tang Ling wasn’t even certain of obtaining a Stone Seat. How could Tang Ling fight him?

By banging her head against him?

Her strength wasn’t as great as Luo Yichen’s; after all, Luo had about eight or nine thousand Hyenaman, including two thousand Hyenaman Wolf Cavalry. That was much stronger than Tang Ling’s few thousand Goblins.

Facing the Fishmen’s frontal push, she was utterly defenseless.

Naga Slardar fully enacted his will, issuing orders that none of his subordinates even used powerful skills like the Salted Fish Charge or Thunder Strike. Instead, they relied on their sheer force to suppress over three thousand Bull Monsters and several thousand Prairie Goblins.

Although the weaponry and armor of the Bull Monsters were far superior to that of the Fishman Naga, the weapons in the hands of the Fishmen had been upgraded from bone spikes and stone cones to steel-made weapons, vastly increasing their lethality.

Fighting fully-armed Bull Monsters head-to-head was still a bit of a stretch, but against the cannon fodder Prairie Goblins, it was a total crush; any Fishman could easily take on three at once without even using skills.

Above the Vault of Heaven, Tang Ling was flustered. As soon as the main force of the Bull Monsters convened and was forced into retreat by less than a thousand Naga and five thousand Fishmen, she began to doubt her life, feeling as if she was dreaming.

Not long ago, she could easily defeat him, so why had their strengths completely reversed after a week, leaving her to be the one overwhelmed?

She couldn’t figure it out and didn’t have the chance to continue pondering, as the Fishmen, with an unstoppable momentum, crushed the Prairie Goblins. The seven or eight thousand Fishmen, now free, surrounded the still-resisting Bull Monsters with their strong Armor Card defenses, sealing their fate.

The battle didn’t last to the end. Tang Ling surrendered and admitted defeat as soon as her clan was completely encircled, leaving the Virtual Plane without a word.

In reality, as a bright light flashed, Lin Xiao and Tang Ling reappeared. Bai Ze, Shang Xiaoxue, and others immediately turned to look at them, then paused, their expressions revealing surprise. After looking at each other for a few seconds, Bai Ze said,

“Tang Ling lost?”

Shang Xiaoxue was also full of surprise,

“If I’m not mistaken, she indeed lost.”

“How is that possible, wasn’t she stronger than Lin Xiao?”

“But the fact is as such, the one sitting up there now is Lin Xiao.”

The crowd fell into an awkward silence until Tang Ling stepped down from the stage. She didn’t join them, instead, she walked straight through the crowd and left the hall; she had no face to stay any longer.

Everyone else paid her no mind either. After this incident, her reputation among them plummeted to rock bottom. After all, even with the worst kinds of people, no one likes someone who kicks their peers when they’re down.

Some might not acknowledge her as a peer, but at least they came from the same place and knew each other. In such situations, it is generally accepted that this should not be done.

If you did it, nobody would do much to you, but you would be ostracized, incapable of fitting in anymore.

After this battle, especially with Tang Ling leaving with a sullen face, it deterred any foolish thoughts from some others.

What followed was a wait, waiting for the time to end this phase of seizing positions.

In the meantime, because of the six transfer students, a chain reaction was gradually extending over, as four students from the Iron Tier with gloomy faces came down to their level.

The six stolen spots did indeed exist, but two of those no longer had the chance to challenge.