Chapter Twenty-Two: Fight to the Bitter End

"Huff! Huff!"

Amidst heavy breathing, the tip of the bronze spear dripped with the blood of the ninth heavy-armored warrior. The setting sun stretched the shadows of the crumbling watchtower, casting them across the ground like winding trails of blood.

"Archers, fire!"

A thunderous command echoed from the ranks of the Zhou army.

Immediately, a dark, dense rain of arrows erupted into the sky, falling like a shower of meteors.

*I cannot take this head-on!*

A sharp glint flashed in Ye Mingqiu’s eyes. With lightning speed, he grabbed the body of a fallen heavy-armored warrior with one hand and hoisted it as a shield before him.

The armor rang with the "clink-clank" of arrows striking home. Suddenly, three white-feathered shafts pierced through the heavy-armored soldier and struck Ye Mingqiu’s chest, slamming into his bronze plate with a crisp sound.

After the heavy-armored soldier’s damage reduction, combined with the +5 defense of his own bronze armor, Ye Mingqiu’s 9.9 constitution, the 5-point fixed damage reduction from his War Aura, and the 2.9 reduction from his "Divine Valor" passive, the three white-feathered arrows dealt a massive amount of damage.

-0! -0! -0!

The power was truly terrifying! They must be elite-tier archers!

Soon, the arrow rain ceased, and heavy footsteps followed. Ye Mingqiu decisively discarded the heavy-armored corpse, squinting as he stared ahead.

Twelve halberd-wielding warriors had locked into a tortoise formation, steadily closing in. Ye Mingqiu immediately cast a detection spell upon them.

[Halberd-Wielding Warrior (Level 1 Elite)]
[Race: Human]
[Attributes: Strength: 12, Agility: 10, Constitution: 12, Spirit: 6]

Seeing their stats, Ye Mingqiu couldn't help but curse under his breath. These warriors would be considered "Boss" level in a Hard trial, yet in this Hell-tier trial, they came in waves of twelve! And they were just one small part of the assault!

Indeed, fleeing was the simplest way to survive.

However...

If I run, the trial rewards will surely be drastically reduced, right? If I do that, will I still be able to obtain a Hero-grade class? Will I ever catch up to and surpass that person?

I have my own goals, too!!

"Hah!"

Ye Mingqiu let out a fierce roar, driving his bronze spear into the gap between the paving bricks. The shaft bent into a breathtaking arc, his back arching beneath the bronze armor like a hunting leopard.

*With a strength rating of 19.5, can you block this strike?!*

As the spearhead snapped forward, the enchanted bronze weapon erupted with unparalleled force. The front line of the shield wall shattered like pottery struck by a giant hammer.

Shards of broken shields embedded themselves into the eye sockets of the soldiers behind. Amidst their screams, Ye Mingqiu vaulted over the corpses, his spear blade carving a perfect silver arc. Three heads in leather helmets flew simultaneously toward the moat.

"Swish!"

Simultaneously, the sound of a bowstring rang out again. A flying arrowhead glinted with an eerie, dark blue—a poisoned wolf-tooth arrow.

*A sneak attack? How disgusting these archers are!*

Ye Mingqiu raised his spear to block, but the arrow was too fast. It bypassed the shaft and struck him square in the shoulder, dealing a terrifying amount of damage.

-0!

*Hmm?*

Looking at the damage figure, Ye Mingqiu realized something. With 9.9 constitution, +5 from his bronze armor, 5 from his War Aura, and 2.9 from his "Divine Valor" passive, how much damage would an archer need to actually pierce his defenses?

It seemed like quite a lot...

He was a Spirit-specialized character—a Spirit-specialist without active skills—which was why he had been granted extra survival safeguards in this initial trial, such as the defense and fixed damage reduction of the bronze armor.

If it were merely that, the effect wouldn't be this absurd; it would be impossible for enemy arrows to consistently fail to break his defense.

But!

Ye Mingqiu possessed the "Peerless Divine Valor" talent, which granted an additional 30% constitution and a fixed damage reduction equal to 1% of his maximum health. It was precisely this constitution and the 2.9 points of fixed reduction that turned arrows capable of dealing a few points of damage into non-threatening pings.

Breaking defense versus failing to break defense were two entirely different concepts. Breaking defense meant he could be whittled down by arrow volleys or poisoned to death; failing to break it... meant those archers were effectively useless.

Of course, that was provided he wasn't hit in a spot unprotected by his bronze armor, or he would certainly lose health.

*Oh!*

Ye Mingqiu suddenly wore a grim, terrifying smile as he roared and charged into the enemy ranks.

...

The sunset sank behind the watchtower's eaves, the crimson light drowning the blood-stained world.

Ye Mingqiu drove his bronze spear into the collarbone of an elite centurion, his cold gaze watching the man choke as he slid lifelessly off the spearhead, crashing to the ground.

*That was the last one.*

He sat amidst the pile of corpses, one leg bent and the other stretched out, gasping for air. Blood and sweat flowed into the crevices of his bronze armor, congealing into purple ice, which he shook off vigorously to avoid hindering his movement for the next battle.

[Notification: Your Long Weapon Proficiency has increased to Level 2.]

*Oh, leveled up.* He had killed so many enemies he couldn't even count them.

In the distance, the horns sounded again. A new wave of enemies was gathering. He hadn't wiped out the entire army of eighty thousand; he had merely slaughtered one wave, and there would be an endless stream of reinforcements.

Fortunately, his battlefield aura was effective; his stamina, psionic energy, and health regeneration were all doubled. Combined with his [Psionic - Limit Break] talent, which provided a 50% boost to psionic recovery, he had enough energy to keep using [Psionic - Enchantment] to empower his spear.

The bronze spear’s base stats were weak; without the massive attack boost from [Psionic - Enchantment], Ye Mingqiu's kill speed would be cut in half, if not more. If he couldn't kill enemies in short order, they would inevitably swarm him, and if he took too many hits, he risked being struck in a vital spot.

"General, they're coming again."

Not far away, a one-armed soldier, also soaked in blood, looked at the dark mass of enemies in the distance and said despairingly.

"Oh."

"Can we hold them off?"

"Fool, this isn't a question of whether we can hold them off." Ye Mingqiu stood up, gripping his bronze spear firmly, his broad back a wall of resolve. "Behind us are our homes, our families, and our friends. For them, we must keep fighting until every single invader is... driven out."

Behind him, the countless soldiers taking a brief respite stood up one by one. They knew that their survival until now wasn't due to luck or their own strength, but because a sufficiently powerful general stood at the front, shouldering the vast majority of the pressure alone.

What a mountain-like, reliable man!

Ye Mingqiu looked into the distance, where countless enemies were charging once more. They were neither too far nor too close; they would arrive in a few minutes.

[Survival Time: 3:52:12]

Less than four hours had passed. The survival mission still had a long way to go, and many more terrifying, brutal battles awaited.

Well then...

Time to open some treasure chests!