198: Chapter 198 The Substitute Puppet

Lin Tian stroked his chin, gazing into the distance at that heart-palpitating darkness that seemed as if it had remained unchanged since ancient times.

Was it the rules of this space itself?

Or was something in the shadows controlling the rhythm of the monsters' emergence, intentionally keeping the core hidden?

Or... was that darkness itself some kind of living creature?

"Soldiers to block the generals, earth to dam the water."

After a moment, Lin Tian waved his hand, temporarily suppressing his doubts.

Regardless of what secrets were hidden here, for now, it was an irreplaceable and efficient training ground and source of Spirit Crystals.

As long as the gains outweighed the risks, there was no reason to give it up.

"Continue clearing at the current intensity, but raise the alert level to the maximum. Tell all commanders, especially the squads exploring toward the dark zone, to report back immediately if they find any abnormality. No reckless advances!"

"Yes!"

The continuous slaughter on this land soaked in filth and madness, the endless fighting and tempering, brought back staggering rewards.

What Lin Tian felt blowing against him was not just that familiar, nauseating scent of decay, but also a majestic military prestige and Evil Qi that was as heavy as iron, almost condensing into substance.

Looking around, the recruits who had been somewhat green before now had eyes that were sharp and steady, every movement carrying the elite toughness of having been tempered by blood and fire.

The scars on their armor and the dark red that couldn't be washed off their weapons were the best medals of honor.

All recruits had stabilized at Bronze 1-star or higher, moving past the weakest stage.

And the number of Gold-tier elites in the army had quietly broken through the hundred thousand mark!

This was a force sufficient to strike fear into any regional lord.

But the most eye-catching ones were two people.

Lin Yin.

She stood silently on a relatively clean patch of open ground at the edge of the camp, her moon-white holy robe spotless, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding blood-stained scorched earth.

However, the cold and sharp aura permeating her body was more heart-palpitating than any bloodiness.

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at the eternally filthy blood moon in the sky. Her profile under the moonlight showed clear and firm lines, like a jade statue carved from moonlight, yet exuding a chill that warned others to stay away.

Her Rank, as if riding a rocket, had soared crazily to Platinum 9-star!

She was only a single step away from that diamond rank threshold.

Lin Tian could feel the surging Moonlight Power within her almost overflowing; every breath drew subtle fluctuations from the thin moonlight energy around her.

The near-masochistic madness she displayed when hunting monsters made even the most courageous soldiers take notice.

It was as if she wanted to vent all of some sense of powerlessness, or perhaps an urgency to become stronger, onto these polluted creations.

"This girl..."

Lin Tian watched her back from a distance, his heart as clear as a mirror.

Was it because of letting Gru escape the day before yesterday, or was she feeling pressure from the stronger enemies soon to come?

Perhaps it was both.

He didn't go to disturb her, only whispering instructions to a nearby messenger: "Remember to remind Commander Lin Yin to rest. Just say I said so."

"Yes!"

The other was Lin Feng. This fierce general's aura had also become increasingly heavy and sharp, reaching Platinum 5-star.

He was like a piece of Refined Iron being repeatedly hammered, constantly eliminating Impurities in the fires of war, becoming increasingly tough and powerful.

With him and Lin Yin present—one offense, one defense, one melee, one ranged—they formed the two sharpest blades under Lin Tian's command.

Beyond them, nearly a thousand new platinum rank experts had emerged in the army!

Distributed across different branches and units, they became the most solid backbone at the grassroots level.

Looking at this reborn army of tigers and wolves under his command, a sense of heroic pride welled up in Lin Tian's heart.

With such strength, sweeping through those lords in the region who mostly possessed excellence or rare units was practically like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken—a total dimensional strike.

"Lin Feng, pick a thousand men, the strongest ones, all Platinum, riding Dragon-Blood Steeds, and follow me."

Lin Tian withdrew his gaze and gave the order.

After yesterday's experience with the 'ten-thousand-man unit,' he realized he was still being too 'extravagant.'

To deal with those guys on the list, a thousand Platinum epic units, plus the existence of the bug that was Lin Feng who could activate 'Command of a Thousand Armies' at any time, was already enough to crush everything.

It was more cost-effective to leave the remaining elites in this treasure land to continue power-leveling and raise the overall strength as quickly as possible.

Soon, a thousand-man unit composed of the strongest from various branches finished assembling.

Every member was Platinum, straddling Dragon-Blood Steeds, their killing intent almost condensing into substance.

They silently followed Lin Tian, passing through the teleportation array once more to return to the sunny Lintian City, and then...

Without stopping, they lunged toward that long 'hunting list.'

The efficiency was even faster than yesterday.

With yesterday's experience, combined with the extreme mobility of being all-Platinum and mounted on Dragon Horses, Lin Tian's thousand-man unit was like the lightning of the God of Death.

Locate, teleport, appear, clear the field, seize, teleport...

The set of procedures was smooth as flowing water, and the average time to resolve one target was compressed to an outrageous degree.

From early morning until after four in the afternoon, the crimson teleportation gates opened and closed as iron hooves trampled across one patch of scorched earth after another.

Nearly a hundred names were permanently erased from the list.

The harvest was a massive amount of basic resources, nearly filling the warehouses.

And the attack points skyrocketed by eight hundred!

After just a day and a half of 'hard work,' combined with previous accumulations, Lin Tian's total points had reached a quite considerable figure: 1,150 points!

However, there were some minor surprises. When selecting a few of the targets, the panel prompted: 'This lord is already deceased.'

Lin Tian raised an eyebrow, not feeling it was a pity, only giving a cold laugh: "It seems there really are quite a few people who want them dead. It saved me a bit of trouble, though it's a shame about the points."

With over a thousand points in hand, Lin Tian didn't hesitate at all and immediately clicked on that [Heavenly Dao Treasure List] which radiated an alluring light.

His gaze locked onto one item right away: the substitute puppet.

"This is the one!"

A flash of eagerness crossed Lin Tian's eyes. Last time, Long Ao had relied on this thing to escape right from under his nose twice; he remembered that scene very clearly.

An extra life in this crisis-ridden Eternal Continent was more practical than any Divine Artifact!

This was practically a life-saving Divine Artifact; there was no room for hesitation.

"Exchange for substitute puppet!"

[Ding! Consumed 500 attack points, successfully exchanged for 'substitute puppet' ×1!]

A faint light flashed, and a palm-sized wooden doll with simple, even somewhat crude craftsmanship and a face that bore some resemblance to Lin Tian appeared in his hand.

It felt slightly heavy in his hand, carrying a strange icy sensation, as if it could absorb the fluctuations of the Soul.

Lin Tian sensed it carefully, and after imprinting his own aura, he stored it away with great care.

His heart immediately felt much more at ease.