80: Chapter 80 Five Hundred Silver

Nearly a hundred men had sustained varying degrees of minor injuries and their auras were weak, yet they still persisted in gripping their weapons tightly.

Lord Su Wan's elven troops had been well-protected this time, with no further casualties, but almost all the elves were pale from the excessive consumption of their mental energy.

"The second stage challenge is cleared."

A magnificent voice resounded, carrying a sense of indifference.

Two golden pillars of light, even more brilliant than before, descended from the sky, landing in front of Lin Tian and Lord Su Wan respectively.

The pillars of light dissipated, revealing two Gold Treasure Chests with ancient designs, radiating a heavy, mysterious aura.

[Individual Reward: Gold Treasure Chest × 1]

"..." Lin Tian looked at the glittering chest before him, his expression momentarily blank. Then, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and softly cursed with a laugh: "Good grief... The token I got from a Gold Treasure Chest leads to a secret realm where I fight for another Gold Treasure Chest? Are we playing with nesting dolls here? Is the system designer of the Eternal Continent a Russian nesting doll?"

His humorous self-deprecating remark, dripping with sarcasm, wasn't loud, but it was just enough to be heard by Lord Su Wan, who was not far away, and Lin Yin, who was walking back.

Lord Su Wan was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant. She couldn't help but chuckle behind her hand, the tension and exhaustion of the past few days seemingly diluted slightly by this witticism.

Indeed, this reward mechanism really had a bit of a "nesting doll" quality to it.

Lin Yin walked to Lin Tian's side, first scanning him quickly from head to toe to confirm he was uninjured, before letting out a slight sigh of relief.

Hearing Lin Tian's complaint, the corners of her cold lips curled upward almost imperceptibly. The look she gave Lin Tian carried a hint of helplessness, mixed with a touch of indulgent tenderness.

Her Lord could always find a unique way to help people relax at times like these.

However, when her gaze inadvertently swept over the Gold Treasure Chest belonging to Lord Su Wan, it quickly returned to its cold state, and she refocused her attention on Lin Tian and the surrounding environment.

After a brief rest, that magnificent voice sounded again, like a death knell, announcing the arrival of the third stage.

This time, there were no titles like "Ambush from All Sides," only the most direct and heart-palpitating crushing of strength.

Emerging from the edge of the horizon was still a tide of corrupted beasts, numbering only around five thousand, but when the light of the Detection Spell swept over them, both Lin Tian and Lord Su Wan's expressions turned grim.

The quality of these monsters had generally risen to the Excellent grade! It was on par with Lin Tian's Heavy Armored Spearman!

Although the levels were still primarily black iron and bronze, and there was a slight increase in silver-ranked leaders, the leap in overall strength made every impact heavier, and every collision between claws and spear tips sparked more piercing flashes.

"Hold the line! Rotate the spear formation! Lin Yin, prioritize sniping those high-tier bronze and silver leaders!" Lin Tian's voice was steady, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner gravity.

Lin Yin said nothing, merely pulling her bowstring tighter. Her moon-essence arrows were like silver threads of death, precisely weaving through the battlefield. Every flash of silver meant the fall of a powerful monster, easing the pressure on the defensive line by a fraction.

But she also began to feel the strain; the enemies had grown stronger, and her arrows required more power to be lethal in a single shot.

After a long and arduous battle, the beast tide of the third stage was finally dealt with. The battlefield was a mess, soldiers wheezed in exhaustion, and the groans of the wounded rose and fell.

In this stage, Lin Tian's troops again paid the price of dozens losing their combat effectiveness and hundreds being injured, while Lord Su Wan's elves suffered nearly a hundred more casualties.

The rewards descended, and both he and Lord Su Wan each received four hundred wood crystal stones, which radiated a rich life aura and had wood-like textures flowing within, containing pure wood elemental power.

Before everyone could catch their breath from the fatigue and losses, the short rest period ended, and the fourth stage followed in quick succession.

This time, the number had directly doubled!

Lin Yin's cold face was covered in fine beads of sweat, and her breathing had become heavy.

She had almost completely abandoned area-of-effect attacks, pouring all her limited physical strength and moon-essence power into precisely sniping the most threatening targets.

Every arrow aimed to be lethal, buying the most precious breathing room for the defensive line.

Lin Feng was already like a blood-drenched man, rushing to put out fires at the weakest points of the defense. His crimson gold coiling dragon spear had flipped over countless powerful enemies, and he himself had added several wounds.

The casualties of the Heavy Armored Spearmen surged. Men kept falling, only to be dragged back to the center of the formation by their comrades, where they were desperately treated by the elves.

Under the crazy onslaught of the "Excellent" quality monsters, the steel defensive line was like a reef in a storm—tottering, but never breaking.

When the last "Excellent" monster turned into black smoke amidst a wail, there were fewer than two thousand soldiers left standing on the plain.

Lin Tian's troops had lost nearly two hundred, almost everyone was injured, and the severely wounded lay all over the ground.

Lord Su Wan's elven troops were even more wretched; the original five hundred were now fewer than three hundred, and each was mentally exhausted, forcing themselves to treat the wounded.

The reward for the fourth stage followed: all troops participating in the challenge had their levels increased by one!

This light was like sweet dew, sprinkling over the surviving soldiers. Their injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, their weak auras became strong again, and even many soldiers stuck at bottlenecks felt their shackles loosen, with a noticeable improvement in their strength.

This reward came just in time, slightly making up for the heavy losses and giving everyone a faint glimmer of hope for the subsequent challenges.

However, this glimmer of hope was almost completely crushed the moment the fifth stage opened.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no smoke and dust blocking the sky. In the distance, on the horizon, a team of monsters appeared.

The number was not large, only about five hundred.

But their appearance made the air across the entire plain seem to freeze.

They varied in form; some resembled giant apes, some were like demonic leopards, and others were indescribable twisted creatures, but without exception, they were all wrapped in thick, viscous, dark, filthy energy, exuding a pressure that made one's soul tremble.

The most terrifying thing was the information fed back by the Detection Spell, which made Lin Tian and Lord Su Wan's blood almost freeze.

[Corrupted Demon Ape]

[Quality: Excellent High-tier]

[Level: Silver 1 Star]

...

The lowest was Silver 1 Star, the highest was Silver 6 Star, all of Excellent quality! A full five hundred of them!

"This... how is this possible?!" Lord Su Wan's delicate body swayed, her face instantly turning as pale as paper, and for the first time, true despair appeared in her emerald-like eyes.

Facing such a terrifying lineup, her remaining fewer than three hundred elves probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a single wave of attacks.

Was this where they would stop? Subconsciously, she looked at Lin Tian. This man, who had led them through four stages all the way here, was her only hope at this moment, yet he also seemed like a candle in a gale, ready to be extinguished at any time.