40: Chapter 4: The Situation on Hailong Star, a Battlefield of Myriad Races!
After leaving the cafeteria,
He didn't immediately go to accept a mission, but instead returned to his dorm first.
His strength had just surged dramatically, and his new moves were only preliminarily mastered. He needed some time to consolidate and become thoroughly familiar with them.
More importantly, his understanding of the overall structure of this world, especially the grand situation of humanity's struggle against The Myriad Races of the Starry Sky, wasn't deep enough yet.
"Insufficient clearance..." he rubbed the Black Iron Two-Star badge on his chest.
Many truly core confidential pieces of intelligence required higher clearance to access.
He opened the internal database on his tactical watch, entered his clearance level, and began searching for basic information about the current faction distribution on Sea Dragon Star and The Myriad Races of the Starry Sky.
These were basic materials publicly available to all Demon-Slaying Warriors, aimed at letting newcomers understand the environment they were in.
As the information scrolled on the light screen, Zhou Heng's expression gradually became grave.
A hundred years after the Primordial Energy resurgence, Sea Dragon Star was no longer the place he remembered.
Monstrous beasts ran rampant, secret realms opened, myriad races descended...
Humankind fell from the top of the food chain,
experiencing the darkest, bloodiest era. It wasn't until the Divine Seal Awakening system appeared that they barely managed to stand their ground, but their situation remained difficult.
On today's Sea Dragon Star, human factions mainly exist in the form of several major alliances:
[Eastern Brilliance Nation]: The strongest comprehensive power! Occupies vast territories in eastern Asia, has the largest population base, and the quantity and quality of Divine Seal Awakeners are recognized as number one globally. Possesses the most complete training system and the strongest high-end combat power (the Nine Ceiling-level powerhouses)! One of the main pillars resisting the invasion of the myriad races.
[North American Federation]: The most integrated combination of technology and Divine Seals. Unique in areas like gene serums, spiritual energy technology, and mechanical implants. High-end combat power is not weak, and their style is tough.
[European Union]: Formed by the alliance of several traditional powerful nations, has deepheritage (accumulated heritage), emphasizes in-depth development of Divine Seal sequences and exploration of classical cultivation systems. The styles of their powerhouses are diverse.
[South American Alliance]: Rich in resources, complex environment. The abilities of Divine Seal Awakeners are often related to nature, jungles, and poison, with a wild and fierce style.
[South African Union]: The situation is relatively chaotic, with tribal systems and modernization coexisting. The abilities of Divine Seal Awakeners are bizarre and varied, with extremely strong survival capabilities.
Additionally, there are some regions that maintain neutrality or are smaller in scale.
The materials specifically emphasized,
that in the face of the common threat of The Myriad Races of the Starry Sky, the major human factions globally generally maintain unity and cooperation, sharing information and resisting the enemy together.
This is a consensus bought with countless bloodshed.
"Donghuang is the strongest... good thing it's us." Zhou Heng breathed a slight sigh of relief. As a Donghuang native, his national and ethnic pride was bursting!
Next, he clicked on the introductions about [Ten Thousand Races Battlefield] and [The Myriad Races of the Starry Sky].
[Ten Thousand Races Battlefield]: Not a single planet, but refers to the regions dense with spatial channels connecting Sea Dragon Star to numerous alien worlds, as well as the frontlines fiercely contested by humans and the myriad races, opened near these channels!
That place is a true meat grinder, where countless soldiers and Demon-Slaying Warriors sacrifice their lives every day. It's also the foremost front for obtaining high-tier resources and gathering intelligence on the myriad races.
Of Donghuang Republic's Nine Ceiling-level powerhouses,
five are permanently stationed in the most dangerous areas of Ten Thousand Races Battlefield, fighting bloody battles, resisting the myriad races. They are the backbone and pride of Donghuang, and indeed all of humanity!
Seeing this, Zhou Heng felt solemn respect. Those were the true, earth-shaking heroes!
Regarding [The Myriad Races of the Starry Sky], the information in the database was relatively vague and fragmented, with many entries marked "suspected," "unknown," or "pending confirmation."
After all, compared to the vast array of races in the entire universe, what humanity has currently encountered is just the tip of the iceberg.
The known races posing the greatest threat to humanity include:
[Stellar Rail Mechanicus] (Confirmed): A highly developed mechanical civilization lifeform, where the individual is a warship. Possesses terrifying computational power and destructive weaponry, technological level crushes humanity, cold-blooded and emotionless, views life as data. Danger Level: Extremely High!
[Corona Blaze Race] (Confirmed): Energy lifeforms born near stars, masters of extreme light and heat, with mutable forms,violent (frenzied) attacks, extremely high resistance to conventional physical attacks. Danger Level: Extremely High!
[Stellar Source Beast Race] (Branch Confirmed): A top-tier biological race in the starry sky, with invincible physical bodies, terrifying innate divine abilities, and noble bloodlines, but relatively scarce in numbers and elusive in movement. Danger Level: Extremely High!
Additionally, there are dozens of other races already recorded, with different characteristics and threat levels, such as [Rock-Core Giants], [Shadow-Thousand-Kill Race], [Psionic Race], etc.
The materials concluded with a warning in prominent red font:
[Warning: The starry sky is boundless, myriad races stand tall. The races currently known are only an extremely small part.]
[There exist unknown civilizations far more terrifying than the known races. Do not be blindly arrogant! Humanity is still struggling for survival amidst crisis!]
Closing the materials, Zhou Heng let out a long, heavy sigh, his mood somewhat somber.
"Humanity's situation... is even worse than imagined." He rubbed the space between his eyebrows.
With global unity and peak powerhouses fighting bloody battles, they barely managed to hold the line.
Facing those terrifying races capable of destroying stars at will, humanity's power is still tooInsignificant (tiny/insignificant).
"Strength... still not enough strength!" He clenched his fist, the sense of urgency growing stronger.
With Black Iron Two-Star clearance, he wasn't even qualified to view the specific weaknesses of some races or higher-tier intelligence.
"Need to improve strength and clearance quickly! At least reach the Fine Bronze level first to access more core information."
He closed the database, his gaze becoming resolute.
The consolidation was about done; time to test and solidify his power in actual combat!
He opened the mission list, directly filtering for missions with location set to "Western Border Region" and difficulty "D-level and above."
Soon, one mission caught his attention:
[Mission Level: D+ (Suspected activity of Starry Sky Charm Clan, risk elevated)]
[Mission Location: Western side, Blackwind Canyon Outpost Station]
[Mission Content: Meet up with and escort a previously lost investigation team (contact re-established, but their condition is abnormal), and investigate signs of Enchantress Race activity around the outpost station.]
[Recommended Personnel: 2-3 people]
[Reward: Merit +80 or Academic Credits +2500.]
"Blackwind Canyon? Isn't that the location mentioned on the forum where the incident happened? Suspected Enchantress Race... abnormal condition..."
Zhou Heng narrowed his eyes. "This is the one!"
He accepted the mission without hesitation. The system prompted him to wait for team matching or to recruit teammates himself.
He was just browsing for teams when his tactical watch suddenly received a communication request. It was Chen Ye.
He answered.
"Wild Kid, out of seclusion?" Zhou Heng said with a laugh.
Chen Ye's figure appeared on the light screen. His aura was noticeably much stronger, and his gaze was sharper.
"Yeah, Five Stars." Chen Ye was concise, then asked directly, "You're heading west? The Blackwind Canyon mission?"
Zhou Heng was taken aback: "How do you know?" He had just accepted it not long ago.
"The mission system has a notification for friends accepting high-risk missions." Chen Ye said calmly. "Add me."
Zhou Heng was amused: "Not bad, Wild Kid, pretty well-informed. Alright! Just need someone reliable!"
He immediately added Chen Ye to the mission team.
With the two of them teaming up, both efficiency and safety coefficient greatly increased.
One was an ultimate Wind-Thunder dual-element strong assault burst, the other an Ice-element proficient in both control and close combat.
"Get ready, meet at the fortress's west gate in one hour." Zhou Heng said.
"Okay." Chen Ye nodded and ended the communication.
Zhou Heng stood up, stretched his limbs, his bones emitting faint thunderous sounds.
Blood and energy surged, filling him with power.
He slung the dragon spine spear on his back, checked his equipment and supplies.
"Starry Sky Charm Clan... Heart-Bewitching Demon Energy... Wait for me!"