163: Chapter 163, Act Two

Even a great hero as powerful as [General Huo Qubing] fell under the siege of the Demon Princes.

Three minutes, no! One minute!

If [General Huo Qubing] could have held on for just one more minute, the Dragon Country legion behind him might have been able to completely destroy the already crumbling 'Final Portal' in front of them.

Unfortunately, the hero [General Huo Qubing] still fell prematurely.

Without the obstruction of [General Huo Qubing], the Demon Princes charged into the Dragon Country army, and the brave Dragon Country soldiers fell one by one, soon to be slaughtered to the last.

Before the legion was completely slaughtered by the Demon Princes, they did not forget to continue their assault on the 'Final Portal'. Regrettably, with the fall of the hero, the hero's buff to the legion also vanished, and the Dragon Country legion, with its combat power significantly weakened, ultimately failed to destroy the 'Final Portal'.

The hero fell, the legion was annihilated, and Chen Aoyun's plan to storm the 'Final Portal' was declared a failure.

This was the battle on the final day of Act I. As the afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the sand table, the first act of this Game of National Destiny came to an end.

According to the point rankings, only three countries ultimately achieved results in Act I: the USA ranked first, Prussia second, and the Dragon Country third.

The three countries received 10, 8, and 6 major points respectively in this Game of National Destiny.

Looking at these results, Chen Aoyun remained silent. Fan Ling patted him on the shoulder and said, "To be able to achieve this much is already quite good. Besides, this is only the first act; the Game of National Destiny is not over yet. Cheer up!"

Failing to destroy the 'Final Portal' and failing to take first place in Act I, Chen Aoyun was certainly disappointed. However, his distraction at this moment was not due to that, but rather because Chen Aoyun was pondering a very specific question, "Why do you think the forcibly activated item [Optimal Choice] would make those seven moves for me in advance?"

Using an item to forcibly activate another item; at the very beginning of this Game of National Destiny, the people of Sakura Country forcibly activated the Dragon Country's Foundation Item [Optimal Choice].

After the Foundation Item [Optimal Choice] was activated, seven heroes were forcibly activated in the Dragon Country's so-called 'backstage', namely: the hero for Act I, [Ying Quliang]; the hero who would appear in the Act II backstage, [Ying Si]; the hero who would appear in the Act III backstage, [King Wu of Qin]; ... and the hero who would appear in the Act VII backstage, [Ying Zheng].

Chen Aoyun frowned and continued, "Take this first act, for example. My understanding is that the primary role of the hero in the Act I backstage is: self-preservation. Yet, the hero [Ying Quliang] that [Optimal Choice] chose for me in advance for Act I cannot construct any combat skills for self-preservation. It is only because the people of Sakura Country were cautious enough. If the Strategist of Sakura Country had not been Saku Kenichi, but instead some reckless kid or a Strategist who wasn't as thorough, perhaps we would have been forcibly killed by the people of Sakura Country right at the beginning of this first act!"

Before the end of Act I, Chen Aoyun only suspected that [Ying Quliang], who was placed in advance by [Optimal Choice], was a bad move. But after Act I ended, Chen Aoyun was certain, definite, and positive that the appearance of [Ying Quliang] in Act I was a bad move!

Act I required the raiding of Famous Scholars, and Raiders from various countries would frequently interact in the plot world. Without backstage skills as a deterrent, the word 'raid' could not be realized. Without a deterrent, countries might even abandon the Famous Scholars entirely: what about favorability ratings? Without the threat of exclusive backstage hero skills, if my side's Raiders were strong in combat, I could just kill all the other countries' Raiders, and wouldn't all the favorability of the Famous Scholars be mine?

Before Act I completely ended, Chen Aoyun still guessed that perhaps the backstage heroes had some other function, such as playing a role when heroes fought Calamity Demons or destroyed portals. But facts proved that Chen Aoyun had overthought it. The backstage heroes required the Raiders to activate them for Famous Scholars, and the ones fighting the Calamity Demons were the heroes recommended by the Famous Scholars. Raiders from all countries were just 'watching the show' on the sidelines and could not enter the field, so how could there be any talk of using backstage hero skills?

Finally, Chen Aoyun concluded: the appearance of [Ying Quliang] in Act I was a bad move!

"But why? Why would the Foundation Item [Optimal Choice] make such a move for me? Foundation Items either cannot be activated, or if they are, they won't make mistakes. The item's name is 'Optimal Choice', but why can't I see where the 'optimal' part is at all?"

[Ying Quliang] could not provide a trump card for self-preservation in Act I. Even if [Legalist Reform] was constructed based on the story of [Ying Quliang] and played a key role in the raid of Act I, did it have to be [Ying Quliang]? When money was needed in Act I, wouldn't [Lu Buwei] have worked? Wouldn't [Shen Wansan] have worked? They both would have! Why did it have to be [Ying Quliang]? Chen Aoyun thought about it left and right, but he couldn't figure it out.

If Chen Aoyun, a transmigrator, couldn't figure out the matter of the heroes, then the others in the Dragon Country would understand it even less. Moreover, the will of Star Chess seemed unwilling to give everyone time to think. Just as Act I ended, before the people of the various countries could even catch their breath, the sand table in front of them completely disappeared. The disappearance of the sand table was immediately followed by the shattering and collapse of the space! A strong sense of weightlessness struck. The four from the Dragon Country felt as if they were instantly swallowed by a black hole; their vision went black, and when they opened their eyes again, they had arrived outside a high tower that soared straight into the clouds!

A mechanical yet ethereal voice rang in the minds of the four: [Act II... initiated!]

"Act II is starting already?" Fan Ling rubbed his forehead, which was still feeling dizzy.

Looking around, the four from the Dragon Country discovered that the place they were in was incredibly empty; there was nothing else except the high tower in front of them.

"Only the four of us are here; there are no people from other countries. A separate battle or plot? This counts as good news."

The high tower in front of them was undoubtedly the content of Act II. Zhao Hongxiu, whose combat power was second only to Chen Aoyun among the four, stepped forward to check the situation of the tower. Before checking the tower, Zhao Hongxiu said, "The appearance of [General Huo Qubing] in the last act gave me some insights..."

Chen Aoyun had long since unlocked the second set of [Raider] skills for Zhao Hongxiu, but the second set of skills first required selecting a natal hero. Chen Aoyun's natal hero was the 'Three Sages of the Aristocratic Families'. Zhao Hongxiu had gained some insights after the appearance of [General Huo Qubing], and she felt that [General Huo Qubing] might be able to become her natal hero, so she sought Chen Aoyun's opinion.

Chen Aoyun thought about it. Zhao Hongxiu followed the [Path of the Soldier], which did go quite well with the general-type [General Huo Qubing], but he still advised: "Specializing in combat versus improving comprehensive abilities each has its advantages; don't rush to make a decision yet..."

Because they were being livestreamed, Chen Aoyun did not speak too explicitly. Zhao Hongxiu nodded silently, and then walked toward the high tower to the side.

The door of the high tower was extremely huge, and above it was a row of small characters, which was clearly a rule: [Act II Rule 1: After this act is initiated, all communication with the outside world is prohibited, and the use of all Foundation Items is forbidden.]

The prohibition of Foundation Items was another piece of good news for the Dragon Country.

Continuing to check the details outside the tower, the four of them searched together. After finding nothing else, the four of them joined forces to push open the gate of the high tower. Once the gate was opened, the four were instantly sucked into the tower.

They were on the first floor of the high tower. Before the monsters on the first floor surged out, the four from the Dragon Country found the second rule: [Act II Rule 2: Collect materials inside the high tower to build a 'wonder'. Only one wonder can be built, and it must be a statue that actually existed in the history of the Old Era. The more materials collected, the stronger the wonder, and the more entries can be written. After leaving the high tower, the countries that built wonders will be randomly paired off to fight each other, and the top three winners will be counted toward the results of this act.]

After reading this rule, Fan Ling rubbed his chin and said, "Collect materials to build a statue-type wonder, and then have the wonders compete against each other? This Act II has a bit of conscience; it points out the key to this act directly."

It was all secretive during Act I, but in Act II, it was pointed out directly. However, Chen Aoyun and Zhao Hongxiu's expressions were not very good.

Chen Aoyun looked around and found that the first floor of this high tower was equally empty. Aside from a few huge iron grille doors at the edges, there were only some weapon racks; there was nothing else. Seeing this situation, two words could not help but well up in Chen Aoyun's heart—Tower Climbing!

Chen Aoyun said somewhat helplessly, "Yes, everything is very clear, but this rule doesn't seem very friendly to the Dragon Country! Collecting materials in such a high tower with limited space, I'm afraid there aren't any plot-related matters, only things related to combat. And yet, our Dragon Country has the weakest combat power among all countries!"

Clatter— As soon as Chen Aoyun's voice fell, those steel-cast grille doors emitted the sound of mechanical chain transmission. "It's coming! Quick, weapons, there are weapons in the corner!" Chen Aoyun grabbed Fan Ling, who was still stunned, and rushed toward the weapon rack in the corner; Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong followed closely behind.

Roars sounded from behind the pitch-black iron grille doors. Before the grille doors were raised to the highest point, countless corrupted hyenas dripping with foul-smelling drool surged out like locusts! "Prepare for battle!" Chen Aoyun picked up a weapon from the weapon rack and shouted!

Zhao Hongxiu, Xiao Zhenghong, and Chen Aoyun, the three of them backed against the corner, surrounding Fan Ling, who had little combat power, in the middle. The corrupted hyenas were several sizes larger than normal hyenas, their bodies almost catching up to a bear, and their numbers were extremely high. But Chen Aoyun and the others were not pushovers. The three with combat capabilities entrusted their backs to each other. The skill light of the [Raider] flashed one after another, and soon, these ferocious hyenas all fell into a pool of blood.

The battle process could even be described as easy, but this was only the first floor. Before entering the high tower, everyone had looked up, and this high tower soared into the clouds.

After clearing all the monsters on the first floor, all traces of the battle instantly disappeared. The bloodstains on the ground were gone, and even the bloodstains on everyone's bodies disappeared. But the slight feeling of fatigue did not disappear. Although no one was injured, Chen Aoyun guessed that if they were injured, the wounds would not automatically heal.

Rumble— A staircase leading to the next floor rose in the center of the first floor. Beside the staircase was a piece of stone containing Construction Power. "Is this the material for building a wonder mentioned in [Act II Rule 2]?" Arriving beside the peculiar stone, as soon as Chen Aoyun's hand touched the stone, the stone turned into a ray of white light and drilled into Chen Aoyun's palm. [Bronze Grade Construction Material x1]

"Climb the tower, kill monsters, obtain materials; it seems to be just as I thought." Chen Aoyun said after the stone entered his palm. There were no NPCs, no plot of any kind; the only thing needed to do to collect materials and climb the tower was to fight. Fighting floor by floor, collecting materials floor by floor.

When the four from the Dragon Country killed their way to the 101st floor and killed all the monsters, the obtained material changed for the first time. [Silver Grade Construction Material x1]. After 100 [Bronze Grade Construction Materials] came [Silver Grade Construction Materials]. Continuing to kill to the 200th floor, the obtained materials were upgraded from [Silver Grade] to [Gold Grade]. After Bronze came Silver. After Silver came Gold. What about after Gold Grade? Was there a Diamond Grade? What about after Diamond? Was there anything else? Even if Diamond Grade was the top-tier material, calculated this way, this high tower had at least four hundred floors!

And when the four from the Dragon Country climbed to the 250th floor, they were already struggling! Fan Ling had no combat power, so Chen Aoyun simply let him withdraw from the tower-climbing process. With one less Fan Ling to take care of, when they climbed to the 280th floor, Zhao Hongxiu, who had been responsible for holding the front line, was the first to die in battle. Those who died in battle would automatically resurrect in the next act; this was a rule discovered in Act I that ran through the entire Game of National Destiny. Although people would resurrect in the next act, the loss of combat power caused by reduced personnel was obvious. Soon, after continuing to climb up two more floors, Xiao Zhenghong also fell. Chen Aoyun became a lone wolf once again.

Climbing further up, Chen Aoyun had to activate the second set of [Raider] skills to fight the monsters. The second set of skills was not an invincible existence, and it could only be used four times. After the four pseudo-hero skills were used up, Chen Aoyun, the sole tower-climbing survivor of the Dragon Country, finally fell as well.

The Dragon Country's tower-climbing height was fixed at the 273rd floor, with a total collected material of: [Bronze Grade Construction Material x100] [Silver Grade Construction Material x100] [Gold Grade Construction Material x73]

Finishing the tower climb, the four were teleported to the same space. This space should be the space where countries would finally gather to compete with their wonders; now, only the four from the Dragon Country were in this space. Inside the space, the high towers of other countries could still be seen. Although the specific combat situation inside the towers could not be seen, every once in a while, the high tower representing certain countries would light up one floor, clearly revealing the progress of each country.

"The most fierce Russia has already climbed to the 322nd floor and is still continuing to push upward. The worst, the Ottoman, has also reached the 298th floor. It turns out our Dragon Country is the most miserable, being eliminated at the 273rd floor. Brother Chen, aren't we a bit too trash?"

For the first time, or rather, this was the first time that while Fan Ling was still in a 'living state', Chen Aoyun, this Strategist, had turned into a 'soul'. Chen Aoyun was still relatively optimistic, "This second act is a test of pure combat power; it's no surprise that we are at the bottom."

Fan Ling, "Don't you love exploiting bugs? Can't you think of how to exploit this act?" Chen Aoyun's mentality did not collapse; he spread his hands, "Act II is too simple and clear. It's just collecting materials to build a wonder statue, and then the wonder statues fight each other. The rules are clear to this extent, and there are no other variables; I don't even have a direction for opportunism in my mind..."