191: Chapter 191, ironically, became the bottom one.

Xiao Zhenghong, whom the USA and Prussia had been searching for all this time, had suddenly appeared near the Calamity Demon gathering area and was already clearing out the Calamity Demon strongholds.

Behind Xiao Zhenghong, the Heroic Spirit Manifestation of [Du Yu] had already been activated for the second time.

Unlike the first time it was activated, although the overall appearance of [Du Yu]'s Heroic Spirit Manifestation remained unchanged, retaining the demeanor of a scholarly Chinese general, four pairs of massive wings had appeared behind him!

Seeing this scene, the live broadcast channel was full of shock and confusion:

"What's going on? How did Xiao Zhenghong, whom the USA and Prussia searched for all this time, suddenly appear in the Calamity stronghold? Could it be that this guy can teleport? Also, why is [Du Yu]'s Heroic Spirit Manifestation different from last time, and what's the deal with those eight giant steel wings behind him?"

Similar comments kept scrolling through the live broadcast channel. As a professional commentator, it was necessary to provide a professional explanation for these doubts.

Commentator York began to speak. Before answering the scrolling comments, he had been consulting various paper and electronic documents for a long time, but for some questions, he still hadn't found a reasonable explanation.

He would say as much as he knew; as a commentator, he couldn't just leave the topic hanging, otherwise it would be a broadcast mishap.

Thus, York replied, "The resource points in this final map are somewhat unique. Not only were they determined by each country based on the elements possessed by their own Heroic Spirits, but these resource points also have the special power to amplify the corresponding elements.

The USA's [Washington], while activating his Heroic Spirit Manifestation in the name of the 'Lighthouse,' also granted [Washington]'s Manifestation the power of the 'Sword and Charter,' which symbolizes the order of human civilization. Similarly, when Russia used the 'Crowned in Ice and Snow' resource point to activate [Empress Catherine], it also granted her the special 'Power of Winter.'

Following this logic, since the Dragon Country used the 'Angels Arrival' resource point to activate the [Du Yu] Heroic Spirit Manifestation, it isn't strange that something resembling angel wings appeared behind [Du Yu] after he was activated by the power within the resource point."

York paused slightly, feeling a bit awkward, and continued to explain, "As for why Xiao Zhenghong was able to occupy the French 'Angels Arrival' resource point, and even caused it to 'grow' eight steel wings because of this resource point, I have just scoured all available historical records from the Old Era and haven't found an answer. To find this answer, we may have to wait for the Dragon Country's Chen Aoyun to explain it himself, or for another country to initiate a Judgment to get to the bottom of it.

However, one thing is certain: after the resource point disappeared, Xiao Zhenghong did not appear before the USA and Prussia, but appeared outside the Calamity stronghold after some time. I speculate that this must be related to the activation of the [Du Yu] Heroic Spirit Manifestation. It might not even be an ability possessed by the [Du Yu] Heroic Spirit Manifestation itself, but related to the 'eight wings' that appeared behind him!"

The French [Strategist], whose resource point had been snatched away, could not hear York's commentary, but he was wailing nonetheless. It was his own perfectly good resource point, yet it had been inexplicably occupied by the Dragon Country. It would be strange if the French [Strategist] wasn't wailing, and he also couldn't fathom how the Chinese [Du Yu] could be linked to the word 'Angel.'

Looking at the [Du Yu] Heroic Spirit Manifestation behind Xiao Zhenghong on the chessboard screen, the French [Strategist] said, "The people of the Dragon Country are just too bizarre. It's one thing to inexplicably and forcibly occupy my French 'Angel' resource point. But what is up with the wings behind this [Du Yu] after the occupation? Awakened by the special power of my 'Angel' resource point, even if eight wings could grow, they should be like angel wings, with white, pure feathers! How did they turn into cold, iron things? What the hell are these 'Steel Wings'! Bizarre, this is just too bizarre! What kind of bizarre logic did Chen Aoyun use to pull off this scene?"

The French [Strategist]'s confusion was shared by all the [Strategists] from the other countries present. However, the USA [Strategist] did not fall into the vortex of confusion, but decisively made a choice, saying to the Prussian beside him, "So what if the Heroic Spirit Manifestation is activated? I don't need anyone to answer my questions. If you come with me to kill the Dragon Country's [Roleplayer], everything will be solved!"

The Prussian did not respond upon hearing this. The USA [Strategist] frowned, "Are you afraid of the Dragon Country's Heroic Spirit? What is there to be afraid of? The Dragon Country's Heroic Spirit [Du Yu] used a resource point from another country to activate his Manifestation. Regardless of how it was activated, a Manifestation activated using another country's resource point is certainly not the attribute that [Du Yu] is most skilled at or best suited for. Such a [Du Yu] wouldn't be very strong to begin with. Plus, my Heroic Spirit is [Washington], and the French Heroic Spirit you activated is [Frederick]; both are absolute T0-tier Heroic Spirits. Two T0-tier Heroic Spirits dealing with a makeshift version of [Du Yu] should be easy. What is there to hesitate about?"

The Prussian [Strategist] equivocated, making excuses, "It's not that I fear [Du Yu], but that I fear Russia picking up the benefits. Now, the Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong has already taken the [Du Yu] Heroic Spirit Manifestation into the Calamity Demon gathering area. The roads in that Calamity Demon gathering area are not only complex, but they also change irregularly from time to time. If you and I go to hunt down the Dragon Country's [Du Yu], it would be fine if we caught him. But what if we can't catch him? This map only has four resource point slots. My Prussia finally managed to get one of them. Should I not kill Calamity Demons to accumulate points, but instead go hunting down the Dragon Country people? Sorry, for the sake of my country's interests, I cannot join you."

"You..." The USA [Strategist] was furious upon hearing this, "Do you realize that if neither of us goes to hunt down the Dragon Country people, the Dragon Country, relying on the advantages they already have from the first two maps, will definitely be first in this third act! The Dragon Country has an advantage and is first from the first two maps; I, the USA, also have an advantage. If I don't go to hunt down the Dragon Country, I can still get second in this act. Only the top three get total points. That leaves you, France, and Russia. Russia has already been fighting demons on this map for a long time. By that calculation, even if you, Prussia, don't waste time hunting down the Dragon Country, you won't be able to squeeze into the top three. Conversely, if you join me in killing the Dragon Country people, you, France, might have a chance..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Prussian [Strategist], "You don't need to persuade me. Anyway, I won't go to hunt down the Dragon Country people. The Dragon Country's Chen Aoyun is quite interesting, and I intend to do him a favor."

The USA [Strategist] was furious, "Do him a favor? I don't think you're doing the Dragon Country a favor, but rather waiting for the Dragon Country and me to fight so you can reap the rewards, right? Only four countries have activated Heroic Spirit Manifestations on this final map, yet there are over sixty Calamity Demon strongholds in total. If you join forces with me to take out the Dragon Country, Prussia will be third at best. But if the USA and the Dragon Country get stuck in a game of cat and mouse, then the only countries left to truly clear these Demon strongholds will be you, France, and Russia. Forget about second place; if only you and Russia are competing for this many Demon strongholds, you might even take first place in total kills!"

In the Game of National Destiny, there is only deception. The Prussian's thoughts were seen through immediately, but he did not deny it. The USA has the highest total points and feels that the Dragon Country is always a threat, but from the Prussian's perspective, both the USA and the Dragon Country are threats. Isn't it better for the two of you to hold each other back?

"If I, Prussia, dare to leave the Dragon Country alone, can you, the USA, do the same?" After saying this, the Prussian [Strategist] ignored the USA person and directly ordered the [Roleplayer] carrying the [Frederick] Manifestation to head straight for the Demon strongholds. Heading straight for the Demon strongholds was not to hunt down Xiao Zhenghong, but to deal with the Demon strongholds and earn points for the third act.

The USA [Strategist] was so angry that he gritted his teeth. After thinking about it, he chose not to fall out with the other party, "Before killing [Du Yu], I should try to preserve [Washington]'s combat power as much as possible..." Immediately, the USA [Strategist] also ordered his own Manifestation user to head to the Calamity Demon gathering area. Just as the Prussian had thought, the USA [Roleplayer] carrying the [Washington] Manifestation headed to the Demon strongholds, but the primary goal was not to kill demons, but to pursue Xiao Zhenghong, who possessed the [Du Yu] Manifestation.

"It's just an unknown [Du Yu]; a single Heroic Spirit like [Washington] can easily kill him!"

...

On the final map, there were a total of sixty Calamity Demon strongholds. There were four countries that obtained strongholds and activated Heroic Spirit Manifestations. The number of strongholds they cleared in the first two maps was as follows: The Dragon Country had the most, having cleared a total of 11 Demon strongholds in the first two maps. The USA was second, having cleared 9. Russia had cleared 7, and Prussia had cleared 6, originally ranking third and fourth respectively. As for other countries, since they did not obtain resource points or activate Heroic Spirit Manifestations on this final map, there is no point in discussing them. The above is the previous ranking situation.

Now, the rankings have changed: Russia was the first to head to the Demon gathering area to clear demons on this final map. On this final map, the power granted to the Heroic Spirit Manifestation by the resource points has an extra bonus. The Russian [Roleplayer], relying on the [Empress Catherine] Manifestation with the 'Power of Winter' added behind her, went on a killing spree, and the total number of cleared Demon strongholds has reached 17!

The Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong arrived at the Demon gathering area much later than Russia, but just before the Americans could cause trouble, he also increased his count from 11 to 18. Next was the French. The French did not cooperate with the USA to cause trouble for Xiao Zhenghong, but instead went about 'farming monsters' on their own, and their clear count went from 6 to 14, making them third in total clear count.

The country with the fewest cleared Calamity strongholds after a period of time actually became the USA! The USA, which was originally in second place, had no time to clear Demon strongholds because of the pursuit of Xiao Zhenghong; they had 9 before, and they still have 9 now. There are thirty-five Calamity Demon strongholds left in total.

The USA chased Xiao Zhenghong for a long time, and the more they chased, the more depressed they became. The roads in the Calamity Demon gathering area were just too difficult to traverse! The terrain was like the Chongqing City of the Old Era. It was clearly a flat path, and the Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong was not far away, seemingly about to be caught, but then they discovered that the map showed the two were close at hand, yet one was above and one was below; they couldn't see each other at all, and there was no connecting road. Use the power of the Manifestation to forcibly open a path between the upper and lower levels? It was possible. However, by the time the USA blasted a path with [Washington]'s power, the Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong was long gone.

This wasn't what made the USA [Strategist] the most uncomfortable. What made the Americans the most uncomfortable was that the Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong didn't take [Washington]'s pursuit seriously at all. He was still able to find time to clear Demon strongholds while being pursued. It would be one thing if the Dragon Country's Xiao Zhenghong cleared Demon strongholds; that could be considered the Dragon Country digging its own grave, giving [Washington] time to pursue. But just when it looked like [Washington] was really about to catch [Du Yu], suddenly, the terrain changed on its own! The terrain change was generated autonomously by the map, not by the Dragon Country's means, but because of this terrain change, the Dragon Country was extremely lucky to avoid [Washington]'s pursuit.

Seeing the remaining Demon strongholds getting fewer and fewer, the USA [Strategist] was truly panicked, "The remaining Demon strongholds are getting fewer and fewer; there are only twenty-nine left now. The Dragon Country is clearing strongholds while fleeing, and their total clear count is still first, with a total of 20 strongholds cleared. Russia is second, with a total clear count of 19. Even France has cleared 16. I, the USA, have actually become the one with the lowest clear count?! It was 9 before, and it's still 9 now!"

The USA [Strategist] had already realized the seriousness of the problem. If this continued, Xiao Zhenghong of the Dragon Country wouldn't be hunted to death, and he himself would become the only loser! "No, it's too late! Even if I catch up and kill the Dragon Country now, my USA clear count won't be able to catch up to the Dragon Country! Damn it, it's all because of these damn roads! If it weren't for these damn roads being so hard to walk on, a piece of trash like [Du Yu] would have been killed by my [Washington] long ago."

Hunting down the Dragon Country, only to hunt himself out of the top three—he had really messed up. The USA [Strategist]'s face was burning. Suddenly, thinking of something, outside the chessboard, he turned to look at the Frenchman, "Your French resource point was forcibly occupied by the Dragon Country; aren't you going to do something? For example... initiate a Judgment! An ancient Chinese Heroic Spirit actually used the word 'Angel' to activate a Manifestation; there must be a problem here. If you initiate a Judgment, once the Dragon Country loses the Judgment, according to the backtracking principle, the kills the Dragon Country made after activating the Manifestation could be counted towards you, France. Wouldn't you just pick up a huge bargain?"

Judgment? Even without the American's reminder, the French [Strategist] had thought about it himself. It was just that, considering that the Dragon Country had never lost a single time when facing a Judgment, the French had abandoned that plan. "Don't be blinded by the Dragon Country's previous performance! There must be a problem with the connection between [Du Yu] and 'Angels Arrival'..." the USA [Strategist] persuaded with certainty.

The French [Strategist] spread his hands, "If you think there's a problem, then go and initiate a Judgment yourself. Anyway, I, France, will not initiate a Judgment; the Dragon Country people are too bizarre in this regard, and I don't want to humiliate myself." France was the party related to the Judgment; he wouldn't initiate a Judgment himself, but wanted the American to do it? The Dragon Country had forcibly occupied your French 'resource point,' you were the directly related party; you wouldn't initiate a Judgment, but wanted the USA, a non-strongly related party, to initiate a Judgment? For a non-strongly related party to initiate a Judgment, the cost would be several or even dozens of times higher, and if the Judgment succeeded, the biggest beneficiary would be you, France. How can you, France, have the nerve to say such a thing?