Monsters surge, but Zhou Yan spots elites in the distance—stronger, swifter. Then, a hulking leader-level beast, a level 8 wild boar, roars.
"Leader already?" he mutters. Textbooks claimed bosses hit only in trial's final days, and only for purple epic territories or higher. His Heavenly Court defies norms.
Leaders crush typical lords, but for Zhou Yan, they're bounty. The boar charges, parting lesser foes. A Poison Gas Tower mist engulfs them. When it clears, most lie dead. The leader, gasping, falls to a Storm Tower barrage.
Zhou Yan blinks. "Dead before reaching us?"
The Gas Tower's level 20, S-tier-plus might humbles even leaders. "Ten more towers per wall, and nothing touches us," he dreams. Yet larger territories demand more—sky threats loom in the lord world.
The forest empties. Half an hour later, the trial's voice booms:
[Eighth day of rookie trial ended!]
[Settlement rewards begin!]
[Eliminated: 3,548 level 7 Black-Toothed Pigs, 3,682 level 8 Black-Toothed Pigs, 2,587 level 5 Self-Scaled Snakes, 1,984 level 6 Blue Wave Snakes, 1,438 level 7 Red-Tailed Snakes, 1,252 level 7 Bloodthirsty Beasts, 1,589 level 8 Red-Bellied Lizards, 329 level 8 Elite Earth-Splitting Boars, 1 level 8 Leader Wild Boar.]
[Evaluation: SSS]
[Rewards: 35,000 soul coins, 35,000 spirit coins, Arrow Tower. SSS bonus: 50,000 soul coins, 50,000 spirit coins, one optional building.]
Eighty-five thousand coins each—rich. Over 16,000 monsters fell, a number unthinkable to others. Zhou Yan doubts anyone would believe it. Two hours, 16,000 kills—beyond comprehension.
Over 16,000 bronze-or-lower chests litter the field. "Clean up, grab every chest," Zhou Yan orders. His team, numerous, handles it. Soul coins are his prize.
He and Diao Chan reach the leader's corpse. A building chest gleams—trial's high drop rate delivers. "Lucky," Zhou Yan grins.
"More leaders would be nice—weaklings," Diao Chan quips.
Other lords, uniting whole territories to fell one, would blanch. High-tier heroes speak boldly.
Back inside, Zhou Yan summons Zhen Mi to open the chest—her luck doubles yields. He builds the Arrow Tower:
[Territory Prompt: "Built Arrow Tower, evolved to Earthquake Tower."]
[Building: Earthquake Tower]
[Level: 20]
[Upgrade Requirements: 30,000 spirit coins, 10 one-star earth cores]
[Quality: SSS (0/3)]
[Next Upgrade: Three Earthquake Towers]
[Defense: 30,000/30,000]
[Attributes: Earthquake attack, large-scale seismic wave every two hours]
[Introduction: Land's master, foes' nightmare.]
He upgrades it:
[Territory Prompt: "Consumed 200 spirit coins, Earthquake Tower to level 2."]
[Territory Prompt: "Consumed 400 spirit coins, Earthquake Tower to level 3."]
…
At level 20, it rises at the main gate. For the optional building, Zhou Yan picks another Arrow Tower:
[Territory Prompt: "Built Arrow Tower, evolved to Ice Tower."]
[Building: Ice Tower]
[Level: 20]
[Upgrade Requirements: 30,000 spirit coins, 10 one-star water cores]
[Quality: SSS (0/3)]
[Next Upgrade: Three Ice Towers]
[Defense: 30,000/30,000]
[Attributes: Ice attacks, ice spike barrage every two hours]
[Introduction: Ice falls, enemies perish.]
He levels it to 20, bolstering defenses.