The Era of Gods

Chapter 108: Strong as Clouds

Translator: 549690339 |

At this moment, several fierce figures hovered near each Golden Throne, their extraordinary presence and powerful aura making it clear that they were not to be trifled with.

The ones currently seated on the Golden Thrones were the first batch of students who had been lucky enough to grab the spots, but now they sat uneasily under the scrutinizing gaze of many formidable masters.

They had little confidence in keeping their Golden Thrones, yet they were unwilling to give them up without a fight. A few had already started negotiating with others nearby.

However, Lin Xiao didn’t think any agreement could be reached. When you show such weakness, who would want to pay a price? Isn’t it better to just seize it by force?

Just then, before a fight had broken out here, a quarrel unexpectedly erupted in the group chat.

Lin Xiao quickly checked it and discovered that the dispute came from Tang Ling. He reviewed the previous messages to understand what caused the aggravation… and he felt somewhat irritated.

Initially, Tang Ling and one of his companions had agreed on a strategy similar to Lin Xiao and Lin Xu’s, to pass the challenge by taking turns. However, just when they were about to proceed after the discussion, a girl named Xing Jiao, her pupils shining with green light, suddenly posted in the group asking for a spot.

Subsequently, Tang Ling immediately overturned his prior decision and offered the opportunity to the girl.

Following that, another friend of Tang Ling from the same circle also wanted a spot, and Tang Ling readily agreed.

In itself, this was not a big deal; it was Tang Ling’s prerogative to give his spot to whomever he wanted, especially since the first person had given up. What was unexpected, though, was that Tang Ling actually made demands, asking him to deliberately lose twice against Xing Jiao and another person, promising him the third opportunity.

Of course, the guy refused. Wasting two chances just to benefit others didn’t make sense, especially when the confidence in succeeding was presumed. In reality, the later the nesting took place, the less secure it was likely to be.

At this point, among the outsiders using the same strategy, some had already failed midway due to challenges from newcomers.

The spots weren’t their personal property; they had just grabbed them first, and anyone could issue a challenge.

Under such circumstances, it was crucial to hold one or two challenge opportunities in reserve. Given the situation, wasting two opportunities meant if someone else interfered on the third challenge and won, wouldn’t that mean direct elimination?

No one would entrust all their hopes to others.

Once he refused, Tang Ling had no choice but to walk away, silently cursing the guy as an SB, which, unfortunately, the man saw, and that started an argument.

Having read all the messages, Lin Xiao was speechless. He had always thought that Tang Ling’s EQ.was a bit low, but now it seemed even lower than he had imagined.

Indeed, not all second-generation prodigies are elite; some duds are mixed in as well.

No wonder he had always felt that their circle wasn’t as harmonious as he had thought. It turns out there are close and distant relationships even within their own group. At least, Lin Xu looked down on Tang Ling.

Lin Xiao hadn’t gotten involved in this matter, not even a single comment. No one in the group said anything; they were all shrewd enough to not want to get embroiled in the mess.

Just then, someone at the highest Rank finally challenged an inhabitant of one of the Golden Thrones. Lin Xiao immediately followed them, applying to watch the battle.

But to his surprise, watching required the payment of a common five-star Card as a viewing fee, and although he had several cards on him, none was of common quality. He quickly sent a message to Lin Xu and traded one blue rare quality card for one green rare quality card and six blank five-star cards.

By the time he made the exchange… he was shocked to discover the challenge had already ended, and the former seat holder had been ousted in the blink of an eye.

“Damn, luck really did play a part in grabbing those spots.”

After this swift beginning, in less than five minutes, all nine Golden Thrones had changed hands. The new owners had shifted from those who were lucky enough to grab the spots to those with genuine strength. Any future challenge would undoubtedly be a great battle.

At the same time, the competition for the thirty-six Silver Thrones amongst the Rank 2 began to unravel. To Lin Xiao’s astonishment, Bai Cheng, someone from his group, was amongst those daring to challenge for a Silver Throne.

He immediately went over there but did not apply to watch right away. After the previous incident, he decided to wait a moment.

In less than five minutes, several challenges concluded with a victor. After ten minutes, most of the battles had been decided, and only then did he pay a five- star card to apply for viewing rights.

Outside the Virtual Plane Crystal Wall, he saw several radiant figures encircling the Crystal Wall. At this point, about a dozen people were willing to pay a five- star card to watch the battle.

The battle within the Plane had already been raging for a while, with two massive armies clashing furiously against each other.

Representing the challenger’s Clan, one side consisted of a mix of Half-Beastmen and Hyenamen. The Half-Beastmen, numbering around three thousand, were all around two meters tall, clad in chainmail, equipped with double-handed axes, and carrying small hand axes on their belts. Among them, over a thousand towering Half-Beastmen each held a Gothic tower shield, providing formidable defense.

There were approximately six thousand Hyenamen, whose equipment hardly compared to the Half-Beastmen. They only wore leather armor and carried a blade, likely intended as cannon fodder.

And his opponent, the Clan from Bai Cheng, consisted of a mix of Grey Dwarves and Underground Kobolds. The Grey Dwarves were a race of dwarves standing only about 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall but exceptionally strong, with a total number of about three to four thousand five hundred. They were fully armored in chainmail, equipped with fine steel vambraces, hand crossbows, hammers in their left hands, and axes in their right hands, their equipment was of extraordinarily high quality.

The difference between the Underground Kobolds and the surface Kobolds was that their skin was darker than their surface kin, they had Dark Vision, and their equipment was also leather armor with hammers and small knives, and they were used as cannon fodder.

However, the number of Kobolds of Bai Cheng was quite significant, having already surpassed ten thousand.

The key was that he had cultivated two incredibly powerful Kobold Dragon-vein Magicians from these Kobold Clans.

As soon as Lin Xiao entered the arena, he saw a Kobold Magician whose physique was even bigger and stronger than that of a Half Beastman, covered in fine, black dragon scales. The magician spread his arms, and a ball of fire rapidly rotated between his hands, soon condensing into a basin-sized, flame-overflowing fireball that flew into the crowd of enemies. With a loud bang, it exploded, clearing a space as large as a basketball court. Countless residual flames burned on the ground, lingering on the scattered limbs for a long time.

Although the casting speed of this terrifyingly powerful fireball was very slow, its power was too great, randomly exploding in the ranks and killing off a swath in one go, and even the robust physique of the Half Beastmen couldn’t withstand it.

So, Bai Cheng’s opponents’ tactics were simple: launch a full assault, engage in close combat with the enemy, and send out a team of elite forces to strike at the positions of the Kobold Magicians, keeping them from settling down to cast spells.

In terms of individual average strength, the Half Beastmen and Hyenamen were stronger than the Grey Dwarves and Kobolds, but the two powerful Kobold Dragon-vein Magicians were too strong.

With each round of spellcasting, they could kill at least a hundred Half Beastmen or Hyenamen, and most crucially, it was too demoralizing for the troops.

It was like ordinary people facing war, with missiles occasionally falling into the city; one strike would obliterate buildings, creating unimaginable psychological pressure on the common folk.

So, in less than fifteen minutes after Lin Xiao started watching the fight, the two Kobold Dragon-vein Magicians together had launched only about thirty unknown fireballs or bursts of flame, and they had already routed their opponents.

After that, there wasn’t much to see in the battle; Lin Xiao spent the time considering how he would deal with the Ancient City if he encountered it.

And the ultimate conclusion was that there was no way around it, not at this stage; it was an even more terrifying strike force than Lin Xu’s Half-elf Archer troops, simply unbeatable.

Although the Elite Archer troops were fearsome, even Fishmen could take more than one arrow unless it hit a vital spot. But with spells like those, even fully armed, you’d be crushed to pieces.

After watching this battle, Lin Xiao had a clearer understanding of the strength of the elites in the Super Newcomer Summer Camp. Each one was so formidable; it would be tough for him to mix in.

Even if he could barely make it through the first phase, the next phase would only become harder.

The Summer Camp would last for a month, and based on the schedule, he would have two more opportunities to obtain fusion Cards. He must make the best use of these two chances to strengthen himself as much as possible, to close the gap with these elites.

He didn’t aim to become much stronger or surpass too many people; such a large gap would be hard to bridge. But he would have to hold on for a few more phases at least, to make it to the end.

After waiting for a while, when a battle for the highest Golden Throne broke out, he paid another ordinary Five Star Card for a ticket to watch the fight.

Compared to the Silver Level, the fighters at the Gold Tier were obviously much stronger. It was unclear how the two fighters had cultivated their forces, with each main Clan having more than five thousand members, and the secondary Clans exceeding ten thousand—truly formidable.

As for Lin Xiao himself, even if he counted the newly born babies, his Naga didn’t add up to a thousand, though the Fishmen had increased by over a thousand to almost fifteen thousand.

The most crucial point was that these powerhouses had not just conventional troops; each one possessed special, powerful subordinates, just like Bai Cheng’s Kobold Dragon-vein Magicians. One of the contenders for the Golden Throne had a small team of five Earth Dragon Knights.

These were large dragon creatures with bodies over ten meters from head to tail, with a minor fear Aura, and once they were fitted with a thick layer of plate armor, they became heavy tanks charging wildly across the battlefield, unstoppable by anyone.

However, his opponent had two Steel Golems that reached Sixth Level strength. They were Constructed Creatures made entirely of steel, standing about five meters tall, armed with swords and hammers as large as doors, capable of flipping these large dragon creatures head over heels head-on.

The result of the fight was that the challenger with the dragon creatures was defeated by the defender, who used the two Steel Golems to brutally defeat the dragon creatures, winning narrowly in the end.

After watching this battle, Lin Xiao had little desire to continue watching further.

By then, he had gained a certain understanding of the strengths of the high, medium, and low tiers of students within the Summer Camp. His own strength was definitely at the bottom, and although he might just be able to defeat a small part of them, it was definitely not enough to get him to the end, let alone stand out.

After greeting Lin Xu, he left the place and went back to the dormitory.

This phase lasted seven days, so there was no need to stay there every day. Moreover, even those who had already seized a seat didn’t need to stay all the time. They could leave when not challenged, and only had to respond when someone issued a challenge.

This was only the first day, and the challenges had just begun. It was foreseeable that there would be challengers every day, and those who had seized positions early would be kept busy.

Furthermore, as the challenges progressed, the challengers would become stronger and stronger. Even those who had secured positions early might not be able to hold on to them until the end.