Chapter 1288: Chapter 874, Arena Admission Ticket

“The cleanup is done, the corpses have all disappeared, leaving only these materials.” Anjia led the way back.

Behind her, Skeletons pushed carts lined up in a long queue.

The carts were piled with armor and weapons, carting them into the city.

Judging from the quantity, the loot was considerable.

[Black-armored Battle Beast Double-faced Helmet (Purple)][Giant-horned Greatsword (Purple)]…[Evil Beast Soul][Tiger Talisman].

Cart after cart was brought into the city, and Fang Hao stood off to the side and took a glance.

The equipment was the black armor originally worn by the Evil Beast Legion, fitting like an Iron Bucket when worn.

It was a full heavy armor set, pictorially speaking, it was Iron Bucket Armor.

The equipment was all purple, and since they were killed instantly by Fang Hao’s move, there wasn’t much damage.

They could be used directly.

The weapons included purple greatswords and blue heavy crossbows.

There was no significant damage, whether used personally or placed for sale in the shop, they could be considered new.

Besides armor and weapons, an item called [Evil Beast Soul] also dropped.

By the name, you might think it’s a recruitment material, but the description says otherwise.

[Evil Beast Soul]

[Category: Damaged Souls]

[Effect: Repair souls or enhance the power of soul-type troops/heroes.]

(Description: Residual souls that cannot transcend, retaining a semblance of battle spirit.)

The Evil Beast Soul took the form of a translucent bead.

It looked a bit like the ‘Forgotten Soul,’ but a bit larger.

Within the clear surface of the bead, a thick grey mist churned, struggling like a soul, occasionally contorting into various painful and hideous faces.

According to the description, this is not recruitment material, it is indeed the leftover souls that can be used for soul repair or as power enhancement for soul-type troops.

For the matter of soul repair, it seems there’s nobody in my possession who needs such repair.

The second function, though, is enhancing the power of soul-type troops.

This is similar to the ‘Excitation Crystals’ obtained before, which can enhance the abilities of arthropod-type troops.

Thinking back, the first time I got the Excitation Crystals was also in a system mission.

Various property-enhancing props should also be part of the system rewards.

As for those related to souls, Little You is a soul-type hero.

The second is the troop type ‘Soul Coffin,’ but this belongs to recruited troops, and even if the material is beneficial to them.

Their levels are fixed and cannot be enhanced.

However, Little You’s abilities are quite strong indeed, she can merge into shadows and darkness.

She is a born Assassin.

She just has a personality that doesn’t love going out much.

Just right, after the mission, let Little You see if this thing is useful for her.

If useful, it could also be enhanced a bit.

After looking at the Evil Beast Soul, there’s also the ‘Tiger Talismans’ collected.

The recruitment material I named myself, this time a good number were reaped.

Even without any special rewards, this mission was a good opportunity to farm Tiger Talismans.

“Separate these beads and Tiger Talismans,” Fang Hao told someone nearby.

“Yes, my lord!”

All the carts entered the city, and the city gates were closed again.

…

Within the marching army.

“How many trials have you gone through in total?” The Dragon Queen sat astride her horse, holding the reins.

When the transmigrator came, she was still hibernating in the cave.

It was also because her daughter ‘Beata’ went missing that she woke up and fought Fang Hao.

So, she doesn’t know much about the transmigrator’s affairs.

This time, following him into the Task Space, she grew even more curious.

She felt that there was a shocking secret behind the transmigrator.

“Every once in a while, these trials appear, thinking about the number of times, it’s not small.”

Fang Hao, using Divine Descent, controlled the Gray Bear and answered softly.

“Is it because of the rewards from these trials that you’ve developed so quickly?”

That…

Fang Hao thought about it and replied, “Partly for that reason, but more due to my decision-making and relentless efforts.”

Hearing that, the Dragon Queen pouted.

She thought he was pretty good at giving himself credit.

The army continued forward, quickly nearing the black ancient castle.

After all, standing on the walls, one could see across; the distance wasn’t far.

The dark and mottled walls, small round windows, and conical spires.

The overall style gave off a gloomy feeling.

Loud bell tolls rang through the city, legions in black armor rushed onto the walls, bows were drawn, and they shot arrows toward the approaching Undead army from afar.

“Beat the drums–form up!” Fang Hao withdrew his gaze and shouted his command loudly.

Dong dong–dong dong!

Undead war drums echoed, rings of light affixed to all the troops.

Swipe–clack!

The advancing army immediately halted, Four-armed Skeletons layered orange shields called ‘Unbreakable Steel’ in front, forming impenetrable iron walls.

Behind the troops were Thunder Gunners checking their firearms and Bone Dragons shaking their heads and tails, noticeably restless.

In the very back, the freshly captured siege engines were also moved here.

Final assembly commenced.

Simultaneously, changes began to appear on the walls of Black Castle; a gold-armored individual with a black mask, accompanied by a host of officers, walked to the tower above the city gate and sat down slowly.

He looked like a Military Governor or a monarch.

Quite the presence.

At this moment, a soldier informed that the siege equipment was ready.

Fang Hao didn’t hesitate and directly gave the order, “Catapults, attack!”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Skeleton Engineers pulled down the levers of the catapults.

Huge stones whistled through the air, smashing towards the distant walls.

Boom–Lights!

The walls shook, stones scattered, and many black-armored soldiers were hit and fell in droves.

Boom–rumble rumble!

The boulders, as if costless, arced through the air, relentlessly striking the walls.

The catapults continued their barrage.

The gates on the other side remained closed tight, showing no intent to charge out.

Fang Hao wasn’t in a rush to attack, just letting the catapults keep up the attack.

After all, what was thrown were just stones, and moreover, from the Task Space.

Whoosh whoosh!!

Just then, the sound of cutting air resounded, and from the dark sky suddenly burst forth a flock of strange birds with two heads each, piercing through the clouds and swooping down at speed.

[Double-Headed Falcon (Level 10)]

Still a Level 10 type of soldier.

Both heads let out ear-piercing screeches, with sharp claws clutching black spherical bombs.

Thin fuses were sparkling with flames.

A large flock of falcons, like migrating geese, obscured the sky and began to dive down.

Pop pop pop!!

Without command, the Thunder Gunners in the rear had already started shooting.

Bullets were woven into a tight net, shooting towards the Double-Headed Vultures head on.

Clang!

The first to fall to the ground was a round black bomb.

It rolled into the midst of the infantry’s formation.

Around it, four-armed Skeleton warriors quickly took action, forming a ‘Kou ‘ shape with their shields to encircle the bomb.

Boom~!

Flames shot into the sky, and smoke billowed.

The encircling Skeleton warriors were instantly blown away, toppling their nearby comrades.

But quickly, the blasted four-armed Skeleton warriors clambered up clumsily, picked up their shields, and re-formed their ranks.

It appeared they didn’t sustain any obvious injuries, only their shields were left with large black marks.

But those were just marks, without even a dent remaining.

Crackle and pop!

The bodies of the falcons kept falling from the sky.

Feathers, flesh, and blood showered over the troops below.

Dang dang dang!!

One after another, the bombs, along with flesh and bodies, fell into the formation.

Boom – Booooom!!

Amidst the continuous booms, flames and smoke erupted within the ranks.

Even as the four-armed Skeleton warriors rallied for defense, the dense explosions still caused casualties.

Bang bang bang!!

Gunfire continued, most of the Double-Headed Falcons were shot down in mid-air.

But still, a few lucky ones made it to the siege equipment.

However, their suicide attacks proved to be of little effect.

They barely disrupted the rhythm of the catapults, failing to destroy even a single piece of equipment.

Soon, the Double-Headed Vultures were annihilated.

Leaving behind deep craters, and fresh blood and flesh splattered over the Skeleton soldiers.

Seeing that the enemy still had no intention of opening the gates to battle.

Fang Hao didn’t want to delay any longer and turned to the Dragon Queen, “This test has a time limit, Dragon Queen, please help me open the city gates.”

The Dragon Queen glanced at him but did not say much.

She shot straight into the air and dashed to a position between the two sides.

Before the enemy on the city walls could attack, a golden sun rose from above her head.

Whooom!

A stunning buzz caused a loss of senses.

Upon opening their eyes again, the black city walls in front of them had vanished neatly as if sliced by a hot iron, with crimson lava still flowing along the edges.

Goodness, learning from me, are you?

I’m just using a big move because I can’t do other Skills.

You could have just blasted open the city gates, but now half the city is gone.

“Great work, Dragon Queen, truly invincible and unrivaled!”

Dragon Queen flew back, and Fang Hao smiled, clapping in admiration.

After a few words of praise, he then gave the direct order, “Attack, leave none alive.”

Whoosh!!

The army began to advance forward, as Bone Dragons soared overhead, circling above the city and spewing out black and white Dragon Breath.

Four-armed Skeleton warriors formed shield walls and advanced directly into the city.

And within the city, a considerable number of the Evil Beast Legion also surged forward.

Bang bang bang!!

The opposing armies collided.

The Unbreakable Steel formed an iron wall, solidly holding the enemy at bay.

Battle axes, long spears hacked and stabbed over the shields, clanging against the black-armored warriors.

Behind them, the Evil Beast Legion’s crossbowmen and Mages tried to attack but were targeted by the Bone Dragons, whose Dragon Breath rained down and scattered them.

The shield walls of the four-armed Skeleton warriors continued to advance forward, like a meat grinder moving forward, leaving piles of bodies in their wake.

It wasn’t long before all troops poured into the city.

Slaying the enemy.

…

“Sir, the enemy has been completely eliminated, and we are cleaning up the battlefield.”

A Bound Spirit Guardian quickly ran back to report.

Is it over?

Fang Hao was startled.

No BOSS? It’s over just like that?

Not only did he not see a BOSS, but the system prompt also didn’t appear after the battle ended.

Fang Hao thought for a moment, then said to the Dragon Queen, “We’ve taken over the city, let’s go in together and see if there’s anything good inside.”

The Dragon Queen, already interested in the Task Space, nodded in agreement.

With the army escorting them, they entered the city together.

Passing through the ruins melted by the golden sun, they went straight into the interior of the city.

The city was filled with various black buildings, resembling a massive military fortress with no signs of life.

They made their way into the core building.

The moment they set foot into the hall, the prompt rang out instantly.

[Lost Battlefield mission completed!]

[Return countdown: 1 hour 59 minutes…]

Ah!

So it was entering the central building that counted as capturing the city.

Lucky the Dragon Queen didn’t obliterate the core building with one strike, or else we’d be in trouble.

“Take down the chandeliers, curtains, wall hangings, etc., and bring them with us. Have a good search for any treasure chests or secret rooms,” Fang Hao casually said.

“Yes, sir.” The Bound Spirit Guardians obeyed and swiftly ran off.

Fang Hao and others casually looked around the hall.

Handily, he picked up a blue ticket from the table in the middle of the hall.

[Arena Ticket]

As he picked it up, the system’s prompt sound rang out again.

[Second Stage Unlocked!]

[Mission Name: Arena of the Valorous.]