Chapter 499 - Dueling Lands

When the 500 candidates gathered together, the rules were announced. First, the Blood Coliseum would turn a huge stretch of land that measured 100 million square kilometers for the battle. The Dueling Lands would contain many treasures that could strengthen the candidates’ units.

All 500 candidates must summon every unit they commanded. No one could leave the ceremony until every one of their units had fallen. The final survivor would become the Blood Coliseum’s inheritor and receive the inheritance of a God King.

Everyone wanted the prize, and danger matched the reward. Only one contender would remain out of 500, and no one could predict the outcome. Even Divine Beings had a real chance to claim the crown since there were various objects that could improve their units there.

Once the rules were listed, the crowd erupted in cheers, and the 500 candidates were transported to the massive Dueling Lands.

Han Wu appeared there with every unit from his divine realm. His massive army occupied 100,000 square kilometers just by themselves. Their mismatched forms made it hard to tell that they were his core race. This was the downside of Random Evolution.

The other candidates received the same treatment. Each one appeared in a separate region, and all of their units materialized beside them. All candidates received a point total and a place on a ranking board visible to the crowd. The strength of their units determined most of their score.

[Common: 1 points]

[Elite: 10 points]

[Unique: 100 points]

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The grading continued upward. At the top stood a Major God called Crouching Dragon with 930 billion points. The Ant God held second with 840 billion points. A God called Shark Teeth followed with 810 billion. Fourth place belonged to a Major God called Sandstorm with 790 billion.

Han Wu also earned a high score of 730 billion, which placed him sixth. He reached that number because he had recently restored his divine realm’s size and his core race had repopulated until it numbered 20 billion. However, it was still a far cry from his peak. If he were at his peak, he could easily secure several thousand billion points on his own.

Although points offered a rough sense of an army’s size, they shouldn’t be used to measure one’s strength. Some Gods relied on sheer numbers to overwhelm their foes, but their individual fighting units weren’t strong.

The Ant God, who held second place, served as a clear example. His initial point total was 840 billion, but his points plummeted soon after. In just four hours, his points had dropped by 100 billion. It was evident that the Ant God was weak and fought using overwhelming numbers.

Han Wu monitored the leaderboard while he ordered his units to scout the area. As they did, his points constantly dropped, which made sense because casualties during the scouting phase were inevitable.

A short while later, his units reported the discovery of a strange object. He quickly led the rest of his army to the location and spotted a small shrine that housed a gnarly mud statue. A sign beside it explained that one could receive the Swamp God’s blessings by offering 100,000 Water Stones.

Han Wu recognized it as a treasure of another civilization. While 100,000 Water Stones didn’t count as much, gathering that many here posed a challenge since he didn’t know where to mine them in this foreign land.

Nonetheless, he had a plan. First, he commanded his units with elemental abilities to strike him with their attacks. He then absorbed the energy with his new Divine Jurisdiction, used Creation to convert it into Water Stones, and offered them to the shrine.

The mud statue smiled slightly upon sensing the Water Stones’ energy. It drew the stones into its mouth, and the entire surface softened until it felt damp to the touch.

At that moment, Han Wu felt something different. A thin layer of mud formed around his units like armor. It was soft and couldn’t block physical strikes, yet it could block certain elemental attacks.

This was the Swamp God’s blessing, and it would last until the ceremony ended. At the same time, the blessing raised his total points by 10%, and he now held third place with 805 billion points.

After the point increase, Han Wu debated trying for another blessing. He inspected the shrine again and noticed that another line of text had appeared. It claimed that he could gain the Swamp God’s weapon if he offered 1 million Water Stones.

The offer intrigued him. If 100,000 Water Stones earned him a 10% boost, what could 1 million bring?

He repeated his earlier strategy and converted the energy from his units into Water Stones. Before long, he gathered 1 million of them and offered them to the mud statue to absorb them. The mud statue turned damp and thin trails of water seeped from its surface.

Han Wu then sensed that all his units had learned a new Skill called Mud Bomb. As its name implied, the Skill mixed water and mud to form a mud bomb that clung to its target and hardened quickly as it dried.

Mud Bomb boosted Han Wu’s overall points by another 10%, pushing him into second place with 880 billion points.

His sudden rise drew the crowd’s attention. Everyone wanted to know why his score kept climbing while most candidates were losing points. As curiosity spread through the spectators, many noticed the shrine. Their interest grew, and they started searching for information about it online.

Meanwhile, some of the Major Gods in the crowd were shocked to see the shrine.

“I never thought that a shrine would be there.”

“The candidates are really unlucky if they end up with it.”

“Not quite. What if they are strong enough to kill it? Wouldn’t they gain plenty of rewards?”

“Kill it? It sounds easy on paper. That shrine holds an evil God from another civilization that someone sealed. Killing it won’t be easy. I just hope that young man won't doom himself because of it.”

The shrine became the center of every conversation.

After he offered it 1 million Water Stones, Han Wu studied the shrine and noticed a new line of text. Now it demanded 10 million, and he would gain the Swamp God’s blessing again.

Han Wu was surprised to learn that he could make offerings more than once and wanted to learn what kind of blessing it was. He followed the same approach as before, creating 10 million Water Stones and offering them to the mud statue to absorb them.

The statue reacted at once. Mud surged outward, and its form changed rapidly. It broke the shrine and swelled until it stood 1,000 meters tall.

Han Wu looked up at a giant, bipedal frog-like life form with rows of sharp teeth. It was also coated in green mud. It flexed its limbs and shook off several huge gobs of mud. Then it turned its gaze toward Han Wu, the one who had set it free.

“You pitiful being. I shall grant you my blessing for setting me free,” it croaked. “Your blessing is to die in my hands!”

It drove both hands to the ground, and the entire region softened. Han Wu’s units sank bit by bit as the earth beneath them and beneath Han Wu turned into a swamp!