Chapter 358: Hell Level Difficulty

Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Hell Level Difficulty

Chapter 358: Hell Level Difficulty

"One thousand Domain Master beasts... within one month?"

The words echoed in the minds of the group, and a chilling dread instantly gripped their hearts.

"One thousand?!" Karsten blurted out, his blood freezing with fear, "In thirty days?! That means we have to kill more than thirty Domain Master beasts every single day!"

"Curse that old man! This is insanity!" one of the mercenaries wept openly.

Even Lyra, whose pride usually prevented her from showing any fear, felt her face turn completely pale.

"Is that old man out of his mind?!" Lyra shrieked. She glared at the sky, her hands clenched into trembling fists.

She whipped her head toward Rhain.

"Rhain," Lyra asked, "Be honest with me. How many Domain Master beasts can you kill in a single day?"

Rhain remained silent for a moment, his dark grey eyes narrowing as his mind spun with rapid calculations.

"I cannot be entirely sure about the exact strength of the beasts in this realm," Rhain answered thoughtfully. "But even if I push myself to the limit and use my essence efficiently, I can at most kill ten to fifteen Domain Master beasts a day. And that is only if we find them completely alone. If they are moving in herds... then we will have to think about running and saving our lives first."

Lyra’s beautiful face turned incredibly ugly.

"If that is your limit, then we are doomed..." Lyra muttered frustratingly. "Even if I go all out and burn my essence to the brink, I can at most kill one early-stage Domain Master beast. And after that... I am not even sure if I would be in any shape to fight a second one the next day."

They both slowly turned their heads, looking at the six mercenaries trembling in the dirt.

The exact same disappointed thought crossed Rhain and Lyra’s minds:

These men were utterly useless in this trial.

Sensing their scrutinizing gazes, Karsten and his men shivered violently.

"Lord Rhain! Lady Lyra!" Karsten wept, slamming his forehead against the ground. "Please don’t abandon us! We beg you, save us!"

"Shut up!" Lyra scolded fiercely, her patience completely snapping. "Even if we wanted to help you, and used every single ounce of our strength, we cannot pass this impossible trial! What was that old man even thinking? First a sky full of flaming meteors, and now this? Who could possibly inherit his legacy?!"

One of the younger mercenaries looked up, his face pale as a sheet of paper. "L-Lord Rhain... if even you cannot pass this trial... what happens to us when the thirty days are up?"

Lyra frowned, her crimson eyes also shifting toward Rhain.

From the suicidal difficulty of the trials they had faced so far, the chances of them failing were absolutely possible.

Rhain looked at the terrified group with a grave expression.

"I am not entirely sure," Rhain admitted. "But judging by the rules of the old man, we will either be trapped in this place forever... or we will just be killed."

The sheer bluntness of his words scared everyone even more.

The mercenaries began to wail in despair, clutching their heads as they awaited their impending doom.

"Enough," Rhain commanded, his cold voice instantly silencing their pathetic wailing.

"There is no need to admit defeat unless we truly lose. No matter how difficult this looks, we will have to give it a try."

Hearing his calm and resolute voice, Lyra clenched the hilt of her rapier and gave a firm nod.

"He is right," Lyra declared. "I will not give in without a fight."

Rhain looked at Lyra. "We both have to work together to defeat the beasts efficiently. And we must exclusively target the weaker ones—early-stage Domain Master Realm beasts."

Rhain analyzed the rules of their death trap. "The old man asked us to kill one thousand Domain Master beasts, but he didn’t specify the exact realm. If we try to fight middle-stage Domain Master beasts, we would be lucky to manage one or two a day before our essence runs dry. As for late-stage beasts... even with all my trump cards, the risk of fighting them in this unknown forest is far too huge."

Lyra nodded seriously. "Understood. We will do exactly as you say."

She then cast a disdainful glance at the shivering men on the ground. "But what do we do about these people?"

Rhain looked at the mercenaries, who were still begging not to be abandoned.

A calculating light flashed deep within his pupils.

"They also have their own role to play."

----------------

A short while later, deep within the primeval woods.

The six mercenaries were walking cautiously through the ancient forest, their weapons drawn and their eyes darting frantically with vigilance.

"This isn’t fair!" one of the mercenaries cried softly, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "Using us like bait... what if we die before they can even jump out?"

"Curse our miserable luck," another muttered bitterly, his eyes darting at every direction. "We were doing perfectly fine scavenging the outer areas until we met those two monsters!"

"Shut your mouths!" Karsten hissed, slapping the man on the back of the head. "Do you want to get us killed faster? Those two are nearby and can definitely hear you! It’s our own fault that we are too weak to fight. Just keep your eyes open!"

But just as Karsten finished his sentence—

RUMBLE—!!!

The massive earth beneath their boots shook heavily.

The massive, hundred-foot-tall trees ahead of them were violently pushed aside.

A deafening roar ripped through the forest, carrying a wave of spiritual pressure.

Charging directly toward the six mercenaries was a huge beast resembling a mutated rhinoceros.

Its eyes burned with a berserk fury.

Domain Master Realm Beast!

"AHHHHHH!"

The mercenaries were rooted frozen in their place, their weapons slipping from their trembling hands.

The terror of the Domain Master Realm pressure paralyzed their legs.

"LORD RHAIN! LADY LYRA! SAVE US!" Karsten shrieked, squeezing his eyes shut as the beast lowered its massive, glowing horn to skewer them.

Just as the beast was mere feet away from the paralyzed bait—

High above, hidden perfectly within the thick treetops of an ancient tree, Lyra’s crimson eyes narrowed.

Swoosh—!

She dropped from the branches with a graceful dive.

"Crimson Tempest Rend!"

Lyra had perfectly timed her ambush.

She poured all of her strength into her star-forged rapier.

The orange-crimson True Heavenly Flame erupted fiercely as she struck the beast with everything she had.

BANG—!!!

The impact was explosive.

The beast was forcefully knocked off its trajectory, its massive body sent skidding through the dirt, and crashing heavily into a colossal tree trunk, snapping the ancient wood in half with a loud crack.

Lyra landed gracefully on the ground, but her expression instantly changed.

The beast shook its massive head and immediately scrambled back onto its feet.

ROAAAAR—!!!

It roared furiously at Lyra.

The exact point on its thick, armored neck where Lyra had struck was still burning with her Heavenly Flame, and the pungent scent of burnt meat floated in the air.

But it was glaringly clear that the beast had not suffered a fatal wound.

It was a Level 2 Domain Master Realm beast!

The density of its natural, armored hide was too formidable.

Lyra’s all-out attack hadn’t managed to pierce deeply enough to cripple its fighting power; the searing pain had only driven it into a berserk rage.

"Tch!" Lyra cursed, vigorously shaking her right hand. The recoil from striking that indestructible armor had left her entire arm completely numb from shock.

"Its defense is truly formidable!" Lyra muttered with a frustrated tone.

But despite her numb arm, her haughty pride refused to back down. She raised her rapier, pointing the blazing tip directly at the roaring behemoth.

"Come and get me, you ugly brute!" Lyra taunted fiercely.

Provoked beyond reason, the beast roared and plunged forward, the ground shaking as it charged directly at the crimson-haired girl.

But just as the beast was entirely focused on Lyra—

Swoosh—!

Another figure rushed out from a hidden spot in the thick underbrush.

Rhain materialized directly on the beast’s entirely unguarded left side.

His right fist was coated in the apocalyptic heat of the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame.

Drawing upon a staggering fifty-five percent mastery of his two supreme laws—Darkness and Fire—he fused them with the monstrous physical might of the Abyssal Sovereign Physique.

"Void Fist. Second Form."

All of his condensed power slammed brutally into the beast’s ribs.

BOOM—!!!

The impact was earth-shattering.

The massive Domain Master beast was thrown even farther than Lyra had managed, crashing through several massive trees before skidding to a halt.

It let out a painful wail, thrashing weakly on the ground.

Rhain’s figure blurred, appearing instantly beside Lyra.

He looked down at the beast.

A massive bloody hole had been blown straight through its armor.

"It’s surprising that it survived that attack," Rhain stated calmly.

"Don’t let it recover!" Lyra shouted, her numbness fading as she gripped her rapier with both hands.

Rhain and Lyra wasted no time.

They jumped into the air, launching a simultaneous, coordinated assault.

Rhain unleashed another Void Fist, while Lyra drove her blazing rapier directly into the beast’s exposed wound.

BOOM—!!!

Their combined strength struck the heavily wounded beast.

The beast cried out one last time, before its massive head dropped, dying completely.

The ancient forest fell eerily silent once more.

Karsten and the mercenaries, who had been hiding behind the roots of a giant tree, finally dared to peek out.

They stared at Rhain and Lyra unblinkingly.

These two youth, who looked no more than twenty, just ambushed and killed a true Domain Master Realm beast without even being given the chance to use its power to defend itself!

"Don’t just stare at our faces like idiots!" Lyra scolded, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as she glared at the merceneries. "Do your job!"

The mercenaries snapped out of their daze.

They hurriedly rushed forward, pulling out their daggers to harvest the spoils.

"Put the beast’s body in your spatial rings," Rhain ordered, walking toward them. "And bring the core directly to me."

"Y-Yes, Lord Rhain!" Karsten nodded enthusiastically.

The mercenaries excitedly stored the massive, highly valuable carcass into their spatial rings, quickly extracting the glowing, blood-stained beast core and handing it over to Rhain with both hands.

Rhain accepted the core, wiping the blood from its glowing surface.

He looked at the pulsating energy within the crystal.

"One down," Rhain stated, looking at Lyra and the mercenaries. "This is our first Domain Master Realm beast core. But remember, our aim is not just to kill, but to kill swiftly and with as little harm to ourselves as possible."

He stored the core into his spatial ring, his gaze turning to the vast depths of the ancient forest.

"Only then will we have any chance of completing this trial."