wo months later, Kai's total points had reached 7,000. Even though most of the small resource points in each Holy Tower area had been occupied, Kai's speed of earning points was nearly twice as fast as in the first month. This could only mean that hunting other apprentices was the fastest way to accumulate capital. Kai had gradually grown fond of this feeling.
Naturally, the large number of apprentices being killed or withdrawing meant Kai could no longer stay and fight in the same area for long. He had to keep advancing deeper into the apprentice area of the Dark Shadow Holy Tower.
On this day, he arrived outside a basin. It was a large basin surrounded by several hills, with a vast area and red soil. According to his Detection Spell, there were significant fluctuations of elemental energy inside the basin, indicating that there should be many Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices within.
Wearing an invisibility cloak, Kai sneaked into the basin quietly. After reaching an area with a relatively broad view inside the basin, he finally got a clear look at the scene before him. This was a large resource point—the first one he had encountered since entering the trial space.
A large resource point not only meant higher occupation points and greater benefits from the resource point itself, but also the highest difficulty in marking and occupying it. Up to now, among the twenty-three large resource points in the trial space, only the Earth Academy Holy Tower had taken the lead in occupying one.
Following the usual practice of previous years, such difficult-to-conquer large resource points usually wouldn't be occupied by apprentices from various Holy Towers until the third month, and all resource points would be fully occupied within about half a year. Of course, there were exceptions where apprentices from some Holy Towers lacked sufficient strength to occupy the large resource points in their own area. In such cases, apprentices from other Holy Towers in adjacent areas would "kindly" offer help.
This situation had occurred when the Blue Source Holy Tower was first established and participated in the first Regional Holy Tower Academy War. Fortunately, in the following three sessions, this embarrassing incident never happened again. This also proved from the side that the Blue Source Holy Tower was indeed developing in an increasingly better direction.
The large resource point before him was called the Lanxi Grass Resource Point. Under the relatively special soil and elemental environment, patches of special grass—pale blue all over with a hint of pink—grew in the central hinterland of the basin. Some of these grasses had a strange green ear, which indicated mature Lanxi Grass.
In the basin before him, there were probably only a few dozen mature Lanxi Grass plants in the very center. However, the total number of Lanxi Grass plants in the entire basin was likely in the thousands or even tens of thousands. As a large resource point, these Lanxi Grass plants would continue to mature and produce over time.
Besides the Lanxi Grass, dozens of exotic creatures with unique appearances in the basin also attracted attention. Most of these exotic creatures seemed to be plant-attribute beings, which Kai had rarely seen before. From a distance, he could tell from their body shapes and exposed serrated fangs that these plant-type exotic creatures were also carnivorous and seemed not to be easily provoked.
However, even more formidable than these plant-type exotic creatures were the nearly two hundred Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices gathered in the basin. These apprentices seemed to have already made preparations to launch a fierce attack on this large resource point. Just from a distance, Kai spotted four quasi-magicians and six senior apprentices. Not to mention those apprentices who might be hiding in the dark and hadn't been detected by him.
"Should I make a move?" Kai was still hesitating when the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices launched their attack on this large resource point. It was only two months since the start of the Regional Holy Tower Academy War, so presumably no one would have expected that apprentices from other Holy Towers would sneak into their area to attack so early.
Moreover, Kai had acted decisively over the past month and had never let a single target he set his sights on escape in the trial space (Note: Those who activated their badges and withdrew from the trial space are not included). As a result, most of the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices were still unaware that a god of death was approaching them.
The Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices had a quite distinctive style when launching a concentrated attack. Unlike the Blue Source Holy Tower apprentices, who would recklessly hurl all kinds of magic at resource points when attacking, the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices seemed to be more methodical.
Dozens of dark and necromantic creatures of various forms were first summoned by these apprentices and charged forward at the front. These dark and necromantic creatures varied in strength. The weakest were the lowest-level skeletons. Kai himself also knew the Skeleton Summoning Spell, a low-level magic he had learned at the Black Magic Academy.
The summoned skeletons moved slowly; apart from being a bit stronger, they had no other special features. They were nothing but cannon fodder to take hits, and could be taken down with a single Fireball Spell. Therefore, Kai had barely used this magic over the years.
Although there were such shoddy creatures like skeleton soldiers summoned by low-level apprentices, there were also more distinctive specters and zombies. Specters had no physical form and possessed certain mental power and sonic attacks. Zombies, on the other hand, had stronger bodies and greater strength than skeleton soldiers. These two types of necromantic creatures were both small elites comparable to intermediate apprentices.
Over the years, Kai had not found relevant spell models at the Blue Source Holy Tower Academy, so he had not learned or mastered them. However, after entering the Dark Shadow Holy Tower area, he had obtained many related magic books by killing several apprentices. Perhaps when he had time in the future, he would study them carefully.
Don't forget that Kai also had a good affinity for dark elements, so he would have certain advantages when using related magic. In addition to common necromantic creatures like skeletons, specters, and zombies, Kai also noticed two black warriors covered in iron armor and holding metal long swords. In terms of strength level, these two black warriors should be comparable to senior apprentices. Moreover, their defense and strength were surprisingly high, and their speed was relatively fast.
Taking the lead, the two black warriors were the first to kill two low-level exotic plant creatures. Their performance was indeed impressive, but Kai's attention was still focused on an old apprentice in a black robe among the apprentices at the rear.
Since the battle in the basin began, this black-robed apprentice had never stopped chanting spells. His wrinkled face and yellowish eyes indicated that this quasi-magician-level old apprentice was already quite old. When his spell-chanting finally came to an end, a pitch-black six-pointed star array with a diameter of nearly ten meters appeared in the very center of the basin.
Amid shrill screams, a several-meter-tall monster—resembling a mound of flesh with a scythe in hand and obvious signs of severe stitching on its body—slowly emerged from the six-pointed star array. This was clearly a powerful summoning creature comparable to a quasi-rank magical beast in strength!
If it were a one-on-one fight, with such a quasi-rank creature-level necromantic behemoth to assist, Kai really wouldn't have been able to deal with that black-robed old apprentice easily. This also showed how many talented powerhouses there were among the various Holy Towers.
Kai had earned a lot of points in the Dark Shadow Holy Tower area earlier. On one hand, it was because he acted secretly and decisively; on the other hand, it was because he hadn't yet encountered any truly powerful opponents. The black-robed old apprentice before him should be among the ranks of the powerful.
Apart from moving relatively slowly, the quasi-rank creature-level necromantic flesh mound seemed to have no other obvious flaws for the time being. It had extremely high defense, strong vitality, and considerable attack power. As it strode forward heavily towards those exotic plant creatures, one intermediate exotic plant that stood in its way was cut in half with a single swing of the scythe in its hand.
With this high-quality necromantic flesh mound taking the lead at the front line, and more than twenty or thirty other necromantic creatures of various forms charging together, the other Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices finally began to cast spells calmly and unhurriedly.
This was a textbook-style large-scale resource point attack battle. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be a foregone conclusion for the Dark Shadow Holy Tower to take this large resource point into its possession. Although those exotic plant creatures also had their own unique features and extremely strong vitality, after being bombarded by magic, the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices discovered that these plants feared fire-element magic. In particular, the Nether Fire that most Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices had mastered seemed to have an even better killing effect on these plant creatures.
Among the exotic plant creatures, two stood out. Both emitted the power aura of quasi-rank creatures. One of them also had a strong build of several meters, and its appearance was somewhat similar to a treant. It was this treant that stepped forward and withstood the brutal charge of the necromantic flesh mound.
The other quasi-rank plant seemed unable to move and appeared in the very center of the basin's red soil. Facing the covering magic attacks from the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices, this quasi-rank plant propped up green vines to resist. Although it could hardly move, its vines were extremely flexible. From the way it frequently scattered the Fireball Spells and Nether Fire Rays flying from the sky, it seemed that this quasi-rank plant didn't fear fire much.
This was a lively and grand large-scale melee. And it was about half an hour after the battle began that Kai made his move. He hadn't come here just to watch the fight.
In the basin, the exotic plants, which were relatively small in number, were obviously in a weak and passive position. Although Kai knew that each exotic plant should offer a considerable amount of points as a reward, at this stage, he still had to set his sights on those Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices. These exotic plants, on the contrary, became his allies.
Taking advantage of the invisibility cloak, Kai quietly approached the direction where the black-robed old apprentice was. Among the four quasi-magicians present, this black-robed apprentice seemed to be the strongest and also the most prestigious. It was this old man who had been giving orders continuously throughout the attack on the basin.
Among the other three quasi-magicians, one didn't seem to be good at summoning-type magic, while the other two had only summoned black warriors—necromantic creatures comparable to high-rank beings. Only this old man had summoned such a flesh mound, which naturally made him worthy of attention.
Moreover, after summoning the flesh mound, the old man had also cast several intermediate and advanced Nether Fire-type spells in succession. Even though he had the mental power and magic power reserves of a quasi-magician, his current state was presumably almost exhausted. There was no better time to make a move against him than now.
Like a calm and patient hunter, Kai kept approaching the black-robed old man. Thanks to all the apprentices in the basin being focused on the exotic plants in the central battlefield, no one noticed Kai's approach. He moved from a very long distance all the way to within a hundred meters.
After clarifying his target, Kai began to prepare his magic silently. He currently knew several area-of-effect magics, but the only one that could instantly deal fatal damage to the apprentices in front of him seemed to be the Eye of the Sun. It should be noted that Kai wasn't the only one who knew shield-type magic. Some senior apprentices who prioritized self-preservation had even spent a lot of magic power to cast a shield around themselves before the battle began.
Taking advantage of the relatively chaotic elemental energy environment in the entire basin, the Eye of the Sun magic Kai was casting didn't attract anyone's attention at first. Only the quasi-rank vine creature in the center of the basin seemed to sense something, as its tiny branches kept trembling. Besides showing a sense of fear, another purpose of this trembling was that the vine was sending messages to other plant creatures in the unique way of its species.
As expected, plant-type creatures were most sensitive to fire and light forces, especially light-element energy. Many plants began to retreat intentionally, which only aroused the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices' desire to attack even more.
It wasn't until the Eye of the Sun magic Kai was casting was about to take shape, and the scorching fire-element energy and dazzling light-element energy could no longer be concealed by the chaotic elemental forces in the surrounding environment, that a senior Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentice—who was closest to Kai—first noticed something was wrong.
"Who is it?!" Although the Dark Shadow Holy Tower also offered fire-element magic courses, light-element magic was quite unpopular throughout the entire tower. Such a strong surge of light-element energy could never have come from a Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentice.
The senior apprentice's angry shout also attracted the attention of other nearby apprentices. However, it was already too late. The invisibility effect provided by the invisibility cloak wasn't complete invisibility; if one looked carefully, they could still spot some clues. With Kai's rapid chanting, the Eye of the Sun magic had entered its final stage.
Six dazzling golden eyes appeared beside Kai. His sudden appearance left the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices—who had no idea what was happening—in a state of shock. Although the black-robed old apprentice hadn't noticed the anomaly as early as that senior apprentice, he was the one who reacted the fastest.
"Stop him quickly! He's an apprentice from another Holy Tower!" the old apprentice shouted loudly. Unfortunately, after expending so much magic power and mental energy on those exotic plants, the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices in front of him had little strength left to launch an attack on Kai.
Furthermore, most of the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices still didn't know what was happening. After all, the unexpected situation had occurred so suddenly, and not all the apprentices were gathered together. Except for this group of elite apprentices around the old man, most of the other Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices were spread out in a fan shape, surrounding the exotic plants in the center of the basin. Some apprentices who were far away couldn't even see what was happening here.
Only a few scattered Fireball Spells and Shadow Arrows were shot at Kai. Some newly summoned skeleton soldiers also stumbled towards Kai with slow steps. Compared to the large-scale Eye of the Sun magic that Kai had been preparing for a long time, these Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices could only cast these low-level magics with short chanting times in their hurry to respond.
The Fireball Spells and Shadow Arrows hit Kai's Earth Element Shield with a clattering sound. Before the skeleton soldiers could charge over, Kai's Eye of the Sun magic was unleashed with a terrifying force.
The six golden beams of light symbolized the harvesting of weak lives! Take the black-robed old apprentice as an example: he was clearly quite powerful. In addition to summoning the flesh mound, he also had a layer of dark energy shield covering his body for defense. However, in the face of Kai's Eye of the Sun magic, the energy shield on the old man's body only held on for three seconds before being pierced and torn apart.
The old man's hand had already grabbed the Dark Shadow Holy Tower badge, but unfortunately, before he could activate it, one beam of the Eye of the Sun pierced his head, and another penetrated his heart. To target this powerful old man, Kai had directed two beams of the Eye of the Sun at him.
Apart from the black-robed old man, Kai had also targeted other beings with the remaining four beams of the Eye of the Sun. Two of them were shot at the other two quasi-magicians beside the old man, and the other two were aimed at the senior apprentices closest to Kai.
In fact, there was another quasi-magician among the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices, but that quasi-magician wasn't here—he was in the area closer to the front line, where the battle against the exotic plants was taking place.
Similar to the black-robed old man's fate, the other four Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices also lost their lives in an instant when facing the suddenly appearing Kai. Even more so, since these apprentices were standing relatively close to each other, although the Eye of the Sun magic of Kai was in the form of beam attacks, it was a range magic with extremely strong penetration. More than a dozen other apprentices who were standing nearby were also killed or injured by the aftereffects of the Eye of the Sun's rays.
In the blink of an eye, the rear line of the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices was filled with wails. The sudden deaths of three quasi-magicians and two senior apprentices, along with the deaths and injuries of more than a dozen other apprentices, had a far greater impact on the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices than what met the eye.
As the three quasi-magicians were killed by Kai in one strike, the massive flesh mound in the central battlefield of the basin let out a tragic roar and instantly turned into a pile of broken flesh. For a moment, the air on the entire basin battlefield was filled with even more bloodshed.
In addition to that quasi-rank flesh mound, the two high-rank black warriors also 随 turned into a wisp of black gas and disappeared. Not to mention the other specters, zombies, and skeleton soldiers that also vanished and fell on the battlefield.
The reason for this situation was that these necromantic creatures weren't cultivated and created in the real world. Instead, they were summoned from other realms by the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices. Just like Kai couldn't bring Xiao Qi into the trial space to fight, the only helpers the apprentices could use were these beings summoned through magic.
With the death of their summoners, these necromantic creatures lost their source of power and would naturally vanish into thin air in an instant. Of course, there were exceptions where some powerful summoning creatures could still exist in the current space after their summoners died. But obviously, these powerful summoning creatures weren't something the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices could summon at this stage.
Without the supply of magic power from the apprentices, even quasi-rank undead beings as powerful as the flesh mound would eventually turn into a pile of useless, stinking flesh in the end.
The death of several high-level apprentices and the collapse of the main front-line meat shields had a deeper impact on the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices in the basin battlefield than imagined. After the flesh mound collapsed, the giant plant monster that had been fighting against it earlier obviously froze for a moment. With its simple mind, it couldn't understand what was happening.
It was the other quasi-rank vine creature in the center of the basin that had a clearer mind and reacted more quickly. The vines extending to every corner of the basin trembled again. This time, encouraged and ordered by this quasi-rank vine, the exotic plants— which had been suppressed and beaten by the Dark Shadow Holy Tower apprentices earlier—bravely sounded the horn of counterattack.
Without the three high-quality front-line meat shields, and relying only on zombies and skeletons of intermediate and low-level