Chapter 13: Completion of the First Assessment
"Roar!"
An orc soldier let out a roar, swinging his black iron great axe with tremendous force.
Three abyssal creatures of differing shapes were instantly chopped to pieces by the swing!
At the same time, a faint red battle aura erupted from his body.
Countless wisps of this red aura formed a circular shield around him, causing the fourth abyssal creature's sneak attack to crash against it like hitting a solid iron plate.
"Creak!"
The abyssal creature with two sickle-shaped limbs, stunned from the impact, was immediately crushed under the foot of the orc soldier!
Around him, more orc warriors were no different.
These forty-odd powerful orc warriors were like blood-soaked war gods.
Their bodies were as strong as stone, their nerves as tough as steel, and their fighting spirit as unyielding as mountains.
Each was an elite soldier of the orc kingdom in their original world, skilled in martial arts and gifted with "battle aura" by the orc deity.
Against the abyssal creatures, their aura made them very difficult to harm.
And their weapons could tear through these grotesque, twisted, chaotic monsters like chopping wood.
Yet the orc soldier showed no joy at the sight.
Instead, he looked despairingly at a nearly four-meter-tall, heavily armored minotaur warrior wielding a giant hammer.
"Commander!"
"We can't hold much longer!"
The orc warrior was right.
Since descending into the abyss, he and his comrades had been fighting for seven or eight hours.
His battle aura was almost depleted.
His once-pristine weapon had dozens of nicks and cracks.
His armor bore hundreds of marks from toxins, bites, and magic.
He was nearly spent.
And more terrifyingly, the abyssal creatures showed no end.
Although these creatures were "weak," only 1st or 2nd stage, they attacked in overwhelming numbers like a tidal wave, unafraid of their limited strength.
Even their corpses piled into disgusting "meat mountains" along the path.
Normally, ordinary creatures from other worlds would flee in terror at such losses.
But these damned creatures were as bizarre, twisted, and unreasonable as this cursed world itself!
They not only attacked the orcs but also fought among themselves.
Creatures in a world attacking each other while facing invaders?
What was going on?
Were they all insane? Did they have no instinct to avoid danger?
What terrified the orc soldier most, however, was that…
These damned abyssal creatures were growing stronger!
Some monsters learned from the orcs during battle and imitated them!
Some grew metallic armor, some copied their combat techniques.
Some even, by accident, learned to use battle aura like the orcs!
What kind of world was this?
"Do not panic!"
Hearing the complaints of his subordinates, the strong minotaur commander crushed a brain demon into pulp with one hand and reassured them:
"The Orc God tells me we are less than a few thousand meters from the core of this world!"
"Hold on! Once we reach it, we can destroy the core and end this…"
"Twisted, disgusting, suffocating horror!"
With that, the minotaur commander let out a mighty roar, reigniting the spirits of the exhausted orc warriors.
"Just a few… more thousand meters!"
Steam poured from his nostrils, his blood boiling hotter in this stifling environment.
Before him were hundreds of howling abyssal creatures!
---
Several hours earlier…
In the opposite region from the orc soldiers, at the bottom of the Endless Abyss where Chu Hao was, he had become the will of the abyss itself, commanding the entire realm.
Sitting on black ground, he issued his commands to all abyssal creatures.
The moment his command was given, the creatures trembled.
As their creator, Chu Hao's mere thought made them bow in obedience.
It was an instinct carved into the soul of every abyssal being.
He issued a simple command:
"Children, kill the invaders!"
Waves of mental energy spread through every layer of the abyss.
Every creature, upon hearing Chu Hao's command, immediately moved.
They used teleportation, spatial shifts, flight, magic—any means to reach the top of the abyss where Chu Hao's will had marked.
Under Chu Hao's influence, they became even more bloodthirsty.
He also provided them basic information about the orc soldiers:
"Devour these orcs, and you will become stronger. You will grow more powerful!"
However… a few hours later, Chu Hao regretted giving this command.
The orcs were far weaker than he had anticipated.
---
"Roar!"
The minotaur leader smashed the last nearby abyssal creature into pieces.
Within tens of meters around him, no abyssal creature remained.
Likewise, no orc soldiers survived besides him.
"But it was worth it!"
The minotaur leader climbed over a hill, excited.
"Up ahead is the core of this cursed world! Destroy it, and my mission is complete!"
But upon crossing the hill, he froze.
Before him was not the core of the Endless Abyss, but a…
Dark, deep pit, whose depth was unknown.
Inside the pit, abyssal creatures crawled up from the darkness toward the light above.
The minotaur commander realized:
"The core is here, but…"
He was correct.
"The core is not on this surface, but at the very bottom of the world!"
"The battle we fought was only on one layer!"
At the bottom of this pit lay the true core of the Endless Abyss.
The orc warriors had fought to the death without even clearing the first layer.
They would never see what the second layer looked like.
And the Endless Abyss had a total of 66 layers!
Even the first layer's creatures alone had wiped out all the orc soldiers.
Realizing this, the minotaur leader fell to his knees in despair, abandoning all resistance.
"The truth… is utterly hopeless."
Countless abyssal creatures surrounded him.
---
"The first assessment, complete!"