Chapter 445: The Calm is Only Superficial
Chapter 445: The Calm is Only Superficial
When Ling Zhan returned to his private Villa No. 1.
It was already dusk.
After ordering two dishes on his phone, he went into the bathroom for a shower.
After the shower, while waiting for the drone delivery, Ling Zhan went to the third-floor media room and turned on the live television platform.
At this moment, the daily news highlights were being broadcast.
The two news anchors were reading recent events with solemn expressions.
"According to authoritative information from the Dragon Kingdom Intelligence Bureau, on the evening of October 2nd, the capital city-state of the Poole Duchy was brutally attacked by the Demon Arrival Organization. The death toll is still being tallied, with initial estimates of over 40,000 casualties..."
"According to official media from the Xiling Empire, the barrier of the Reviving Mother Tree was attacked at 3 a.m. on October 5th, but the attackers' identities remain unknown..."
"On October 12th, the Dragon Kingdom Intelligence Bureau received news that the Hundred Ghost Legion on the Forbidden Land frontline in Fusang Nation suddenly rioted, causing a massive upheaval. The Ghost Extermination Squad suffered heavy losses, with the Fourth and Fifth Squads losing a total of 90,000 people, and the situation remains dire..."
"..."
The television was reporting on recent battles abroad.
Ling Zhan's expression also grew slightly tense.
Anyone with eyes could see...
Since the last major incident caused by the Demon Arrival Organization, their activities had become increasingly frequent.
And strangely...
It wasn't just the Demon Arrival Organization.
The Dark Church, Demon Proxies, and the Ten Thousand Demons Association...
These notorious evil organizations were also becoming more active.
Consequently, the four major Forbidden Land frontlines were also experiencing heightened tensions.
There seemed to be a mysterious connection between these events.
"Damn! It's all bad news lately..."
"Yeah, recently, duchies and city-states have been frequently attacked, mostly involving the Demon Arrival Organization, the Ten Thousand Demons Association, and the Dark Church."
"The Demon Proxies are too free in the Free Federation, and hilariously, 20% of the populace actually thinks the Demon Proxies are a good organization!"
"What a beautiful mess."
"I'm constantly grateful that I live in the Dragon Kingdom!"
"I feel the same, but everyone should still stay vigilant. Remember, the Forbidden Land War requires all races to unite; other duchies suffer now, and our Dragon Kingdom may not fare well in the future."
"That's true..."
"..."
On the surface, the Dragon Kingdom indeed seemed peaceful.
But everyone knew that this was just a superficial calm.
Take the Takamagahara Forbidden Land in Fusang Nation, for example.
If those fools were entirely slaughtered by the Takamagahara Hundred Ghost Clan.
Their next target would undoubtedly be the Dragon Kingdom.
It's not that the Dragon Kingdom couldn't defend itself.
But the Dragon Kingdom was already facing the more severe threat of the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss.
Adding Takamagahara would mean being attacked from both sides.
Currently.
The Ten Thousand Demons Abyss was recognized as the world's most dangerous Forbidden Land, showing extreme hostility toward all races.
The Ten Thousand Demons within sought to slaughter all beings and claim the world as their own.
In contrast, Takamagahara, the Terror Mountains, and the Demon Nest.
Were merely minor disturbances.
Of course, this didn't mean these Forbidden Lands were not dangerous.
Major nations, thanks to their strength, were not afraid of these evil organizations' intrusions.
But smaller duchies, city-states, and towns were different.
The world map had expanded exponentially.
Countless foreign duchies had descended upon this planet.
With colossal empires like the Holy Light Empire.
Naturally, there were also small nations like Poole Duchy.
And even independent city-states and tribes.
These entities barely received attention, and evil organizations could easily target them.
So while the Dragon Kingdom appeared peaceful on the surface.
The outside world was already teeming with hidden dangers.
Ding-dong!
From the courtyard on the first floor, the delivery notification of the unmanned smart delivery drone rang.
A round flying robot retrieved the delivery from the drone and placed it on the table in front of Ling Zhan.
After enjoying his dinner.
He read some books before returning to his bedroom to sleep.
A dreamless night.
When morning came, Ling Zhan opened his eyes right on time, with no habit of lying in bed, got up, and washed up.
He ordered a light and nutritious breakfast for delivery and headed straight to the training ground.
Three punches of 30,000 each.
Ten kilometers of fast running with a 500-pound load.
Three kilometers of underwater swimming with a 300-pound load.
Does this seem exaggerated?
For ordinary people, even special forces could only complete the first task.
The second and third would be impossible.
But for job changers, especially melee classes, completing these training tasks was relatively easy.
As Ling Zhan's strength continued to grow, the system's daily tasks gradually increased in intensity.
After completing his warm-up training.
He proceeded with enhanced training.
Fighting 30 robots with a 1,000-pound load.
Sprinting 50 kilometers with a 1,000-pound load.
Swimming underwater with a 1,000-pound load.
And during the robot combat, no skills, passives, or talents could be used.
The robots' strength and speed parameters were modeled after a level-60 melee job changer.
These robots were all personally crafted by third-tier machinists and god-level forgers.
They could be set up to have level-60 four-dimensional attributes at most.
Of course...
They only had level-60 thinking abilities due to mechanical energy bursts and enchantment forging principles.
It would be naive to think a level-60 robot could match an actual level-60 powerhouse.
After completing his training.
Ling Zhan thought for a moment and headed toward the nearby testing room.
It was time to start leveling up.
Last night, the school had sent an email with his reward list.
The individual championship earned Ling Zhan 500,000 points.
The team championship earned him 300,000 points.
The team FMVP earned an additional 200,000 points.
One A+ grade skill book. (Out of stock)
One S-grade skill book. (Out of stock)
One set of S-grade enchantment material 'Resurrection Dragon Bone.' (Expected to arrive in half a month)
One set of A-grade eternal potion 'Omni Essence.' (Expected to arrive in half a month)
These were the rewards from Tianyan Academy for Ling Zhan.
The Dragon Kingdom Education Department had also issued their rewards—three auction house purchase vouchers.
Not to mention.
Just the Tianyan Ranking points had given Ling Zhan a total of one million points.
All this from just one tournament.
He had earned so many rewards.
"Time to start leveling up."
With so many points, he naturally set his sights on Tianyan Academy's secret realm dungeons and outdoor training spots.
But before that.
He needed to enter the testing room first to check his current detailed information panel.