Heroes' Prison

Chapter 857 - 811: The Intangible Competition

"Hero Legion, charge! Kill the invaders!" At this moment, Sunset saw the situation deteriorating rapidly and immediately issued a charge command, ordering the Hero Legion to fully engage the battlefield and halt the slaughter of weaker players by the invading army!

In an instant, the massive Hero Legion mobilized. Soldiers surged toward the center of the battlefield as slaying flags gradually spread across the entire combat zone.

Within the Deadly Battle Formation, while allied players couldn’t escape, outside players could still enter, allowing the Hero Legion to move freely without any hindrance.

"I’ll deal with that Chess Saint!" Among them, the Legion’s strongest fighter, Gentleman, dropped these words and immediately flew in the direction of the Chess Saint!

Zu Zaiyu, noticing this, promptly issued a command within the Hero Legion: "Elite Group, follow Gentleman and spare no cost to stop Chess Saint from killing our players!"

Immediately, the Hero Legion’s elite troops mobilized en masse, charging towards Chess Saint’s position.

Gentleman, along with the elite unit of the Hero Guild, became a razor-sharp blade that tore effortlessly through the invading army’s formation, swiftly reaching Chess Saint’s territory.

At this point, Chess Saint’s entourage, the Master Group, had already formed a massive circle, trapping Hero’s Continent players within, essentially serving as a killing field for Chess Saint.

Hero’s Continent players, being too weak, tried to break free but found it impossible. After dying, they were forcibly resurrected and pushed back into the fray. Some players were killed so relentlessly that they were driven into Reincarnation, disappearing entirely from the battlefield.

Chess Saint wielded his longsword with unrestrained brutality within the circle, slaughtering mercilessly while laughing and taunting, "You lowly creatures are like livestock penned here just for my amusement. Struggle all you want! I thoroughly enjoy seeing your hopeless descent from struggle to despair."

"Arrogant!" Suddenly, an enraged voice boomed from outside the circle—Gentleman’s!

Soon after, Gentleman’s silhouette, cloaked in a black bamboo hat, charged into the circle fiercely, clearing a path of invading players, decimating even those from the Master Group without resistance.

Seeing Gentleman’s overwhelming momentum, Chess Saint swiftly retreated, unwilling to take him head-on. Despite both being at the Holy Domain Rank and him being Level 199—same as Gentleman—Chess Saint knew he was not a worthy adversary.

Still, Chess Saint’s taunts continued unabated: "Gentleman, dare to face me tomorrow for a duel?"

Gentleman raised his War Blade high, chasing Chess Saint while replying, "I only know that right now, you lack the courage to face me head-on!"

"Then let me duel you instead!" Just then, a calm voice rang out, followed by a fireball violently hurtling toward Gentleman’s charging path, accompanied by the gusts of wind.

Hearing the voice, Gentleman dodged the fireball cautiously before turning to face the attacker.

The attacker was a bald man, his deep blue eyes glowing with intensity. He wielded a Magic Wand, its tip ablaze with roaring flames, radiating scorching Fire Elements.

It was none other than T.N.T, one of the leaders of the invading army. With a piercing gaze fixed on Gentleman, he declared, "If you want to kill him, you’ll first have to get past me!"

Gentleman understood that with T.N.T standing in his way, killing Chess Saint was going to be nearly impossible. He glanced back at the elite warriors trailing him and commanded, "You focus on dealing with Chess Saint and his Master Group. I’ll handle T.N.T."

With that, he charged directly at T.N.T! And so, two Super First-Class masters began their intense showdown!

Meanwhile, the elite troops continued pursuing Chess Saint, clashing with the Master Group that guarded him.

By now, Hero Legion soldiers had spread across every corner of the battlefield, stabilizing the situation.

Furthermore, thanks to the existence of the Deadly Battle Formation, Hero Legion players enjoyed the advantage of Resurrection in Place, returning instantly to full health and optimal condition. As a result, their numbers never dwindled.

On the other hand, the invading army lacked such privileges. Once killed, unless revived via Combat Resurrection, their players could only resurrect far away at their main base city, unable to rejoin the battlefield promptly.

At this rate, the invading army’s numbers would only continue to diminish, leading ultimately to their defeat!

However, if Chess Saint could ascend to Heavenly Domain Level, victory in this war would ultimately fall into the hands of the invading army. The struggle was now a race against time!

Suddenly, some television networks received breaking news and swiftly broadcast an update: "Attention, viewers! Just moments ago, broadcast rankings revealed that Yang Yuheng has set a new world record for defeating the first boss of the 199th level within the Tower of Pantheons. While the system offers no rewards for records like this, it indicates that Yang Yuheng is currently grinding the Tower at full speed to level up rapidly. Based on Chess Saint’s performance, Yang Yuheng appears to be racing against Chess Saint to contest for the honor of becoming the first Heavenly Domain player..."

This news spread like wildfire across the battlefield, reaching the ears of T.N.T, Chess Saint, and others.

T.N.T felt a sudden jolt of urgency while locked in combat with Gentleman. He immediately issued a command to his army, "Everyone, condense the battle zone and protect Chess Saint at all costs! He must reach Level 200 faster than Yang Yuheng! Everyone else can die, but Chess Saint cannot!"

Upon receiving the order, the invading army instantly contracted their formation. Nearly the entire legion coordinated efforts to ensure Chess Saint’s safety, even using themselves as sacrificial shields.

Invaders tragically intercepted the Hero Legion pursuing Chess Saint. When their Magic Value ran dry, they resorted to their bodies to block attacks, knowing that surviving even a second longer meant another second for Chess Saint to slay enemies.

"The number one spot will be mine! Yang Yuheng is only Level 198; he can’t catch up to me!" Chess Saint comforted himself inwardly while fiercely killing enemies. His longsword danced like an illusion, slicing through foes at the fastest possible pace, collecting Experience Points in bulk.

Every second of Chess Saint’s killing spree was bought with the sacrifices of his comrades!

...

Meanwhile, unnoticed within the Tower of Pantheons, Yang Yuheng was grinding levels with all his might!

Though merely a Holy Healing Priest, a class not known for damage output, he once encountered a miraculous opportunity that made his output damage fixed at double his healing ability!

The stronger his healing, the stronger his damage output! His Priest’s Staff rapidly cast one massive area-of-effect offensive spell after another. Each spell obliterated hordes of monsters, converting them into Experience Points for him.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!" Yang Yuheng had entered a frenzied state; the monsters’ cries echoed in his ears like a haunting refrain!

Entranced by his determination, he operated at peak efficiency, wasting no actions, choosing the most optimal killing methods, traversing the best routes, and harvesting countless NPC lives.

Chess Saint and Yang Yuheng—two pivotal figures from opposing factions—fought in different realms. One reaped Experience Points through national warfare; the other gained levels rapidly through grinding in secret zones. Both surged toward their goals: ascending to Level 200 for the Heavenly Domain Rank!

Finally, Yang Yuheng completed his tenth solo run through the Tower of Pantheons and emerged at the Teleport Plaza of the Light of Draenei Guild Main City.

Huang Yi was waiting for him there; upon seeing him, Huang Yi quickly said, "You’ve used up your 10 solo run attempts. Next is five-person mode. Keep track of how much Experience Points you gain per instance."

"Got it!" Yang Yuheng nodded and entered the Tower’s 199th level in five-person mode, continuing his highly efficient level-grinding.

Twenty-two minutes later, Yang Yuheng returned from the five-person mode, hastily reported his Experience Points gains to Huang Yi, and then teleported back into the Tower.

Huang Yi immediately forwarded the data on Yang Yuheng’s leveling time and Experience Points gains to "Veda," a player from the Hero Guild.

In Dragon City’s dimly lit residential building.

A middle-aged man sat by a window-side desk, holding a Goose Feather Brush dipped in ink, scribbling briskly on paper.

This man was Veda, a brother from the Rose Prison. Before his imprisonment, he was a mathematics professor. Huang Yi had specifically sent him these calculations to help deduce Yang Yuheng’s most effective leveling strategy.

The paper before him was covered with intricate formulas. He was creating a projection—estimating the speed at which Yang Yuheng could level up if he joined Night Rain Eastcoming Guild’s battlefield.

Such calculations needed to consider factors like enemy players’ level distributions, power dynamics, remaining survivors, and a variety of other data points. Veda had to predict how many enemies Yang Yuheng could kill, how long it would take on average to kill each one, and how much Experience Points each kill would yield...

The process was exceedingly meticulous, ultimately aiming to compare battlefield leveling efficiency with Yang Yuheng’s current Tower grinding efficiency.

In the shadowy room, Veda’s Goose Feather Brush scratched furiously on the paper, producing an urgent rustling noise!

On the battlefield, Chess Saint killed with all his might, relentlessly harvesting enemy lives, inching ever closer to Level 200!

In the secret zone, Yang Yuheng unleashed one area-of-effect spell after another, felling countless monsters and turning their deaths into his Experience Points!

All of this unfolded simultaneously. Countless individuals participated in this grand contest, forming a synchronized, flawless mechanism. Every corner and every part geared towards one goal—for these two players to race against time!