Doomsday Pillars

In Alex's previous life, he never really had time to think about the aim of these challenges. He was too busy fighting and training to vent the anger he felt because of his family's death. But now that he had the chance to repeat these challenges of the apocalypse, Alex began to question the purpose of the Doomsday Pillars in coming to the world.

The battle of the first challenge was against wild beasts such as wolves and bears in the middle of the forest. The fighters were given very little information against these beasts. This challenge's aim was to test the mental stability and strength, as well as the courage of each fighter.

Meanwhile, the second challenge was a group challenge. They had to go against an armed enemy that required solidarity and a battle strategy to deal with it. It was considerably more difficult compared to simply killing wild beasts.

This challenge deliberately left them a fortress in the battle area and gave a time limit for them to complete the challenge. Alex was quite sure that the aim of the scenario prepared this time was to test their ability to work in groups.

Alex was becoming more sure that these Doomsday Pillars had a grand design in having them go through these challenges. In his previous life, mankind only lasted for 10 years after the apocalypse came. This time, if mankind wanted to survive at least longer, they had to know the main purpose of these pillars' existence. To achieve this, they had to complete all of the floors of these Doomsday Pillars immediately.

The clock was continuously ticking, and it wouldn't stop for anything. They had no time to waste.

On the morning of the third day, a piece of information popped up at the bracelets on their wrists. This piece of information appeared on the bracelet of every fighter participating in the challenge.

[The horde has arrived, prepare yourselves.]

Just as it appeared, Alex and his group could feel an earthquake, and in a corner of the island, Far in the distance, a giant gate appeared. It shone and opened, and the loud sound of war drums could be heard.

Dum dum dum dum dum.

Alex immediately brought the fighters whose spirit elements were either wind or lightning and ran toward the direction of where the sound came from with them. Alex only brought along those who had mastered the skills of their respective elements. These 20 people he brought were the fighters with the highest mobility in their group. And there was also Aria. Although Aria didn't have any skills of the wind element or lightning element, as a spirit enhancer who was at the peak of the Earth Realm, she had a stronger physical constitution than the other fighters, as well as Alex.

Approximately an hour later, they finally arrived not far from the place where the large gate appeared. No, simply calling it large would be an understatement.

From the distance, Alex and the other twenty people were watching the condition of the opponents who were present. There were at least 500 orcs that were already gathered in front of the gate, and this number was growing every minute. Among them, they could also see some berserker orcs and rider orcs.

Crackkk!!! Crackkk!!

The sound of a large tree near them falling startled these fighters.

The sounds around them confirmed it for Alex. Everything fit perfectly with the challenges that Alex previously faced in his previous life.

These orcs came in three to four waves, and now, the 500 orcs in front of them were the first wave that they had to fight. They were the vanguards paving the way for the main army. Their job was to create a base camp and check the parameters.

Alex and the others didn't wait long and found that the orcs sent two scout groups of 20 to 30 rider orcs each to inspect the surrounding forest.

Alex made a gesture, and the beautiful woman next to him immediately nodded. Alex and Aria immediately ran following the direction the group of scouting orcs was leaving toward. Aria followed one group, while Alex and the other 20 fighters went after the group.

Alex and these 20 fighters could move very fast, and in a matter of minutes, they were already fully prepared, ready to attack.

"Ready...!! Attack!!"

These 20 high-level fighters with wind and lightning elements leaped from the top of the tree and swiftly attacked the group of orcs.

[Windwalk] [Energize]

At a very high speed, the 20 people who were equipped with Tier 1 and Tier 2 weapon artifacts instantly eliminated these 30 rider orcs in seconds. They didn't even make a sound.

Alex left a few fighters to clear the area and then immediately ran toward the direction Aria was leaving.

Aria was a dual element wielder who mastered the elements of water and ice. These two elements had the best skills when it came to tailing or chasing without getting caught.

[Reflection Body] [Flowing Steps]

With this, not only were the opponents unable to see Aria, but they also wouldn't be able to even hear her steps and movements.

Alex quickly followed in the direction of the second group. As a fighter with the light element, Alex could detect where the second group was moving. From that, he could predict where they were heading toward. But when Alex arrived at the location, Alex only found more than 20 orcs lying motionless.

In such a short time, Aria was able to finish off the rider orcs.

"You should've waited for us." He could only helplessly sigh. What was done couldn't be undone, after all.

"Sorry. I just saw an opportunity earlier and grabbed it," Aria replied.

Alex knew that Aria was a very talented fighter, but he didn't expect Aria to be more powerful than he thought. The dual-element spirit enhancer seemed to be a level above the rest. This assured Alex.

"Did anyone escape?" he asked her. 

"Three riders," she mentioned.

"All right, all according to plan."

Not long after, Alex could feel another group approaching them. It was quite a large group.

"They're here! Right on time." Alex looked at the incoming group with a welcoming smile.

Alex returned to assigning several fighters to clean up the orc's bodies to a location while Alex approached the incoming group.

More than 100 fighters of the Star Army gathered in front of Alex. Among them were Raufgar, Darius, and Cindy. They were all fully armed.

"All right, none of you are tired, right?" Alex asked to make sure that they were all ready and didn't lack the stamina they would need to go against the orcs. Those orcs couldn't be underestimated, after all.

"Of course not! Come on, where are the orcs!" Cindy exclaimed very enthusiastically. It seemed that she couldn't wait to kill those orcs.

"Come with me," Alex simply said to them.

Before long, the sound of war drums could be heard throughout the forest again.

Gwaaahh! Gwaaahh!!

After knowing that the scout orcs that had been sent were attacked, a large group was immediately sent towards the direction of the fire. There were at least 400 sent their way. Among them, there was also a collection of berserker orcs and rider orcs. These riders could smell the scent of blood and dead bodies to follow it.

But Alex and the fighters numbering over 100 had no plans to fight against the orcs. Instead, Alex used this opportunity to suddenly attack the orcs' base camp. With 400 orcs having left the base camp, the base camp of those orcs currently had no more than 200 orcs guarding it.

[Fire Infusion] [Metal Hardening]

"Draw! Shoot!!" 

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of arrows shot toward the orcs who were working to prepare their base camp.

"Raufgar, Darius, now it's your turn," Alex told them at the appropriate time.

The mixed fighters of more than 80 spearmen and swordsmen continued to attack at a very fast speed.

Raufgar was wielding a short machete and a shield similar to the other vanguards. However, the shield Raufgar was using was a giant shield. With the shield in front of him and his large body, Raufgar slammed into the several orcs that were bigger than him and fell.

"Raufgar!! Cindy followed right behind him, taking cover behind the large Raufgar. Cindy might be one of the weakest among them, but she was one of the bravest. Cindy was always ready to fight on the front lines without fear. She was definitely one of the most courageous ones.

On another side, Darius was fighting with two short daggers. Every time he got surrounded, Darius used his elemental skill of darkness.

[Black Smoke]

Instantly, the vision of the attacking orcs around him was hindered. Apart from using this opportunity to evade, Darius also swiftly attacked the orcs, who fell into a state of confusion due to his skill.

Alex, who was still positioned at the back to oversee the progress of the battle, was also attacked by the rider orcs. Alex drew his wooden sword, and with just a few simple steps, he was able to evade and cut off the orcs with ease.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

The archers who were positioned at the back also advanced and attacked at close range. The main element of this surprise attack was, of course, speed. When Alex felt that the main army of the orcs was already on their way back to the base camp, he immediately gave a signal. Promptly, all the fighters of the Star Army who were there immediately retreated together and disappeared into the forest.

This was the initial strategy that Alex had prepared. Before the orc army became too big for them to handle, Alex decided to attack them by surprise first. And in these first few hours, not only did they manage to kill over 300 orcs, but they also made the orcs more hesitant about sending their troops out. As a result, these orcs decided to wait for all the orcs of the main army to gather before starting to attack. Because of this, Alex and the fighters of the Star Army got 2 additional days to prepare their defense.