Chapter 97: The Entire Territory Takes to the Sky! All 99 Hidden Territories Are Officially Unlocked!

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: The Entire Territory Takes to the Sky! All 99 Hidden Territories Are Officially Unlocked!

The leading Ironbark Tree Wraith was killed instantly.

Even the monsters within a ten-meter radius were caught in the residual lightning.

-140,278!

-120,072!

-134,321!

More than ten thousand monsters had been wiped out, with a full third eliminated in a single strike.

Notifications continued ringing in John’s ears.

[Your army has killed Ironbark Tree Wraith Lv.28 ×47. Gold coins obtained...]

[Your army has killed Thunder Slime Lv.30 ×23. Gold coins obtained...]

[Your army has killed Rotten Flesh Abomination Lv.29 ×18. Gold coins obtained...]

A little over forty minutes later, every monster on the entire island had been cleared.

[All monsters within Sky Island have been eliminated.]

John had just breathed a sigh of relief when Sylvie suddenly looked up and called out.

"My lord, you have a private message!"

The private messaging window unfolded in midair.

The old general’s voice came through, so anxious that it was almost hoarse.

"Young friend, are you done yet?! These people just keep bringing in more troops! We’re almost at our limit!"

John immediately replied.

"General, please hold on for another ten minutes! It’ll be ready soon!"

He turned and rushed toward the stone stele, placing his hand against its surface.

The runes on the stele transformed into golden characters, and a line of text appeared.

[Unclaimed Territory. Please activate through a Lord Altar or Lord Core.]

John’s eyes lit up.

He immediately called out to his heroes.

"Everyone, gather up! We’re heading back!"

Eight minutes later, John rushed back to the Lord Altar at the center of his castle and pressed his Lord Core into it.

[Relocation Token activating...]

[Territory relocation destination: Sky Island coordinates.]

[Confirm?]

"Confirmed!"

BOOOOM!!!

The entire territory began rising into the sky.

The foundations of the land and all its structures lifted from the ground. Soil and grass fell away beneath them as the castle, city walls, altars, barracks, and other buildings were enveloped in golden light and carried upward together.

On the battlefield below, the Seven Military Elders and the Judgment Alliance army were locked in a fierce battle.

The female commander of the Second Legion suddenly noticed an exceptionally bright silver-white pillar of light in the northwest.

Inside the pillar, an entire castle territory was slowly ascending into the sky.

"Wait! Commander, something’s wrong! Look over there!"

Both sides immediately stopped fighting and turned to look.

The First Legion Commander stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Is his territory... flying?!"

The old general was equally stunned for a moment. Then he burst into laughter and turned around, winking at the six old companions behind him.

"This young friend certainly knows how to keep his word. Ten minutes means ten minutes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the light faded.

All that remained on the ground was a smooth, enormous crater.

Tyrant’s territory had completely disappeared.

The First Legion Commander’s face turned livid. He turned toward the old general, practically fuming with rage.

"Well played! So the military was deliberately stalling for time after all! The Judgment Alliance will remember this!"

The old general sat atop his griffin, completely unfazed. He casually replied,

"Go ahead and remember it. I’m already this old. Do you think I’m afraid of having someone hold a grudge against me?"

The moment he finished speaking, several of the old men and women behind him couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

The chubby old man quickly lowered his head, pretending to cough.

Lady Quinn curled her lip and muttered to the person beside her.

"That old man is still as shameless as ever."

The Judgment Alliance members, however, were in no mood to laugh.

Among the ten commanders, the foulest-mouthed one, the commander of the Eighth Legion, immediately pointed at the old general and started cursing.

"You senile old bastard! Stop making sarcastic remarks! Can’t you see what state your military is in? You still don’t understand where you stand?"

"Once you old fossils are dead, who knows whether the military will even still exist!"

An elderly gentleman holding a staff waved it and fired back without hesitation.

"Don’t worry. We’ll certainly outlive you. Stop worrying about us. Let’s see whether you can even make it to our age first!"

Lady Quinn scoffed as well.

"Exactly. Your Augustus already got himself killed. Who knows, perhaps that short lifespan of his is contagious. Be careful you don’t all follow his example and die young."

The faces of the other commanders turned red with anger.

"You!"

The old general, naturally, wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to stir things up.

"You people should take a look at your own reputation."

"Every one of you is more shameless than the last. You’ve launched a full-scale war against a single person. What’s next? Are you planning to take on the entire United Government and every other faction in the world?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Fourth Legion Commander charged forward, his face red and his neck bulging with anger.

"So what if we are?! Does the Judgment Alliance look afraid of you?!"

The entire battlefield immediately fell silent.

Behind his silver mask, the First Legion Commander’s eyes narrowed.

Before he could say anything, the woman commanding the Second Legion shouted sharply,

"Fourth, shut your mouth!"

The Fourth Legion Commander instinctively shrank his neck. Only then did he realize what he had just said. The color drained from his face.

The First Legion Commander took a deep breath, turned his land beast around, and left without looking back.

"The Judgment Alliance will remember everything the military has said today."

With that, he waved a hand behind him.

"Withdraw!"

Only after watching them retreat into the distance did the old general shrug at his companions.

"Children really can’t keep their mouths shut."

"All right, our mission is complete. We can leave too. That young fellow has found himself a pretty good place. There’s no need for us to worry about him."

"Let him develop on his own. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to deal with him in the future."

The seven griffins turned around and flew east.

...

On Sky Island, John looked at his fully relocated territory and nodded with satisfaction.

Just as he was about to check whether any of his belongings had gone missing, the stone stele beside him suddenly lit up.

A golden crack appeared in the middle of the gray-white stone, gradually spreading outward until the entire stele split into two halves.

The two halves slid apart, revealing a crystal interface hidden inside.

[Territory occupation detected. Sky Island Stele activated.]

[Chronicle of the Fallen Gods unlocked.]

[Please name your territory: _______]

John looked at the virtual keyboard beneath the prompt, thought for a moment, and typed in two words.

Cloudpeak.

[Territory name confirmed: Cloudpeak.]

[Chronicle of the Fallen Gods - Instructions:]

[The Sky Island Core Stele is an intersection point between mirrored spaces. It contains 99 hidden territory dimensions.]

[Each hidden territory possesses an independent ecosystem, resources, and a guardian boss.]

[Upon clearing a hidden territory, the corresponding territory will be unlocked, and special rewards will be granted.]

[Currently unlocked hidden territories: No. 1.]

[Would you like to enter Hidden Territory No. 1?]

John turned around and looked at the other heroes.

Sylvie, Ophelia, Raistlin, Bladeborne, Arno, and Vira had all gathered around him.

"Ninety-nine hidden territories..."

John rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"This is pretty interesting. Let’s go. We’ll check out No. 1 first."

With that, he selected "Yes."

The air in front of the stone stele twisted slightly as a mercury-colored portal opened.

The rune for the number "1" was engraved on its frame.

John led everyone through.

Beyond the portal lay a desolate plain.

The sky was a dull reddish-gray, and the soil beneath their feet was cracked and blackened.

In the middle of the plain stood an enormous three-headed monster, bound by black and crimson chains.

Its body was roughly the size of a small building.

Its three heads consisted of a brass boiler, a pressure gauge surrounded by gears, and a serpentine exhaust pipe.

[Hidden Territory Guardian: Steamforged Three-Headed Colossus (Three-Core Mutant) · Lord-Class.]

[Level: Lv.35.]

[HP: 2,200,000.]

[Attack: 5,000.]

[Defense: 3,000.]

[Skills: High-Pressure Steam Breath, Arc Overload, Brass Gaze, Three-Furnace Rotation.]