Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 323

Chapter 323: The Predicament of the Hall of Valor
Sterl walked out of the inn, but the demigod squad suddenly spoke up.

“Bro, be careful; right now, it’s not just the demons you need to watch out for.”

“Oh?”

“Alright.”

Sterl nodded.

He had already formed a suspicion in his mind.

The Golden Kingdom and Ashen factions seemed to have significant friction with the Hall of Valor…

However, it wasn’t necessarily these two factions that would take the first action. After all, this layer of hell was discovered on the Hall of Valor’s territory, and the other two factions likely came to stake their claim.

The members of the Hall of Valor would definitely be displeased, so it was also possible that some “allies” from Sterl’s side would initiate trouble first.

In any case, the atmosphere inside The Blood Red Fortress was extremely tense.

As Sterl walked along the path, the exploration activity page prompted him to head to the temporary assembly point of the Hall of Valor.

Meanwhile, the area around him was bustling with activity.

The Blood Red Fortress was no longer the desolate place it had been before; it was now packed with people. Besides the demigod players acting as pioneers, legendary players were also sent over as the main force for the battlefield.

Adding to this were some third-class personnel handling logistics, resulting in a massive influx of people.

At the same time, the noise was quite overwhelming.

The Hall of Valor was surprisingly united under the threat of external enemies. Just like the demigod squad that had previously warned Sterl, most people gathered together in solidarity.

Players from the other two factions were doing the same.

However, with such a large crowd, collisions were inevitable.

“You dare bump into me? Fine! Fine! Fine! Let’s set up a ring; do you dare to accept?”

“Are you blind? You ran into your daddy!”

“Coming to our Hall of Valor territory to beg for scraps and still acting so arrogant?”

“What? You think your faction can monopolize the event released by [Tanscendence]? How presumptuous!”

…

Players from various factions glared at each other, escalating into a heated argument, and some even set up a ring right on the spot.

Onlookers quickly began placing bets on the matches that were forming.

“Come, come, come! Place your bets and see whether the experts from the Hall of Valor are stronger, or if our little factions can hold their ground!”

“Of course, the Hall of Valor is stronger, but I enjoy the thrill of an upset; I’m betting on this demigod from the Golden Kingdom to win.”

“Are you looking down on the great ones from the Hall of Valor? I’m betting on the Golden Kingdom too…”

…

In The Blood Red Fortress, with the protection of the [Tanscendence] event, it was a safe zone where players couldn’t directly attack each other, but the tension was palpable.

Members of the Hall of Valor were being picked on in turns…

Sterl couldn’t help but scoff.

Calling themselves demigods and legends? They hardly looked the part.

It was just like the crowded plazas before taking on bosses in an online game from his past—everyone was supposed to be a world-saving hero in the story, but here they were, mingling together like it was a bustling marketplace.

He couldn’t help but think back to the description of “the upper realms.” After logging into the upper realms and becoming a true “player” of the myriad worlds, perhaps things would be different?

While Sterl was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly picked up on a conversation nearby.

“What’s all the noise about? Even if you win the ring, there’s no real benefit.”

“Yeah, let’s see who ends up higher on the merit leaderboard after this.”

It was a group of players who appeared to be from the Golden Kingdom, identifiable by the corresponding faction flag they carried, which featured a giant palace made of gold.

Nearby, another voice chimed in.

“The Hall of Valor may seem loud, but it’s useless; their mid-tier strength has always been hit-or-miss.”

“This faction primarily focuses on nurturing stronger deities as warriors to deal with calamities.”

“The elimination of mid-tier members is quite brutal. Although it pales in comparison to the hellish side, it’s still far bloodier than ours. This time, their demigod and legendary teams are both short on numbers.”

“They’re going to suffer a huge loss on this merit leaderboard.”

“Indeed… the Hall of Valor is quite unfortunate. They’ll lose a chunk of meat, and we’ll end up with most of it. Plus, since they’re likely to perform poorly in this activity, their score for the next hundred years will take a hit. Their chances for an upper realms spot will probably drop, too.”

“Haha, there’s nothing they can do; after all, their territory is destined to be ground zero for the calamities.”

Sterl couldn’t pinpoint which faction this group belonged to, but their discourse was quite rational.

…

Sterl’s expression shifted slightly.

Now he understood why the players from the Hall of Valor were so agitated.

The upcoming activity was not particularly favorable for them.

In terms of high-end strength, which should be above the divine level, the Hall of Valor held an advantage. However, their reserves of demigod and legendary players were not as plentiful as those of other factions.

In the past, the competitions in [Tanscendence] revolved around the power of high-end strength. A single deity could suppress hundreds or even thousands of demigods.

But this time, it seemed that [Tanscendence] did not permit players above the Supreme level to participate, not only due to a lack of interest in the rewards but also because the activity page specifically stated that participating players should range from third class to demigod.

Thus, the Hall of Valor found itself at a considerable disadvantage.

For those deities, other matters might not concern them, but that “upper realms” spot was likely quite important.

However…

The information mentioned by the players who seemed to be from the Golden Kingdom made Sterl’s heart flutter.

The territory of the Hall of Valor was indeed the starting point of the calamities?

As he walked, Sterl pondered this revelation and realized that his ability to add points had cooled down.

He immediately chose to enhance fission but was suddenly met with feedback…

The cheat requires a second evolution to repair this ability? A third evolution to restore the enhanced fission?

And my physical condition can’t handle this move; I need to be at least legendary to do so??

Sterl sensed the situation and found himself not feeling too disappointed. After all, the more restrictions there were, the more powerful the fission would become once repaired and unleashed…

Now, considering he needed to head to the battlefield, Sterl exchanged some Valor Contribution Points for a special item and completed an enhancement.

[Emergency Escape Device]

[Description: Legendary top-level craftsman gnomes often had their memories coerced to create various tools and equipment for others. Thus, they invented this device. However, true to the gnome style, this device is somewhat unstable, but an unknown kind-hearted person completed its final optimization.]

[Effect: Sends you into spatial turbulence, entering an invincible state. You can use the mini-map indicators in the turbulence to access several nearby worlds.]

[Warning: The spatial turbulence you enter may have coordinates significantly different from your original world. Please remember your original world coordinates to prevent being unable to return.]

[Warning: This item has a 0% chance of killing you instantly.]

[Hint: The effect of sending you into spatial turbulence is considered a side effect.]

In his hand, Sterl held a silver-white capsule. Before enhancement, this item had a 5% chance of killing him outright.

However, the advantage of the escape device was that the effect of sending him into spatial turbulence was considered a “negative effect,” meaning it couldn’t be blocked by any locking abilities and could be activated no matter what.

The trade-off was that there was a chance the player could die on the spot, but after enhancement, this flaw was wiped out.

Sterl pocketed the capsule and soon arrived at the assembly point.

At that moment, a look of astonishment flickered in his eyes; the scene before him was quite spectacular.

Several Supremes stood high above, while below them, a dual formation shimmering with gathering spirit effects and enhancement buffs was in full display.

On top of the formation, there were over a hundred demigods and thousands of legendary players standing tall.

In the Assembly Hall of the Hall of Valor, although there were many strong individuals, it was impossible to have so many gathered in such a short time.

However, thinking about the Golden Kingdom and Ashen likely having an even grander presence, Sterl’s earlier excitement quickly faded.

Above, the Supremes began to speak.

“Dear colleagues!”

“This time, we from the Hall of Valor have discovered this layer of hell.”

“All the resources here should rightfully belong to us, but [Tanscendence] has coincidentally launched an event, drawing the attention of the other two great factions.”

“Can we allow resources that should belong to us to be taken away?”

At this point in the Supreme’s speech, voices began to erupt from below.

“Absolutely not!”

Soon, a chorus of responses gathered.

“Absolutely not!”

“Absolutely not!”

…

Sterl observed the scene clearly.

It was clear that the ones who started shouting were planted supporters; they had all reached the levels of demigods and legends, and everyone had some experience under their belts—most were steady in temperament. Of course, the subsequent followers who joined in weren’t necessarily brainwashed either; at least Sterl shouted along, just to indulge in the moment.

The Supremes above, seeing that they could rally the crowd, offered a few brief words of encouragement.

“Exactly! This layer of hell is our trophy from the Hall of Valor, and we won’t allow anyone else to take it.”

“And with [Tanscendence] turning this grand event into an activity, any participant stands to gain tremendous rewards! We must reclaim what rightfully belongs to us!”

Then they got down to business.

First, all players would be assigned to different defense zones to battle the demons, with guaranteed merit rewards for their efforts. Sterl’s alternate identity, Leo, was included in this. These defense zones were relatively safe.

As long as the legendary players could hold their ground, a few demigods could step in to handle any emergencies.

Second, they encouraged players to head to the core battlefield area, where the demon strength was the highest. At this point, the Supremes in the air had already mapped out the entire vicinity of The Blood Red Fortress.

Sterl could see that Leo’s stationed area was very close to the natural Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array, and he nodded in satisfaction.

He had already devised a plan: he would send a clone to leisurely hang out in the housing area while his main self would venture into the core area to stir things up, racking up merit and blood-colored documents.

The reason Sterl could pull this off, while painstakingly maintaining a low-profile identity as Leo, was primarily because…

If he logged into his Swallowing Heaven account, it was likely that his [Tanscendence] account would temporarily be unusable.

After all, he couldn’t log into two accounts simultaneously…

At that point, he might not even be able to create a clone.

He needed to make sure that his alternate identity could go missing for a while without anyone caring.