It was still a sunny day, and the grassland looked as beautiful as the ocean under the sun. The wind swept through the green grass wave after wave.
The 60,000 people gathered in Health Town spread out in a straight line on the grassland. However, everyone knew that they were in small groups of three to five. For example, Hong Da's group was gathered in a single group.
More than half of the sixty thousand people were able-bodied Origin Ability Users from Lighthouse. Only less than ten thousand people had bone prosthetics. These people were all equipped with prosthetics and were equipped with the "mummy" bone armor made by Professor Zeng Kang. They stood at the flank of the main group like wooden dummies.
The Big Hunt started today and lasted for two months. Within these two months, the standard to judge a returnee was the skeleton trophies. The higher the quality and rarer the material, the higher the chance of being recommended by the two professors.
The grassland was also densely packed with people. Everyone was using cold weapons, most of them were swords, alloy sticks, and spears. However, their overall speed was very slow. Anyone who had some experience in Health Town knew how terrifying the Forest of Infinity was. No matter how much they wanted to return, it was not as important as their own lives.
Ding Meng and his group were hiding at the back of the main group. Although Ding Meng was more familiar with the route of the Endless Forest than anyone else, her thoughts were the same as Ding Meng's. Those who were willing to take the lead should go ahead and fight. If they encountered an army of monsters, they should not complain that the enemy was outnumbered.
Liu Cheng, who they met on Starship Butcher, also came over to Ding Meng's side. "Brother Feng!"
Ding Meng noticed that Liu Cheng's bone prosthetics had been installed. He did not have any difficulty walking and was not much different from a normal person. Everyone followed the main group and slowly walked forward.
"Where's Betty?" Ding Meng was still more concerned about children.
"She's fine!" Liu Cheng smiled. "She's already adapted to the environment in Health Town."
Ding Meng said, "Right, I remember you mentioned the arena to me before. What's that place?"
Liu Cheng sighed. "Actually, my leg was broken in the arena."
Ding Meng asked, "What's going on?"
In his mind, the so-called arena should be the same as the Federal Empire's martial arts dojos, cultivation dojos, martial arts teaching halls, martial arts practice halls, and martial arts training squares. They were all used for people to cultivate. At most, they were used for exchanging pointers. Very few people were beaten to the point of losing an arm or a leg in these places. Generally speaking, a competition of this level was a life-and-death struggle.
Liu Cheng explained, "It's all because of the God War Alliance. Now, the God War Star Ring is reducing the population and opening up the quota. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter. Only those who are qualified can enter."
Ding Meng thought to himself, Isn't this the same as the Holy Grail Federation?
Do I have to be a citizen to enter?
"How do I qualify?" Jun Ling was most concerned about this question.
There was only one criterion for the God War Star Ring to open the God War Star Ring to outsiders, and that was that you had to be useful to the God War Star Ring and not be a waste of resources. Thus, the God War Star Ring regularly held all kinds of conventions. The typical one was the Psionic Martial Arts Competition. Those who obtained an outstanding ranking would be qualified to enter.
However, this kind of convention was relatively high-end. It was very difficult for ordinary people to obtain a ranking. At the very least, Origin Ability Users below the War Venerable level could forget about it.
"Those who participate in the Psionic Martial Arts Competition are all famous people or rising stars of some sect in the past one or two years. People like me definitely have no hope."
Liu Cheng explained, "However, there are other competitions as well. That depends on luck. For example, the God War Star Ring holds a food festival. If your dishes are truly delicious, you might be recruited by some sect."
Hearing this, the Elephant couldn't help but reveal a silly smile. Ding Meng curiously asked, "Could it be that the Elephant is also a chef?"
"He's not a chef!" Jun Ling replied expressionlessly. "He's best at eating raw meat!"
Ding Meng was speechless. "Is there no other way to qualify?"
Liu Cheng said, "Then there's only the arena!"
The so-called arena was not a true martial arts hall. It was an underground fighting arena, which could not see the light of day. This was because not everyone in Star Ring was a Psionicist. There were also many ordinary people. Some of them lived in a relatively peaceful environment and were very curious about Psionicist battles. Thus, the arena was born.
The rich could go to the arena to watch the battles and place heavy bets in order to seek excitement. The contestants, on the other hand, could advance level by level through challenges. The battles in the arena were not some kind of friendly competition, but real life and death battles. After all, life outside Star Ring was already very difficult. In order to enter Star Ring, not only would everyone go all out, but they would also show no mercy. Being beaten to a pulp was a common occurrence, and it was not uncommon for people to lose their lives.
"Yes, that's it!" Jun Ling obviously approved of this method. "Only the strong can enjoy a better environment."
Ding Meng was speechless again. "Doesn't the League of Gods restrict these arenas?"
Liu Cheng said, "There's no way to restrict them. There are too many arenas outside Star Ring, and they have to hold competitions basically every day. How many official meetings of the League of Gods can be held in a year?
Besides, once you win a lot of matches in the arena and make a name for yourself, there will be sects in the Realm of Gods that will recruit you. There are also official team and sect competitions in Star Ring … "
Ding Meng thought to himself, Isn't this the same as the Star Wars League in the Federal Empire?
Liu Cheng said, "It's just that I was unlucky. I had a chance to win five matches in a row, but I met a strong guy in the last match. Fortunately, I only broke a leg."
Ding Meng said, "Is that how the disabled people in Health Town came to be?"
Liu Cheng nodded and said, "Most of them. I've known about Hong Da since two years ago. He's pretty strong and won 12 matches in a row. He was supposed to win the last match for sure, but he was ambushed on the way to the competition, which caused his strength to decrease. In the end, his arm was cut off, and he ended up here …"
Ding Meng immediately understood the necessity of Planet McGrady's existence. There was a reason why these disabled people chose to come here. After they were equipped with artificial limbs, they would inevitably have to fight monsters to improve themselves. If they survived, they would definitely return to the arena. At that time, if they won a lot of matches in a row, the first thing they would do after entering Star Ring was to use the medical pod to completely recover and live a new life in Star Ring.
Liu Cheng's eyes were a little red. "Betty's mother was an ordinary person. She passed away because she couldn't be treated in the medical pod."
Ding Meng patted his shoulder. "It's okay. If you survive this time, you will definitely enter Star Ring."
Liu Cheng nodded. "Then I'll count on Brother Feng's blessing …"
…
While they were talking, the group had already crossed the border of the grasslands and entered the Endless Forest.
The sky immediately darkened, and the temperature began to drop. Ding Meng's guess was right. This was the eve of the Beast Tide. They had not even entered the outer area, but groups of Devourer Monsters had already appeared in the forest. This scale was definitely not comparable to the monster army from before, but for every four to five hundred meters, there were still seventy to eighty monsters shuttling through the forest.
Ding Meng's telekinesis vision was at the forefront of the main force, so naturally, she was able to observe the battle on the front line very clearly. The origin ability users on the lighthouse were all burly and fierce. Facing the monsters, these people were not afraid at all. They directly faced the monsters head-on, and their fighting style could be described as barbaric. Two or three burly men's movements were vigorous. They grabbed the limbs of the devouring monsters and pulled them, tearing the devouring monsters alive until only their bodies were left. The burly men who followed behind them held sharp alloy spears and stabbed the devouring monsters crazily. It was as if they had a deep hatred for the monsters, stabbing the monsters until they were beyond recognition, and their flesh was badly mutilated.
Above this group of people, countless flying spears and spears flew forward like rain. A large number of the monsters that rushed up from the forest immediately fell down. The other groups rushed up and did the same. They tore, slashed, stabbed, and stomped on the monsters. Some of the burly men even tore the monsters apart with their bare hands. After tearing the monsters in half, they did not care about the green mucus and reached out to pull out the Devourer Monster's heart.
It was not only the men who did this. Some of the burly women seemed to be very hungry. They even picked up the mangled bodies on the ground and ate them directly. There were even some who held their spears and roared, "Crush these bastards!"
This scene gave people the impression that the Devourer Monsters were like weak humans, while the Origin Ability users were more like monsters. They killed and crushed the monsters like a flood. In just ten minutes or so, they had advanced a distance of a thousand meters.
Xiao Ai opened her mouth and said, "This situation doesn't seem right."
Ding Meng nodded with a solemn expression. He knew Xiao Ai's worries. These warriors from the lighthouse were not like normal humans at all. They were more like crazy beasts.
It was said that humans had murderous intent, but a single person's murderous intent would at most be sharp and threatening. However, with so many "beasts" slaughtering, the forest was filled with a crazy, angry, bloodthirsty, and destructive aura. Even Ding Meng felt restless and restless.
This principle was the same as an army charging and breaking through enemy lines. When everyone's blood was boiling, they would naturally be filled with courage. When everyone was afraid and retreating, their hands and feet would definitely turn cold. Collective emotions were very contagious.
Ding Meng took a deep breath and circulated his Origin Energy slightly to suppress the restlessness in his body. They had not encountered the main force of the monsters yet, so it was best to wait and see.
The Artificial Body team on the ground was obviously encouraged by this murderous aura. Someone was already raising his arms and shouting, "Everyone, let's go! The people from the lighthouse usually think that we're trash. Let's show them that we're not bad either. Let's go, let's go together!"
Elephant picked up his Bone Spike Aerial Gun and was about to charge forward when Jun Ling suddenly pulled him back.
Elephant looked back in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Jun Ling's expression was very calm. She stared into the depths of the forest. "Don't follow them. I only just found out that Professor Yang has turned them into something else. They're no longer human."