Chapter 198: Hope Through Trial!
Boom!!
A massive roar erupted!
The Devourer of All Things suddenly charged forward like a bolt released from a crossbow, shooting out with insane speed. The sheer velocity created sonic booms and terrifying shockwaves.
Agility-focused players managed to dodge this onslaught. However, the Devourer of All Things targeted everyone along its path. Despite some players successfully evading, every other player in the direct line of attack was instantly slaughtered!
Short, piercing screams filled the air momentarily.
In just one move, over a dozen players perished!
As the Devourer of All Things slowly rose, its aura transformed dramatically. It had only absorbed a bit over ten players, but each was exceptionally powerful and highly talented, making them prime supplements.
The BOSS immediately shifted into an even more formidable form! Two wings sprouted from its back, each composed of oval-shaped black holes, giving it a somewhat comical yet menacing appearance.
All the players turned pale at the sight. It didn't take a genius to realize that with these wings, the BOSS's mobility would skyrocket!
And indeed, the Devourer of All Things spread its wings and soared into the sky, repeatedly diving down!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
...
The players could only watch helplessly as the BOSS descended like a meteor, slamming into the ground over and over. Each impact crushed at least one player into pulp, who was then devoured by the black holes.
The players' reactions were quick. They managed to dodge and use skills to block the attacks, but it was futile. They could react and start to evade, but the BOSS's attack radius was too vast. Someone was always hit. Using skills was equally pointless. Under the acceleration of gravity, even high-impact but low-power skills couldn't slow the Devourer of All Things for even a fraction of a second.
As a result, players continued to fall, reducing their numbers steadily!
Meanwhile, the Devourer of All Things grew more powerful, and the black holes on its body churned incessantly, heralding another imminent evolution!
However...
At that moment, a sudden notification flashed in everyone's vision.
**[In this extreme trial, the BOSS's difficulty has been capped.]**
This message was from the Hall of Valor. However, the players could only smile bitterly at it. What was the point of capping the difficulty now? Even before its first evolution, they had no hope of defeating it!
Of course, not everyone thought the message was meaningless. At least one person, Sterl, who had been observing the battle from afar, immediately changed his mindset.
Sterl had initially planned to wait until the Devourer of All Things had wiped out all the players and disengaged before making his move. He figured that the more units the BOSS devoured, the higher the risk—even with his current power boost, there was still a ten percent chance he could fail.
But now that the BOSS's strength was capped...
There was no need to wait any longer!
A gleam of determination flashed in Sterl's eyes.
He chose to use Stardust to enhance **[Shadow Stealth]**.
As a side note, after massacring the monsters in seven cities in the real world, Sterl hadn't gained much else, but he had collected a significant amount of Stardust. This allowed him to lavishly double-enhance his **[Shadow Stealth]**.
This time, Sterl focused on extending the duration he could stay in the shadow realm, giving him six seconds in this unique domain to find the perfect moment to strike.
However, Sterl didn't immediately activate **[Shadow Stealth]**. Since he was still some distance from the main battlefield, he opted to use teleportation to close in on the BOSS...
While Sterl was making his way, the situation for the other players had deteriorated to the extreme.
The Devourer of All Things descended from the sky once more, its body shimmering with a rainbow of lights, clearly suppressed by the power of the Hall of Valor. This suppression granted the remaining players a brief respite.
Yet, these few seconds of relief only deepened their despair. They looked around...
An empty battlefield!
All the fallen players had been completely devoured. The once-hundred-strong team was now reduced to a mere forty or fifty members—a pitiful sight!
"It's over, looks like we're going to be wiped out!"
"Screw it, we were living on borrowed time anyway."
"Damn it, if I had known, I wouldn't have joined this damn extreme trial!"
"When exactly did my idiot ancestors sign that contract with the Hall of Valor? It's killing me now!"
...
In an instant, the surviving players were on the verge of losing all their fighting spirit.
Those who had died before and been resurrected consoled themselves, thinking of it as borrowed time. The Hall of Valor novices who had entered the trial properly wore faces full of sorrow, knowing they had wasted a precious token. And those who had been transported here due to family contracts cursed loudly.
Their morale was shattered!
Although everyone's muscle memory still had them gathering skills and preparing to flee, their hearts were filled with despair.
They all knew... they had no chance!
But the Devourer of All Things clearly had no intention of letting the players wallow in their despair. After struggling against the suppressive power of the Hall of Valor for a moment, it abandoned its newly gained strength.
Then, its wings vibrated...
Bang!!
Its entire body shattered!
Countless black holes surged chaotically towards all the players!
This was a massive area-of-effect (AOE) skill.
It was a move they had never seen before, and immediately, the faces of the players turned pale. They stared at the black holes that covered an incredibly wide area.
Front, back, left, right, sky, ground!
There was no place completely safe from those black holes. Instantly, everyone froze in place, bewildered.
How could they escape?
There was no way to run!
They painfully realized the truth: the Devourer of All Things couldn't grow stronger under the Hall of Valor's suppression. But the energy it had absorbed was now being released all at once, transforming into this ultimate move to kill the players even faster!
It was over.
Many players even closed their eyes in resignation. As geniuses, they still had some pride and did not display any groveling behavior. Instead, they faced death calmly.
Just then, a towering aura suddenly emerged!
The previously shattered Flowing Water barrier reassembled and forcibly pushed the countless black holes away from the players!
Bang!
The barrier shattered again after completing this action.
But without a doubt, the person who made the move had achieved their goal—saving all the players!
All the other players present were highly trained tacticians. Without hesitation or shock from being saved, they wore expressions of delight and continued their actions without pause.
The players quickly formed a defensive formation around the person who had cast the barrier.
Naturally, the one who had cast the barrier was the elderly man with white hair and beard, Greg Millhauser.
At this moment, Greg Millhauser emitted an immensely powerful aura. He silently watched the front, exuding an air of authority without anger. His white hair and beard had turned black again, and the wrinkles on his face gradually disappeared, making him look like a middle-aged man.
"You've reached the Legendary rank!"
Many players couldn't help but murmur, looking at Greg Millhauser with a few hints of reverence.
It wasn't just because Greg Millhauser had saved them. Standing beside him made them realize what true Legendary power felt like!
Without any action, Greg Millhauser's mere presence exerted immense pressure on them.
And the elderly man, now a middle-aged figure—
Greg Millhauser nonchalantly waved his hand and said, "It's time to counterattack, everyone!"
Confidence gleamed in his eyes.
Although he hadn't officially confronted the Devourer of All Things yet, he was well aware. The Hall of Valor's trial wasn't designed to kill the players, but to force them to grow stronger and push past their limits. Given that this monster's power was benchmarked against his own, it was fated that once he broke through to the Legendary rank, especially as a perfect Legendary, the outcome was...
Already decided!
"Saving those people earlier was indeed the right move. I even managed to gain several legend points. Otherwise, I would've only ascended to Legendary in an imperfect form!" Greg Millhauser pondered. He could feel the legendary power surging within him, causing his entire body to tremble with excitement!
The legendary ability known as **[Mystic Revelation]** was overwhelmingly powerful!
Stronger than any legendary ability he had ever witnessed, even from other perfect Legendaries!
But he knew this was not the time for complacency.
Greg Millhauser took the lead, walking forward. The players around him couldn't help but make way for him.
At the same time, the Devourer of All Things, which had dispersed into countless black holes, reformed into its gigantic body.
Greg Millhauser and the Devourer of All Things stood opposite each other.
In an instant, an aura of an imminent storm rose sharply—two mighty beings, king against king, general against general!
In the eyes of the players, the battlefield seemed to split into two distinct realms!
One side exuded an immense pressure, symbolizing apocalypse and destruction—the boss's presence cast a dark and oppressive aura over everything around it!
The other side was shrouded in the profoundly mysterious and deep arcane aura surrounding Greg Millhauser, a palpable sense of immense power within!
Seeing this, the players finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Master Greg Millhauser already possesses the power to match the boss!"
"Finally, we're going to pass the trial!"
...
They spoke with excitement, some even shouting, "Follow Master Greg Millhauser! Charge!"
"We're going to win this!"
"Kill the boss and get the loot!"
Greg Millhauser's expression shifted as he activated his legendary ability!
In an instant, a brilliant aura flame ignited around him!
And in the next moment, countless players attacked simultaneously!