LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 240: Meeting of the Summoned
The timeline for this Abyss Battlefield was 15 days.
15 days was enough to complete the Main Quest and the first two Challenge Tasks.
But the last Challenge Task would be very tight for time.
"Challenge Task 3: Expel the Bloodline Demons from the Black Stone Mine and help the Darkville Black Iron Tribe rebuild their homeland."
Challenge Tasks weren't mandatory.
On the surface, not completing this Challenge Task meant missing out on one Divine Energy reward.
However, if the target was the World Task reward, the situation would be different.
The objectives for World Tasks were not displayed on the task panel, so they could only be guessed through analysis.
World Task objectives all shared one thing in common, which was to change the world structure of the current world.
On this Molten Lava Plain, the world event was the conflict between the Darkville Black Iron Tribe and the Bloodline Demons.
This three-year-long struggle around Black Stone City was inevitably related to the World Task.
"Could it be that helping the Black Iron Dwarves retake Black Stone City would complete the World Task?" Lin Zeyu tried to analyze the information revealed by the task content.
Su Muyu slowly shook her head, with a different view, "The third Challenge Task is to expel the Bloodline Demons from Black Stone City and help the Black Iron Dwarves rebuild their homeland.
"This Challenge Task includes retaking Black Stone City, so the World Task is certainly not just about that.
"Above recapturing Black Stone City, there must be a more significant event that will affect the world structure of the Molten Lava Plain."
Lu Heng gave her a thumbs up, praising, "You're getting better at understanding the rules of the Abyss Battlefield."
Praised by him, Su Muyu couldn't hide her smile, she pursed her lips, revealing a slight smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons, looking very pretty.
"That makes sense, but what could the World Task be?" Lin Zeyu furrowed his brows in thought but had no clue.
"At present, there's too little information. However, one thing is for sure, it's definitely related to retaking Black Stone City. So for now, we can focus on Black Stone City, take it back first, and the hidden World Task details will naturally emerge later."
Actually, Lu Heng already had some speculations in his heart, but they were not yet confirmed.
"If we want to recapture Black Stone City, our time is a bit tight," Su Muyu reminded.
"The time is indeed tight, so we must talk with the leader of the Black Iron Dwarves, action must be taken within ten days," Lu Heng decided, after analyzing the strategic situation, to find Dakville III for a discussion today.
Since the duration of this Abyss Battlefield was 15 days, and 5 days had already passed.
Meaning, to complete the third Challenge Task, they had to act against Black Stone City within the next ten days.
However, the current situation was a bit complex.
The Black Iron Tribe had just rooted out a Traitor within their ranks, causing them to be without their senior Great Wizard to preside, which was like losing an arm when facing the Bloodline Demons.
Additionally, after three years of conflict, the power of the Black Iron Tribe had greatly diminished, making a turnaround victory very difficult.
If there was any chance for the Black Iron Tribe's victory, it rested almost entirely on the Human Superpower Users.
Yet, there was another problem within this.
Among the Human Superpower Users, there was a Traitor, and if they took action against Black Stone City, should the Traitor stab them in the back suddenly, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So now, even though they knew there was a Traitor among the Superpower Users, they had to rely on the power of these Superpower Users if they hoped to recapture Black Stone City.
...
Because time was tight, Lu Heng and Dakville III preliminarily agreed on the time to attack Black Stone City after their discussion.
The specific plan would be determined after gathering all available forces.
That very afternoon.
Lu Heng had the message sent out to call all the Summoned for a meeting.
Even lone wolves needed to maintain a certain amount of contact with other Superpower Users to ensure the flow of information.
After the message was sent out, the next afternoon.
The Human Superpower Users who received the message gathered outside Dili Castle.
Lu Heng greeted each of the assembled Superpower Users, expressing the desire to act together.
Since recapturing Black Stone City was a Challenge Task and not mandatory, some Power Users chose not to participate.
After all, for them, surviving until the 15-day period ended meant they could return.
Of course, recapturing Black Stone City was likely related to the completion conditions of the World Task, so those who wished to become stronger had to take this risk.
The Abyss Battlefield had always been like this, to gain greater strength, one had to take greater risks.
Thus, the majority of Power Users chose to wait and see, deciding whether to join the fray based on the situation.
...
When the number of Summoners who had come to meet was still small, the Dark Werewolf Derek Wolf walked up behind Lu Heng and said:
"This is the third time I've detected 027's scent, I'm sure he's in this world, when will you come with me to catch him?"
Lu Heng turned and looked at him, saying, "You go hide somewhere first. In a while, other Superpower Users will come together, see if 027 is among them."
Derek Wolf thought for a moment, found the method feasible, so he located a small stone hut outside Dili Castle to lie in wait for 027's appearance.
In fact, Lu Heng wasn't certain if No. 027 would make an appearance; he simply made preparations just in case.
If No. 027 did show up, he would first confirm the other's identity. As for what to do after, he could consider that later.
In reality, regardless of whether the Creator Organization had issued a pursuit task or not, Lu Heng wanted to find No. 027 and clarify the ins and outs of the matter.
That's because No. 027's defection was too abrupt, and the identity of No. 013 also put Lu Heng on alert.
...
As more and more Superpower Users arrived for the assembly, Charles Water and Park Hyun-jin also came out.
They stood at a relatively far distance, maintaining a safe gap.
By the agreed time, the number of Superpower Users who came to the meeting was 19.
Just like what was initially expected, the scale of participants in this Abyss Battlefield was over 30.
The summoned attendees were certainly not all there; probably a large portion.
More than half of those summoned for this Abyss Battlefield were teams, and the few lone wolves also had to be exceptional to meet the summoning standards.
For these already somewhat powerful Superpower Users, just wanting to survive for 15 days was not particularly difficult.
The real danger resided within Black Stone City.
Just as Lu Heng was about to speak, another person flew over and landed gently beside the crowd.
This person was none other than Xie Shi'en, the Spirit Mind Master he had encountered previously in Black Stone City.
Xie Shi'en gave a slight wave towards Lu Heng as a greeting, not saying a word nor approaching Lu Heng, instead standing by the side of the crowd.
Seeing his appearance, Lu Heng looked back at the low stone house behind him.
The Dark Werewolf Derek Wolf was hiding in that stone house, showing no reaction.
Including Xie Shi'en, the actual number of Superpower Users gathered this time was 20, plus the 3 people in Lu Heng's team, giving a total of 23 combatant units at their disposal.
23 people—a number that, on its own, might not seem large.
However, every one of those who could enter this Abyss Battlefield was exceptional, and if utilized effectively, they could greatly impact the situation.
Lu Heng scanned around, and seeing no one else coming, he spoke out loud,
"Thank you all for coming to the meeting. The purpose of this meeting is straightforward; there are 9 days left until the end of this Abyss Battlefield.
"If we want to recapture Black Stone City, we must act within these 9 days.
"I know that some of you might say that completing the Challenge Task is not necessary.
"All of you have been through many Abyss Battlefields, so this topic does not need discussion.
"At this point in time, to have reached your levels, I believe none of you have grown by skulking around.
"The final Challenge Task requires us to recapture Black Stone City.
"It can almost be concluded that the completion conditions for the World Task must be related to recapturing Black Stone City.
"Therefore, I will do my best to complete the third Challenge Task.
"I have now gained the trust of the Black Iron Tribe, and their leader, Darkville, is also very much hoping to recapture Black Stone City.
"When the time comes, we will act together with the Black Iron Dwarves.
"It's tentatively decided that the action to retake Black Stone City will take place in seven days. Everyone can prepare in advance.
"At that time, we will set off together and launch an assault on Black Stone City. The Black Iron Tribe will be the main force; our task will be to complement their offensive."
After Lu Heng finished speaking, several Superpower Users present posed a few questions.
After Lu Heng answered each one, this meeting came to an end.
The goal of this meeting was simple: to first gather the human Superpower Users and unite them before considering how to utilize this collective strength.
After the meeting, the various Superpower Users teams still needed to go back for discussions before deciding whether to participate in this action.
Xie Shi'en did not come forward to speak and simply flew away.
Lu Heng had originally wanted to have a private word with him but did not expect the man to be so solitary.
After all the Superpower Users had left, Lu Heng looked towards the stone house behind him.
Derek Wolf emerged from the stone house and vigorously sniffed the ground where the Superpower Users had been standing, detecting the scents they left behind.
In fact, he already smelled all the attending Superpower Users while hunkered down in the stone house.
The reason for going up and sniffing again was just to double-check.
"Is No. 027 among them?" asked Lu Heng.
"No, I did not detect his scent," Derek Wolf shook his head, indicating he did not find No. 027's scent.
Lu Heng looked in the direction where Xie Shi'en had flown away, recalling the first time he encountered him when he doubted his identity.
Now that Xie Shi'en had appeared and Derek Wolf had not caught No. 027's scent, it also meant this self-proclaimed Xie Shi'en, the Spirit Mind Master, was not No. 027.
That is to say, No. 027 was still hidden somewhere in this world, unknown as to what they were doing.
Because No. 027's identity was unclear, this person could appear anywhere, do anything, and might even be a Traitor.
Not having discovered No. 027's tracks, Lu Heng lost interest in dealing with Derek Wolf any further and turned around to head back to Dili Castle.