As the countless members of the Hall of Valor below gradually regained their composure and resumed their normal fight against the demons, the Supreme from the Hall of Valor raised his hand vigorously.
"The people from the Golden Kingdom and Ashen merely want to obstruct us to secure their ranks on the merit leaderboard."
"Counterattacking them now would be pointless."
"There's only one way to truly hurt them: we must fight for our interests and rack up more merit!"
"Let's claim the highest positions on the leaderboard!"
He shouted, his tone mixed with a peculiar wave of energy, accompanied by a strange, heart-stirring effect.
Immediately, many players from the Hall of Valor, looking at the members of the two other factions who had previously dealt them harsh blows, felt a spark ignite in their eyes, spurred on by the Supreme's words.
They were not merely exchanging words; they were filled with fighting spirit, launching their skills at the multitude of demons!
In an instant, at the front lines, the previously unstoppable advance of the demon army was abruptly halted!
Countless skills illuminated the battlefield, creating a dazzling display that, from afar, resembled a beautiful rainbow pathway; yet in reality, it was a gruesome meat grinder.
The vanguard of the demon army suffered rapid casualties...
In just a second or two, hundreds, if not thousands, of lives were extinguished, while the players from the Golden Kingdom and Ashen seemed to forget their earlier actions, rushing to the front lines.
Among them, many strong players brought forth a storm of bloodshed as they unleashed their attacks.
Interestingly enough, these powerhouses had "coincidentally" not targeted the Hall of Valor earlier.
Though the players from the Hall of Valor were eager for revenge, they felt the pressure from the two Supremes watching them closely, combined with their own "disadvantaged" position, and thus had to hold back their aggression.
However, within the ranks of the Hall of Valor, there was one individual who remained calm.
It was Sterl...
He observed everything that unfolded with a detached demeanor. While he was a part of the Hall of Valor, his mindset remained unshaken.
In fact, he began to wonder if this was a scheme orchestrated by the other two factions together.
With this maneuver, the players from the Hall of Valor naturally became extremely excited, ready to give their all in the fight against these demons.
The players from the Golden Kingdom and Ashen would also be motivated by the competition...
After all, the more total merit they earned, the higher the overall benefits would be for their Supremes and for the Hall of Valor compared to the other two factions.
In the current situation, some players who would normally hesitate to use items against particularly challenging demons might be willing to spend whatever it took, driven by a surge of determination.
However...
Even if everything were true and the players of the Hall of Valor were indeed being suppressed, Sterl would simply think... "What does it have to do with me?"
At this moment, he only had one thought in mind: to unleash a massacre and rack up merit.
Sterl glanced around for a moment and quickly identified his target.
A little further back in the ranks of the demon army, a total of five demigod-level hell players were secretly gathering their strength, seemingly preparing to launch a fierce attack.
Without hesitation, Sterl activated his Space Law and jumped out.
He was not foolish enough to charge into the demon lines; instead, he first prepared himself slightly—
[Shadow Stealth] activated!
[Arcane Law] activated!
All attribute bonuses were in full effect!
[Stardust] activated!
Layers of enhancements piled up!
In the shadow realm, Sterl appeared to be enveloped in a purplish-golden flame.
The Hall of Valor had already been ambushed, and while their efficiency in defeating demons was not low, it paled in comparison to that of the Golden Kingdom and Ashen factions.
Simultaneously, the disadvantages of the Hall of Valor were becoming increasingly evident; all their objectives were focused on cultivating warriors above the god level.
With insufficient resources allocated to mid-tier combat power, their overall fighting capability could not keep pace.
Thus...
On the side of the Golden Kingdom, there were three exceptionally outstanding players—
One was harnessing Thunder, soaring high above, and with every passing moment, a storm of lightning rained down around him, swiftly decimating demons.
On the merit leaderboard, his name was rising rapidly.
The second player was of Supreme level, and his attack method was quite peculiar. He threw down seeds that then burst forth with a vibrant green light. When the first demon fell victim to that green light...
The plague began!
The emerald energy spread rapidly like a carpet of spores, soon covering a vast area of the battlefield in a lush green hue.
Then, the demons fell like harvested wheat, collapsing swiftly to the ground!
Many hell players who got caught could only use their life-saving items to escape or choose to perish right where they stood.
The third player...
On the Ashen side, there were four players with remarkably high monster-killing efficiency, including one with Supreme-level power.
The first player wielded a massive umbrella; when he opened it, a dark curtain enveloped a large portion of the battlefield. When the darkness dissipated, all the monsters had mysteriously vanished.
Only a pile of loot spheres remained on the ground, revealing the fate of those monsters—they had all been slain.
The second player was surrounded by two giant beasts formed from psychic energy, constantly roaring...
...
The two figures from the mysterious organization casually opened the merit leaderboard.
As expected...
The merit count on this leaderboard was rapidly increasing, but all the players at the top were from the Golden Kingdom and Ashen!
The Hall of Valor had only a few Supremes on the board.
In the grand scheme of the leaderboard, they were like a drop in the ocean—insignificant.
The two figures nodded in satisfaction: "We'll make some arrangements; no one will come to investigate whether there's any foul play in this event."
"However, don't forget that there's another task at hand."
The three gods immediately became serious, even showing a hint of anticipation.
"Understood!"
"We've brought a batch of demigods specifically to search for Solomon's subordinates, and even Solomon himself, in hell."
"Additionally... this treasure not only helps us monitor the merit rankings on the battlefield but can also sense the presence of anyone using that spatial power."
"Once he makes a move again, we'll be able to capture him immediately!"
...
At this moment, the three gods shifted their conversation to another matter, and even the god from the Hall of Valor changed his tone, sounding eager.
They knew... if they could really find a powerful being related to that race...
The rewards would far exceed just one slot in the upper realms.
They could directly secure slots in the upper realms for themselves and gain extra rewards, enough to allow them to develop for quite some time in the upper realms.
It would be equivalent to their millennium of hard training in Alpha 8.