Chapter 1600: 1600. Trials

The Balrow family didn't have much intel on the higher layers. The main issue was the lack of suitable experts willing to spend entire centuries exploring those areas and clearing various trials.

Great Builder's tests were also far above normal standards in terms of difficulty. The expert was a monster, so only monsters could obtain his resources.

Noah felt partially out of place in the fifth layer. In theory, only existences in the liquid stage could overcome the tests there, and his battle prowess had yet to reach that level completely.

However, Noah wasn't alone. The whole Legion and his organization were with him.

Wilfred and Divine Demon were in the liquid stage. King Elbas and Second Prince were geniuses of the inscription field, and the various magical beasts and hybrids had nigh-endless resilience. Noah could rely on his companions to take care of most of the tests.

The corridors of the pyramid had enlarged after the army's arrival. The structure wanted to be able to contain those troops. Yet, the tests didn't change.

Noah had initially thought that overcoming the tests would be accessible in that situation. After all, he had a whole army behind him. However, he soon had to accept that Great Builder had foreseen that possibility.

The tests on the fifth layer mainly featured environments that negated the advantage of Noah's group. The experts had to cross poisonous corridors, ethereal blades that tried to take control of their mental waves, and seemingly endless armies of middle tier puppets.

The various layers of the pyramid were also labyrinths. Noah and the others had to spend a lot of time finding hidden doors and secret passages to reach the deeper parts of their floor.

Of course, their wealth increased as they continued to overcome trials. Great Builder wasn't stingy on the rewards. The group obtained mountains of Soul Stones, inscribed items at a suitable level, and even techniques that inscription masters could add to their arsenal.

The quality of those rewards was incredible, and they were even valuable enough to become a core part of the Legion's assets. King Elbas could barely contain himself in that environment, and most of his companions shared his feelings.

Only the rank 7 assets couldn't do much on that floor. They limited themselves to swarm certain trials with waves of attacks, but that was it. Their cultivation level was too low for the fifth layer.

"How long until you can take down that annoying shield?" Noah roared while ducking to dodge a massive tail.

"I told you that it was better to approach these defenses with fewer troops!" King Elbas shouted. "This almost goes past my expertise!"

Noah and the others were fighting a massive, scaled sphere that floated in the middle of a large corridor. A series of long tails had grown on that inscribed item after the experts started the trial, and their number matched the contestants.

The sphere also had a dark-yellow shield that protected it from every attack. Noah and the others had yet to touch it because of those defenses.

King Elbas had understood the features of the scaled sphere before approaching the trial, but Noah didn't want to send only a small group. Divine Demon, Jordan, Wilfred, Pearl, and Luke had joined the battle, which made the item grow seven tails.

The tails were far faster than all the contestants. They could land on the experts before they even noticed the attack. Noah, Divine Demon, Wilfred, and Jordan had ended up acting as baits for those limbs since they were the only ones who could withstand them, but that led to further problems.

The four experts had to deal with seven tails while King Elbas, Pearl, and Luke tried to find a viable solution to the shield. Still, the process took a while, which forced Noah's team to endure the assault of the tails for a long time.

A tail cracked on Noah before he could straighten his position. A large cut opened on his chest as the brute force carried by the limb flung him away.

The unstable substance made Noah able to survive the clash and stop himself at some distance from the trial, but his companions had to handle all the tails during that time.

Divine Demon's aura made the tails lose track of him from time to time. He could sneak past those limbs and reach the scaled sphere, but the dark-yellow shield around the item made it impossible to touch.

Wilfred was even better off. His recent breakthrough had made his battle prowess skyrocket. Many tails would land on him, but they only managed to leave marks on his skin.

Jordan couldn't do much. She had a giant hybrid body, but her transformation only made her an easy target. The tails shattered her scales whenever they landed on her, and her complexion slowly began to suffer from that constant beating.

"I'm almost there!" King Elbas shouted, and Noah gave voice to a loud curse before shooting toward the scaled sphere again.

Two tails quickly flew in his direction and slammed on his body. They opened two large cuts on his chest, but the dark-yellow shield suddenly vanished and allowed his companions to exploit that moment.

Tails flew toward Jordan, Divine Demon, and Wilfred, but the latter quickly leapt forward and attracted the attention of the other limbs. They crashed on Wilfred's chest, arms, legs, and head, but they only managed to push him back.

Divine Demon and Jordan could use that chance to reach the scaled sphere and launch a proper attack. Jordan used her dragon's claws to target the flaws pointed out by King Elbas, while Divine Demon transformed his azure energy into something that could damage the item.

Jordan's attacks were effective even if her cultivation level didn't put her at the same level of the inscribed sphere. Still, King Elbas' tactic was on point, so she could focus her efforts on the structural flaws of that defensive mechanism.

The battle went differently for Divine Demon. King Elbas had explained to him how to handle that defense, but the expert didn't care. His azure energy turned white, and a series of spears gathered next to him before shooting toward the sphere.

His attack shattered many scales and allowed Noah to see the insides of the item. He could even find a fake core after its superficial layer had fallen apart.

The sphere tried to activate the shield again after that offensive stopped, but King Elbas spread a peculiar powder through the area that stopped that function. Noah and the others could alternate between the tails and the main item at that point, and they soon managed to inflict consistent damage.

Wilfred ended up delivering the finishing blow. Noah took care of three tails. Jordan and Divine Demon handled the other four, so Wilfred could approach the sphere and punch directly on its damaged insides.

The attack made the inscribed defense explode. A storm of scales and metal spread through the corridor, but Pearl and Luke took care of stopping it.

The door on the other end of the corridor unlocked after the team destroyed the scaled sphere. Noah and the others quickly entered the room, and their eyes widened at the sight of a massive battle formation.

A small book that contained instructions for the formation stood on a pedestal at the back of the room. According to those teachings, rank 7 experts could deploy that technique and temporarily obtain rank 8 battle prowess.