Chapter 1641: Logical Iteration

The atmosphere in the venue suddenly turned eerie.

In an instant, a large number of Fourth Stage Peak Awakened Ones fell silent, then gazed at their own Fifth Stage with extremely complex expressions.

Some of the cannon‑fodder Fourth Stage, raised up by their civilization, turned deathly pale and instinctively stepped back two paces.

Although they were the weakest beings on this battlefield, lacking even the qualification to control their own fate,

Fourth Stage Peak...

After all, they are Fourth Stage!

Those who have made it this far as survivors—who among them isn't an elite of their civilization, a powerhouse?

With their reactions and intellect not lacking, how could they fail to grasp what these few rules signify?

Some looked toward their own Fifth Stage, others toward the Star‑Destroying Level beings.

For a moment, the air inside the fortress seemed filled with the scent of suspicion and unease.

"Our Fifth Stage might kill us!"

Behind the War Star Level, Kukuli, standing among over a hundred Fourth Stage Peak, swallowed nervously.

Gazing at the back of their own War Star Level, a thought suddenly sprang into his mind.

A quick glance showed him the same thought in the eyes of the other Fourth Stage.

Their War Star Level is not particularly strong, nor does it excel at movement‑type rules.

As a plant‑type civilization of the Fantastical System, they lack top‑tier combat power, but their mid‑tier forces are numerous.

Like a forest.

In this mission, to compensate for their lack of high‑end combat power, they deliberately gathered over a hundred Fourth Stage Peak to enter together.

Consequently, among all the teams, their squad's composition is also the most unique.

A rather weak War Star Level leading over a hundred Fourth Stage Peak.

If the mission weren't so special, they would likely have a considerable margin for error, which is still somewhat advantageous.

But now...

Beneath the appearance of a tree‑person, Kukuli's branches and leaves trembled wildly.

Damn it!

Their advantage is even greater now!

But the greatness isn't a combat advantage in the mission—it's the advantage of mutual slaughter!

Their War Star Level wants to live and earn more points; the optimal solution is to kill them personally—even treat them as points to trade to other Fifth Stages for killing!

Frankly, he isn't afraid of death and would willingly die for the sake of his civilization!

But to die at the hands of his own comrades, to die after being traded away as a commodity—this kind of death he simply cannot accept!

Yet if he can think of this, how could their Fifth Stage not?

In an instant, the withered‑tree leader suddenly turned his head, his gaze cold as he looked at them.

There, their civilization's leader—a War Star Level great tree—now stared at them as if looking at corpses:

"My people..."

"Perhaps we need a bit of sacrifice..."

"Follow us, and we guarantee you'll survive to the end!"

"No distinction—your War Star Level may die, but you can bring the points back; your civilization can still continue."

"Betrayal? No—after you obtain the points, you can still delay the process, and you yourselves can easily become Fifth Stage!"

"Think it over—better to live than die at your own hands; live, become Fifth Stage, and return 'home!' You will be the heroes of your civilization!"

Their reaction was swift.

As the system just announced the rules and began dividing factions, during the waiting period,

the entire fortress seemed to turn into a human battlefield of deceit and scheming.

The Star‑Destroying Level beings, who originally looked down on everyone and cared nothing for the Fourth Stage cannon‑fodder, now all acted "friendly," warmly urging the Fourth Stage Awakened Ones to join them.

Anyone could see that whoever controlled the easiest‑to‑kill Fourth Stage Peak would hold the absolute advantage!

Compared to the paltry reward for killing a Fourth Stage Peak, the seventeen Star‑Destroying Level present would rather eliminate the War Star Level that offers the biggest reward!

Conversely, all the War Star Level present suddenly realized that their own Fourth Stage subordinates might very well betray them!

For the War Star Level to live, the Fourth Stage must die; for the Star‑Destroying Level to gain more rewards, the Fourth Stage must live!

Under such contradiction, the test is of human nature.

Not a single War Star Level dares to guarantee that the Fourth Stage they brought won't betray them!

After all, as long as they can survive, even gaining a few points from the promises of those Star‑Destroying Levels,

these Fourth Stage can completely become Fifth Stage, replace them, and return alive!

At the same time, Hei Di, among the seventeen Star‑Destroying Level powerhouses, instantly realized this as well.

Only seeing his strange expression, as if he had thought of something, he immediately turned his head and ordered his subordinate nearby.

"Go, win over that little worm we encountered before."

"Let him join us; I can promise to protect him to the end..."

As he spoke, Hei Di's tone was calm, a flash of unusual color crossing his eyes.

But to the Fifth Stage subordinate hearing his command, it seemed utterly bewildering.

"Lord Hei Di? We're supposed to win over that guy?!"

"Why? We shouldn't be looking for that batch of Fourth Stage with the greatest numbers..."

Before the subordinate could even think to ask what,

Hei Di's eyes turned cold, and he directly cut off that Fifth Stage's words.

"Don't think it's a waste of time!"

"We don't need to compete to get the most Fourth Stages to join us!"

"That guy is the weakest Fourth Stage! He's also last place! If we can pull him over, the other Fourth Stages will trust us! Then we'll naturally be able to control the most Fourth Stages!"

"The logic after the three-layer logic."

"Compared to the subordinates who haven't reacted yet, Hei Di thinks deeper and also understands human nature better."

"The current situation has become these Star-Destroying Levels pulling in Fourth Stages."

"So the core issue isn't about making promises to these Fourth Stages to make them willingly betray their own Fifth Stages!"

"But rather..."

"Trust!"

"Lin An, as the most 'noticed' Fourth Stage, naturally becomes the benchmark in the minds of Fourth Stages."

"They are willing to 'protect' even a weak Fourth Stage; other Fourth Stages will inevitably join them voluntarily."

"After all, no matter how sweet the promises, we must guarantee that these Star-Destroying Levels won't go back on their word in the end!"

"The principle of spending a thousand gold to buy a horse's bone is too simple!"

"However, even Hei Di didn't expect that, at the very moment he just thought of this, all the Star-Destroying Levels simultaneously thought of it as well."

"In an instant, seventeen Fifth Stages under the Star-Destroying Levels, plus other Fifth Stages, suddenly rushed to Lin An's front and surrounded him."

"At a glance, Lin An, surrounded by over four hundred Fifth Stages, looked like a bleeding bait fish, instantly attracting a greedy school of sharks!"