Chapter 5

Trial begins, the ambush of the Fear Demons

After the decree ended, everyone regrouped.

Cheng Shi looked at Chen Chong and saw him holding a bottle of fruit wine, smiling at the group:

“I found today’s [Anchor of Order]: a bar buried beneath the ruins. I dug through the rubble and uncovered its rule: today, fruit wine only.”

As he spoke, Chen Chong passed the bottle to the teammate closest to him.

The bottle was brand-new, not a speck of dust on it—clearly not found in the ruins; most likely from his storage space.

Each player had a personal space the size of a safe, meant for storing their most important items.

Cheng Shi had one too, filled with all sorts of odd things, but he hadn’t expected someone else to stash drinks in theirs.

“Too much stress—I can’t sleep without a couple drinks, so I always keep a few on hand. Just a sip each, and the light of [Order] will protect you. Don’t worry, it’s low alcohol, won’t affect the coming battle.”

The [Order] decree is to seek order; only those who follow a specific rule or law receive its blessing.

To receive [Order]’s protection, everyone else must also abide by the discovered rule.

Simple rules clearly raise everyone’s safety margin; all were delighted, taking turns to sip from the bottle.

Only Cheng Shi, after taking it, gulped down half the bottle in one go.

Chen Chong’s eyebrow twitched—he suddenly thought this priest was unreliable.

Cao San Sui’s decree went smoothly too; he pulled out several golden pocket watches and began distributing them.

“I anchored time, synchronized all the watches. Each will chime five minutes, three minutes, and one minute before the hour. Stay alert—Time Walkers can only decide when the [Time Arena] begins and ends, not your state within it.”

Seeing everyone inspecting the watches, Cao San Sui added:

“To ensure everyone understands the [Time Arena], let me remind you again:

The [Time] decree is precision and punctuality.

Once I set the [Time Arena], we must activate it exactly on the hour and end the battle precisely on the next hour.

If we fail, we’ll be trapped in an eternal time loop until we succeed.

But each loop erodes our grasp of time; too many loops will leave us utterly lost in the river of time, unable to escape.

Remember: time reversal isn’t a cure-all.”

Everyone murmured in agreement. Chen Chong, seeing they were ready, nodded and gazed into the distance:

“There are still some undestroyed buildings to the east of this ruin. For safety, we head there first, hide until we understand the battlefield—or until we’re forced into combat. Agreed?”

“I have no objection,” Xia Wan’s voice remained cold. “Hope Continent’s history rarely records such inhuman town annihilations. I suspect this trial is the Hope Continent counteroffensive.”

Cao San Sui nodded slightly:

“Correct. We’re likely near Mìlín County. More researchers study trial history on the Mage channel. If this truly is the Hope Continent counteroffensive, we’re probably facing the right flank of the Bone Army.”

Cheng Shi admired those who studied trial history—he never studied, and had no patience for it.

In this bizarre world, just staying alive consumed half his energy.

The other half? Reserved for lying.

Half a month after the [Faith Game] began, someone noticed players were always teleported into worlds that once existed.

[3

Many were curious about this world that existed only in trials, so they began gathering background information, organizing it, and sharing it on the Career and Faith channels with the public.

Unfortunately, Cheng Shi’s Faith channel contained no useful information at all.

All historical fragments regarding the trial’s background were found only on the Career channel.

He was indeed a priest.

Chen Chong clearly wasn’t a historian; he frowned and asked:

“So?”

Xia Wan continued: “There’s little information on the right flank. If I remember correctly, the most documented should be...”

Before she could finish, a piercing shriek echoed from the sky far away.

Everyone turned, their faces pale.

The distant sky had turned ink-black; countless black wings flapped in a storm-like tide, blotting out the sun as they advanced.

“...Fear Demons.”

Xia Wan’s face darkened as she gave the answer.

Fear Demons are hellish demons with fleshy wings, feeding solely on fear, skilled at creating chaos; they are followers of [Defilement] and enemies of [Birth].

Fear Demons

With this terrifying number, if they truly engaged, the six of them wouldn’t even be enough to fill the army’s teeth.

“This is... too many!”

Cheng Shi frowned at his pocket watch; the time had just passed the hour, now at 9:01—the Time Battlefield hadn’t opened yet.

Cao San Sui’s face also changed; clearly, he hadn’t expected such a rapid pace, especially not a flying force right from the start.

“Cao Brother, is this the scale of your 1900 match??” Song Yawen exclaimed in shock.

Cao San Sui’s heart sank; bullshit, I’ve never seen this either.

“Fall back, quick! Before they spot us, get behind cover! They’re marching—we avoid direct contact, move!”

Chen Chong shouted, dropped his massive shield, muted its glow, and led everyone low to the ground as they sprinted east.

Song Yawen surged ahead; as he dashed into the shadows among the ruins, his body dissolved into mist and vanished before their eyes.

This was the Assassin’s skill: Shadow Stride.

They moved through darkness, slipping beneath shadows; within short distances, they could shift position using shadows and conceal themselves within them.

This concealment wasn't physical hiding—it was a retreat into the Shadow Plane, vanishing entirely.

Xia Wan’s speed was no less impressive; as a Hunter, agility was their defining trait.

As she ran, she scattered “Birth Seeds” on the ground.

These were trap items blessed by [Birth]; any life touched by the seeds would be influenced by [Birth]’s will, becoming obsessed with reproduction and rapidly gestating independent entities that defied the host’s consciousness.

This was also the primary attack method of [Birth]’s followers—they never destroyed enemies directly, but instead impregnated them to twist their wills and drive them to self-destruction.

Though the Path of [Life]’s deity favored order, ordered will didn’t prevent material corruption; in certain manifestations, ordered deities were no worse than chaotic ones.

In fact, even better.

“I need at least 57 minutes and 42 seconds to reset the Time Battlefield; during this time, I can only affect your time domains. Pray, friends—hope they haven’t spotted us.”

“Stop wasting time—use it now, speed us up!”

Chen Chong growled and increased his forward speed by another third.

Cao San Sui responded instantly: “Zone, fast-forward!”

No sooner had he spoken than the five figures accelerated as if their speed had been doubled; in an instant, they covered nearly a hundred meters.

Cheng Shi felt wind beneath his feet—he moved impossibly fast; what should’ve taken minutes now took only seconds.

Unfortunately, this speed boost only worked within a specific zone; once outside, their speed plummeted back to normal.

Though Cao San Sui had a high segment, accelerating such a vast area left him visibly drained; Chen Chong saw his fatigue, grabbed him, hoisted him onto his back, and kept running.

“Assassin goes first—clear the ruins, find a stronghold!”

“Nangong restore the mage’s mana! Offspring Priest, stay still—you’re not ready to act yet.”

“Hunter, lay more Birth Seeds—Fear Demon scouts won’t keep flying. When they land, buy us every extra second you can!”

Chen Chong showed sharp judgment and calm command—he’d clearly earned his 1600 rating through skill.

But the situation was too dire; he had no other choice. As he ran, he carefully scanned the rubble for ruins large enough to shelter all six, hoping to escape.

Yet the battlefield changed faster than expected.

Before they reached the ruins ahead, the dense Fear Demon army had already plunged toward them.

Their scouts had already detected the players.

“Ya—Sa—”

The terrifying shriek echoed across the ruins; the Fear Demons’ excitement was palpable—they’d found a snack on their march.

“Too late—the seeds are triggered! Contact!”