Chapter 1698: Chapter 14 Points Soar

“Please spare me, don’t kill me!” The attacker, instantly suppressed in just one encounter, turned pale and realized the insurmountable gap in strength between him and the opponent. He immediately changed tactics and prepared to flee.

The attacker pretended to panic, loudly begging for mercy to lower Tang Zheng’s guard.

The summoned beast struck by the martial general disappeared in place and reappeared behind Tang Zheng, opening its bloody maw to bite his skull.

Enduring intense pain, the attacker released a cloud of black mist from his body while his hand produced a curved knife, viciously slashing toward Tang Zheng’s abdomen.

“As long as he is startled and instinctively defends himself, I can retreat through the door.” The attacker executed a feint, even calculating the subsequent steps, but his opponent’s reaction was far from his expectations.

Tang Zheng didn’t even bother with the summoned beast behind him; he directly used gravity to submerge the black mist, layering ten gravity fields around himself while his left hand lightning-fast grabbed the knife blade. With a sharp tug outward, he raised his right knee straight into the attacker’s groin.

The attacker’s face instantly twisted in agony, and he was immediately grabbed by his neck and slammed against the wall with brutal force.

Boom—his internal organs suffered damage, causing the attacker to cough up a mouthful of blood. His SS-level protective clothing served little purpose under Tang Zheng’s repeated blows.

Tang Zheng remained silent—not letting his opponent know his desire for information. If he did, the attacker would certainly try to negotiate terms. Instead, Tang Zheng opted to display an attitude of intent to kill, forcing him to yield proactively.

Bam, bam—Tang Zheng delivered two punches to the attacker’s face in quick succession, splattering blood and fracturing his nose.

“I surrender!” The attacker barely exclaimed before his words were knocked right back down his throat by Tang Zheng’s ruthless fist. He was genuinely terrified now.

Most Conquerors tended to be highly cautious—the attacker’s feint-and-escape tactic usually worked. But this time, it had failed miserably.

“I have information!” Looking at Tang Zheng’s ferocious expression and under the immense pressure of impending death, the attacker’s mind raced, blurting out something he thought would have value.

Tang Zheng’s fist paused inches from the attacker’s face.

“Ask me anything; I’ll tell you everything!” The attacker saw that his summoned beast couldn’t even get close anymore, losing his final trump card. He sighed in relief—at least the opponent wasn’t immediately going to kill him.

Bam! Tang Zheng didn’t respond. He struck another punishing blow to the attacker’s face.

“Stop hitting me!” The attacker was completely petrified—this guy was an utter lunatic.

The terrified female newbie had initially been running toward them before halting mid-step after witnessing Tang Zheng brutalize the attacker. She shivered in fright, unable to reconcile the polite young man she remembered with the violent, volatile figure before her.

“Speak. What’s the use of these doors?” Tang Zheng demanded.

The attacker didn’t respond immediately, darting his eyes about in a final attempt to think of a way out—only to suffer another vicious round of beatings from Tang Zheng.

“Lock your eyes on one specific door first, then enter another door freely. The next time you exit, you’ll come out of the door you initially locked on.”

“How do you know that?” Tang Zheng glanced at the passage, his brow furrowed.

“I’m very capable. Why not collaborate with me? We can kill lots of people and earn points together!” The attacker tried to bargain for survival.

“Are you lying to me again?” Tang Zheng’s fist slammed into him relentlessly.

“I’m not lying!” The attacker panicked, adamantly denying the accusation.

“Hmph. Forget whether you have the IQ to figure out the doors’ purpose—do you even have the guts to go through them with your cowardice to flee whenever you can?” Tang Zheng lifted the attacker by his clothing, pinning him against the wall, then drove his knee into his midsection.

Cough, cough—the attacker hacked violently, bile practically spewing from his throat.

“Alright, I confess—it was the Trojan who told me!” The attacker muttered bitterly, glum about his misfortune of encountering someone so calculating and ruthless.

Area C is the team battle zone—specifically carved out by the Trojan to eliminate weaker contestants through challenges. The Trojan had randomly disseminated teleportation gate information to Conquerors’ wristwatches, incentivizing aggressive combat by awarding points for successful kills.

“Damn that Trojan!” Tang Zheng cursed and abruptly swung his fist down onto the attacker’s skull. He was of no further use.

“Please, don’t kill me!”

Sensing Tang Zheng’s murderous intent, the attacker begged, even gearing himself for resistance, but it was far too late.

“Follow me!” Tang Zheng grabbed the female newbie, pushed open a door, and strode in. In the perilous Holy Land War, he refused to leave an untrustworthy time bomb lingering anywhere near him. The attacker’s fate had been sealed the moment he was captured—his death was inevitable.

“Stop looking! Let’s get out as fast as we can!” The female newbie burst into tears from urgency.

“Shut your mouth.”

Since the Trojan permitted battles within Area C, this signified there was no immediate need to proceed forward. Otherwise, those who received the teleportation gate information early would already be doomed. So, Tang Zheng roamed around hunting Conquerors—not just for earning points but to reduce potential enemies.

A five-person squad was sprinting down a passage and suddenly saw a door fifty meters ahead swing open. A group of young men and women emerged, jolting the squad into a panic—without hesitation, they opened fire.

Tang Zheng activated Radiation Gravity Abyss, dragging the female newbie into the door. Moments later, they reappeared behind the squad.

“Behind us!” Fortunately, they had an observant member; the squad reacted promptly, turning to retaliate with gunfire.

Tang Zheng charged forward, suppressing with firepower while unleashing Radiation Gravity Abyss. He hurled gravity-enhanced projectiles with precision.

The squad seemed to have escaped a secret room recently. They weren’t team-oriented and scrambled individually to save themselves, collapsing their formation.

Swipe—the Undamaged Lake Light emerged, lopping off a skull. Tang Zheng swung his left arm powerfully, slamming a hapless victim into the wall, spraying blood furiously. The martial general appeared next, crushing one of them into pulp using its warhammer.

Having landed clean blows, Tang Zheng wasted no time in retreating, dragging the female newbie away and leaving three trembling survivors behind.

“Why didn’t you kill them all?” the female newbie asked, perplexed.

Anyone faced with sudden attacks naturally prioritized defense against enemies in front; combined with Tang Zheng’s assaults never exceeding thirty seconds, the newbie remained entirely safe.

“What benefit would killing all of them bring me?” Tang Zheng replied matter-of-factly.

From a single glance at his prey’s reactions, Tang Zheng could gauge their strength. The calmer they were, the stronger they tended to be—he picked weaker targets strategically.

Eliminating “small fry” might yield lesser rewards, but their abundance compensated for it. More importantly, their feeble resistance meant Tang Zheng avoided unnecessary injuries from retaliatory efforts.

Killing stronger opponents wasn’t worthwhile. In chaotic team battles of the Holy Land War, powerful individuals would likely die fighting each other anyway. Targeting them unnecessarily heightened risks of harm.

Since the game had only just begun, Tang Zheng prioritized accumulating points while minimizing risks. Killing weaker contestants was the most cost-effective strategy.

Area D served as a rest zone, and more Conquerors passed through here toward the gathering point.

The spherical lobby featured white metal walls on all sides, adding oppressive atmosphere. Near everyone bore bloodied injuries, intensifying the mood of panic. Nevertheless, most sighed in relief upon spotting their teammates.

Various team members began to regroup.

“That must be Bingxu—the Broken Doll. As expected, outstanding. His clothes don’t even have a wrinkle—looks like he breezed through the secret room,” someone remarked.

“The War King, Nuclear Flame, Blade Empress—all remarkable! They’re unquestionably living up to their reputations. The Seven Seeds are the first to arrive.”

Wannabe seeds weren’t fools, feigning admiration while deliberately leaking intelligence on the Seven Seeds to make trouble for them.

“Two girls not even ten years old? That’s absurdly monstrous!” Someone was shocked to notice Lu Fan and Mirene, utterly astounded. This was beyond extraordinary.

“Which team do they belong to?”

“The Asian one is from the Warhammer Team. The European one belongs to the Blade Empress Team.”

“Damn it, the Warhammer Team again? They’re overshadowing even the Seven Seeds in the Holy Land War’s early stage.”

“And the other isn’t lagging—they’re Nightmare Loli—one of the Seeds! Damn, how can anyone survive this game?”

In the Trojan Horse Game, frequent team battles made preserving identities difficult. In this high-level setting, it was almost impossible to avoid interfacing with the Seven Seeds’ teams, so virtually all notable contestants were eventually recognized.

The Seed Teams, Wannabe Seed Teams, and advanced teams naturally formed three distinct factions, among which the advanced teams had the largest population.

“Check the Hero Ranking! Someone’s score is skyrocketing— they’ve surpassed it! Shot straight to first place—still climbing!”

“Who could it be?” The name was censored, leaving everyone guessing.

“It’s Tang Zheng—the Warhammer Team’s leader.”

“Confirmed—the Warhammer Team’s accumulated points are steadily rising. Tang Zheng is definitely up to something significant.”

“No need to speculate. I saw him—it’s definitely him in the maze slaughtering contestants. No doubt about it!”

The crowd pinpointed the source, fixing their gaze toward the Warhammer Team’s position. To their amazement, six of its members had already arrived, drawing even more shock.

“Tang Zheng’s actions are a major intimidation tactic—ensuring many teams dare not provoke us first,” Yin Shangwu said with a chuckle. “I was wondering why he hadn’t shown up yet—turns out he’s busy killing people.”

“What do we do now?” Dantai knitted her brows. Based on past performance, roughly half of the Warhammer Team members wouldn’t leave the secret room alive. Could she just let them die?

“It’s happening—Tang Zheng and South America’s number two are bloodily fighting further back!” A wannabe seed burst into the gathering point, shouting loudly. Clearly up to no good, his announcement would provoke someone into taking advantage of the conflict.

Several schemers attempted to leave, but upon reaching the doors, they were intercepted by powerful electric currents.

“Reminder—once inside the gathering point, exiting is prohibited!”

The Trojan’s icy voice reverberated. This enforcement ensured survivors in the assembly point couldn’t go back to support unarrived teammates exchanging information.

In the first stage, survival depended solely on individual determination, emphasizing lone resilience.

“What’s happening?” Mu Nianqi and Dantai hurried to question the informant, both sensing something ominous. The cautious Tang Zheng wouldn’t normally act impulsively so early in the game.

“One of your teammates was killed, and Tang Zheng’s furious—he’s seeking revenge!”

The abrupt revelation stunned Mu Nianqi.

“Who died?” Dantai already anticipated casualties, but she hadn’t expected them to come so soon.