CHAPTER 307: CHAPTER 307: SOUL TRIAL — ILLUSION AND REALITY

[Ding, you have entered the Wood-Element passage]

The system message appeared. The Wood Spirit monsters here were still Stage 9, Epic-class.

Johnnie had no trouble at all. He easily dealt with them, and even the final Half-God Wood Spirit didn’t give him much difficulty. He killed it with ease and passed the trial.

He didn’t leave right away. Instead, he went back to the main hall and continued to go through the other elemental passages.

...

In just half a day, Johnnie had passed all nine elemental trials. He collected a lot of Spiritual Stones, and the understanding of all the element laws had gone above 2%. He also got nine Elemental Hearts.

"Last one." Johnnie said as he killed the final Half-God Dark Supernatural. Instead of going back to the main hall, he just stepped out of the passage.

Boom!

A flash of light — and Johnnie appeared in an open area.

There were already quite a few people gathered there.

"Lord!" Benz saw Johnnie and immediately came over.

Johnnie nodded but didn’t see Maiev. He asked, "Has Maiev not passed yet?"

Benz shook his head. "No. I’m the third one to finish."

There was a bit of pride in his voice.

Johnnie wasn’t surprised. With the Sky Blade shield, it wasn’t hard for him to kill even a Half-God, let alone a Lesser God.

But Maiev hadn’t finished yet. He felt a little worried.

Maiev was also a Half-God, but her power came from the Rules of Life. Her combat strength wasn’t very strong. Even with the Dark-Moon Bow, it would still be hard for her to kill a Half-God.

But she should be safe.

Johnnie found a corner and sat down cross-legged, waiting quietly.

Occasionally, more people appeared, completing the trial, but Maiev was still missing.

...

[Ding, the second trial will end in one hour]

At this moment, another system message appeared. The second trial was about to end.

"Has Maiev not come out yet?" Benz also looked worried.

Johnnie was puzzled too.

Based on Maiev’s strength, she should have finished by now. And this trial was done alone, no other strong enemies would appear.

Could she have been trapped by a Half-God-level spirit?

Boom!

A flash of light — and Maiev appeared.

Johnnie and Benz both sighed in relief.

"Master!" Maiev smiled widely as she hurried toward Johnnie, pulling out two Elemental Hearts from her pocket.

"Master, I don’t need these anymore. Here." she said, handing them to Johnnie right away.

Johnnie was surprised at first, but then he realized what was going on.

It looked like Maiev had also passed one of the elemental trials, which explained why she was late.

"Hey, Maiev, how come you have two Elemental Hearts? Did you not use them?" Benz asked in surprise.

Maiev smiled proudly. "I passed three elemental trials. I’ve mastered the laws of Wind, Metal, and Light. If the system hadn’t warned me that time was up, I could’ve done them all."

"Really?!" Benz’s eyes widened. He looked upset.

He had the Sky Blade shield, so killing a Half-God was easy for him. He could have passed other elemental trials too.

Johnnie smiled and said, "Looks like we had the same idea. But I passed nine."

"No way! You guys did that too?" Benz looked even more upset. "Master, can we do this trial again?"

But the trial was about to end, and once you passed, you couldn’t go back.

Benz’s wish was clearly not going to happen.

At that moment, some people around them gave them cold looks.

They hadn’t expected someone to pass more than one trial, and they were now jealous of Johnnie and his group.

At this point, the second trial was in its final countdown, and no stronger enemies would appear.

There were over a thousand people here. Except for Johnnie and Benz, everyone else was a Half-God or higher.

Those below Half-God had already been eliminated, since they couldn’t kill the Half-God-level elemental spirits.

[Ding, the second trial has ended. Third trial — Soul Examination]

[Pass the soul examination, and you will have a chance to claim the Dragon Pulse.]

The system messages appeared again. Before Johnnie could react, the scene changed, and everyone was teleported away.

Boom... boom...

Suddenly, loud noises echoed all around. Monster roars, and the sound of battle filled the air.

Johnnie stared at the scene in front of him, completely stunned.

Endless monsters, stretching as far as the eye could see, came rushing toward him like a tidal wave.

At this moment, he was among a group of people — a weak human defense line, barely holding on.

Deep in his soul, a memory from the past surfaced — the most unforgettable moment of his previous life.

"This is the last battle I fought before I died..." Johnnie whispered to himself, looking around in confusion.

It was an illusion!

He told himself, but everything felt too real.

"Bro, don’t be afraid. Death is just a moment. No matter what, we have to hold this line. Otherwise, our home will fall." said a rough-looking man beside him. He slapped Johnnie on the shoulder with a faint smile on his face, his eyes calm and ready to face death.

"Beast Wave is coming! No one retreats! Charge!" Another voice shouted. A man with a spear ran forward first.

Johnnie recognized him — it was Dylan.

"Kill...!" The war cries filled the air as everyone raised their weapons and charged forward without fear.

Johnnie was carried along with the crowd, running toward the front.

The moment they met the enemy, a brutal battle broke out.

Plop...

Blood sprayed everywhere, and screams echoed through the air.

The human army was completely crushed by the Beast Wave, like paper torn apart in an instant.

"Roar..."

A loud roar echoed. A man had no time to react and was bitten in half by a Blood Warg. His body still moved forward, keeping the charging position.

"Let’s fight! If we die, so be it!" The cries of anger filled the air. The Beast Wave was now right in front of Johnnie, but no one ran away. Everyone charged forward without fear.

Johnnie stood there, shocked and confused.

He kept telling himself in his mind — it was just an illusion. Everything was fake.

Plop...

Blood sprayed again. Johnnie felt warmth on his face. He looked over and saw the rough man who had spoken to him just now — he was torn in half by a bloodthirsty demon, the scene bloody and terrifying.

But this scene was nothing unusual on the battlefield.

Johnnie’s eyes turned red, his pupils burning with anger and a deadly killing intent.

Whether it was real or just an illusion, these demonic creatures invading Earth deserved to die.

Myriad Sword Technique!

He thought to himself, trying to summon the technique, but nothing happened.

All he had in his hand was a broken iron sword, and the only skills he knew were some basic high-level warrior moves.

What’s going on?

Johnnie was shocked. But just then, a strong wind blew — a Bloodthirsty Demon Wolf charged at him, its huge mouth opened wide, aiming for his neck.

"Get off!"

Johnnie finally reacted, using the few skills he had to push the wolf back.

It was just a stage 7 demonic creature, but fighting it was extremely hard for him. He could only follow the crowd, attacking and fighting his way through.

Roar...

An endless wave of monsters came rushing in. People around him kept falling, dying in pools of blood.

At this moment, Johnnie had completely forgotten it was an illusion. All he felt was endless hatred and a desire to kill.

But his power was still too weak.

The Beast Wave broke through the line, and the monsters slaughtered without mercy.

Johnnie was swept away by the chaos, surrounded by monsters on all sides.

He gritted his teeth and swung his sword, trying to defend himself against the continuous attacks.

Plop...

Blood splashed everywhere. His chest hurt terribly — a bloodthirsty demon’s claw had pierced through him.

Johnnie growled in pain, swinging his sword down hard.

Clang!

A broken sound echoed. The already damaged sword could no longer hold up, and it snapped in two.

Right after that, he was swallowed by the monsters. His body was in pain everywhere, covered in blood.

It felt like the monsters were tearing and biting into him.

It’s over...

He closed his eyes in despair, stopped struggling, and let his consciousness fade as death slowly came.

...

After what felt like a long time, Johnnie woke up from his unconsciousness.

"Is it over?" he felt dizzy and tried to sit up, but his whole body ached, as if every part of him was broken.

He forced himself to stand, despite the pain, and looked around. His skin went numb.

There were bodies — so many bodies, stretching as far as the eye could see. Some were monsters, but most were humans, broken and torn apart.

He had barely survived the battle, but what was the point? He couldn’t change anything. Death was just a matter of time.

A sudden thought came to Johnnie’s mind.

All the things he had gone through since he woke up — maybe it was just a dream from the moment he was about to die.

"No, it’s not a dream..." He shook his head firmly, but the movement pulled at his wounds, making him grimace in pain.

He thought of Crysic, Maiev, Lina, and especially Cecilia — who was pregnant, carrying the Celestial Dragon. He believed he could stop the disaster.

But was it real?

Johnnie felt confused again.

It was like the best moments of his memory were slipping away, and this place was where he truly belonged.

Roar...

Suddenly, more howls echoed around him. The ground trembled slightly. Another Beast Wave was coming — a dark mass, like a tide, rushing forward.

Johnnie wanted to run, but his body was stiff and full of pain. Every step felt like it would break him apart.

He threw away his broken sword and searched through the dead bodies, finding a somewhat intact long sword.

He wanted to fight back, but standing up already used all his strength. How could he fight like this?

"Let it all end." he whispered, holding the sword for support. He watched the Beast Wave coming, and gave up.

The Beast Wave arrived in an instant. The first one was a huge, terrifying troll.

"Roar!" The troll charged forward, its sharp teeth and cruel eyes full of mockery.

Boom!

Johnnie was hit like a broken kite, flying backward and crashing to the ground.

His mind went fuzzy again, and he passed out. But in his heart, there was a strange sense of relief.

...