"Don’t go all out right from the start."

Phield swept his gaze across the battlefield, remaining vigilant.

"The situation is constantly changing. There’s no need to stand out too much."

Without an army supporting them, they could easily be worn down by waves of weaker enemies.

As for this loose alliance, it was useful for sharing some of the pressure, but when it truly mattered, it couldn’t be trusted.

"Leave it to me."

Tisiana spread all four of her wings, looking like a magnificent angel descending from heaven.

Brilliant Holy Light erupted around her.

Countless feathers rained through the air like a swarm of locusts, blanketing the densest clusters of demonspawn.

Those seemingly soft angelic feathers possessed overwhelming power against evil creatures.

Anyone struck directly died instantly.

Even a mere graze ignited them into blazing fireballs.

The demonspawn fell in waves like wheat before a scythe.

The slaughter was as merciless as a beach landing massacre.

The pressure on everyone immediately eased.

"A Holy Light Divine Chosen? Not bad."

Farlo nodded in approval, completely ignoring the fact that Holy Light Divine Chosen were supposedly monopolized by the Church.

With Tisiana’s overwhelming firepower supporting them, more and more people rallied together and joined the battle against the demonspawn.

Before long, every last demonspawn had been exterminated.

"What exactly have these things been eating to survive for over a thousand years?"

Phield curiously nudged one of the corpses with the tip of his boot.

"This is the real core technology of the Demon Race."

"They were only in hibernation."

Tisiana smiled gently as she explained.

"And demons generally have extremely long lifespans."

"Give me some light."

"I want to examine one."

Phield pulled Tisiana beside him and shamelessly used her as a living flashlight while studying the corpse.

"Phew..."

Riemann collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

"Finally."

"Is everyone alright?"

Soft sobbing echoed from every direction.

At least sixty or seventy people had died during the attack.

"My lord... we want to leave."

A dozen battered adventurers walked over together, their voices trembling.

"I’m sorry for breaking our adventurer’s contract, but these monsters are simply beyond our ability."

"We pirates are leaving too!"

"You damned liars!"

"I haven’t even seen a single gold coin!"

"That’s right!"

"It’s nothing but endless darkness and broken stones."

"You tricked us into coming here just to die!"

After recovering from the initial shock, many people felt utterly deceived.

They angrily began heading toward the exit.

At that very moment...

Clear applause echoed through the ruins.

The surrounding darkness retreated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within seconds, the entire ruin became as bright as daylight.

A ghostly woman drifted gracefully into view from the center of the ruins.

Her breathtaking beauty carried the commanding dignity of an emperor who ruled over the world.

She slowly swept her gaze across everyone present.

"My brave warriors."

"You have finally arrived."

"I believe that by the time you see me, the nation I loved has already fallen to the demons."

"We exhausted every ounce of our strength resisting them."

"But I can proudly tell you this."

"Not a single demon ever crossed the defensive line of the Ancient Moon Empire."

"I am the remnant soul left behind by the Empress of the Ancient Moon Empire."

"My duty is to begin the Trial of Destiny and guide those who come after us."

Her ethereal voice calmly recounted that sorrowful history.

"Fuck!"

"Give us our money back!"

A pirate exploded with rage.

"Your damn trial got a whole bunch of my brothers killed!"

"That disgusting trial of yours killed so many people!"

"How can you possibly justify this?"

"I don’t care about any demons!"

"You killed our companions!"

A young man in black robes shouted angrily.

He knelt beside his companion’s corpse.

"We were just about to become Silver Adventurers."

"How could our journey end here?"

"That’s right..."

"My husband is dead..."

A woman broke down sobbing.

Yet the Empress’s remnant soul offered no rebuttal.

She simply continued her explanation.

"As a trial designed to choose the one destined by fate, this trial was never intended solely for slaughter."

"After completing each level, participants may choose to withdraw at any time."

"You have defeated the demonspawn on the first floor."

"That proves your resolve."

"This is your reward for entering."

As soon as she finished speaking, a gleaming gold coin fell from above.

Plop.

It landed in a puddle.

The next instant...

Countless gold coins began raining down from the cavern ceiling.

"Holy shit!"

A bandit immediately grabbed one of the coins, wiped it with his sleeve, and bit down hard.

"Damn it!"

"It’s an ancient gold coin!"

"We’re rich!"

No matter what era the coins came from, gold was still gold.

Once melted down and reforged, they would retain tremendous value.

"Thank the Goddess!"

"Everything I said earlier was complete bullshit."

"It’s a good thing my teammates died."

"That’s one less person to split the money with."

"This belongs to me!"

"Get your filthy hands off!"

"Anyone who tries to steal my money dies!"

Several people immediately started fighting over the falling coins.

Almost everyone scrambled to collect them.

Two badly wounded survivors were nearly beaten to death by the shower of falling gold.

Fortunately, members of the Twilight Knights dragged them beneath the shelter of a ruined building.

Phield also picked up a coin.

After turning it over in his hand for a moment, he smiled.

"There are probably around a hundred thousand gold coins here."

"What an incredible display of wealth."

"We should’ve brought the army."

Tisiana sighed regretfully.

"We could’ve carried so much money home."

"Don’t worry."

Phield’s spirits rose.

"This is only the admission reward."

"There’ll definitely be even better treasures deeper inside."

After all, somewhere within the central mausoleum lay that mysterious unknown Divine Chosen.

Sure enough, the Empress’s remnant soul continued.

"The rewards have now been distributed."

"Anyone wishing to leave may take their coins and depart."

"However, once you leave, you may never enter again."

Everyone exchanged glances.

The anger and resentment that had filled their faces moments earlier had already been replaced by greed and ecstatic excitement.

Not a single person wanted to leave.

After all, they had barely stepped inside and already received a share of one hundred thousand gold coins.

Only a handful of injured participants were ordered by their respective leaders to carry the money back.

"Every underground level beyond this point will require you to complete another combat trial."

"Upon succeeding, you will receive a Chest of Destiny."

"The treasures within each chest will improve as the trials become more difficult."

"The rewards inside will absolutely be things you need."

After finishing her explanation, the Empress’s remnant soul waved her hand.

The entrance to the next underground level slowly opened.

The crowd rushed inside with barely restrained excitement.

"This is interesting."

Phield laughed.

"It’s just like playing a dungeon crawler."

"But can this really identify the one chosen by destiny?"

Drawing his sword, he confidently strode into the underground palace.

The instant everyone entered, the massive gate behind them slammed shut.

An enormous number of Flayed Banshees burst out of the water and charged toward them.

"That’s it?"

Riemann immediately relaxed upon recognizing the enemy.

"I thought these trials would be much harder."

"Sailors!"

"Form ranks and attack!"

Their morale soaring, the expedition force launched a full countercharge.

After a fierce battle, only twelve members of the expedition lost their lives.

"Hahaha!"

"That was way too easy!"

"These ghost women only look scary."

"They’re actually easy to kill."

"They’re not even as dangerous as the demonspawn."

Phield nodded in agreement.

Even so, he never lowered his guard.

"This Empress was truly a wonderful person."

Tisiana clasped her hands together in prayer and sighed with admiration.

"Not only did she protect humanity back then, she even left treasures behind for future generations."