Alone and Infinite

The horns behind the Orks urged them forward. Seeing that the god of death was gone, the Orks mustered their courage again and stepped over the corpses of their comrades to move forward.

The apostles, weapons in hand, clashed with the Orks, and the battlefield, which had been calm for only a few minutes, became lively once again.

Li Xia sat on the rocks behind him, feeling waves of darkness before his eyes. Exhaustion spread through his body, but it wasn't physical fatigue; it was mental.

So he needs to slow down and relax.

He took out an exquisite water pouch from his personal space.

【Fairy Spring Water】

[Quality: Green (Tier 1)]

[Origin: United Trials World - Middle-earth Forest Kingdom]

[Type: Recovery Item/Consumable]

[Effect: Slowly restores approximately 10% of mental energy and soothes the mind.]

[Review: Blessed spring water, long-term consumption is beneficial to health]

[Exchange Price: 90 Contribution Points (9% discount)]

He picked up the elf's water pouch and took a big gulp. The clear, sweet spring water flowed down his throat and into his stomach, and the double image in his eyes gradually disappeared.

"call"

After taking a few deep breaths, Li Xia felt much better and only then did she begin to recall what had just happened.

The first thing that came was a barrage of notifications.

[You have killed a regular soldier of the Ork Legion, gaining 2 contribution points, 0.6% contribution percentage]

[You have killed a regular soldier of the Ork Legion, gaining 2 contribution points, 0.6% contribution percentage]

[You have killed an elite Ogre of the Ork Legion, gaining 30 contribution points, 6% contribution rating]

Li Xia looked at the kill notifications and saw that there were more than 120 kill notifications, which meant that he had just killed more than 100 Orks.

Most importantly, I didn't seem to feel anything. Recalling my strange state, I hurriedly turned on the status notification again.

[Breathing techniques are linked with the breathing of the sun, increasing proficiency!]

[Mastery of skill increases!]

Because your focus has reached its peak.

You have triggered the special state: 'Flow'

[Due to resonance with the 'flow' state, you have triggered the 'Transparent World (Pseudo)']

Your understanding of guns has greatly improved, and your mastery of the ultimate skill has increased.

Flow? A transparent world (pseudo)?

Li Xia hurriedly clicked on the flow notification again. It was a special state that could be triggered when one engaged in mechanical repetition for a long time or reached a certain level of proficiency in a certain task.

In a state of flow, time seems to slow down, and you feel as if you've been elevated. You can easily do things that you wouldn't normally be able to do, and your perception is greatly enhanced.

Li Xia knows about flow. This special state is often mentioned by friends who play basketball. You suddenly feel like you can do anything, you can make every shot, and you can do all kinds of moves effortlessly.

Furthermore, the flow state briefly triggered the Transparent World (pseudo), and the bright red, constantly beating heart I saw at the end was probably due to the Transparent World.

In layman's terms, in a state of flow, dynamic vision, reaction speed, dexterity, and skill-based abilities all receive a temporary boost.

These bonuses come at a price: a rapid depletion of mental energy.

It felt like I had just experienced a blackout and was extremely exhausted.

Most importantly, 'flow' has become a fixed skill.

[Flow] (No proficiency required)

[Skill Type: Fixed Status Skill]

[Trigger condition: 1% chance to enter Flow state during training or combat]

[Skill Effect: Perception increased by 50%, reaction speed increased by 50%, skill proficiency efficiency increased by 100%, skill-based skill level increased by 1]

[Skill Cost: Consumes 0.1%–1% of Spirit Power per second]

[Introduction: This state of super-efficiency is often considered a unique characteristic of successful people, but it actually exists within everyone. When you do anything to the extreme, it will naturally manifest.]

[Special Note: Fixed status skills cannot be improved through conventional means; please explore these methods on your own.]

Status skills! Another new concept.

Li Xia's eyebrows first rose high, very powerfully, but the triggering condition was also touching. If this state, which is similar to enlightenment, could be maintained, then it would not be called enlightenment, but rather "constant enlightenment" would be more appropriate.

Unfortunately, this kind of status cannot be improved through conventional means. If it could be improved, we would just max it out.

Shaking his head and closing the skill panel, Li Xia looked at the prompt again.

Then there are other gains. In the flow state, proficiency increases extremely quickly. The ultimate skill is a combination of multiple martial arts techniques, so proficiency is very difficult to achieve.

But just now, it increased by 20%, from the original LV1 beginner (35%) to (55%). The proficiency of Sun Breathing did not increase much, but it was still about 10%.

And the final activation of the markings—if it weren't for the system's notification, Li Xia wouldn't even have known that the last shot he had just fired had activated the markings.

However, the skill list does not include the mark, which means that my abilities do not yet meet the conditions for activating the mark.

That was just a brief touch of the patterns and the transparent world while in a state of flow.

My skills are actually quite strong, but my physical fitness hasn't caught up yet, and more importantly, I still haven't found a path that suits me.

However, it has only just begun, and we haven't even been to the actual temple yet. Once we return to the temple, we will have to get started on this matter.

I finally figured out what had just happened, and my mental energy was restored to a safe level thanks to the spring water.

Although I'm still a bit tired, at least it won't affect my fighting ability anymore.

Li Xia stood up and looked at the battlefield.

Upon seeing this, his face darkened.

----------------------

1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 66 The Bee Stinger's Final Mission

On the street, which was more than three meters wide, Oak and his apostles were huddled together in a chaotic mess.

They made a chattering sound like chickens pecking at each other, and the sounds of various weapons clashing and striking the armor were like a concert.

Because of the armor issued before the battle, the apostles did not suffer many injuries, after all, the armor's defense tier was around 3.

The crude weapon in Oak's hand had an attack level of only 2, which was completely unable to break through the defense.

The kind of thing where a regular knife can still cause damage to a chest made of pure steel plate armor is something you only see in online games.

If you can't break through the defense, you can't break through the defense.

However, not many people died or were injured in the Orcs. These apostles, apart from having slightly higher attributes than normal people, lacked skills and had terrible equipment.

Although I consciously learned some skills such as basic combat and basic shooting, I could only stay in them for 7 days in reality, and I didn't have the resources to improve them.

Therefore, unless one has undergone extensive and systematic training before entering the hall of fame, their proficiency level is generally between LV1 and LV2.

The most crucial factor is mindset. Before this, the apostles were just ordinary people. Having gone through a trial, they may have rationally accepted it, but it is difficult to complete the transformation in a short period of time.

Just like many people who subconsciously retain their habits from reality, such as Ronnie mocking chimpanzees during the preparation period.

In real life, talking back might not lead to anything, but in trials, it could very well result in death.

So he died at the hands of the black gorilla. If Li Xia hadn't been too lazy to do it, he probably would have died even sooner.

Thus, in Li Xia's view, the entire battlefield of the River Valley was filled with apostles wielding their weapons wildly, their eyes bloodshot, while Oak screamed in pain, though not many died.

However, not everyone was like that. Li Xia noticed that a few people had clearly adapted to the battlefield. They were still very excited, but they no longer used all their strength to swing their weapons.

Instead, they tried to kill their opponent with minimal effort, and their pace and actions clearly showed that they were trying to apply what they had learned to actual combat.

No wonder Claude said that the trials of war are a selection process; the opportunities offered by the temple are there, but whether you can seize them is another matter entirely.

Li Xia reached out, grabbed the spear stuck beside him, and pulled it up forcefully.

The stone slab shattered with a crash, and the Orks suddenly stopped what they were doing, staring at Li Xia in fear.

They took a few steps back, yelled, turned around, and ran away, leaving Li Xia, who was preparing to earn another batch of contribution points, stunned.

Having been terrified of death, the Orks were not afraid of dying, but the human, completely encased in armor, stood still like a rock, thrusting and retracting his spear without any fancy moves.

Those Oc who dared to charge forward fell to the ground—not ten or twenty, but over a hundred. The Oc even doubted that this man could keep stabbing indefinitely.

The Orks are spreading your fame; your spear is as deadly as a poisonous sting. The Orks call you 'The Stinger,' and the morale of the Ork faction has dipped slightly.

When facing you, Orc has a high chance of choosing to run away; this only applies to this battlefield.

Li Xia:

However, if you think about it from another perspective, if you were cannon fodder on the battlefield and saw a single enemy general easily kill a hundred or so cannon fodder, you would definitely avoid him.

The excited apostles stopped what they were doing and stood there panting to rest. Some of them even sat down, completely ignoring the stench of blood on the ground.

I watched Li Xia kill Oak like mowing grass, and I thought I could do the same. But when I actually did it, I realized that even though Oak is less than 1.5 meters tall, the pressure from his inherent ferocity and madness is immense.

Left with no other choice, Li Xia returned to the city wall and first observed the situation on the black gorilla's side. There were many broken stones and bricks, and apostles with bows and arrows were crouching on the buildings on both sides.

The Orks' attack was extremely difficult, since they couldn't hold up their shields while climbing. Occasionally, a few lucky ones would manage to overcome the obstacles, only to be swarmed by the Apostles who were already waiting there and hacked to death.

Clearing the stones was even more difficult; as soon as you moved a stone, a hail of arrows would come, and if you weren't careful, you'd end up with the stone and yourself, becoming a new obstacle.

It seems that the black gorillas are safe for the time being, and Oak doesn't dare to attack from the gate either, just guarding the entrance from a distance, no matter how much the horn urges him on.

The entire valley city fell silent for a moment.

However, the situation on the main battlefield was not optimistic. The number of Orks was simply too great. Azog committed a large number of troops to the front lines, and the Ork Legion managed to suppress the Dwarves and Elves at the foot of Lonely Mountain through sheer casualties.

And gradually an encirclement was formed. To achieve this, the Ork suffered at least tens of thousands of casualties, which was an astonishing casualty ratio on the battlefield of cold weapons.

The real night began to gradually cover the cloud-covered sky.

The Orks received reinforcements; enormous bats poured out of the caves, fluttering above and around the heads and ears of elves and humans, or clinging to the wounded and bleeding like vampires.

Suddenly, the bugle call from Lonely Mountain sounded once again, its deep and resonant sound echoing through the valley like a lament.

"Clang—!"

The enormous bell reverberated throughout the valley, and the huge golden bell hanging at the Gate of Lonely Mountain smashed through the gate of Lonely Mountain Castle.

The king of the mountain charged out first, followed closely by his twelve companions.

The previous ostentatious armor and crowns had all vanished without a trace, replaced by worn-out armor covered in marks.

Thorin Oakenshield, the King of the Mountain, donned the armor that had accompanied the dwarves in their battles. He raised his sword, his eyes blazing with fury.

In the darkness, the dwarves looked as dazzling as gold in the embers of a fire.

The dwarves in front of him parted to make way for him, and the king's charge seemed to have once again ignited the dwarves' courage.

Thorin shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fight!"

Behind him stood Dain, also wielding a warhammer: "Follow the King of the Mountain, dwarves, charge!"

His shouts echoed through the valley like a horn.

All the dwarves under Dain abandoned their order of precedence and followed behind him.

Elven spearmen from the other side also charged over.

At this moment, Thorin no longer possessed the royal seal, but he had become a true king.

[Final Stage of the Main Quest]

[Mission Name: Final Battle]

Mission Objective: Eliminate Azog, the leader of the Ork faction.

[Mission Rewards: Contribution points and contribution credits based on kill contribution, plus returnee eligibility]

[Mission Failure Penalty: 50% of battlefield contribution points deducted; those with less than 50% contribution points will be eliminated.]

The message from the Temple of Light made all the apostles jump. They were stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised their weapons and shouted even more fanatically than the dwarves:

"Thorin, you must kill Azog!"