When they came back to the main cave again, there was now a decision that they faced.
After clearing out these two harder tests with more points to them, they now had enough points to pass the test and no longer needed to do anything else. However, if they were to choose to not do anything else, it would mean that they would be missing out on the various rewards that could come with doing the harder tests.
As far as they knew, it seemed like all tests that were medium level or above had some kind of reward to them and there were still several of them that were in this cave.
However, there was also something else that had attracted their attention.
Right in the center of the cave, there was a portal that was right behind the wooden sign with the instructions. However, the description of this portal was completely different from all the other ones in this cave.
Instead of having a normal description, there were only question marks on the plaque. The only thing that was present was the difficulty which said "impossible".
This was without a doubt the hardest test that was here, but the fact that it was the hardest probably meant that the rewards that it gave were the richest. Without a doubt, that was a great enticement since even a medium difficulty test could give a diamond that could evolve Lin Fan's artifact.
Just what would this impossible difficulty one give?
Not even for a single second did the thought of failing this test pass through their minds, that was just how confident they were in their abilities.
Angela and Momonga were both Rulers themselves, so they never thought that they would struggle with the inheritance for another Ruler's legacy. But that was just the thing, in most cases they would have never come here since they would be ruling over their domains. It was only because of the appearance of an anomaly like Lin Fan that brought them out of their domains.
Unlike with the previous test, Lin Fan didn't mind taking the risk since he wasn't asking Angela or Momonga to take the risk for him. Instead, since both of them were curious about this test, they were both willing to enter the test themselves, which meant that they were accepting the risk on their own free will.
Since they were all in agreement, they didn't hesitate as they headed into the portal.
This time, they didn't appear inside a room with a test or a cave, but they had appeared on top of a castle wall.
This castle was a castle that was completely made of dirt and stones, but it was a castle that looked impressive nonetheless.
While the three of them were still confused on what this test was, there was a rough voice that suddenly shouted out that attracted all of their attention.
The voice suddenly shouted, "Hey newbies, pick up a spear and get down there already! What are you all standing in a daze for!"
When the three of them turned to look at the source of this voice, only Lin Fan was surprised.
The person who had shouted at them was a creature that looked like a human, but it was completely made out of rocks. Every part of his skin was completely brown and covered in dirt, but he was also wearing clothes just like a normal human.
Lin Fan looked at Momonga for an explanation, but he didn't get a chance to get that explanation as that person who was dressed like the captain of the guard had thrown three spears at them, one for each person.
With their skills, they were naturally able to easily catch the spears, but they still didn't know what they were supposed to do.
Normally there would be a piece of paper that would at least give them instructions, but there was nothing of the sort this time.
The guard captain saw that they weren't moving at all and he flew into a rage, "Why you little! Get down there now!" As he shouted this, he also sent a kick flying at Lin Fan, but Lin Fan easily dodged this kick.
Surprisingly, this guard captain was only in the Gold Realm.
For a captain of the guard in this high tier cultivation realm, he didn't even have a Soul Realm cultivation.
Still, the three of them knew that they couldn't stay here doing nothing, so they decided to follow the instructions of the captain and headed down to the training grounds. It was only then did they find a piece of paper with instructions for them that floated down.
The piece of paper floated down slowly in front of them before landing in Lin Fan's hands.
When he opened the piece of paper up and read its contents, he was surprised by what he saw.
"Prepare for battle, defend the castle."
Just six simple words, but they were more than enough.
That was the content of the test this time, the three of them had to find a way to defend this castle from the battle that was coming.
They didn't know how long they had to prepare, but since this was a test, it probably wouldn't be long before the battle began.
Just with the three of them, they had to find a way to defend this entire castle?
That did indeed seem like an impossible mission, but that was only if they were normal experts. It was a good thing that both Momonga and Angela were both monsters.
But for now, since they didn't know what the situation was, it was better to follow the orders of the captain and head down to the training ground first.
While on their way, Lin Fan didn't forget to ask Momonga, "Hey, so what was that thing that was just back there? He looked like he was completely made of rocks."
Momonga took a look back before saying, "That was the rock race, it's a race of rock creatures that resemble humans, but are completely made of rocks. They were also the race that had inhabited this world before, but they should have completely disappeared after the inhabitants of this realm disappeared."
After he had finished speaking, Momonga had a thoughtful look on his face.
Lin Fan's mind quickly turned as well before he said, "Then you mean this test might be related to what happened to this realm?"
Momonga shook his head after thinking about it, "I'm unsure what this test is about right now, but I believe there should be something special behind it just based on how different it is from the other tests. But as for what that special meaning is, I have no idea."
Lin Fan nodded in response to this and didn't ask anything else since he knew that there was no point in asking anything else right now.
The three of them headed down the walls of the castle until they reached the training ground in the middle. On the training grounds, there were more of these rock people who were currently training with their spears with an instructor shouting at them.
When the three of them arrived, the instructor immediately turned over before shouting, "You three over there, you must be the new recruits."
The three of them didn't know what to say, so they just nodded.
The instructor looked them over before revealing a friendly smile, "Well since it's your first time here, you must be very confused as to what is going on, right? Well take your time and slowly learn from your peers."
The three of them didn't know what to make of this, but that didn't matter since the instructor's expression had changed suddenly, "Did you really think it would be like that? Get in line with the others and start swinging your spear right this ins-!"
But before he could finish, there was a sudden explosion that sounded nearby.
Everyone turned to the source of the explosion and they saw a large plume of flames soar into the sky. The flames were so dazzling that it was hard for the rest of the trainees to look at it, but it was nothing for Lin Fan, Momonga, and Angela.
They could tell from the density of the flames that it was at least in the Soul Realm and while it wasn't dangerous for them, it was definitely dangerous for these soldiers who were all in the Bronze and Silver Realm.
Lin Fan and Angela wanted to rush over to see what the situation was, but they were stopped by Momonga who pulled them back to the unit that was on the training ground.
Momonga looked at both of them and shook his head, signifying that it wasn't time for them to act yet.
After that first explosion, there were several more explosions that rang out, creating even more plumes of flames just outside the walls.
It was only at this point that their instructor had reacted and shouted at them, "Men, get in line!"
The soldiers were stunned at first, but after the instructor shouted at them a second time, all of them quickly came back to their senses. Just like they had trained thousands of times before, all of these soldiers formed rows in front of the instructor, gathering as a unit with their weapons at the ready.
Momonga pulled Lin Fan and Angela over to the rows, moving into free spots that were in the formation.
But the moment they finished lining up in their formation, there was a ball of flame that had flown over the walls that was flying right at them!