“Hmph,” Dracula scoffed, turning and leaving.
The conversation ended abruptly, both parties aware that what they’d said aloud was intended for Thor’s ears.
Both Dracula and Vladimir sought the Blood Ancestor.
For Dracula, he was the key to the blood clan’s resurgence. For Vladimir, he was the key to his *own* rise.
Until they found him, they could maintain their uneasy alliance.
…
Midnight. Back in the Core City of Truth, Mike summoned the Truth Core Crystal. As he’d done countless times before, he placed his hand on the crystal, selecting his destination: “35th floor!”
With a flash of lightning, Mike vanished, the familiar notification ringing in his ears: “Wishing you an early conquest of the Tower of Truth!”
…
The 35th floor of the Tower of Truth.
Lightning crackled as Mike materialized on a black cloud, scanning his surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The 35th, 36th, and 37th floors were connected.
Conquering the 35th floor with 100% exploration would unlock all three.
As Mike understood it, connected floors usually meant increased difficulty!
Even before the Supreme Demon God’s minions took over, the conquest rate for this floor was low. Many nine-star Generals were stuck here, unable to break through to Chief.
Corrupted by the Supreme Demon God’s aura, the instance’s difficulty had increased further. Having confirmed there was no immediate danger, Mike began to strategize. Before the corruption, this floor involved participants crafting chess pieces, forming teams, and battling other participants on the clouds.
Winners received upgrades for their pieces and proceeded to the next round. As the rounds progressed, the participant’s cloud ascended, eventually reaching the required exploration rate for conquest.
Battles were mostly automated, relying on the strength of the chess pieces, making it a game of strategic team composition. Hence, this floor was also known as “Cloudtop Chess.”
The problem was, Thor was the only participant. Looking around, Mike noticed shadowy figures of demon creatures on other clouds at the same altitude.
[Mindless Warrior formation, combat power: 126]
[Powerful Mage formation, combat power: 87]
[…]
“Most have a combat power around 100,” Mike observed. With opponents present, he had nothing to worry about. As long as there was a method of conquest, Thor could achieve an SSSS rating.
“Let’s build my team!” A platform materialized before Mike: the chess piece crafter.
Originally, pieces could only be crafted using materials provided on this floor. A small pile of materials appeared, enough for three pieces.
“What kind of piece should I design?” Mike pondered. “Uses a blade, talks a lot, hot- tempered…”
Soon, Mike had invested a significant amount of materials, creating a thumb-sized, black- clad bladesman figurine. The figure wore a helmet, obscuring its face, light armor, and a short blade at its waist.
It looked formidable.
When it came to naming the piece, Mike looked around, ensuring no one was watching, before typing two words: “Nine Shadow.”
“Chess piece [Nine Shadow] created successfully!”
Nine Shadow’s information popped up:
“Chess piece: Nine Shadow
Class: Bladesman
Rank: 2-star
Combat Power: 5
Traits:
[Lone Wolf]: Nine Shadow only fights alone. He will not attack while other allied pieces are alive. If Nine Shadow does not attack during the entire battle, his rank slightly increases. [Grieving Fury]: Combat power +10 for each allied piece that dies.”
Mike burst out laughing. “Hahaha! A combat power of 5! Shadow Nine, you’ve finally met your match!”
He almost took a picture to commemorate Shadow Nine’s pathetic state but managed to restrain himself.
Despite his low combat power, Nine Shadow’s traits seemed promising. He gained a permanent 10-point combat power boost for each dead ally. Mike realized this trait was quite
accurate!
After creating Nine Shadow, Mike crafted two more pieces, ECA and Ced, using up the
remaining materials:
“Chess piece: ECA
Class: Brawler
Rank: 2-star
Combat Power: 50
Traits:
[Resurrection]: Revives with full health once after dying.”
“Chess piece: Ced
Class: Swordman
Rank: 1-star
Combat Power: 15
Traits:
[Spirit Blade]: Combat power +1 for each attack, +10 for each kill.”
With this, Mike had assembled his knockoff team: Nine Shadow, ECA, and Ced. Nine Shadow had consumed the most materials and was the only piece with two traits.
Their combined combat power was a measly 70. It seemed like they couldn’t win a single
fight.
However, ECA, a two-star piece with 50 combat power and a resurrection, was effectively worth 100. Ced and Nine Shadow were growth pieces, their combat power increasing with each
battle.
Moreover, Nine Shadow and ECA had a combo. Each time ECA died, Nine Shadow gained 10 combat power. With ECA’s resurrection, that was a 20-point boost per battle! While Nine Shadow was currently weak, after his teammates died, his combat power could reach 35! Mike surveyed his opponents. There were five, with combat powers of 87, 92, 100, 126, and 153.
[Win two battles to ascend to the next level and face stronger opponents.]
[Any loss will result in elimination and failure of the stage.]
The Eye of Truth displayed the win rates against each opponent and the potential rewards.
Upgrading and crafting pieces required materials. Stronger opponents yielded better rewards! Therefore, fighting stronger opponents within reason was the optimal strategy.
Mike decided to gamble. “Battle the opponent with 126 combat power!”
*Boom!* freeweɓnovel.cm
ECA went flying, dying yet again. Ced’s blade struck the enemy, sparks flying, but to no avail.
A ferocious demon creature, despite its injuries, charged forward, easily slaying the fragile
Ced.
The tide of battle seemed to turn against Mike’s team… until the blademan, who had been observing coldly, finally moved!
*Swish!*
A flash of brilliant blade light ended the injured demon creature’s life. Nine Shadow, his combat power now at 35, effortlessly dispatched the remaining weaklings.
“You win!”
Mike cheered, pumping his fist. “Yes!”
He quickly checked the spoils: “One random equipment piece, 36 1-star upgrade materials,
150 Cloud Coins.”
Cloud Coins had various uses: reviving pieces, purchasing upgrade materials and equipment, and increasing team size. On the 35th floor, the maximum rank for a piece was 9-star. Each upgrade required nine of the corresponding upgrade materials.
Nine 1-star materials could be combined into one 2-star material, and so on.
Higher-ranked pieces were harder to upgrade but also significantly stronger! Mike spent 50 Cloud Coins to revive Ced and ECA, then upgraded Ced to 2-star:
“Chess piece: Ced
Class: Swordman
Rank: 2-star
Combat Power: 35
Traits:
[Spirit Blade]: Combat power +2 for each attack, +15 for each kill.”
Mike’s team’s combat power was now 120! He then opened the random equipment chest.
“Obtained a 1-star armor piece. Increases defense and health. Combat power +10.”
Mike equipped Nine Shadow with the armor without hesitation. ECA, the designated sacrificial lamb, didn’t need defense. The faster he died, the stronger Nine Shadow became! Besides, reviving ECA was more cost-effective. Reviving Ced only gave Nine Shadow a 10- point boost, while ECA provided 20! And between Ced and Nine Shadow, Mike favored Nine
Shadow.
With the upgraded team, Mike easily swept through the remaining opponents, including the strongest demon creature with 153 combat power. ECA died once, Ced was left with a sliver of health, but Nine Shadow remained unscathed.
“Lone Wolf triggered. Nine Shadow consumes three 2-star upgrade materials! (3/9)”
Mike immediately invested all his resources into Nine Shadow, upgrading him to 3-star. The strongest piece determined the team’s potential.
At 3-star, Nine Shadow’s combat power rose to 50, on par with ECA. His Lone Wolf trait was also enhanced, granting him a 25-point combat power boost for each dead ally! Mike’s team’s overall combat power was now 140, capable of crushing opponents with 200
combat power!
After defeating two opponents, Mike’s cloud ascended, reaching a higher tier with stronger enemies!
The corrupted 35th floor offered no protection; a single loss meant failure!
At the new altitude, the opponents’ combat powers appeared: 146, 167, 264, 356, and 546. Mike needed to defeat at least three to advance!
His current team had a 100% win rate against opponents below 200. However, weaker opponents meant fewer rewards, hindering his long-term strategy. He needed to focus on building one super-powered piece to carry his team, which required significant resources. Mike studied the three strongest opponents, using the Eye of Truth to identify their
weaknesses.
“Strange, the win rate against the 264 combat power opponent is only 60%, while it’s higher against the 356 combat power opponent?”
He quickly found the reason. The 356 combat power demon creature team relied on a large
number of weak units, inflating its overall combat power. These weak units allowed Ced to
trigger his Spirit Blade passive, rapidly increasing his combat power and snowballing to victory. Realizing this, Mike transferred all of Nine Shadow’s equipment to Ced, boosting their win
rate to over 99%! This was a sure win!
“Battle!”
Thanks to Ced’s heroic performance, Mike defeated the 356 combat power team. With his
further upgraded team, he crushed the 264 combat power opponent and then easily triumphed over the 546 combat power boss!
Following his previous strategy, Mike continued to invest heavily in Nine Shadow. While upgrading Ced might have been more optimal in some situations, Mike had unwavering faith in Nine Shadow! He was determined to make Nine Shadow his first 9-star piece!
With each victory, Mike accumulated more resources, and his team grew stronger.
He created two more pieces:
“Chess piece: Stone Class: Connected
Rank: 2-star
Combat Power: 50
Traits:
[Godfather Above]: Designates an allied piece as Godfather. Inherits the Godfather’s traits
upon their death.”
“Chess piece: George
Class: Wind Mage Rank: 1-star
Combat Power: 1
Traits:
[Invincible]: Becomes invincible for 5 seconds.”
Stone was useful. Mike assigned ECA as his Godfather, creating an infinite resurrection loop.
ECA and Stone could die four times per battle, boosting Nine Shadow’s combat power by 100! It was a full-on resurrection strategy.