Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

”Let’s go check our rankings, then grab a bite to eat.”

Su Chen and Ruoruo withdrew from Dongfu City’s northern front, then took a Teleportation Gate directly to the Rune Core.

The moment they arrived, they saw a sea of people.

This was especially true around the Mission Hall, where crowds of people were checking if they had made it onto the contribution leaderboard.

The two cities shared a single ten-thousand-person leaderboard, so getting on it wasn’t easy.

Relying on his superior Perception Power, Su Chen was able to mentally interface with the Mission Hall from over a hundred meters away.

[World Task: City Siege (In Progress)]

[Your Contribution: 1185 points]

[Current Rank: 1]

A solid first.

His rank hadn’t budged in the slightest.

He had followed the main army as it moved between the eastern, western, and northern fronts, personally slaughtering about 130 people. He had also managed to destroy a Teleportation Gate while advancing on the northern front.

According to the definitive guide circulating on the private radio station ”Hunter’s Home,” a Teleportation Gate was worth around 100 contribution points, a low-level Rune Caster was worth one contribution point, and non-Professionals didn’t grant any contribution points at all.

As for powerful Professionals, such as those with Lv7 Runes, their value was estimated to be between 7 and 10 contribution points, depending on the Star Level of their class’s Authority.

Some people were skeptical of this claim.

But it was simple enough to verify.

After killing some enemy non-Professionals and immediately returning to the Mission Hall to check, they discovered that their contribution score really hadn’t increased.

”Damn it! I killed so many small fry and didn’t get a single point of contribution.”

”This is such bullshit. I killed seven people and only got 3 contribution points. That’s ridiculous. Are they just messing with us?”

Some people were indignant, seething with impotent rage.

”This is a good thing! At least it means there’s no value in taking out your bloodlust on civilians. It’s better for both sides if people don’t get any ideas about that.” In contrast, more people were relieved by this outcome.

If the enemy were allowed to climb the ranks by unscrupulously slaughtering civilians, it would naturally be unacceptable to them.

This kind of despicable, backdoor cheating also went against the original intention of the world’s operating mechanism, which was to promote the rapid circulation of Rune Essence.

”What’s your rank?” Su Chen asked Ruoruo.

Yan Ruoruo replied, ”42nd, with 426 contribution points.”

She had taken quite a few heads herself. There were many times when she wasn’t sticking with Su Chen, and her silent, deadly double arrows were enough to make her enemies’ scalps tingle.

”Climbing from 53rd to 42nd is a decent jump, but it looks like the powerhouses packed into the ranks above are also farming points like crazy,” Su Chen commented.

He leaped into the air and looked out beyond the city. The border walls had already been completely rebuilt.

But as his gaze shifted further out, the scene was completely different. The Forward Base that had served as the southern front’s anchor point was now a complete ruin.

Several tall watchtowers were snapped in half, and the entire forest surrounding the base had been flattened.

With Dark Vision and sharp long-range sight far surpassing that of a normal person, he took in every detail.

At least several hundred giant trees lay toppled like straw, their roots torn from the earth, exposing gnarled, pale-white root systems that exuded a deathly sense of desolation in the night.

Many areas were pockmarked with countless craters, looking as if they had been bombarded by a meteor shower.

’This battle was brutal.’

Su Chen sighed to himself. The elite forces from both sides had waged a positional war in this part of the Earth Realm, and the surrounding forest had paid the price.

Right now, many people were still combing through the corpses in the forest, looking for a chance to scavenge. Even if there were no Runes or Spiritual Materials, they could still pick up leftover Magical Bulletproof Vests and even firearms.

At the same time, these Cleaner Fish were also following orders from above, incinerating all the corpses they found.

”The enemy has Necromancers and Undead Hierophants—hidden Dark Element professions. Even Dark Element Runes can have corpse-manipulating effects, so we can’t give them any opportunities.”

This was a piece of intelligence he had just overheard.

Seeing that the main army had no intention of launching a night attack, Su Chen pulled Ruoruo along to take care of their hunger first.

Over the course of the day, the two had only eaten the dry rations they carried with them.

Meanwhile, all the other restaurants and Supply Stations in the border areas were packed with combatants coming and going, leaving not even a place to stand.

This time, when they went back to that high-end private restaurant with the membership fee, they found the owner knew how to do business; he hadn’t jacked up his prices despite the massive leap in everyone’s power.

After all, it was wartime. If he got too greedy, he’d likely face the iron fist of the authorities.

The restaurant, ”Four Seasons Sonata,” happened to have a booth open up just then, allowing Su Chen and Ruoruo to get a table as they’d hoped.

By ten o’clock at night, they were finally sitting down to a proper meal.

Two servings of grilled Red-Hoof Bull tenderloin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, were served with rosemary, exuding a rich aroma.

Ruoruo ordered two extra scoops of vanilla ice cream to cut the richness.

She was always strict about managing her figure and wouldn’t normally consume too many calories or too much sugar, but the day’s extreme exertion had her eating a little more.

After they finished eating, considering the restaurant needed to turn over tables and there were people queuing outside, they didn’t linger.

The night was brightly lit by all kinds of phosphorescent lamp posts lining the streets. Across the way, the Messenger Intelligence House, the taverns, and even the still-open private trading posts and Rune shops were all packed with people, buzzing with a clamorous din.

「At this moment.」

A broadcast suddenly blared from the side of the street: ”Attention all citizens. To ensure a period of rest and recuperation, the Security Committee has officially decided that no offensive military operations will be launched tonight.”