"The fifth stage is already over?"
Ethan was somewhat shocked that the Demon Tree Climbing Competition had suddenly changed its rules.
But the Eye of Nightmare looked full of apprehension as it said, "The Abyssal Demons have actually gone into a frenzy ahead of schedule. Could some kind of abnormal change have occurred in the Land of Nightmares?"
"What do you mean?"
Ethan asked in return.
Only then did the Eye of Nightmare explain the situation to Ethan.
"Actually, if we want to talk about where the monsters in the Land of Nightmares came from, we have to start with the sudden appearance of a bottomless abyss that split open in the Land of Nightmares."
"It was probably around the year 504 of the Magic Era when a major earthquake occurred."
"The earthquake caused a huge, bottomless rift to appear in the Land of Nightmares. Then, a large amount of mist poured out of the rift. This mist made the entire Land of Nightmares unsuitable for other races to live in."
"So, large numbers of races left the Land of Nightmares, and the Abyssal Demons that had appeared there were no longer held in check by the other races."
"As a result, they continued to reproduce and thrive in the Land of Nightmares."
"Every ten years, a new batch of Abyssal Demons emerges from the Bottomless Abyss. These demons are extremely powerful, and they seize living space from the old inhabitants of the Land of Nightmares, namely, the old demons."
"Therefore..."
"Every ten years, those Abyssal Demons leave the Land of Nightmares and come out, attempting to seize territory belonging to other races."
"You can also think of it as a survival-of-the-fittest elimination mechanism, in which the Abyssal Demons wear down their own numbers while allowing the stronger Abyssal Demons to survive."
"So, as the first line of defense for the races of Light, the Borderlands must send large numbers of heroes to guard the area every ten years and fight against the Abyssal Demons, or, to put it another way, keep these Abyssal Demons out."
"And the Demon Tree Competition held every ten years is, to put it bluntly, a competition for recruiting heroes."
"After all..."
"Heroes who can emerge victorious under such harsh conditions will also become great generals stationed in the Borderlands, or even powerful Guardians. That's why a Demon Tree Climbing Competition with extremely generous rewards is held every ten years."
"But this year, the Abyssal Demons appeared ahead of schedule and even went into a frenzy early. This means that something must have happened over in the Land of Nightmares."
"You'd better be extra careful."
The Eye of Nightmare reminded Ethan.
Ethan, however, was a little curious, "How do you know all this? I've asked quite a few people, but none of them know anything about the Land of Nightmares."
"This is all thanks to my master," The Eye of Nightmare narrowed its eyes and smiled, "After all, my master doesn't just enter the dreams of you humans. It also enters the dreams of all kinds of other races. It's even entered the dreams of Abyssal Demons. It's just that my master thought those things smelled too bad, so it didn't like them."
"Awesome!"
Ethan gave it a thumbs-up.
However, while he was talking with the Eye of Nightmare, countless bizarre, giant wooden ships, giant sea turtles, and other strange marine creatures suddenly began appearing from behind his super raft.
"Damn! Where did all these things come from?"
Seeing all kinds of ships suddenly appear, Ethan was so frustrated he nearly spat blood.
He had thought he could leisurely row to victory in this stage, but who would have thought there would be so many others competing for a higher ranking?
The Eye of Nightmare immediately activated its Eye of Analysis.
Only then did it speak lazily, "There are quite a few wood-element mages in this competition. And among the participants, there are also quite a few Beast-Taming Races. Isn't it perfectly normal for them to have some extraordinary pets?"
"Originally, these people had no intention of going all out in the first few stages. They planned to conserve their energy and unleash their full strength later."
"After all, in this climbing competition, there's practically no way to bring too many things in."
"Therefore, most of the energy they need to replenish has to come from within their own bodies."
"So, most people chose to play it safe and get through the stages."
"But the announcement just now was telling them that the climbing competition had changed from a competition with unlimited stages into a speed race, and there were only five stages. Do you think they'll still conserve their energy?"
"But didn't they say that the devouring worms in this Red Sea can devour all kinds of matter?", Ethan said speechlessly, "I can understand people sailing wooden ships, but what the hell are those riding turtles, riding all kinds of giant fish, and even riding directly on top of octopuses?"
"The worms can devour everything, but you can't expect them to devour something they can't even detect."
The Eye of Nightmare gave an explanation that left Ethan even more confused.
"What do you mean?", Ethan asked, completely baffled.
"It means that some people can use magnetic fields or drugs to directly block the senses of these devouring worms, making them unaware that those giant fish even exist," As it spoke, the Eye of Nightmare shifted its gaze to the octopus, "As for that octopus, it can secrete a strange kind of mucus that kills those worms on contact. That's why you can see a ring of particularly bright red around the octopus. Those are the corpses of the worms."
"As for that turtle, that kind of giant turtle has another name: the Death God's Turtle."
"This kind of turtle is filled with an aura of death. Anyone who accidentally drinks its blood or eats its meat will soon die."
"That's why the devouring worms don't like this creature and naturally won't approach it."
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