Top of the pyramid.
The Palazzo della Signoria, which Sardo had transformed into a palace, was located at the very peak of the tower.
Sardo, who held the dominant position in the Western Region and possessed the unquestionable right to speak in the Western Region from the very beginning, had already reached the sixth level of his territory.
Therefore, his lord’s palace was far grander than those of others.
However, at this time, the atmosphere in the meeting hall of the Lord’s Palace was exceptionally solemn.
Upon the throne, Sardo sat with a gloomy face and said nothing.
Below the throne, Musa wielded a golden sword, a rather subtle expression playing across his face.
All the members of the Golden Alliance sat quietly in their seats.
The reason why they remained silent was that they were deeply shocked by the news brought by Musa.
While they were still developing territory in their own areas and exploring the fog to look for resources, Toji Hisami had already crossed two regions, directly attacked the Holy Spirit Alliance, and won.
Even in the first wave of the invasion, by leveraging the advantage of two regions, he had severely left all opponents behind.
Sardo was once confused by this gap and didn’t understand why there was such a massive distance between himself and Toji Hisami.
Now he finally understood.
One step slow, every step slow.
At this time, Sardo was in an extremely bad mood.
In the past, when he looked down at his territory from the top of this pyramid, he felt like he was the ultimate ruler.
Now he looked like a complete clown!
"One person, fifty dedicated defensive units, and fifty warriors—can they really defeat your half-dragon army?"
Sardo raised his head and stared at Musa sharply.
He just wanted to ask: how did you, Musa, have the nerve to get pushed to this point? Are you truly the number one in the Southern District?
However, Musa was also a tough person, and he had no intention of coddling Sardo. After hearing this, he directly stretched out his hand and pointed outside.
"You ask your golden guards to pick out a hundred people and fight my guards head-on!"
Sardo had been dominant in the Western District for a long time. No other member of the Golden Alliance had ever heard anyone dare to talk to Sardo in such a manner.
Everyone raised their heads in surprise and looked at Musa sitting in front of them.
Sardo’s face became even gloomier, but he waved his hand and gave the command, and someone immediately opened the doors to the meeting hall.
From the entrance of the meeting hall, one could see the martial arts field at the bottom of the pyramid at a single glance, where the Golden Guards trained on weekdays.
Musa barked orders to his entourage standing outside the hall, and someone immediately went down to notify the half-dragon guards.
Soon, two teams of elite warriors stepped onto the martial arts field that spanned a kilometer in both length and width.
On one side were the elites of the Sardo Territory, the Golden Guards, all clad in golden armor, white cloaks, carrying spears, short swords, and bucklers.
On the other side, the half-dragon legion wore iron-gray light armor, holding slicing knives in both hands, their arms equipped with arm shields.
Judging from their appearance alone, the Golden Guards were visually impressive, while the half-dragon legion exuded a heavy, evil aura and stood much taller.
Before the two sides even started fighting, their momentum had already clashed and locked together, oppressing the surrounding areas.
The lords of the Golden Alliance couldn’t help but swallow their saliva. No matter which side, their troops were clearly far beyond ordinary soldiers.
A clerk from the Sardo Territory acted as the referee, stepping forward to announce the start.
Boom!
Both sides erupted with strength at the same time and launched straight into a charge!
Golden and blood-red light filled the entire martial arts arena, sending earth and stone flying.
Rolling smoke and dust scattered in all directions. Fortunately, everyone was at the top of the pyramid and could still see the battle clearly.
It was called a confrontation, but neither side held back, and the fight was carried out almost entirely by actual combat standards.
The swords drew blood, and the spears tore flesh.
Anyway, this was the base camp; there was a sufficient medical team present, and Sardo possessed ample recovery potions.
As long as a soldier didn’t die on the spot, he could be saved.
This battle had to be fought.
Musa wanted to test the Golden Alliance and evaluate Sardo’s true quality, while Sardo wanted to use this clash to estimate the combat effectiveness of Toji Hisami’s troops.
As the battle progressed, both sides fell into a fierce stalemate.
The bloody clash and endless battle skills made the watching lords tremble with fear.
Everyone possessed a fifth-level territory, but Sardo and Musa were obviously a whole tier stronger than them.
Slowly, Sardo’s Golden Guards finally gained the upper hand and began to suppress the half-dragon army.
Yet Sardo’s expression remained unsightly.
Because Musa had claimed earlier that his half-dragon army was defeated in a single encounter with Toji Hisami’s elites!
And what about him? It took ten full minutes of intense fighting before his guards even began to suppress them...
"Enough!"
Sardo shouted angrily, bringing an end to the battle below.
Musa also gestured for his subordinates to begin their retreat.
The prepared medical team hurried forward to treat the wounded soldiers on both sides.
"If I were to lead the army myself, it would only take three minutes to defeat your guards!"
Sardo glared at Musa, raising three fingers as he spoke.
Musa, however, merely sneered back.
"I haven’t even activated my lord talent yet—I possess a combat-type talent!"
"Then how could Toji Hisami defeat your guards in a single encounter!?"
"If I knew that, would I still have let him gain a firm foothold in the Southern District!"
The second and third players on the standings were practically facing off and yelling at each other’s faces, scaring the surrounding lords into trembling like quails.
Toji Hisami’s name was mentioned repeatedly in their ears, hanging over their heads like a dark cloud that completely blocked out the sun.
How could such an opponent exist?
Throughout so many previous lord trials, no such powerful civilian lord had ever appeared.
In the past, they only thought Toji Hisami was strong, but they still held the confidence to confront him at the end of the trial, even harboring thoughts of defeating him.
However, with Musa’s arrival, all of that was ruthlessly popped like a fragile bubble.
According to Toji Hisami’s rate of development, if they really waited until the late stage of the trial, they might not even possess the qualifications to fight him...
The people below did not dare to raise their heads, while the leaders above panted and cursed.
This was the very first time Sardo had lost his temper like this since entering the trial world, completely lacking the composure expected of the Golden Family.
He leaned back into his golden seat, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Did you secure your opportunity?" Sardo suddenly asked.
As members of apex-level wealthy families within the Human Alliance, their shared tacit understanding was built around the clues of hidden opportunities within the trial world.
Sardo had already secured his opportunity and was rapidly digesting it.
Part of the heightened abilities displayed by the Golden Legion earlier had been brought about by that exact opportunity.
On the contrary, Musa’s half-dragon army showed no signs of evolution or transformation. Sardo had now calmed down enough to ask the question.
Unexpectedly, Musa’s face turned even uglier upon hearing it.
"I couldn’t find it. The opportunity of the Dragon Race suddenly vanished without a trace, and turned into a clan of bull demons..."
Musa pulled the statue of the Bull Demon from his chest, his expression looking as if he had swallowed something vile.
Sardo was stunned upon hearing this. He hadn’t expected that Musa failed to find his own opportunity. Wouldn’t that mean he was essentially starting from scratch?
This was equivalent to wasting his initial advantages and relying on only half of his powerful background.
No wonder Musa had traveled thousands of miles and ventured through the foggy area to unite with him; it turned out his opportunity was lost.
Thinking of this, Sardo suddenly sat up straight.