Both the Princes and the crowd suddenly perked up, hanging on Leopold's every word. For those like Amory who believed they had a good guess about just what this trial would be, they were eager to see if their guesses were correct. As for the others who had no idea, it could be said that they were just as, if not more nervous than the former group.
"This final trial will encompass true combat, not among humans and beasts, but among you Princes and your various factions.
"As potential future Kings, you must not rest your hopes upon everlasting peace, but that also shouldn't mean that you should forget diplomacy in its entirety.
"The Higher Mortal Plane faces many enemies aside from beasts. Many Clans of the lower Planes are always seeking opportunities to take a step forward. At the same time, there are many Clans from above that often lose their footing and rely on the Higher Mortal Plane as a place to regroup. Over the year, many wars have been fought against these newcomers, however, every time, our Plane has managed to hold on. In the future, it will upon your shoulders to withstand this burden."
Leopold's words were not false. Although it had been slightly more than a hundred years since the last time such an event occurred, it still had to be remembered that there were some here who were actually alive during the last.
For Clans on the Middle Mortal Plane, like Granny Miriam's Clan, for example, they always sought to elevate their position to greater heights. A higher Plane not only represented greater resources, but it was also directly correlated to life as well. On the Lower Mortal Plane, a mortal would only be able to live seventy to eighty years at most. On the Middle Mortal Plane, this number was elevated by twenty years, making the average life expectancy closer to one hundred. As for this Highest Mortal Plane, one only needs to look at Headmaster Leopold's healthy image to understand.
By the time one reached the former Shrine Plane, a mortal would be able to live two hundred years without the aid of any spiritual treasures. One can easily see, even without going into the details of the various other benefits, how enticing scaling the Planes was.
Due to these truths, it wasn't too rare for powerful Clans and Sects of the Middle Mortal Plane to enter their Higher Mortal Plane, seeking benefits. Of course, it should also be noted that there was no Immortal Path between mortal Planes, which meant there were very lax restrictions on journeying between them unlike what one might see between Immortal Planes.
Headmaster Leopold's words were simple to understand. Although they had peace now, it was unlikely that it would be forever, because while powerful Clans ascending to them might not sound too daunting… What about failed Clans who decided to descend and regroup? The last time that occurred, if it wasn't for all four Kingdoms and Sects banding together, they would have all been wiped out by a single Clan which wasn't even worthy of meandering the Outer Ring of the Pedestal Plane!
"For this trial, we'll be reliving certain scenarios of history past.
"To begin each round, you will all be given a role. These roles can fall under three separate categories. There will be one role for defense and two roles for attackers. This defensive role will represent our four Kingdoms, while the two attacking roles will be split into Immortal and Mortal – representing attackers from above, or below.
"Each role type will have its own advantages and disadvantages. How you choose to use these to your advantage will decide your grades by the end of this trial.
"If you receive the Four Kingdoms Role, you'll have the advantage of choosing your home base. You will also be allowed one hour of preparation time to set your defenses. However, your disadvantage will be that your opponent will be able to both watch how you set your defenses in detail, and receive full details about the warriors you choose and how you position them. In addition, any experts that die will not be allowed to be replaced."
The crowd sucked in a cold breath. This sort of disadvantage, wasn't it too damning? However, they reserved judgement, after all, Leopold had yet to explain the other roles.
"If you receive the Middle Plane Role, you'll have the advantage of movement. While those titled with the Four Kingdoms Role have the responsibility to protect a base, you can attack and retreat as you see fit. Those with this role are allowed three attempts to take down the defenders and can also take as much time as they need to heal in between attempts. In addition, any experts that die can be replaced within the given limit.
"The disadvantage of this role, however, is that you will have your experts limited. While those with the Four Kingdoms role are allowed ten Qi Refinement Realm experts, those with the Middle Plane Role are only allowed five."
A picture of the landscape of this trial began slowly forming in the minds of those spectating. After understanding two roles, it seems that this was more balanced than they had previously assumed. The difference between five and ten Qi Refinement Realm experts was massive!
"Finally, there is the Immortal Plane Role. The advantage of this role are the experts. One can have up to twenty Qi Refinement Realm experts should they be given this role.
"However, with this advantage, comes its own disadvantages. Firstly, those with this role only receive one attempt. In addition, this singular attempt is timed for two hours from when the Four Kingdoms Role completes their defenses.
"Secondly, the information provided to the Immortal Plane team will be slightly more limited. While those of the Mortal Plane Role will know the general location of the defending team's Core, the Immortal Plane team will not receive this information. However, they will be provided with everything related to the defenses of the Four Kingdoms team.
"Lastly, although I've slightly alluded to it just now, I will explain the objective of this final trial, and that is to retrieve the Four Kingdoms team's Core.
"The Immortal Plane team will receive a two-hour attack sequence to find and take this Core while the Mortal Plane team will receive five hours for each of their three attempts. In addition, neither the Immortal Plane or Four Kingdoms team will be allowed to replace dead experts, but the Mortal Plane team will be given this right.
"With this core rules out of the way, there is another important aspect I have yet to touch upon. How will these teams be formed?"