Invincible: I Level Up In My Sleep

The Midnight Strategy

The royal study was suffocatingly quiet, lit only by the crackle of a massive hearth that threw long, dancing shadows across the stone walls. Heavy oak bookshelves lined the room, filled with dusty historical records, tax ledgers, and half-ruined maps of the Northern Territories.

Yan Zheng stood over a massive parchment map spread across a grand mahogany table. Fan Changyu stood a respectful pace behind him, her arms crossed over her leather chestplate, her sharp gaze tracking his fingers as he traced the ink lines representing the jagged mountain ranges surrounding Ironcliff.

"Ba Yan is an experienced commander," Fan Changyu broke the silence, her voice tight with focus. "He won't rush blindly into our gates like his vanguard did. When he realizes Ba Tu’s force was annihilated, he will likely halt his main army at the mouth of the Black Wolf Pass to consolidate his numbers before launching a full-scale siege."

She pointed a slender, calloused finger at a narrow choke point on the map, nestled between two towering cliffs about fifteen kilometers north of the city.

"If he secures this pass, our scouting lines are completely cut off. We will be blind while he sits outside, starving us out."

Yan Zheng stared at the pass. To a seasoned gamer and digital strategist, a choke point like that was a goldmine. "What is the terrain like inside the Black Wolf Pass?"

"Steep, treacherous, and prone to sudden blizzards," Fan Changyu replied. "The cliffs on either side are nearly vertical. It’s a death trap for any army caught inside if someone holds the high ground. But we don't have the manpower to occupy the cliffs, Your Highness. It takes at least two thousand archers to effectively lock down that pass. We have less than three hundred active guards."

"We don't need three hundred guards," Yan Zheng said smoothly, a dark gleam in his eyes. "We just need a flawless distraction."

He closed his eyes for a brief second, pulling up his system menu internally.

[Sovereign's Crucible System Status]

Host: Yan Zheng

Level: 2 (410/500 EXP)

Unallocated Stat Points: 2

He had two stat points left over from his level-up after executing Ba Tu. He didn't hesitate. He split them evenly, dumping 1 point into **Agility** and 1 point into **Spirit**.

Instantly, a refreshing, ice-cold sensation washed through his brain, sharpening his cognitive functions and spatial awareness, while a sudden lightness settled into his tendons.

[Stats Updated:]

Agility: 8 -> 9

Spirit: 5 -> 6

"Changyu," Yan Zheng ordered, opening his eyes. "For the next eight hours, I will be locked in the royal chambers for a deep meditation session to stabilize my cultivation breakthrough. No matter what happens, no one—not even you—is allowed to cross the threshold. If anyone tries to disturb me, execute them on the spot."

Fan Changyu’s expression hardened with determination. She dropped to one knee, fist over her heart. "By my life, Your Highness, no soul shall pass those doors."

"Good. Prepare the men for a march the moment I wake up tomorrow morning," Yan Zheng said. "Dismissed."

Once Fan Changyu left the study, locking the heavy doors behind her, Yan Zheng walked over to the adjacent royal bedchamber. He stripped off the heavy, cumbersome ceremonial robes, leaving only a flexible, dark under-tunic. He lay down on the grand bed, staring at the ceiling as the final seconds of his system countdown ticked away.

[Daily Crucible Sleep-State cool-down: 00:00:00]

[Ready for Syncing. Initiating Sleep-State induction...]

A wave of irresistible, heavy drowsiness dragged his mind down into the black abyss. Within seconds, Prince Yan Zheng was fast asleep.

[Welcome, Sovereign, to Dungeon Tier 1: The Desolate Outpost.]

[Current Zone: The Inner Courtyard.]

Yan Zheng’s eyes snapped open to the familiar, bleeding violet sky and twin emerald moons. He was back inside his seven-foot-tall, midnight-steel Dread Knight avatar. The heavy weight of his iron broadsword rested comfortingly against his hip, and the chilling blue flames flickered behind his visor.

Beside him, the shadow of his heavy boots twisted. The Level 3 Shadow Vanguard he had summoned in the real world materialized seamlessly inside the game space, standing silently at attention.

"Let's see what the next floor has in store," Yan Zheng rumbled, his deep avatar voice cutting through the dead silence of the wasteland.

He strode past the shattered stone arches where he had slain the ghouls, moving deeper into the ruins of the ancient city. The cracked earth beneath his boots gave way to crumbling obsidian cobblestones. Ahead of him lay a massive, sunken courtyard filled with decayed grand statues of long-forgotten warriors.

A sharp, warning ping echoed in his ears.

[Warning: Entering High-Density Monster Zone.]

[Objective: Clear the Inner Courtyard to unlock the Tier 1 Boss Chamber.]

[Target Group: 30x Corrupted Ghouls, 5x Skeletal Archers.]

From behind the broken pillars and fallen statues, the air began to churn with a sickening, green miasma. Dozens of skeletal figures, their bones stained an unholy obsidian black and bound by glowing green energy, stepped into the light. In the back rows, five skeletons raised heavy bone-bows, nocking arrows tipped with corrosive green fire.

Screeech!

The thirty ghouls noticed his massive frame and rushed forward in a chaotic, flesh-hungry tidal wave.

"Shadow," Yan Zheng commanded coldly, drawing his massive broadsword. "Flank the archers. Don't let a single arrow fire."

The Shadow-Guard behind him melted into the darkness instantly, exploiting its perfect camouflage trait. It became a faint, shimmering distortion in the violet light, sprinting along the edges of the ruined pillars toward the backline.

Yan Zheng smiled behind his helm, gripping his broadsword with both hands. He didn't wait for the horde to reach him. He took a massive, explosive step forward, his newly upgraded Agility sending him sprinting like a dark comet.

"Time to grind," he roared.

He met the vanguard of the ghoul horde head-on. With a brutal vertical down-swing, his heavy sword sliced through three ghouls simultaneously, shattering their rotten bones and sending black fluid splashing across the cobblestones.

Thwack! Thwack!

From the backline, two skeletal archers managed to release their bows before the shadow could reach them. The flaming arrows streaked through the air, aiming directly for Yan Zheng’s visor.

Without even looking, Yan Zheng twisted his torso, the increased Agility allowing him to narrowly dodge one arrow, while the second slammed harmlessly against his heavy midnight-steel shoulder plate, bursting into a useless shower of green sparks.

Meanwhile, a sudden burst of dark energy erupted from the back rows.

The Shadow-Guard reappeared from the darkness directly behind the first skeletal archer. Its smoky trench sword blurred in a clean, horizontal decapitation, shattering the skeleton’s skull into dust. Before the other archers could turn their bows, the shadow spun like a top, its blade slicing through the ribcages of two more ranged units.

[Your Shadow-Guard has slain a Skeletal Archer! Gained 30 EXP.]

[Your Shadow-Guard has slain a Skeletal Archer! Gained 30 EXP.]

"Excellent," Yan Zheng laughed grimly, surrounded by a sea of claws.

He swung his massive broadsword in a full 360-degree circle, creating a whirlwind of heavy iron that pulverized every monster within a three-meter radius. The notifications began to scroll rapidly down his vision like a waterfall of blue light.

He was a one-man army in reality, but inside his dreams, he was a god of destruction. And he had a whole kingdom to conquer.