As the beasts gathered, Zhang Wen’s sense of unease surged rapidly. The connection between the two phenomena left him especially puzzled.
As the demon beasts gathered, the sense of unease in Zhang Wen’s heart rapidly expanded. The connection between the two made Zhang Wen particularly puzzled.
“It’s the Executor No. 9 of the Assembly, the Soul Witch, Eve Barbarossa!” Linoya gritted her teeth and spat out a name. “Our former chief of the Intelligence Division died at her hands.”
“So, she’s an old acquaintance of yours,” Zhang Wen sighed softly.
“Don’t make it sound so intimate between me and that madwoman!” Linoya clenched her teeth tightly.
“Alright,” Zhang Wen waved his hand kindly, seeing Linoya’s furious expression. “So, she must be a psychic, right?”
“Exactly, she’s one of the psychics who broke through the shackles, with the ability of mind control. That woman is a lunatic who would do anything for power. It’s said that after joining the Assembly, she even worked for the Federation for a long time. In exchange for helping the Federation train a secret unit capable of controlling puppets, the Federation provided her with over ten thousand live humans of different ages and identities for her mind control experiments…”
“She can control people?” Zhang Wen frowned.
“Yes, she can control people, but mind control isn’t as simple as it seems. After all, the human mind is the most complex thing, and psychic energy also has a strong resistance to her control. So, you can see that the demon beasts around us are all affected by her psychic interference, but we hardly notice any abnormalities.”
“I see,” Zhang Wen finally understood the source of his subconscious unease.
The Spring Water Technique he practiced was inherently a highly sensitive sixth sense ability, capable of detecting certain malicious psychic fluctuations in the air, which was quite normal.
“Wait… Even if the psychic strength of demon beasts is far weaker than humans, the range of this interference is too large! Damn it! Her power has increased at least tenfold! In just one year! What has that madwoman done?” Linoya’s sudden outburst interrupted Zhang Wen’s thoughts. The usually icy beauty’s face had turned crimson with extreme anger.
“Linoya!” Zhang Wen frowned and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, which had clearly lost its calm. “Overthinking won’t help! Do what you can. That woman, we’ll settle accounts with her sooner or later.”
“You’re right. I lost my composure,” Linoya closed her eyes and took a while to return to normal.
After regaining their composure, Zhang Wen and Linoya swiftly moved towards the direction where the others were gathering. However, both of them were now filled with almost identical questions.
Why was the Soul Witch of the Assembly using demon beasts to drive humans in the same direction? If their goal was simply to obtain the “key to the truth,” which was Selin, why didn’t they just attack the team from Themis Academy? With the strength of the two Executors of the Assembly, what could Themis Academy possibly do to stop them from abducting someone?
“This is really puzzling…” Zhang Wen muttered to himself with a slight smile.
In the rain-soaked jungle, Zhang Wen and Linoya walked for about thirty minutes. With their sensing abilities, they naturally avoided the demon beasts’ encirclement with ease.
However, just as they reached the Dream River to the north, Linoya suddenly reached out to stop Zhang Wen.
“Wait! There’s a team ahead of us, less than five kilometers away. In another direction, there’s another team about six kilometers away, rushing towards the opposite direction of that team.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in confusion. He didn’t understand why Linoya only noticed the team when they were within five kilometers.
“They used psychic energy to conceal the fluctuations of their badges, and only just now let their guard down,” Linoya explained briefly.
“What? At a time like this, they’re still hiding the badge fluctuations? They’re way too relaxed!” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in shock and doubt.
“Maybe… they’re from Themis Academy?” Linoya’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Very likely,” the two exchanged glances and immediately made a decision. The duo from Almitus Academy quickly changed direction and ran towards the team that was rapidly approaching them.
“Teacher, we should… we should run. If we keep going like this… we’ll all die here,” as Zhang Wen and Linoya swiftly approached, a student from the team five kilometers away was saying this to the two leading teachers.
As the student spoke, the other students in the team also showed terrified expressions. One girl, with an injured leg, looked particularly pitiful, evoking sympathy.
However, the two teachers at the front of the team, a man and a woman, remained unmoved by the students’ pleas. The male teacher, covered in the stinking blood of demon beasts, even seemed very angry.
“Nonsense! It’s just a few demon beasts, and you’re already scared? Have you forgotten what our school motto is?” The burly male teacher turned around and roared at the student who had just pleaded.
The male teacher had long been a figure of authority in the students’ minds, and under his roar, the student’s courage to resist instantly vanished. He timidly lowered his head, “Of course… I remember.”
“Good, if you remember, then repeat it!” the male teacher roared again.
“Bravery and resilience, no fear, no retreat!” the poor student had to shout out the phrase that had long been ingrained in their minds.
“Exactly! That’s it! So what are your demands now?”
“No, we’re not trying to escape, teacher. But…” the student tried to explain, but the righteous male teacher wouldn’t give him the chance.
“No buts!” the male teacher roared again, his eyes turning extremely sinister. “If anyone among you dares to make such cowardly demands again, don’t blame me for being ruthless. After the survival competition, I will report to the principal and request to revoke their admission. Moore Academy doesn’t need cowards!”
“What? We’re not cowards, we’ll follow you to the end,” hearing the male teacher’s threat, the students all shook their heads desperately. The student who had just argued with the male teacher even turned pale.
For these students from humble backgrounds, Moore Academy represented their entire future! Being expelled from the academy would mean their lives would be forever tainted. Honor, status, everything in the future would be lost to them! The consequences of such punishment were absolutely unbearable.
“Hmph, a bunch of spineless brats,” seeing the male teacher scare the students into submission, the female teacher on the team flashed a cold smile and quickly turned her gaze forward.
The female teacher knew very well. The male teacher was so desperate to force the students to take risks with him, not because of some bullshit school motto. It was simply because he didn’t want to lose the 300,000 imperial coins he had bet in the casino!
In fact, if the male teacher hadn’t stepped forward, the female teacher would have found a way to force the students herself. After all, she had bet more in the casino than anyone else!
Even if it costs me everything, I won’t let you escape from my grasp, Zhang Wen! The female teacher, Jinna, clenched her teeth and swore in her heart.
“Alright! Jinna, quickly sense the surroundings. Tch! The demon beasts here are increasing!” After intimidating the students, Taler hurriedly turned his attention to Jinna.
“Got it,” Jinna nodded with a grim expression. However, she hadn’t closed her eyes for long before she opened them again in panic.
“What’s wrong?” Taler asked anxiously.
“There’s… another team coming towards us from the opposite direction! Damn it, they’ve also concealed their badge fluctuations!” Jinna said with a pale face.
The Moore Academy camp fell into silence. The team running in the deep night was clearly also being pursued by demon beasts. And the direction they were fleeing was directly opposite to Moore Academy. This meant they were already… surrounded by demon beasts.
“I don’t want to die! Teacher, think of something!” Yuni, a female student from Moore Academy, had already broken down in tears.
“This… this…” even Taler couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.
“Charge! Fight those demon beasts!” In desperate situations, some people would burst with reckless courage. The boy who had just been begging Taler to retreat now raised his sword and charged towards the tide of demon beasts behind them.
Inspired by the boy, the other students from Moore Academy also shouted and rushed forward. Unfortunately, they were quickly forced back by a few higher-level demon beasts. The boy who had charged ahead even had his arm nearly broken. If Taler hadn’t instinctively killed two of the pursuing beasts, these students might have already met their end.
Regardless, after such a setback, the Moore Academy team had completely lost hope of breaking through. They barely organized a defensive formation, struggling to hold their ground against the demon beasts’ onslaught.
In this situation, it wasn’t just the Moore Academy team that was suffering. Douglas and his team, who were fleeing towards Moore Academy, were also silently cursing their misfortune. Unfortunately, the demon beasts behind them didn’t care about their troubles. A few minutes later, the teams from Moore Academy and Themis Academy were forced to converge.
In fact, when Taler and the others first saw that the team approaching them was the strongest first team from Themis Academy, they had briefly felt a glimmer of hope. But when they saw the demon beasts chasing Themis Academy and the disheveled state of Douglas and his team, their hearts sank again.
Out of survival instinct, after the two teams converged, although neither side was particularly friendly towards the other, they quickly chose to join forces. The two teams leaned against a giant tree, each guarding one side.
The demon beasts surrounding the two teams seemed to hesitate before the desperate resistance of the humans. They encircled Douglas and the others, growling lowly, but didn’t immediately launch a large-scale attack.
“Another team is approaching, 1,700 meters away. They’re moving fast and will probably reach here in about ten minutes,” Selin’s ethereal voice rang out again amidst the tense standoff between humans and beasts.
“Huh? Another group of fools?” Douglas couldn’t help but laugh with schadenfreude. Taler and the others from Moore Academy also sneered.
Honestly, if Moore Academy and Themis Academy hadn’t already met, they would have been shocked and furious to hear that another team was heading straight for them. But now, already surrounded, they didn’t care if a few hundred more demon beasts joined the encirclement. In fact, they were almost glad to see more people trapped with them.
However, just as Douglas and Taler were distracted by their schadenfreude, the demon beasts seemed to sense their moment and launched an unprecedented fierce attack.
“Damn it!” Taler, Douglas, Jinna, Lasti… everyone exclaimed in that moment.
Fighting for their lives, everyone from Moore Academy and Themis Academy unleashed their full strength. Various colors of combat energy and psychic light began to flash incessantly in a small corner of the Sandra Forest.
Every time Douglas swung his Sea God’s Wrath, it released a blade-like red flash. Any demon beast that touched the red flash was instantly cut in two. Taler wasn’t as relaxed as Douglas, but in his desperate state, he managed to hold off the demon beasts for the time being.
Beside them were the physical combat students from both teams. The psychics, leaning against the tree, frantically released their psychic energy, bombarding the demon beasts with waves of psychic power.
The stinking blood spraying from the demon beasts, along with the chunks of flesh cut by the Sea God’s Wrath and shattered by combat energy, quickly turned this small corner of the Sandra Forest into a living hell.
However, despite the significant damage Douglas and the others inflicted on the demon beasts, the beasts continued to assault their defenses in waves. Under the immense strain, the group’s morale was rapidly worn down.
“So she’s an old acquaintance of yours,” Zhang Wen sighed lightly.
“Don’t make it sound like we’re that close!” Linoah snapped, biting down hard.
“Alright,” Zhang Wen waved a hand good-naturedly at Linoah’s furious expression. “Then, she must be a Nen practitioner.”
“Exactly. She’s one of those who broke through the limits with Nen. Her ability is mental control. That woman is a madwoman who would do anything for power. Reportedly, after joining the Syndicate, she even worked for the Federation for a long time. In exchange for helping them train a secret force capable of controlling puppets, the Federation provided her with over ten thousand living people of various ages and identities for mental control experiments…”
“Can she control people?”
“She can, yes, but mind control over humans isn’t as simple as it sounds. After all, the human heart is the most complex thing, and people’s Nen abilities strongly resist her control. That’s why you can see all the surrounding beasts having their minds disrupted by her Nen ability, but we’ve barely noticed anything unusual.”
“I see,” Zhang Wen finally understood the source of his subconscious unease.
The Spring Water Combat Energy he cultivated was inherently a highly sensitive sixth sense ability, so it was natural for him to sense certain malicious Nen fluctuations in the air.
“Wait… Even though beasts have far weaker mental strength than humans, this disruption range is still too vast! Damn it! Her ability must have increased at least tenfold! And all within just a year! What has that madwoman done this time?” Linoah suddenly exploded, interrupting Zhang Wen’s thoughts. The icy beauty’s face had turned blood red from extreme anger.
“Linoah!” Zhang Wen frowned, promptly slapping his clearly enraged companion on the shoulder. “Overthinking won’t help! Focus on what you can do. We at Orichalcum will settle accounts with that woman eventually.”
“You’re right. I lost my composure,” Linoah closed her eyes, taking a long time to regain her calm.
After collecting themselves, Zhang Wen and Linoah resumed their rapid advance toward where the others were gathering. However, both now shared nearly identical questions in their minds.
As the demon beasts gathered, the sense of unease in Zhang Wen’s heart rapidly expanded. The connection between the two made Zhang Wen particularly puzzled.
“It’s the Executioner No. 9 of the Assembly, the soul-manipulating witch, Soul Enchantress Eve Barbarossa!” Linoya gritted her teeth as she uttered the name. “Our former intelligence chief died at her hands.”
“So, she’s an old acquaintance of yours,” Zhang Wen sighed softly.
“Don’t make it sound like I’m close to that madwoman!” Linoya clenched her teeth tightly.
“Alright,” Zhang Wen waved his hand kindly, seeing Linoya’s furious expression. “So, she must be a psychic, right?”
“Exactly, she’s one of the psychics who broke through the shackles, with the ability of mind control. That woman is a lunatic who would do anything for power. It’s said that after joining the Assembly, she even worked for the Federation for a long time. In exchange for helping the Federation train a secret unit capable of controlling puppets, the Federation provided her with over ten thousand living people of different ages and identities for her mind control experiments…”
“She can control people?” Zhang Wen frowned.
“Yes, she can control people, but mind control isn’t as simple as it seems. After all, the human mind is the most complex thing, and psychic energy has a strong resistance to her control. So, you can see that the demon beasts around us are all affected by her psychic interference, but we hardly notice any abnormalities.”
“I see,” Zhang Wen finally understood the source of his subconscious unease.
The Spring Water Technique he practiced was inherently a highly sensitive sixth sense ability, capable of detecting certain malicious psychic fluctuations in the air, which was quite normal.
“Wait… even if the psychic power of demon beasts is far weaker than humans, the range of this interference is too vast! Damn it! Her power has increased at least tenfold! In just a year! What has that madwoman done?” Linoya’s sudden outburst interrupted Zhang Wen’s thoughts. The icy beauty’s face had turned crimson with extreme anger.
“Linoya!” Zhang Wen frowned and promptly placed a hand on her shoulder, which had clearly lost its calm. “Overthinking won’t help! Do what you can. That woman, we in Mithril will settle accounts with her someday.”
“You’re right. I lost my composure,” Linoya closed her eyes and took a long time to return to normal.
After regaining their composure, Zhang Wen and Linoya swiftly moved towards the direction where the others were gathering. However, both of them were now filled with almost identical questions.
Why is the Soul Enchantress of the Assembly using demon beasts to drive humans in the same direction? If their goal is to obtain the “key to the truth,” which is Selene, why not directly attack the Themis Academy team? With the strength of the Assembly’s two executioners, what could Themis Academy possibly do to stop them from abducting someone?
“This is really baffling…” Zhang Wen muttered to himself with a slight smile.
In the rain-soaked jungle, Zhang Wen and Linoya walked for another thirty minutes. With their sensing abilities, they naturally avoided the demon beast encirclement with ease.
However, just as they reached the Dream River to the north, Linoya suddenly reached out to stop Zhang Wen.
“Wait! There’s a team ahead of us, less than five kilometers away. In another direction, there’s another team about six kilometers away, rushing towards the opposite side of that team.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in confusion. He didn’t understand why Linoya only noticed the team when they were within five kilometers.
“They used psychic energy to conceal the fluctuations of their badges, and only just now let their guard down,” Linoya explained briefly.
“What? At a time like this, they’re still hiding their badge fluctuations? They’re way too relaxed!” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in disbelief.
“Maybe… they’re from Themis Academy?” Linoya’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Very likely,” the two exchanged glances and immediately made a decision. The duo from Almithes Academy quickly changed direction and ran towards the team that was rapidly approaching them.
“Teacher, we should… we should run. If we keep going like this… we’ll all die here,” as Zhang Wen and Linoya rapidly closed the distance, a student from the team five kilometers away was saying this to the two leading teachers.
As the student spoke, the other students in the team almost all showed expressions of fear and panic. One girl with an injured leg looked particularly pitiful, evoking sympathy.
However, the male and female teachers at the front of the team remained unmoved by the students’ pleas. The male teacher, covered in the stinking blood of demon beasts, even seemed very angry.
“Nonsense! It’s just a few demon beasts, and you’re already scared? Have you forgotten what our school motto is?” The burly male teacher turned around and roared at the student who had just pleaded.
The male teacher had long held authority over the students, and under his roar, the student’s courage to resist instantly vanished. He timidly lowered his head, “Of course… I remember.”
“Good, if you remember, then repeat it!” the male teacher roared again.
“Bravery and perseverance, no fear, no retreat!” the poor student had to shout out the phrase that was already ingrained in their minds.
“Exactly! That’s it! So what are your demands now?”
“No, we’re not trying to escape, teacher. But…” the student tried to explain, but the righteous male teacher wouldn’t give him the chance.
“No buts!” the male teacher roared again, his eyes turning sinister. “If anyone among you makes such cowardly demands again, don’t blame me for being harsh. After the survival competition, I will report to the principal and request to revoke their admission. Moore Academy doesn’t need cowards!”
“What? We’re not cowards, we’ll follow you to the end,” hearing the male teacher’s threat, the students all shook their heads desperately, and the student who had just argued with the male teacher turned pale.
For these students from humble backgrounds, Moore Academy represented their entire future! Being expelled from the academy would mean their lives would be tainted. Honor, status, everything in the future would be lost to them! The consequences of this punishment were absolutely unbearable.
“Hmph, a bunch of spineless brats,” seeing the male teacher scare the students into submission, the female teacher on the team flashed a cold smile and quickly turned her gaze forward.
The female teacher knew very well. The male teacher’s desperate use of intimidation to force the students to take risks with him wasn’t because of some damn school motto. It was simply because he couldn’t bear to lose the 300,000 imperial coins he had bet in the casino!
In fact, if the male teacher hadn’t stepped forward, the female teacher herself would have found ways to force the students to comply. After all, the stakes she had placed in the casino were higher than anyone else’s!
No matter what, I won’t let you escape from my grasp, Zhang Wen! The female teacher, Jinna, clenched her teeth again, cursing fiercely in her heart.
“Alright! Jinna, quickly sense the surroundings. Tch! The demon beasts here are increasing!” After intimidating his students, Taler hurriedly turned his attention to Jinna.
“Alright,” Jinna nodded with a grim expression. However, she hadn’t closed her eyes for long before she opened them again in panic.
“What’s wrong?” Taler asked anxiously.
“There’s… another team coming towards us from the opposite direction! Damn it, they’ve also concealed their badge fluctuations!” Jinna said with a pale face.
The Moore Academy camp fell into silence. The team running in the deep night was clearly also being chased by demon beasts. And the direction they were fleeing was directly opposite Moore Academy. This meant they were already… surrounded by demon beasts.
“I don’t want to die! Teacher, think of something!” Yuni, a female student from Moore Academy, had already broken down in tears.
“This… this…” even Taler couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.
“Charge! Fight those demon beasts!” In desperate situations, some people would burst out with reckless courage. The boy who had just been pleading with Taler to retreat now raised his sword and charged towards the tide of demon beasts with red eyes.
Encouraged by the boy, the other students from Moore Academy also shouted and rushed forward. Unfortunately, they were quickly forced back by a few higher-level demon beasts. The boy who had charged at the front almost had his arm broken. If Taler hadn’t instinctively killed two of the pursuing beasts, these students might have already met their end.
Regardless, after such a setback, the Moore Academy team had completely lost hope of breaking through. They barely organized a defensive formation, struggling to hold their ground against the demon beasts’ onslaught.
In this situation, it wasn’t just the Moore Academy team that was suffering. Douglas and the others, who were fleeing towards Moore Academy, were also silently lamenting their misfortune. Unfortunately, the demon beasts behind them didn’t care about their troubles. Within minutes, the Moore Academy and Themis Academy teams were forced to converge.
In fact, when Taler and the others first saw that the team approaching them was Themis Academy’s strongest first team, they had briefly felt a glimmer of hope. But when they saw the demon beasts chasing Themis Academy and the狼狈不堪的模样 of Douglas and the others, their hearts sank again.
Out of survival instinct, after the two teams converged, although neither side gave the other a friendly look, they quickly chose to join forces. The two teams leaned against a giant tree, each guarding one side.
The demon beasts surrounding the two teams seemed to hesitate in the face of their desperate resistance. They encircled Douglas and the others, growling lowly, but didn’t immediately launch a large-scale attack.
“Another team is approaching, 1,700 meters away. They’re moving fast and will probably reach here in about ten minutes,” Selene’s ethereal voice rang out again amidst the tense standoff between humans and beasts.
“Huh? Another group of fools?” Douglas couldn’t help but laugh with schadenfreude. Taler and the others from Moore Academy also sneered.
Honestly, if Moore Academy and Themis Academy hadn’t met earlier, hearing that another team was heading straight towards them would have made them both shocked and furious, too angry to think straight. But now that they were already surrounded, they didn’t care if a few hundred more demon beasts joined the encirclement. In fact, they were almost glad to see more people trapped with them.
However, just as Douglas and Taler were distracted by their schadenfreude, the demon beasts seemed to sense it and suddenly launched an unprecedented fierce attack.
“Damn it!” Taler, Douglas, Jinna, Lasti… everyone exclaimed in that moment.
Fighting for their lives, the members of Moore Academy and Themis Academy all unleashed their full strength. Various colors of combat energy and psychic power immediately began to flash incessantly in the small corner of the Sandra Forest.
Every time Douglas swung his Neptune’s Wrath, it released a blade-like red flash. Any demon beast that touched the red flash was instantly cut in two. Taler wasn’t as relaxed as Douglas, but in his desperate state, he managed to hold his ground without being immediately overwhelmed by the demon beasts.
Beside them were the martial arts students from both teams. The psychics, leaning against the tree, also desperately released their psychic power, bombarding the demon beasts with psychic waves.
The stinking blood spraying from the demon beasts, the flesh chunks cut by Neptune’s Wrath, and the pieces shattered by combat energy quickly turned the small corner of the Sandra Forest into a living hell.
However, although Douglas and the others’ desperate resistance caused significant damage to the demon beasts, the beasts continued to assault their defenses in waves. Under the immense strain, the group’s morale was rapidly worn down at an alarming rate.
“This really doesn’t make much sense…” Zhang Wen smirked slightly, murmuring to himself.
In the rain-soaked jungle, Zhang Wen and Linoah continued for about thirty more minutes. With their sensing abilities, they easily avoided the beasts’ encirclement.
However, just as they reached the Dream River heading north, Linoah suddenly raised her hand to stop Zhang Wen.
“Wait! There’s a squad right ahead of us, less than five kilometers away. In another direction, there’s another squad about six kilometers from us, rushing toward the opposite direction of that squad.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen looked puzzled. He didn’t quite understand why Linoah had only just now detected the squad when they were already within five kilometers.
“They were hiding their badge’s Nen with their own Nen ability, and only just relaxed their guard,” Linoah explained briefly.
“Huh? At a time like this, they’re still hiding their badge’s Nen? They’re taking things pretty lightly, aren’t they?” Zhang Wen looked at Linoah with surprise and confusion.
“Maybe… they’re from Themis Academy?” Linoah suddenly brightened.
“That’s very possible.” The two exchanged a glance and immediately made their decision. The duo from Almichus Academy quickly changed direction, running toward the squad rapidly approaching them.
“Teacher, we should… we should run away quickly. If we keep going like this… if we keep going like this, we’ll all die here,” one of the students in the squad five kilometers away was saying to their two instructors as Zhang Wen and Linoah rapidly approached.
As the student’s words fell, nearly all the other students in the squad also wore expressions of fear and helplessness. One girl, with an injured leg, looked especially pitiful and heart-wrenching.
However, the male and female instructors running at the front of the squad remained unmoved by the students’ pleas. The male instructor, whose entire body was splattered with the foul blood of beasts, even seemed furious.
“Nonsense! These are just a few measly beasts, and you’re already scared? Have you forgotten our school motto?” The burly male instructor turned around and roared at the student who had just begged.
The male instructor had long instilled fear in his students, and under his roar, the student’s courage instantly vanished. He timidly lowered his head: “Of course… I remember.”
“Good! Since you remember, repeat it then!” The male instructor roared again.
“Yes, bravery and perseverance, never fear, never retreat!” The pitiful student had no choice but to loudly recite the phrase they had all long memorized.
“Exactly! That’s what it is! So what are your demands now?”
“No, we’re not trying to run away, teacher. But…” The student tried desperately to explain, but the righteous male instructor wouldn’t give him a chance.
“No buts!” The male instructor roared once more, his eyes turning ominously dark. “If anyone among you dares to make such cowardly demands again, don’t blame me for being harsh. After this survival competition, I’ll definitely report to the principal and request to revoke his enrollment. Moor Academy doesn’t need cowards!”
“Ah? We’re not cowards, we’ll definitely follow the teacher all the way,” hearing the male instructor’s threat, all the students frantically shook their heads, the student who had just argued with the male instructor turning even paler.
For these students from common backgrounds, Moor Academy represented everything about their future! Being expelled from the academy meant their entire lives would be stained with disgrace. Honor, status, all their future prospects would be lost forever! This punishment was something they absolutely could not bear.
“Hmph, a bunch of spineless brats,” seeing the male instructor scare the students into a huddle, the female instructor in the team sneered coldly at the corner of her mouth, quickly turning her gaze forward again.
The female instructor knew clearly in her heart that the male instructor’s desperate use of intimidation to force the students to follow him into danger wasn’t really because of that ridiculous school motto. That was just because he couldn’t bear to let the 300,000 imperial shields he had bet in the casino go to waste!
In fact, if the male instructor hadn’t stepped in, the female instructor herself would have found every possible way to force the students to comply. Because, the stakes she had placed in the casino were far more than anyone else’s!
No matter what it takes, I won’t let you escape from my grasp! Zhang Wen! Female instructor Jenna gritted her teeth again, fiercely cursing in her heart.
“Alright! Jenna, quickly sense the surroundings. Tsk! The beasts here are increasing!” After intimidating his subordinates into submission, Taler hastily turned his gaze to Jenna.
“Okay.” Jenna nodded with a gloomy expression. However, she hadn’t closed her eyes for long before she suddenly opened them in alarm.
“What’s wrong?” Taler anxiously inquired.
“There… there’s another squad coming from the opposite direction toward us! Damn it, they’re also hiding their badge’s Nen!” Jenna said pale-faced.
The Moor Academy camp immediately fell into a deathly silence. The squad running at this late hour clearly was also facing pursuit by beasts. And their escape direction was straight toward Moor Academy. In other words, they had already been… surrounded by beasts.
“I don’t want to die! Teacher! Think of something!” Yuni, the female student from Moor Academy, had already burst into uncontrollable tears.
“This… this…” Even Taler couldn’t help feeling despair.
“Charge! Fight these beasts!” In the face of despair, some people would recklessly summon irrational courage. The boy who had just been clinging to Taler begging for retreat now charged forward with bloodshot eyes, sword raised toward the tidal wave of beasts behind him.
Inspired by the boy’s actions, other students from Moor Academy also shouted and rushed forward. Unfortunately, they were soon easily forced back by some higher-level beasts. Among them, the boy who had charged ahead nearly had one of his arms broken. If Taler hadn’t instinctively killed two giant beasts that were chasing them, these students might have already lost their lives.
As the demonic beasts gathered, the sense of unease in Zhang Wen’s heart rapidly expanded. The connection between the two left Zhang Wen particularly puzzled.
“It’s the Executor No. 9 of the Assembly, the Soul Manipulating Witch, Soul Princess Eve Barbarossa!” Linoya gritted her teeth as she uttered the name. “Our former head of the Intelligence Division died at her hands.”
“So, she’s an old acquaintance of yours,” Zhang Wen sighed softly.
“Don’t make it sound so familiar between me and that madwoman!” Linoya clenched her teeth tightly.
“Alright,” Zhang Wen waved his hand kindly, seeing Linoya’s furious expression. “So, she must be a psychic, right?”
“Exactly, she’s one of the psychics who broke through the shackles, with the ability of mind control. That woman is a lunatic who would do anything for power. It’s said that after joining the Assembly, she even worked for the Federation for a long time. In exchange for helping the Federation train a secret unit capable of controlling puppets, the Federation provided her with over ten thousand living people of different ages and identities for her mind control experiments…”
“She can control people?” Zhang Wen frowned.
“Yes, she can control people, but mind control isn’t as simple as it seems. After all, the human mind is the most complex thing, and psychic resistance is strong against her control. So, you can see that the demonic beasts around us are all affected by her psychic interference, but we hardly notice any abnormalities.”
“I see,” Zhang Wen finally understood the source of his subconscious unease.
The Spring Water Technique he practiced was inherently a highly sensitive sixth sense ability, capable of detecting certain malicious psychic fluctuations in the air, which was quite normal.
“Wait… even if the psychic strength of the demonic beasts is far weaker than humans, the range of this interference is too vast! Damn it! Her power has increased at least tenfold! In just a year! What has that madwoman done?” Linoya’s sudden outburst interrupted Zhang Wen’s thoughts. The usually icy beauty’s face was now flushed with extreme anger.
“Linoya!” Zhang Wen frowned, promptly placing a hand on Linoya’s shoulder, who had clearly lost her composure. “Overthinking won’t help! Do what you can. That woman, we’ll settle accounts with her sooner or later.”
“You’re right. I lost my composure,” Linoya closed her eyes, taking a long time to return to normal.
After calming down, Zhang Wen and Linoya swiftly moved towards the direction where the others were gathering. However, a nearly identical question had already arisen in both their minds.
Why is the Soul Princess of the Assembly using demonic beasts to drive humans in the same direction? If their goal was merely to obtain the “key that holds the truth,” which is Selene, why didn’t they just attack the Themis Academy team directly? With the strength of the Assembly’s two top executors, what could Themis Academy possibly do to stop them from kidnapping her?
“This is really baffling…” Zhang Wen muttered to himself with a slight smile.
In the rain-soaked jungle, Zhang Wen and Linoya walked for another thirty minutes. Relying on their sensing abilities, they naturally avoided the demonic beasts’ encirclement with ease.
However, just as they reached the Dream River while heading north, Linoya suddenly reached out to stop Zhang Wen.
“Wait! There’s a team ahead of us, less than five kilometers away. In another direction, there’s another team about six kilometers away, rushing towards the opposite side of that team.”
“Huh?” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in confusion. He didn’t understand why Linoya only noticed the team’s presence when they were within five kilometers.
“They concealed the psychic fluctuations of their badges with psychic power, only just now letting their guard down,” Linoya explained briefly.
“What? At a time like this, they’re still hiding their badge fluctuations? They’re way too relaxed!” Zhang Wen looked at Linoya in disbelief.
“Maybe… they’re from Themis Academy?” Linoya’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Very likely,” the two exchanged glances and immediately made a decision. The duo from the Almythos Academy quickly changed direction and ran towards the team rapidly approaching them.
“Teacher, we should… we should run. If we keep going like this… we’ll all die here,” as Zhang Wen and Linoya swiftly approached, a student from the team five kilometers away was saying this to the two leading teachers.
As the student spoke, the other students in the team also showed expressions of fear and panic. Among them, a girl with an injured leg looked particularly pitiful, evoking sympathy.
However, the two teachers at the front of the team, a man and a woman, remained unmoved by the students’ pleas. The male teacher, covered in the foul-smelling blood of demonic beasts, even seemed very angry.
“Nonsense! It’s just a few demonic beasts, and you’re already scared? Have you forgotten what our school motto is?” The burly male teacher turned around and roared at the student who had just pleaded.
The male teacher had long held authority over the students, and under his roar, the student’s courage to resist vanished instantly. He timidly lowered his head, “Of course… I remember.”
“Good, if you remember, then repeat it!” the male teacher roared again.
“Bravery and resilience, no fear, no retreat!” The poor student had to shout out the phrase that had long been ingrained in their minds.
“Exactly! That’s it! So what does your request amount to now?”
“No, we’re not trying to escape, teacher. But…” the student tried to explain, but the stern male teacher wouldn’t give him the chance.
“No buts!” the male teacher shouted again, his eyes turning sinister. “If anyone among you dares to make such cowardly requests again, don’t blame me for being harsh. After the survival competition ends, I’ll report to the principal and request to revoke their admission. Moore Academy doesn’t need cowards!”
“What? We’re not cowards, we’ll follow you to the end,” hearing the male teacher’s threat, the students all shook their heads desperately, and the student who had just argued with the male teacher turned pale.
For these students from humble backgrounds, Moore Academy represented their entire future! Being expelled would mean a lifelong stain on their records. Honor, status, everything in the future would be lost to them! The consequences of such punishment were absolutely unbearable.
“Hmph, a bunch of spineless brats,” seeing the male teacher scare the students into submission, the female teacher in the team flashed a cold smile before turning her gaze forward.
The female teacher knew very well. The male teacher’s desperate use of intimidation to force the students to take risks with him wasn’t because of some damn school motto. It was simply because he couldn’t bear to lose the 300,000 imperial coins he had bet in the casino!
In fact, if the male teacher hadn’t stepped up, the female teacher herself would have found ways to force the students to comply. After all, she had bet more in the casino than anyone else!
Even if it costs me everything, I won’t let you escape from my grasp, Zhang Wen! The female teacher, Gina, clenched her teeth, cursing fiercely in her heart.
“Alright! Gina, quickly sense the surroundings. Tch! The demonic beasts here are increasing!” After intimidating his students, Taler urgently turned his attention to Gina.
“Got it,” Gina nodded with a grim expression. However, she hadn’t closed her eyes for long before she opened them again in alarm.
“What’s wrong?” Taler asked anxiously.
“There’s… another team coming towards us from the opposite direction! Damn it, they’ve also concealed their badge fluctuations!” Gina said, her face pale.
Silence immediately fell over the Moore Academy group. The team running in the deep of the night was clearly also being pursued by demonic beasts. And the direction they were fleeing was directly towards Moore Academy. This meant they were already… surrounded by demonic beasts.
“I don’t want to die! Teacher, think of something!” Yuni, a female student from Moore Academy, had already broken down in tears.
“This… this…” Even Taler couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.
“Charge! Fight those demonic beasts!” In desperate situations, some people would burst with reckless courage. The boy who had just been pleading with Taler to retreat now, with red eyes, raised his sword and charged towards the tide of demonic beasts behind them.
Encouraged by the boy, the other students from Moore Academy also shouted and rushed forward. Unfortunately, they were quickly forced back by a few higher-level demonic beasts. The boy who had charged at the front almost had his arm broken. If Taler hadn’t instinctively killed two of the pursuing giant beasts, these students might have already met their end.
Regardless, after such a setback, the Moore Academy group had completely given up on breaking through. They barely managed to form a defensive formation, struggling to hold their ground against the demonic beasts’ onslaught.
In this situation, it wasn’t just the Moore Academy group that was suffering. Douglas and his team, who were hastily fleeing towards Moore Academy, were also inwardly lamenting their misfortune. Unfortunately, the demonic beasts behind them didn’t care about their troubles. Within minutes, the Moore Academy and Themis Academy groups had no choice but to converge.
In fact, when Taler and the others first saw that the team running towards them was Themis Academy’s strongest first team, they had briefly felt a glimmer of hope. But when they saw the demonic beasts chasing Themis Academy and the disheveled state of Douglas and his team, their hearts sank once more.
Driven by the instinct to survive, after the two groups converged, although neither side showed any friendliness towards the other, they quickly chose to join forces. The two groups leaned against a giant tree, each guarding one side.
The demonic beasts surrounding the two groups also seemed somewhat wary of the desperate resistance of the humans. They encircled Douglas and his team, growling lowly, but didn’t immediately launch a large-scale attack.
“Another group is approaching, 1,700 meters away. They’re moving fast and should be here in about ten minutes,” Selene’s ethereal voice rang out again amidst the tense standoff between humans and beasts.
“Ah? Another group of fools?” Douglas couldn’t help but laugh with schadenfreude. Taler and the others from Moore Academy also sneered.
Honestly, if it had been before Moore Academy and Themis Academy had encountered each other, hearing that another group was heading straight towards them would have made them both shocked and furious, too angry to think straight. But now, already surrounded, they didn’t care if a few hundred more demonic beasts joined the encirclement. Instead, they were quite willing to see more people trapped with them.
However, just as Douglas and Taler were distracted by their schadenfreude, the demonic beasts seemed to sense it and suddenly launched an unprecedented fierce attack.
“Damn it!” Taler, Douglas, Gina, Lasti… everyone exclaimed in that moment.
Fighting for their lives, everyone from Moore Academy and Themis Academy unleashed all their strength. Various colors of combat energy and psychic power immediately began to flash incessantly in a small corner of the Sandra Forest.
Every time Douglas swung his Neptune’s Wrath, it would send out a blade-like red flash. Any demonic beast that came into contact with the red flash was invariably cut in two. Taler wasn’t as relaxed as Douglas, but in his desperate state, he managed to hold off the demonic beasts for the time being.
Beside them were the martial arts students from both teams. The psychics, leaning against the giant tree, also desperately released their psychic power, bombarding the demonic beasts with relentless psychic waves.
The foul-smelling blood spurting from the demonic beasts, along with the chunks of flesh sliced by Neptune’s Wrath and shattered by combat energy, quickly turned this small corner of the Sandra Forest into a living hell.
However, although the desperate resistance of Douglas and the others caused significant damage to the demonic beasts, the beasts continued to assault their defenses in waves. Under the immense strain, the group’s morale was rapidly worn down at an alarming rate.
In this situation, the ones suffering weren’t just the group from Moor Academy. Douglas and others fleeing from the opposite direction were also silently cursing their luck. Unfortunately, the beasts chasing them paid no heed to their troubles. A few minutes later, the groups from Moor Academy and Themis Academy were inevitably forced together.
In fact, when Taler and others first saw that the group running toward them from the opposite direction was Themis Academy’s strongest first squad, they had briefly felt hope. But when they saw the beasts chasing Themis Academy and the pitiful state of Douglas and others, their hearts sank again.
Out of survival instinct, after the two groups merged, although neither gave the other a warm reception, they quickly chose to join forces. The two groups leaned against a giant tree, each defending half.
The beasts surrounding the two groups seemed to be somewhat cautious about the determined resistance. They surrounded Douglas and others, continuously growling lowly, but didn’t immediately launch a large-scale attack.
“There’s another group approaching, one thousand seven hundred meters away. They’re moving quickly, probably arriving in about ten minutes,” Selene’s ethereal voice sounded again during the tense standoff between humans and beasts.
“Huh? Another group of fools?” Douglas couldn’t help but laugh bitterly in schadenfreude. Taler and others from Moor Academy also sneered.
Frankly speaking, if this had happened before Moor Academy and Themis Academy met, upon hearing news of another group rushing straight toward them, they would have been both alarmed and furious. But now, already surrounded, they no longer cared about a few hundred more beasts outside the encirclement. Thus, they were actually willing to see more people trapped together with them.
However, just as Douglas, Taler, and others were distracted by their schadenfreude, the beasts suddenly launched an unprecedented fierce attack as if they had some kind of spiritual connection.
“Damn it!” Taler, Douglas, Jenna, Rusty… everyone shouted in unison at that moment.
For survival, everyone from Moor Academy and Themis Academy exerted all their strength. Various colored combat energies and Nen lights immediately began flashing continuously in this small corner of the Sandra Forest.
Each swing of Douglas’s Poseidon’s Wrath sent out a red flash like a blade. Any beast touched by the red flash was inevitably cut in half. Taler wasn’t as relaxed as Douglas, but in a desperate fight, he managed to hold off the beasts for a while.
Beside them were the martial arts students from the two squads. The Nen users leaning against the giant tree also desperately released their Nen, continuously bombarding the beast horde with Nen waves.
The stinky blood spurting from the beasts, and the meat chunks sliced by Poseidon’s Wrath and shattered by combat energy, quickly turned this small corner of the Sandra Forest into a hellish scene.
Although Douglas and others’ desperate resistance inflicted considerable damage on the beasts, the beasts continued wave after wave of attacks against their defenses. Under the massive consumption, everyone’s fighting spirit was rapidly drained at an alarming rate.
“No more! If we keep going like this, we’re all going to die!” The first to cry out in frustration was Douglas.
In truth, Douglas had already regretted his decision to the point of wanting to twist his own intestines. With his strength and status, what could he possibly lack? Why had he, in a moment of madness, come all the way to Casares to participate in this cursed inter-academy visit?
“Ahh!” Perhaps it was Douglas’s cry that unsettled everyone’s resolve. Moments later, the first victim fell beneath the claws of the monstrous beasts.
The Moore Academy student who had just suffered an arm injury was struck in the thigh by a monster’s claw. Before he even hit the ground, several other creatures had already swarmed over him, howling as they dragged him into the dark forest.
“Ahh!” The terrified, agonized scream of that student nearly shattered the fighting spirit of everyone present. The defensive line Douglas and the others had formed crumbled in an instant.
Another Moore Academy physical arts student had already collapsed in fear, trembling and wetting himself. On the other side, the two physical arts students from Themis Academy weren’t faring much better. Though they hadn’t fallen to the ground, they were both in a panic.
“I… I don’t want to die… I’m from the Douglas family! I don’t want to die!” Douglas screamed hysterically, abandoning the defensive formation and charging out first, wielding his weapon, the Wrath of Poseidon.
Seeing Douglas’s actions, Tarral gritted his teeth, abandoning everyone else as he followed Douglas in a desperate dash outward. In the current situation, knowing that breaking through was their only hope, Tarral could no longer afford to think of anyone else.
Without the two physical arts instructors blocking their way, the beasts roared and rushed toward the psychokineticists, who were now completely exposed and defenseless before them.
Seline was tightly grabbed by a pale-faced Lasti, desperately running behind the fleeing Tarral and Douglas.
“Help us!” The other girls cried out in fear, instinctively chasing closely behind Seline and Lasti as they scattered in panic.
At this moment, Jenna was completely dazed. From childhood, she had always been the princess among everyone. Now, faced with such a terrifying scene, she was already paralyzed with fear. In fact, she had fled even before Douglas abandoned the others to save himself.
In the darkness, Jenna ran frantically, not even aware of how far she had gone. However, just as she thought she had escaped danger and was about to catch her breath, she suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from the side, knocking her down hard.
It’s over! When Jenna felt an immense pressure nearly suffocating her and saw the enormous gaping maw inches from her face, all the color drained from her face in an instant. Yet, after closing her eyes in despair for a moment, Jenna realized that the excruciating pain that had terrified her to the point of trembling had not come.
Trembling with fear, Jenna opened her eyes and found that the giant beast pinning her down had actually lifted its head, staring intently at some point deep within the jungle, as if it had detected a dangerous predator.
Jenna squinted toward the direction the beast was staring. She could see nothing but darkness. However, a familiar voice reached Jenna’s ears at that moment.
“Hmm, Linoah. It seems we arrived just a little too late.”
“Zhang Wen?! Save me… save me!” Overcome with joy at hearing the familiar voice, Jenna, without even thinking that opening her mouth would cause rainwater to pour in, screamed desperately.
“Hmm? Zhang Wen, I didn’t expect you to have an acquaintance here too,” came Linoah’s teasing, mocking tone, naturally reaching Jenna’s ears.
Then, shortly after Linoah spoke, the massive beast that had been pinning Jenna slowly lifted its body off its intended prey.
“Rooar…” The beast growled lowly toward Zhang Wen and Linoah in the darkness. Freed from the monster’s grasp, Jenna quickly got to her feet and ran as fast as she could toward Zhang Wen and the others.
“Roar!” The escape of its prey finally seemed to enrage the beast. It roared furiously and suddenly jumped. However, its target wasn’t Jenna, who had just escaped its claws, but Zhang Wen!
“Hehe. Linoah, do you think I should call this beast clever or stupid?” Zhang Wen smiled casually, effortlessly sidestepping the beast’s fierce pounce. As he dodged, he twisted his wrist, and a sharp crystal dagger instantly appeared in his hand. The beast, gliding past him along the direction of the dagger, fell to the ground lifeless before it could land.
Before Linoah and Jenna could even understand what had happened, they realized the beast had already become a corpse.
“This…” Jenna, completely unable to comprehend the martial skill she had just witnessed, stared in shock. Even Linoah’s eyes couldn’t help but show a hint of astonishment.
To be honest, in the Empire, there were many martial artists capable of slicing such a beast in half with a single strike. However, martial artists like Zhang Wen, who could silently and mysteriously inflict a massive wound from head to toe on the beast without anyone even noticing, were unheard of even in the ranks of the Orichalcum, where Linoah served.
“Just a trivial martial technique,” Zhang Wen casually smiled again, retracting the crystal dagger back into concealment.
“Pfft. Pretending to be humble,” Linoah scoffed, then turned to Jenna beside her, “You’re safe now. Go back to the village quickly. We have other business and can’t stay with you.”
“No! What business do you have? Let me go with you!” Jenna quickly grabbed Linoah’s arm, shaking her head desperately.
The experience from just now had completely shattered Jenna’s courage. How could she dare to travel alone now? As for the fact that Zhang Wen’s squad had been completely wiped out except for him, and why Linoah was with him instead. Or why Went, who was supposedly following Zhang Wen all along, wasn’t by his side—Jenna had long since stopped thinking about such questions.
“Come with us?” Linoah frowned at Jenna for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully, “Alright.”
Hearing Linoah agree to her request, Jenna nearly jumped up in excitement. She hurriedly asked, “Great! What are you going to do?”
“What else?” Linoah smiled like a fox, “Of course, we’re going to rescue people from the monster pack.”
“Rescue… rescue people?” Linoah’s words left Jenna speechless once again. Instinctively, she recalled the terrifying scene of being surrounded by beasts.
“No! Absolutely don’t go back! No matter how strong you are, you can’t possibly defeat so many beasts! You’ll die! You’ll definitely die!” Jenna grabbed Linoah’s arm, her face pale as she screamed.
“You can come or not, as you like. If you don’t want to follow, just go back to the village yourself,” Linoah said cheerfully.
“I…” Jenna’s face turned even paler, “I’ll go with you! But if you’re going to rescue people, please hurry. If you wait any longer, the people you want to save might be devoured until not even a bone of their face remains.” After hesitating for a long time, Jenna finally followed behind Zhang Wen and Linoah.
“You don’t need to remind us,” Linoah shot Jenna an annoyed glance, then suddenly sped up alongside Zhang Wen, running forward once again.
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