Chapter 154: Twists and Turns

“What the hell! Zhang Wen, you guys have no sense of loyalty!”

Agate roared, rolling away in a very disheveled posture.

“Boom!! Boom…!!!”

Two massive waves of battle energy swept past him almost brushing his body. Looking down from the sky, one could see a sudden streak of thick battle light sweeping across the dark green sea of trees. After a series of violent explosions, a deep trench hundreds of meters long appeared on the ground, leaving a clear white line across the green canvas.

Nimble rising black smoke, mixed with a pungent burnt smell, lingered in the air for a long time.

Still shaken, Agate flipped over and jumped up, turning around to berate Zhang Wen and Omega the Thunder God, only to see the two of them not even pausing, turning and fleeing in opposite directions.

“Did I get this wrong?” Agate was stunned, almost doubting his own eyes. Their team had three super-tier experts altogether; wouldn’t such overwhelming power be enough to dominate the final battlefield? Had those two gotten kicked in the head by a donkey? Why would they run without even fighting?

There was no time for Flame Demon Agate to rage and get angry, as Bateng Ping and Batuli quickly realized the situation and were overjoyed. Although they couldn’t be sure of the reason, it was obvious the other side was afraid of their combined forces. After all, they were boasting three super-tiers. If there was an opportunity to defeat such a strong enemy, they couldn’t afford to miss it.

In an instant, the two exchanged glances, then simultaneously shouted orders, leading their teams to attack Agate. First, they needed to eliminate this isolated Flame Demon.

Thus, Agate’s plight began. Used to being the one who dominated others, now the situation had completely reversed. Two super-tiers, along with more than a dozen teammates, including five saint-tier and several level-ten experts, joined forces to chase and kill him alone. What else could he do?

Even if he had three heads and six arms, he could only think about escaping first.

While running desperately with his giant sword, Agate cursed Zhang Wen and Omega the Thunder God in his heart. No matter how hard he tried to figure it out, he couldn’t understand why those two had run away when their side clearly had the advantage.

“Achoo!” Almost simultaneously, Omega the Thunder God and Zhang Wen, from different directions, sneezed fiercely.

“Zhang Wen, why are you running with us?” Xia Xi, pulled by Zhang Wen for several miles, finally stopped to catch her breath. Looking back, her brother was already out of sight. She couldn’t help but stomp her foot in frustration.

“Don’t look back! We’ll be in danger if we don’t run faster.” Zhang Wen looked at Xiu Luo, who also wore a puzzled expression, shook his head, and explained, “Forget it, I’ll tell you the truth…”. After finishing his explanation about Omega the Thunder God to the two, they both turned into stone-like expressions.

Xiu Luo took a while to recover, stammering, “No… you’re kidding, right? Omega the Thunder God actually…”. Their biggest support had become their biggest burden. How could they feel anything but embarrassment? It was too unexpected.

“Oh! Then my brother is in danger!” Xia Xi’s long red hair danced as she jumped. She finally remembered, her silly brother was still back there arrogantly wanting to take on two opponents alone. In this situation, wasn’t it practically suicide?

Just as she wanted to run back, she was forcefully held by Zhang Wen.

“Wait, Xia Xi. Going back won’t help, and you should believe in your brother. Agate the炎魔 has been around in the Jishe organization for so many years; his ability to sense danger and escape is always reliable.”

“Hmph! You’re making fun of my brother!” Xia Xi said, but she couldn’t help but giggle. Just as Teacher Zhang said, although her brother had a bit of a temper and poor control over battle energy, his ability to sense danger and escape in time was actually quite good. He had encountered danger more than once or twice over the years, but always managed to turn the situation around.

Seeing Xia Xi’s anxious expression gradually calm down, Zhang Wen knew she understood, and reached out to vigorously ruffle her neatly combed red hair, like petting his pet cat.

“You understand now. Actually, Agate alone would be better off escaping danger; with us around, it’s just adding trouble for him.”

Xiu Luo was already used to Zhang Wen’s habit of occasionally teasing the little girl and thought nothing of it.

Xia Xi slapped Zhang Wen’s mischievous hand away, huffed at him, but upon thinking about what Zhang Wen said, she found it quite reasonable.

“So what do we do now?” Both Xia Xi and Xiu Luo turned their gazes to Zhang Wen.

“Let’s continue heading toward the volcano crater, but we need to be more careful.”

After the three made their plans, just as they were about to reassess their direction, they suddenly heard rustling sounds from the dense grass on their left. Xiu Luo and Xia Xi immediately became alert. Xiu Luo gripped his weapon, facing the sound with a slightly lowered center of gravity. Xia Xi took a couple of steps back, each hand grabbing a long needle, ready for anything.

Zhang Wen’s eyes flickered slightly but he said nothing. After a short while, a graceful figure emerged from the bushes.

Mary Ann.

Dressed in a modern style, Mary Ann swayed her slim waist and walked out gracefully.

She was wearing a fiery red tight-fitting battle suit, with a low-cut neckline revealing a large expanse of snowy white cleavage and a deep valley that could make any man’s eyes fall into. Her long pants were tight-fitting, showing off her long, well-shaped legs. At the bottom, her feet were still in sharp high heels.

“Mary Ann?” Xia Xi’s large cat-like eyes shimmered slightly, relaxing a bit, though not completely lowering her guard. Her hands still held the needles as she looked behind Mary Ann.

“Just me,” Mary Ann replied, her waistband already transformed into a silver whip in her hand. She walked casually, her whip gently tapping away the needle Xia Xi was pointing at her, then throwing a flirtatious glance at Xiu Luo, who stood aside clearly not trusting her.

Under the watchful eyes of the two, she walked up to Zhang Wen, lifted her chin, and narrowed her eyes at him, “Well, now you know what I said is true, right? Staying with Omega the Thunder God will only get worse. Fortunately, the situation isn’t too bad now. We still have these few people. If we handle it properly, we might still have a chance.”

“Do you have any plans?” Zhang Wen asked.

Mary Ann giggled a few times, crossing her arms over her ample chest, her eyes sparkling as she coyly glanced at him, “Let’s talk about it after we get to the volcano crater.”

“Okay.” Since their goals were aligned, Zhang Wen agreed. He gave a signal to Xia Xi and Xiu Luo, and the four were just about to head toward the volcano when suddenly they heard quick footsteps coming from behind. As the sound of grass rustling grew louder, Lufei, wearing a purple tight-fitting battle suit, came panting out from behind the bushes.

“Huh?” Xiu Luo hesitated and looked at Zhang Wen. Earlier, everyone had scattered, but it was too strange that the disciples of Omega the Thunder God kept showing up one after another.

Zhang Wen also looked curiously at Mary Ann and then at Lufei.

“Mary Ann, you actually sneaked away from the teacher…” Lufei’s breath was slightly quickened as she glanced at Zhang Wen, “What are your plans? I’ll go with you.”

Mary Ann shrugged, not wanting to argue with Lufei about this. Everyone knew the situation with Omega the Thunder God; no one wanted to sink with a doomed ship. That would only drag them into an irreversible abyss. Besides, didn’t Lufei herself come chasing after them? It was a mutual understanding.

Now the group had grown to five members, including Xia Xi and Xiu Luo, with the addition of Lufei and Mary Ann. The missing ones were Omega the Thunder God, Ge Luo, and Flame Demon Agate.

They weren’t too worried about Agate, after all, he was a super-tier expert. As long as his luck wasn’t too bad, even if he couldn’t win, he could still run away. However, for Omega the Thunder God and Ge Luo, everyone generally didn’t have high hopes.

Omega’s strength was almost completely neutralized in a short time. With only Ge Luo, a saint-tier expert, by his side, what good could they do in an environment surrounded by strong enemies? What would be the final outcome?

But at this time, no one had the heart to think about this question. They all hurried toward the volcano crater.

Zhang Wen actually had a significant advantage in stealth; his Spring Water Technique’s aura was different from ordinary battle energy, which could conceal himself very well. At the same time, his spiritual power was stronger than average, making him the most convenient choice to lead the way. Along the way, they successfully avoided two powerful rival teams.

As time passed, they got closer and closer to the crater, and could already faintly smell sulfur. If they looked far into the distance, they could even see the towering, ring-shaped volcano at the horizon.

Black ash began to fall from the sky. According to Zhang Wen’s guess, it was probably material ejected from the volcano, proving that they were probably less than half an hour away from the volcano.

Since entering the final stage, several teams had encountered each other and engaged in fierce battles. Just during the time Zhang Wen’s group was advancing, there were no fewer than three intense battle energy explosions.

No one knew how many competing teams aiming for the southern dominion had been scattered or completely wiped out. At this point, everyone was too preoccupied to think of anything else but to move forward, and keep moving forward relentlessly.

Finally, they approached the base of the volcano crater, but the situation in front of them made Zhang Wen secretly alarmed.

Looking up, the entire volcano resembled Mount Fuji in Japan, presenting a triangular shape that was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Except for a straight path leading up the mountain, the rest of the terrain was either covered with sharp, steep rocks or flowing with splashing red lava. The sight of sulfurous smoke rising from the volcano was so terrifying that just looking at it was enough to make anyone lose their courage to attempt climbing.

If they followed the only mountain path forward, they would inevitably encounter other teams competing for dominance. With the current strength of Zhang Wen’s five-person team, they might be able to hold their own against teams without super-tier experts for a while, but if they encountered teams like Bateng Ping and Batuli, annihilation was almost certain.

But if they didn’t take this path and tried to climb the surrounding rocks instead? That wasn’t very realistic either. Not to mention the boiling splashing lava, even if there were small teams around, they could just fire a few mind-energy bombs, and if someone was hanging halfway up the cliff, it would be very difficult to move, inevitably leading to tragedy.

What should they do?

Neither advancing nor retreating was viable; was this a dead end?

Zhang Wen looked at Xiu Luo, Lufei, Mary Ann, and Xia Xi. Then he looked at the only mountain path in front of him. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “There’s no way back. We’ll have to go through here carefully.” Now was the time to bet on their luck. If they encountered one of the two teams from Hassan first, whether it was Apollo the Sun God or the blue-clad Anthony, there might be some room for maneuver. At least they were all serving Hassan and wouldn’t be eager to eliminate their own people.

But if their luck was really that bad and they encountered hostile teams, and if they couldn’t hold out, Zhang Wen would have no choice but to consider forfeiting. Of course, that was only in the worst-case scenario. Having come this far, if he couldn’t hold on until the end, if he couldn’t personally witness Xia Xi and Agate finding Gaolong for revenge, and if he couldn’t personally thwart the schemes of the Black Viscount, then participating in the Southern Dominance Contest would have been meaningless.

Looking at the long, towering volcano, Zhang Wen gestured to everyone. Everyone remained silent and followed him, charging toward the peak.

“Rumble…” They could faintly hear the loud sounds of battle energy colliding coming from the crater.

Thick dark clouds gathered in the sky, with occasional flashes of lightning.

It seemed that some teams had already rushed to the crater. Perhaps the battle above had already reached its most intense moment.

Zhang Wen and the others quickened their pace, walking for about twenty minutes before finally reaching halfway up the mountain. They caught their breath and took a brief rest. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any enemies along the way. As the battle energy explosions on the mountain became more intense, this level of confrontation exceeded Zhang Wen’s expectations. At least three or four teams must be fighting simultaneously at the top to generate such terrifying power.

Even the dark clouds in the sky were pushed into a huge circular vortex by the residual waves of battle energy, as if the sky itself had been pierced.

Including Xiu Luo, almost everyone’s face changed slightly. The impact of that energy and the residual waves of mind energy, even from this distance, felt like undercurrents in the sea, striking the hearts and minds of the group. How powerful must the people fighting at the peak be?

It was likely that people without super-tier strength wouldn’t even have the qualifications to stand there.

Zhang Wen frowned slightly. No matter how dangerous it was, they had to go up and see the situation. Staying here would only result in being eliminated by teams chasing from behind or being disqualified for exceeding the time limit. That would be truly unfair.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wen turned to look at Xiu Luo and the others, “Let’s go. We have to go up and take a look. If we don’t even have the courage to do this, we might as well give up directly.”

“Alright! Let’s do it!” Xiu Luo gritted his teeth. Having come this far, with his personality, he would never give up no matter what. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to participate in the competition. Moreover, as a warrior from the underground fighting arena, he lived on the edge every day. What was this challenge compared to that?

Zhang Wen’s gaze shifted to the other members, just about to say something to them when his expression suddenly changed.

Mary Ann reacted the fastest. Following his gaze, she looked behind and also sucked in a breath of cold air.

At the far end of their vision, a group of people was quickly chasing up along the mountain path.

Leading this group were people very familiar to Zhang Wen and the others. Bateng Ping and Batuli, whom they had just met not long ago. The irony of the situation was that they were now walking side by side like brothers after previously trying to kill each other.

The number of team members following them seemed to have decreased, and the remaining ones were slightly injured. It seemed that they had also paid a heavy price on their way here.

But even so, the two super-tier experts with the remaining team members were more than enough to wipe out Zhang Wen’s group.

“Quick, let’s go!” Mary Ann shouted to Zhang Wen and took the lead running toward the summit. Anyone who fell behind would be doomed when facing these two super-tier experts.

Xiu Luo, Lufei, Xia Xi, and the others hurriedly followed. Zhang Wen was the last one.

While running, Xiu Luo looked back at Bateng Ping and the others chasing them and shouted to Mary Ann ahead, “We can’t do it! We’re not as fast as them!”

Of course, they weren’t as fast. The pursuers had two super-tier experts whose incredible speed was enough to block Mary Ann and her group. It was likely that only Zhang Wen, who could use super speed, could escape.

Mary Ann glared at Xiu Luo with an annoyed look, “Hmph, I know we can’t outrun them, but it doesn’t matter. I just need to run faster than you.” With that, she pushed off with her sharp high heels, unleashing an incredible force that instantly increased her speed. In one breath, she surged ahead of Xiu Luo and the others by more than ten meters. Xiu Luo, watching from behind, could only stare in disbelief, cursing that this woman was truly a demoness.

However, Mary Ann didn’t have time to be smug for long. Bateng Ping and Batuli, two super-tier experts, weren’t fools. They saw their prey in front of them and couldn’t just let them escape. First, Batuli let out a low roar, and a terrifying wave of battle energy, like a comet, shot towards Zhang Wen.

The straight mountain path hardly needed any aiming. The two groups were less than twenty meters apart, and the power of the super-tier was enough to wipe them out.

Zhang Wen’s heart skipped a beat, instinctively sensing something was wrong. He didn’t even need to guess with his toes. His speed instantly surged, and in a flash, he dashed to the back of Lufei and Xia Xi. He pushed the two down with both hands. With his right hand, he grabbed Xiu Luo’s ankle and forcibly pulled down his tall figure. As for Mary Ann, who was running ahead, he couldn’t reach her.

“Boom!” A comet-like wave of battle energy roared past, almost brushing past the back of Zhang Wen’s head and the others. It carried a terrifying pressure wave.

Mary Ann never expected such a situation. When she looked back, the “meat shield” of Xiu Luo and the others who were blocking her view were all gone!

A blinding wave of battle energy was rapidly expanding in front of her eyes!

Oh no, this is going to kill me!

Letting out a scream, Mary Ann instantly unleashed a strong starlight glow, increasing her battle energy to the maximum. At the same time, she swung her silver whip in her right hand, wrapping it around a protruding sharp rock on her right side, pulling her body sideways and flying away.

Although Mary Ann’s strength was already above the saint tier, doing something like directly resisting a super-tier battle energy… she wasn’t that crazy. Moreover, after the initial hit, there would surely be continuous attacks. She would definitely die.

The blinding battle energy light skimmed past her shoulder, plowing through the narrow mountain path like a plow, widening it significantly. Countless pieces of broken stone and explosive dust poured down like rain.

Interrupted by Batuli’s battle energy attack, Zhang Wen’s group was thrown into chaos. They couldn’t even run away, let alone protect themselves. After Batuli fired one battle energy, he immediately launched another. Bateng Ping, who had been holding back, also brought immense intimidation and pressure to the group.

Running ahead on the mountain path not only brought no advantage but instead turned them into easy targets.

As Bateng Ping and Batuli, along with their team members, drew closer, suddenly Zhang Wen did something no one had anticipated.

He turned around and charged straight at Bateng Ping and Batuli with all his might.

Those were two super-tier experts!!

Xiu Luo, Xia Xi, and Lufei couldn’t help but scream.

Earlier, Agate the炎魔 had already attempted to confront the two on his own, with disastrous consequences. He was pursued and defeated by the two super-tier beings, and no one knew where he was hiding now.

Was Zhang Wen out of his mind?!

It was obviously impossible to fight against two super-tier experts in a direct confrontation!