Chapter 15

1

Having two identical sensing rods gives us two chances, which makes things easier. Plus, we were already one person short, so we're at a numerical disadvantage.

"I think we should focus on getting through the first round before thinking of a solution. If we don't pass the first round, the enemy won't save Wenxin."

"But we can ask our teacher for help!" Li Qingqing held Wenxin's hand beside her. As classmates and roommates, this was all they could do.

"If we make it through the first round, we'll have a foundation. If we can't come up with an effective method in time, we'll follow the opponent's demands. But if we have a method, we can continue the game. I don't think anyone would give up so easily."

"So, after the first round, we can't ask for help from others?"

"The inter-school competition stipulates that each team must have a healing magician. It is also specified that during the competition, all injuries must be treated by their own team's healer. Only if they forfeit can they seek external help. Many schools withdrew last year due to severe injuries." The president closed his eyes and rested.

"I have a suggestion."

"What is it?"

I took out the sensing rod I had hidden behind my back and said, "Divide and conquer."

2

The moonlit night suddenly became eerie. Although it was full moon, it was unusually dark. The team guarding the entrances and exits of the ancient city couldn't help but shiver.

There was a tall building to the south, where a girl stood on top, keeping watch for her teammates. Though the night in the forest was chilly, it wasn't a problem for a fire-element magician.

Ordinary people think that standing high allows you to see farther, but when someone is focused on what's far away, they may miss what's happening right beside them. Without any warning, a black shadow appeared behind the girl. It moved along the ground, as if someone or something was walking on it, but there was nothing there. It felt as if the shadow materialized out of thin air. The presence of this shadow was almost nonexistent, and the girl's ability to sense its approach was also close to zero.

The shadow crossed the wall of the tall building and silently stopped behind the girl. From the shadow emerged a figure that resembled a human. Suddenly, moonlight concentrated on the girl.

The girl looked at the strange moonlight, and as soon as she lifted her head, her mind seemed to be drawn in. It became empty, devoid of thoughts or feelings.

The person who emerged from the shadow had long, pitch-black hair and bright red eyes that flickered with a radiance. Sharp fangs protruded from their mouth.

Under the moonlight, a charming face was reflected, and without any hesitation, the person bit the girl's neck, enjoying a delicious dinner. The sound of blood being sucked, "Gulugulu~," made one's hair stand on end. After sucking all the blood, the person didn't spare the soul, and in the end, the girl's body turned into ashes, leaving only her clothes behind.

Pera Mi, the last queen of the vampires, bore the mission of rebuilding the vampire race. When she was sealed, there were around a hundred vampires, but after waking up, she was the only one left. In this situation, there was only one choice - infiltration. She picked up the clothes from the ground and slightly smiled, revealing her fangs.

If a vampire king does not drink all of a person's blood, that person becomes a servant of the vampire. If a person is completely drained, their soul can return to the underworld and be reborn in the three realms of gods, humans, and demons. However, if the vampire also absorbs the soul, the person will disappear completely, and their soul's memories will be preserved by the vampire.

Pera put on the clothes, disguised herself as the girl, sat on the edge of the high building's wall, bit her fingernail, and looked into the distance. The church, which was relatively higher in terrain, revealed that half of its roof had collapsed.

She forced herself to remember the person's aura. One day, Pera would find him again because her Pei Sword was still in his possession, and she had to retrieve it and obtain his blood.

...

3

In the early morning, as the sunrise approached, the ancient city was filled with mist, limiting visibility to only one meter. The forest was damp, and fog was particularly dense in the morning. Although not suitable for travel, some people had no choice.

"The exit is ahead, and at least a hundred people are waiting," said Li Liu, unaffected by the weather.

"That means there are at least ten teams. There are more people than expected!"

"Many people are waiting to profit without any effort. They're so lazy." The president sighed. In this world, many people wanted to gain benefits without putting in any effort, and the president despised them deeply.

"Narcissus, isn't this distance enough?" We were in a mud house about six to seven hundred meters away from the exit, and Narcissus had already started to set up her formation.

Narcissus was limited by me, so her abilities were greatly diminished. The spatial magic formation she could create could only transport one person at a time.

In the first step of the plan, Narcissus would take the sensing rod and Wenxin and leave through the spatial magic formation. The farthest distance was a cave two kilometers away. One use of the formation was already exhausting for Narcissus, so it would be impractical to transport back and forth and risk having an additional injured person.

"After Narcissus leaves, we will follow. Let's try not to engage in direct confrontation. If necessary, use the sensing rod to distract them."

Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood the guild leader's meaning. Giving up the sensing rod was against the rules, but by pretending to let the enemy take it, the focus of the struggle would shift, giving us a chance to escape.

"Narcissus, after you go out, set up trap formations and concealment formations. Make sure that no one besides us can find you. And be sure to keep the sensing rod safe." I touched Narcissus's head and said.

Narcissus looked at me with inexplicably teary eyes.

"It's not like we're parting ways forever. Why are you looking at me like this? Be good~~" I gently stroked Narcissus's hair a few times, and then she obediently left with Wenxin.

The dazzling light from the magic formation slowly disappeared, leaving no trace. Looking at the teammates around me, I said, "Let's go."

The eight of us walked towards the exit with large strides.

We didn't purposely hide anything. As soon as we stepped out of the mud house, everyone's eyes were on us. Besides the team that had obtained the sensing rod, there would only be those who were giving up. But the golden-haired girl who led the second-place team in the previous round, who wouldn't remember her? It wouldn't be easy to assume that the second-place team would give up.

There were about sixty to seventy people standing on the gate of the ancient city, but it was evident that some of them were injured. It seemed that there had been some infighting last night.

The people on the city walls were always prepared. As soon as the leader gave the order, they would immediately rush forward.

The guild leader raised the silver sensing rod and shook it, saying, "The sensing rod is in my hand. How about we have a duel and see who can snatch it in the end?"

"Do you think we're fools? What if you take the opportunity to escape?"

"After you snatch it, you'll be snatched by others again. Aren't you afraid of being caught between the mantis and the sparrow, with a shotgun waiting behind the flowers? You can fight us first before we fight you."

These words struck a chord with them. The sensing rod was right in front of them, but they had to also be on guard against other teams from different schools. They could suddenly be attacked from behind.

This strategy of reducing the enemy's intelligence with words could only be employed by a master of social skills like the guild leader. I couldn't come up with it.

I held the vampire queen's sword in my hand and felt that the sword was unusually agitated. Could there be vampires nearby? They wouldn't come out wandering in broad daylight, would they?

The people on the city wall kept their eyes on the crowd. After glaring at each other for ten minutes, the guild leader impatiently said, "Are you going to fight or not? If not, we'll leave first."

The guild leader took a step forward, instantly breaking the multiple confrontations. The city wall immediately lit up with dazzling lights, and the blue wind blew away the mist, revealing that behind the sixty to seventy people, there were another sixty to seventy people. If they had to wait for them to finish fighting, they would truly be waiting forever.

In the blink of an eye, a team did not join the melee but rushed towards us. Those who waited here like this were not good people to begin with, and this team was even worse. How they took advantage of the situation was clearly well-trained. It's ridiculous that schools nowadays teach such eccentric people.

But blaming this team would still work.

The guild leader threw the sensing rod to me and asked me to guard the rear. The scabbard of the Hanya sword was still sheathed, and a strong surge of qi pressure was coming from the front.

The people in front deliberately avoided them, not letting them get too close to me easily. When I was about to swing my sword after binding one of them with a sealing magic, someone suddenly came from behind and pushed me down, grabbing the sensing rod from my hand.

After being robbed, our expressions were truly "astonished," and we shouted, "They took the sensing rod! Get it back quickly!"

The crowd of people on the city wall, upon hearing this, immediately turned their gazes to the people below the wall, angrily staring at the team that took the sensing rod. The team that took the sensing rod felt bewildered. How could they easily obtain the sensing rod after just two or three rounds? They had originally prepared for a bloody battle, but now their enemies were the several hundred people here.

"Damn it! They're hogging it all for themselves! Let's take them down first!" Upon hearing this, those people rushed towards the team beneath the city wall. We took this opportunity to quietly leave outside the city gate.

3

After walking two kilometers, we met up with Nofi at the entrance of the hidden cave. As we stepped inside, we saw Wenxin still drenched in sweat, the tiny bit of joy from just escaping gradually fading and being replaced by a sense of unease.

I gently picked up Wenxin and asked Nofi, "Where's the sensing rod?"

"It's right here!" Nofi happily took out the silver sensing rod and proudly showed it off.

"Tesha, continue leading the way. We need a smooth path now." Because we had injured members, we couldn't continue on the uneven path we had taken before. That's why the leader asked Tesha to find a smooth route for today. Most of the people were still concentrated in the ancient city, so there probably weren't many other teams on the outskirts.

Tesha pulled out the 3D map once again and swiftly operated it with her hands, quickly finding the closest and smoothest road.

"We can proceed now."

"Nofi, put away the sensing rod."

"Yes, master."

......

4

Around 1:00 PM, we walked out of the large stone gate at the edge of the forest, still greeted by various media.

Under the attention of the various media, we handed the sensing rod over to the officials of the judging panel. The person who received the sensing rod gestured on top of it, and a number "1" appeared.

"This is the order of your next round's appearance. Congratulations, you're the first." The person smiled and said to us.

"Thank you!" The leader courteously accepted the sensing rod again, and we got on the prepared car, heading straight to the hotel where the second round of the competition would take place.

A woman with beautiful long golden hair and a graceful lady-like aura, who had been staring at our guaranteed contestant Wenxin and the cursed dagger embedded in her body, had an unpleasant expression with a furrowed brow. She wanted to approach and ask what was going on. She was our principal, Gu Fei.

Without even turning her head, she said to the adjacent academic affairs director, "Send someone to investigate which student from which idiotic academy did this."

"I'll do it right away."