Chapter 137 - The Sharpies Arrive

The Sharpies had finally arrived.

Han Qingyu had spent most of the trial holed up in caves, only venturing into the surrounding area. Even these past few days, he had opted to run from Adupu’s men instead of confronting them. It all boiled down to his determination to obtain the final reward.

Securing those two metal cores would net him at least eighty energy cores. He could then proceed as planned to his platoon’s assigned district to train, grow, and build his team, hunting and expanding as he did.

While his reluctance to engage in large-scale conflict before the Sharpies arrived stemmed partly from his desire to protect Plague Chicken and the others, there was actually another huge factor in why he fled from Adupu’s relentlessly pursuing men: He was terrified.

Earlier in the trial, he had single-handedly scared off a group of more than twenty people just by standing there. Then, a few days later, they added seven or eight more people to their team, and the prince in question gained an inexplicable ability to track Han Qingyu’s group down.

Adupu had led a raid on their cave, seeking a life-or-death showdown with Han Qingyu, and even used a metal core as bait to lure him into battle. The man was either insane or extremely confident.

Han Qingyu suspected the latter. Based on their first encounter, the man valued his life above all else.

Apparently, the Arabs had never obtained a metal core during the trials before this. Adupu already had one in hand. As long as he got out with it, he was almost certain to gain high honor and status upon returning. For him to take this unnecessary risk could only indicate that something was amiss.

In such cases, it never hurt to run first.

“Fuck, those guys finally stopped chasing us.” Wen Jifei hastily ducked down after checking, pressing his body flat against the grass and turning halfway clockwise to lean in closer, panting heavily from exhaustion.

These past few days on the run had been the hardest on him. A slight lapse in concentration would send him tumbling from A-rank to F-rank. While running, this would send his body flying forward as if in a car suddenly braking at high speed.

Luckily, Han Qingyu and Rust Girl were fast enough to catch him most of the time.

With a blade of grass clenched between his teeth, Han Qingyu glanced ahead and nodded. “Yeah, with a lineup that strong, he’s probably off to take down the Sharpies. Even if he isn’t, it wouldn’t be wise for him to keep chasing us right now.”

He’d spent the past few days observing Adupu’s team and discovered that the new members were ?quite strong. Not only were their integration levels high, but they also seemed experienced in armor. This was evident from their movement patterns, speed, and mastery over source energy.

“It’s a good thing we cooked and ate his hawk. It would’ve been impossible to escape if it had been watching us from the sky,” He Tangtang remarked thoughtfully from the side.

These days on the run had left him fed up as well, and he’d spent them constantly asking Yin Caixin how to ask, “Is that hawk your dad or something?” in English.

Yin Caixin repeatedly told him—even getting frustrated and scolding him for it after a while—but he always forgot again after a little while.

Lying prone, Yin Caixin nodded and opened her mouth to speak.

“Shh.” Han Qingyu hushed.

A group of a dozen or so people passed nearby.

The vast expanse before them was almost entirely devoid of trees, covered only in grass and shrubs. The five of them quickly ducked their heads in unison and shifted to optimize their battle formation. This was a skill they had honed while on the run. A hard-won lesson from the ordeal.

Once the group passed, Han Qingyu looked up. “Those Arabs don’t matter right now. Let’s focus on the Sharpies first. Also, don’t forget to swap out your energy cores for fresh ones.”

All five quickly replaced their energy cores.

“Done.” Wen Jifei nodded, activated his device, and sighed. “I have a feeling this is going to be the most brutal Sharpie fight yet. Nearly six hundred people, all going up for slaughter.”

Shen Yixiu regretfully shook her head, still keeping an eye on their surroundings. “There probably aren’t many who can even get close enough to be effective against the Sharpies. Not to mention, we’re all newbies, and competing with each other at that. It’ll be difficult to form an effective attack formation.”

“There’s also the Wipers to think about,” Yin Caixin added.

“Right.” Shen Yixiu paused. “There’ll probably be a lot of casualties.”

“Then...” Wen Jifei trailed off when he noticed Han Qingyu crawling forward.

“You guys stay here while I go check it out. Don’t worry, I’ll stay in your line of sight. If things go south, just run. I’m fast enough to catch up,” Han Qingyu said, breaking away from the group and crawling several hundred meters ahead before settling into a prone position.

He had spent the past few days on constant alert, unable to shake his lingering suspicions and inexplicable unease about the trial’s arrangements.

Here it comes. That was quick.

There was an absurdly short window between the alarm and the arrival.

The spindle-shaped aircraft had appeared in the blink of an eye. This was only Han Qingyu’s second time witnessing a landing. Given that the first had shifted the course of his entire life, the less ?said the better.

It’s so fast! Han Qingyu marveled as he peered upward.

The aircraft had gone from a speck in the sky to a jeep-sized object hovering above them in less than a second.

Boom!

The aircraft crashed into the ground at an extremely high speed, instantly killing more than half a dozen participants who had managed to secure the closest offensive positions.

Dust billowed, and rocks flew everywhere.

Han Qingyu ducked to take cover, puzzled. Isn’t this thing supposed to make a silent, gentle descent?! That’s what it did last time. Why did this one crash-land? Do I rush over and snatch the metal core now?

Raising his head, he peeked at the chaos.

Over a hundred people surged forward.

Boom!

Another aircraft crashed to the ground.

It had only been five seconds since the first one landed. No one had been watching the sky for a second one.

This one crashed directly into the crowd of charging people.

At least a dozen people died.

Both aircraft then launched their passengers in unison. Four Sharpies leaped out and brandished their pillar swords, beginning their usual slaughter.

Chaos broke out.

Before the front-line fighters could even spread out, they were already being flung through the air in a spray of blood.

Fear gripped the crowd.

In truth, numbers didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if they had a hundred against four. The gap in individual combat power between them and the Sharpies made teamwork vital. They posed no real threat to the Sharpies if they couldn’t follow through on a coordinated attack to breach their defenses and inflict damage.

Four Sharpies also completely caught everybody by surprise.

Everything spiraled out of control in the ensuing chaos.

If not for the maneuvering devices, many would’ve died underfoot, trampled by their own comrades in the stampede.

The reality wasn’t much better, though. Those on the ground could only hope the Sharpies wouldn’t attack them before they got back up. If not, they were as good as dead.

The entire scene devolved into a one-sided massacre.

This bloodbath extended outward, with bodies falling in an ever-expanding circle.

Of course, Han Qingyu believed this was only temporary. The situation would improve as soon as effective formations were organized and moved in from the back.

Plenty of outstanding youths from various countries were participating in this trial. There was no shortage of talent among them.

With all this in mind, Han Qingyu continued his slow crawl forward.