Child of Destiny

…

Boom!

From a distance, Arthur saw that Gunner was thrown far away from the rest of the group, making him completely isolated.

Even Arthur and Aoki, who were fighting at the depths of their enemy ranks, were still mindful of their positions. They knew that even if they were advancing ahead of the others, they still had to give themselves and their allies enough distance that they could cover once something went wrong.

Gunner, who was currently isolated and quite far from the rest, was truly in deep trouble.

“They have gotten him quite good,” mumbled Arthur after seeing Gunner’s predicament.

He might find it a bit of a pity, but he would not lend a hand to Gunner, especially when it would work quite well for them.

He would not look that suspicious if he protected Lawrence later. He would have a variety of reasons that he could use to support his actions later.

In a way, the Hydra Guild was indirectly helping him deal with the Gunner.

At the same time, he also knew that the two from the Hydra Guild had their own reason for dealing with Gunner.

However, this also meant that Arthur and the others needed to be more prepared for such ambushes from happening.

He knew that Boa and Cobra were most likely scheming something in the air, especially when the rules of this trial were not that clear.

They were only told to survive for as long as they could, which was also indirectly telling them to work together. This way, they could survive much longer and steadier against the army of jiangshi.

But it did not mean that they could not attack the others and backstab one another when the situation called for it. After all, they also did not know if the entire trial would suddenly stop if their side was the only one left on the battlefield.

There were still a lot of factors and situations that they had to keep in mind throughout the trial, which was why they were being too careful around everyone.

Unfortunately, those two from the Hydra Guild wanted to take the much riskier path instead of the more conservative one.

Due to the nature of their classes, it was easier for them to hide among the opposing army without being noticed.

Moreover, their deep understanding of poison methods would most likely help them deal with somewhat troublesome situations once the later stage of the trial arrived.

Everyone had similar thoughts about the current situation, which was why none of them took the initiative to lend Gunner a hand, much less save him.

Everyone had their respective agenda and priorities, so they would rather eliminate one of their competitors rather than make the later stages more complicated.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gunner struggles to fight with all his might, wiping out a huge portion of the jiangshi army with his overwhelming powers.

He had also showcased the variety of cards that he had never used previously in the earlier trials, such as the ultimate moves of his class and race.

The most stunning of them all was the cataclysmic storm he had generated along with his arsenal of weapons and the two Elemental Spirits that he contracted with.

The scale and range of attacks far surpassed those of the other powerful moves that the others had showcased in the earlier trials.

The destructive power of this technique had even outshone what Aoki had shown during their earlier battle and the magnitude of destruction that came from Arthur and Earrusall’s battle.

Unfortunately, instead of regrouping with everyone else, he was further pushed by the army of jiangshi surrounding him, which utilized a mysterious array that somewhat suppressed his combat prowess and limited the scale of his attacks within the nearby area.

This led to him being more isolated and losing all hope of regrouping with the other parties.

He did not know whether it was on purpose, but he could tell that the two members of the Hydra Guild had truly thrown in such a death trap.

Not only did this place isolate him from the rest of the group, but it also targeted and suppressed all his abilities to a great margin.

It was a perfect death trap meant for him.

Feeling lost, he could only curse Boa and Cobra repeatedly while doing his best to struggle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Unfortunately, the number of his enemies was too overwhelming for him to handle. He did not fall that easily, lasting for at least an entire hour.

He had entered his strongest state for such an extended period while also constantly throwing his most powerful moves without a pause.

This way, he managed to wipe out a huge portion of the jiangshi army, giving the others quite a helping hand in the process.

He had also taken out and used quite a lot of magic scrolls in the process, further increasing the damage that he had dealt to the opposing forces.

Unfortunately, that was still far from being enough to assure everyone’s safety.

After all, the overwhelming numbers of these jiangshi were still as absurd as ever, constantly swarming at them like an endless horde.

“Hydra Guild! I will make sure that you will pay for this!” he shouted in full anger and frustration before taking the initiative to use his self-destruction skills.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Amid this series of intense explosions, a huge portion of the battlefield was emptied. It created a huge hole in the army of jiangshi, indicating the damage and destruction that Gunner’s final struggle had caused.

“He had lasted much longer than I had expected,” mumbled Cobra as he emerged from the thick cloud of smoke and dust created by those explosions.

He used the thick cloud to hide himself from the vision of the others while also hiding his presence through special means.

He walked straight through the center of the explosion, which would be the spot where Gunner had used his final trump card.

It was clear that he was intending to get something from that place.

Not long after, he managed to see a few items scattered and lying on the ground. These items were not regular objects, especially with the ominous and strange auras that they were releasing.

He swept his gaze at the surroundings, completely ignoring most of the items and seemingly looking for something.

Swoosh!

Not long after, his eyes suddenly lit up, seemingly finding what he was looking for.

He grinned widely as he mumbled in excitement. “We are right! Those guys have truly found the Ten Thousand Poison Core and the Secret Manual of the Legends!”

“No wonder they can find this location and bypass quite a few rules; they own these items,” he added, and was about to bend to pick up the two items.

“Eh!?”

Unfortunately, a sudden sense of dread engulfed his entire being before he could even touch them.

Swoosh!

He swiftly used ‘Gale Steps’ to get away from his current location as soon as possible.

Whoosh!

When he reappeared a few meters away from his previous location, he swiftly raised his head and saw a blurry silhouette bending down and picking up the two items that he was supposed to get earlier.

Squinting his eyes and focusing his gaze, he managed to pierce through the cloud of dust filling the surroundings and managed to get a clear view of the opposing party.

A moment later, his eyes suddenly contracted after recognizing that person.

“You! What are you doing here! Are you supposed to be fighting at the forefront of the-…” Cobra was still in the middle of talking when the other party cut him off.

“So, these are the reasons why you have purposely targeted Gunner, huh?” said Aoki while picking up the two items that Cobra was eyeing earlier.

At the same time, he waved his hands, causing the wind to blow and pick up all the items scattered on the ground and carry them to him.

He then chuckled and continued. “There are quite a few usable things as well.”

As if he just heard the question from Cobra, Aoki raised his head and looked at the opposing party before answering. “Curious how I end up here!?”

“Unfortunately, I am not obligated to answer you, right?” he said along with a mocking smile.

Cobra frowned his brows quite deeply when he heard this before giving the latter a mocking grin of his own. “But are you sure that you are going to be fine alone? There is still quite a distance between here and that place?”

Hearing this, Aoki immediately understood that Boa was within the vicinity.

“About that!” Aoki was in the middle of talking when a sudden sensation of death engulfed his entire body.

It was as if the other party was trying to pay him back for what he had done to Cobra earlier.

However, the smile on his face did not fade, seemingly mocking the other two.

Bang!

Not long after, Boa’s daggers stabbed at Aoki’s back, plunging them straight into the heart.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, instead of landing a clean hit, the two saw Aoki’s body shatter like glass before disappearing.

…