Chapter 284: Imperial Ranking War: Make Them Nervous

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Two days.

Two teams eliminated.

That was all it took for the atmosphere of the Imperial Ranking War to change completely.

The Deep Blue God Empire Team and the Burning Firmament Empire Team had stopped moving as aggressively as they had before. Their representatives were still alive, their bases were still intact, and neither team had been attacked, yet they no longer had the confidence they possessed when the forced confrontation had first begun.

The reason was simple.

They had seen what happened to Berserk Mountain God.

Then they had seen what happened to Free Heavenly Paradise.

Both teams had entered the confrontation with around fifty representatives. Both had believed that they still had enough strength to fight their way through the Imperial Ranking War. Both had known that Heavenly Bronze was dangerous, but they had still assumed that there would be opportunities to fight, retreat, regroup, and survive.

Instead, they were completely erased.

There was no prolonged battle that could be studied afterward. No famous warrior from either side had managed to escape and provide useful information. No desperate last stand had forced Heavenly Bronze to reveal everything they had.

There was only one thing left.

The announcements.

And that was exactly what frightened the remaining teams.

The Deep Blue God Empire Team had stopped traveling unless absolutely necessary. Their representatives stayed close to their base, constantly checking their surroundings and watching the wilderness around them. Scouts were sent out more frequently, but the scouts themselves were nervous because nobody knew what they were supposed to be looking for. A group of Heavenly Bronze warriors? A trap? A single assassin?

Anything was possible.

The Burning Firmament Empire Team was no different.

They had become even more cautious after the second elimination. Their people slept in shifts, with several representatives remaining awake throughout the night to watch for enemies. Every unusual sound attracted attention. Every movement in the distance caused someone to raise their weapon. Even monsters that would normally be considered insignificant became sources of suspicion.

The problem was that they were not actually being attacked.

And that was making everything worse.

The two remaining teams had already come to the same conclusion.

Heavenly Bronze would come for them eventually.

There was simply no reason for them not to.

Heavenly Bronze was ranked first by an absurd margin. Their representatives had better equipment, better preparation, superior information, and a terrifying ability to coordinate their movements. Most importantly, they had already demonstrated that they could eliminate entire teams without suffering meaningful losses.

So what would stop them from doing it again?

Nothing.

That was the answer both teams had reached.

The question was only when.

Would it happen during the day?

At night?

While they were traveling?

While they were eating?

Would the enemy attack their main base, or would they first send a smaller group to assassinate their strongest members?

Nobody knew.

That uncertainty slowly became poison.

The representatives of Deep Blue God and Burning Firmament were not sleeping properly anymore. Their bodies were recovering from the battles and months of survival, but their minds were constantly working. Every time someone closed their eyes, there was the possibility that the next sound they heard would be the sound of an attack.

Even their leaders could not give them a reassuring answer.

Because they were afraid too.

**

Meanwhile, inside The Rock, Ren was having a perfectly ordinary day.

He was eating.

That was it.

There was no emergency meeting. No hunting party was preparing to leave. No weapons were being distributed. No formations were being reinforced because of an incoming enemy.

The Heavenly Bronze representatives were resting, training, eating, repairing equipment, and doing whatever else they wanted.

Some people were sparring.

Others were sleeping.

A few were enjoying the rare opportunity to simply sit around without worrying about surviving another calamity.

The contrast was almost ridiculous.

While the remaining teams were practically jumping at their own shadows, Heavenly Bronze was enjoying the peace.

Diana eventually found Ren inside one of the main rooms of The Rock, where he was calmly reviewing information gathered through his sensory network.

She glanced at the map before looking at him.

"They’re not moving much."

"I know."

"You’re not sending anyone?"

"No."

Diana stared at him for a moment.

After the first two eliminations, she had assumed Ren would immediately begin preparing the next operation. That would have been the logical choice. Their advantage was overwhelming, and eliminating the remaining teams quickly would reduce the possibility of an unexpected incident.

Instead, Ren had done absolutely nothing.

At first, she thought he was waiting for something.

Then she realized that he was deliberately waiting.

"You’re letting them panic."

Ren nodded.

"They’re already doing it themselves."

He leaned back slightly, his expression calm as he continued looking over the information only he could see.

"If I send another team now, they’ll prepare for the attack. They’ll move carefully, choose defensible terrain, and keep their strongest people together. That makes them harder to kill."

Diana understood immediately.

"And if you don’t attack?"

"They’ll keep waiting."

Ren tapped the table.

"They’ll wonder why we haven’t come. They’ll start thinking that we’re planning something bigger. They’ll start questioning whether their current location is safe. Their leaders will have to make decisions while they’re tired, their scouts will be overworked, and their people will eventually become careless."

Diana looked at him for a few seconds before sighing.

"You really are cruel."

"I’m efficient."

"You enjoy this."

"A little."

There was no shame in his answer.

Ren wasn’t interested in terrifying people for entertainment. Fear itself wasn’t particularly valuable to him. What interested him was what fear did to people.

Fear made them predictable.

Fear made them impatient.

Fear made them tired.

Most importantly, fear made people make mistakes.

The two remaining teams were currently doing all the work for him.

They were exhausting themselves without Ren having to lift a finger.

That was far more valuable than another quick victory.

His team wasn’t the one in a hurry.

They weren’t surrounded by enemies.

They weren’t starving.

They weren’t suffering from a lack of supplies.

They had a fortified base, clean water, food, equipment, formations, medical resources, and enough information to know exactly where every remaining opponent was located.

There was no reason for them to rush.

If anything, rushing would be foolish.

Why should the hunter chase prey that was already exhausting itself?

So Ren waited.

**

The first day passed without an attack.

The second morning came.

Still nothing.

No Heavenly Bronze squad appeared.

No ambush occurred.

No battle broke out.

And, most importantly, no announcement came from the World System.

The representatives of Deep Blue God were beginning to lose their patience.

"Are they actually coming?"

Nobody could answer.

One of their scouts returned after checking the surrounding area and reported that he had found nothing unusual.

That should have been reassuring.

Instead, it created another problem.

"If they’re not attacking us, where are they?"

The question spread through their camp.

Some believed Heavenly Bronze was preparing a massive assault.

Others believed Ren had sent assassins ahead of time.

A few thought the entire team had simply stopped moving because they were confident enough to wait.

Every theory created another possibility.

And every possibility created another reason to be afraid.

At Burning Firmament’s base, the situation was similar.

Their leaders gathered repeatedly to discuss what Heavenly Bronze might be doing, but every discussion ended the same way.

Nobody knew.

They couldn’t understand why the strongest team in the Imperial Ranking War had suddenly stopped attacking after demonstrating such overwhelming momentum.

That uncertainty began eating away at their morale.

If Heavenly Bronze had attacked again, they could have at least understood the situation.

Instead, the silence forced them to imagine what might be happening.

Maybe Ren had discovered their exact location.

Maybe he was waiting for them to move.

Maybe he had already surrounded them.

Maybe the next attack would be larger than the previous two.

Maybe they were being watched at that very moment.

The last thought was particularly disturbing.

Because it was true.

Ren was watching them.

His sensory network continued covering the entire secret realm, allowing him to observe their movements without revealing his presence. He could see their scouts moving around their bases. He could see guards changing shifts more frequently. He could see representatives waking up in the middle of the night and checking their surroundings.

He could even see the subtle changes in their movements.

They were becoming slower.

More cautious.

Less coordinated.

Exactly as he wanted.

By the end of the day, neither team had been attacked.

There was no system announcement.

No elimination.

No battle.

Nothing.

And somehow, that was more terrifying than another massacre.

The remaining teams had spent the entire day waiting for something that never happened.

They didn’t know whether they had been spared, ignored, or deliberately left alone.

They only knew that Heavenly Bronze was still alive.

And somewhere in that vast secret realm, Ren knew exactly where they were.

That night, neither team slept peacefully.

Inside The Rock, however, the atmosphere was completely different.

The Heavenly Bronze representatives were resting.

Some trained.

Some ate.

Some slept.

And Ren simply continued watching.

He had already killed two teams.

There was no need to prove anything anymore.

The remaining enemies were afraid.

They were tired.

They were confused.

And they were slowly breaking themselves apart without realizing it.

For Ren, there was no better preparation for the next hunt.

The Imperial Ranking War had become a game of patience.

And Ren had all the time in the world.