Lord of Prayer

The detectors inside the helicopter blared a high-pitched alarm. The Energy Source reading on the screen was blindingly bright. In fact, the electromagnetic energy flickering across the weapon’s surface was a dead giveaway—the Thunder Magnetic Cannon was already fully charged!

Chengzi’s eyes widened in terror as she shrieked, “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, pull up, pull up!!!”

“It’s no use! We’re locked on!” Ding Yuan yelled, activating all of the helicopter’s Defense Arrays and accelerating violently.

BOOM!!!

The snowy mountain shuddered, letting out a mournful groan. The immense recoil cracked open the summit, and the white snow covering the slopes cascaded down. A hurricane-force wind spread out, creating a veritable avalanche.

A searing thunderbolt erupted from the cannon’s barrel. A single beam of light tore through the air, traversing the vast distance to strike the helicopter with unerring accuracy.

One layer, two layers, three… The Defense Arrays were pierced as easily as paper. With a deafening blast, the helicopter erupted into a fireball and plummeted helplessly toward the earth. The impact triggered a secondary explosion, sending flames rocketing into the sky.

“Chengzi? Ding Yuan? Li Yiliang? Are you still alive?” Zhou Chen called out to his teammates, but only static crackled back through the comms.

CLANG—

The sharp, piercing sound of steel on steel suddenly rang out.

A Chainsaw Sword swatted aside the lunging Silver Dragon Spear. The giant Mecha kicked forward, and with a dull thud, Li Chengtian was sent flying like a rubber ball. He crashed into several people in his path, one of whom was unlucky enough to suffer internal injuries and was eliminated on the spot.

Just as Zhou Chen was about to swing his Chainsaw Sword for another strike, the high-speed rotating saw blade was jammed by a Long Halberd that appeared from a bizarre angle.

“Oho, you really are something.”

A handsome, flippant man with his medium-length hair tied in a braid laughed. His ID was Akina Mountain Car God, and he held the Long Halberd that had just jammed the Chainsaw Sword.

“I didn’t believe it when Philis said you were strong, but now that I see you in action, you’ve definitely got some skill.” Akina Mountain Car God twisted his Long Halberd, and a flash of lightning erupted, shattering the chainsaw and sending fragments flying in all directions.

The Defender Mecha bent its knees and dodged back. A second later, a massive Thunder Sword slammed down where it had just stood. Its wielder was a young man with the vertical pupils of the Dragon Race, his ID being Invincible Tyrannosaurus War God.

Just as there were female Dragon-men, there were male ones as well. Invincible Tyrannosaurus War God possessed thirty percent Dragon Race blood, granting him some of their traits. He also knew Philis; they were distant relatives.

“He’s the only one left. Let’s finish this quickly. We’re making too much noise; we might attract some troublesome characters.” The Dragon-Eyed Boy held the Heavy Sword, which was even larger than his own body, with a single hand, seemingly without effort.

In the distance, Li Chengtian scrambled up from the ground. With an explosive sound, he sent snow flying and shot back toward them like an arrow.

…

Zhou Chen’s expression was grave. He could tell these three were exceptionally strong. Add to that the Steam Armor squad and the other contestants, plus any unknown secret weapons… Without using his Wish Ability or a Forbidden Object, his overall chances of winning were less than twenty percent.

’This competition is being broadcast globally. If I frequently use my Wish Ability to restore my condition, someone is bound to notice something is off. So it’s best not to use it if I can avoid it.’

’As for Forbidden Objects, I have Emotional Outburst, the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle, and the Blindfolded Sunglasses on me. But the first two are banned in the competition—using them would be a violation. And the Blindfolded Sunglasses are useless in this situation.’

Zhou Chen’s mind raced, countless thoughts flashing through his head. Based on the current situation, it seemed there was only one best course of action.

“——NIGERUNDAYO!”

Zhou Chen turned and fled!

The vector engines on the Mecha’s back surged to maximum output, heedless of the energy drain. The blessing bestowed by Hermes, “Tactical Cowardice,” activated, and his escape speed skyrocketed to an absurd degree!

Like the wind, like lightning!

In just an instant, he had shot forward several hundred meters, leaving a long white trail in the snow and the members of the Slaying Alliance standing stunned and disoriented in the wind.

“Fuck, the kid’s running away!”

“After him! He’s the only one left! Kill him!”

“How is he so fast?”

A moment later, everyone snapped out of it and began a furious pursuit.

“He’s actually not fighting us…” Akina Mountain Car God tutted. ’But that really is the best choice right now.’

’Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.’

“Everyone, use all your strength to surround and kill Zhou Chen! Don’t let him get away!” Philis’s excited voice, on the verge of tasting her revenge, echoed throughout the entire comms channel.

They were well aware of Zhou Chen’s combat strength. They had to crush him completely, leaving no chance for a comeback.

The ambush teams stationed in various locations received the order and began to converge on Zhou Chen’s position.

In an instant, the competition grounds, which had started to quiet down, erupted with activity once more.

Many passing contestants who didn’t know what was going on looked completely baffled. They stopped a few members of the Slaying Alliance to ask and learned that a certain team had previously incurred the wrath of the masses and was now being hunted by a party formed by their victims. Now, only one member remained, and he was on the run with thirty or forty people chasing him.

Many of the drama-seekers got excited upon hearing this. ’Such a fun event, can I join in?’

The Slaying Alliance members said sure. As long as you help us take down Zhou Chen, we’ll even give you some resources.

The drama-seekers joined on the spot. They could get in on the fun and score some supplies. It was an absolute jackpot.

Seeing this, the Slaying Alliance simply launched a bunch of drones that broadcast the news on a loop via loudspeakers, piquing the interest of many more contestants and getting them to join.

And just like that, a massive, sprawling manhunt began.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Why are there even more people chasing me now?”

As he sprinted across the snow, Zhou Chen glanced at the rear camera and saw the pursuers behind him. He was utterly stunned. In just half an hour, the size of the hunting party had doubled?

There were even people blocking his path from the front, all of them unfamiliar faces, shouting loudly that they were going to take his head.

’What kind of joke is this!’

’We haven’t pissed off this many people, have we?!’

***

“Speak up, loser!”

“Hahahaha, look at him run with his tail between his legs!”

“That bandit squad is finally getting what they deserve! They should’ve been wiped out ages ago!”

“I support this righteous punishment!”

In the livestream chat, many viewers were gloating, spamming the screen with comments. Most of them were fans of contestants that Zhou Chen’s team had eliminated, so naturally, they couldn’t stand to see him succeed and were eager for him to be knocked out of the competition.

“Now this is quite a spectacle…”

Colonel Guan clicked his tongue in amazement. “According to the official count, there are currently seventy-five people hunting Joyful Sawman. Another twelve are coordinating from the Slaying Alliance’s base. That means he’s facing eighty-seven people by himself… now it’s eighty-nine… ninety-one…

There are currently two hundred ninety-two contestants left in the competition. In other words, nearly one-third of all remaining players are involved in the hunt for Joyful Sawman.

This has to be the grandest and most exciting event of this year’s Sword Forging Competition so far.”

Commentator Cat looked at the camera and said, “The contestant from Black Pepper Fried Chicken Forging Workshop survived the helicopter explosion and is currently in hiding, healing her wounds. However, she’s in no position to help Joyful Sawman at the moment.

Power Boy and I have the most reliable vape have been tragically eliminated. They left a deep impression on the audience during this competition. I’m sure they’re in the infirmary right now, cheering on their teammate.”

“The official livestream’s voting function is now open. Viewers who cast a vote will be entered into a lottery for a chance to win a brand-new PS10 console and a copy of the newly released game, *War God 10*…”

At that moment, a voting box popped up in the livestream:

Do you think the contestant Joyful Sawman can survive this manhunt?

[Yes] [No]

After Colonel Guan finished reading the long string of advertisements, Commentator Cat asked, “Colonel, what’s your pick?”

“Is there even a choice?”

Colonel Guan puffed out his chest and declared with utter confidence, “Of course he can’t escape!”

“One-third of the contestants are after him. What’s he going to use to escape? A Mecha that’s about to fall apart? Or his own two feet?

He’s not going to turn around and kill all his pursuers, is he?”