Erin Xavier’s words were blunt, and she’d said them in front of everyone from the First Military Academy.

Ethan Grant’s heart sank. ’I can’t even imagine how pathetic I’ll look when this gets broadcast for everyone to see.’

But remembering how Erin Xavier had so calmly asked if she should just give him the grand prize of elimination, another wave of anger washed over Ethan Grant. In the end, he forced a smile that looked suspiciously like he was about to cry.

The situation changed in an instant. The expressions of the First Military Academy students, who had been certain of victory just a moment ago, faltered.

Erin Xavier’s face was unmistakable.

With another S-Class Alpha suddenly on the Federal Military Academy’s side, everyone felt the pressure mount.

"Every elimination counts!" one of the Alphas surrounding Ethan Grant and his teammate suddenly shouted.

Heedless of anything else, they frantically unleashed a barrage of spiritual power attacks on them. Ethan Grant’s teammate, already struggling to hold on, could no longer withstand the onslaught. His Spiritual Shield shattered violently.

The Alpha crumpled to the ground, and the light on his Intelligent Brain instantly turned red.

Eliminated.

Ethan Grant had no time for his own feelings. He unleashed several consecutive bursts, blasting open a gap and temporarily escaping the encirclement.

He gasped for air, every pore on his body seeming to scream open. Rain and sweat mingled on his skin as he struggled like a fish out of water, fighting for the slightest chance of survival.

Erin Xavier, having eliminated two people herself, saw that Ethan Grant hadn’t fled despite his condition. She refrained from any more sarcastic remarks. "If you can’t handle it, just leave."

’Just look at him,’ she thought. ’His spirit sea must be about to collapse again.’

Both times she’d seen Ethan Grant, he’d looked like this. No wonder Erin was surprised he’d managed to last this long.

Ethan Grant wiped his face. "What kind of man would I be if I ran? I’ll fight."

’A man has to have some pride!’

But then, Erin caught sight of what was happening with Miles. She frowned. "I’m going to help Miles. Hold on for one more minute."

’She could see that Victor Vance was trying to run!’

With the effects of his spiritual power almost completely nullified, Victor Vance’s physical prowess was no match for Miles Sherman’s. He could barely defend himself, let alone attack.

Several times, Miles spotted the slightest opening in his stance and attacked.

The boulder of dread in Victor Vance’s heart was already sinking, but Erin Xavier’s arrival sent it plunging straight to the bottom.

’I can’t win.’

He specialized in long-range combat; precision attacks with his spiritual power were his greatest weapon.

But Miles’s spiritual power was the perfect counter to his. It not only nullified the force of any spiritual attack that got close but had also allowed Miles to close the distance between them to less than a meter.

In this brutal, close-quarters fight, his advantages were completely negated.

With Erin Xavier’s arrival, Victor Vance’s situation grew even more dire. ’If I don’t get out of here now,’ he thought, ’I’m going to be the first S-Class Alpha to be eliminated.’

As panic set in, even more openings appeared in his defense.

Miles’s leg swept out and kicked Victor Vance in the knee. The moment he fell, Victor scrambled back up and bolted toward the rainforest, shouting at the top of his lungs to the group facing off against Ethan Grant, "Run!"

The sharp, piercing cry echoed throughout the supply point. The students who had been on the verge of eliminating Ethan Grant glanced back, their faces filled with reluctance.

A two-on-one fight involving S-Class Alphas was not something they could hope to interfere in.

However unwilling they were to admit it, they knew Victor Vance had made the right call.

This was no time for bravado. Victor Vance was keeping two S-Class Alphas occupied—this was their chance to escape!

Forgetting all about eliminating Ethan Grant, the students scattered in all directions in frustration. Of the original squad of seven or eight, only three managed to escape.

The three of them chose three different directions and fled with all their might.

In an instant, the only person left near the supply point who hadn’t been eliminated was Ethan Grant.

After realizing the three people who had been attacking him were gone, Ethan Grant collapsed onto the ground. He looked at his eliminated teammate beside him and gave a bitter smile. "I guess I’ve got some ridiculously good luck."

This wasn’t the first time, either. He’d been inadvertently saved by Miles’s squad twice now.

Shawn Jarvis and the other eliminated students from the First Military Academy were sitting by a supply crate that offered some shelter from the rain. Hearing Ethan Grant’s words, Shawn snorted. "Your friend is a ’dead man’ now. He’s not supposed to talk."

’And these two have the nerve to talk about their dumb luck right in front of us?’

’To hell with that.’

Ethan Grant, taken aback by his comment, rolled his eyes dramatically. "You’re a ’dead man’ too, and I see you’re talking just fine."

"You!" Shawn Jarvis, angered by the retort, sneered. "I was just reminding you of the rules."

He was right, according to the rules. ’Dead men’ couldn’t move or give any more information to their teammates.

But Ethan Grant was just trying to vent his frustration.

’As for his luck... he didn’t know whether to call it good or bad.’

On one hand, he’d managed to pull himself out of another impossible situation. On the other, his current condition was absolutely terrible.

His spirit sea throbbed with pain. His team had been cursed with bad luck from the start. Their Omega and two other Alphas had already been eliminated, leaving just the two of them to struggle on.

Knowing what was at stake with the results of this joint exam, they had forced themselves to endure.

They had to last as long as they possibly could.

He was covered in mud and water. He dragged his heavy body over to a supply crate and pried it open. Ignoring the filth caked on his hands, he grabbed an energy liquid and chugged the entire thing.

The tasteless energy liquid slightly eased the throbbing in his spirit sea. As he drank, his eyes were drawn to the fate of the First Military Academy’s S-Class Alpha under the darkening sky.

Unsurprisingly, it was a victory for Miles Sherman and Erin Xavier.

Victor Vance’s face was caked with mud, his body so filthy that the First Military Academy’s insignia was obscured. With his hair soaked through, he was half-dragged, half-supported between Miles and Erin as they walked over.

Shawn Jarvis and the others, forgetting their ’dead man’ status, rushed forward to take Victor Vance from Miles and Erin.

"Are you okay?" Shawn Jarvis asked him in a low voice.

Victor Vance’s entire body was tense. He needed their support just to sit down. It was only then that everyone noticed the blood trickling down his calf.

"I’m fine," Victor Vance said through clenched teeth. He knew he was in trouble the moment he was kicked over and his leg slammed into a rock. A sharp, stinging pain, mixed with the raw feeling of scraped skin, had shot through his nerves.

’Probably a hairline fracture and a deep gash.’

It wasn’t a serious injury—something a few minutes in a medical pod could fix—but out here, it would definitely hinder his movement.

Even at full strength, he was completely countered by Miles. Now, facing a two-pronged attack from both Miles and Erin, he had absolutely no chance of escape.

He hated the idea of being eliminated, but now all he could feel was bitter resentment.

After dealing with the students from the First Military Academy, Erin instinctively scanned her surroundings. She turned to Miles. "Where’s Zoe Pierce? Where did she go to hide?"