Zoe Pierce wasn’t the only one who heard it. Nathan Lockwood had, too.

Nathan Lockwood raised a hand, stopping the others who were about to move forward. He shook his head at Erin Xavier and the rest.

He scanned the area and quickly realized that if that group wanted to leave, they would have to pass through here.

Everyone fell silent.

Nathan Lockwood made a series of hand signals, indicating that they should hold their position here and wait.

There were fewer Alphas here than they’d anticipated. Besides the one S-Class, there were only five A-level Alphas left, and that included the two who had fled the day before.

There were also four Omegas with them.

The conversation on the other side continued. The buzz-cut guy asked, "Then what about Monica Pence?"

"Everyone on her team has been eliminated except for her." An entire team of Alphas eliminated, with only their Omega remaining.

The leader of the group glanced over. "We’ll eliminate her right after we move to a new spot. Having her tag along now is just a pointless burden."

"You can just take her team’s points."

The buzz-cut guy hesitated, then said after a moment, "Holden, I’m not asking about this because of her team’s points."

The man called Holden answered without turning his head, his tone even. "I know. But someone has to collect her team’s points. You might as well be the one."

After all, there was no way Monica Pence would make it to the end. Holden Hayes knew exactly how many points she had, and giving them to the buzz-cut guy wouldn’t affect the bigger picture.

More importantly, the buzz-cut guy had fallen silent.

He glanced at the buzz-cut guy. Having been promised a benefit, he was no longer complaining like before.

The team’s morale was already shaky. Ever since only two of them had returned the previous night, the group had been on edge.

What Holden Hayes had to consider now was whether to go solo or to continue through the joint examination with this makeshift alliance.

Their group’s points weren’t very high—just over a hundred.

They were still a long way from the five-hundred-point target.

And all the other teams they were with could only scrape together about a hundred points in total, which was nowhere near enough.

The buzz-cut guy just wanted to last longer in the joint examination. But he, as the First Military Academy’s only S-Class Alpha, had never wanted anything but first place.

The pressure to score points had become immense, a heavy weight that left no room for relaxation.

"Holden." Another man walked over from the side. Seeing this, the buzz-cut guy excused himself, leaving the two of them alone.

Brian Payne waited until the buzz-cut guy was completely gone before continuing, "Have you made up your mind?"

The night before, it was Brian Payne who had first proposed splitting up the group.

"We’ve lost our advantage." No one had expected that the Federal Military Academy sending out just Erin Xavier and Miles Sherman would be enough to nearly wipe them out.

Brian Payne was pessimistic. He believed the First Military Academy no longer stood a chance of winning the joint examination against the Federal Military Academy.

"We can’t confront Miles Sherman’s team directly. Our only option is to prey on the other teams for their points." Brian Payne’s point did have some merit. "Besides Miles Sherman’s group, our team should be the strongest."

Among the Alphas who were left, three of them were from their original team. The rest were the buzz-cut guy and the two others who had fled back the previous night.

Those two were clearly not in good shape, and even the buzz-cut guy was getting restless.

Other than the three of them—the core Alphas—staying united, the rest were just small fry.

On top of that, they had to look after superfluous Omegas. The group was bloated and inefficient.

"You know what I’m thinking." Brian Payne seemed easygoing, but Holden Hayes knew how radical he could be.

He wanted to absorb the points of the buzz-cut guy’s group right here, right now, and then continue this war of plunder with only the four members of their original team.

Holden Hayes knew what Brian Payne was thinking, and Brian Payne, of course, knew what he was thinking too.

Holden Hayes wanted to win.

And what he was proposing now was a path, however ruthless, to a potential victory.

Nathan Lockwood quietly retracted his spiritual power.

He gestured for Miles Sherman and the others to remain still.

A flicker of amusement crossed his eyes.

’Who would’ve thought we’d get to see such a good show out here.’

’The people from the First Military Academy are fighting amongst themselves.’

’Maybe they’ll take out a few of their own before we even have to lift a finger. It would save us the trouble.’

Zoe Pierce’s expression was also complex. She understood the situation, which made her sigh inwardly. Neither side’s reasoning seemed wrong, and she could tell that the one called Holden Hayes was wavering.

He had been silent for a very long time.

Meanwhile, the Alphas and Omegas on the other side were ready to move out at a moment’s notice.

But in the end, Holden Hayes finally spoke. "Brian, we can’t do that."

"We’re schoolmates, not enemies." If they did this, their reputations at the academy would be ruined.

"This isn’t the endgame." If it were the final critical moment, then eliminating the buzz-cut guy’s group would be perfectly acceptable. No one could blame them. But this clearly wasn’t that moment.

Brian Payne hadn’t expected Holden Hayes to argue from that angle. He had always found Holden a bit indecisive, but for now, Holden had managed to convince him.

They were all from the First Military Academy. Eliminating them here didn’t mean they’d never see each other again. On the contrary, they’d be seeing each other all the time.

These people had joined their alliance because of Victor Vance. If they were so easily cast aside now, it would be impossible to rally anyone for the next similar exam.

Brian Payne rubbed his furrowed brow. "You’re right. Fine. I’ll listen to you this time."

Holden Hayes smiled back. "I’m glad you understand."

With their objectives realigned, the team of nearly ten people set off once more.

The Omegas, affected by the team’s atmosphere, remained completely silent.

Only Monica Pence was indifferent. The buzz-cut guy had just spoken to her about Holden Hayes’s intentions. She’d had a feeling about her fate since the previous night, and now it was settled.

It would be unsafe to leave her here alone, so she would be eliminated only after they moved her to a safer location with them.

This was, by all accounts, as benevolent as they could be.

A flash of disappointment crossed Nathan Lockwood’s eyes. ’So they didn’t end up fighting after all.’

They had six Alphas, while Nathan’s side had five.

At that moment, Erin Xavier started making suggestive faces. Zoe Pierce knew what he meant: he wanted her to eliminate the Omegas first.

Though she knew that with the abilities of Miles Sherman and the others, victory was certain, Zoe Pierce was still exasperated. ’She couldn’t shake the feeling that Erin Xavier was treating her like a performing monkey.’

She took a deep breath to calm herself.

’Regardless, if this task was left to her, she would have no problem completing it.’

Holden Hayes led the way, with Brian Payne at his side. The buzz-cut guy brought up the rear.

The distance between their group and Zoe Pierce’s was closing rapidly.

The air grew still, almost frozen.

When they were less than ten meters away, Holden Hayes’s expression abruptly changed, and he came to a dead stop.

"Stop hiding. Come on out." His face was taut, his gaze heavy as he stared straight ahead.