...

Inside the mission scenario.

Kong Kun finally found the Nine-legged Black Tripod inside the coffin.

Fang Tangtang started to cheer. Finding the mission item meant they were halfway through completing the mission mode, and she was thrilled.

But Gao Neng couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

’This is too easy!’

It felt like there was no challenge at all.

It was as if Cui Jun and his team had simply vanished, or perhaps gotten lost. They hadn’t seen a single sign of them the entire time it took to find the mission item.

’What exactly went wrong?’

"Gao Neng, let’s hurry! We just need to get to West Village and place the Nine-legged Black Tripod on the altar, and our mission will be complete," Fang Tangtang said excitedly.

"Isn’t this a little too simple?" Kong Kun asked, equally puzzled as he looked at the Nine-legged Black Tripod in his hands.

"Did you find it?" Feng Qingqing asked, catching up to them just then.

"We found it!" Fang Tangtang replied immediately.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to West Village before Cui Jun and the others show up, and the mission will be done!" Feng Qingqing’s eyes lit up.

"Gao Neng, what are you thinking about?" Kong Kun asked, looking at him.

"Something feels off. It seems like Cui Jun and his team had no intention of coming to East Village. Did they get lost? Or..." Gao Neng’s brow was tightly furrowed.

"Or what?" Kong Kun pressed.

"They’re ambushing us on the road! No... If they were going to set up an ambush, where would be the best place?" Gao Neng’s eyes narrowed slightly. He finally knew what the problem was.

"West Village!"

"They’re waiting for us at the altar in West Village?!"

"How sinister. They did it on purpose... They let us waste our time and energy finding the item, while they lie in wait to reap the rewards!"

After Gao Neng’s reminder, the other three finally realized what was happening.

"If that’s the case, we’ll have to fight our way through!" Kong Kun’s fists tightened. If the enemy was guarding the altar, they had no choice but to force a confrontation.

"In mission mode, if neither side scores, how is a draw decided?" Gao Neng still didn’t fully understand the specific win-loss conditions of the War Rankings, so he decided to ask.

"We would lose. Since the challenging party gets to choose the mode, a draw counts as a failed challenge," Kong Kun explained.

"I see... Then we have no choice but to go for it!" Gao Neng gritted his teeth. There was no other way. Even knowing an ambush awaited them in West Village, they had to go.

The other three nodded in agreement.

The enemy was forcing them into a team fight. Under these circumstances, there really was no other option.

...

Under the cover of night.

The four of them began to approach West Village.

Worried about an ambush, all four felt the pressure. They moved with extreme caution, which inadvertently increased their rate of energy consumption.

The five-hundred-meter distance didn’t take them too long to cover.

Twenty minutes later, they successfully reached the entrance to West Village.

Darkness shrouded West Village.

Not a single sound came from within.

"I’ll charge ahead, you guys follow me!" Kong Kun gritted his teeth, preparing to rush in.

"Wait a second." Gao Neng stopped Kong Kun. At the same time, he fully unleashed his Spiritual Power, spreading it across West Village in an attempt to locate Cui Jun and his team.

But after one sweep...

...he found that West Village was also empty!

’There’s no one in West Village? What’s going on?’ Gao Neng glanced at his energy reserves. He had already used up nearly half in just that short time.

Another sweep.

He couldn’t afford it, not unless he started singing.

However, singing now would mean revealing their position, which was out of the question.

"How is it? Can we charge in now?" Kong Kun asked after waiting a moment and seeing that Gao Neng still hadn’t spoken.

"Cui Jun and his team probably aren’t in the village..." Gao Neng’s brow furrowed even deeper.

"They’re not here? Are you sure?" Kong Kun was surprised.

’If Cui Jun and the others aren’t in West Village, then where could they be?’

It wasn’t just Kong Kun; Feng Qingqing and Fang Tangtang were also baffled. ’Could it be? Are we really going to win our first challenge this bizarrely?’

"If they’re not here, what are we waiting for? We have the mission item now. We just need to find the altar and we win. Let’s go!" Fang Tangtang urged once again.

"Alright, I’ll take the lead, you guys cover the rear!" Without waiting for Gao Neng to speak, Kong Kun shot forward, dashing into the village like a cheetah.

Of course, as he charged out, his body was also covered in a layer of Alloy Steel.

"It looks like there really is no one here!" Seeing Kong Kun advance unimpeded, Feng Qingqing grew puzzled. ’This challenge is way too easy, isn’t it? There’s no difficulty at all!’

Just as she was thinking this, a loud noise suddenly erupted from ahead.

"It’s a trap!" Kong Kun shouted.

"Oh no, Kong Kun fell into a trap! I’m going to save him!" Feng Qingqing’s expression changed upon hearing this, and she shot forward, running toward Kong Kun’s position.

"Don’t... Don’t go!" Gao Neng tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Because, in the instant Feng Qingqing rushed out, several glints of black metal flashed through the air, and she collapsed to the ground.

Gao Neng’s expression was incredibly dark.

At this moment, he could finally sense the presence of Cui Jun and his team.

’They’re outside the village!’

Cui Jun and his team weren’t inside West Village at all, but outside it. This was something he hadn’t expected. ’Don’t they need to guard the altar?!’

"Hahaha, Gao Neng, where do you think you’re running?!" Cui Jun laughed boisterously.

He wasn’t alone.

Behind Cui Jun, Fatty, Skinny, and Shorty were rapidly closing in on Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang. All four were moving extremely fast, their bodies covered in combat armor.

Especially Cui Jun.

His entire body was encased in a suit of iron armor.

"Gao Neng... Quick! They’re not in the village! Use this chance to put the Nine-legged Black Tripod on the altar, and we’ll win!" Although Feng Qingqing’s body had been pierced, she hadn’t completely faded away yet.

"The altar? Hahaha... There is no altar!" Fatty laughed so hard he doubled over.

"Go ahead and look for it. If you can find the altar, we’ll admit defeat!" Skinny said with equal smugness.

"..."

"Gao Neng, you people have no right to be on the War Rankings. I might as well tell you, we’ve already destroyed the altar. You have no chance of completing the mission!" As Cui Jun spoke, he arrived before them.

"Destroyed the altar?!" Feng Qingqing’s face fell.

Gao Neng’s expression darkened as well.

’Damn it...’

’You can play like that?!’

They destroyed the altar first thing, then set traps inside the village, and once they fell into the traps, they swept in from the outside to finish them off.

’This is a complete rout by experience...’

Gao Neng was genuinely stunned this time. How had he not thought of this kind of strategy? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’What happened to this being a mission mode?!’

"Ah! I, Death God Fang Tangtang, will fight you to the death!" Fang Tangtang yelled, a golden Scythe of Death appearing in her hand as she prepared to throw her life on the line against Cui Jun’s team.

"Fight my ass! Get in the village and save the others!" Gao Neng yanked Fang Tangtang back. ’Two against four? And they have one Tier-Three and three Tier-Twos? How are we supposed to fight that?’

Fang Tangtang seemed unwilling to back down.

But Gao Neng dragged her into the village anyway.

Just then, Feng Qingqing struggled up from the ground. Both of her thighs had been pierced by two black metal spikes, and her face was extremely pale.

"I’ll hold them off! You guys go save Kong Kun! Save who you can!" Feng Qingqing gritted out through the pain, her legs trembling uncontrollably.

Gao Neng’s expression flickered.

’What should I do?’

’Should I abandon Feng Qingqing at a time like this? Logic told him he should, but when it came to actually doing it, he felt a strong sense of unwillingness.’

Just as he was thinking...

A bolt of lightning struck down.

"BOOM!"

Feng Qingqing’s face froze, and then, with a look of defiance, she collapsed to the ground.

In the distance, Shorty was holding a copper weapon shaped like a rocket launcher. He blew on the muzzle and sneered, "Don’t be so damn naive. You really think you can survive after being hit by my ’Electro-Trap’?"

"A long-range kill!" Gao Neng understood immediately.

"Hahaha, you bunch of greenhorns! Let me tell you, these aren’t ordinary traps. They’re all made of conductive metal. Once someone is pierced, Zhang Tao can lock on for a precision strike!" Fatty said, not bothering to rush over, but rather speaking with great interest.

"How boring. I thought you’d be strong, but you’re this weak. Now you’re one person down and you can’t complete the mission. How are you going to win?" Skinny sneered.

"Alright, alright, Principal Song is watching. We can’t bully the underclassmen too much. How about this... we’ll just stand here and not move. Whatever tricks you have, go ahead and use them," Cui Jun said with a wave of his hand, cutting off Fatty and Skinny, adopting the posture of a senior.

But at that moment, Shorty once again raised the copper weapon in his hands.

"BOOM!"

Another bolt of lightning descended.

In the distance, Kong Kun’s pained cry rang out again.

"Whoa, his Defense Power is so high! He didn’t die from one shock? What to do... I’ll just have to shock him twice," Shorty yelled, raising his copper weapon again.

"BOOM!"

Kong Kun’s cries finally stopped.

"Hahaha, another one down! It’s four against two now. How are you going to fight?" Fatty clutched his stomach, laughing again as if victory was already in his grasp.

...

「War Academy, First-Floor Viewing Hall.」

Wang Qixing gently shook his head.

The other instructors also sighed. New students were new students; their lack of experience was an insurmountable gap. At this point, the outcome of the challenge match was basically set in stone.

"Ning’Er, are you disappointed?" Song Tianyun asked, turning to Shen Ning’Er.

"No," Shen Ning’Er said, shaking her head.

"Oh? You think Gao Neng and his team still have a chance to win?" Seeing Shen Ning’Er shake her head, Song Tianyun’s eyes lit up slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

"If the Lone Soul Team were to press their attack now, Gao Neng’s team would surely lose. But since they’ve chosen to stand still... it’s hard to say," Shen Ning’Er said with a slight nod.

"That idiot Cui Jun! More than three years at the military academy and he still hasn’t learned his lesson!" Gui Zian cursed as well. "An idiot like that deserves to lose!"

Hearing what Shen Ning’Er and Gui Zian said, the other instructors were somewhat confused.

’Could it be...’

’...that Gao Neng’s team still has a chance to win?’

Just as they were wondering, their eyes suddenly went wide. The scene now appearing on the screen startled even them.

The shock wasn’t just confined to the War Academy.

Back in the mission scenario, Gao Neng’s jaw was hanging open.

Because, right next to him, Fang Tangtang had somehow produced a massive cannon barrel—one meter in diameter and four meters long—and was hoisting it onto her shoulder.

The exaggerated proportions...

...were simply staggering.

"You forced my hand! Witness my, Fang Tangtang’s, ultimate move!" Hoisting the massive cannon, Fang Tangtang looked even smaller—in fact, she was almost completely hidden behind it.