They don't want me to try anymore.

"Um...wait a minute."

Richard was agreeing with the dwarf when he suddenly realized something was wrong and called his companion to stop.

On the other side, Catherine reacted even faster and more decisively, drawing her sword and shouting, "Watch out, cavalry!"

Ouch!

The next second, more than thirty orcs riding huge gray wolves appeared on the hillside.

Although it was somewhat backlit, Richard's sharp eyes still spotted a hooded figure riding alongside the tall orc leader. This person's strength was likely around the early Silver rank, in other words...

"It's another team!"

Yes, there are two sides on the map. Some people encounter dwarves at the beginning, while others encounter orcs—but how did they manage to cooperate with the orcs? Did they jointly explore goblin poop-throwing techniques?

Before Richard could finish thinking, Catherine rushed forward.

Although the Hospital Knight was without a mount at this moment, she displayed superb foot-on-mounted skills. As the wolf rider was about to charge from the front, she seized the opportunity to roll away, then leaped and, before the opponent could get far, swung her sword and killed him from behind.

On the other side, Sofia unleashed another biting wind, gradually freezing all the enemies in the snow and ice.

Meanwhile, Richard summoned several earth elementals to help the dwarves, and following Catherine's example, drew his sword and stepped forward to fight the cavalry.

In the midst of the chaos, conserving magic power is crucial, which is why he and Sophia didn't unleash their full power.

This group of orc soldiers came with great force, but their average strength was only slightly stronger than the infantry from before, around bronze level. So the three of them could handle them even if they held back.

Soon, the orcs were almost completely wiped out.

The hooded man finally couldn't hold back any longer, gritting his teeth: "Damn it, is the difference really that big..."

He patted the knight in front of him on the shoulder and hissed, "Go quickly!"

"stop!"

Catherine was the fastest, striding after him, and just as she was getting close, two balls of fire suddenly burst out from the ground.

Then, the wolf carcass that had previously fallen to the ground stood up again, its size expanding five or six times, transforming into a giant wolf that pounced on Catherine.

Richard thought to himself: So that's how it is, it's a trap like a surprise attack.

Are the hooded man's teammates an elemental mage and a druid? That's interesting.

He grabbed his sword and rushed off to help.

then……

There's no after that.

Catherine is, after all, a top contender in this competition. Even if she falls into the trap, she can hold her own against three opponents!

After Richard came to help, almost in the blink of an eye, all three of them were lying on the ground.

Richard's fingertips crackled with electricity as he prepared to begin the interrogation, when he suddenly felt a slight itch on his scalp.

He scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Did a bug fall into my hair?"

The hooded man opposite him contorted his face as if he'd kicked a table leg with his little toe, and after a long while, he exclaimed in surprise, covered in sweat, "How is this possible? Why didn't the mind control spell work on you..."

"So that's how it is. You're a mind mage. No wonder you were so confident in attacking first and so easily managed to recruit so many orcs to help you... Unfortunately, you've run into us."

Richard's lips curled slightly as he once again marveled at how useful the mental resistance provided by "Fighting God" was.

"As expected, the gap is really that big..."

The hooded man completely lost his will to live. Without waiting for anyone to interrogate him, he took out a dagger from his pocket and slowly slit his throat.

Just as blood was about to gush out, he and his two companions collapsed on the spot, turning into a pool of paint.

Such a rapid suicide will still trigger the body's protective mechanisms; in other words, they voluntarily withdraw from the game.

"Oh, so straightforward? Aren't you going to try negotiating terms?"

Catherine chimed in, "They probably sensed we didn't want to talk about it; mind sorcerers are quite sensitive about that. Alright, we should get going."

The temporary dwarf companions, just recovering from their shock, shouted excitedly, "Three people wiped out a whole pack of wolf riders! That's amazing! Haha! With you guys here, we're sure to win this battle!"

"Let's go, let's hurry to the main city!"

at the same time.

Inside the arena outside.

Once the competition officially began, the scroll was connected end to end to form a circle, slowly rotating in the air above the arena, giving spectators from any position a chance to catch a glimpse of the entire scene.

Although the competition had only been going on for half an hour, the audience had already witnessed several fights between the contestants. Relatively speaking, Richard's team's battles were the most impressive to them.

"Miss Catherine won so decisively! If I remember correctly, the mind mage on the other side was that famous adventurer, wasn't he? I originally thought he could be the runner-up, but I didn't expect him to lose after only half an hour..."

"What's so strange about that? Tori's granddaughter, it's perfectly normal for her to win! But Sophia's ice magic really scared me; she just blew on it..."

"Speaking of which, Richard's performance was rather unremarkable, wasn't it?"

"If you don't understand, then don't open your mouth! That Richard is the one you shouldn't underestimate. You know, he's clearly a summoner, but the swordsmanship he just displayed was so good, I'd believe he was a swordsman!"

As Zoe listened to people around her praising Richard, she couldn't help but swing her legs in her seat, causing her twin ponytails to bounce up and down.

In the painting.

Guided by the dwarf's enthusiasm, the three-person team finally saw the massive stone city built against the mountain, and the orcish army camp that was faintly visible in the forest ten miles away.

There is currently a lull between two attacks, and neither side has engaged in combat.

The dwarf led his team through the back gate into the city, and after passing through many guards, they arrived at a large hall.

As soon as Richard entered, he saw that Catherine became alert.

“William…”

William? The mage commander of the Highland Legion?

Richard gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and looked toward the front of the hall, where a barefoot man in a white robe was admiring the murals.

There's only one person here... Are your teammates not here?

The latter turned his head, relaxed, and smiled without any fighting spirit:

"Don't be nervous, Catherine, this isn't a good place to fight... you'll get ganged up on by the dwarves."

Richard glanced around and noticed that there were indeed many guards around the hall, all of whom were at least bronze level. With that number, they could definitely drown a few silver-level guards.

In addition, other teams were brought into the hall, where they also saw William and Richard, and all of them chose to avoid conflict, pretending to be friendly mercenaries.

Of course, secretly, everyone was still very wary of each other.

What if someone is bold enough to take this opportunity to poison someone or plant a curse? We must be on guard!

Richard was observing when he suddenly shuddered, sensing that William's gaze had stopped on him after passing Catherine.

what!

What are you doing?

You're not a pretty girl, so don't look at me!

In the eerie atmosphere, time passed quickly.

Under the protection of a group of silver-rank dwarves, a large-bearded dwarf wearing a crown and with a belly almost as tall as himself appeared before them.

"Welcome everyone!"

That's right, he is the dwarf king in this competition.

He clapped his hands, signaling his servants to bring in a multitude of delicacies and fine wines. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he got down to business.

"Those damned beasts are coming to take my beloved daughter..."

Following the dwarf king's finger, Richard saw a dwarf woman with a bulging belly and a long beard.

Hmm... Type 94 bean tank?

No disrespect intended, but are you sure the orcs wanted to steal this?

Well, judging from the orcs' aesthetic sense, it might not be impossible, but if they take it back, they'll probably use it as a war totem...

Richard curled his lip, suspecting that the dialogue had been deliberately altered by Imperial staff to increase its entertainment value.

If I were a descendant of this dwarf king in real life, I would definitely file a scathing complaint!

"...No matter what, we must repel the orcs' attack!"

The Dwarf King swept his gaze across all the human contestants and declared triumphantly, "Once you win, each of you can take a treasure from my treasury. As many as you can handle, as long as your hands can hold them all!"

As he spoke, a dwarf follower beside him raised a painting depicting an endless cave filled with countless gold coins.

Richard squinted and spotted a familiar trophy inside…

Everyone saw it.

"Is it in the Dwarf King's treasury? Then all we need is..."

Just as everyone was whispering among themselves, someone suddenly asked, "Is the treasure vault located underground in the main city?"

The question seemed to have ulterior motives, but the Dwarf King answered honestly, "No, the treasure vault is beneath the southern mines, now occupied by filthy orcs. But it doesn't matter; the vault is concealed beneath layers of mountain walls by our unique magic. Without the key, the orcs can't get in! So as long as you fight bravely, we can reclaim the treasure together..."

Many people didn't listen carefully to what was said after that.

Everyone noticed that a brass key was quietly hanging on the dwarf king's chest.