They don't want me to try anymore.

And just like that, things got delayed...

Ten seconds later, his head was severed from his body.

Seeing this, Scarface quickly took a deep breath and used his combat skills to push himself underwater, moving at great speed like a swordfish—this escape by jumping into the sea and diving to escape was a life-saving secret he had honed over many years of dirty work!

He quickly dashed off and was far away.

He surfaced and looked back, seeing that the ferry had shrunk to just two dots.

If you do the math, all the men on the ship should be dead, right?

You underestimated Connaught!

Did they somehow anticipate our actions and then instantly dispatch their top-tier combat forces?

That's a bit over the top, even the Empire doesn't have that kind of reaction power...

Huh? There's a boat in the distance?

Amidst his surprise and uncertainty, Scarface spotted a black dot ahead and quickly rowed the barrel closer.

"Help! My boat is sinking!"

He pretended to be a shipwrecked sailor and shouted for a long time. When he saw a rope ladder being thrown from the deck, he quickly climbed up.

"Thank you, thank you everyone, uh..."

As soon as he boarded the ship, he sensed something was wrong.

Why are all the crew members around me having such green eyes?

And why is there a giant on the deck? Is there anywhere for someone over four meters tall to sleep?

Good heavens, is this a pirate ship?

"Hmm, where have I seen you before?"

Suddenly, he heard a charming voice behind him. He turned his head and saw a slender beauty wearing a captain's hat.

"you are?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I recognize you. You really are someone I've seen in my dreams before!"

Huh?

What kind of fairy tale is this?

Could it be that this woman...

puff!

"Ugh!"

Before the scarred man could finish his wild thoughts, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw that the woman's slender hand... had pierced through his chest and pulled out his still-beating heart.

"Why... why..."

Why are there people everywhere trying to kill me?!

"The blood is so foul-smelling, it completely kills my appetite."

Before he died, he only heard this one sentence.

Scarface died.

Veronica shook her hand dismissively, longing for someone's scent.

I feel like tying him up and having my way with him...

She licked her lips and glanced at the crew members watching the commotion.

"Oh? You guys are out of work? Or... do you want to donate blood?"

"N-no, Captain!"

"Then let's get to work. The work here is done, and we should head back to Divine Grace Island."

The crew members all shuddered and quickly returned to their posts, but they couldn't help whispering among themselves.

"As expected of the captain, he even kills people he's only seen in his dreams. Aren't they usually his lovers or something?"

"I'm scared. It really is dangerous to dream about the captain..."

Idaril, within the scroll of the arena.

Richard swiftly and decisively eliminated the trio that threatened him.

As for what happened off the field, as he said, he believes his friends will be able to make it in time.

All he needs to do is play the whole game!

Woo——!

Suddenly, the sound of bugles echoed across the city.

"The orcs have gone into battle?"

Richard peered out the window and saw the dark mass of orcish troops outside the city walls.

The sound of a large group of dwarves jogging in formation could be heard in the corridor.

He quickly communicated with his companion using the raven he had left on Sofia's shoulder beforehand, and then decided to continue to observe the battle from the edge of the field.

Therefore, he once again used his stealth spell, hiding from the dwarves and other humans, intending to climb to a high point behind the city to carefully observe the overall battle situation.

However, when he sneaked into the back part of Stone City, he saw a familiar figure.

"Anton?"

"Mr. Richard?"

Richard stopped ten meters away, keeping his distance, and looked at Anton and his two teammates who were also only at the Bronze rank. He smiled and said, "You guys are here too."

Anton scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Unlike during the qualifiers, he and Richard are now complete rivals.

If Richard were to take action to eliminate them now, it would be entirely reasonable...

Anton was so nervous that his palms were sweating.

He knew he was no match for Richard, but the thought of the expectant eyes of the elders back home made him unwilling to leave in such a dejected manner...

The silence lasted for a few seconds before Richard broke it.

"Want to form an alliance?"

"what?"

"I'm not kidding, I'm serious."

The Easter competition allows different teams to form temporary alliances.

During previous training sessions, considering her wariness of seeded players like William, Catherine herself did not object to seeking allies appropriately.

Anton was embarrassed by Richard's presence, but Richard realized that Anton was in the same boat.

Since you don't really want to take action and you're fairly familiar with the other party, then you might as well try to win them over.

Anton glanced at his companions, whispered to each other for a moment, and then immediately replied, "We're willing!"

"Okay, then next..."

"Wait, Mr. Richard, there's something I must tell you!"

Anton interrupted Richard, pointing to the far back of the city wall, and said, "There's a traitor on the dwarf side! Orcs are crawling out of the mines at the back!"

"what!"

Richard frowned, listened intently, and sure enough, he heard a strange noise...

It's a wolf howling.

At the same time, on the front battlefield.

The dwarf king decided to personally lead the charge to boost morale, while also deploying a large number of mercenaries to the eastern section of the city wall to cover the flanks.

When Catherine arrived, she was surprised to find that the other contestants were not running around or looking for the Dwarf King. Instead, they were all firmly holding onto the key parts of the city wall, as if they were really going to fight the orcs.

Are all the contestants this time so well-behaved?

"I don't think so," Sophia replied cautiously. "They've already planned it..."

"Commander William, Miss Catherine, Miss Sophia, I am Harold, it is an honor to meet you all."

Before the two women could finish their discussion, a tall, silver-ranked swordsman stepped forward from the remaining contestants, bowed to the three, and said, "Since the orcs attacked the city, the dwarves have had no time to meddle. This is a rare opportunity, and my team dares to challenge you all..."

Sofia glanced at the other contestants and saw that they were all observing quietly.

So that's how it is. Apart from the three people who were named, did everyone else team up?

The weak, knowing they have no chance of winning, try to unite and use their numbers to eliminate the strongest, a common strategy in chaotic competitions.

Of course, judging from what the swordsman Harold said, they seemed to be considering their reputation and didn't want to rush in all at once—but a battle of attrition would have a similar effect.

"Catherine!"

"Ok!"