Zongman: All Heavens and Worlds Begin with the Devil's Curse

Meanwhile, in the audience seats on the other side.

Zhou Lan smiled and looked at the archmages beside her, asking, "Still want to gamble?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of mages shook their heads violently.

"I'm not gambling anymore!" they refused repeatedly.

Having learned from the previous experience, no one wanted to gamble with Zhou Lan again, at least not on the devil's tail.

What if he places another bet and then asks someone to notify him to field the player he wants?

You can't beat them.

Meanwhile, in the arena, in the ranks of Devil's Tail.

Aside from Westwood, who is unable to play due to the rules, only Wendy, Laxus, Gerald, and Gajeel remain.

"It seems these guys have deliberately distinguished between competition and combat, which means that the competition part isn't just about having superior strength to win," Gerald, the most experienced member of the team, analyzed.

“Then it seems there’s nothing for me to do.” Laxus took a step back.

"To be honest, I don't think my competitive intelligence is that great." Gajeel's self-awareness was equally clear, and he followed suit by taking a step back.

“So, it’s just the two of us left.” Gerald looked at Wendy.

"Are you confident?" he asked gently.

"Eh? Me...?" Wendy stared with her big, bright eyes.

“Hmm.” Gerald nodded. “I think you’re a better fit than me.”

"Phew—" Wendy took a deep breath, glanced at Westwood, and seeing that he didn't seem to have any objection, she encouraged herself, "Okay! Wendy, you can do it!"

She had almost never experienced such a grand scene before, and even in terms of age, she was among the youngest in this grand martial arts competition.

However, after Zhou Lan's month-long intensive training, she still did not lose her confidence.

As the commentator announced that the competition was about to begin, Wendy, under the watchful eyes of many, slowly walked towards the arena.

"Wow, it seems that the Devil's Tail, who shone so brightly yesterday, has sent out their youngest contestant today!"

"If I remember correctly, this should be Miss Wendy from the Cat Inn in the past. After the Cat Inn disbanded, she rejoined Devil Tail."

"Now that the contestants are in place, let's announce the rules for the first round of the competition!"

The commentator spoke with great enthusiasm, and as he spoke, the stadium trembled.

An ordinary-looking street rises from the ground, encompassing the eight contestants.

Just as they were wondering, one pale blue light and shadow after another appeared in the street, scattered either densely or haphazardly.

The light and shadow gradually coalesced into a human shape, eventually transforming into a thought entity almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person.

These same rays of light also enveloped the eight contestants, causing them to change shape and become indistinguishable from mannequins.

"The rules for the first round of the competition are: the eight contestants must find and attack the other contestants in a street filled with mannequins..."

"One point is awarded for attacking a real player, and one point is deducted for attacking a dummy or being attacked by another player!"

"These are the rules, let's begin!"

As the commentary filled the arena, the first match of the main competition finally began.

A seemingly ordinary street, with hundreds or thousands of people standing in it, some still and some moving.

Hidden among these mannequins are eight contestants, each of whom must consider whether their move is correct and whether it can earn them points.

Just as Gerald had guessed, the competition wasn't about testing absolute strength, but rather other aspects.

In the street, Wendy was transformed into a young girl by the light and walked along with the crowd on her own.

Her mind was filled with inner monologues.

"We can't fail, we can't let everyone down..."

Just then, an explosion rang out in the street, and outside the projection magic, out of the view's reach, the scores of the eight contestants were displayed.

Just now, it was Mirajane from Fairy Tail who made the move.

On the leaderboard, her score dropped one place and turned red.

On the screen, Mirajane scratched her head sheepishly, then buried herself in the flood of mannequins.

"It seems our mannequins are too realistic; Fairy Tail has taken the lead with a negative score," the commentator said enthusiastically.

In this competition, it's not so easy to distinguish between real people and dummy people.

These mannequins, resembling the shape of a thought, are extremely lifelike. More importantly, to avoid being attacked by others, each contestant tries their best to imitate the mannequin as closely as possible.

Except in cases of high certainty, everyone is hiding their true intentions, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Wendy pondered.

Suddenly, I felt a slight breeze drift past my side.

Chapter 361 Truth and Falsehood Are Easily Distinguished

A barely perceptible gust of air brushed past Wendy.

She paused, staring at the figure that flashed past her.

"Is this a real person or a mannequin?" Many thoughts flashed through Wendy's mind.

She has a zero score right now, and if she makes a mistake, it will turn into a negative score.

She was no stranger to this game of hide-and-seek, but it still required a lot of preparation for her first attempt.

Wendy devised a plan. She sneaked around and pretended to casually follow the figure, one in front of the other, across half the street.

Finally, when another aura appeared in her senses, Wendy seemed to have finally confirmed something.

In their line of sight, a man in front of them took the initiative, his palm suddenly gathering magic power and pressing it onto the figure Wendy was following.

boom--

In an instant, the figure flew out.

"Let's congratulate Raven's Tail on taking the first point!" The commentator's voice rang out from all sides.

"There are many ways to distinguish between real and fake. You don't really think this can stump me, do you? Hahahaha." The man laughed loudly in the street.

He exuded confidence and clenched his fist, saying, "It seems the first day of the competition is mine."

The next second, a small tornado shaped like a vortex instantly formed, crashed in from the side, enveloped the man, and threw him out.

He was stunned for a moment, then finally realized what was happening and said angrily, "You were actually hiding in the back and picking the peaches!"

"Devil's Tail, Wendy has secured a point for her guild! Although it's true that the mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the oriole behind, it's still too difficult to catch someone else off guard."

In the middle of the street, Wendy temporarily blasted the man away.

Surprisingly, she remained standing still, her eyes slightly closed, as if deep in thought.

The commentator noticed something unusual and wondered, "Wendy seems to have entered a meditative state. Could it be that she has some special move up her sleeve?"

Close your eyes, and darkness envelops you.

Wendy began to question herself.

Indeed, in this competition, it is difficult to distinguish between real and fake people, but differences can always be found.

More importantly, Wendy has had this experience before.

She would never forget the guild that was once called the Cat's Abode, the guild that was made up of her grandfather and all the spirits.

That was a guild where everything except her was a "fake".

She had lived on those "streets" before, and if she calmed down and felt it properly, she could capture those subtle differences.

In the pitch black, Wendy's thoughts drifted like a gentle breeze, softly brushing past the real and the fake on the street.

She clasped her hands together, as if in prayer.

In an instant, a host of wonderful sensations washed over me.

Most of the mannequins gave her a slight sense of familiarity, just like the members of the Nomadic Guild from the Cat's Nest.

A few discordant elements were scattered among these mannequins.

Like a swirling eddy in a river, a gust of wind brings an unsettling current; even Wendy herself struggles to describe the feeling.

But she caught her.

In an instant, she slowly opened her eyes, but what she wanted to do was not to see with her eyes, but to feel with her heart.

For Wendy, who once lived with a guild composed of a group of longing beings, how could this moment not be considered a perfect match for her profession?

In an instant, she sensed the restless atmosphere emanating from the streets.

She was completely absorbed, and a wisp of wind carried her as she sped through the crowd.

"Wendy has made a move. Strange, she doesn't seem to be hiding anything. What is she up to?"

Just as the commentators and audience were puzzled, Wendy had already leaped into a dense crowd and pressed her palm down towards the figure in the center who suddenly looked bewildered.

The wind force gathers into a ball shape and crashes down in an instant.

A crisp sound rang out, and the commentator exclaimed in surprise, "Wendy attacked the correct opponent, another point added!"

Before the other party could react, Wendy's figure flickered and disappeared again. She no longer needed to hide herself; at this moment, it was as if she had opened her third eye.

The other seven contestants, in her mind's eye, were like a lamp in the darkness, bright and capable of nothing being hidden.

All she had to do was personally turn off each of the lights.

The commentator echoed, "Such confident strides, such confident attacks! It seems Wendy has found a way to distinguish between real and fake players. It's hard to imagine that she has such wisdom at such a young age!"

A gust of wind could be heard in the street.

This was supposed to be a competition that didn't require combat prowess, but Wendy still managed to display the prowess of a Sky Dragon Slayer Mage.

On the leaderboard next to the projection magic, the score representing the demon's tail is steadily rising.

The situation on the field immediately descended into chaos.

When one person keeps adding points, everyone else is in a state of turmoil.

"Are all the mages in Devil Tail this abnormally strong?" Many viewers couldn't help but wonder.

So far, they have only shown their skills twice.

But whether it was yesterday or today, the style they displayed almost always led the entire game.

"It's hard to believe that this is a newly established guild. Seriously, is this really not some kind of reincarnation of a husband?"

Wendy quickly attacked all the other players on the street.

She has already taken the lead.

"We need to find a way to attack her, or at least make her attack other dummy characters." These thoughts swirled among the contestants.

If this continues, it will become a situation where everyone is vying for second place after the devil's tail.

Thinking of this, several figures stopped pretending and revealed their true colors. They looked at each other and seemed to understand something.

Before long, Wendy was surrounded from all four sides of the street.

"Sorry, young lady, although I don't know how you figured out the truth, it's really frustrating to have all the limelight and points stolen by one person!" the contestant with the Mermaid's Heel said in a low voice.

This is an all-female guild; all guild members and contestants are women.

Wendy frowned, looking at the several opponents who were eyeing her menacingly.

The next second, her brows relaxed slightly.

“I am not afraid of fighting,” she said resolutely.

"Fight? We don't want to fight you, we just... want you to attack more dummies, haha!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the crow launched its attack with its tail.

They already knew Wendy's identity as the Sky Dragon Slayer Mage. Most of her attacks were restrained; in other words, most of Wendy's magic was area-of-effect attacks.

With just a little pressure, she will naturally and uncontrollably affect the other mannequins on the street.

This is an open scheme.