The three other contestants borrowed a handful of ultimate humanoid Digital Sprites from their allies. Between the four of them, they had fifteen ultimates in total. With preparation handled, they entered the ruined city.
While the four had been busy with their preparations, the Lust Dark Demon Queen had been trying to track down Han Wu. She blamed him for drawing so many Gods from the Divine Civilization into her territory and stirring up trouble.
Han Wu, meanwhile, had been monitoring the situation outside through his avatar. When he saw four contestants and fifteen ultimate Digital Sprites moving into the ruined city to hunt him down with the Lust Dark Demon Queen’s support, he knew he couldn’t stay.
The moment he showed himself, the live stream caught it, and the viewers tipped off Gu Bei’s group. All four of them broke into a full sprint after him. Their fifteen ultimates gave chase as well, cutting off every direction he could run.
The Lust Dark Demon Queen and every humanoid Digital Sprite in the ruined city also closed in from all sides. Han Wu soon found himself completely cornered. There was nowhere to go. With only Stinger and Thunder Halberd at his side, he had no chance of escaping.
Han Wu was left with no choice but to use everything he had. His powerful Digital Sprites were released one after another.
The Lust Dark Demon Queen’s beautiful face was filled with alarm as she took in the sight before her. Sloth, Greed, Envy, Gluttony. Four Sin Lords already sat within Han Wu’s team. Beyond that, he also had a War Angel, the natural counter to Sin-type Digital Sprites. The lineup made her quietly regret her decision.
She could’ve held her own against the mob of Gods outside and slipped away if things turned sour. With Han Wu, however, she doubted she would survive long enough to escape if he actually decided to take revenge.
Gu Bei’s group, on the other hand, was not surprised, having already looked into Han Wu’s roster.
“Don’t be scared, everyone! He’s only got eight ultimates. We’ve got fifteen, nearly double his number. The advantage is ours!” Gu Bei said, trying to fire up the other three contestants.
Han Wu let out a short laugh at Gu Bei’s confidence before wordlessly summoning eight Nuclear Locusts.
“What about now?” Han Wu asked, still smiling.
The Nuclear Locusts were weak on their own, sitting around the Sage rank in terms of raw strength, but they had been built with the sole purpose of Self-Detonation in mind. Their explosion was powerful enough to wipe out an Earthsunder life form. With a bit of luck, it could take down a Heavenrender as well.
Despite being rattled, Gu Bei maintained an outward calm. “Tossing in a bunch of trash ultimates to increase your numbers? Han Wu, is that all you’ve got?”
Every contestant on the field knew about the Nuclear Locusts. As long as they were prepared for them, no one was going to get caught off guard. The fifteen ultimates on their side included several support types. A wave of defensive buffs, healing effects, heat resistance, and fire immunity was quickly stacked on all fifteen of them. These were solid countermeasures against any Self-Detonation attempt.
“Han Wu, just surrender. Some things just aren’t meant to be yours,” Gu Bei called out.
Han Wu had no patience for this nonsense. “Don’t belong to me? Is my backing weaker than yours? Is my standing lower? I earned the Giant Crest fair and square. You’re the ones doing the stealing. Stop trying to guilt-trip me with that high-and-mighty act. It doesn’t work on me.”
Being called out so plainly on a live stream left Gu Bei’s group looking terrible. Every viewer watching that feed heard every word. The great families behind this attempted robbery felt the heat. Their actions were no different from those of a common bandit.
“Han Wu, watch your mouth. This is an event. The rules don’t prohibit taking things from others!” Gu Bei retorted, falling back on the rulebook.
Han Wu scoffed contemptuously. “You’re right, it’s allowed. More than ten families ganging up on one person. Are you trying to bully me because I don’t have a family or clan behind me? I admit, the Wisdom Faction I belong to has only just gotten started. We’ve only recently found our footing in the world, but behind me also stands the Death Faction. If you take from me, you’d better be ready for one, if not two God Kings to show up at your door.”
That warning visibly unsettled the three other contestants. Their families each had powerful Gods on call, but that meant nothing against the Wisdom God King and the Death God King.
Gu Bei caught on to Han Wu’s plan quickly. He was clearly using those two God Kings to intimidate them into backing down. The others’ resolve was already faltering.
“Han Wu, don’t make a mountain out of this,” he said before the others could waver further. “It’s a hunting event. Competition and losses are part of the deal. I trust that the Wisdom God King and the Death God King won’t come after individual families over something so trivial.
“I’m sure the Gift God King, who runs this event, won’t sit by and let things go too far either. If you’re smart, you’ll hand it over. I speak for the group when I say I’ll let you walk away free as long as you comply. If you refuse, get ready to be eliminated.”
A few sentences were all it took to calm the other three contestants down again. Their actions fell within the rules. If the Wisdom God King or the Death God King truly came looking for trouble over that, it would be a direct insult to the Gift God King.
While the Gift God King’s full strength was unknown, he was still third-in-command of the Wealth Faction, the number one faction in the Divine Civilization. The Wealth Faction would never allow the other two God Kings to act so freely.
At the end of the day, as long as Gu Bei’s group stayed within the rules, they had nothing to fear. They could weather a period of bad reputation, lie low for a few decades, and rise again once their units were powerful enough. At that point, no one would dare to bring up this disgrace.
Having worked through this logic, the contestants were no longer hesitant. They ordered their Digital Sprites forward, ready to take down Han Wu’s team and capture Han Wu.
Han Wu also gave his own order to launch a devastating strike on the area.
The eight summoned Nuclear Locusts flew out, but not toward the four contestants and their fifteen ultimates. They flew toward the humanoid Digital Sprites watching from the surrounding high-rise buildings.
Eight thunderous explosions shook the city. The blasts killed countless humanoid Digital Sprites. In an instant, Han Wu received over 10 million energy points and more than 500,000 evolution points, all at a cost of a mere 800,000 energy points.
This one move had granted him enough energy points to summon a Machinedrasprite.
Unfortunately, the attack also enraged the Lust Dark Demon Queen. She struck back hard, unleashing a powerful skill directly at Han Wu.
“Black Coffin!”
A pitch-black coffin swallowed Han Wu, and his countdown to death began.