Chapter 33
You Fraud! Don’t You Betray Me Again
The following day drew near. Su Wan welcomed the commencement speech of the qualifiers after a full day of rest.
In the Stars Academy public square, a teacher was giving the speech on a stage.
“Here, I’ll recap the rules of the Preliminary Round, which are also the rules of the Inter-Campus Tournament. Although the old students are already familiar with the competition’s rules, they are still unknown to the new students.”
“Seniors, just treat this as a reminder. However, Juniors!I want you to listen very carefully.”
There were many students gathered in the square.
The teacher’s explanation led to a progressive understanding of the competition’s regulations.
The rules of the Preliminary Round were different from the Elimination Round.
“In the Preliminary Round, the students would enter the school’s simulated arena. This arena is different from what you have encountered before. It will be a wide simulated field with mountains and rivers. In the simulated arena, the ten Lords will be divided into different areas. You will be given your own territory and a Territory Core.”
“Different degrees of points will be awarded for destroying other Overlords’ territories and Territory Cores. After a day, the points will be tallied, and the candidates will be ranked accordingly.”
“The Lord will be eliminated from the contest once their Territory Core is destroyed. Therefore, all Lords should make every effort to defend Territory Core while engaging with the enemy.”
The teachers and students were both talking and chit-chatting in the public square.
One of the teachers said, “I’m certain the Top Three of this competition will be Chen Ye, Mu Qing, and Wei Wenxi.”
Another teacher had a different opinion. “Wei Wenxi’s strength is barely adequate. If it wasn’t for the problem with Long Quan, I’m afraid Wei Wenxi wouldn’t have made it to the Top Ten.”
“Chen Ye still has some value. The SS-Class hero, Blood Dominator, is not any less than the Golden Dragon of Long Quang!”
The teachers were having a heated discussion. Naturally and swiftly, the conversation turned to Su Wan, who was currently receiving attention for her good performance in the past few days.
“It’s a shame for Su Wan. Although she won against Long Quan, I still felt that something was wrong with that fight at the last moment. The Golden Dragon couldn’t fall that easily!”
The Dean interrupted. “Su Wan’s performance has been more than satisfactory. At her pace, even the Golden Dragon isn’t a match for her.”
“Chen Ye’s SS-class hero, the Blood Dominator, is not inferior to the Golden Dragon. If Su Wan doesn’t have any other cards up her sleeve, it would be immensely difficult for her to make it to the Top Three, let alone the first place.”
Some of the students were also discussing the current state of affairs in the public square.
Su Wan has a lot of potential, but her time given to her to prepare has been far too limited. If she was given more time, she would definitely increase the number of Golden behemoth soldiers. She might have had the chance of making it to first rank.”
One of the students nodded in agreement.
“The Inter-Campus Tournament isn’t something that new students should be participating in.”
“Su Wan’s ability to break into the Top Ten as a freshman is already exceptional. Lin Yao, with an SS-class hero, was also eliminated in the first round. She didn’t have time to build up her troops.”
[Qualifiers, begin!]
[All participants, please enter the simulation arena.]
Su Wan, who was on the square with her friends, transformed into a white light, vanished, and entered the simulation arena. At the same time, Xu Yuan and others also disappeared into white light and re-emerged into the simulated arena.
“This place has some decent terrain.”
“Simple to protect, challenging to attack.”
Su Wan studied the topography of the area. There was only one exit from the valley she was now in, which was encircled by mountains.
It would be challenging for the enemy’s army to attack as long as the path was guarded. Su Wan mentally considered her next course of action.
However, at this moment, she realized that Xu Yuan had other ideas. He was staring at the Territory Core of her territory.
Su Wan panicked. “Xu Yuan! You fraud! Don’t you betray me again.”
The Territory Core of this place wasn’t the real core. It was just a simulation. In any case, this Territory Core was still theirs to protect.
“Rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows. You should be eyeing other Overlords’ Territory Cores, anyway!” insisted Su Wan.
She had been tricked by Xu Yuan so many times before that she was suspicious. If he went crazy and attacked their own Territory Core, she would be eliminated!
Xu Yuan yawned. “What are you even saying? Do you honestly think I would do that?” he rolled his eyes at her and lay on the ground to sleep.
The most crucial thing in the entire world for him was to sleep. Su Wan likewise heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that he just wanted to sleep peacefully.
Su Wan consequently drew a few soldiers with a higher IQ to discuss strategy.
According to the past competition results, the gap between third and fourth place among the ten competitors was the largest.
“I think the final six of us should band together to combat the Top Three.”
Su Wan explained, but it was a pity that the intelligence of the Golden Behemoths, Dark Goblins, and other troops in front of her was not very high.
Su Wan missed human soldiers at this moment. If there were human troops, she could discuss strategies with them.
The only other alternative was Xu Yuan. ‘But Xu Yuan…’
Su Wan sighed and shook her head as she regarded the sleeping wish. She ultimately made a choice.
“Let me examine the map first.”
The academy had very kindly provided them with a complete map for the present competition that showed the movements of each Lord in real-time on the map.
If it was in the Inter-Campus Tournament, the Lords could only see their location and not anybody else’s. But this one showed everyone.
“Nearby, there are three lords who are all in the bottom six. We can rope them in!”
Su Wan dispatched three Skeleton Knights right away and allowed them to approach the three lords. She intended to form a partnership.
The Top Three would have their pride and would only ever fight for themselves.
“If a few of us join forces and defeat the Top Three, we will have a chance.”
Su Wan drafted the letter and handed it over to the Skeleton Knight to give to the Lords.
…
Near Su Wan’s territory.
“Eh? Su Wan wants to join forces with us to defeat the Top Three?”
After some thought, one of the lords got in touch with the other two lords. The other two lords gathered shortly after.
“This Su Wan! What a laughable proposal!”
“If she hadn’t used some heinous technique to eliminate Long Quan, we might have considered it. She is now on our hit-list because she used horrible tactics to get rid of Log Quan!”
The three Lords had all been trained by the Long family, so their loyalty was with the Long family, and ultimately with Long Quan.
They couldn’t believe that Su Wan had defeated Long Quan. If she had, she must have used some heinous tactic.
“Why don’t we agree to her Alliance and then stab her in the back when she’s feeling hopeful and confident and make her feel dejected?”
“The idea is brilliant! If Long Quan knew about this, he would have definitely praised us!”
An eye watched the three lords in calm conversation.