Chapter 404: Bounty Begins

"Let’s begin," Leo said, and everybody promptly moved to their positions.

One elf appeared in each of the ten watchtowers. Elaris departed into the interior of the territory and seated herself at the focus of the Omnidirectional Sense Array. The five 1-star elves took their positions on the 5 arrow launchers spread across the territory at strategic points.

The arrow launchers were cuboidal structures fixed on rotating axles, with a trigger that initiated volleys of arrows. The arrows were the disposable ones Leo had picked up, so they wouldn’t need to be retrieved again, as most would likely be rendered useless after a single use.

Aeila, the now low 2-star elf with the [Spirit Link] talent, searched for the highest vantage point. Since she was now Low 2-star, she was allowed to enter the plateau zone.

Spotting a towering tree, she climbed onto a branch of the Titanbreath Lotus—unaware of its importance to gain the best possible view and relay information swiftly.

Bigfoot was naturally beside Fluxsoil Heart to guard it.

The rest of the free elves and other combatants were left to their own devices, instructed to act as needed and follow commands when given.

Lily summoned Drycha to wander the territory and assist wherever necessary. The same applied to Singham, Grivak, Niri, and Shyra. Shyra was allowed because, even though her existence remained vague to outsiders due to her stealth and could be kept secret for later use, she was capable of remaining hidden even while present.

People couldn’t perceive her existence even when she stood before thousands, slashing through enemy beasts. So it was obvious she would remain imperceptible in this dark night, where stormy clouds smothered the sky and swallowed the light.

Lily spirit integrated with Lunaria and rose directly into the air from the territory grounds, ensuring nothing escaped her notice. Kaelion had already cast magic to enhance everyone’s vision.

But the most surprising one was Virat. His eyes had apparently adjusted on their own, allowing him to see even more clearly—surpassing even Kaelion’s enhancement. He stood ready, with all sorts of crossbows, bullets, and arrows prepared within his spatial ring.

As for the three girls, they planned to climb one of the towers in areas where enemies were densest and fire arrows alongside the stationed elves to ease their burden.

11:59

Leo stood before the Titanbreath Lotus. Aeila was briefly startled upon noticing him below her, her grip tightening on the bark, but she quickly calmed when she realized he wasn’t there to scold her for sullying their proud tree by climbing it.

---

"Hahaha, Leader! We’ll show this Leo guy his place. So what if he’s 1st ranked? He can’t compete with 100s of us together. Hahaha!" the man jeered, joined by the laughter of those around him.

Apparently, this man—Jisp—was the Vice Leader of Yano Gilbert’s territory. Yano, the 12th-ranked student, possessed the Boulder Rock Snake as his beast and had been miserably defeated by Uraan and Cecil—the 11th-ranked female student—back then.

Since that day, a fire to redeem his lost reputation had been burning within him. Thus came his plan: a coordinated attack on Leo’s territory with a force of more than 100 members, most of them students ranked between 100 and 500, with a few from the top 50s and 100s, as the top 100 had already been absorbed by the top 10.

Yano, standing beside him, nodded with an arrogant expression. He was completely confident in his forces—and in the fact that his beast had advanced to Low 3-star. Now, he believed he could even contend with the top 10.

"Hahaha! If I can’t get 1st in student rankings, then I’ll be 1st in prosperity rankings. And when I get a Royal beast for myself, I’ll make all the top 10 lick my feet!"

That was the reason he had gathered over 100 people. Even if they did nothing, simply staying inside Leo’s territory during beacon destruction would grant them 10 Prosperity Points each—amounting to 1000 points. If luck favored them, they could even eliminate a many territory members.

"It’s the territory of the 1st-ranked student. And seeing such a large area, he must’ve allowed many commoners to join. Tsk. Tsk. Free points. Every life is worth 100 points. Kek."

He was also confident in destroying the territory beacon—another 1000 points.

"My Boulder Rock Snake will dig underground and swallow your beacon directly. Good luck protecting it, kek."

"Yes, yes! The leader’s snake is so strong—it can take on 5 of us at once and still win!"

His vice leader didn’t miss a single chance to fan the already blazing arrogant butt.

With Yano’s calculations, even if he couldn’t kill Leo, he would easily secure more than 5000 Prosperity Points—enough to push his territory into the Mid Green Tier, the highest in the fresher’s zone for over 2 months.

And with further raids on other top 10 territories—each housing more than 100 members or so he believed—he could climb to the very top of the prosperity rankings.

"Hehe... Grandfather will be proud," he muttered under his breath.

"He might even gift me 2 to 3 more jade beauties," Yano added, a greedy grin spreading across his face as he practically drooled at the thought.

He quickly pulled out his phone to check the time.

11:59

Seeing the moment approach, he hurriedly sent one final message to his group chat.

[Leader] Yano Gilbert: Don’t be afraid just because it’s the 1st rank’s territory. In the end, even he bleeds! And if anyone is worried about losing 1000 AC as temple charges, don’t worry—I’ll cover it!

[Vice Leader] Jisp Bru: Let’s go, leader! So generous! We’ll definitely succeed under your guidance!

[Squad Leader] Kelp Minx: Yeahhh!!!

[Member] Junni: Yeaahhhh!

[Member] Dora: Yes!!

...

Yano had secured considerable funds after scavenging some avian beast corpse following the storm. And as the territory leader spearheading the mission, most of the spoils naturally belonged to him. He was rich—and that only fed his confidence.

But just as his team reached a fever pitch, Yano’s pupils suddenly contracted, his head snapping toward the centre of the mound ahead.

There, the seemingly ordinary tall tree began to pulse—charging with dense energy and mana. Even from a distance, he could feel its intensity pressing against his skin.

"Leader?" Jisp called out, confused, but Yano didn’t respond.

And in the very next moment—

The dark night lit up.