At this moment, the Forest Wolf Troop, having scored perfect survival points and, to top it off, eliminated two other teams, ranked third. This naturally drew everyoneâs attention.
Some analyzed the situation, giving credit to this newly emerged battle group. Previously, only the Black Tiger and Shadow Leopard Groups were considered major threats.
Undoubtedly, members of the Black Tiger and Shadow Leopard Groups, setting aside the others for now, broke out in a cold sweat.
If this fighting continues, our numbers will soon be depleted. And if this Forest Wolf Troop keeps playing possum, they might actually snatch victory! Losing a fair and square beast control duel would be one thing, but losing like this? None of us could accept that.
Therefore, the leader of the Black Tiger Group immediately adjusted their battle strategy.
We have to take out those sly bastards first! Otherwise, who knows when theyâll stab us in the back!
Forest Wolf, is it?
The captain of the Black Tiger Group mused, taking an item from his backpack. It was a card slot. He had found this item in a supply box. Supply boxes didnât just contain food to restore stamina and Magic Potions to replenish Energy; they also held various trinkets potentially useful on the battlefield. This was one such item.
The captain of the Black Tiger Group inserted the card slot into his vital signs wristwatch. As expected, a prompt appeared on the watch:
âBlack Tiger Group leader Mo He, you have used the battlefield horn, allowing you to broadcast a message up to 120 characters long, once!â
Within less than ten seconds, just as nearly all teams were witnessing their team ranking updates every three minutes, another message came through their vital signs wristwatches:
"I am Mo He, leader of the Black Tiger Group. We canât let the cunning bastards succeed. I canât ask everyone to put aside their differences and unanimously seek out the Forest Wolf Troop, but please, do try to search the wooded terrains! The Black Tiger Group will start searching from the southeast and spread throughout the south. If any brothers nearby are there, please leave first; my Black Tiger Group is going to find out where Forest Wolf Troop is!"
The hornâs message broadcast clearly, visible to all teams still on the field.
"Dammit, this is totally against the spirit of martial arts!"
Not only was the Forest Wolf Troop, gearing up for a morning of carnage, taken aback, but even Su Ping, watching from outside the arena, couldnât help exclaiming, "Against the martial spirit!"
Then, he noticed the contemptuous looks from the others.
Against the martial spirit?! This is eliminating a public menace! Dammit, it was supposed to be a fair competition, and this Wanmu Wolf actually holed up all night! If this continues, they might actually get away with it!
Almost the instant after the Black Tiger Group leaderâs message was sent, a few other groups that had also acquired horns from the supply boxes broadcasted their messages!
"The Shadow Leopard Group is also joining in the hunt for Forest Wolf Troop. Iâll start from the northwest..."
"My Bull Python Group joins too, damn, those sly bastards can all die!"
"The Mountain Mover Ape Group joins in as well! Starting from the due east direction!"
"The Snow Wolf Group joins..."
Each one joined the operation known as the âForest Wolf Troop Hunting Plan.â
However, Lin Leiâs expression darkened.
Dammit, itâs one thing for teams from other divisions to join, but why the hell is the Snow Wolf Group getting involved? Have they forgotten theyâre all from the War Wolf Division? Although this competition is nominally between individual teams, thereâs an unwritten rule not to go all out against main teams from your own division. Has the Snow Wolf Group lost its mind?
Of course, the Snow Wolf Group hadnât lost its mind. In fact, they spoke out loudly through the battlefield horn, claiming they were going to search to the north. Yet, the live broadcast clearly showed this group of people had no intention of heading due north. To the astonishment of everyone, they actually made a beeline straight for the very center.
"A bunch of idiots, let them fight it out!" the Snow Wolf Groupâs captain declared. "The Evolutionary Bodies cultivated by the Forest Wolf Troop are unprecedented; this is internal intel from our War Wolf Division. How would those outsiders know? They all think the Forest Wolf Troop is just a bunch of sly campers, but didnât they see them completely dominate and eliminate two teams? Let them exhaust each other; weâll conserve our strength and snatch the prize later!"
This wasnât a real battlefield within the Legion, where everyone is a comrade-in-arms, ready to take a bullet for one another. This was a competition. And in that case, unfortunately, the first lesson in the Legion is to do whatever it takes to win on the battlefield.
Damn, is the Snow Wolf Group just as shameless as the Forest Wolf Troop?
The thought rippled through the spectators. Immediately, everyone watching the live broadcast turned to look at Lin Lei, who, somewhat embarrassed, rubbed his nose.
If one team acts like this, perhaps itâs just the captainâs fault. But two teams from the same division? Itâs hard not to wonder what kind of âprinciplesâ Chief Lin of the War Wolf Division has been instilling in these little rascals.
Confronted with everyoneâs gaze, Lin Lei couldnât hold back, "Why the hell are you all staring at me? What does it have to do with me?"
As it turned out, Chief Linâs frustration was justified. Because at that moment, some spectators shifted their attention to the Black Tiger Group, the first to broadcast. And the Black Tiger Group? Their trajectory wasnât southeast or south, as theyâd announced. They too were heading straight for the center.
"Captain? Werenât we supposed to head south to search for the Forest Wolf Troop?"
Black Tiger Groupâs captain, Mo He, glared, "How the hell did you become a platoon leader in the group? No wonder you donât get promoted despite being so strong. Just go because I said so? Weâre only three people now. Aside from not being sure to find them, even if we did, what are the odds in a three-versus-five scenario?"
The man who had asked was taken aback.
"Let them go search. Weâll profit as the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The cunning guys from the Forest Wolf Troop have indeed reminded me. During the upcoming period, beast control battles are one aspect, ensuring numbers and strength are even more crucial! Let those sons of bitches wear themselves out looking for the Forest Wolf Troop. Weâll recover here at the center. One reason is to accumulate Points, and another is that itâs very likely small groups with only one or two people left avoiding the toxic zone will come here while the rest of the intact teams search for the Forest Wolf Troop... HEH HEH HEH..."
"Brilliant!" The man slapped his thigh and gave Mo He a thumbs-up.
"Itâs just basic tactics," Mo He said. "Alright, now that you get it, letâs not waste any more time. Letâs move."
A hush fell over the live broadcast plaza. Onlookers, especially the commander of the Fierce Tiger C Division, watched as his âbrilliantâ Black Tiger Group also headed straight for the center of the battlefield.
The commander pursed his lips.
Indeed, a bit clever, but not very. You damn brat, did you really think that what your pig brain could come up with, other teams wouldnât? Did you think theyâd all be idiots and actually go search the periphery for the Forest Wolf Troop?
In fact, it wasnât just the Snow Wolf Group. After broadcasting the âHunt Down the Forest Wolf Troopâ announcement via the battlefield horns and ostensibly reaching a âconsensus,â none of the other teams that had chimed in actually headed towards the outer areas to search. Instead, every single one of them was rapidly making their way to the center of the battlefield.
This development was something even the top-ranking officers watching from the front row hadnât anticipated. The team ranking display, introduced as the competition heated up, was meant to give the embattled teams a clearer strategic overview. No one could have predicted that it would, under these circumstances, so drastically accelerate the pace and direction of the entire contest.
Because it wasnât long before not only the vast majority of the other teams but even the Forest Wolf Troopâafter a brief moment of surprise following their nightâs rest by the small lakeâalso began heading straight for the center of the battlefield!
In an instant, the center of the battlefield became the focal point of all attention. Everyone knew that here, the final, decisive battleâwhich would also be a massive free-for-allâwas about to begin, far ahead of schedule!