16

The cave returned to its quiet state, leaving Alex alone. He struggled to sit up, using his short spear to support himself as sweat dripped down his forehead. His breath was erratic, chest heaving, but his gaze was unusually calm. He had to find his master at the temple—his task was far from over.

As he managed to stand and reached the cave entrance, he suddenly saw a disheveled Jordan approaching. Jordan stumbled a bit and, upon seeing Alex, decided to turn away. However, just as he took a few steps, his hand accidentally brushed against a tree branch, creating a loud, crisp snap that echoed in the silent forest.

His heart raced as he instinctively held his breath, but it was too late. Alex jerked his head up, his brows furrowing as his eyes quickly locked onto Jordan's shadowy figure among the trees. Jordan's heart sank, realizing he'd been spotted. With a resigned sigh, he walked out into the open.

"Jordan?" Alex's voice held a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

Jordan shrugged nonchalantly,"Oh, Alex, you're here." He glanced around, not seeing Brooke anywhere, but still surprised at how quickly the two had moved.

"Well, Alex, I don't feel like going to the temple with you. I'd rather pop home first…"

Alex frowned slightly, puzzled that they seemed to be avoiding him and not noticing he used the plural form of"you."

"Alright then, I'll go find Master for help. If you meet any villagers, ask them to come help too!"

Jordan nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he wanted to say something but ultimately held back. His fingers subconsciously rubbed the seams of his trousers, eyes darting about as if hiding something.

They locked eyes for a brief moment, the atmosphere becoming instantly awkward. Jordan breezily said,"See you around then!"

Alex touched the back of his neck,"See you!"

They hurried off in different directions, their steps brisk, as if an invisible wall of awkwardness had formed between them. Each thought Brooke was with the other, unaware that she was actually running alone towards the temple.

-----------------

Sebastian stood on his luxurious Persian rug, admiring the antiques from less developed planets. He held a glass of wine, surveying the one-sided slaughter before him like a god. The Caron killers in the air relentlessly bombarded the fragile wooden defenses, with sharp clashing sounds, cracking wood, and intermittent screams and shouts creating a symphony of despair.

His gaze swept over the students and villagers fighting desperately, a flicker of impatience in his eyes."Boring!"

This wasn't a battle, just a massacre, and he despised such predictable games that couldn't bring him massive profits.

As the countdown in the sky reached its final minute, only a few classrooms in the academy still resisted. The headmaster and villagers braced tables against the windows, while outside, flying killers attacked the wooden planks like frenzied wasps, crashing into them with relentless force. Each impact was accompanied by a low, explosive sound, like firecrackers going off, deafeningly loud. A window upstairs already had seven or eight holes, but the tireless suicide drones kept coming in waves.

"We can't hold on much longer!" a villager shouted in despair, feeling the impacts and harsh scraping sounds through the table.

"Hold on!"

The headmaster gripped a table tightly, raising it high like a warrior with a shield, valiantly defending against the impending danger. His face was grim, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, but his eyes burned with an unyielding light. Behind him, the art teacher quickly took action, grabbing an injured student. Though his small frame seemed inadequate, he exerted all his strength, carrying the student to the corner. Another villager followed, covering the gap left behind.

"Hurry, douse the tables with water! Girls, splash water on the tables and find some wet cloths to plug the gaps."

The scene was tense and busy, with villagers working together to reinforce their defenses. The oppressive heat and acrid smoke made each breath difficult, but they persisted, driven by sheer determination and the will to survive.

"Stay calm, stay calm," Principal Zhang kept telling himself,"I must protect everyone!"

Young villagers hid behind tables, occasionally emitting cries and rolling around. Sometimes, the dense barrage made them too scared to raise their heads, with the continuous"thud, thud, thud" of impacts on the tables. As time passed, the whistling in the air grew more frequent, like a rain of ninja stars.

"Fortunately, the headmaster is quick-witted, thinking of a solution in such a short time!" Dan thought, watching the busy headmaster, but he still had doubts,"How did he seem to know everything beforehand?"

"Thud—"

A muffled sound, a robotic killer disc embedded itself deeply into a wooden stake, still spinning, narrowly missing Dan's shoulder. The stake shattered instantly, splinters flying like bullets. Dan could even see the bloodstains on the killer disc, still slowly rotating...

The next second, he rolled away, avoiding a second disc coming straight at him, the air beside his ear tearing with a shrill whistle.

Dan exclaimed,"Oh no!" The killer's attack had come suddenly and from behind. Looking back, he saw several wooden posts on the wall collapsing, making repairs impossible.

Dizzy Dan grabbed a wooden stick, limping to the fourth-floor corridor. The nearly hundred-meter-long corridor was dark, but he could clearly hear the buzzing and occasionally see the Caron reflections.

Dan widened his eyes, standing like a lone hero in the corridor, using the stick to hit the ground, attracting the drones' attention. Each time he knocked down a killer, Dizzy Dan would let out a triumphant howl. He appeared relaxed, but inside, he was calculating every move intensely.

The robotic killers attacked swiftly, cunningly, and lethally, like ninja stars, coming straight on. He could predict their trajectory and direction, skillfully smashing the killers with his stick, even hitting home runs, making him howl with pride.

"Who's the best fighter in the village? Now you've all seen, haven't you?" Dan, covered in bandages, shouted defiantly to encourage the remaining villagers.

The countdown in the sky had unknowingly returned to 00:09. At that moment, a loud crash announced the collapse of yet another classroom door. Several villagers tumbled and crawled, followed by blood-stained mechanical killers in hot pursuit.

Dan proudly blocked the killers' path, allowing the villagers to escape into the classroom behind him.

"Patch up the holes, don't worry about me!" Dan hastily delivered his prepared line.

For a moment, the air in the corridor seemed to freeze. The airborne killers appeared out of nowhere—three, seven, ten—slowly arranging themselves into an attack formation.

In the flying drone, Caron was overjoyed, having found his cash cow!

"Dear brothers, it's a pleasure to see another hero! Now, ten killer machines stand before him, with even more on the way, and our hero is almost out of strength! Should I lend him a hand?" Caron quipped, still flaunting his humor.

Sebastian frowned, his fingers idly sliding over the communicator, his interest waning. He saw that this man couldn't stir the audience's enthusiasm—no spectacle, no use to him.

"My goodness, I expected a dragon-slaying battle, and this is what I get?"

Sebastian impatiently swirled the wine in his glass, the red liquid forming a vortex like the blood pool on the ground.

"Caron, are your men drunk? How is this killing so boring?"

Mr. Caron, engrossed in the broadcast, was momentarily stunned, then quickly grinned apologetically."Sir, these are just low-level killing machines. The real 'game' hasn't started yet. Don't you think a one-sided hunt is a form of art too?"

Sebastian scoffed, his gaze returning to the screen just as Dan knocked an airborne killer away with a stick but staggered to dodge the next incoming killer drone. His face, still covered in cold sweat and pain, now showed unprecedented determination. That once plain face, caught in the interplay of life and death, suddenly had an undeniable allure.

Interesting.

He lightly tapped the screen, speaking coldly,"Cancel all small bets."

Mr. Caron was stunned,"What? Sir, you..."

"Caron, you get in there yourself." Sebastian stood tall, a faint smile on his lips,"You fools can't even manage a proper killing. Show them what a real fight is."

"Yes, boss!" Caron knew full well that Sebastian intended to sell the broadcast rights to the Federation, which would be a huge payday, and wanted to increase the broadcast's appeal.

Reluctantly, he summoned his strongest assistant, Nyx. Wrapping himself in his coat, he sprang off the ground, his body ghosting down from mid-air to land firmly in the blood-stained corridor. Nyx's silver armor traced a silver arc in the air, gleaming with icy light.

Sebastian took over the broadcast,"The rules of the next bet are simple—"

"—either Caron gets defeated, or all the villagers die. Enjoy the show!"