Time To Fight

Peiji and his friends arranged themselves in the formation he had proposed earlier: a cross. He faced the demon directly, while the others scanned the surroundings, searching for the other teammates of the demon.

He saw through their intentions immediately.

"Don't bother, I am alone"

"That's an obvious bluff, why would you separate yourself from the team" Kurt replied

The demon snickered

"You humans are not only weak, but also stupid. Do you think working as a team is a good strategy for this exam. All of my teammates are going solo, that way we can explore more area and collect more than enough balls."

Peiji and others talk in telepathic connection made by kurt, so that demon won't know what they are planning.

[Shido:- You were right kurt, this guy is surely bluffing. There is no way they will go through such a risky method.]

[Kurt:- No, that might not be the case. Demons are the strongest species and think too highly of themselves. But that's a given as even our current East Emperor is the Demon Emperor Khal'Veshar.]

[Peiji:- Oh, I didn't know that.]

[Kurt:- What, everybody knows that.]

[Shido:- He must be weak in studies, hahaha.]

[Peiji:- In village, we only care about the king whom we have to pay the taxes directly.]

[Sariana:- Peiji-sama, I will ask father not to tax you after our marriage.]

[Natalia:- You keep your mouth shut.]

[Sariana:- I am not speaking with the mouth. I am speaking in my brain.]

[Peiji:- You two cut the crap, can't you see we are in the middle of a fight.] Peiji angrily stopped them 

[Peiji:- Shido, do your thing.]

[Shido:- You don't have to tell me.]

Shido provoked the demon

"Hey blind face, are you scared now that your sneak attack didn't work."

"Huh, an obvious provocation like that won't work on me."

The demon exuded an air of quiet intelligence, his demeanor cool and composed. He extended his left hand toward Shido. 

"What, my body is moving on its own."

With a subtle flick of his wrist, the demon activated his power, drawing Shido's body toward him with an unseen force, as if an invisible tether had latched onto him.

[So, his skill gives him telekinetic powers.] Peiji concluded

Shido's body was pulled toward the demon with startling speed, the distance closing in a blur. Just as he neared, however, shido vanished in an instant, leaving nothing but a flicker in the air where he was.

The abrupt shift in the air caught the demon off guard, momentarily throwing him off balance. His focus wavered, his sharp gaze darting around in search of the sudden disturbance.

"What"

"Right here, blind face." Shido was behind him, he must have teleported when demon was pulling him.

*bam*

Shido's foot slammed into the demon's skull with brutal force, knocking him off the tree branch he had been standing on. However, the demon quickly recovered, channeling his powers through his body to stabilize himself, hovering effortlessly in mid-air.

"Haha, did that hurt, Mr. demon." shido taunted him

"You imbecile, a lowly creature like you dare to hit me." Fury surged through the demon, his eyes blazing with wrath as he locked onto Shido, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unrelenting anger.

Now floating in the air, the demon's intense glare was fixed on Shido, who stood defiantly on the branch. In doing so, the demon inadvertently turned his back to Peiji and the others, who were still on the ground, watching the unfolding tension. Peiji took the opportunity

[Natalia, get me near him] he commanded natalia through kurt's telepathic connection

[Understood] she replied

From Natalia's hand, blood strings shot out, wrapping around Peiji like a rope. With a chilling calmness, she lifted him off the ground, the ropes of blood slowly drew him closer to the demon, until he was hovering at his back without demon noticing him. But after that Shido's attack, demon has got more conscious of his surroundings and no longer underestimating them. He sensed that his enemies were up to something. He immediately turned his head back to see only to find Peiji placing his head on his back.

"What now, not again" demon panicked and used his skill to throw Peiji away. He fell on the ground with a somewhat disappointed face.

Suddenly, Sariana got really embarassed

"No, what are you showing me demon, I have to keep my chastity for Peiji-sama"

"Woah, Peiji you did him bad, dude" kurt said while laughing

Shido also joined in on laughing which left demon confused.

"What's so funny now-" he looked down while saying that and froze on sudden realization.

The demon was completely naked, not even a single cloth on him.

"I absorbed all his clothes to find the ball but it looks like he doesn't have one, he might not be the strongest one on his team" Peiji answered in response to the confusion

"Dammit, I will annihilate you." demon's anger was soaring through the skies now, a wind so strong making all the trees and leaving going wild like a storm was coming, it looked like he was planning to launch a large scale attack like that meteor strike.

"Shido, get him" Peiji called out to shido loudly in the midst of chaos

In a flash, Shido teleported from the tree branch to the demon, his hand making contact with him. The moment they touched, demon vanished from sight. The surrounding tornado, which had been growing steadily fiercer, slowly began to calm, its violent winds dying down to a soft, eerie stillness.

 "We won" 

"We actually defeated the demon" Everyone started celebrating and shouting

Peiji approached Kurt

"Hey Kurt, seems like demons are just being feared too much because the strongest person is the demon emperor. You see how we defeated him without much effort."

"No Peiji, we didn't defeat him, we just fend him off away from us when he wasn't even using his full power."

"Not using his full power?, well whatever, let's just hope we don't run into a demon again."

Out of nowhere, a deafening explosion ripped through the quiet of the forest. Moments later, the air was filled with the roar of battle cries, as the very earth beneath them trembled, echoing the chaos unfolding deep within the woods.

"Seems like other teams are also engaging in battles, we can call this the main event of the exam where all teams are fighting each other." Kurt said in response to the explosions

Peiji recognized the difficulty in the exam and explained it to others.

"Hmm, there are a total of 1000 teams with a total of 1000 balls, if the winning teams have to acquire 4 balls other than their own, it means that there will be 200 teams left while 800 would fail. Let's say that we just keep hiding and do not engage, there will come a time when 199 teams will pass which means that 801 team would be left with only 5 balls remaining in the forest."

"What do you mean" shido asked

"In simple words, the competition will keep getting harder until the end of exam."

"Then, we should hurry before it gets too late" Kurt said while everyone nodded in response.

They began advancing in the cross formation that Peiji had suggested earlier. Their goal was simple: find a team that was weak enough to defeat and take their ball(s). With so many teams scattered around, it didn't take long before they stumbled upon one.

As they came face to face, an awkward tension filled the air. The opposing team, also human, immediately adopted a defensive stance at the sight of Peiji and his group. In response, Peiji's team tensed up as well. Without hesitation, Peiji stepped forward, summoning a massive, impenetrable shield. Thick and sturdy, he planted it firmly on the ground, creating a protective barrier that covered his entire team, ready for whatever might come next. On the right, Natalia's body shimmered with blood streams swirling around her like a deadly dance. Her stance was poised, the air thick with anticipation as she prepared to strike. Meanwhile, Sariana stood calmly, but a series of glowing light swords hovered above her head, flickering with energy. At any moment, they could be launched in a flurry of precision, ready to tear through their enemies.

The opposing team, however, didn't exude confidence. Instead, fear was written across their faces. They began to inch backward, their eyes wide with uncertainty as they took in the raw power emanating from Peiji's group. Their steps were slow, hesitant, betraying their growing dread in the face of such formidable opponents. But there was one dude in the team who was still calm.

[Shido:- We didn't even do anything yet and they are already that much scared.]

[Kurt:- They must be one of those teams who were just teamed up at random by the system.]

[Peiji:- It looks like they have never been in a fight before. They must still be holding on to their ball.]

[Kurt:- Let's just confirm it.] They are all talking in telepathy.

Peiji while still holding the shield with an absolute defense asked them

"If you don't wanna get hurt, hand over your golden ball to us."

They looked at each other as if asking what to do now. What they were really lacking was a good leader and morale.

At the front of the group stood a pale boy with green hair, wearing rugged brown clothes. His t-shirt had a long v-neck, with a green inner, making him look more like a village boy than someone ready for battle. When Peiji asked about voluntarily giving the ball, his expression changed from that of scared to a angry one like he made some kind of resolve.

"What? You want us to surrender. I won't give up after finally coming this far. "YOU", why don't you act like a good leader and fight, you are strongest of us." the green haired boy confronted Peiji's statement and then talked to one of his own teammate.

 The one he is referring to as "You" here is the person who didn't lose his composure after facing Peiji's team, he was standing at the back like he had no interest. He had short red hair contrasting sharply against his broad, muscular frame. Clad in a black jacket and pants, he wore the outfit with no shirt underneath, showcasing the sculpted muscles of his physique. Towering and imposing, a sword rested across his back, a weapon that seemed perfectly suited to his formidable stature.

When the guy asked him for his cooperation to the team, he was just standing still and staring like in some kind of shock.

[Shido:- Should we just make our move already.]

[Peiji:- Yeah, we have already confirmed that they still have a stone. Natalia and Sariana, be sure not to hit any vital spots.]

"Roger" they answered in unison

Sariana launched her light swords which were hovering above her head earlier right into the center of opposing team. Peiji thought this would make them lose all their remaining morale but unexpectedly, that village boy protected himself with 2 swords.

[Peiji:- I don't think he had those swords before.] 

[Kurt:- Look closely, the sword are coming out from his knuckles. They are even bleeding, that guy seems to have spirit.] 

[Shido:- That red one also dodged it by moving fast. It was so fast I couldn't even see him moving.]

[Peiji:-Are you sure he didn't teleport like how you do.] Peiji teased him

[Shido:- Excuse me, only I can do that.] he got angry

The other three guys in their team were just scared shitless and fell onto the ground after that sudden attack.

[Kurt:- It's five against two, we can easily win.]

[Peiji:- Yeah, let's just-]

They were talking in telepathy but Peiji was continuously using his prediction since they entered the forest and he saw something.

"Natalia, grab those chains" he ordered Natalia immediately 

Natalia saw some chains coming towards them by her side from the woods. She immediately used her blood strings to hold them in the way.

Peiji realized who attacked them.

"It's you again, right Krudo" Peiji yelled in a frustrated and angry tone while krudo walked out of the woods.