Chapter 82: The Hunt/The Ambush.
Levi didn’t know why, but he had a weird feeling that Instructor Seraphis wouldn’t go through this much trouble purely to find out about the candidates’ spiritual potential.
While the trial was unique, there would be too much going on to give an accurate reading of one’s spiritual power. Worse, some candidates might get eliminated in the battles before their dolls could make it past half the track.
’Maybe he really just wants to eliminate as many candidates as possible...Maybe.’ Levi frowned.
Besides his intuition acting up, Levi didn’t have much evidence to support his theory that this trial might be more than just a trial of spirituality.
He wanted to stay here for a while until some of his doubts were cleared.
Argh!! Get him!! He is running!!...
Suddenly, the peacefulness of the arena was shattered as some candidates didn’t hesitate to make their move on their closest targets after noticing that their dolls were last in the race!
That was enough to make them desperate for some attention and validation from the nightcrawlers, using their fists!
All it took was one squad to begin their hunt to turn the arena into an active warzone, with small and big skirmishes breaking out everywhere!
Instructor Seraphis relied on his omnipotent authority to check on the candidates constantly, making his move the moment he saw a candidate either badly injured or about to be killed.
All it took was a snap of a finger, and the harmed candidate would find himself outside of the arena’s radius, where the staff members were awaiting to tend to his wounds.
Argh!!! Mercy! Please don’t eliminate me, this is my last cha...Sorry, but this is my last chance too, die!
Painful screams, despairing begging, and merciless beatings...
Levi’s ears captured everything as he leaned against the wall with his head lowered, listening to everyone’s struggles in deafening silence.
While he wasn’t a sympathetic type, he couldn’t help but show a bitter smile. It was like he was seeing his ending if he were to join the assembly without possessing echolocation.
Before signing the contract, Levi had read a lot about the assembly and their trials. He always believed that his chances to make it to the last trial were slim to none.
As much as he tried hard to sell it to others, he wasn’t that delusional to believe he was a superhuman who would beat everyone up when he couldn’t see their faces.
But...all he could do was keep moving forward regardless of the outcome. He feared spending the rest of his life blind and abused more than getting beaten, shamed, and mocked in the assembly.
A moment of pain was a million times better than a lifetime of regret.
Levi would live by this belief for his entire life until the day he either achieved his goals or dropped dead on the journey.
—Trust me, I have seen them enter this building, they are hiding here...Once we get near the building, use Astra for communication...Follow the plan and take down their weak links first, then we will gang up on that behemoth...I don’t care what you do, Levi is mine.—
Abruptly, Levi’s ears twitched as they picked up on faint whispering noises tens of meters away from their location.
Just like a radio, he deafened the rest of the noises and tuned out to their voices primarily until a vibrating soundwave line manifested between him and them.
Levi tapped it with his finger, and their whispering sounds exploded in his ears, making him listen to their conversation like he was sitting amidst them.
This wasn’t all.
He used their own voices to create their humanoid wavy appearances in his mind. When he looked at their shapes, he recognized them immediately.
’It’s Demetris’ party.’ He tightened his eyebrows coldly.
As he assumed, Demetris, Omar, Kiera, Selene, and two more decent contestants were seen moving toward Levi’s hideout. They were crouching along the way and using whatever means possible to keep themselves hidden.
Alleys, sewers, hiding behind destroyed cars...their sneaking skills were impeccable, avoiding other parties’ detection perfectly.
The viewers and the nightcrawlers thought the same.
—The difference between sponsored candidates and the rest is vast.—
—Is it just me, or are they heading towards Levi’s party?—
—How amusing, a battle between the top ten candidates right at the start of the trial.—
’Aiming for my boy’s head? This is gonna be fun.’ Ash’Kral smirked as he gazed at Demetris’ party getting closer and closer to the hideout.
Levi waited until the uninvited guests were ten meters away from the building before calling for his party to group up at the center of the hideout.
Even if Levi wanted to alert his party sooner, he couldn’t do it without raising some question marks.
After all, no matter how great his ears were, there was no way in hell they would be powerful enough to pick up on whispers tens of meters away amidst a chaotic, noisy battlefield.
Especially when Demetris’ party’s sneaking technique was as clean as it could get.
After they grouped on the second floor, which resembled an abandoned call center company with its dusty chairs and desks overturned everywhere, Levi gestured for them to stay low.
Everyone crouched in a circle, and Levi updated them on the approaching uninvited guests.
"I picked up on some nearby noises. We might have company." His voice was soft, but his tone was solemn.
"Just when my doll started putting some decent lead." Jojo’s pupils thinned in irritation, but it swiftly died out.
"I don’t know about you, but I am all in to give them a proper welcome." Arthur grinned in anticipation, which was shared by his best bud, Rayan.
"Ahh, I am not a fan of unnecessary fights, but you can count on me." Malissa nodded with a tough look, finally matching her gothic appearance.
"I have a feeling that it might be Demetris’ party; he has been gunning for me ever since the second trial. So, don’t lower your guards." Levi warned.
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expression turned stern as they knew that Demetris’ party was incredibly stacked.
They had seen him recruit Omar, Selene, and Kiera, who were sponsored by renowned Tier 4 agencies, ranked only lower than the four strongest Tier 5 agencies in their region.
As for the rest of the sponsored candidates of the top four agencies? Besides the Blood Hunters and Sunstrike Agency, the other two refrained from sponsoring anyone in this yearly version.
The Midnight Slayers had sent Nurah, while the Lightbearer Alliance never gave up on their sponsorship unless the candidate was a must-addition to their ranks.
After all, the sponsorships reflected on the agencies’ reputation, and they couldn’t be given to just anyone to fulfill the quota.
Sometimes, a couple of years go by, and those agencies never recruit anyone unless they have suffered great casualties in their expeditions.
While those three weren’t sponsored by the Big Four, it didn’t mean they were any weaker than them.
Soon, Levi noticed Demetris’ party had stopped a couple of meters away from their hideout. They spread out to scout the first ground floor. Levi picked up a thin rock and started drawing on the dusty ground.
"They don’t know we will be expecting them, so we have to sell the illusion of ignorance. Rayan, you will act as the bait and pull them to this chokepoint."
He drew a cross on the main door of the floor.
"I will stand far away from you with my back facing the chokepoint. This way, when they see your closest ally is far away, they will commit to you harder."
"Rayan, you good with being the bait?" Levi asked.
Levi chose him because he heard that they wanted to target their weakest links first, and since Rayan was the lowest-ranked one, they would assume he was it.
"Put me wherever you want." Rayan grinned.
"Good." Levi nodded and continued, "Arthur, you will lean against the wall next to the chokepoint and wait there with your shield prepared."
"Jojo and Malissa, I need you to hide at the corners, one on the right, the other on the left...Use the desks."
Arthur, Jojo, and Malissa nodded in understanding.
"The moment one of them crosses the chokepoint, Arthur will swing and stand guard at the front of the door with his shield, blocking his allies from entering and buying us some time to deal with the rat."
"Once Arthur makes his move, the rest of us will assault the rat simultaneously and eliminate him as fast as possible...Then, we will regroup and retreat from the backdoor before the rest of his allies come."
"Sounds good?" Levi checked.
Everyone nodded but Arthur, who couldn’t help but ask for his reason to retreat instead of taking them on...It was clear he was raring for a fight.
"If our fight lasted for a while, it would draw the attention of other parties, and they wouldn’t hesitate to eat off the winners." Levi clarified, "Don’t forget, our task isn’t to fight to the death, but for our dolls to cross the finish line."
"I see."
"But, if they force our hands, don’t hesitate to engage." Levi said calmly, "Choose your targets. I will be taking on Demetris if it’s his party."
Jojo and the others picked up their primary target, too, just in case.
"Go, get in your positions."