The Examination Continues (Part 2)

Looking at the tightly sealed earthen-yellow shield walls around them, Laxus and his group frowned instantly.

Just as everyone slowed down due to hesitation, two soft shouts passed through the group and appeared in front.

"Ice Make Flooring"

"Magic of Light·Sunday"

In an instant, the sound of ice crystals condensing spread from behind everyone to the back of the encirclement. Immediately afterward, a dazzling light flashed in the air, causing those behind the shield wall to lose their ability to observe.

Although no one knew who had opened a way out for them, they did not waste any time and rushed out of the encirclement without hesitation.

Not long after Laxus and his group broke through, a small group of people emerged from the woods not far away. Strangely, two disheveled figures were trailing behind the group.

Upon seeing the encirclement lying on the ground, the small unit immediately rushed towards them.

"Hey, what's wrong with you all?" (Leader A)

Upon hearing the question from the leader of the small group, a man lying on the ground who appeared to be a leader (Leader B) said, "Just now, those people used light magic to blind us, and then fled to the northeast."

"Don't worry about us, go after them! We absolutely cannot let them harm His Majesty!" (Leader C)

"Alright, we'll go after them right away. You'll have to keep an eye on these two!" (Leader A)

"Don't worry, we'll keep a close eye on them." (Leader B)

After instructing his men to hand over the two people who had crashed to the encirclement on the ground, Leader A immediately led his team in pursuit of the direction in which Laxus and the others had fled.

"Gray, thanks a lot! (Laxus)"

"I only slowed down the enemy's pursuit. It was Uncle Pukins who really helped you escape. If you want to thank someone, thank him!"

"Heh! If you hadn't drawn the enemy's attention, Pukins wouldn't have been able to succeed so easily, so we should thank you both! (Rexar)"

"That's right! (Churchill)"

"In that case, each of you owes us a favor!" (Pukins)

"Good! (Laxus)"

"Okay!" (Churchill and others)

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

Hearing the sudden sound of something breaking and screams, the people who were running away quickly stopped in their tracks.

"Macao, are you alright? (Wakaba)"

"You all need to get out of here! I've been captured by the enemy!" (Macao)

"You want us to abandon our comrades? Are you kidding me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Churchill swung his fist and punched him.

"Stop! It's me!"

Upon hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Churchill quickly moved his fist to the side.

"Boom!"

In an instant, a deep pit appeared on the left side of the hand that had burst out of the ground.

After wiping the mud off his face, he poked his big head out of the ground and protested, "I already said it was me, why are you still hitting me!"

After carefully examining the mud monkey in front of him, Churchill said angrily, "Hmph! Getting mud all over your face is letting you off easy!"

"Hey, you muscle bump, how dare you talk to me like that?!"

"Hmph! Muscular guy is being kind to you. If it were me... I would have punched you in the face long ago! (Versailles)"

"Hey, I was just trying to distract the enemy, how could you do this to me?!"

"Draw the enemy's attention? Why don't you say you're going to raid the enemy's base!" (Pukins)

"Ha! To be able to make running away sound so noble, I'm truly impressed! (Wakaba)"

"Brothers, you can't blame me for this! How was I supposed to know those guys were so bad at understanding things!"

"Guys, I have a suggestion, though it might be a bit premature. How about we drag this guy up here, and then... umm!"

Seeing Laxus swing his fist, everyone reacted instantly. Those on the ground revealed a sly smile, while the one underground hurriedly sent himself back underground.

Unfortunately, the one who went underground wasn't as fast as the others, so a unique mobile karaoke concert began.

Half a day passed quickly, but to everyone's dismay, they hadn't even crossed the border, let alone reached Ningguang City.

"Everyone, this can't go on!" (Laxus)

"Yes, if we keep wasting time like this, we won't even pass the first assessment." (Pukins)

"Of course we know that, but those guys outside are so close, and we're not familiar with the terrain. What can we do?" (Churchill)

"Since Old Suo and his team designed this assessment, they must have left some solutions, we just haven't found them yet. (Laxus)" (Sordil: Sorry, I really haven't prepared any of that!)

"But we only have half a day left, and there's no chance to search this area at all!" (Macao)

"Yes! (Wakaba)"

Faced with this stark reality, everyone was speechless for a moment.

"At this point, there's only one way left: find a way to steal transportation from the town and then head to Ningguang City. (Rexar)"

"Will this... will this work?" (Bohr)

"Yes, the guild leader made us walk all the way to Ningguang City!" (Pukins)

"Do you have any other ideas? (Rexar)"

Upon hearing the question, everyone shook their heads.

"That settles it! Besides, as long as we don't say anything, how will the guild leader and the others know that we went there by public transport? (Rexar)"

The group, who were already wavering, were swayed by Rexar's influence, and their hearts swayed towards the mode of transportation.

After exchanging glances, the group smiled at each other and then walked in unison to the left front.

Ningguang City Gate

"Why haven't these guys arrived yet? Could something have happened to them?" (Makarov)

"President, don't worry. I've already instructed the towns along the way to capture the assassin alive, so nothing will happen." (Sordil)

"That's good! (Makarov)"

"President, do you think those guys didn't grasp the true purpose of this test?" (Gildarts)

"Um... they can't be that stupid, right? (Old Suo)"

"That's hard to say!" (Makarov)

The three had just finished their conversation when several sweaty heads appeared on the horizon ahead.

"Heh, these guys really can't stand being talked about! (Gildarts)"

"Alright, let's hurry over there!" (Old Suo)

After speaking, the three of them, appearing and disappearing intermittently, hurried forward.

"Meeting..."

Before Churchill could finish speaking, Old Suo waved his hand, enveloping them in a silvery glow and taking them away from the place.

When everyone opened their eyes again, ethereal clouds rushed into their pupils, and a chilling wind swept through their chests.

Ah~~

Just as Macao was about to slip and fall off the cliff, a silver barrier suddenly appeared beneath his feet, lifting him into the air.

"This area is quite dangerous, so please be careful!"

Upon hearing Sordil's reminder, everyone remembered to scan their surroundings and then squeezed together to move closer to the center.

"Old Suo, what are you doing bringing us here?" (Laxus)

"Of course, I brought you here for the second assessment!"

"What?!"

Seeing the astonished crowd, Old Suo looked up and pondered for a moment before saying to them, "Oh, right! First of all, I want to congratulate you on passing the first test. Sorry, my memory hasn't been very good lately, and I got the order wrong."

Upon hearing this, a thud came from the cliff top.

After struggling to his feet, Churchill said, "Lazy God, don't you want to explain everything that has happened before and is happening now?"

"Oh, so that's what you wanted to ask!"

Seeing that someone had realized what was happening, the people on the ground all nodded.

"I spread rumors before to reassure you and get you to focus on the assessment. I've already told you all that, haven't I? (Old Suo)"

"Brother, your explanation seems to perfectly avoid all the key points!" (Pukins)

Seeing that the situation was about to reach a stalemate, Gildarts was standing to one side, couldn't stand it anymore. So he pulled Old Suo aside and began to explain everything to everyone again.

"The first test will assess your resourcefulness and see if you can handle various crisis situations. The next test will assess your luck and strategy. As for the specific test content, let Lazy God tell you, since he designed it all."

With that, Gildarts returned the center position to the Lazy God.

"The next challenge is this: you need to find the five tokens we have hidden in advance on the cliff below and then deliver them to us."

"I want to remind you that the decision of promotion is not based on who finds the token first, but on who hands the token to us."

"So... we can steal tokens from other people?" (Gray)

"That's right! But only until the token is delivered to us!" (Old Suo)

Upon hearing this simple and straightforward rule, the eight groups exchanged glances and then jumped off the cliff.

"With Lyra and Holi watching over things down there, nothing should go wrong, President. Can we relax a bit now?" (Old Suo)

"Nonsense! How can we, as invigilators, abandon our posts?!" (Makarov)

"I see... Then I'll send the ladies who delivered the wine back right away!"

Seeing Old Suo turn and leave, Gildarts frantically winked at Makarov, while the guild master, whose face had been tense, immediately put on a beaming smile.

"You naughty boy... no, Your Majesty Sordil, now that the goods have arrived, let's not trouble the ladies any further!"

"But aren't we supposed to be proctoring the exam?"

"Well, I don't think anything will happen here, so let's just relax!"

"Alright, I'll have them come over right away!"