Even before Lin Xiaoran was selected as a challenger and entered the game, she had her predecessor's memories of watching National Fortune livestreams. On top of that, she had stayed up all night searching for posts, guides, and other information about national fortune, so being targeted did not stir her in the slightest.
Because this meant she was formidable. It also indirectly reflected the other challengers' lack of confidence in their Heroic Spirits' strength. They believed they absolutely could not beat Lin Xiaoran one-on-one, which was why they had adopted a strategy of cooperation.
This had happened before, and that challenger who had successfully made it through three rounds really had been surrounded and killed by the others!
So three consecutive wins were the longest streak in the National Fortune Game to date.
Originally, Andrei had been the biggest target this round, but Lin Xiaoran's performance had simply been too outstanding.
Still, the reason Lin Xiaoran was not worried and looked so calm was that Yixiao's strength gave her confidence.
A Marine Admiral who had also mastered two types of Haki and was a Paramecia Devil Fruit User was more than enough to slaughter everything in his path and clear this instance!
Never mind Andrei and the others joining forces-even if all forty-odd remaining challengers came at him together, they would be no match for Yixiao!
After all, group attacks were what the Press-Press Fruit feared least!
Besides, Yixiao still had moves he had yet to use!
Yixiao asked, "Well? Shall we head straight to the finish?"
Lin Xiaoran shook her head. "There are still two days left. If we finish early, we'll miss out on a lot of points. They've conveniently gathered themselves together, so we can just deal with them all at once when the time comes."
Now Lin Xiaoran did not need to hunt down the other challengers either, and could focus entirely on the ferocious beasts.
These were all points!
Since Lin Xiaoran had come to this world, become a citizen of Country L, and even entered the National Fortune Game, she had to maximize her gains no matter what, letting Country L lead the world and become number one!
That way, if Lin Xiaoran failed someday down the line, she would still have laid a solid foundation for Country L, with others to carry on after her.
"Let's go, Uncle. Time to get to work."
"All right!" Yixiao was in no hurry either, because the higher his Master Lin Xiaoran's score, the better the rewards she would receive. The same held true for him, so naturally, he followed Lin Xiaoran's arrangements.
[Huh? Have Student Lin and Uncle Yixiao already discovered the others' plot?]
[Is Uncle Yixiao's perception that ridiculous? He can tell what other people are doing through fog this thick? That's way too far away!]
[The funniest thing is that Andrei and the others are trying every possible means and exhausting all their schemes to seriously discuss a battle plan, but in Student Lin's eyes, they're less important than beast points!]
[Student Lin: They've gathered together? Great, saves me finding them one by one!]
[Student Lin: Let's farm points first!]
[Student Lin is so confident!]
[I'm so curious. Just how terrifying is the upper limit of Uncle Yixiao's strength, for Student Lin to be this calm?]
[Student Lin, please tell us about Uncle Yixiao's abilities! The suspense is killing us!]
[I'm crying. Student Lin clearly has the strength to end the game early, but she's still sticking it out for points, for Country L!]
Lin Xiaoran being so calm was not good news for the other countries. The excitement that had just surged up was now beginning to cool and fade.
They were far too afraid that celebrating early would only leave them in even greater pain and despair after being disappointed!
They were roaring inwardly too, wanting to know just what other trump cards this Heroic Spirit of Lin Xiaoran's had! If you have them, then use them! That way, we can give up hope sooner, all right?
How infuriating! This Lin Xiaoran!
The uneventful day passed quickly.
It was the third day, and the ferocious beasts Lin Xiaoran encountered had reached D-rank and C-rank, worth 30 and 50 points respectively.
She killed ten D-rank beasts in the morning, earning 300 points.
She killed ten C-rank beasts in the afternoon, earning 500 points.
By the end of the day, Lin Xiaoran's score had reached the terrifying figure of 1,800!
The viewers had grown somewhat numb to the sight, considering it perfectly normal!
After all, whether Yixiao encountered F-rank, E-rank, D-rank, or C-rank beasts, he settled everything with a single move, a single stroke of his sword!
They were either pressed underground, smashed to death by rocks, or crushed by a fierce tiger!
It was as though even C-rank beasts still failed to reach the limits of Yixiao's moves.
That evening, after eating, Lin Xiaoran continued practicing basic swordsmanship under Yixiao's guidance.
At the same time, she studied how to awaken and master Armament Haki.
In theory, since Lin Xiaoran already possessed Observation Haki, awakening Armament Haki should have followed naturally. Unfortunately, her physical strength was simply too low, falling far short of even the minimum threshold for awakening it.
So Lin Xiaoran could only memorize the techniques and methods first, then try activating Armament Haki once her physical strength improved in the future.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next day, after hesitating several times, Andrei raised a trembling hand and opened the light screen. He saw the rankings, and his vision went dark.
[First place: Master Lin Xiaoran of Country L, 2,010 points!]
That freak!
Beside him, Julian Reik, Nikolai, and the dozen or so other challengers looked equally grim. It felt as though a huge rock weighed on their hearts, and its weight was even continuing to increase!
Sooner or later, the time would come when they could no longer bear its weight and would be crushed alive!
They had never felt such despair!
Rather, Andrei had never felt such despair, because he had already participated in one round of the game and understood it more deeply than the new challengers.
Compared to last time, Andrei found that he actually could not see the slightest chance of victory!
Could his Heroic Spirit, the Barbarian King, really be a match for Lin Xiaoran's Heroic Spirit?!
He did not think so.
Try asking the Barbarian King to hunt beasts for points!
A few might be possible, and he could just about manage a dozen or so, but killing them by the dozen for two days straight was something the Barbarian King could not do.
Park Bu turned to glance at the challengers and their Heroic Spirits beside him, then asked fearfully, "Can we... win?"
Everyone fell silent.
Of the dozen or so challengers, only a few had decent fighting strength. The rest were just there to make up the numbers.
Park Bu's Heroic Spirit's abilities ranked fairly close to the top, but after two consecutive days, his initial arrogance and disregard for everyone else had turned into his present worry and fear.
If they were no match for Lin Xiaoran, then the victory he imagined, the luxurious life after his return, the beautiful women, wealth, and power would all vanish!
Andrei rallied himself and said, "It's not as though we have no chance. Park Bu's vast army, my Heroic Spirit, Julian Reik's Den-O, and Nikolai's kobold only need to hold Lin Xiaoran's Heroic Spirit back. The rest can deal with Lin Xiaoran herself!
"As long as Lin Xiaoran dies, her Heroic Spirit will disappear! Then we win!"
Indeed, according to the plan they had agreed on long ago, there was still plenty of hope.
Provided they got such an opportunity.