About an hour later, Andrei and the others arrived.
Then they immediately spotted Lin Xiaoran and Issho beneath the trophy in the center.
"It's actually a girl?!"
"And she's so young?"
"Damn it! How is she so lucky!"
"That must be her Heroic Spirit beside her. He's blind, too?!"
The moment the dozen or so challengers saw Lin Xiaoran, their Dao hearts shattered!
They had never imagined that the challenger from Country L named [Lin Xiaoran], who was leading in points, would actually be such a young girl!
Judging by her clothes, she had probably only just turned eighteen and was still in school!
As a student without any life experience, how could she possibly summon such a powerful Heroic Spirit!?
What was more, with such a powerful Heroic Spirit helping her, Lin Xiaoran's first reaction had actually been not to find and eliminate the other challengers as quickly as possible to end the game, but to keep hunting ferocious beasts and earning points!
Wasn't she afraid?
But regardless, they could only steel themselves and go ahead now.
The good news was that their opponent was a girl, so perhaps they had a sliver of a chance to succeed.
The bad news was that they still didn't know what abilities the towering Heroic Spirit beside Lin Xiaoran possessed.
"Park Bu, have your Heroic Spirit summon his army. Along with my Heroic Spirit, the Barbarian King, Julian Reik's Den-O, and Nikolai's Dog-headed Man, they'll take on Lin Xiaoran together. Everyone else, have your Heroic Spirits look for an opening while we're holding her Heroic Spirit back and see if they can finish off Lin Xiaoran herself!"
Andrei laid out the plan he had prepared earlier, assigning tasks to those around him one by one. "We only have one chance. Once we win, we can compete for first place!"
As for losing, there would be nothing left to say.
Beside him, Park Bu spoke to his Heroic Spirit, the Grand General. The Grand General also knew this was the critical moment and held nothing back. Tugging on the reins, he rode into the plaza, then summoned his army once he reached a suitable position.
Infantry in the middle, cavalry on both flanks-a full five thousand troops! They occupied almost half the plaza, and the soldiers at the very front could already look Lin Xiaoran right in the eye!
Then, at the Grand General's command, the cavalry began to move, galloping around the plaza and surrounding the trophy at its very center, leaving Lin Xiaoran no room to retreat.
The battle formation had an imposing presence. Even Lin Xiaoran could feel its murderous aura.
Andrei, Julian Reik, and Nikolai were all shaken at the sight!
With so many soldiers, their own Heroic Spirits—the Barbarian King, Den-O, and the Dog-headed Man—would surely have a terrible time if trapped among them!
As a meat grinder on the battlefield, once the fighting began, their tight coordination, the unity of thousands, and a formation capable of both offense and defense could wear almost anyone down to death!
But soon, Andrei and the others couldn't help growing excited. Park Bu being this powerful was the best thing that could happen to them!
That meant they had an even better chance of holding back Lin Xiaoran's Heroic Spirit!
They could even take the opportunity to weaken Park Bu's fighting strength! That would give Andrei, Julian Reik, Nikolai, and the others a chance to claim first place!
Andrei said, "Never mind what comes afterward. Let's give it everything we've got and take down Lin Xiaoran first! You don't want to see Country L become even stronger either, do you?"
Julian Reik said, "Of course! Don't worry. We know what matters most!"
Nikolai said, "We're not idiots!"
Clearly, all three of them were thinking along the same lines.
Only Park Bu stood with his hands on his hips, proudly enjoying the flattery and praise of the other cannon-fodder challengers.
Across from them, Lin Xiaoran looked at the soldiers surrounding her and the three clearly stronger Heroic Spirits who had joined their ranks, and understood what they were planning.
Issho asked, "Want to use that gun of yours?"
These Heroic Spirits all had weak auras. He wouldn't even need to act; Lin Xiaoran could easily handle them with her A-rank weapon, the Gravity Radiation Gun.
Lin Xiaoran said, "Let's go up first."
With that, she jumped straight onto the enormous, five-meter-tall trophy.
She was an ability user now, after all. With gravity and such to help her, this little bit of height was no problem.
That went doubly for Issho, who appeared beside Lin Xiaoran as though he had teleported.
Andrei and the others were puzzled, not knowing what Lin Xiaoran meant by this.
Did they think the Heroic Spirits couldn't hit them just because they were standing higher up?
"Uncle Issho, let's give them one final gift."
"Understood!" Issho abruptly drew his sword! A purple ring of light shot into the sky.
Then, before the shocked, terrified eyes of Andrei, Park Bu, and the others, the entire trophy overturned the soil with a rumble, tore free of the ground, and took flight!
"They... can fly!?"
The dozen or so challengers stared at the sight, dumbstruck!
They had never imagined that Lin Xiaoran and her Heroic Spirit could fly!
How the hell were they supposed to fight now!
Who could possibly hit them up in the sky!
[Haha! Didn't see that coming, did you! I can fly!]
[Hey, hey, why are you about to cry again?]
[I'm dying! Andrei actually smiled happily just now when he saw that Student Lin was a schoolgirl!]
[Tsk, tsk, they've really had it rough. Student Lin's appearance really is deceptive!]
[Does anyone get it? Student Lin is handing out gifts again!]
[Lin Xiaoran: Are you ready? Here comes the big one!]
[Gift Xiaoran: This is a farewell present!]
[Meteorite Xiaoran: The gift is a meteorite!]
The moment the meteorite appeared, not only did the challengers in the game instance despair, but the viewers from other countries watching the livestream despaired too.
[Sure enough, there's still no beating her.]
[Forget it, forget it. Let Lin Xiaoran have the victory in this round!]
[Aaah! Damn it! Why!]
"Is that... a meteorite?!"
Thud!
Several challengers looked up at the enormous fireball that had appeared in the sky and dropped helplessly to their knees.
This time, none of the viewers flamed them for being cowardly, useless, or lacking national pride.
After all, anyone put in there to face a meteorite falling from the heavens would fall to their knees!
This was completely beyond the power level of this round of the game!
If only there had been a report or complaint button to report Lin Xiaoran for cheating, they would probably have worn it out long ago!
She was way too overpowered!
Andrei's face was pale as he laughed self-mockingly. "I finally understand how she killed that A-rank ferocious beast."
So that shock wave had been caused by a meteorite falling.
They had thought it was a natural disaster.
The Barbarian King, Andrei's Heroic Spirit, lowered the weapon in his hands. Watching the meteorite draw closer and closer, he sighed. "There's nothing I can do. This is beyond the limits of my strength."
Beside him, Julian Reik's Heroic Spirit, Den-O, was the same. "I'd thought I'd get a chance to really show what I could do."
Nikolai from Country A's Heroic Spirit-the Dog-headed Man-was very calm. "Life and death, an endless cycle."
"No! I don't want to die!"
Park Bu broke down, shouting and sobbing, partly out of his fear of death, and partly because the wonderful life he had imagined was about to end once again.
Watching Park Bu's pathetic display, the Grand General shook his head. "It's over."
Boom!
The meteorite struck the ground, and everything in the plaza vanished in the explosion.
[Game over!] [Congratulations to Country L's challenger, Master Lin Xiaoran, and her Heroic Spirit, Fujitora Issho, for successfully eliminating all challengers, surviving to the end, and taking first place! They have won this round of the game!]