Summer camp, Area C.
Kaelum put away his communicator and looked at Mike with a triumphant smile.
“Mike, good news, great news! I’ll tell you after class!”
Mike nodded with an indifferent expression.
He was utterly speechless.
What a mess!
Mike had just painfully refused Joseph’s invitation.
And Joseph, bless his heart, went to find Shadow Four with 5,000 Lord merits, scaring Shadow Four so much that he almost physically sealed Joseph.
After going in a circle, Mike still had to fight on behalf of the Nightmare corps.
The problem was, the 500 Lord merits appearance fee that should have belonged to Mike was gone, and the 5,000 Joseph gave was in the Guardian Shadow’s account!
All in all, Mike had lost 5,500 Lord merits!
However, today’s events reminded Mike of something.
The participants for this tournament had to be decided soon.
The rankings within the Guardian Shadow could indeed serve as an important reference.
However, due to the special nature of the Guardian Shadow, Mike planned to exploit a small loophole.
After sending his plan and ideas to Shadow Four, Mike quickly received a positive response. The plan was feasible.
“However, there’s a small problem.”
Shadow Four pointed out the flaw in the plan. “Powerhouses are mostly unruly, they might not be willing to carry out your plan, Fourth Bro.”
“I see.”
Mike thought for a moment and offered his solution. “Have Shadow One talk to them, whether it’s through threats of force or sweet talk, until they willingly agree.”
Shadow Four thought about it, this was indeed a solution, and he immediately agreed, contacting the Stunning Woman, to carry out Fourth Bro’s plan.
…
Ninth Abyss battlefield.
A short-haired woman was fishing.
Two large fish were laid out on the shore, roasting over a fire, sizzling with oil. “Smells so good.”
Violet swallowed, looking at the almost cooked fish, her mood was exceptionally good.
With Deathsinger’s help, her ranking had returned to thirteenth, and she had solidified her position in the Guardian Shadow.
Her ranking wouldn’t drop in the short term.
However, it was also a bit difficult to advance.
Without using Wind’s Reach, Violet could only stay at this ranking.
“What’s so important about rankings!”
Taking a bite of the grilled fish, Violet said nonchalantly, “I don’t care about such empty fame!”
“My opponent is Thor, a potential Supreme Being, my ultimate goal is to surpass a Supreme Being!”
Just as Violet was talking to herself, Stunning Woman’s voice suddenly came from beside her. “Since you have that ambition, why are you fishing here instead of cultivating diligently?” “Holy fuck!”
Violet instinctively drew her blade, and after seeing who it was, she let out a sigh of relief. “Shadow One, you didn’t even say hello, you almost scared me to death!”
A stunning woman emerged from the shadow of the bonfire.
“If I remember correctly, you should be gathering intelligence on the Ninth Demon God’s corps.”
“Yes.”
Violet pointed to the distance.
“I’ve finished gathering intelligence in the area I’m responsible for, they’re all dead.”
If she kill all the enemies, there’s no intelligence to gather!
“Tsk, no wonder your performance ranking is always last.”
Shadow One didn’t continue chatting and instead explained the purpose of her visit.
“You know about the tournament between the Guardian Shadow and the Nightmare corps,
right?”
“I do!”
Violet practically jumped up. “Are you sending me to fight? I’ll go take back Shadow Seven’s position right now!”
“Hold on, let me finish.”
Stunning Woman looked at Violet with a playful smile.
“The Guardian Shadow values you highly this time and has decided to entrust you with an important task!”
“Huh?”
Happiness came too suddenly, and Violet wasn’t prepared.
“Can… can you elaborate?”
Her voice trembled slightly with anticipation.
“Sure.”
Stunning Woman said, “We’re sending you to fight, as the number one combatant in your
tier!”
The number one combatant in her tier?!
She was a Lord, and the number one in her tier was Shadow One?!
Violet was overjoyed, her words stumbling.
“This, this is too much, I know I’ll become Shadow One someday, I just didn’t expect it to be
like this…”
Violet quickly realized her mistake and apologized.
“Shadow One, you’re not angry, are you?”
“No, I just feel sorry for you. Come on, sign here.”
Following Stunning Woman’s instructions, Violet signed the contract with the name Witty
Wombat without even looking at the terms.
After signing, Violet asked, “Shadow One, when and where will the tournament start?”
Putting away the contract, Shadow One revealed a harmless smile, her voice soft and gentle,
like a fragile woman who could be blown away by a gust of wind.
“Two days later, Chief tier, you’ll fight as [Lunar Starwind]…”
The rest of the words were lost on Violet.
Lunar Starwind?
Not Shadow One?
Violet hurriedly looked at the contract and was instantly dumbfounded.
She wasn’t participating in the Lord tier tournament, but the Chief tier tournament!
She had signed a contract to voluntarily lower her tier to Chief and participate in this
tournament!
Only one thought filled Violet’s mind:
Oh no, I’ve become a Chief!
====
Setting aside Violet’s tragic experience, Mike’s arrangements were rock solid.
According to the rules agreed upon by both sides for the tournament, Thor would participate
in all three tiers: Soldier, General, and Chief.
Even with Mike on their side, the Nightmare corps stood no chance against Thor!
By having a group of Lord-tier Guardian Shadows voluntarily change their rankings and fight
as Chiefs, the Guardian Shadow was basically guaranteed to win the Chief tier.
Winning three matches meant securing a 60% share for the Guardian Shadow.
As for the Lord tier battle, in terms of top-tier combat power, the top three of the Guardian
Shadow were incredibly strong, so there was no need to worry about losing!
Who did the Nightmare corps have?
Joseph?
The only tricky part was the Ultimate Lord battle, where their opponent had a level 992
powerhouse.
And it was still uncertain whether Pecker, the level 994 Quasi-God, could fight for the
Guardian Shadow.
In any case, before the tournament even started, Mike could practically pop the champagne in
celebration.
The competing teams, the referee, the rule-making committee… they were all his people!
What could the Nightmare corps possibly use to fight against the Guardian Shadow?! The only fly in the ointment was that Mike felt a headache whenever he thought about having to maintain his “indifferent to fame and fortune” persona as Mike.
“I can’t just refuse free hamburgers, can I?”
Thinking of this, Mike thought of the 5,500 Lord merits and felt another pang of heartache.
The day passed by like this, and everyone dispersed, going back to prepare for their
adventures in the Tower of Truth.
Back in his dorm, Mike greeted Shadow Three.
“Shadow Three, I might need your help in the tournament the day after tomorrow.”
Shadow Three didn’t refuse, nor did he agree. He just looked at Mike silently.
Mike knew very well that when asking for a favor, he had to show some sincerity.
He said readily, “Shadow Three, I can help you decide on a last name for your real name, or I
can choose a nickname for you in the Guardian Shadow chat group. Take your pick.”
“Okay.” Shadow Three nodded. “I want both.”
They didn’t discuss this matter further.
If Shadow Three wanted both of the conditions Mike offered, then in return, he would need to
do two things for Mike.
If Mike couldn’t contact Pecker, then Shadow Three might have to fight in the Ultimate Lord
tier battle.
Mike had also prepared a backup plan for this.
The Ultimate Lord tier battle would take place in the temple of the Core City of Truth.
Even if Shadow Three broke through to level 990 or above before the battle, he wouldn’t be
able to cause any damage to the outside world within the temple. Shadow Three didn’t care how Thor arranged things, he would just follow orders.
At Shadow Three’s level, there were very few beings that could threaten him.
Apollo was one, the Supreme Demon God was one, the Archdemon was half, and Shadow Nine… was half.
His own strength, coupled with his extremely upright attitude, made Shadow Three fearless.
This was what Mike valued most about Shadow Three.
Shadow Three was a man of action, not words. He would kill whoever he was told to kill.
A true gold medalist assassin.