After half an hour of combat, Klaus’s team managed to clear the horde of monsters with no casualties. Klaus watched as some struggled to fight through the hundreds of monsters, but in the end, with Anna’s impeccable control over the battlefield, they succeeded.
“Great teamwork, everyone” After Hanna’s arrow pierced the last monster, Klaus walked toward his teammates.
They all turned to look at him, some showing signs of wanting to say something, yet they held back. The way he said it made it clear that he had witnessed their battle but had chosen not to join in. If only they knew Klaus had joined in without revealing himself.
At the last moment, his Viper Piercing Needles did some work, stopping a few monsters that were coming at them. It was clear this obstacle was significant—one that was meant to test their teamwork and skills.
This begs the question: what happened to the other half of Ella’s team? And the ones who chose to divide their group further down to 25 members? If Klaus’s team, using all 99 members, only managed to win after 30 minutes, what about the 25 who were holding back the monsters while the other half moved to intercept Klaus and his teammates?
They fought bravely, but in the end, many died, and the few who survived only ran when they saw an opening. The central team led by Max managed to escape with 12 members, while the southern and northern teams moved ahead with 10 members each. The Western team only advanced with 8 members.
It was a chaotic battle—one they couldn’t win since it wasn’t designed for more than a few people. But those who managed to flee are now behind Klaus’s team, moving deeper into the fractured mountain.
The place wasn’t exactly a mountain; it was more like bits of mountains, each with different terrains. Klaus led the team toward a specific waterfall where they planned to stop and strategize on how to cross the river right after the waterfall.
However, just as they arrived at the waterfall, they were ambushed by attacks from the front, left, and right. Klaus’s team quickly sprang into action as they clashed with the 100-man team that Ella had led away from the battle at the mouth of the fractured mountain.
Klaus, who had been leading the team from the mouth of the mountain, was immediately swarmed from three different angles. Ella, Ethan, and Alvaro started attacking him—a rather unusual tactic for those looking to disgrace him.
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Well, that had been the plan from the start. They wanted to humiliate him, but they soon realized he wasn’t the normal master-stage warrior they thought he was. Klaus was a monster, and they now knew that, so they quickly intensified their attacks.
Ethan charged at him, brandishing his spear crackling with lightning. Ella, who specialized in water magic, was on the left, casting spell after spell.
When Klaus defended against a water bomb, he felt his energy draining. When Max had challenged him, Lucy had given him a general rundown on their powers, and she mentioned that Ella possessed a unique water element called Annihilation Water.
Klaus, who had just experienced it, immediately recognized that her water was similar to his Annihilation Ice from when he was Fruity. Although the attack wasn’t aimed to kill him, he could tell it was very powerful—something that fascinated him.
As an Elemental Overlord, sensing something like that made him want to experience it more. However, Ethan and Alvaro weren’t making it easy for him.
“Humans are indeed cunning,” Klaus chuckled. Had it been Zombies, he would have found it less annoying. Not that these opponents were giving him a hard time or more like they were overestimating themselves. Still, Klaus wanted to entertain them.
He knew not to underestimate anyone, something Miriam had told him repeatedly. Ella and Ethan were still holding back, and even Alvaro’s presence made him alert, knowing they were planning something.
But he wasn’t worried about his friends. Just like the legacies, he was also planning something, and despite knowing they would be ambushed there, he led them there anyway. He wanted to check something, and soon, his answer came.
A swordsman fighting beside Omari was clashing with another from Ella’s team. But instead of going for the kill, they seem to be toying with each other.
Suddenly, the two stopped and then lunged at one of Klaus’s team members. Just like that, Klaus lost his first member to an attack from a fellow team member.
And it didn’t stop there; seven more of his members betrayed them, backstabbing their fellow teammates, making Klaus’s team drop from 100 to 86. Seven traitors, seven dead.
But Klaus wasn’t bothered. He knew it was necessary. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do something about it
“Lin, Zing, do it!” Klaus suddenly commanded, and the ground beneath the feet of the seven traitors collapsed, burying them up to their necks.
As for the legacy members fighting Klaus’s team, the Void Piercing Needle shot forward, and before they could even blink, their heads were pierced through. They all died, their heads exploding.
Now that Klaus had started cultivating the Sage Mind and Unshakable Mind techniques, his mental strength had risen so high that he could control all 360 needles. But to take down these small fries, he used only 120 needles, which formed a thick enough Void Piercing Needle.
As soon as the Needle appeared, Ella issued the order for her team to retreat, but just as they were about to move, Klaus spoke.
“Since you chose to poke my people, why don’t you pay for the seven who died?”
He had already killed 20 of the legacy members, but he wanted more, as the seven that died had been used by him to fish out the traitors. He could have used his Eye of Malevolence to discern their intentions and hopefully root them out, but that would reveal one of his trump cards.
It wasn’t worth it.
The Void Piercing Needle sliced through the air, and before 20 of Ella’s team members could scream, they all fell to their knees. Klaus incapacitated them, their legs broken and arms pierced with holes.
“You monsters!” Ethan screamed, channeling lightning into his spear as he charged forward. Watching 20 of his people being overwhelmed by Klaus’s members was heartbreaking, even if they were hired muscle.
Klaus simply stood there with a smile on his face as Ethan was dragged away by Ella. Despite the defeat, she never faltered in her commands or control over her team. This, for some reason, intrigued Klaus, though he was also a little concerned about what she still hadn’t shown.
People who remain calm in chaotic situations are often regarded as the most dangerous foes.
In the end, he had to kill the 20 he had incapacitated.
After the Legacy alliance teams fled, Klaus turned his attention to the seven people trapped in the ground. He walked toward them, surrounded by the remaining 80 members. Six had died in the clash, and while seven were backstabbed, the other seven turned out to be traitors.
“Klaus, please! They threatened us into betraying you. Please don’t kill us!” one of the traitors said, tears nearly flowing from his eyes. They were buried to their necks.
Klaus smiled and turned to Miguel. “How long has it been since we entered the trial?”
Miguel knew Klaus was just teasing him, but he went ahead and responded, “11 hours and 45 minutes.”
“Good. It still hasn’t been long enough for these traitors to earn any rewards for betraying their team,” Klaus said coldly.
“Klaus, please, have mercy! They forced us; that bitch forced us!” another shouted. But before he could finish, a thick needle shot forward, piercing through all seven heads.
Everyone held their breath as Klaus executed the seven members without even batting an eye.
“I hate traitors.” He muttered coldly.