Chapter 555: The Battle in the Maze

Attention everyone, the second round of selections has begun! On the screen, these 300 red dots represent the genius contestants who have entered the arena!

Due to arena restrictions, we can’t broadcast live footage, but you can still follow the battle by watching when the red dots vanish!

Inside the broadcast room, three commentators in their respective roles were rapidly tapping on the electronic map behind them.

As the grand national competition for selecting Divine Warriors, this event has naturally attracted widespread attention.

Outside, betting odds and behind-the-scenes deals began sprouting up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Thus, this round of selections around the Nagasaki Battle Zone has garnered the greatest focus.

Every red dot stands for a particular faction.

Pointing to the red dots scattered across the massive electronic maze, the central commentator skillfully read out the names of the opposing sides:

“Now, everyone, you can see that the contestant appearing in the center of the maze is likely Yuan Ye. Though his strength isn’t top-notch, his speed is lightning quick—a significant advantage in this maze melee.”

“However, he appears to be on the brink of trouble – his position was randomly teleported to the Core Area, where battles break out most easily!”

“Whoa, here they come!”

“They’ve collided! These two red dots have clashed!”

“We can see it now! The Agility-Type Awakener Yuan Ye and Okamoto have collided! They just entered and immediately exploded into combat! Let’s see who comes out on top!”

“Huh?”

“Well then, the win goes to Lord Okamoto. It seems Lord Yuan Ye met his foe around a corner; before he could create distance or maneuver, he was taken head-on by a charge…”

Within seconds, the commentator noticed the red dot representing Yuan Ye dim at the moment of impact and immediately realized that this Agility-Type Awakener was out of luck, suffering heavy injuries.

Judging by the behavior of the surrounding red dots, it was clear that even the victorious Okamoto was about to get into trouble.

Three other red dots were moving in towards him simultaneously.

…

Inside the maze.

Yenir casually surveyed the towering walls that surrounded him.

He found himself in a dead-end—a corner in the maze that seemed utterly impassable. He had been randomly teleported here.

After exerting a modest force and pressing against the wall, Yenir was surprised to discover that its hardness was formidable—nothing below Peak Third-Stage could break through.

Moreover, the wall’s material appeared to be specially engineered to drastically weaken mental energy.

Yet for him, it didn’t pose much of a challenge.

“If I go all out, I should be able to blast a path through, right?”

“My Mental Energy Scanning range has shrunk from over a hundred meters to just ten… though it’s barely enough.”

He chuckled softly.

Surveying the maze—a labyrinth designed to foil detection and give every contestant a headache—Yenir felt it was a cakewalk.

If he wished, he could easily bulldoze through everyone by charging straight along a single path across the maze.

But even a fool would know that would be far too risky.

“The second round has no time limit; it only ends when there are just thirty contestants remaining…”

“What a waste of time…”

Muttering under his breath, Yenir set off along the one clear route.

He wasn’t about to waste any more time here.

If he encountered someone, he would take them down one by one.

His only concern was to keep his combat power in check—he couldn’t afford to be overwhelmingly overpowered.

“Better to target that group working together… tracking individuals one by one is just too bothersome.”

He unleashed his mental energy.

Although he could sense only about ten meters around him, given that contestants in the maze were often separated by a wall, finding just one person from that group was enough to trace them to their meeting spot.

Then, he would launch a full-scale attack.

Meanwhile, members of the Gangster Alliance—with an almost cheating level of navigational tools—were rapidly converging.

Seeing more and more of his own people around him, their leader couldn’t help but feel elated.

Within just ten minutes of the selection starting, by pairing up into teams of two or three, they had already eliminated every lone contestant in their path.

At this pace, once they all converged, it would be time to bulldoze them all!

No matter how brilliant or fast these so-called genius Awakener contestants were, they were nothing next to a team of twenty-seven—mere chumps!

……………….

Half an hour later.

Inside the Commentary Room.

“Everyone, as you can see, after half an hour of intense combat, the total number of contestants has dropped to 227! It’s evident that after the early skirmishes, nearly every contestant has opted to team up!”

“I’ve seen plenty of inquiries about Lord Ye Ze Ming’s performance—everyone is clearly curious about his display.”

“Hmm, let’s take a look. Where might Lord Ye Ze Ming be right now?”

Turning around and glancing at the steady stream of queries coming from the betting circles outside, the Awakener commentator shook his head silently.

He knew that as the first Awakener to advance in round one, many odds had naturally been placed against him.

However, in this round, most bets were on his defeat or death, while ordinary survivors outside wagered that he would make it through.

He was aware that rumor had it Lord Ye Ze Ming had rejected alliances with several major factions, choosing instead to compete on his own.

He had even kept an eye on Yenir’s movements but lost track once Yenir began wandering about aimlessly.

“That red dot represents Lord Ye Ze Ming! We can see he’s been hovering around the outskirts—perhaps waiting for everyone to converge before making his move.”

“Hmm, it appears that Lord Ye Ze Ming is still alone; his red dot remains singular. Oh dear, this looks grim—six clusters of red dots are already gathering around him!”

“Any accidental clash could mean his instant elimination!”

“Let’s send our best wishes; may Lord Ye Ze Ming…”

“Wait! What’s that?!”

As the commentator detailed the maze’s situation, he suddenly froze and fixed his gaze on the electronic maze map.

Somehow, the red dot representing Yenir—which had previously been trailing behind several clusters—now seemed to have pinpointed its target as it raced across the map at breakneck speed!

Even on a sand table scaled down thousands of times, the speed of that red dot was astonishing.

Within mere seconds, it charged directly at a cluster representing six individuals!

“What on earth is Lord Ye Ze Ming doing?! Has he spotted his opponent’s trail?! Why isn’t he dodging?!”

“Oh my goodness! That was insanely fast— they’ve made contact!”

“They’ve collided!”

In a sudden turn, the usually calm middle-aged commentator’s face fell.

On the electronic map, Yenir’s red dot charged like a raging tank, barreling straight into an encirclement of six red dots without a hint of hesitation!

Even without the visuals, one could easily imagine that this was nothing short of a death-defying move!

“Why would he court death? Why not dodge instead?!”

Before anyone could react, the red dot representing the six individuals quickly turned black at breakneck speed.

And a blackened dot signifies death.

……….

Inside the maze.

After shattering the head of the last Awakener with a single punch, Yenir calmly flicked the splattered brain matter from his hand.

For half an hour, he had patiently waited for everyone to converge.

And now, they had all gathered.

“Ambush? Teaming up?”

“Sticking together—are they not afraid to die together?”

With a light chuckle, in the very next moment he surged forward like a fleeting shadow once more.

The slaughter begins.