Chapter 476 - 218: Labyrinth’s Finale, First on Both Leaderboards
Chapter 476: Chapter 218: Labyrinth’s Finale, First on Both Leaderboards
A lingering sense of heaviness settled into his Sea of Consciousness.
While it didn’t affect his combat ability, the feeling was like carrying an invisible burden on his back.
’It seems that bearing such a powerful minion is also a burden on my own Spirit.’
’Indeed, true power must be forged from within.’
’If I want to command more and stronger minions, my own power is the foundation.’
...
「Yanjing. Firewood Martial Hall headquarters conference room.」
Now that the dust had settled.
Lv Yongze slowly rose from the head of the table.
Just then, a staff member rushed in, his expression panicked. He was moving so quickly he nearly tripped over the threshold.
"Imperial Envoy Lv, Mr. Xiao!"
"Regarding the competition settlement, I need to ask for your instructions!"
"If we finalize the results right now based on the system’s real-time scoreboard... our Firewood Martial Hall..."
He swallowed hard before finishing his sentence. "Our Xinhuo is too far behind Kunlun on the team leaderboard!"
"And... on the individual leaderboard, Lin Ye’s score is almost at the very bottom!"
As soon as he said this, the slightly relaxed atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze over again.
Long Bohan and the others were stunned.
It was true.
They had all been awed by Lin Ye’s miraculous performance, completely captivated by the shock of him single-handedly forming an army and turning the tide of battle.
But they had overlooked the most fundamental and practical problem—the points!
The rules of the preliminary tournament were to kill members of the Celestial Abyss Race in exchange for points.
But Lin Ye had barely killed any of the invaders from start to finish!
He had turned his enemies into members of his own army. According to the system’s judgment mechanics, none of that counted as his personal achievement!
The tens of thousands of minions under his command weren’t wearing bracelets, so the enemies they killed naturally wouldn’t be credited to Lin Ye’s score.
’What... what was this?’
’Winning the spectacle but losing the competition?’
For a moment, everyone from Xinhuo’s side in the conference room stared intently at the two men at the head of the table.
Just then, Lv Yongze acted as if he had only just realized the issue. He let out an "Oh," a look of perfectly feigned surprise and difficulty appearing on his face.
Instead of looking at the score data his subordinate was handing him, he turned directly to Xiao Yuanshan, his face a picture of sincere inquiry.
"I almost forgot about the official business."
He spread his hands, his tone full of helplessness. "Mr. Xiao, the rules are the rules. What do you say... should we just settle things according to this leaderboard?"
The moment he said this, the expression on Xiao Yuanshan’s face froze.
He could clearly feel dozens of gazes from the Firewood Martial Hall’s upper echelons fall upon him in unison as Lv Yongze finished speaking.
Though unspoken, the meaning contained within those gazes was sharper than any words.
This was the Firewood Martial Hall’s home turf!
He had no doubt that if he dared to nod along with Lv Yongze and shamelessly accept this victory, it was questionable whether he would even walk out of this building in one piece today.
Besides, he, Xiao Yuanshan, was a reputable figure.
He couldn’t bring himself to do something like this—to pretend to be blind and forcefully steal the fruits of victory when he knew full well the other side was the true winner.
A loss was a loss. He still had some integrity!
Xiao Yuanshan took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration welling up inside him. He couldn’t even be bothered to look at Lv Yongze’s smiling face anymore.
"Mr. Lv, don’t just stand there and mock me."
He pursed his lips, his voice laced with exhaustion.
"You won. Settle the score however you want. We admit defeat."
"I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t keep you company."
After speaking, as if he couldn’t bear to stay in this place for another second, he waved a hand at the subordinates behind him.
Watching Xiao Yuanshan and his group of Kunlun members depart in a hurry, the smile on Lv Yongze’s face widened.
Only then did he turn to the subordinate, who was still standing there dumbfounded, and give his orders.
"Alright, go and do a recount."
"Tally up the current size of Lin Ye’s army. Then, convert all the invaders under his control into kill points for him, according to their respective levels."
"Regenerate the leaderboard and finalize the mission!"
"Yes, sir!"
As if granted a pardon, the staff member immediately turned and bolted.
Lv Yongze stretched and prepared to leave as well.
He had specifically made time to watch the competition because he was intensely curious about Lin Ye.
Now, the result had exceeded all his expectations.
He was very satisfied.
As for what came next, his subordinates would naturally handle it. He was a distinguished Imperial Envoy of Xinhuo with a mountain of affairs to deal with every day; he didn’t have that much free time to waste here.
...
「Painful Labyrinth, surface.」
Inside the temporary camp, the atmosphere was tense and hurried.
The spatial rift in the sky had been forced open into an unstable gap again through military intervention, but its distorted, fluctuating edges indicated it could close at any moment.
All surviving personnel were scrambling to organize their equipment and board the military aircraft, preparing to evacuate.
Zhang Daoxuan stood at the hatch of an aircraft, repeatedly looking down at the massive opening below, his face etched with anxiety.
"What’s going on? Why isn’t Lin Ye back yet?"
"The rift could close at any second. Why don’t we... send someone back to get him?"
Hu Dahai, who was beside him, was also growing anxious.
But in the next moment, a figure appeared out of thin air right in the center of the camp, as if he had been standing there all along.