52: Chapter 52 The Three Geniuses Forced to Join Forces

Fara gave it no chance to catch its breath, raining punches down on the Kobold High Priest's forehead.

The Kobold High Priest was beaten into a state of complete helplessness. Its skull had already split open, and red and white fluid streamed down its face.

It frantically swiped its claws, trying to drive Fara away. However, its claws hitting Fara felt like nothing more than a tickle.

After dozens of punches, Fara had beaten the dog's brains out.

He stopped and looked down at the Kobold High Priest at his feet, which was gasping its final breaths.

"Too weak. How boring." Fara curled his lip.

He raised his right foot, aiming it at the Kobold High Priest's head.

"It's over."

Fara stomped down.

With a "squelch," the Kobold High Priest's head was crushed instantly.

Its massive body twitched twice before going completely still.

A broadcast from the virtual battlefield immediately rang in Fang Chuan's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to candidate Fang Chuan for successfully killing the level 85 Gold-tier peak stage boss, the 'Kobold High Priest,' and gaining 3 million points!"

Fang Chuan's points had already exceeded 11 million by this point!

Just as Fang Chuan prepared to start looting, he suddenly felt a violent energy fluctuation coming from the direction of the entrance.

"Heh, you've arrived quite quickly, but you have no chance. There's only a little over an hour left; you won't be able to make it through."

Fang Chuan grinned. He wasn't worried at all.

With his 6,000-strong army and the Goblin Arrow King standing guard there, anyone who came would have to stay put!

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Core Area.

Lu Hai rode a massive Golden Griffin, arriving with a vast, sweeping army.

He had urged his subordinates to speed up the whole way. He was anxious. Fang Chuan's 8.61 million points were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He had to enter the Core Area immediately, kill a few more big monsters, and snatch back the number one spot.

However, when he arrived at the entrance, he was completely dumbfounded.

The entrance was packed with a dense crowd.

A full 6,000 Goblin Tyrants were arranged into three phalanxes, blocking the entrance completely. Behind them, hundreds of Goblin Shamans were waving their staves.

These goblins looked fierce and menacing, holding huge tower shields; standing there, they looked like an impregnable wall of bronze and iron.

Lu Hai pulled his Griffin to a halt, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Whose troops are these? Why are there so many four-star goblins?" Lu Hai wondered to himself.

A lackey beside him leaned over, took a look, and whispered, "Young Master Lu, these seem to be the followers of Fang Chuan from No. 1 High School. He is inside right now; he just killed another level 85 boss, and his points are already over 11 million."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hai's expression instantly darkened.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Lu Hai urged his Griffin forward, flying a short distance to look down at the goblin army from above.

"Get out of my way, all of you!" Lu Hai shouted.

The goblin army didn't budge. Not a single soul paid him any mind.

Just then, the Goblin Arrow King standing at the very front raised his head and shot a cold glance at Lu Hai.

The Goblin Arrow King raised the longbow in his hand and shouted, "This is my God's hunting ground. Take your people and get out. Otherwise, step forward, and it will be the end of your life."

Hearing the Goblin Arrow King's words, Lu Hai laughed in anger.

"A mere F-rank God-Lord, a piece of trash, dares to claim to be a deity?!"

The Goblin Arrow King's eyes turned cold.

Daring to insult the God-Lord was an absolute capital crime in the eyes of the followers.

The Goblin Arrow King gripped his longbow tightly, the bowstring emitting a slight hum.

Lu Hai didn't notice the Goblin Arrow King's movements; he was still spouting nonsense.

"Go back and tell your trash of a master. This Core Area isn't a place he can monopolize. If you're smart, hurry up and clear the path. Otherwise, I'll have all you green-skinned runts killed here!" Lu Hai shouted arrogantly.

The Goblin Arrow King didn't even respond to his taunts. He simply stared coldly at Lu Hai and repeated what he had said before.

"One last warning. Retreat, or die."

Lu Hai was thoroughly enraged. He felt his dignity had been severely provoked.

"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Do you really think you can stop me just by relying on numbers?" Lu Hai snorted coldly.

He turned to his subordinates behind him and issued an order: "Griffin Knights, take note! Fly over from the sky! I want to see what these goblins, who don't even have wings, have to stop us!"

"Understood!"

A dozen or so Holy Light Knights riding Golden Griffins shouted their acknowledgment and took to the sky.

These dozen or so Griffin Knights formed an inverted V-shaped formation and flew directly toward the sky above the entrance.

Just as they were about to fly directly over the entrance.

The Goblin Arrow King, standing on the ground, moved.

He pulled back the longbow in his hand. The bowstring was drawn into a full moon. An arrow flickering with cyan light was nocked on the string.

The moment his fingertips released it.

"Boom!"

A sonic boom tore through the air, and a dazzling flash of cyan light instantly pierced the firmament, moving too fast for the naked eye to capture!

The lead Griffin Knight didn't even have time to react before the heavy armor on his chest exploded like paper.

The massive impact sent the knight and the Griffin tumbling through the air several times.

Blood rained down from the sky like droplets.

"Ah!"

The knight let out a shrill scream and, along with the Golden Griffin, fell straight down from the sky like a kite with a broken string.

"Bang!"

The man and beast slammed heavily into the ground, creating a large crater. After twitching twice, they turned into points of light and vanished.

Instant kill!

The entire scene was deathly silent.

The smug smile on Lu Hai's face instantly froze. He widened his eyes, staring at the large crater on the ground, his brain buzzing.

How is this possible?

His Golden Griffin was a three-star unit, and combined with the Holy Light Knight, its defense was extremely high. How could it be killed in one shot?

The other Griffin Knights in the sky were also terrified. They hurriedly pulled on the reins, stopping in mid-air, not daring to fly forward another step.

The Goblin Arrow King did not stop. He drew his longbow again.

"Swish!"

Another arrow.

Another Griffin Knight in the sky was pierced and fell down, screaming.

Two arrows, killing two three-star Griffin Knights!

"Bastard! You're courting death!" Lu Hai was so angry he cursed loudly.

The Goblin Arrow King lowered his longbow and looked coldly at Lu Hai.

"This is just a warning. Next time, this will be your fate. Get out!" The Goblin Arrow King's voice was filled with a murderous aura.

Just then, a burst of crisp laughter came from behind.

"Oh my, isn't this our Qinghe City's number one genius, Young Master Lu? Why are you standing guard here? Is it because you can't get in?"

Lu Hai turned around to look. He saw a young girl wearing a black Gothic dress, sitting on top of a massive Slaughter Mecha, dangling her legs and looking at him with a grin.

It was none other than the SSS-rank genius from No. 3 High School, Lin Xiaoxiao.

Behind Lin Xiaoxiao followed a dense mechanical army. Mechanical spiders, self-destruct robots, and heavy tanks occupied the entire ground.

It wasn't just Lin Xiaoxiao.

On the other side, Qin Yao from No. 2 High School had also arrived with her army of Elemental Spirits.

Qin Yao was wearing a light blue mage robe, hovering in mid-air, her temperament cold and aloof. She looked at the goblin army blocking the entrance, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

The three great geniuses had officially met at the entrance to the Core Area.

Besides the three of them, a large group of candidates from the three major schools followed behind. These were all people hoping to follow the three geniuses and get some scraps.

Now seeing that the three great geniuses were all blocked outside the door, the group of candidates began whispering to each other.

"What's the situation? Why aren't the three great geniuses going in?"

"Are you blind? Don't you see them blocking the door ahead?"

"Holy crap, so many goblins! Whose troops are these?"

Lin Xiaoxiao felt incredibly delighted watching Lu Hai's deflated appearance.

She usually couldn't stand Lu Hai's "I'm the best in the world" attitude. Now that she saw Lu Hai blocked at the door, she naturally had to mock him thoroughly.

"Lu Hai, weren't you quite arrogant just now? Why are you acting cowardly now? Scared back by a few goblins? If you can't do it, step aside; this young lady is going in." Lin Xiaoxiao said loudly, not leaving Lu Hai any face.

Lu Hai was already fuming, and being provoked by Lin Xiaoxiao like this caused him to explode.

"Lin Xiaoxiao, stop standing there talking without knowing the pain! If you're so capable, you go! Didn't you see those are four-star units? Four or five thousand four-star units! Can your scrap metal rush past that?" Lu Hai roared, pointing at the goblin army.

When Lin Xiaoxiao heard "four or five thousand four-star units," the smile on her face also faded a bit.

She took a closer look at those Goblin Tyrants.

Their tall bodies, heavy tower shields, and the powerful aura radiating from them—their health bars were too thick. Every Goblin Tyrant had at least 300 million HP, and their defense was terrifyingly high.

Although Lin Xiaoxiao loved to play, she wasn't stupid. With these thousands of four-star meat shields blocking the way, even if her entire mechanical army pressed forward, she estimated that only her Slaughter Mecha could go one-on-one with them, but she only had three hundred Slaughter Mecha.

Qin Yao observed from mid-air for a while, then spoke in a cold, clear voice.

"These goblins' defensive formation is perfect. Heavy infantry in the front, and Shamans in the back providing healing and buffs. Moreover, the leader is an archer with very strong ability. Even I felt the danger from those two arrows just now." Qin Yao analyzed it thoroughly.

Lu Hai snorted coldly, "At least you know your stuff. That archer just now killed my three-star Griffin Knight in one shot. I don't know what kind of dog-shit luck this Fang Chuan had to get so many perverted followers."

"Fang Chuan?" Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up. "Is that the pervert with over 11 million points? Wow, he's so amazing!"

Lu Hai nearly vomited blood upon hearing this. Did Lin Xiaoxiao have a hole in her brain? Praising the enemy at a time like this.

"What now? Are we going through this door or not?" Lu Hai asked irritably.

Qin Yao glanced at the time on her bracelet. "There are two hours left until the end of the exam. If we can't enter the Core Area, our points will be locked in. While the top ten is no problem, the gap with Fang Chuan will only get bigger."

Lin Xiaoxiao curled her lip, "I don't want to just stand here and watch. My mechas are still hungry."

Lu Hai rolled his eyes and thought of an idea.

He looked at Qin Yao and Lin Xiaoxiao, lowering his voice, "Since none of us want to give up, how about the three of us join forces?"

Lu Hai proposing to join forces was a measure of last resort.

He definitely couldn't chew through this 6,000-strong goblin army alone. But if he added Qin Yao and Lin Xiaoxiao, it would be different.

"Join forces?" Lin Xiaoxiao tilted her head, looking at Lu Hai. "How would we join forces? How do we split the loot we win?"

Lu Hai gritted his teeth, "These goblins blocking the door are definitely Fang Chuan's elite. As long as we take them out, Fang Chuan will be a commander without troops inside. We'll all go together; my Holy Light Knights will hold the front, Lin Xiaoxiao's mechanical legion will provide fire coverage, and Qin Yao, you use elemental magic to disrupt their formation."

Lu Hai paused, then continued, "As for the loot, whoever gets the kill gets the points. Once we rush in, we'll each settle accounts with Fang Chuan on our own ability. How about it?"

Qin Yao lowered her head and pondered for a moment.

She knew what Lu Hai said was the most reasonable plan for now. The defense of this goblin army was too strong; it was hard for any one family to break through alone. Joining forces was the only way out.

"I agree." Qin Yao nodded, her voice still cold and aloof.

Lin Xiaoxiao snapped her fingers, "Sounds fun. Then it's settled. This young lady wants to see today just how much of a beating these goblins can take!"