58: Chapter 58 The Collapse of the Hunter Alliance

"Close the net! Crush them! Make Jiang Xun come out and face his death!"

As Li Wei's cold and cruel command rang out over the Hunter Alliance's public channel, a "massacre" that countless spectators in Nanjiang City had previewed in their minds many times officially began.

On the ridges of both sides of the Wind-Eroded Canyon, more than twenty Prodigies simultaneously activated their Divine Kingdom power.

In an instant, the multicolored radiance of divine arts poured down toward the narrow bottom of the canyon like a flood breaking through a dam.

Giant fireballs trailing long tails of flame, dense ice crystals reflecting a bone-chilling cold, and countless arrows and beams of light composed of pure energy wove into a net of death, completely covering the hiding spot of Chen Mo and the others.

"It's over, it's completely over this time. With this kind of saturation attack, there's nowhere to hide!"

"What a pity for that Jiang Xun. He just started to show his talent, only to be crushed by Li Wei in this manner. The fall of a Genius is always so simple."

In the audience, countless people let out sighs of regret or gloating exclamations.

The commentator also used his magnetic voice to provide a passionate final footnote to this "hunt": "We can see that contestant Li Wei has demonstrated absolute dominance! Under his command, the Hunter Alliance's coordinated attack is practically perfect! The contestants in the canyon no longer have any chance. Let us witness together the birth of the winner!"

However, just when everyone thought the situation was settled—even Li Wei was leaning back in his command seat, ready to enjoy the final struggles of his prey—an anomaly suddenly erupted in a place no one expected!

At the outermost perimeter of the Hunter Alliance's encirclement, in the rear they considered safest, the originally calm air suddenly distorted violently.

Immediately following, squads of Orc Infantry clad in pitch-black cloaks and wielding Runic Battle-axes, along with countless Undead Skeletons formed from bone and sludge, appeared silently behind them like ghosts emerging from the Void Realm.

"What is that?! Someone's behind us!"

An Alliance member responsible for lookout had just let out a cry of alarm when he was greeted by a blue electric arc nearly invisible to the naked eye. That arc, as if possessed of a life of its own, instantly swept through the Mechanical Golem Legion he was so proud of.

Sparks flew from all the golems as their energy cores instantly overloaded. They collapsed in unison, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

It didn't end there. An invisible sound wave followed closely behind; it was the Soul Shriek of hundreds of Undead Skeletons screaming simultaneously, directly impacting the minds of those Prodigies.

"Ah! My head!"

Many Prodigies specializing in long-range control clutched their heads and screamed on the spot. Their mental connections were forcibly severed, and they lost contact with their Divine Kingdom units.

Electromagnetic pulses to paralyze machinery and Soul Shrieks to disrupt the mind—these two completely different yet perfectly coordinated attack methods instantly disabled half of the Hunter Alliance's rear support and long-range units at the very first moment of battle!

"Enemy attack! There's an enemy attack from our rear!"

"It's Jiang Xun! It's that bastard! How could he be here?!"

The Alliance's command channel instantly exploded into chaos, filled with panicked shouts.

And this was only the beginning.

"Counterattack!"

At the bottom of the Wind-Eroded Canyon, Chen Mo, who had been suppressed and could only rely on his Divine Kingdom barriers to hold on, saw his eyes turn blood-red the moment he heard the explosions from the rear. He let out a long-suppressed roar.

He poured all his Divine Power into the earth beneath his feet. A war fortress composed of countless massive boulders rose from the ground, forcibly withstanding the concentrated fire from the ridge.

The Windwalker civilization Prodigy, who had been biding his time, now transformed into a green whirlwind. Leading his troops, he launched a counter-charge up the steep cliff walls.

Meanwhile, the Moonlight Priestess girl cast soft moonlight over all her allies, rapidly restoring their Divine Power.

The bait had, at this moment, turned into a deadly blade, stabbing fiercely into the soft underbelly of the Hunter Alliance from the inside out.

A pincer attack from both inside and out!

This was Jiang Xun's true plan!

The Hunter Alliance was in complete disarray.

The numerical advantage they were so proud of became a burden now that they were divided and surrounded.

The narrow ridges were crowded with bewildered troops. The enemies in front couldn't be pushed back, while the enemies in the rear were frantically slaughtering their support units. The command channel was filled with contradictory orders and desperate pleas for help.

"Hold! Hold the line! Rear units, move toward the center!"

"Move toward the center my ass! The rear is full of Jiang Xun's people! My energy batteries have all gone silent!"

"Someone deal with those lunatics at the bottom of the canyon! They're charging up!"

The Alliance, which had originally cooperated seamlessly, collapsed in an instant under the panic of being attacked from both front and back, reverting into a disorganized mess.

On the light screen in front of Li Wei's command seat, the blue light dots representing his subordinates were being extinguished one after another at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, the few red dots he had viewed as "dumpling filling" were like red-hot branding irons, charging and killing at will within his formation.

His expression changed from his initial self-satisfaction to shock, then to disbelief, and finally settled into a grim, ashen look.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" He slammed his fist onto the control console, letting out a furious roar. "Concentrate fire! Focus fire on Jiang Xun's troops! Wipe him out first!"

But it was too late.

Jiang Xun didn't engage in a decisive battle with their main force at all. His troops were like a group of highly efficient assassins, utilizing information gaps and tactical advantages to precisely cut into the weakest links of the opponent's formation. Every attack was aimed directly at the enemy's support and long-range units.

They would strike and leave, never lingering in a fight, pushing guerrilla tactics to the extreme. In just ten minutes, the Hunter Alliance's formation was completely pierced through. The powerful Alliance of over twenty Prodigies was beaten into a rout by Jiang Xun and his makeshift "Avengers," fleeing in total disarray.

Inside and outside the arena, there was already a dead silence. All the spectators watched the screen in a daze at the miraculous reversal of the battle. The commentator, who had been talking grandly just a moment ago, now had his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg, unable to say a word for a long time.

"This... this... a counter-encirclement... he actually did it..."

No one knew who muttered that sentence, but it instantly ignited the entire venue.

"My god! This is fucking tactical art!"

"The hunters became the prey! Li Wei's face has been slapped swollen this time!"

"Too strong! That Jiang Xun is simply not human, he's a devil! Look at his points!"

Everyone's gaze converged on the leaderboard. Behind Jiang Xun's name, that long string of numbers was jumping frantically at an inconceivable speed. Every jump represented a member of the Hunter Alliance being eliminated.

Ninth place!

Fifth place!

Third place!

Finally, when the last Alliance member vanished into white light, Jiang Xun's points stopped steadily at the second position on the leaderboard, only a hair's breadth away from the name at the top that had never moved: "Long Ao."

The entire Wind-Eroded Canyon returned to tranquility, leaving behind only a messy battlefield and the wreckage of Divine Kingdom units everywhere.

Jiang Xun's figure slowly emerged from the shadows. He glanced at the defeated enemy force, of which only a few people remained fleeing in embarrassment, his face devoid of any expression.

He opened the public channel and, under the gaze of everyone present, sent a second message.

This time, he named names.

"Li Wei, now, it's just us."