Foolish Game of the Chapter 489: You're Here? I've Been Waiting

Cheng Shi slipped away. Not a scratch on him.

Under the protection of his [Vitality] authority, he simply pulled the arrow out and left the scene.

And his escape thod was laughably simple.

Since the trial began, he'd been secretly planting dice along every path he traveled. From the plaza to the residential district to the Court — the entire route was dotted with positions he could swap to.

But he didn't leave the Court. Instead, he teleported to a spot as far from his teammates as possible.

In the heat of battle there'd been no ti to think. During his arrow-pierced retreat, it finally clicked: this wasn't a kill order targeting Poison.

Or rather, this particular ambush hadn't been aid at Poison — it had been aid at him!

These "hunters" wanted him dead!

And "hunters" didn't just an the man-eating Gongyang Jiao and the stealthy Chaleon. It also ant Da Yi, who'd conveniently vanished, and Jiang Chi, who'd pretended to be injured while spectating!

They all wanted him dead.

Because whether from the perspective of hunting Poison or obtaining the Gift of Sores, this priest was an obstacle.

In Gongyang Jiao's eyes, failing to eliminate the healer would make Poison far harder to deal with. In his "teammates'" eyes, one more person with designs on the Gift of Sores ant one more mouth splitting the spoils — bad for their bottom line.

So Da Yi, riding the emotional turbulence Poison had stirred up, stomped off angrily — creating an opening for the actual hunters. And Jiang Chi's "warning shots only" fighting style had conveniently given the Chaleon the chance to follow the golden rule: kill the healer first.

To be fair, Da Yi's departure may not have been deliberately targeting Cheng Shi — anyone dying would've been acceptable. But Jiang Chi's choice was clearly calculated. He couldn't let his partner die, so the only person he could throw to the wolves was Cheng Shi.

As for the Pointer Knight's partner — that Poison who'd charged out and vanished...

Honestly, Cheng Shi didn't believe Poison's intent was to let him die. But her misread of the situation led her to rush out and get pinned down by Gongyang Jiao, unable to return — which undeniably accelerated the kill.

When Gongyang Jiao broke free from Poison, that would be the mont the Screaming Earl and the Chaleon tead up to finish Cheng Shi off.

And this was exactly why Jiang Chi had been so "blatantly" throwing the fight — he was making a statent through his performance, letting Cheng Shi know the team's attitude toward him was anything but friendly.

In Jiang Chi's calculation, Cheng Shi wasn't stupid. He'd certainly sense the hostility, and after being wounded and fleeing, he wouldn't return to the team. Once Cheng Shi was isolated, the hunters' opportunity would arrive — especially since their quarry was an injured Fate Weaver.

So in this sudden ambush, everyone ca out a winner. Everyone except Cheng Shi, who'd fled like a stray dog.

But was that really how it went?

No.

Perhaps in the first instant of the ambush Cheng Shi had genuinely misjudged the situation. Perhaps he hadn't expected this to be a targeted kill. But the mont the arrow hit, everything crystallized. He untangled the dynamics and actively chose not to rejoin the team.

Not because he no longer trusted Jiang Chi and the others — truthfully, he'd never trusted them. He'd simply thought of a thod to deal with so of the trial's nuisances first.

Naly, the ever-ddleso Screaming Earl.

Gongyang Jiao's logic was sound — kill the healer first in a hunt. To most observers, the sequence of events qualified as a brilliant hunt. But everyone had overlooked one thing: prey wasn't always just prey.

In any hunt, the roles of hunter and prey weren't fixed from the start. They were decided by who fell. The one who fell was the prey.

Cheng Shi had always believed this. So he refused to be the prey.

Gongyang Jiao believed the sa — but he was certain he'd be the hunter.

This Fate Weaver did carry so reputation in the peak circle. Granted, it had started with a rumor, but anyone with na recognition at this level was no simple player.

Gongyang Jiao was a maniac, not a fool. He never underestimated an opponent, and he was already giving Cheng Shi considerable respect. That's why he'd chosen to team up with the Chaleon to take Cheng Shi down.

After all, his squad for targeting Poison was also just a two-man team. A Fate Weaver famous for a rumor couldn't possibly be harder to handle than an actual Chosen One, right?

Gongyang Jiao didn't buy that.

Respecting an opponent didn't an demonizing them. His specialty was demonizing himself — making enemies breed fear. So after quickly shaking off Poison, he doubled back and followed the Chaleon's trail toward Cheng Shi.

But as he tracked, he noticed his hunting partner's footprints had turned... erratic.

Gongyang Jiao stood atop a palace roof, surveying half the Court below with furrowed brows. He looked down at the Chaleon, his expression dark:

"Don't tell

you lost him?"

The Chaleon glanced up, visibly annoyed. But he had indeed lost the trail — because the quarry hadn't been moving on foot at all. He'd been blinking between fixed points.

Worse, these positions were spaced far apart, leaving the hunter in an absurd bind.

Hunters were fast. In most scenarios, their agility far exceeded other classes. But speed was only aningful if your target had speed too.

When the target started teleporting, speed as a tric beca aningless.

This [Silence] hunter had anticipated the healer having escape tools. What he hadn't anticipated was that this Fate Weaver nad Cheng Shi seed to have escape tools with... no cooldown?

'Was that even fair?'

The Fate Weaver kept swapping across the Court, his aura flickering near and far. How was the Chaleon supposed to answer Gongyang Jiao's question?

'Say he couldn't keep up with his prey?'

Too humiliating. Thankfully, as a [Silence] follower, he wasn't obligated to respond.

After a mont's thought, the Chaleon decided to split up and box him in. Once they pinched Cheng Shi's blink path from both sides, they'd have another chance to close the distance.

He pointed Gongyang Jiao at one direction, then shot off like a gust of wind toward the other.

Gongyang Jiao watched the hunter disappear, frowned, and spat a mouthful of bloody foam from the hole in his cheek.

"Pfeh. Nothing impressive."

He leapt off the roof and streaked toward the assigned direction. At their speed, Cheng Shi would be pinched between them in no ti.

But Cheng Shi was no fool. His constant blinking wasn't ant to confuse the hunters — it was ant to summon them.

He was waiting for the hunters to co. It was just that fighting two-on-one at his current strength might be tricky, so he'd used this thod to split them apart.

He'd predicted they'd try to box him in. So as he shifted positions, he was also guessing which hunter would be the lucky one to bump into him first.

And once he spotted one of them, he would stop moving.

Like right now. Seeing the Screaming Earl enter his field of vision, Cheng Shi smiled and stood still. He pulled a pair of invisible gloves from his spatial storage and slipped them on. At the sa ti, he casually scattered a sky full of dice, letting them drift down with the snow and settle on the ground.

When one particular die among the countless others tumbled across the snow, wobbling to a stop on the number one—

Cheng Shi rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles and wrists, and bead at the savage-faced Gongyang Jiao who'd just landed not far ahead:

"You're here? I've been waiting forever.

"Ti's short, so let's...

"Make this quick!"