The second round finally began. The room went dark once more, and both teams were transported into the simulated map—a city with a straight road running between two flagged buildings, surrounded by nurous ruined structures that could be used for cover. A screen appeared, counting down from one hour. Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly watched intently from the broadcast display on the glass.
Ivan’s team’s strategy appeared to be the sa one they used against their juniors; however, this ti, they were all positioned on top of the building, without exception, protecting the flag together. Akira took a position at the edge of the building to scout the road, while Hyunjin sent his knives into the ruined buildings along the way to act as spies and attack if he spotted any enemies. The rest—Ivan, Sasha, Minji, and Brad—stood in a circle around the flag.
Not long after, Akira raised his hand, and imdiately Ivan, Sasha, Brad, Hyunjin, and Minji approached the edge of the tall building.
"Look," Akira said, pointing toward the dark road.
Ivan, Sasha, Brad, Hyunjin, and Minji squinted their eyes, and once their vision adjusted to the distant darkness, they saw a horde of zombies, living skeletons, and ghoul-like creatures by the hundreds, marching in a line toward their building.
"Wow... that has to be Rachel’s doing," Hyunjin muttered.
"Yeah, but it doesn’t look like they’re attacking yet," Minji replied.
"Don’t worry, if there’s any enemy movent, my knives will know," Hyunjin replied.
"I know, babe," Minji replied.
"Hmm... look way in the back," Brad pointed.
They all looked toward the very rear, and the six of them were shocked to see a massive elephant—clearly undead, not a living one. Atop the elephant, Rachel could be seen sitting on its neck, controlling the undead beast, with Sofia standing on its head holding a large kite shield, while Brigitte, Margaret, and Natasha stood behind Rachel.
Harumi was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious they were challenging them to an all-out brawl in the streets while sending one person to snatch the flag. Ivan only smiled at the sight, then he turned to look at his friends and his wife.
"Hmm... good thing we already know their abilities thanks to the data from Gary and Dennis. Let’s stick to the plan," Ivan said.
"Yep. Hyunjin, please handle that ninja girl, Harumi," Sasha said.
"Got it. Relax, leave her to ," Hyunjin replied.
"It’s lucky we studied their powers beforehand. Without even realizing it, Gary and Dennis already did us a huge favor," Akira said, aiming his sniper at Rachel, who was currently shielded by Sofia.
"True. We definitely have to treat them to a al after this to say thanks," Brad replied casually.
"So... when do I get to wipe them all out with my holy sword wave?" asked Minji, who held the Shrine Sword Maiden class, one of the special classes.
"Patience. Wait for them to get closer," said Ivan, who held the Phalanx class, also a special category.
"After that, I just have to shock them, right?" asked Sasha, who held the Magic Spearman class, the sa as Olivia.
"Yep. And I’ll head down to sweep everything away with my fla slashes," added Brad, who held the Fire Swordsman class—a rank that was nearly a special class, though technically still a standard elental class.
"Basically, my only job is to kill Rachel. If Rachel goes down, her army goes with her," said Akira, who held the Arsenal class, a special class in the marksman category.
"Ah... for now, let’s just stay relaxed. That ninja isn’t getting anywhere near us," Hyunjin, the Spirit Assassin, muttered coolly.
"Leave the shield girl to . I’m curious about her strength," Ivan said.
"Just don’t go falling in love with her, okay? Rember that," Sasha teased, patting her husband’s shoulder.
"Huh... not a chance. I’m committed to you," Ivan replied casually.
Ivan and the others continued to wait for the formation to move in, or at least until the enemies were within their firing range. Not long after, the zombies, skeletons, and ghouls—marching in their slow, steady line—began to enter their territory. Minji’s body began to emit a swirling white energy aura that spiraled from her feet to her head. Her dual swords started to glow with a brilliant white light as she stepped up to the edge of the roof, looking down.
anwhile, Rachel spotted soone moving to the edge of the roof and saw the white, fla-like aura atop the building. She turned back to her three friends behind her.
"Get ready. They’re about to hit us," Rachel said.
"Alright, leave it to ," Natasha said.
"Yep, we’re ready too," Margaret added.
"Don’t worry, Rachel. We’ll definitely protect you," Brigitte said.
Suddenly—"clang"—a beam of light struck Sofia’s shield, which deflected it. Rachel turned her attention back to the front.
"The enemy is starting their attack. Relax, I can block any shot they send our way," Sofia said with a smirk.
"Yeah, their sniper won’t be able to do a thing," Rachel replied smugly.
They continued to push forward, releasing their energy auras so the undead elephant’s position was clearly visible as their bodies glowed, bracing for the enemy’s assault. Of course, Ivan, Sasha, Brad, Akira, and Hyunjin saw the enemy’s position clearly and grinned widely.
"Alright, get ready, Minji," Ivan said.
"Yeah, leave it to , but I’m resting after this. Using this move always drains dry," Minji said.
"Got you. I’m ready to catch you, babe," Hyunjin said from behind her.
As soon as the undead ranks were fully within the range of Minji’s skill, she didn’t hesitate. "Clang!" Minji slamd her dual swords together in the center. A massive white do imdiately expanded outward, reaching a radius of about 1000 ters, sweeping away every zombie, skeleton, and ghoul caught in its light until it finally swallowed the undead elephant carrying Rachel and her team. Afterward, Minji stumbled backward and was caught by Hyunjin, who imdiately helped her sit against the roof’s edge.
Naturally, when the undead elephant vanished, Rachel and the others were shocked as they plumted from the beast. "Waaaaah!" they scread, scrambling to land on the ground. But the mont they touched down, a surge of electricity flooded the street. Sofia and Rachel survived because they were quick; Rachel shot green fire from both hands toward the road to hover back up, while Sofia landed by sliding her shield under her feet.
Brigitte, Natasha, and Margaret were too stunned to react—they hit the electrified pavent and were instantly paralyzed by the shock, their bodies stiffening before they could even scream. Rachel, seeing her friends land and imdiately freeze up, turned deathly pale.
"Brigitte! Natasha! Margaret!" Rachel scread, hovering in the air.
Suddenly, a ball of fire crashed down onto the street. After the flas dissipated, Brad was standing on the road, right in front of Sofia, who was trying to help Brigitte, Natasha, and Margaret. Without wasting a second, Brad swung his flaming sword horizontally. The slash turned into a massive crescent-shaped beam of fire, racing toward Sofia and the others.
Sofia managed to block it, but she was blown back by the force. The second crescent fla wave imdiately sliced through Brigitte, Natasha, and Margaret, who were completely defenseless; they turned into pixels and vanished instantly. Brad stood tall once again and rested his sword on his shoulder with a smile.
"Okay, my job’s done. Your turn, Ivan," Brad said.
"Now it’s my turn," Ivan’s voice rang out from above.
"Boom," Ivan landed next to Brad, then he gripped Brad’s shoulder and walked toward Sofia, who was up ahead struggling to stand and get back into a defensive stance. Rachel, hovering in the air using her magic, saw three of her friends defeated and Ivan approaching Sofia. She glanced toward a nearby building, but before she could even think about escaping—"clang"—her magical barrier suddenly deflected a bullet. She turned to see Akira already aiming his sniper from the rooftop directly at her.
"This is bad... this is really bad... it wasn’t supposed to be like this. I studied their powers and they were below us. Where did I go wrong?" Rachel asked in her head, her face turning deathly pale.
anwhile, Hyunjin, who was taking care of Minji as she leaned helplessly against the roof’s edge, suddenly turned to look back toward the flag. He smirked. Minji, of course, noticed the change in her husband’s expression.
"She’s here, isn’t she... the ninja?" Minji asked.
"Yep, she just arrived. I’ll handle it; you wait here, okay?" Hyunjin answered.
"Okay. Be careful, babe," Minji replied weakly.
Hyunjin walked toward the flag, his body emitting a green aura as five knives spun around him like a tornado. When he reached the flag, he suddenly used two fingers to command his knives toward the roof of a small structure to enter the building’s ergency stairwell. "Clang!" His five knives were instantly parried by soone who appeared to be on the roof.
"Hey... co on out, sweetheart. Your position’s already been blown," Hyunjin taunted while looking up at the small building.
"Thud," the sound of soone landing on the roof echoed as Harumi appeared. She had been using her vanish skill, but she was still detected by Hyunjin, who now stood ready with a smile on his face.
"Wow... impressive that you knew I was already here. It looks like this is going to be fun," Harumi said, pulling down her mask and smiling.
"Yep, you’re right, sweetheart. This is definitely going to be fun," Hyunjin replied, getting into position with a smile still lighting up his face.
Finally, the closing battles were about to begin: Ivan against Sofia, Akira against Rachel, and Hyunjin against Harumi. anwhile, Sasha headed over to watch over the weakened Minji, while Brad stood guard at the bottom, keeping an eye on Ivan’s fight while leaning casually against the building wall.
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