A few hours prior, right after the women who made it near the Outer Court ran back down the mountain, things were going according to Mira's plan.
The people running down the mountain immediately began searching for other participants. Unsurprisingly, the women still climbing the mountain had no idea they were about to be ambushed from above and were easily taken down.
With how many participants were still in the Entrance Exam, it didn't take long until the 200+ Mira beat up all regained their tokens.
However, then comes the problem. If they run back up the mountain, they'll only be beaten up by Mira again and forced to hand over their tokens, but they also can't team up with the women they just beat up.
It also doesn't make sense to team up with others who still have their tokens because everyone's goal in this Entrance Exam is to collect as many tokens as possible to make it into the Top 10.
Since they are all competing against each other, why would they team up together?
So, that begs the question: What now?
To try and figure that out, they all regrouped to begin discussing this issue.
"So, what should we do now?"
"Well, we can't very well charge back up there and face that demon again. We'll only get beaten up and have our tokens taken away again!"
"I agree!"x200
"Alright, since everyone agrees, then we'll have to come up with another way to get past her."
"Why don't we gather a bunch of people? While we don't know if Mira can handle hundreds or even thousands of people at the same time, that doesn't really matter. All we need to do is make sure we aren't the people facing her."
"So you mean you want to gather people to use them as bait so we can sneak by her and enter the Outer Court?"
"Exactly! That's the only way I can see us making it past her!"
"It's a good idea, but the problem is gathering that amount of people! Don't forget. This is essentially a competition. One where the reward is a favor from an Elder of the Sect! Such a thing is probably only possible for a select few Core disciples along with the Direct Disciples! Even now, I still want to take out as many of you guys as possible to collect tokens so I can make it into the Top Ten!"
"..."
Nobody could say anything after hearing that as they were also thinking the same thing. All of them wanted the reward that Elder Sandra proposed. However, they were also smart enough to look at the big picture. If they can't even make it into the Sect, then what good is the reward?
"What about this? We can just do what that fox girl at the top did to us. We go hunt and beat up a bunch of participants. That way, we can compete for the top ten. Then we blame their missing token on that fox girl that's gatekeeping the Outer Court!"
"Hmmm… That's not a bad idea, but we can't get caught. If we're caught, then it's over, and we'll have thousands of people after us."
"Alright, let's do that! We can search for the other participants on the mountain for around an hour and a half to two hours. Then we'll blend in with the people we beat up and make our way up the mountain to deal with the fox girl."
"Sounds good."
"Well, it's the best idea so far."
"Seems possible."
Everyone outwardly agreed to that proposal, but inwardly they were thinking something different, but this wasn't too surprising. They are competing against each other, and even though they might be having a hard time against Mira, they can't easily let go of the reward Elder Sandra presented.
After everyone agreed, they took off in separate directions and began secretly taking out as many participants as possible.
Not only that, but they even tried hunting each other as well. Unfortunately, the people that Mira beat up aren't ordinary people and won't be defeated so easily. They might not have the strength or hand-to-hand combat skills that Mira has, but they also aren't people who only know how to sit inside and cultivate all day.
These people had insider information about the Battle Maiden Sect's Outer Court. They know it's not a place for the weak or lazy. So, to make sure they don't get kicked out of the Sect, they also trained in the wilderness and entered their own life-and-death battles. Sneak attacks from those on the same level as them wouldn't work unless the person attacking is especially skilled in stealth.
Unfortunately for the people whose supposed comrades attacked them, it probably would've been better if the sneak attacks were successful. At least that way, they wouldn't have gained so many injuries trying to defend themselves.
Around an hour and a half went by, and those who were sneak attacking others on the mountain stopped attacking and instead met up with those they robbed tokens from.
"Hey, did you get your token stolen as well?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I heard that others also had their tokens stolen by a lady wearing a fox mask and has fox tails."
"Really? I couldn't even get a good look at who attacked me."
"Me too! I was only able to get a glimpse right before I was knocked out. I think I saw a fox tail, but I'm not entirely sure!"
"Then what should we do? I need to get my token back so I can enter the Sect!!"
"I'm not sure, but if I were the fox girl, I'd probably be sitting right outside the Outer Court waiting for any more participants to show up!"
"Really?! Then let's go up there right now and get our tokens back!"
These kinds of conversations were happening all over the mountain among many of the participants who had their tokens stolen. Unfortunately, they didn't know that the ones who took them were the ones standing right next to them.
That being said, those who ran down the mountain were now making their way back up the mountain, intermixed with those they stole tokens from.
The amount of people now marching up the mountain to deal with Mira is in the thousands!
***
"Damn! Those guys sure are ruthless, but I have to say that their plan is pretty ingenious." Elder Sandra exclaimed as she watched thousands of people rally up the mountain to deal with Mira while unknowingly playing in the palms of someone else's hands.
"Mmmhmm. Though, I don't think these guys stand much of a chance against Mira and the others. For one, just look at how injured and exhausted they all are. Even if they were to hit Mira, they probably wouldn't even be able to bruise her in their current state!" Celaine commented.
Elder Sandra nodded as she too noticed that many of the women rallying up the mountain were limping, a bit disoriented, bruised, or just straight up exhausted. That goes for everyone, especially those that Mira beat up previously.
"I wonder if Mira will really start attacking them all. From what you said previously, it seems like she doesn't really want to deal with them personally." Elder Sandra pondered, but she didn't think about it for too long.
Celaine gave a bitter smile as she had a few ideas, none of which the participants would like.
Either way, she knew Mira would come out on top.
