With this kill, the raid on the Adept-level monster nest was over. The wristbands on each contest involved in the raid started updating the Titus points they had earned automatically.
Tuan accessed the spectral screen of his wristband and checked the rankings.
1st Place- William Shank- 149,8965 Titus Points
2nd Place- Drin Dawn- 148,4543 Titus Points
3rd Place- Tim Westmoor- 115,127 Titus Points
4th Place- Katalina Reich- 99,643 Titus Points
5th Place- Bianka Bluedust- 73,897 Titus Points
6th Place- Lily Geist 42,565 Titus Points
7th Place- Ray Rinehart- 36,583 Titus Points
8th Place- Langdon Lark- 34,589 Titus Points
9th Place- Silvera Rehrook- 31,356 Titus Points
10th Place- Tuan Aag- 28,548 Titus Points
11th Place- Wayne Wilder- 26,464 Titus Points
12th Place- Reva Sunstar- 21,665 Titus Points
13th Place- Ketsu Hasu- 19,033 Titus Points
'Hmm. The first three places in the ranking have become ridiculously out of reach for other rankers. I hope my plan works.'
Tuan thought to himself as he noted the rankings of the competitors along with their respective Titus points. Since Ketsu didn't perform well during these days, he was placed last in the ranking. He was heavily injured by Wilder's attack so he couldn't help it.
'Heads up. Someone's coming.'
Alephee She was the first to sense an external presence heading Tuan's way. The second was Katalina who was looking outward from their battleground. She wasn't surprised by the discovery because of the warnings given to them by Tuan. The close combat expert informed all her raid partners shortly afterward.
'Gather up. Draw your weapons.'
Tuan gave simple instructions which his raid members followed immediately. As soon as they did, they noticed a group of rankers had appeared a few meters away from them. For some reason, this new group was maintaining a safe distance from Tuan's group.
This was a group of three people. It contained two ladies and one male ranker.
The male ranker seemed like a ranger from his presence. But he had a massive, muscular build that was not ranger-like. His dark brown hair was let loose, giving him a clumsy yet handsome appearance. And yet compared to his gigantic, masculine body, his face was relatively small and cute to look at. His face looked like it had been placed on the wrong body.
This ranger-like man carried a thick crossbow in both his arms, as if ready to shoot at a moment's notice. A serious expression was on his face and it appeared he was pondering something.
This man's name was Ray Rinehart. 7th place holder in the Titus competition. He excelled in both ranger-specific skills as well as a few close combat skills because of his special class.
Ray Rinehart was a Horde Breaker. It was a class made by the fusion of two classes, one of which was a ranger class. Taking this class had allowed him to slay multiple monsters in monster nests and clear out such places with relative ease.
The second ranker that was part of the group that had arrived at the scene was Silvera Rehrook. She was a pretty elf that looked to be in her early 20s. She had silver hair, pale white skin, azure eyes, and a small nose. Her elvish ears added extra charm to her beauty.
Silvera seemed to have a petite build due to her cleric class. But nobody would underestimate her anymore. The remaining competitors had to be more special than usual.
The group was led by a buxom lady standing at the front. She looked to be in her mid-30s. She had voluminous black hair that grew past shoulder length. Her skin looked petite and had a soft pinkish hue. Her pretty face was as alluring as her light blue eyes.
This lady had a relatively tall stature that boded well with her hourglass figure. Her legs were slender and had a creamy texture to them as if they had been carved out of a white marble slab. Her ample bust and pear-shaped posterior added another level of allure to her seductive stride.
She walked ahead for a few more steps before stopping abruptly. She cleared her voice before looking at Tuan. The lady narrowed her eyes before addressing him.
"Hello, my Name's Bianka. Tuan, you are the leader of this group right?"
Bianka said and looked at all the other rankers that were with Tuan, surrounding him. She smirked at that sight before continuing.
"We have kept our tabs on you guys. You all look tired and weak.
Hehehe! Perfect timing I'd say.
I won't beat around the bush. Hand over your wristbands. There's no shame in getting kicked out of the competition on the sixth day. Do this, and you will exit out of this tournament without losing face."
Bianka replied and released her mana signature. Her two companions did the same, telling their opponent that they were ready to battle anytime they wanted.
Tuan was expecting intruders like this so he didn't reply with words. He released his mana sense and activated all the nearby arrays in the region that were in his control. Even the ground on which Bianka and her team stood had just been covered by an array that had just lit up.
A series of distinct mana pulses was felt by all the rankers in the vicinity as the dormant arrays were activated by the butcher at that time. Various patches of the ground were lit up in array format in the region. Some gave out faint illuminance. Others were extra bright. Finding the way out of the region without stepping on any of them was near impossible.
"This entire region is rigged by me, Miss Bianka. Only I know the exit through this maze of array-landmines. Call me a pessimist if you will, but I have always suffered from fate's hands. So now I like to stay prepared in case it thinks I'm still easy prey."
Tuan said and looked at Bianka's other two raid partners briefly. He focused on Ray while adding more.
"You came at the most appropriate moment after we had defeated the Adept level ranker. That's not a coincidence, is it?
You must have seen what my array can do from afar. You have tried to maintain a safe distance from me even now because of that array trap.
Tuan returned Bianka's smirk with a smirk of his own before adding in the end.
"Tell me, Miss Bianka. Would you like to play with me in a game I like to call Who Gets Bombed First?"
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AN: Thank you Daoist_Culture for the Super Gift. We will have two extra chapters in 9-10 hours. There could have been more. But I haven't been able to write since last week due to feeling unwell. I'm fine now and will start to stockpile again.
