Chapter 790: Competition (1/2)
GDK 790: Competition
In the past competitions, never had such an all-encompassing monitoring device been used. Wallace ought to have acquired the space divine device only recently.
Everything displayed on the sand table was real and happening live. They were just shrunk by hundreds of times in order to fit on the sand table. As miniature as the figures appeared, it was the right size for the crowd to observe everything happening in the arena without missing too many details.
The Seven Companies marched into seven different parts of the battle arena. Upon stepping into the arena, each Company would spread into one long row and begin combing through the terrain. They were like seven straight line that travels perpendicularly.
The patriarchs of the large family clans, the Divine Guard Chiefs, and some distinguished characters of the City of Shadows watched the sand table attentively. Chief Ralph of the Second Corps had his brows very slightly bunched. Like Han Shuo to Barnard, he too had given a special order to Kiffan. He also did not know that Wallace would come up with such a device. If Kiffan tried to kill Fifth Corps divine guards with premeditation, Wallace and the others will surely notice it.
When Ralph thought so, he too felt rather uneasy. He couldn’t help but turned to look at Han Shuo. It just so happened that Han Shuo who shared the same feeling met his gaze. Ralph immediately put on a cold face and lightly groaned while Han Shuo put on a faint smile and acted composedly.
“We have cast spells on the divine essences. Once they were removed from where they were hidden, it will constantly emanate energy pulses to a wide area. Those nearby could easily detect the energy pulses… “ explained Wallace to the crowd.
“They have just entered the arena and no one has discovered any divine essences yet. Hehe, the competition this year is much more interesting than the past'. We could even watch as the competition progresses,” remarked Rugersey the Chief of Sixth Corps smilingly. He was the first of many in the crowd to give his opinion following Wallace’s explanation.
Time flew by hurriedly. It had been half a day since the Seven Companies entered the arena. In the thick jungles of rugged terrains, the Seven Companies gradually grew further and further apart. They searched and sensed their surroundings carefully for any divine essences.
The Company from the Fifth Corps nominally led by Barnard was traveling unhurried in a direction. Bollands would later split the Company into nine squads. Sanguis and Gilbert would each lead their own squads. The nine squads traveled in a formation that kept them relatively close together. They would always be close enough to help each other of any sudden troubles.
“Bollands, Lord Bryan wants us to plunder those from the Second Corps and ignore the First and Third Corps. But the arena is very expansive and we are growing further and further apart from other Companies. What if we cannot locate those from the Second Corps?” Barnard asked Bollands for advice.
Although Barnard was officially the Captain of this Fifth Corps Company, in reality, it was Bollands who had the true command over the Company. After having served the Third Corps for many years, Bollands was well-versed in every aspect of managing a Divine Guard Corps. In addition, he had abundant experience, excellent strength, and could always keep a calm mind. Even without any explicit orders from Han Shuo, it was clear to Barnard what he ought to do.
“No worries, I know precisely where they are,” replied Bollands. He had left a tracer on one of the divine guards from the Second Corps before the event.
“Those punks are so fucking arrogant! Remember how they looked at us? They are so damn punchable! Let us show them who is truly the strongest in the City of Shadows!” remarked Gilbert fiercely. He seemed to thirst for battle.
“The Second Corps have always ranked first in team combat strength. I believe that they will be the first to try to plunder divine essences from another Company. How about if we just preserve our energy, wait until the Second Corps have plundered most of the divine essences, and then raid them?” proposed Sanguis.
Several other divine guards seconded Sanguis’ proposal. They thought that it was a decent strategy.
Bollands did not immediately respond. He thought in silence for a while before he shook his head and calmly disagreed, “This is not the safest strategy. If it turns out that the Second Corps doesn’t possess many divine essences, even after taking theirs, we might not have enough divine essences to take the first place.”
After a short pause, Bollands suggested, “To guarantee our victory, we should at least spend some time to look for divine essences before we plunder from the Second Corps near the end of the competition.”
One of the main reasons that Bollands was the de facto leader of the Company was that he could always think clearly and would never be impulsive in making a decision. His mind would always be steps ahead of the others.
The Company thought for a moment and realized that Bollands’ suggestion would give them the greatest certainty of victory. Therefore, they decided to continue searching the arena for divine essences.
The first piece of divine essence was located neither by the Second Corps nor the Fifth Corps, but by the team from the Sixth Corps whose Chief was Rugersey. One of their divine guards accidentally fell into a swamp. When he was almost fully submerged in mud, abruptly, he sensed a strange energy fluctuation underneath.