As soon as Jason finished speaking, the crowd was immediately hooked by his words.

"Don't forget, before this competition began, there was that mysterious young man who stirred up a storm throughout the city."

"He could very well be in this competition right now! Perhaps his face already appeared on the secondary screen earlier, and we just didn't recognize it!"

"But if we keep watching, that mysterious person won't be able to hide for long! Maybe, he'll be able to overshadow the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association once again!"

As Jason's words echoed through the arena, the crowd was thrown into a frenzy! Their expressions were filled with excitement and curiosity.

What Jason had said was undeniably shocking!

What kind of entity was the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association? It was the undisputed leader of all the associations in Dorey City, far beyond the reach of any other organization.

Before the competition began, no other association even considered contending for first place. Everyone else was focused on fighting for second place, which had become the customary routine over the years.

Because, the first place was guaranteed to go to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association!

But now, Jason was suggesting that the mysterious person could overpower the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association. This was a statement that sent shockwaves through the audience, stirring their emotions!

However, the audience didn't think Jason's words were absurd. On the contrary, they found themselves drawn in by his reasoning.

After all, the mysterious person had gained significant fame by this point! Many in the crowd had become his secret fans, hoping to see him take center stage in the competition.

Yet, while the audience was excited, Reve, sitting in the VIP section, wasn't looking too pleased.

"This host really dares to speak like that. Is there someone who can challenge the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association's title?" Reve sneered.

But soon, he regained his composure. After all, Jason's words were just empty talk.

In the end, it was the facts that would speak for themselves.

At that moment, the secondary screen once again switched to Ed's team.

Simultaneously, the main screen revealed the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association!

The leader, the one-eyed man, along with two other young Hunters, had just killed a monster and was now taking a brief rest.

"Brian, how many monsters have we killed so far?" The one-eyed man asked while wiping down his steel sword.

"Five already. Captain, you're amazing. You killed that C-level wild boar with a single strike!" Brian praised him.

"This is nothing," the one-eyed man replied nonchalantly. For a low-tier Silver Hunter like him, not being able to kill a C-level monster with one hit would be strange!

Next to Brian stood another young man, Brown, who had a long, blood-red scar across his face.

The one-eyed man continued, "Brian, cut off the wild boar's ears. Let's move on!"

The Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association had already killed five monsters at this point, and their speed was impressive, putting them ahead of all other associations.

As per the rules, all ear-collecting tasks were assigned to Brian alone. According to the competition rules, only one person from each association could take the top spot.

Thus, the one-eyed man was planning to have all the points for this task go to Brian alone.

"Alright! Captain!" Brian moved quickly, stowing away the beast's ears before he and Brown prepared to continue forward.

At that moment, the one-eyed man suddenly stopped. "Stop!"

Brian was taken aback. "What's wrong, Captain?"

The one-eyed man gripped his steel sword, immediately shifting into a combat stance. "I sense a monster's presence—it's approaching us!"

No sooner had he spoken than a massive, terrifying bird emerged from the forest.

Its blood-red eyes glowed, and its size was far greater than that of a human—wildly ferocious!

Brian marveled, "As expected of the Captain. His monster detection ability is incredible! He's way ahead of us!"

The one-eyed man smirked. "Alright, kid, stop flattering me. I'll take care of it. You two, don't get ambushed!"

With that, the one-eyed man charged toward the beast.

Three minutes later.

The one-eyed man sheathed his sword, and on the ground lay the dead body of the giant bird!

The crowd outside, who had witnessed the entire battle, erupted in cheers.

"So cool! Is this the power of a Silver-level Hunter?"

"Truly awe-inspiring! No wonder they're the top association!"

"I think even if that mysterious person shows up, they may not be a match for the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association!"

Amidst the applause.

Phirna was even more excited, "Did you see that? My uncle is amazing!"

Meanwhile, Iris, with her chin resting on her hand, remained silent.

…

On Ed's side.

After dealing with the first bear demon, the team continued moving forward.

Alex spoke up, "We need to be extremely cautious from now on. We've already lost one person."

Typically, in locations where large groups of monsters gather, the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters become!

And their current location was still some distance away from the center of the Nightmare Wasteland—just how dangerous this place could be was becoming clear.

After Alex finished speaking, Lucas quietly leaned in, looking completely puzzled.

He had been full of questions ever since earlier, and now he whispered, "Big Brother, why did you suddenly let the bear demon go?"

He couldn't understand why his older brother would listen to a rookie like Ed.

Hearing this, Alex immediately snorted. "Shut up. You don't understand anything. Don't bring this up again. Focus on the next part of the competition!"

Lucas was left confused, unable to get a clear answer. He sighed and decided to focus on the task ahead.

Alex sighed as well, and his eyes couldn't help but drift to Ed behind him.

He kept replaying the events in his mind. Ed's sensory abilities and strength were both impressive—could it be that his cultivation was actually stronger than Alex's?

But he was so young—where did all that power come from? What secrets did he hold?

Thomas, who had been silent up until now, spoke up. "I've packed up David's body. We'll give it to his family once we get out of here."

"Although we've only killed one bear demon so far, the competition rules don't just focus on quantity, but also on quality. So we're definitely ahead of all the other individual Hunters!"

"As long as we keep up this performance, we'll return with full spoils."

Lucas snorted at this. "Yeah, 'full spoils,' that's you. I don't want to face another monster like the bear demon again."

At this, Lucas turned to Alex. "By the way, Big Brother, we've been walking for almost ten minutes now. Have you sensed any monster presence?"

Alex focused for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing nearby. We should pick up something in a little while."

But just then, Ed, who had been silently walking at the back, spoke up.

"Within a hundred meters, there are a large number of monsters. Their danger level is higher than the bear demon's."

Upon hearing this, the other three immediately became alert.

Thomas widened his eyes and quickly moved closer to Ed, his hand reaching for his twin swords.

Lucas tensed up, instinctively thinking Ed was talking nonsense. But just recently, Ed had correctly predicted the arrival of the bear demon, so Lucas paused, unsure, and turned to look at his older brother.

Alex was also taken aback. After a brief hesitation, he drew his sword, but spoke:

"Ed, are you sure your judgment isn't off? I've been sensing for a while, and I couldn't detect any monster presence in the air."

As the team leader, Alex still wanted to take charge of the group, but he didn't outright dismiss Ed.

What had happened earlier showed that Ed was not just a rookie.

However, Ed remained calm and unconcerned. He simply said, "It's only ten meters away now. If you don't believe me, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"But you should know, monster scents don't necessarily show up in the air. They can come from other places."

Alex furrowed his brow even deeper. He didn't fully understand what Ed was saying.

The Nightmare Wasteland was filled with numerous monsters, and the air was saturated with the lingering scents of old monsters. These scents were not only useless but could also confuse a Hunter's senses.

They disrupted a Hunter's ability to detect the monsters that were actually approaching.

For Alex, who was a second-level Apprentice, it was difficult for him to sense any monsters coming near.

Although his cultivation wasn't high, he was confident that if a monster was within ten meters, he would definitely be able to feel its presence.

So, at that moment, he still believed that Ed was mistaken. He sheathed his sword with a huff and said, "Ed, don't joke around like that."

"I don't need you to give me a lesson."

With that, Alex was about to dismiss the matter and continue forward.

But just then—

"Boom!" The ground next to Alex suddenly cracked open, and a giant ant, the size of a human foot, crawled out.

The ant was entirely red, with a swollen back, giving it an extremely aggressive appearance!

Upon detecting the presence of humans, it immediately attacked. Its body contracted.

Then it shot out a stream of green liquid directly at the nearest target, Alex!

"This is bad!" Alex's face changed drastically as he had never expected a monster to emerge from the ground!

Fortunately, his reaction speed was still decent. At least, it was worthy of his second-level Apprentice status. He put everything into dodging!

The green liquid was originally aimed at his face, but Alex managed to avoid it. Most of it splashed behind him, with a small portion landing on his armor.

"Pssst—"

A sudden sizzling sound rang through the air!

The others, startled, turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw a large tree behind Alex.

The liquid sprayed by the ant had splashed onto the tree, instantly burning a huge hole in it. Within seconds, the tree snapped in half and collapsed with a loud crash!

Moreover, Alex's armor had been corroded in several places, leaving gaping holes!

"My God!"

The terrifying power of the attack caused the other three, except for Ed, to gasp in horror.

If that had hit Alex's face… they didn't even want to think about it!

"That's a Red Venomous Ant, a highly venomous, colony-dwelling monster. It can burrow underground and will automatically drive away any invaders near its nest!"

"Also, their acid possesses terrifying toxicity and can easily corrode steel!"

Ed spoke calmly, his voice steady. As soon as he sensed the presence of the Red Venomous Ant, the monster's entry appeared in his mental monster encyclopedia.

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