Backstage.

Lord Gavin was there, and upon seeing the vice-leader of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, Reve, he immediately straightened up and walked over:

"Mr. Reve, what brings you here?"

Reve snorted coldly, adopting a tone that demanded an explanation:

"Do I really need to ask? I want to know exactly what happened at the competition venue. There were so many hidden dangers—how could no one notice them before the event?"

Gavin was momentarily speechless, knowing full well that this matter couldn't be avoided.

"Hmph." Reve snorted again, casually stating his demand:

"Now, my disciples from the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association are trapped. The competition time must be extended."

"If anything happens to my disciples, you'll regret it!"

Hearing Reve's blunt warning, Gavin could only lower his head in apology.

Sweating profusely, he said:

"Mr. Reve, this was indeed an oversight on my part."

"Please rest assured, the competition time will be extended as you wish! The final results and rankings will be announced only after the competition is fully concluded!"

Reve was finally somewhat satisfied and nodded, but the real challenge still lay ahead: How to get his disciples out alive was still a difficult task.

In the viewing area, Jason had already contacted the backstage.

Addressing the entire audience, he said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we sincerely apologize. This competition was originally supposed to end at this time."

"However, due to the unexpected incident, we are unable to continue as planned, and we ask for your understanding regarding the disruption to your viewing experience."

"Now, I officially announce that the competition has been delayed due to the incident, and the final results will be announced through the newspaper!"

Jason paused for a moment, then continued:

"Since it's getting late and darkness is approaching, we kindly ask all spectators to leave the venue in an orderly manner!"

After hearing these words, the audience was somewhat surprised, but they had already anticipated this.

Not long after, all the thousands of spectators managed to leave before it got dark.

Only the members of various associations remained, each instructing their subordinates to rescue their contestants while keeping a watchful eye on the recording stone, hoping nothing else would go wrong.

Reve had also returned to the venue.

As soon as he emerged from backstage, he received a report from One-Eye.

"What? The ghost spirit's barrier is that powerful?"

"One-Eye can't break through the barrier! A regular ghost spirit wouldn't have such a skill—could it be due to the high-level spiritual treasure?"

Reve furrowed his brow. Although the competition had been successfully extended, his two disciples, Brown and Brian, were still trapped inside, their lives uncertain!

At the center of the village.

The conversation between Brown and Brian was abruptly interrupted. They looked toward the person speaking, and then saw Ed standing not far from them.

"Ed?"

The two were somewhat surprised. Ed had stayed in the barrier with them—didn't he have the chance to escape?

However, the moment they saw him, Brown's eyes lit up.

Although his body was overwhelmed with multiple negative buffs and was close to its limit, he still gripped his steel sword tightly, his excitement rising uncontrollably as he shouted:

"Ed, the last fight doesn't count! Since returning, I've been training hard!"

"I'm ready to fight you again, and this time, I'll make sure you die by my hand!"

He had always wanted to kill Ed, and now, here was a golden opportunity.

Moreover, he hadn't expected that Ed would come to him willingly!

However, despite Brown's intense battle lust, Ed remained completely calm:

"You don't deserve it."

"What did you say?" Brown snapped. "You don't want to fight me?"

Ed shook his head. "No, it's not that I don't want to. It's that you don't deserve to fight me. If you go up against me, you'll just get killed in an instant. This is not a fight, it's a massacre."

Ed's main objective remained the ghost spirit and the high-level spiritual treasure it possessed.

These two were a nuisance, so they needed to be dealt with quickly.

"You bastard, how dare you look down on me like that!" But after hearing Ed's words, Brown became surprisingly agitated, his face twisting in fury.

His already grim expression turned a deep shade of purple!

"I'll kill you!"

Brown shouted as he swung his steel sword and charged at Ed. Seeing this, Brian quickly tried to shout, "Don't!"

At this point, both of them were weak, and a proper Hunter would never fight recklessly without thinking!

More importantly, the moonlight! Hunters instinctively avoided it—how could they fight under the moonlight?

However, Brian's warning never left his mouth.

Because the moment Brown charged, perhaps from overexcitement or from his body being too weak, Brown suddenly collapsed, his vision going black.

"Thud!"

Brown collapsed face-first onto the ground, losing consciousness!

"You reckless fool!"

Brian's eyes widened in shock as he hurried to help Brown up.

But soon, his own mind began to feel dizzy.

The moonlight above seemed to grow even more intense and colder.

Brian thought it was likely because night had fallen outside of Nightmare Wasteland as well.

But whatever the reason, all the discomfort he felt suddenly intensified!

He couldn't stand it for even a moment longer!

In fact, he wasn't afraid of Ed. In fact, he was confident that with his Black Iron-level mid-tier strength, he could easily disregard Ed.

So, with a cold snort, he said:

"Ed, my brother is down. I'll deal with you later! Be grateful, you've got a little more time to live!"

After saying this, Brian helped Brown up and jumped away from the scene.

Since they were in the abandoned village, Brian easily found a nearby house where they temporarily hid.

Meanwhile, Ed remained where he was, not chasing after them. It wasn't because he wanted to let them go, but because he sensed the ghost spirit's aura fluctuating in the air!

He turned his attention toward the direction of the cellar.

"From the aura coming from inside, it seems that the ghost spirit's power is beginning to recover."

"I should check on the ghost spirit's condition first, so I don't get caught off guard by a sudden attack from it while dealing with those two."

With a cautious mindset, Ed leaped toward the wooden house where the ghost spirit was hiding.

Of course, the house had long since disappeared, leaving only wood shavings scattered across the ground.

The cellar was now exposed under the moonlight, and Ed stood alert above it, opening his senses.

"The ghost spirit is absorbing the power of the high-level spiritual treasure. It has already entered the fusion stage. It mentioned before that it would need seven days."

"So, it shouldn't be coming out on its own anytime soon."

Ed analyzed in his mind, knowing that he couldn't fully trust the ghost spirit's words.

Even if it didn't need seven days for the fusion, it would surely take a long time.

And right now, Ed had already regarded the high-level spiritual treasure as his own possession. He wouldn't allow the ghost spirit to merge with it.

Therefore, before the ghost spirit completed the fusion, Ed planned to intervene.

"And in the meantime, I should have enough time to deal with those two."

Meanwhile, in another wooden house.

Brian had brought Brown here. Without the moonlight shining down, they both felt a great relief.

Brown slowly regained consciousness, and then Brian took out some healing potions from his bag, giving one to both himself and Brown.

Instantly, both of them felt much better. The high-quality healing potions provided by the association weren't something ordinary contestants could afford.

Before long, both of them had almost fully recovered their combat strength. Brown, noticing his improved condition, couldn't wait to get ready for a fight:

"Where is Ed?"

Brian answered, "He's probably hiding outside, why?"

"Do I even need to ask? Kill him! Don't you remember?" Brown said, unable to suppress his restless desire.

"This is the best opportunity. He's trapped in the barrier and can't get out, and besides, it's not going to get light anytime soon," Brown continued, justifying his reasoning.

He knew that Brian didn't want to fight under the moonlight, but they were in good condition now, and if they didn't act, Brown worried that Ed would also rest until he reached his best state.

However, after a brief moment of consideration, Brian still shook his head, disagreeing:

"I want to kill Ed too, but fighting under the moonlight severely weakens us."

Brown immediately urged Brian again, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation: "Brian, the longer we wait, the more risks we face. If we don't kill Ed now, he will always be a threat."

"Also, have you gone mad? Under the moonlight, we get weakened, but Ed is also weakened!"

Finally, Brian's attitude shifted, and he stood up from where he was sitting.

"Alright then, let's go handle him now."

Brown instantly broke into a grin, then stepped forward, walking toward the door with a cold expression on his face, holding his steel sword, looking like a rooster ready for a fight!

"Finally, I get to fight this guy again. I'll make sure to reclaim all my lost honor! I won't underestimate him this time. I will win for sure!" Brown said.

Brian, however, reminded him: "This is a two-man job. We should go in together."

Brown quickly responded: "No, Brian, if you join the fight, Ed will be dead in no time!"

"You know how long I've been wanting this. Just let me have this one!" Brown wanted to take his revenge personally but brought Brian along mainly for safety's sake.

In case he couldn't defeat Ed again, having Brian there would allow them to gang up on him. After all, Brown believed that even on his own, Brian could probably kill Ed.

"My strength isn't as strong as yours. After all, you're One-Eye's top disciple," Brown praised him, then sighed.

"As for me, although my master is the deputy leader, I'm still just the second disciple."

Brian shrugged helplessly, then compromised:

"Alright then, once the fight begins, I'll let you take the first few minutes."

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