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“Did you feel that?” Moore turned his gaze north solemnly.

“Of course,” Myre replied while chewing on the rabbit she had roasted. However, the shock had dulled her taste buds so she could barely taste what she was eating.

“The aura of the Divine realm…” she mumbled.

Moore grew anxious. “I thought no beings of the Divine realm could exist here. What was that just now?”

“No beings of the demigod realm or beyond can exist here… This is a rule set by the old crone herself and even she abides by it. Frankly, I’m clueless as to where this unknown being of the Divine realm came from.”

Myre shook her head, losing her appetite for the rabbit. She tossed it casually into the fire pit and kicked dirt over the flames to put them out. “Fortunately, we were right to wait. If someone hadn’t lured that wild deity out beforehand, we might have been the unfortunate ones instead.”

“What do you mean…?” Moore looked at her dumbly, unable to catch on. “Are you suggesting we continue with the plan? But there’s a deity on the opposite side. What can we, mere beings who resort to stealing mortal bodies, hope to achieve? Shouldn’t we wait for reinforcements or some sort of support?”

“Reinforcements? What good would that do?”

Myre looked at the sky and sneered coldly. “Before those above decide to fall out with the old crone, the reinforcements they can send are all fragments of divine sense like you and me. They can’t even compare to a demigod. Can a few more of them beat a real deity?”

“Well, they can’t…” Moore muttered, shaking his head. Every realm beyond Rank 9, starting from Saint Realm, represented a significant leap in strength and perception. Adversaries in those realms couldn’t be overcome solely by numbers.

“But why continue with the plan? Isn’t that suicide?”

“The plan remains mostly unchanged, it’s the objective that needs adjustment,” Myre said, her gaze fixed on the ground, or rather, on the little world below.

A flicker of determination flashed through her eyes as she continued, “We don’t need to capture her; we just need to force her power out and expose it to the higher-ups.”

“There are two reasons they hesitate to break things off with the old crone. They fear her, and some still doubt that thing resides within the body of a young girl. So, we don’t need to risk our lives to capture her alive. We just need to push her to her limits, forcing her to reveal her power and confirm her identity. The rest will fall into place.”

Moore hesitated. “But with a deity protecting her, pushing her to the brink won’t be easy.”

“It’s fine. Trust me. That deity probably isn’t a smart one.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Intuition,” Myre said, pointing at her chest with a confident smile. “Don’t underestimate the power of this body’s intuition, especially with my enhancements.”

“I see. Then I’ll trust you this once, Three.”

Moore calmed down, reclining with his head in his hands, observing the clouds as they drifted over the mountain stream.

Then, as if recalling something, he remarked casually, “You know, I can’t entirely blame some of the higher-ups for doubting what’s inside her. Even I find myself doubting at times.”

“Yeah,” Myre agreed, settling down and idly playing with a mound of dirt. She regretted her earlier outburst, considering whether to start another fire. “After all, placing an archenemy inside the dragon race’s sole remaining princess is quite perplexing.”

◆◇◆◇◆

Having eliminated two enemies, Lilith savored Estelle’s black tea in a great mood while warming herself by the fire in the igloo. Lounging comfortably in a creaking rocking chair, Lilith felt as though she was living the retired life ahead of time.

“What time is it now?” Lilith was about to check the time on her gold pocket watch, but glanced up suddenly, as if sensing something.

A golden light pierced the gloomy sky, casting considerable illumination. Simultaneously, a female voice devoid of emotion resounded in the ears of all present.

“Commencing the bounty of day one. Target: Erica. Holy Dragon’s Heart acquired: three.”

“Only three?” Lilith’s expression shifted from surprise to intrigue. “Seems I’m not the only one slacking off today.”

Perhaps all participants harbored similar thoughts. After all, the most efficient method of obtaining Holy Dragon’s Hearts was to seize it from others.

Hence, there was no need to waste time and energy in the initial days of the tournament; one could simply wait until the tournament neared its end and snatch enough Holy Dragon’s Hearts.

The final day’s bounty would definitely be a fierce competition that could escalate into a large-scale battlefield.

“But that’s what makes it thrilling, isn’t it?” Lilith licked her dry lips, rising to her feet and hastening toward the source of the golden light.

◆◇◆◇◆

Erica was now in a state of panic, deeply so.

The cause of this panic wasn’t merely her sudden designation as a bounty target, but rather her lack of strength. It wouldn’t suffice to say she was just weak; in truth, she was exceedingly feeble.

This was the pitfall of transforming a group battle into a solo battle. In group battles, victory hinged on more than individual might; factors like strategy, environment, and team composition also played pivotal roles.

Erica’s group fell into the category of teams whose members lacked remarkable individual prowess but excelled in teamwork.

Their lineup was diverse, encompassing physical and magical offense, close-quarters combat, and ranged attacks. As a five-man team, they were a formidable force, adept at navigating various challenges, narrowly advancing to the second round.

And Erica was the healer of the team.

She wasn’t just any healer; her skill was extraordinary. Raised under her grandmother’s care, Erica’s mastery of healing magic surpassed that of most at the Holy Dragon Imperial Magic Academy.

Many esteemed professors even conceded that they were inferior to her in the art of healing.

In fact, it was Erica’s contributions that had propelled their otherwise average team… ahem, their team of diverse talents into the second round of the competition.

Yet, little did she anticipate that the second round would devolve into individual combat, leaving her, a pure healer, vulnerable akin to a rabbit being sent into a wolf’s den.

Thus, Erica resolved not to seek glory but merely to endure until the tournament’s conclusion, ensuring she didn’t bring shame upon her grandmother.

Fortunately, the little world was vast enough to scatter a hundred and twenty contestants across it, minimizing the likelihood of encounters.

However, with her target lost, Erica couldn’t afford to remain idle. Unable to participate in battles, she decided to search for the scattered Holy Dragon’s Hearts mentioned in the rules.

Leveraging her affinity for water, Erica scoured a vast lake and eventually stumbled upon two Holy Dragon’s Hearts.