The Fire God Squad, bringing along the two members of the Red Squad, ran all the way and finally managed to get ahead to the path that the Stone Crystal Giant must pass through.
Seven people crowded together on a large tree.
The other six people listened to Jiang Kai recount his previous encounter.
After listening, all six were shocked.
"My prayer actually worked?", Yuan Zhu said incredulously.
Jiang Kai punched him right away, "I knew it, it had to be you!"
Yuan Zhu looked aggrieved, "If you hadn't been imprisoned, could our squad have made it this far without any casualties? You should feel lucky to have such a wise brother."
"Thank you so much!"
This bickering between the two wasn't the first time, and Su Nuannuan wasn't surprised. She frowned, "Jiang Kai, you said you spent 60 Redemption Cards to buy an Arena Card? What's it for, that's so expensive?"
Jiang Kai took out a card, and on it was a picture of a damaged arena, "I don't know either."
Lu Chong spat out a mouthful of blood, "You didn't know what it was for and you still bought it? 60 Redemption Cards. The final result of the competition also depends on how many Redemption Cards are left."
"It's expensive," Jiang Kai answered without hesitation, "It must be expensive for a reason, right?"
He Jianguo held his forehead, "With your logic, I'm actually speechless. Forget it, I finally understand why people say you're greedy. It's not that you're greedy, you're just trying to maintain a minimum standard of living."
While they were talking, Hu Yan suddenly frowned, "Hey, do you guys feel the ground shaking?"
Everyone then realized that the big tree they were hiding in was trembling slightly along with the ground.
"My friends are here," Jiang Kai immediately said with a serious expression, "As long as we don't touch the ground, they won't discover us!"
———
After the third stage began, the sense of oppression brought by the beasts suddenly increased, and all squads were either actively or passively gathering toward the center of the competition area.
As a result, the chances of squad encounters greatly increased.
And each squad's demand for energy cards drove them to hunt each other.
In just one hour, the remaining number of people in the tournament dropped to 100, and only 47 squads remained.
At this point, everyone seemed to realize that the tournament was entering its final stage.
Half an hour later, the tournament formed a chaotic situation.
The six strongest squads gathered in different parts of the central region, while other squads launched frenzied attacks on the center.
It wasn't that they were throwing eggs at rocks, but that the beasts were getting closer and closer.
In front of a large number of King-rank and Commander-rank bosses, the survival chances of these low-level squads were extremely low. Their only chance was to keep compressing toward the central region.
Under intense attacks, the squads occupying the central area changed several times. After elimination, three relatively stable squads gradually formed.
Country Y's Wizard Season Squad, centered around two wizards and supported by three strongmen. They had maintained full numbers since the beginning of the tournament. One of the wizards had powerful recovery abilities, providing a strong guarantee for the squad's endurance in battle.
When the central region entered the final stage, they suddenly exerted strength and took control of the central area.
Country L's Messenger Squad, with two Church deacons, two Temple knights, and one bard. The bard wasn't originally part of the Messenger Squad but should be from Country L. After his own squad was wiped out, he helped the Messenger Squad. He kept inspiring the potential of the others. The knights and deacons all had self-healing abilities and were quite powerful.
Country D's Tribal Squad, configured with three barbarians and two healers, balanced attack and healing. In earlier battles, one barbarian and one healer had died, but they replenished one barbarian and one healer from other Country D squads, ensuring the squad's strength.
With 15 minutes left in the third stage, the remaining 26 squads also entered the final battle phase.
The three squads occupying the core region each took a side and coexisted peacefully, seemingly having reached a certain tacit agreement to deal with the other squads first before competing among themselves.
And just two kilometers away from them, enormous beasts of various shapes and vastly different species halted their steps.
Most of these beasts were unrecognizable to Jiang Kai, and their strength was hard to estimate.
In front of them, there was an invisible wall that blocked them from entering the final circle.
Jiang Kai stood on a big tree beneath the King-rank Stone Crystal Giant. The giant no longer needed to move forward and didn't need to destroy the trees in front of it. At this moment, Jiang Kai and his group were safe.
But just a moment later, they felt the ground behind them shaking violently.
Jiang Kai immediately turned around and saw several huge black shadows moving quickly through the forest about four to five kilometers away.
"No good, more beasts are coming," Jiang Kai said in a low voice, "The stone man can't find us, but other beasts can. Prepare to enter the central region."
At this time, within the relatively small central region of the competition area, the three strong squads had already cleared the battlefield.
Members of the Wizard Season Squad checked the global information card.
[Current number of survivors in the tournament: 25 people, number of squads: 10. Beast invasion progress: 1,400 Commander-level beasts, 100 King-level beasts, activity range: 298 kilometers on the edge of the competition area.]
"Ten squads? Four are still in the beast territory?"
The Messenger Squad was actually made up of two squads. The Tribal Squad consisted of three squads. Including the Wizard Season, there were only six squads here.
As the words fell, three figures suddenly appeared in the arena.
Weiss, Green, and Kuramasuke.
Weiss and Green had "Country F - Fishing Squad" written on their chests, while Kuramasuke had "Hunting Squad" written on his.
Viewers in Island Nation who were watching the tournament live all cheered when they saw Kuramasuke appear in the final circle.
"It's Kuramasuke! He's invincible! They escaped from the beast territory."
"He's fully recovered. Even if he's alone, he'll definitely take first place."
"That Weiss guy is a bit arrogant, but he has a bit of samurai spirit. Not only did he not take advantage, but he also brought Kuramasuke into the final circle."
Before the cheers finished, another seven people appeared in the final circle.
Jiang Kai, leading the Fire God Squad and the two members of the Red Squad, entered the final circle.
The Huaxia side also erupted in excitement.
After witnessing the brutality of the tournament, people now understood more deeply how hard it was to survive to the final circle.
"Big Stone Boss, thanks!"
"Ten squads, actually only six countries. Country Y, Country D, Country L, Country F, Island Nation, and our Huaxia."
"That Kuramasuke has completely recovered? What happened? That guy's probably coming for Jiang Kai again."
With 3 minutes left in the third stage, ten squads from six countries remained on the field.
Only the top three squads could obtain the key to the Lost Land. A fierce battle was inevitable.
Jiang Kai's gaze landed on Kuramasuke.
Unexpectedly, they really had a chance to meet again.
Kuramasuke was also looking at Jiang Kai, his mouth slightly upturned, "Jiang Kai, didn't expect it, did you? In the end, you still can't escape from my grasp."
"You cunning little man, I'll make you suffer the same fate as those other Huaxia idiots."
Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, "So it's true. Brother Lu and the others were really killed by you."
"Not killed!", Kuramasuke sneered, "One was beheaded, one was hacked to death, one was executed from behind."
Hearing those words again, a faint anger flickered in Jiang Kai's eyes.
"By the way, that Lu-something told me to give you a message. He said..." Kuramasuke thought for a moment, then said, "He said you should kneel before me like he did and obediently offer your neck for execution."
Lu Chong roared, "You're lying! My brother would never say that!"
Kuramasuke laughed loudly, "Hahaha, so that trash was your brother. You can go ask your brother yourself if he kneeled in front of me. In front of me, he didn't even have the right to beg!"
Jiang Kai snorted coldly, "That's because Brother Lu would never bow to you. But don't worry, Kuramasuke, I'll give you a chance to beg."
At this moment, the 25 people on the field, no one rushed to act, and all teams from different countries kept their distance from each other.
On one hand, the closer to the end, the more cautious one had to be.
On the other hand, with the third stage about to end, no one knew if there would be a fourth stage.
Three minutes passed by second by second in the tense atmosphere.
At that moment, everyone received a system prompt.
[Global Tournament (Beginner) Stage Four begins. All beast barriers disappear.]
Any squad that had made it this far must have quite a few Redemption Cards on hand, but Stage Four directly disabled the trigger for teammate imprisonment. This time, there was only one rule change. The surrounding beasts could now break through the final barrier.
As the prompt sound ended, the powerful beasts that had been itching to charge surged forward all at once.
Jiang Kai was shocked.
Obviously, none of them could withstand so many powerful bosses. Which meant the only way to survive—
Was to eliminate the opponents as fast as possible and end the tournament.
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