48: Chapter 48 The Battle for the Finishing Blow

Almost at the same time, in another part of the jungle, another team coordinated perfectly, beating a Black Iron Peak Shadow Monkey until it was heavily injured and on the verge of death. The team member responsible for the final blow had already commanded their Pet Beast to pounce...

Whiz!

It was another Wind Blade!

Squelch! The same precise throat-slitting.

"Killed Black Iron Peak Golden Claw Shadow Monkey, task progress +1."

"Bastard!" The leader of this team was furious, suddenly looking up to glare at Qin Ce. "Qin Ce! What are you doing?!"

Qin Ce stood on the back of the Azure Phoenix, his clothes fluttering in the wind, completely ignoring the roars below.

His gaze calmly scanned the field, Nine-Star Insight operating at full power. Like a commander in control of the entire situation, he precisely captured the status and position of every dying Shadow Monkey.

Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!

The sound of Wind Blades cutting through the air began to ring out rhythmically.

Every time it rang, it meant that the fruits of labor about to be obtained by some team below were being ruthlessly harvested by a streak of green light descending from the sky.

"Mine!"

"Damn it! He stole it again!"

"Block his Wind Blade! Use skills to intercept!"

"Can't intercept! It's too fast! The angle is too tricky!"

Below, cries of surprise, angry curses, and exasperated roars blended together.

Five teams, nearly forty people, were actually being frantically robbed of "kill shots" by Qin Ce alone, in a manner that was almost like toy with them!

They fought desperately to bring the Shadow Monkeys to low health, consuming Soul Power and their Pet Beasts' stamina, bearing the risk of being injured by the Shadow Monkeys' counterattacks, only to ultimately watch helplessly as Qin Ce casually delivered the final blow, effortlessly pocketing the points and task progress.

Qin Ce's task completion rate began to soar at a jaw-dropping speed!

10%... 20%... 30%...

Meanwhile, the task progress of the teams below grew incredibly slowly, often stagnating because of Qin Ce's "intercepts."

The leader of the first team to have their kill stolen trembled with rage, pointing at Qin Ce in the air and roaring: "Qin Ce! You're shameless! How dare you steal others' fruits of labor! Do you have no sense of rules?!"

This roar seemed to ignite a powder keg. The other teams, also feeling incredibly suppressed and frustrated from being robbed, stopped their attacks one after another, glaring at Qin Ce and shouting accusations:

"Despicable villain! Taking advantage of people!"

"Have the guts to come down and fight fair! What kind of skill is stealing kills?!"

"Breaking the unspoken rules, you'll be ostracized by all the Elite Class teams!"

"Give us back our points!"

The sounds of condemnation rose and fell.

Facing the angry accusations from the crowd below, Qin Ce finally reacted. He steered the Azure Phoenix, lowering his altitude slightly to ensure his voice could clearly reach everyone's ears.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a cold penetrative power, instantly drowning out all the verbal abuse:

"Rules?"

The cold smile at the corner of his mouth carried undisguised mockery.

"Just now, when I was gathering the monsters, when I had not yet given up my 'Right of first attack' on these Shadow Monkeys, who was it... that struck first to 'steal' my spoils?"

"Did I ever say that I had given up on hunting these Shadow Monkeys?"

"Did I lure them here just so they could line up for you to harvest easily?"

Three consecutive rhetorical questions, like three heavy hammers, slammed hard into the hearts of everyone below.

The scene went silent.

The movements of all the teams slowed by a beat.

It was true; these Shadow Monkeys were lured here by Qin Ce. According to the default "First-hand principle," Qin Ce had priority hunting rights. Their actions just now were, strictly speaking... kill stealing.

But no one admitted it.

"Who saw it?" Zhao Rui sneered, "The Shadow Monkeys rushed over on their own; we were acting in self-defense!"

"Right! Self-defense!"

"Do you have evidence?"

The various teams played dumb and went back to killing monsters.

Only this time, each team was more vigilant—not only guarding against other teams stealing kills but also against the "hunter" in the sky who could strike at any moment.

The corners of Qin Ce's mouth curled into a cold arc.

"Since you won't follow the rules," he said slowly, "then don't blame me for being unreasonable."

As his voice fell, the Azure Phoenix flapped its wings, tracing a graceful arc in the air.

Below, another team was about to complete a kill. A Shadow Monkey was besieged by three Pet Beasts, its health bottoming out. A team member raised a spear, the tip glinting with cold light—

Whiz!

The Wind Blade reappeared.

Precise, ruthless, and timed to perfection.

An instant before the spear fell, the Wind Blade pierced the Shadow Monkey's throat.

[Current Kill Count: 29/50]

"You—!" That team member trembled with rage.

But Qin Ce had already turned to the next target.

Whiz! Whiz!

Two Wind Blades were shot out almost simultaneously, snatching the low-health Shadow Monkeys from two more teams.

[30/50]

[31/50]

Only then did everyone realize with a shock—

Before, Qin Ce wasn't pulling monsters and drawing aggro at all.

He was calculating their greed.

Now, he just hovered quietly in the air, like an elegant king, waiting for the contributions from below.

And they, these teams who considered themselves elites, were desperately besieging, outputting, controlling, healing... bringing all the Shadow Monkeys to low health.

Then, Qin Ce would strike.

A light blow to take the kill.

The task progress was all his.

"Are we... are we all working for him?" one team member murmured, face pale.

"And the kind without pay," another added bitterly.

"Qin Ce—!!" Zhao Rui finally couldn't take it anymore, looking up and letting out a roar of extreme rage.

But Qin Ce didn't even give him a glance.

The Azure Phoenix tilted slightly, dodging a fire arrow shot in anger, its wings flapping lightly as it flew to the other side of the battlefield.

There, a few more Shadow Monkeys... were about to die.

"Qin Ce! Do you have no shame?!" The crew-cut boy from the Gale Squad was the first to start cursing, "You're addicted to stealing kills, aren't you?!"

"Exactly! We work hard for so long, and you just take it away—what kind of skill is that?!"

"If you're so capable, come down and fight us head-on! Hiding up there and shooting arrows from the shadows, you coward!"

Angry condemnations surged like a tide. Five teams, nearly forty people, were now united against a common enemy—at least verbally.

Qin Ce hovered in mid-air, the Azure Phoenix's wings rising and falling slightly in the night wind. He ignored the shouting below, his gaze merely scanning the battlefield as Nine-Star Insight operated silently.

Another Shadow Monkey was besieged by the Mountain Team, its health dropping to one-third.

Whiz.

A Wind Blade cut through the air.

[Current Kill Count: 32/50]

"You—!" The Mountain Team leader's fatty flesh trembled with rage.

Qin Ce finally looked down at the faces distorted by anger, his tone as flat as if he were stating a fact:

"Since you were the first to not follow the rules, then don't blame me for being unreasonable."

He paused, his voice carrying a high-and-mighty indifference: "Now, I'll only ask one question—"

"Are you still going to kill these monsters or not?"

...