The Ascension Age

At the same time, somewhere else, the same team that Sera mentioned was making their way as well. 

"Those guys are heading in our direction," a man named Wallace said, who was the leader of the group.

One of his companions nodded in response, replying, "That's obvious. After what they did, it would be weird if they didn't try to earn extra points. Fortunately, Mark noticed their strategy and guided us out of the carnage area."

The guy called Mark smiled after hearing that, saying, "I wasn't the only one, though. There are two other teams making their way to the same place. Then again, I have to admit that that was some superb strategy they used. Of course, it was only possible because their Stellar Energy Bubbles have been shared equally between them. Because of that, they weren't like the others that had a member who was the fat sheep."

Mark was right. Other than them and Aire's group, two other teams were on their way to intercept all the running fat sheep of the teams who were trapped in the ring of fire. 

It didn't take long for Aire's group to arrive there. Not too far away from them, Wallace's group had appeared as well. However, Wallace didn't attack Aire's group. That's because they also had the same map as Sera, so they knew two more teams other than them were coming.

Sure enough, no more than a few seconds had passed before the other two opportunists also arrived there. Of course, they all noticed Aire and Wallace's team. However, Aire's team was the one that caught most of the attention. After all, it wasn't as if Crazy Bitch Altina's fame had gone away that easily. 

"Oh! It's Altina," a girl called Juana couldn't help but call out with a smile. However, anyone could notice the tinge of anger behind her expression. From the looks of it, Altina and Juana had some history between them.

"Do you know her, Altina?" Aire asked with a low voice. 

However, Altina had a look of confusion on her face as she casually replied, "Never seen her before."

Hearing that, Juana's expression turned dark. Juana was one of the students with a strong background that Altina trashed the previous year. Naturally, Juana lost quite the sum of resources because of that previous year. She was also one of the few people who proliferated the Crazy Bitch Altina thing because of it. To hear that Altina couldn't even remember her obviously angered the girl.

"Hmph! Everyone, it's obvious that this bitchy Altina's team was the one who created this situation. They wanted all the fat sheep for themselves. If we hadn't noticed their plan, we would be one of those guys running away from the mob. Do you really want to let them stay here?"

Aire's group narrowed their eyes after hearing that. Sera wasn't an idiot. She stationed their team at a point where they could flee if necessary, and they were ready to do so. After all, even if they lost the extra Stellar Energy, they still obtained a lot from the last three days.

However, Wallace couldn't help but laugh out loud with his team as he responded to her words, saying, "Hahaha! So what? Those who fell for it can only blame themselves for not having good tacticians. Juana, I think I know you. You're the daughter of the Carzan Group, right?"

"That's me," Juana didn't mind answering straight away.

Wallace shook his head in response after hearing her confirm his doubts. "Your family is known for being good at manipulating information, so I guess that explains why your group avoided being caught up in that chaos. However, don't think everyone will simply believe what the non-official media in the school is putting up."

Wallace then looked at Aire's team with a smile, saying, "As for you, I can only say thank you for the meal. We'll make use of this chance to obtain some extra points."

Sera looked around and knew that there was no way to force those teams away. In the end, she also smiled back as she replied, "Well, it's not like I didn't expect this to happen. It will be up to the best groups to see who'll obtain more bubbles."

The last group in that impasse was lead by a man called Zhang Sai. Soon, he said, "I don't care about any of you or what kind of problems you have with each other. However, if you try to get in our way, don't think we'll hold back and let you have your way."

In the end, Juana's plan to force Altina's group out of this place didn't bear fruit. However, she was confident in herself and her team, so she decided to ignore it. With that, she told her team, "Pay attention. The mob and the running rabbits are here."

Indeed, it didn't take long for Aire and everyone else to hear the sound of footsteps coming from the ring of fire. Soon, the sound of footsteps intensified several times, making it known that many people were heading their way.

Sera gave one last glance at the other three teams before saying, "Let's hold our ground. Ignore those who run in the other teams' direction."

Kymei couldn't help but ask, "Is it really okay to leave it like that? What if not many come our way?"

Sera shook her head in response, replying, "We already did a lot to make this opportunity possible. Anything extra now is more than enough. After all, we were in a position where extra Stellar Bubble Energy wouldn't come anymore, remember?"

Altina was the type who would prefer to fight for it. However, she knew that Sera's decision was based on their own safety. The situation was too dangerous with three other top-ranked teams with all their four members intact.

Soon, the running teams with Stellar Bubbles appeared from behind the swamp trees. Sure enough, they were the strongest members of their own groups. They had most of the Stellar Energy Bubbles on them. The good thing for them was that they were mostly at the Stellar Manipulation Level, so the others pursuing them weren't as fast.

Suddenly, Altina heard a sound coming from the side. That was weird since the map showed no one there. However, she immediately understood what it was as she shouted, "Careful!"

Not long after, a shadow pounced from the top of one of the trees, aiming at Kymei's back. It was a Stellar Beast! However, Aire's team wasn't the only one being attacked by those beasts. Everywhere around the waiting teams, four-legged Stellar Beasts appeared and attacked the Risers. What was first a banquet for Aire, Wallace, Juana, and Zhang's groups turned into a chaotic place as well.

Far in the skies, inside the monitoring airship, Vaxo and Oivy laughed out loud as Vaxo said, "Hahaha! The last obstacle of this mission, the Stellar Beast Wave, is finally out!"