Ahead of them lay a vast forest.
Around them, the individual hunters began making their way into the woods.
Thomas, standing beside Ed, said, "I think we should stick with the group. It's safer that way."
He usually approached things cautiously, after all, they were here to collect a body, and safety came first—there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Not to mention, the place they had come to was the Nightmare Wasteland!
However, Alex shot him a cold glance and said, "Shut up, you softie. I'm the team leader now."
"If we follow the others, we'll only get the scraps left behind by everyone else!"
The path Alex pointed to was completely different from the one the others were taking.
This meant that they could have all the prey to themselves in the end.
Lucas, standing nearby, scoffed.
"We're not here just to make a few pennies. We're here to go big!"
"Besides, this competition also offers real wealth. The rules say we can trade monster ears for money, right?"
According to the competition's rules, the top three participants would receive valuable rewards, but even the first hundred would get something.
However, the minimum reward was just a few hundred gold coins, with the amount increasing as the rankings improved!
This kind of prize was too tempting for all the individual hunters to ignore.
And these two brothers standing before Ed were no different. Alex rubbed his hands together, a confident smile on his face.
"Don't worry. We're going to come back with our bags full!"
Thomas furrowed his brows, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. He inwardly cursed. These two idiots had completely underestimated the dangers of the Nightmare Wasteland.
It had been sealed off for over twenty years, and no one knew what was inside.
Such a carefree attitude was pure suicide!
But Alex and Lucas kept laughing and chatting, talking about how many monsters they were going to kill and what kinds of creatures they'd faced before.
"Big Brother Thomas," Ed asked, walking up to Thomas' side, "Are you sure about this path?"
Thomas quickly wiped the worry from his face when he saw the younger hunter walking beside him.
He forced a casual smile.
"Ed, this route is slightly different from what I had expected."
"But don't worry, everything will be fine. We're experienced hunters, and if anything happens, you can stay behind and stay safe."
He couldn't let his pride take a hit.
After all, Ed was someone he had taken under his wing. If he backed out now, how would he ever face others in the future?
"Alright then," Ed nodded slightly.
Ed had joined the competition mainly to kill as many monsters as possible, though he wasn't overly concerned about the rankings.
What interested him more was how well he would perform in a competition that involved all the hunters from Dorey City.
Where would he rank in the end?
After choosing the less traveled path, Ed and his group officially entered the forest.
As soon as they stepped in, an eerie atmosphere hit them like a wave!
Ed immediately sensed that the forest was teeming with monsters, too many to count!
Everyone else present also had hunter's senses. Even if they weren't as attuned as Ed, they could all feel the danger lurking in the forest.
Alex's expression grew slightly more serious. "Everyone, get ready. Slow down your pace. A fight could break out at any moment!"
He unsheathed his steel sword, gripping it tightly in his hand, and then laughed.
"Haha, do you smell that blood in the air?"
"This means there are plenty of prey here!"
Lucas pointed to a tree behind them. "Boss, look over there!"
Following his finger, they could see a recording stone hanging on one of the trees.
Alex's excitement flared up immediately. "With that thing, we can be seen by the audience at the arena, right?"
"Perfect! If a monster shows up now, I'm ready to kill it!"
"If I kill one, I, Alex, will definitely be the first Hunter to slay a monster in this competition!"
...
Meanwhile.
At the spectator arena.
Jason, still acting as the host, spoke loudly through a magical amplification device.
"Congratulations to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association for taking down the first monster!"
"They've successfully secured the first kill of the competition!"
On the massive stage, the screen was split into two sections: a large display and a smaller one.
The large screen showed Hunters from various associations competing in the arena, while the smaller screen displayed the individual Hunters.
This setup meant that most viewers were focused on the main screen. While the smaller screen existed, it was rarely watched…
People would glance at it and then quickly move their attention elsewhere.
At the same time, there were staff members who would switch between the various recording stones to ensure the audience saw each contestant and didn't miss any exciting moments.
Just then, the entire audience witnessed the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association kill the first monster of the competition.
On the spectator platform, Uncle Du widened his eyes in surprise and remarked, "That was fast! So this is the strongest Hunter Association?"
Viktor said, "That was a ghoul, right? They killed it in an instant! Impressive!"
Viktor, along with the other spectators, applauded, showing their usual excitement.
However, Iris remained unusually silent, neither clapping nor cheering.
"Hey, Iris, don't you think the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association is pretty impressive?" Phirna's voice came from beside her, clearly full of a smug, bragging tone.
It was worth noting that Phirna's uncle was leading the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.
Iris snorted in disdain, not wanting to engage with her. She felt like what had been a perfect performance now felt as irritating as having a fly buzzing around.
She turned her head, trying to shift her focus. "Hey, don't just watch the screen. Aren't you curious about something?"
Viktor didn't take his eyes off the screen. "What's that? Don't interrupt me while I'm watching the competition!"
Iris sighed in exasperation. "Of course, it's Ed. He didn't come to watch the competition with us. He's been gone since this morning. Do you think he's off somewhere?"
At the mention of Ed, Viktor finally tore his gaze away from the screen, becoming slightly more serious, though he still wasn't overly worried.
"Lord Ed is such a skilled Hunter. There's no way he could get lost. He probably just has something else to do."
Iris paused for a moment, then remembered something. "He did tell me he was going to sign up for this competition."
As soon as she said that, Iris raised her head, subconsciously glancing at the smaller screen. The next moment, her face changed drastically. She pushed Viktor hard.
"Hey, do you see who that is!?"
Viktor, confused, asked, "What was that for?" He then turned his attention to the smaller screen. His expression froze as well.
A minute later, Uncle Du and the others saw Ed on the screen. Although the small split-screen only showed his side profile.
They all recognized him immediately—it was him!
Uncle Du's expression grew serious. "How did he end up in such a dangerous competition? This is the Nightmare Wasteland we're talking about!"
Iris, visibly anxious, placed her hand on her chin. "Could it be that because I've been mocking him, he's desperate to prove himself? How reckless can he be?"
Viktor quickly spoke up. "Don't panic. Look, Ed has teammates with him. Those people around him look like experienced Hunters. They should be able to keep him safe."
Uncle Du sighed. "Individual Hunters don't have any sense of teamwork. When trouble strikes, they'll just scatter. All we can do now is hope that Ed will be alright."
As Uncle Du and the others outside felt their emotions being stirred, the screen shifted.
It cut away from Ed and switched to other individual Hunters.
Back in the Wasteland, Ed suddenly sniffed the air, his face instantly becoming serious.
"Something's wrong."
The others, including Alex, were still walking along, completely uninterested in Ed.
Only Thomas, noticing Ed had stopped, turned back and asked, "Ed, little brother, what's wrong?"
"There's a monster! It's coming this way!" Ed said.
The moment those words were spoken, everyone around them froze for a moment. Alex and the others turned to look at Ed.
Thomas frowned. "A monster? Are you sure? Did you actually see it?"
Ed shook his head. "No, I sensed it. It's about fifty meters away."
Hearing this, Thomas's expression changed slightly—it wasn't that Ed had actually seen the creature.
Alex let out a cold snort and spoke up right away. "Hey, kid, what are you seeing here, a rookie like you?"
"Even I didn't sense anything, and you're over here talking about monsters? Tell me, what kind of monster did you sense?"