Chapter 278 - 277: Helpless Tang Baijie
For this siege on the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog, Shao Yushan and his companion had gathered nearly three hundred candidates. These three hundred candidates came from all the different zones; even candidates from the North District, who were targeted and looked down upon by the other Three Major Zones, took part.
There were just over twenty candidates from the North District. If Tang Yi had been here, he would have discovered that among these twenty-plus candidates were a man and a woman he had been searching for for a long time, yet had found no trace of: Tang Piaomiao and Tang Baijie.
"Sister Bai, this Demon Beast has more and more injuries and looks weaker and weaker, but its attacks are also getting fiercer. If this keeps up, our situation won’t be good," Tang Piaomiao said to Tang Baijie beside him, all while continuing his attack.
Before Tang Baijie could speak, another candidate chimed in, "The candidates from the Three Major Zones seem to be treating us as bait. Although each zone is responsible for one direction, they have many people while our North District has few. When the Demon Beast attacks, it specifically targets our weakest area! We originally had over thirty people, but in the blink of an eye, only twenty-something are left. If this continues, the people from our North District will be wiped out before this Demon Beast even dies! Baijie, we can’t go on like this!"
This North District candidate who spoke was also an old acquaintance. He was none other than one of Tang Yi’s former rivals, Fan Wei!
After losing first to Fang Tian and then to Tang Yi, Fan Wei had adopted a much lower profile. He was no longer so ostentatious, instead becoming more reserved and diligent. Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent most of his time on his Cultivation. Although he had also secured a spot and come to the West Mansion, he rarely appeared in public, and people gradually forgot about this former number-one prodigy of Fengyue City.
However, even though his diligent Cultivation had caused him to be forgotten, Fan Wei’s progress in his Martial Arts Cultivation was immense.
It hadn’t even been a month since the qualification exam, yet Fan Wei had actually advanced from the Level of a Three-star Battle Grandmaster to a Five-star Battle Grandmaster, jumping two full Levels! And this was in just one month!
Of course, this Cultivation Speed couldn’t compare to a monster like Tang Yi, who had a system, but compared to ordinary people, it was incredibly fast!
After all, not just anyone could advance two Levels in a single month!
"Sigh! It’s not that I don’t know. But what can we do?"
Hearing the words of Tang Piaomiao and Fan Wei, Tang Baijie sighed and glanced toward the candidates from the Three Major Zones. "Back then," she said, "when the candidates from the Three Major Zones came to us, they proposed we team up to kill a Level 5 Demon Beast. They spouted all sorts of nonsense about how it was easy to kill and incredibly valuable. I knew right away it was a trap. Once we fell for it, it’d be like getting stuck in a mire, impossible to escape. So I refused them at the time, telling them we had no intention of joining them or taking part in their operation. But... sometimes, when you’re out in the world, there are things you have to do, even if you don’t want to!"
"Sigh!"
Tang Baijie sighed again and continued, "If we didn’t participate in their operation, if we didn’t team up, those candidates from the Three Major Zones would have ganged up to kill us. We were a mere thirty people, while they had several hundred. The difference in strength was enormous. How could we possibly resist? In the end, we could only nod and agree to their alliance. Now they’ve put us in this incredibly passive position, forcing us to be bait for this Level 5 Demon Beast. What else can we do? Can we quit? Can we run? Quit, run... even if the Demon Beast doesn’t kill us, those candidates from the Three Major Zones won’t let us go. We can’t escape."
The more Tang Baijie spoke, the darker her expression became. She was filled with despair and indignation.
It was all because they weren’t strong enough. That’s why they had become someone else’s cannon fodder, a stepping stone for others to climb to the top.
’If only we were stronger, strong enough that no one would dare threaten us. How could anyone have forced us to join them? How could they dare use us as bait?’
After hearing Tang Baijie’s words, Tang Piaomiao’s expression also became utterly defeated. He sighed, "If only Brother Yi were here. If he were, who would dare threaten us? Who would dare use us as bait?"
"Yeah, if only Tang Yi were here. He could help us get out of this dangerous situation. But unfortunately, the Little Extreme Sacred Land is too big. Tang Yi won’t find us," Fan Wei said helplessly.
As time went on, the North District candidates besieging the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog felt the pressure mounting. A shadow of gloom fell over everyone, their faces filled with bleak expressions.
Although they were all struggling to hold on, it was only the will to live that was supporting them.
They wanted to live!
If not for the fact that the North District candidates had once survived an attack from the Heaven-Devouring Thief and had a ’near-death experience,’ their desire to survive wouldn’t be so incredibly strong. They probably would have given up resisting long ago and died countless times over...
"CROAK!"
At that moment, the familiar cry of the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog rang out. For those who were familiar with its attack patterns, this cry was a signal of death!
It was the prelude to its tongue of fire being spat out!
"Watch out!"
Hearing the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog’s cry, Fan Wei yelled out a warning for everyone to be on guard.
"WHOOSH!"
And just as Fan Wei had warned everyone, the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog opened its massive mouth, and a scorching tongue of fire shot out like a bolt of lightning.
The jet of fire was aimed precisely at the weakest of the four zones—the area where the North District candidates were located!
In other words, right in the direction of Fan Wei, Tang Baijie, Tang Piaomiao, and the others!
"Ah!"
"Oh no!"
"Dodge!"
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
Seeing that they had once again become the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog’s target, the North District candidates panicked, crying out in alarm. Tang Baijie, Tang Piaomiao, Fan Wei, and the others also shouted warnings.
But... this time, the tongue of fire engulfed all of the North District candidates. Although everyone from the North District knew the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog was targeting them again and saw the flames coming, they weren’t strong enough. How could they possibly dodge such a fast and wide-ranging attack?
"FWOOSH!"
In an instant, three or four North District candidates who couldn’t run or dodge in time bore the brunt of the attack. They were swept over by the scorching flames, turning into human torches and burning to ash in the blink of an eye.
"Baijie, get out of the way!"
Fan Wei rushed to Tang Baijie’s side, grabbed her hand, and quickly pulled her away to escape.
Tang Piaomiao also acted without a second thought. Wasting no words, he turned and fled!
"SWOOSH!"
The flames swept past...
