Thanks to Hu Tao having already carved a clear path through the map, Jean managed to rendezvous with her smoothly.
Once Hu Tao received the Cursed Armor, she finally felt like she could hold her head high.
Before, she would still suffer some skeleton losses here and there.
But now, things were completely different.
At the start of every battle, the enemy's speed was crippled, their damage output crushed to the floor—
which directly translated into a massive boost in Hu Tao's Necromancy efficiency.
In simple terms:
wherever Hu Tao passed, the ground was carpeted with white bones.
That said, the map was simply too large.
With player numbers drastically reduced, it was unrealistic for Hu Tao to hunt down everyone remaining.
Time slowly drained away—one side searching, the other desperately hiding.
"…That should be about it."
Seeing that time was nearly up, Valerius stood and walked into a massive arena.
The final victor would be decided here.
After casually setting up the venue, the system notification rang out.
[Time's up. All surviving players, please proceed to the arena for the final battle.]
Beams of light descended as the remaining players were teleported in.
Those already eliminated filled the spectator stands, quietly awaiting the decisive clash.
A glance around showed that every survivor's eyes gleamed with confidence, as if victory were already within reach.
"Alright," Valerius announced calmly.
"All surviving players may now elect five representatives to participate in the final match."
"All remaining players may transfer their troops and artifacts to these five."
"This is the final battle—choose wisely."
The moment his words fell, both factions erupted into heated discussion.
Both sides still had more than five players alive.
Who would take the field was a decision that could not be taken lightly.
"Lady Yukong, I'm afraid I'm not suited for battlefield command. I'll sit this one out."
Tingyun stepped forward and handed all her troops over to Yukong.
"Very well."
Yukong didn't object. Tingyun truly wasn't a combat-oriented commander.
But as for the remaining slots… that was another matter entirely.
One thing was certain:
Feixiao and Bronya were guaranteed picks.
One was the late-game carry, the other absurdly high-level—both had innate advantages.
Fu Xuan: "Leave it to me. I'll ensure the enemy never returns."
Yanqing: "I… I'd like to try as well."
Sparkle: "Me, me! I'm interested!"
As the debate dragged on, Herta let out a disdainful chuckle and stepped forward.
"Give me one slot. I only need one Phoenix—I guarantee the enemy will suffer catastrophic losses at the start."
"Oh?"
Jade raised an eyebrow. "And what's your plan, Lady Herta?"
Five players would be carrying the combined forces of everyone—
yet you're saying you only need one Phoenix?
"Hmph."
Herta crossed her arms smugly.
"Fire magic—Armageddon."
"Once cast, both sides take massive damage."
"But Phoenixes are immune to fire magic."
A moment of silence.
Then—
Eyes lit up.
Right!
That works!
If she pulled that off, she'd massively cripple the enemy right at the start.
And since Herta only needed one Phoenix, the remaining four representatives would each receive more troops.
"No wonder she's Lady Herta."
"Indeed. Geniuses of the Genius Society truly live up to their name."
The praise flowed freely, and Herta accepted it with satisfaction.
Her plan was solid.
Even if she died immediately after casting the spell, the trade would still be overwhelmingly worth it.
And if the enemy's forces weren't as strong as expected—
one Armageddon might just wipe the field clean outright.
On the other side.
Xianyun glanced calmly at her teammates.
"This one requires only one Black Dragon. The enemy will surrender without a fight."
She even shot Shenhe and Ganyu a knowing look—
Watch carefully. Learn well.
"…That strong?"
Hu Tao stared wide-eyed.
You're telling me you'll bring one Black Dragon against that army?
And Black Dragons were notorious—immune to all magic.
Sounds impressive, sure… but that immunity applied to friendly spells too.
No buffs. No revives. No tricks.
That was a huge downside.
Xiangling frowned as well.
"Then take my Gold Dragon instead. Its attack and defense are much higher."
She was immediately met with synchronized eye-rolls.
"Your useless dragon doesn't need to show off."
"What do you mean useless?!"
Xiangling bristled.
"My Gold Dragon is immune to Tier 1–4 magic, and its stats are higher than a Black Dragon's!"
Furina spoke calmly:
"The strongest damage spell—Lightning Bolt—is Tier 5."
Silence.
Just one sentence destroyed the argument.
"…B-But my Gold Dragon has better stats…"
Navia added helpfully,
"And it can't be revived with Resurrection either."
Xiangling: "..."
She shut down completely.
Thinking about it now… it really was that bad.
Immune to everything except the most lethal magic,
and once dead, impossible to revive.
She should've followed Hu Tao and chosen Necropolis.
This Elven city was a scam.
She'd watched Hu Tao massacre the frontlines with envy, finally reached the final battle hoping to shine—
only to realize her ace was a trap.
Xiangling silently walked to the side, hugged her knees, and entered self-isolation.
At that moment, a small hand shot up.
"U-Um… I… I want to participate too!"
It was Klee.
She found this all incredibly exciting.
Before, she'd only fought monsters.
The one time she met Uncle Cold Legs, she hadn't even warmed up before he fell over.
She wanted in—badly.
"Klee, no," Jean said quickly.
"This is a proper battle. Leave it to those with military experience."
"But Klee really wants to!"
"Klee, be good… this isn't like before… you can just hand over your troops—
t-troops… troops?! Why do you have so many?!"
Jean froze mid-sentence.
She stared at Klee's army panel in complete disbelief.
There were so many troops—
almost as many as five Jeans combined.
Her outburst drew everyone's attention.
All heads turned.
"…What the hell?"
"…That's insane."
"…This is illegal."
Eyes bulged everywhere.
Since when did Klee become a walking army depot?!
"Klee… where did all these troops come from?"
"Hmm~ They joined me on their own!"
One sentence.
Dead silence.
Everyone had encountered admirers before—but rarely.
Judging by Klee's army size, she'd met a lot of them.
"…So we've been sitting on a hidden trump card this whole time."
Someone muttered.
And no one disagreed.
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