Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 821: Last Day

Over two days had passed at this point in time. The sun had risen and fallen beyond the horizon, the moon also rising and falling. It was already the fourth day of the Qualifier Round, and there were only seventeen hours left before the entire thing drew to a close.

At this moment, those who were ranked 51st and below became frantic. They were just a few points away from squeezing into the rankings; there was no way they could simply give up. With the timer counting down before everyone’s eyes, it was qualify or die trying at this point.

Some students simply went into hiding as they concealed themselves away. To them, they had already gathered so many points and were sure they could survive the remaining seventeen hours without falling out of the top fifty. So there was no need to run around, only for a stronger student to find and defeat them.

But of course, not everyone fought. When two students within the top fifty rankings met, they simply stared at each other cautiously before parting ways without fighting. After all, both sides had already made it into the rankings, so there was no need to fight unnecessarily. They were simply being cautious, as no reward came from doing anything stupid or risking their rankings.

Students who had fought head-on before, challenging other people face-to-face without stepping back or hiding, now took a more sinister and realistic approach.

No more head-on fights. They simply set traps and lay in wait in various places. Some poisoned water sources with whatever poisonous plants and herbs they could find. Some hid and immediately launched sneak attacks, ambushing students when they least expected it.

Some capitalized on specific moments, like the instant a student defeated a Monster or Emovirae. In that brief period of time, people usually let down their guard ever so slightly out of relief after defeating their opponents.

And the students preyed upon this.

The reason they all transitioned to these types of fights instead of fighting head-on like they did two and three days ago was simple; there was no time to waste on one person.

Imagine fighting a student with everything you had. Your stamina, your Astra Energy, and all that. What were you going to use to fight the next student for more points?

If this were two days ago, they could have rested to recover stamina and Astra Energy. But now, no time for such things existed. While you were resting, others were out there raking in points and doubling their efforts.

Hence the sneak attacks, the traps, the questionable methods. All of these existed for maximum efficiency and the ultimate result.

Even those who were hopeless and ranked within the top two hundreds and below still implemented these methods, as none of them wanted to give up until the timer hit zero.

But of course, determination meant nothing without the power to back it up. Some had critical injuries. Some were simply too hungry. Some were simply too thirsty. Some had lost a limb, but they merely tied off the stump where the limb had once been and kept moving forward.

All in all, everyone had their own predicament. Many were on their last legs, some even on the brink of passing out.

One could only ask... Why push yourself this far?

They weren’t even in the top fifty. They weren’t even within the top hundred that could perhaps defeat a few students by catching them off guard. They were in the two hundreds and below... so why... why do this to yourself... why push yourself so hard to the brink of death despite having virtually no hope?

The answer was simple; the world was watching.

The Rulers, Emperors, Empresses, Overlords, Nobles, and Merchants.

Making an impression on just one important person and you would be set for life.

Not everyone was of Noble lineage that had a mountain of resources prepared and waiting for them since birth. They were Commoners, sons of Merchants, daughters of Adventurers, children of Mercenaries.

Hell, even Noble children were working hard to gain attention. After all, the child of a Baron didn’t have the same resources as the child of an Emperor or a Duke.

So yes, even Nobles of lower status pushed themselves to the brink. Arrogance? Calling your family’s Knights to bully a Commoner’s family? Slapping weaker people around? Here, no family’s worth could be measured. Only your own personal worth mattered, nothing more and nothing less.

And needless to say, as the competition went on, the number of those who were disqualified for various reasons skyrocketed to immense levels. At this moment, barely over seven hundred (700) remained, and that was out of one thousand seven hundred and forty (1,740) students. Statistically, that was over fifty percent of the participants gone.

Which was understandable. After all, students were fighting against each other and no longer against Monsters and Emovirae, as such beings could no longer provide the points they desperately needed.

Many participants who had looked promising during the first day had already been eliminated. Others had survived only through sheer stubbornness, refusing to collapse despite their deteriorating conditions. The final seventeen hours were proving to be far more brutal than the previous three days combined.

And of course, the spectators didn’t hesitate to throw tomatoes and rotten eggs at some of the students as their boos literally shook the air. And naturally, some students became angry and immediately tried to attack the spectators, only to be put down by the guards, their bones broken with ease. This only made the spectators throw rocks instead of tomatoes and eggs at such foolish students.

And of course, they didn’t welcome all students with boos. They welcomed some with applause and standing ovations. Yes, while they had been disqualified, they had shown grit, willpower, ingenuity, and strength. Yes, they might not be as overpowered as those within the top fifty, but the spectators weren’t there solely for those overwhelmingly talented children.

They recognized the hard work many students had put in. Some of them had won coins betting on these students. Some were simply impressed and were already planning to marry off their sons and daughters to them.

Many spectators even remembered the names of students who had already been eliminated, discussing their performances amongst themselves and debating which ones possessed the brightest futures despite their losses.

Of course, if possible, they would want to marry their children to those overpowered top fifty students, but alas, they understood reality. Many such students only ended up marrying people who were as strong as them or at least close to their level.

Of course, people wanted the type of romance the Overlord had. After all, her husband was a man who was barely talented when compared to her. The man was only at the Firmstar Life Rank.

People wanted that kind of love... but alas, love couldn’t be forced.

And of course, many people had privately made fun of the Overlord’s husband, stating that with his lower power, how could he possibly please a Crownstar Life Ranker in bed? How was he supposed to match such stamina? Unless the man himself awakened some absurdly perverted ability.

But of course, all these were merely speculations, words that people only dared utter within the confines of their homes and gossip about with their closest friends, never in public places. After all, if such words reached the Overlord’s ears, then whoever spoke them was destined to be made an example of.