Chapter 26 The Competition Heats Up

Chapter 26 The Scramble Begins

"Awooo—"

As one werewolf crumpled, the other rampaging beasts grew restless. One, with fur noticeably darker and thicker, threw back its head and let out a series of piercing warning howls.

The werewolves, previously chasing the delinquent youths, paused. They straightened their massive, ferocious bodies, their crimson eyes scanning the surroundings, searching for the slayer of their comrade.

Hua Diao, hidden behind the rockery, raised an eyebrow.

Oh, impressive. Werewolves truly were pack animals, more cohesive than she’d imagined.

Even as she mused, her hands were busy. She drew her bow again, firing at the werewolves.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

Streaks of green light zipped past the group of bewildered youths, some striking the werewolves’ vital spots, others deftly dodged by the agile creatures.

Regardless, her intervention was like a shot of adrenaline. The sobbing, wailing teenagers blinked away their tears, their eyes suddenly alight with renewed vigor.

Eighth Brother, too, perked up.

He slapped his trembling legs, but despite their weakness, he stubbornly bellowed, his voice hoarse, "Allies! Brothers, our allies are here! Snap out of it! It’s our time to shine!"

"Self-Strength, quick, get up! A man must stand strong—don’t disgrace your name! No weapon? No problem! We’ve got righteous fists! Show us that legendary kick that sends kids flying! A goblin’s just a shortstack—its courage matches its size! Don’t tell me you’re scared of such a small fry, are you? Right? Right?!"

"Er Mao! Yeah, you, Er Mao! What are you gawking at? Now’s not the time to spectate! Quick, grab the aggro of that werewolf on your left, you idiot! Did you forget everything I taught you?!"

"Third Blockhead, stop playing dead—you’re terrible at it! The team needs you now! Get moving and start swinging! Hack at that werewolf in front of you! What’s that watermelon knife for—decoration?! If you can’t lift it, hand it over to Hu Tou and let him take over!"

"Hu Tou, quit standing around like a fool! Move closer to Third Blockhead! Didn’t you brag yesterday about hitting the gym for three months to impress girls, claiming you’ve got an eight-pack? Well, now’s your chance to flex! I’ll put in a good word for you with Xiao Yue when we get back!"

"Damn! Nice one, Little Glasses! I knew you were the sharpest of the bunch! If we can’t take the werewolves head-on, we’ll harass them from behind! Congrats on mastering our squad’s hit-and-run tactics—you just helped our ally take down a werewolf! Heard you’ve got a thing for Xiao Yue too? Don’t worry, bro’s got your back! I’ll sing your praises to her, guaranteed to boost her affection for you like sesame flowers blooming higher and higher!"

At this, Hu Tou—the one with the eight-pack—couldn’t take it anymore. His face flushed red as he roared, "Leave that werewolf to me! Xiao Yue’s affection is MINE—"

Little Glasses, who had just been basking in his glory, immediately protested, "I liked Xiao Yue first! That werewolf’s MINE!"

Thus, Little Glasses’ harassment tactics grew even more refined, while Hu Tou swung his watermelon knife with increasing ferocity.

The other boys saw this and thought, *Hell no! These two can’t hog all the spotlight!* Even if they weren’t into Xiao Yue, they had their own goddesses to impress. After this battle, they’d brag about their heroic deeds, and maybe—just maybe—their goddesses would be so dazzled they’d throw themselves into their arms!

These young men had little else, but they had passion—and big dreams. Add to that a silver-tongued leader expertly riling them up, and they were undeniably caught in a frenzy.

A *very* passionate frenzy!

Hua Diao, still firing arrows and listening to the satisfying kill notifications, couldn’t help but marvel. *Ah, to be young! This is youth!*

Fighting monsters for their crushes, letting her reap the rewards of treasure chests—what could be better? She could use more of these hot-blooded boys.

"Tch—"

Suddenly, something struck her arm. Startled, her hand jerked, and an arrow meant for a goblin went astray, only grazing its ear.

The goblin, blood streaming from its ear, snarled and locked onto her position, its round, pointed eyes glowing crimson with malice.

Hua Diao shuddered, momentarily dazed, but she quickly shook her head and refocused. Her sharp, beautiful eyes fixed on the charging goblin. *Damn, this little bastard knows psychic attacks!*

She didn’t dare slack off. Another arrow flew, piercing the goblin’s skull—and out popped a golden treasure chest.

Relieved, she turned her attention to the tiny goblin that had been pelting her with pebbles.

This one was a third the size of the others—barely three inches tall.

Scrawny, with a tattered basket on its back, it kept hurling pebbles at her with surprising speed and precision. But given its size, the attacks were more annoying than harmful.

Naturally, Hua Diao crushed it underfoot without hesitation.

When she lifted her foot, there was no squashed goblin pancake—just another golden treasure chest, as if it had sprouted from the ground.

But now wasn’t the time for looting. The delinquent boys were still howling, dodging and drawing aggro like pros. If she, the main DPS, slacked off, they’d be crying at their own funerals.

Chuckling inwardly, Hua Diao instinctively raised her bow—then lowered it again.

Her arms were sore from all the shooting, and her Elven Wooden Bow seemed to be running low on energy.

The once-vibrant green arrows had faded, turning translucent in patches, with uneven splotches of dark and light green—like some diseased mutation.

No way was she risking it now. She stashed the treasured weapon away.

This was the first Game Weapon she’d ever pulled from a treasure chest—she couldn’t let it break so carelessly. It needed time to recover.

Worst case, she could reforge it with some ores. Novels often mentioned that Game Weapons from chests could be reforged, sometimes even upgrading in rank. There was even a one-in-a-million chance of gaining an evolving trait.

In her past life, she wouldn’t have dared dream of such luck. But now, with her fortunes turned? Oh, she *dreamed big*. With her current streak, reforging was bound to succeed!

Even if she didn’t get an evolving-type weapon, at least a rank-up was practically guaranteed.

The thought made her giddy. Switching to a gun, her aim improved dramatically—one-shotting goblins, two shots per werewolf!