Chapter Three: Thirty-Seven Players, One Sparring Session

For one instant after Cold Edge fell, the Time-Eater's stomach was silent. Then the remaining thirty-six hunters charged Lin Jin together. They did not care whether their captain lived. Only the player who landed the final blow could claim the global bounty. Every hunter saw the people beside them as rivals. Some cast skills at Lin Jin; others planted knives in their allies' backs. The narrow corridor of flesh collapsed into chaos. Lin Jin stopped moving. He saw more than attacks. A raised shoulder meant the archer would scatter his next volley. Light in a mage's left hand meant the real ice spike was hidden behind the fireball. Two assassins deliberately offsetting their footsteps would close both escape routes in three seconds.