"That's already the fourth one!" Eldrin heaved a sigh of relief, watching Liam effortlessly finish off yet another person. "I didn't think that our baits would be so effective." The elf nodded, drawing glares from both Madan and Lan Deming. Both of them had gained a few levels in the floors so far but it was far from enough for them to be actually useful in combat. Power-leveling in the Awakened Rank was pretty much useless considering any meaningful level jump only happened after gaining insights into the Dao paths. There was no chance of this happening either since Liam was essentially running through the floors at breakneck speed.
Of course, the two of them still had the chance to make tremendous improvements and claim their own Spire tokens when the time was right. This was why most people simply aimed for a couple of segments of the Spire to get the quick and easy rewards and then bow out.
Liam's plan was also to do exactly the same, except that they were thrown a curve ball and pushed into a PVP zone this early in the Spire. However, so far everything was progressing smoothly and there was no one who came their way whom they couldn't handle.
Since the trial occurred at the lower floors of the Spire, it was impossible that the selection criteria would be brutal. Perhaps 50% would be the cut off or maybe even better than that.
So Liam was optimistic that the trial should be cleared anytime now. There also weren't any exceptional powerful aura fluctuations near them which implied that they weren't dealing with any hidden monsters.
With some luck, they should be able to get out of here completely unscathed.
The next couple of minutes passed by tensely and Liam kept his senses on high alert for potential dangers. But much to his surprise, the battles occurring here and there on the battleground died out quietly without making any big waves.
From the beginning to the end, there hadn't been a single powerful aura that stood out. This was good news. This meant that the trial was essentially over.
"Fuck! I thought we were going to get screwed for sure. Thank the heavens. At least some luck is on our side." Eldrin sighed in relief. Everyone in the group was also slightly relaxed. Even the fog that surrounded them was slowly starting to thin itself out.
Liam was inclined to agree with them too but there was one thing that did not add up. The battles had ceased. The fog was cleared and many around them had fallen but the trial was still up and running?
Something did not add up.
Liam's gut instincts told him that perhaps this floor was not done just yet and the next moment, his fears came true. Just as the last of the dust settled, a terrifying aura rippled across the battleground.
And along with it, a sweet melodious voice rang out. "Uh oh. We are not done yet?"
It was a sweet female voice that in no way could be related to power like that and yet it reverberated to all corners of the battlefield as it shuddered the remaining beings still standing on their feet.
And the woman was not done talking yet.
"It looks like we need one more sacrifice before we can move on. I will wait for 2 seconds. Decide amongst yourself. Otherwise, I would have to personally make a move and I am feeling too lazy today. Yawn."
Everyone trembled once again.
The woman was clearly arrogant and seemed to claim things that should be impossible. However, there was no one in their right mind who would doubt her words.
All eyes instantly shot towards the source of the voice, unable to resist the command.
Liam felt a throbbing pain in his head as he too turned to look in that direction. Though it was not because of compulsion but because he wanted to see what was going on.
And it was a good thing that he did because the sight that awaited him was truly unbelievable. A little distance away from him was a hovering ball of blood. Correction. A huge enormous hovering ball of blood that seemed to blot out the very sun in the sky, sitting atop the battleground like a round shaped mountain that had popped out of nowhere.
On top of this mountain was a figure. It was the same woman or rather young girl who should have spoken but her figure was completely shrouded in a red fog. This fog was an entirely different level when compared to the white fog that had spread everywhere earlier in the battleground. In fact, the two couldn't even be compared.
Liam's heart raced as he tried to think of something. They really had ended up with the shittiest of luck this time around. Not only had they stumbled onto this slaughter trial but they had also run into some sort of monster.
Especially after reading the information briefs about the various powerhouses in just their sector, Liam was not idiotic enough to want to butt heads with unknown powerhouses. He had enough enemies as it was.
Things did not work as planned in Nymphomania and he had to stick out like a sore thumb to cash out on a few profits but now it was different. There was nothing to gain from grabbing the attention of this powerful girl. It was best to remain invisible.
Going by what she said, they just needed only one more death and then the trial should be over. Until then… Liam let out a deep breath and tried to calm down. He needed to be prepared for all possible outcomes. This was a crucial moment that could potentially determine life or death for one or all of them.
Most probably there wouldn't be anything that he had to do. Someone would kill someone and the trial would be over. This was not going to be his problem and this was definitely not going to fall on his head.
His mind raced as his gaze shifted to various targets whom he could take out easily if push came to shove. But before he could zero in on a candidate, a pair of red eyes unexpectedly appeared right in front of him.
"You are interesting…" The same melodious voice sounded again.
And this time it was as if the person was standing right next to him and whispering in his ears.