[ALTHOUGH you’re not the fastest, you’re still the second. Though I must say that second place doesn’t really matter in the overall matter of things. After all, in people’s eyes, the first place is the one who ever really matter. But don’t let this thing deter you. Just know that you’re still better than the ones who got the third or fourth place, right?]

  The Duke of Hearts continued. Anyone who heard him would wonder if he was being serious or if he was simply mocking them. He continued on after that.

  [Sonata, Black Cat, Winged Tassel, and Supreme King - you four are now qualified to participate on the final tournament of the Rookie Carnival. But truly, this lord is quite disappointed that none of you entertained me enough. So, no hearts for you.]

  When Ying Chen heard that announcement, some of his irritation finally subsided. Because the Black Cat that the duke mentioned was Liang Sen. At least now he was sure that the other would also be part of the finals.

  It seemed he needed to work much harder.

  Luo Jin almost missed his shot because of that announcement. He quickly stabilized his hand and fired another shot. His target then turned into light particles.

  Another area cleared. Only two remained. He looked at the map in his hand and saw that there were still at least a hundred players. It seemed like between the time the two announcements were made, only 20 players were eliminated in this area.

  He sighed in frustration. Were most of the players in this area all vegetarian or something? They’d rather stay hidden and wait everything out until everything was over? If that’s the case, then wouldn’t that mean that he had to stay here for hours?

  Shit.

  He jumped down the tree and decided to just shoot the people he came across with. That would be much faster than waiting for other players to pass by the tree he was sitting on.

  Another 30 minutes had passed and a new announcement was made. The Duke of Hearts’ voice echoed again throughout the island.

  [Congratulations to the four players of the Summer area for reaching the required quota!]

  Luo Jin, who just eliminated two other players, let out a curse once again. Now there’s only their area left. He had already expected that something like this would happen. But having this result was really quite frustrating.

  [Malekith, Star Anise, Butterpuff, and Crossroad - you four are now qualified to participate on the final tournament of the Rookie Carnival. One of you did an extremely good job at partially entertaining me. So, Malekith, I will give you a flying half-heart. Aren’t you very thankful for that? Of course, you do. Because everyone wants this lord’s heart.]

  Luo Jin shook his head. Really, the narcissism of this NPC knew no bounds.

  [As for the remaining area, I must say that I’m very, very disappointed. We’re nearing two hours and there’s still a hundred of you remaining. How preposterous, right? Since most of you refused to fight, then this lord could only enforce the following rule to all of you.]

  [In the next five minutes, if you hadn’t eliminated another player, then you will be immediately be kicked out of the island. And thus, losing the qualification to be at the final tournament. Good luck, losers of the Spring area!]

  Although Luo Jin didn’t like being called a loser, he certainly approved of what the rest of the duke’s tirade. At least now, everyone would be forced to fight one another.

  As soon as that announcement was made, Luo Jin saw a couple of players running about.

  Luo Jin grinned. Finally, some players to shoot.

  He ran towards that direction and began shooting.

  Luo Yan was still on the shore where he and Dragnar fought. He thought he could leave here since he already cleared this round. But when he tried to teleport out of here, a notification appeared saying that he still couldn’t leave and just wait from where he was. He also tried to send a message just to alleviate his boredom a bit but it was still a no-go.

  Of course, he also heard the announcements made by the duke. He was actually quite surprised that he hadn’t heard Luo Jin’s amazing game account name yet.

  Knowing his hot-blooded brother, if he also received the same map as him, then he had no doubt that Luo Jin would use it to the fullest. And yet, those two announcements didn’t mention his brother’s name.

  The possibility that he was eliminated from those two areas – Autumn and Summer, had never crossed Luo Yan’s mind. So, that could only mean that he was at the Spring area. The area where the duke referred to the players as ’losers’.

  From that, he could somehow understand why his brother was still not able to clear this stage. Because the majority of the players in that area much rather hide than fight. If that was the case, then that would certainly be quite a pickle.

  Though if it was him, he’d probably drag them from their hiding places and stab them one by one. It seemed like Luo Jin was still much kinder than him.

  But he must admit, the Duke of Hearts method was quite effective. With what he just said, he could force those players who were refusing to fight to well, fight. It probably wouldn’t be long now before the fourth announcement would be made.

  [Come on, Ah Jin. Your brother is waiting.]

  He sighed. He kind of wished that he brought Eclipse here with him. At least, with that little fox, he wouldn’t be this bored while waiting. He glanced up at the floating prism. His older brother and the rest must have been having fun watching all of these unfolded.

  And just as he thought of earlier, half an hour later, the fourth announcement echoed on the island.

  [Finally, there are only four remaining players in the Spring area. Praise the heaven for that. None of you will get my flying hearts because you just all disappoint me. I won’t even mention your names.]

  [And with that, our Battle Royale is now concluded!]

  After Luo Yan heard that, some kind of portal appeared beneath his feet. Before he could even react, he had already fallen!