Within a dim, murky swamp.
Several elves were surrounded in the middle, staring at the large crowd of ferocious-looking creatures around them, looking pitiful and helpless.
"Gu-nuo?"
The surrounded elves hesitated.
The Water Scale Beast immediately stomped a foot down, splashing up patches of mud, and snarled fiercely, "Xi-lu~!!!"
A minute later,
the Dream Butterfly left with the three elves that had been successfully persuaded to join.
Hmm... there were also three others that failed persuasion, or rather, the little one felt they weren't truly surrendering, and with a single glance, it knocked them out.
The large group of elves, chattering away, continued forward.
But they didn't make much of a commotion.
It was clever.
Using the rich experience learned from novels, anime, TV, movies, and games, it split the newly recruited underlings into several groups, each with three to four elves.
Then, spaced at certain distances, they scattered around, hidden under various forms of cover.
It used illusions to plant suggestions on its underlings.
Of course, that wasn't foolproof.
It also implemented a collective punishment system to prevent any elves from deserting.
And then, with its overwhelming strength and persuasion... ah, no, promises—promises that following it to defeat the sophomores' elves would let everyone achieve great things.
That's how it is, gu-nuo~!
All the elves were brimming with fighting spirit, searching for the next target.
...
At one end of the battlefield, atop the massive white tower.
Four sophomores were leaning on the railing, looking down at the battlefield below.
"Ah, this year's juniors aren't up to par. I recall back then..."
One of them, a boy in red, said with a hint of nostalgia.
Then he was interrupted, "Didn't your elf get eliminated in ten minutes back then?"
"An accident, that was an accident!"
They occasionally contacted their elves, scanning the battlefield below, looking very relaxed.
Back in the day, the seniors they challenged were just as relaxed.
"Lucky we snagged this spot. Not only do we earn credits, but we also get to bully the juniors—double the fun!"
There were eight seniors in the challenge round.
Each could field two elves, forming a team.
Supposedly to teach the freshmen and put pressure on them.
It was a very popular task. Even though only those ranked in the top thirty in credits for the entire freshman year were eligible, you still had to grab it instantly, or you'd miss out.
This was the best chance for fun throughout the entire college phase.
"Don't get cocky. If a freshman takes you down, you'll be the one embarrassed... Didn't our class beat one of the senior's elves?"
The boy with a thick beard, who looked nothing like a college student, turned to another in the group, "Did you deal with the trouble on your end?"
"Handled it."
The boy wearing headphones had fielded a combination of a Cerberus and a Blast Bat.
Not long ago, they faced a siege from a group of 26 elves.
In the challenge round, that was definitely a formidable force.
Quite tricky.
But the headphone-wearing boy shook his head, "I thought it'd be tougher. Lured them a few times to break their formation, then split the battlefield, quickly took out a few, and they fell into complete chaos."
In a direct fight, the Cerberus and Blast Bat combo wouldn't have been a match.
But with a bit of tactics, he resolved it at a minor cost.
The headphone boy smirked slightly, "Looks like this year's freshmen really aren't..."
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly froze.
Then it turned sour.
He pressed a hand to his ear, concentrating and holding his breath for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "My elves are surrounded! In the poison mist zone, requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
"Are you sure?"
The bearded boy asked, "We don't mind backing you up, but your mission rating will drop, and the credits you get will be cut by a chunk."
"Bro, my elves are in serious danger.
"If they go down, I get nothing!
"Hurry, hurry, among the elves surrounding my Blast Bat, there are three or four elite-level ones. If we can take them out in one go, the rating might even go up!"
He spoke quickly, not caring about losing face.
The other three exchanged glances and slowly nodded.
...
A few minutes earlier.
The scouts of the Die Xiaodie Battle Group had detected intense combat fluctuations in the distance.
After sending out a few flying elves for a detailed reconnaissance, the little one finally discovered that one side of the fight was exactly the two target elves.
The other side...
Well, they were about to be done for.
It thought for a moment, then immediately called out, "Gu-nuo—"
The sound spread.
The army mobilized.
The elves deliberately chose paths with cover to advance, avoiding enemy detection.
Just then, the messenger, the Fire Wool Crow, flew in, "Caw, caw caw!"
It reported that Groups 1 and 3 had clashed with other elves.
Not the sophomores' elves, but there was a very strong Alolan Vulpix.
The Dream Butterfly's eyes lit up. With a flap of its wings, it drifted forward like an emerald leaf, moving swiftly.
Passing through patches of gray-blue thick fog, it spotted the familiar Alolan Vulpix.
The Alolan Vulpix saw it too.
It was surrounded by a group of elves.
Among them was the earliest defector, the Scyther that the Dream Butterfly admired and had appointed as the leader of Group 1.
Its dark green eyes locked onto the Alolan Vulpix.
With the other elves outnumbering it, the Alolan Vulpix dared not act rashly.
It could only roar in fury.
"Woo-wah~ Woo-wah~!"
The Dream Butterfly waved its little hand.
A one-on-one duel?
Why duel?
See all these underlings I've got?
"Gu-nuo~"
It said.
Its antennae twitched.
The Scyther blurred into a flash.
The Fire Wool Crow charged forward too.
...
At that moment,
the boy in white on the platform craned his neck, but due to the distance and the drifting poison mist over that area, he couldn't see clearly.
He could only rely on the contract to transmit fragmented information.
"The Alolan Vulpix has approached that battlefield."
"Seize the opportunity. While they're fighting, unleash your strongest move."
"Encountered someone else's elves?"
"Wait, what happened? Alolan Vulpix? Alolan Vulpix!!"
In just a few seconds, the boy in white's expression shifted from calm, to tense, to panicked, and finally to an incredulous shout.
He had no idea what had happened!
But at the last moment, he seemed to hear the Alolan Vulpix's unwilling, furious cry.
"Dream Butterfly?"
He looked at Su Hao.
But Su Hao wasn't looking at him.
Soon, the battered Alolan Vulpix, Iron Tail Shrimp, and Giant Tide Frog appeared on the platform, taken away by the medical staff.
The boy in white looked utterly dejected.
...
After physically persuading the enemies until they were unconscious, the Die Xiaodie Battle Group continued advancing.
They took in a few fleeing elves along the way, then cornered the Cerberus and Blast Bat, who had just won a major victory.
They were in mediocre condition.
The battle group advanced with overwhelming momentum.
Led by the Dream Butterfly, with the Fire Wool Crow and Scyther as support, several elves kept up the pursuit.
The others encircled and intercepted.
The sheer power advantage left the Cerberus and Blast Bat unable to execute any tactics.
Soon, they were battered and bruised.
Finally,
"Howl!!"
The Cerberus showed a hint of joy.
It had finally spotted reinforcements—a Mountain Ape and a Vine Fairy.
More reinforcements were on the way.
They thought they no longer needed to flee.
They could counterattack!
At that moment,
the Dream Butterfly stopped too.
Its big eyes quietly fixed on them.
"Gu-nuo~~~"
It called out.
The sound spread, as if a signal, and one by one, the encircling elves emerged from all directions.
Countless eyes converged on the Cerberus and the other three elves.
Cold sweat instantly poured down.