Chapter 313

Chapter 313: The King of Shadows

As Midi’s team gradually grasped the tricks and began their slaughter, the other three teams had also grown familiar with the Shadow Maze.

Sandur’s team of two skilled siblings fought fiercely with overwhelming attack power, pushing all the way to the maze’s rear.

"With Teacher Marcel’s anti-mind talismans and shadow creature weapons, this maze is nothing!" Sandur declared, swinging his golden-glowing true silver holy sword.

In the vast chamber behind the maze, all eight doors remained shut – proof his team arrived first.

This matched Sandur’s predictions.

The Patrol Team had inferior equipment. The Execution Team’s muscle-headed guys lacked mental defenses.

As for those four outsiders who chose the massive leftmost entrance? They faced the strongest foes and most complex paths. Surviving unscathed seemed doubtful.

Sandur mentally calculated, already claiming victory.

"Senior brother, the King of Shadows lies ahead. Should we wait for others?" Shelly worriedly glanced deeper into the maze.

Maze enemies came in three types: weak low-level shadow creatures, deadly shadow knights who attacked with thirty-strong packs, and finally the King himself.

Though trial participants aimed to traverse the maze rather than defeat the King, the simplified terrain ahead made bypassing the ruler nearly impossible.

"First through gets better rewards. We keep moving." Fresh from slaying a shadow knight, Sandur dismissed his sister’s caution. "Forward!"

Within the next hour, Rot’s Patrol Team and the Scarred Man’s Execution Team emerged from doors, rushing toward the King’s domain.

Only the leftmost passage stayed quiet – not due to slowness, but because Midi’s team kept deliberately hunting prey after discovering Dragon’s might’s benefits.

The ancient voice had said first finishers got "moderate rewards" – mere hundreds of psychic energy based on Path of the Mind results. But the maze offered endless shadow creatures!

Midi’s group actively hunted instead of avoiding enemies. Through repeated battles, he refined his Dragon’s might tactics:

Necromancer Wiseman summoned mind-immune skeletons to lure swarms from side passages. Midi then unleashed Dragon’s might while Avril and Reinhardt picked off stragglers or distracted shadow knights until minions fell. Then all four ganged up on the leader.

Soon their Mind Crystals filled steadily – Midi alone gained as much as the other three combined.

Repeated exposure to creatures’ death-triggered psychic explosions also boosted their mental resistance. Midi realized this maze wasn’t just a trial stage, but a superior Thought Capturer training ground compared to Blood Purification’s camp.

No need to rush. Thorough cleansing brought maximum gains.

When Midi’s team finally emerged, their crystals were over one-third full, his nearly half.

Yet they found the other three teams waiting gloomily at the maze’s end, all battered and wounded. Sandur’s squad had combat losses.

"Enemies ahead?" Midi asked.

The Scarred Man and Sandur only answered with angry glares.

Only Rot from the Patrol Team approached to explain, feeling grateful because Midi had saved his brother Roy. He said, "At the exit of the Shadow Maze stands the King of Shadows. We tested him individually and fought together, but couldn’t defeat that guy."

Just as shadow knights command shadow creatures, the King of Shadows commands many shadow knights and about four hundred shadow creatures – a full army guarding the maze exit.

Worse, the King of Shadows could create more shadow creatures through his skills. No matter how many enemies they killed in battle of attrition, his army’s scale remained unchanged unless he fell.

"The Level 64 King stands one level above Sandur, with ten shadow knights and four hundred creatures. Impossible to defeat," Rot concluded with a sigh.

The three factions agreed their only chance was to lure away the army and rush through the exit to conquer the Shadow Maze and advance. This might be the real meaning of "Victory through passing" – the King being unbeatable.

But who’d risk being bait? Luring the King meant losing advancement chances. Becoming top-tier Thought Capturers in the Mind Maze was a rare opportunity. No faction would sacrifice members, especially while distrusting others.

Midi recalled an Arad proverb: "One ranger drinks water, two rangers fight, three rangers thirst." Four outsiders like them wouldn’t change this situation.

Other teams saw Midi’s group as weak – only one Level 60 practitioner, unprepared with basic Mind Maze knowledge, lacking mind-related protective gear or anti-shadow weapons. What help could they offer?

"Actually, defeating the King isn’t hard," Midi smiled after Rot’s explanation.

Trial participants exchanged skeptical glances.

"Baiting’s too risky. If bait dies mid-mission, everyone’s endangered. Better kill the King directly – safest method," Midi declared.

"A Level 64 mind-user with mind-using guards stronger than sect headquarters’ Heart-Seizing Demon? How?" Sandur scoffed at Midi’s confidence.

"Alone, the King’s weaker than that demon. The real threat’s his army. Why not separate them? Lure troops away and eliminate the King!"

Kill the King after diverting his army!

Eyes lit up among listeners. They weren’t fools – just lacked commander experience. Now they saw this plan’s higher success chance than previous ideas.

But separating King from army needed perfect coordination between fifteen people from four factions.

"I’ll take command," Midi stated naturally.

Sandur and Scarred Man glared distrustfully. Even Rot hesitated.

Expecting this, Midi added: "My team will spearhead the King’s elimination. Your groups just need to distract shadow knights. Agreed?"