At that moment, on the battlefield by the shore…
Tighnari's arthropod tiger relentlessly clawed at Sushang's soft-bodied monster, occasionally spraying bursts of benzoquinone that filled the battlefield with thick white smoke.
Lisa: "I can't see anything… It's all smoke."
Jean: "It probably doesn't have much fight left…"
Furina: "Excellent. That's one down."
Navia: "A soft-bodied creature like that never stood a chance."
Chevreuse: "There's hope. If it can eliminate Ms. Ruan Mei's creature afterward, victory is practically guaranteed."
Jing Yuan: "Stop dreaming."
Herta: "That's called wishful thinking."
"Screeeeeee!"
Pinned beneath the tiger, the soft-bodied creature quickly lost its ability to resist.
Its tentacles were torn off one after another, scattering across the battlefield.
A closer look revealed countless blisters covering the remaining tentacles.
[Attention: Player Sushang has been eliminated.]
Finally…
The elimination notification appeared.
Guinaifen: "Sushang! You're getting punished again!"
Sushang: "Y-You…"
"It should've been your turn this time!"
She wanted to cry.
She had participated in exactly two games.
And ended up with a punishment both times.
The world suddenly seemed much darker.
Was she cursed or something?
Soukaku: "Great!"
"As long as one more person gets eliminated, I won't be punished!"
Tsukishiro Yanagi: "…"
Even if nobody expected much from you…
Could you at least not say it out loud?
Now everyone would think Section 6 was completely hopeless.
Yanfei: "Impossible."
"I think that chicken-winged wolf will be eliminated next."
Qingyi: "Not necessarily."
"That giant dragon can't even move."
"It getting discovered is only a matter of time."
Beidou: "At least ours still has size and defense."
Beidou still had confidence in Qiqi's creature.
Sure…
It couldn't move.
But its mountain-like body and incredible armor were intimidating enough.
She refused to believe any creature would dare challenge that behemoth.
Xiangling: "Wait…"
"They found Qiqi!"
…
On an open grassland…
Qiqi's oversized dragon lay sprawled on the ground in utter boredom.
The only part of its body capable of moving was its neck.
It lazily looked left…
Then right…
Suddenly…
A giant wolf covered in wings landed beside it.
The wolf was delighted.
Its combat ability wasn't particularly impressive.
But this giant couldn't even move.
Surely it could bully something like this.
Circling behind the dragon…
It bit down on the tail.
Clang!
A metallic crash rang out.
Sparks almost flew from the impact.
It couldn't bite through.
Not even a little.
After circling around again…
The wolf targeted the softer-looking underside beneath the dragon's legs.
Clang!
Its shoulder.
Clang!
Its back.
Clang!
The wolf was on the verge of tears.
It had finally found someone weaker…
So why was this thing's defense so ridiculously high?
Keqing: "I'm dying…"
"This is hilarious."
Ningguang: "That was unexpected."
Yaoyao: "Wow!"
"Qiqi is amazing!"
Earlier…
Everyone from Liyue had been worried that Qiqi would be eliminated first.
But judging from the current situation…
Things looked rather comfortable.
Apparently…
Qiqi's strategy of stuffing every gene into the dragon actually had one advantage.
It had lost all mobility…
But its defense had become absurd.
The wolf wasn't exactly small either…
Yet it couldn't even leave a scratch.
Wise: "Don't celebrate too early."
"Wolves usually don't go for the throat…"
"But they certainly can."
Baizhu: "…"
Cloud Retainer: "…"
Oh no.
The dragon couldn't move.
If the wolf locked onto its throat…
That would be disastrous.
As if responding to Wise's words…
The wolf slowly approached the dragon's neck.
Zhongli: "The wolf is finished."
Belle: "What do you mean?"
Hu Tao: "The dragon can't move…"
"But its neck certainly can."
Hoshimi Miyabi: "!!!!"
Harumasa: "!!!!"
Jane: "So…"
"…the wolf is delivering itself?"
Sure enough…
The dragon slowly turned its head.
It looked at the wolf beside it.
Then…
Its neck shot forward.
Its jaws snapped shut.
Crunch!
"Awoooo!!"
The wolf let out a miserable howl.
It struggled desperately.
Unfortunately…
The dragon's strength was overwhelming.
No matter how wildly it flapped its countless wings…
Or kicked with all four legs…
Nothing worked.
As time passed…
Its struggles gradually weakened…
Until it could no longer resist.
Kaeya: "See?"
"No matter how many wings you've got…"
"It's still useless."
Soukaku: "Nooo!"
"Get up!"
"Run!"
Soukaku burst into tears.
She didn't want to be punished.
And getting eliminated by something that couldn't even move…
That was just too embarrassing.
Yae Miko: "Excellent."
"The bottom three have now been decided."
Lycaon: "Sigh…"
"What a pity."
Rina: "Another punishment…"
[Attention: Player Sucrose has been eliminated.]
Diluc: "???"
Kaeya: "!!!!"
Lisa: "What in the world?!"
Jean: "You can do that?!"
Sucrose: "H-How…"
Everyone from Mondstadt froze.
The wolf was clearly on its last legs.
So why had Sucrose been eliminated first?
March 7th: "Amazing!"
"Ms. Ruan Mei's mantis shrimp is incredible!"
Stelle: "There wasn't any chance to fight back."
Screwllum: "It seems…"
"The ambush strategy proved decisive."
While most viewers had been focused on the battle involving the wolf…
A handful had continued watching the forest.
After driving Rathian away…
The gorilla had become rather complacent.
Unfortunately…
It had wandered straight into the mantis shrimp's hunting grounds.
A single strike.
One massive raptorial claw shot forward with blinding speed…
Smashing directly into the gorilla.
The impact launched it over ten meters away.
Only after landing that opening blow…
Did the mantis shrimp drop its camouflage.
It calmly walked over…
And struck a second time.
The gorilla never even understood what had happened.
It was eliminated instantly.
Valerius: "Looks like primates aren't all that impressive after all."
Sucrose's gorilla had indeed gained terrifying offensive power.
But in exchange…
It had sacrificed much of its ability to detect hidden enemies.
Against an ambush predator carrying chameleon genes…
It was nothing more than fresh meat delivered to the doorstep.
Valerius had seen the entire exchange clearly.
The very first strike had caved in most of the gorilla's chest.
The second attack…
Had been completely unnecessary.
Even if left alone…
The gorilla would've died slowly from its injuries.
But the mantis shrimp had no intention of taking chances.
It delivered the finishing blow immediately.
Leaving no survivors.
[Attention: Player Soukaku has been eliminated.]
Only moments after Sucrose's elimination…
Soukaku's notification appeared as well.
Soukaku: "Yay~~~"
"I don't have to take a punishment!"
Grace: "…"
"You sound like you won."
Herta: "Against Ruan Mei…"
"Not getting punished is probably the best result anyone could hope for."
Herta understood the situation perfectly.
Several teams had essentially given up from the beginning.
Otherwise…
They would've never sent people like Qiqi or Hook.
Those teams were simply preserving their strongest players for future games.
Sucrose, however…
Actually had a real understanding of biology.
Mondstadt had genuinely tried to win.
Unfortunately…
She'd suffered a devastating blow right at the start.
"Hmph."
"Now you all understand just how powerful the Genius Society is."
Although Herta herself wasn't the winner this time…
Ruan Mei represented the Genius Society all the same.
The only disappointing part…
Was that the reward wouldn't belong to her.
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