Chapter 354: Chapter 354: The Second Round of the Cornered Beast’s Struggle: A Fight-to-the-Death Gauntlet

The moment he spoke, the faces of many contestants fell.

’Ten minutes?’

’Is the schedule really that tight?’

’I thought we’d wait until tomorrow!’

’We just got out of a fight, and now we have to start again right away!’

This made many people a little uneasy.

Especially since the rules of the second round were unknown.

Up in the air, Pierce ignored everyone’s reactions and continued to speak.

His next words were like a bombshell, exploding in everyone’s minds.

"To speed up the competition process and screen out the true elites."

"The rules for the second round will be even more brutal!"

Pierce held up four fingers, his eyes cold:

"In this round, four teams will be directly eliminated!"

"Only the four winning teams will qualify to enter the third round: the Battle of Cornered Beasts!"

BOOM—!

The entire audience was in an uproar.

Even the team leaders from various countries, watching from the rest areas, could no longer remain seated.

’A fifty percent elimination rate! That’s just too cruel.’

Immediately after, Pierce announced the specific rules for the second round.

"The specific rules are as follows:"

"The remaining eight teams will draw lots to be divided into four groups, with two teams facing off in each."

"The winner advances, the loser... the entire team is eliminated!"

"The match format will be a gauntlet! The fight continues until all members of one team have lost their Combat Ability!"

After a pause, Pierce’s gaze swept across the entire arena:

"Now, let the drawing begin!"

Following his order, the image on the large screen instantly changed to the flags of the eight countries and began to spin rapidly.

The drawing was being conducted randomly by an AI!

At this moment!

Hundreds of millions of people around the world were staring intently at the screen, their hearts in their throats.

At a time like this, luck was also a part of strength.

If a weak team drew a weak team, they would still have a hope of advancing.

From the current standings, Great Xia and White Eagle, ranked first and second, were clearly the powerhouses—at the very least, they had more members!

However, some teams still had their strongest members in reserve, so nothing was certain.

In the Great Xia rest area.

Shen Yixuan was taking the opportunity to meditate and recover. After withstanding William’s assault for so long, he had sustained some internal injuries. Fortunately, his foundation was strong, and thanks to an Elixir from Gu Yuexi, he was healing quickly.

"I hope we don’t draw White Eagle."

Zhao Cheng pressed his palms together, muttering a quick prayer:

"Let those red-haired freaks go mess with someone else. We’ll take care of them in the finals."

It wasn’t that he was afraid; it was just unnecessary to go head-to-head with them this round. Doing so would only allow another team to benefit from their struggle.

But his idea was quickly met with a scoff from Xiao Tian at his side:

"Hmph, what’s there to be afraid of? You think I’d shy away from them?"

"If we draw White Eagle, I’ll go up first!"

...

DONG—!

Inside the stadium, a drum beat suddenly sounded...

The matchup for the first group was revealed!

Group One: White Eagle Empire VS Asia United!

"Fxxk!"

In the White Eagle rest area, William, who was having his wounds treated by medical personnel, saw this result and angrily kicked over a nearby chair.

"It’s not Great Xia?!"

His newly recovered eye was full of venomous hatred.

His mind was consumed with thoughts of tearing Gu Yuexi and that mosquito to shreds, but instead, they drew a bunch of pushovers?

"Guess it’s just those monkeys’ bad luck!"

William let out a sinister laugh and looked towards Asia United’s side.

Then, the results for the second and third groups were revealed.

Group Two: European Union VS Northern Federation!

It was a duel between a veteran powerhouse and a team of hard-hitters. With eight members against four, the European Union had a significant advantage.

Group Three: Rose Kingdom VS Ancient Aie Empire!

Seven members versus seven—they were evenly matched in number.

Then, the last group...

Everyone’s eyes turned to the only two flags left on the big screen.

Actually, they already knew without looking.

Group Four: Great Xia Federation VS Sakura Country!

Member count: 10 vs. 7!

The moment this result froze on the big screen.

After a brief silence.

The entire Great Xia internet world, as if a powder keg had been lit, completely exploded!

The stream of "Great Xia is awesome!" instantly became "Destroy Sakura Country!"

"Holy shit!!! Heaven is on our side!"

"Hahahaha! The heavens have eyes! To think we drew Sakura Country!"

"Fuck up those Japs! Beat them to a goddamn pulp!"

"Time to settle all scores, new and old! One of their members tried to sneak attack our Captain Shen earlier. This is perfect, now we can face them head-on!"

"It’s 10 against 7! If they can still lose this, I suggest the Great Xia Team just swim home!"

Through the screen, you could feel the raw killing intent and excitement overflowing from the barrage of comments.

For the Great Xia People, fighting other countries might require some psyching up, but fighting Sakura Country?

That came with a 200% rage buff!

...

Meanwhile, in the Sakura Country rest area.

The once-calm atmosphere instantly grew tense, even panicked.

"Baka! How could it be Great Xia?!"

The face of a mustached Sakura Country contestant went pale, his hand gripping his Samurai Sword trembling slightly.

"They... they must have been dying to face us!"

"And they still have ten people! A full team! We only have seven... How can we fight this? This is unfair!"

Another team member also swallowed hard, his eyes full of fear.

The image of Gu Yuexi instantly killing the man in the White Eagle Battle Armor was still replaying in his mind, not to mention Shen Yixuan, who could go toe-to-toe with William, and that freakish mosquito...

"What’s with the panic! You useless bunch!"

Just then, a sharp and piercing angry shout was heard.

A middle-aged woman in a traditional kimono walked over. Her features were exceptionally severe, with high cheekbones that made her look like Voldemort.

She was one of the lead mentors for Sakura Country this time, and also a notoriously extreme radical.

SLAP!

She backhanded the team member who had shouted "unfair" across the face, her own face twisted as she reprimanded him:

"Since when do the warriors of our Great Sakura Empire show fear before the battle has even begun?!"

"As long as the tactics are right, it’s not impossible for seven people to kill all ten of them!"

"Don’t forget, we still have ’that’..."

Hearing "that," the bodies of several team members trembled slightly. The fear in their eyes seemed to recede, replaced by a fanatical look.

And in the farthest corner of their group.

A young man who had kept his eyes closed the whole time, cradling a long black blade, slowly opened his eyes.

He wasn’t wearing one of those flashy samurai uniforms, but a simple set of black linen clothes.

In stark contrast to the panic of his teammates, he was as calm as ice.

"Great Xia..."

His voice was hoarse, like two pieces of raw iron grinding together: 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Aside from the woman and the insect, who are somewhat interesting... the rest are nothing but worthless rabble."

"It has been too long since a blade of my Great Sakura Empire has tasted the blood of a Great Xia prodigy."

His name was Yamamoto Ichimoku.

He was the true "Sword Demon" of Sakura Country’s current generation, a hidden ace whose full power had not even been revealed during the earlier survival trials.

...