Animosity grew among the group of assassins while they rested. Per Su Mian's orders, they had no choice but to use up all of their remaining medicine and prepare to continue the mission. Those who brought very few medicines had to share with others, receiving the ire of the formation.

Seeing that no reports came from the Array Master team even after an hour, Su Mian resolutely acknowledged that they were most likely dead. Somehow, William had silently destroyed one of his four teams while simultaneously holding them back.

But, William must have also put in a lot of effort making this happen. If Su Mian didn't capture him now and let him recover, all of their preparations would be in vain.

The Family Head might forgive him, but Su Mian couldn't risk losing resources right before the Competition. He issued a series of orders to the group, splitting them up into individual teams while they used their methods to conceal their presence.

William watched from afar as most of the assassins disappeared into clouds of smoke or shadows as thin as the blades of grass. Those who weren't as efficient at hiding used all kinds of treasures to raise their speed to the maximum, clearing tens of thousands of kilometers in a matter of seconds.

At their current pace, he'd be forced to battle in merely a few minutes!

William wasn't afraid. In the hour so graciously provided to him by the assassins, he had enough time to cook up a brand new piece of equipment in the form of a bright yellow armband fitted with Arrays and a combination of the Earth and Light Element.

He also used the Ring of Earthen Storage that he'd gained from the Quake Dungeon to erect a huge bunker around him, with two entrances and one hidden exit that he could use in an emergency. Naturally, both entrances were trapped and reinforced with his own Earth Element.

When the speedy assassins noticed the structure in the distance, they stopped and released a small fireball into the air like a signal flare. William's aura in this area was like old trash, spread in the region for kilometers and concentrated on the earthen structure.

Given its intensity, the trackers immediately knew they had the right place.

Knowing that there were traps in the area didn't slow down the assassins one bit. Thus far, none of the traps were strong enough to cause any serious injuries, and waiting any longer would give William more time to recover.

Shortly after the slower group caught up, they rushed forward without abandon and entered the structure. Their Fire and Light Mages cast several Spells, illuminating the area and revealing any hidden Arrays.

"Huh? What the hell is this?" the leading assassin looked around in confusion when the light reached a crevice fifty meters past the entrance.

Standing within the crevice were three small wooden objects, humanoid in shape and holding extraordinary weapons that sparkled like a galaxy in the moonlight. The objects were motionless even when they entered close proximity.

Behind him, an assassin well-versed in blacksmithing gasped. "That is...? Oh!"

"What is it?" the first assassin questioned.

"Those are Starmetal weapons!"

The group paused just long enough for Su Mian caught up, who had the same reaction as the second assassin. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the Starmetal Chakram and Longsword, while those next to him were especially drawn to the Starmetal Dagger.

But who was dumb enough to think that William was just leaving these weapons out for anyone to pick up? It had to be a trap!

Su Mian and the others made a prompt decision to destroy the humanoid figures and their weapons before there were any surprises. Even when the wooden figures were burned to a crisp, however, nothing happened. The Starmetal weapons clattered to the ground, echoing on the structure's hard rock flooring.

Su Mian ordered the group to delve deeper into the ad-hoc fortress, tracing William's aura and eliminating any presence of Illusion Elemental Particles. A few took a second glance at the Starmetal weapons, but these items are still available in shops; they aren't overwhelmingly rare to the point where they'd ignore orders.

"Tch." William clicked his tongue in disappointment when he saw the assassins avoid his carefully laid trap. Using some Tier 4 Arrays on the Starmetal Chakram to give William a discreet camera feed, he was able to see in almost real-time everything that the assassins did.

William hoped to thin out the group just a little bit more, or at least slow them down, but it was to no avail this time. On a good note, the assassins avoided every Starmetal weapon that dropped on the ground, allowing William to continue to monitor the situation as they traveled.

When the assassins destroyed the fourth set of leftover Array Puppets he'd made in the Mortal Realms, William used a timely Spell of the Earth Element to send thick tungsten spikes through the body of one of the assassins watching the rear. The spike split into thousands of smaller spikes within the assassin's body, tearing apart their organs and killing them in an instant.

His Spell was only useful for one surprise attack, but William was glad seeing that he now only had eighteen more enemies to deal with. He took advantage of the brief chaos to inflict a few more injuries, only stopping when the Earth Mages recast their defensive Primary Laws.

They moved in an orderly formation through the structure with their Earth Mages attentively scanning the floor, Space and Seal Mages handling William's portals, Fire and Light Mages casting illumination, and everyone else destroying Illusion Mana Particles while they traveled, completely sealing off William's ability to use any of the aforementioned Elements.

Having experienced what he thought to be all of William's abilities, Su Mian was able to conserve most of the group's Mana while they traveled to the base of the structure, where their target was waiting patiently.

Or so they thought.