Outside the hunting grounds, groups of Quincy waited anxiously for participants to emerge—ready to be the first to gather intel.
"Lord Ishida!"
"Lord Ishida has arrived!"
A ripple of motion in the sky drew everyone's eyes upward.
Descending from above came a group of figures—none other than Ishida Sōken of the Sternritter.
Following behind him were several Quincy, including the Sternritter knight Cang Du, along with a contingent of officers from Silbern.
"The recruitment program has been terminated. Disperse and return."
Ishida Sōken's words left the waiting Quincy stunned.
Without delay, he and the officers began clearing the crowd.
"Wait, Lord Ishida! We haven't received any official notice!"
The Quincy overseeing order at the hunting ground stepped forward to block them. "We require Lord Haschwalth's direct authorization."
"This is a Sternritter order," Sōken replied coldly.
"This… please show Lord Haschwalth's written authorization—"
The Quincy officer, Haschwalth's direct subordinate, had received no such orders and clearly didn't believe Sōken.
"My apologies, then."
With a wave of his hand, two high-ranking officers stepped forward and swiftly subdued the subordinate.
"What are you doing?!"
The man couldn't believe what was happening. He hadn't heard of any conflict between Haschwalth and Ishida Sōken.
"Buzz-B is keeping Haschwalth busy. We don't have much time—clear the crowd and enter the grounds. Eliminate the Menos inside," Sōken ordered.
But their plan was cut short.
From the sky descended Gerard Valkyrie—Yhwach's personal guard.
"Ishida Sōken. Cang Du. If I'm not mistaken… this looks an awful lot like betrayal."
Gerard resembled a Spartan warrior—helmeted, cloaked, bare-chested with armored limbs.
"No. We have not betrayed the Wandenreich."
Sōken calmly raised his Spirit Bow and aimed at the approaching Gerard.
Elsewhere within the hunting ground, lightning pierced the skull of a Gillian-class Menos. Its massive, battered frame collapsed lifelessly.
"Finally, another score," Candice smiled, collecting the point.
After the new score-sharing method was introduced, the Quincy's dissatisfaction had temporarily subsided. Together, they had taken down over a dozen Hollows, and now Candice had scored again.
"They're slacking more and more," she muttered, frowning. Some of the Quincy were barely contributing—firing just one or two arrows and then doing little else.
With scores now split equally, many felt there was no point in exerting themselves unless it was their turn or their allies were scoring. The team had begun to fracture into small factions.
The Gillian just slain had taken the combined effort of Candice and two others who shared in her score.
One of them, Pera—a bespectacled, long-haired Quincy—had once been under Lita's command.
Like Candice, she had often been mistreated simply for being more attractive than Lita.
But unlike Candice, Pera had already been driven off Lita's squad before Candice enlisted, transferred to another team due to Lita's hostility.
No one would have left willingly. Lita's squad patrolled the area beneath Silbern, one of the safest districts in the outer city, where the military police had the most relaxed duties.
Elsewhere, the job was constant chaos.
If Candice didn't distinguish herself soon, she would likely share Pera's fate—quietly pushed out.
Pera, still catching her breath from the last fight, sighed, "They know they won't get this point."
"We'll just hold back when it's their turn," Rona muttered.
"I'm running low too. Gotta conserve," Candice nodded. She always gave her all, even when others were scoring. But when it was her turn, they dragged their feet.
"You noticed the gaps between Gillians getting longer?" Pera pushed up her glasses. "Feels like we've cleared this zone."
"Time to move on," Rona agreed. "This hunting ground was built out of the old city, it's massive—we've probably explored less than a tenth."
Just then, Lita barked an order:
"This area's mostly clear! Move out!"
No one objected. The Hollows had thinned considerably.
Without wasting time, the group headed to a new zone.
But when they arrived—they found it occupied.
Over twenty Quincy stood in a tight formation.
"Hand over your tokens and you may leave peacefully," one of them said coldly.
It was clear—they weren't here to negotiate. They had come to steal points.
"Instructor Lukas, we're just passing through. We don't want trouble…" Lita forced a smile.
"That's the Second Military Police Corps instructor… Lukas," Rona muttered, face tightening.
The opposing team clearly outmatched them.
Not just in numbers—Lukas was well-regarded in the outer districts, and his squad had cohesion. Their side… did not.
"If fighting breaks out, we need to find a way to retreat," Pera whispered to Candice, hoping to keep the hot-headed girl grounded.
"Understood," Candice nodded calmly.
The power gap was obvious. Lukas was a top-tier Quincy from Silbern itself, aiming straight for the Sternritter.
Their own 'leader' was Lita—arrogant only in front of rookies.
"Hand over the tokens…" Lukas had already sized them up. "Or you may join my squad."
Lukas wasn't opposed to expanding his forces.
He knew only one other instructor had made it into this round—his real competition.
As an instructor, Lukas was aware of hidden rules in the selection.
At the end of the hunt, Sternritter knights would vote based on each candidate's performance.
Only the highest vote-getter would be eligible for Sternritter trials. The rest would merely receive promotions in Silbern.
Lukas intended to be the first to exit—gaining favor and votes.
"We're willing to share half…" Lita tried salvaging the situation. She wasn't about to let all her work be stolen—or bow to Lukas.
But to her fury, she noticed some of her teammates wavering.
"Lukas is strong. If we join him, we might earn more," someone muttered.
"Yeah, I've only scored once. Don't care anymore."
Some had barely earned anything. Trading one or two points for a shot at Lukas' team seemed worth it.
Realizing she was losing control, Lita made a last-ditch effort.
"Are you seriously going to throw away all your hard work?!" she shouted. "Scatter! They can't chase all of us!"
Her logic was simple—Lukas's team couldn't pursue them all.
The hunting ground disabled communication tools. Once scattered, regrouping was almost impossible.
Lita pointed toward Candice's trio and shouted:
"Those three have the most points!"
Their wristbands were designed to track scores—starting white, turning redder with every token.
Candice's band was practically crimson.
Instantly, all eyes turned to them.
Their faces paled.
"Run! Split up!" Candice barked.
With everyone's attention locked on her, Lita gave the signal—and the squad scattered.
Not out of kindness—Lita knew fleeing alone would draw attention.
The already fractured team exploded into chaos.
"Stay right there!"
Lita hadn't flown far when a bolt of lightning struck her squarely.
"AAAH!!"
She hadn't factored in one thing—her Hiryūkyaku was no match for Candice's lightning.
Candice had had enough. She struck without hesitation, blasting Lita from the sky.
But the attack cost her. Surrounded, she lost her window to escape.
"With me!" she shouted to Pera and Rona, pushing for a breakout.
On the ground, the scorched Lita clawed her way up from the sand.
Her almost square frame had insane durability—crashing from that height hadn't done much. Her wounds were all from Candice's lightning.
"That bitch really went all out!"
Her charred skin split, oozing yellow-tinged blood and fat.
"But she's not getting away."
Glaring up at the sky, Lita saw Candice's group encircled.
"I'm still one step ahead. Time to scram."
She turned to leave—only to stop.
A severed limb lay ahead. She assumed it had fallen during the chaos—until she heard faint sounds.
Her face twisted in horror.
A spider-like Menos, just larger than a human, hung upside down from a silken thread, clinging to a stone pillar.
A small Menos!
An Adjuchas!
Lita froze in terror.
"Damn it! Gale's broken!" she shouted.
Her Spirit Bow, Gale, was unresponsive.
It was her trump card—the arrows fired faster than any normal bow.
She'd used Gale to steal points from Candice.
But now, Gale was fried by that lightning.
Powerless, Lita turned to flee.
The spider Hollow pounced.
"AAAAAH—!!"
Crack! Crack!
Screams and wet snapping sounds echoed unnoticed in the wasteland.
Above, the Quincy still battling had no idea Lita was already dead.
Arrows rained toward Candice's trio.
Thankfully, others were nearby—teammates who hadn't escaped in time were drawing fire.
Candice threw out five Silver Capsules.
High-density Reishi solution burst from them. She didn't try forming the tricky Lightning Spear this time—instead, she unleashed raw lightning in a wild storm.
Zzzzzzzzzz!
A thunderfield sparked to life. Arrows crossing the zone were detonated midair.
The few that made it through were easily dodged.
"Nice one, Candice!"
"Move! It won't last long!"
This field was one of the techniques her instructor had created based on her powers. It worked beautifully.
They fled while it held.
The enemy, seeing their arrows dissolve, didn't dare test their own bodies against it. They let them go.
"She looks familiar… Top of the rookie camp last cycle?" Lukas frowned. Candice's performance surprised him.
As an outer district instructor, he was familiar with most strong Quincy.
"A rookie… She did well in training, but not this well."
He stepped into the thunderfield.
Lightning surged at him.
CRACKLE—!
Bolts danced across his skin—doing nothing.
Blue lines flowed beneath his skin. Blut Vene neutralized the damage entirely.
Lukas emerged unscathed.
"Impressive talent. You've grown strong quickly."
He didn't strike. He was impressed—and considering taking her as a student.