Lin Qin had never participated in “Cangjie Chess,” so naturally she didn’t know the meaning of two “characters.”

Chu Tianqiu shook his head and continued: “In the game, one ‘Commander’ plus one ‘Cannon,’ in exchange for ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ clearing obstacles once for ‘Extreme Path.'”

“Hard to imagine you would make such an unprofitable exchange.” Lin Qin said, “This obstacle clearing is deadly.”

“Yes.” Chu Tianqiu nodded, “Although this is the first time in my life making such a hasty and presumptuous decision, I actually feel it’s not bad now.”

“Oh?”

“How strange.” Chu Tianqiu said, “Yan Zhichun threatened me with two ‘characters,’ then I lost the game, left the scene, lost a capable general, and then agreed to various unreasonable deals with both Qi Xia and Yan Zhichun. It should have been a day to make anyone furious, yet now I feel exceptionally relaxed.”

After hearing this, Lin Qin smiled bitterly and replied: “Perhaps you never wanted to be a faction leader to begin with. Some obsession in your heart forced you to this step.”

“Is that so?”

“Now there aren’t as many things to bear. You only need to fight with your back against the wall. It must indeed be much more relaxing than before, right?” Lin Qin said.

“Perhaps so.”

Chu Tianqiu stopped talking and led the people behind him to turn and plunge into the crowd.

Now all the “Supporters” had almost charged into the battlefield from all directions, making the scene even more chaotic.

“Heaven’s Mouth” couldn’t distinguish which side was “Extreme Path,” falling into a stalemate for a moment.

“Qiaoyun.” Chu Tianqiu turned his head to look at the slender figure beside him, “What do you think we should do?”

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun first paused, then immediately began observing the situation at the scene with a serious expression. In a very short time, she discovered the clue.

“Although I don’t know what ‘Extreme Path’s’ objective is…” Wen Qiaoyun said in a low voice, “they definitely didn’t gather here to ‘kill people.'”

“Understood.” Chu Tianqiu nodded and signaled to Li Xiangling and Zhang Shan ahead, “No need to take the initiative to strike. Just resist those who attack us.”

“Alright.”

The two agreed and discovered the situation was indeed as Wen Qiaoyun had judged. A portion of the people here clearly had no aggression, didn’t care about others’ lives or deaths, and focused all their attention on Baihu in front of the giant bell.

The other half were clearly very aggressive, repeatedly striking at the “Heaven’s Mouth” members walking ahead.

Li Xiangling stepped forward, then her spear shot out like a dragon, injuring several people’s kneecaps in three to five moves, instantly clearing the path ahead.

Chu Tianqiu could already see Yan Zhichun’s figure from afar. She was standing together with Jiang Ruoxue, Zhoumo, and Zheng Yingxiong, with attackers gradually surrounding them as well.

Fortunately, Zhoumo had picked up an iron rod from somewhere and unceremoniously injured several people’s heads.

But looking at all four of them, none had combat-capable “Echoes.” If one had to say, perhaps only Yan Zhichun’s “Echo” had some lethality, but she appeared to be standing in place in a daze, like the aftereffects left from temporarily overusing her “Echo.”

“No time. Everyone scatter. It’ll be troublesome if Yan Zhichun dies.” Chu Tianqiu decisively said, “Now the team is large-scale, which is disadvantageous for advancing and moving. After everyone scatters, find a way to gather at the white-clothed woman ahead and report your ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ identity to her.”

Yun Yao and Zhang Shan quickly transmitted the order, and the twenty-plus people of the “Heaven’s Mouth” team scattered into the crowd on the spot.

Indeed, as Chu Tianqiu said, once the team scattered, it became harder for the people at the scene to distinguish whether these members shuttling through were friend or foe, causing “Heaven’s Mouth’s” advancement speed to increase dramatically.

Chu Tianqiu continued standing in place, beginning to cautiously observe the battlefield situation, then pinched an eyeball in his hand.

“Tianqiu…” Wen Qiaoyun stood behind and asked, “What’s wrong… is something off?”

Chu Tianqiu shook his head, his gaze continuing to look into the distance.

“The situation feels ominous.” He said in a low voice, “The current situation is that ‘Extreme Path’ has surrounded ‘Baihu,’ ‘Participants’ have surrounded ‘Extreme Path,’ and now there’s another outer ring of ‘Human-level Zodiacs’ surrounding everyone.”

Wen Qiaoyun naturally also noticed those “Human-level Zodiacs” in the distance wearing tattered suits, standing together in a dark mass. Although these people had no “Echoes,” they were ultimately management—they wouldn’t be soft-handed when killing “Participants.”

To them, anyone on the battlefield not wearing a mask was an enemy.

“I know ‘Earth-level Zodiacs’ are formidable… but are ‘Human-level Zodiacs’ also very strong?” Wen Qiaoyun asked, “I even thought they were about the same as ordinary people. If we really fought, we might not be at a disadvantage.”

“The reasoning isn’t wrong.” Chu Tianqiu nodded and smiled, “But there’s a fatal problem… according to the rules of the ‘Land of Finality,’ ‘Zodiacs’ can kill us at will, but can we ‘Participants’ attack ‘Zodiacs’?”

As his words fell, Chu Tianqiu flipped his wrist, moved his fingers slightly, and tossed the eyeball into his mouth.

At almost the same moment, a tall man picked up the iron rod in his hand, leaped high from behind, and swung viciously at the back of Chu Tianqiu’s head.

It seemed Chu Tianqiu’s current attire would make people instantly judge him as “Extreme Path,” which also matched the impression “Extreme Path” had left on all the “Participants” here.

“Tianqiu, watch out!!” Wen Qiaoyun cried out in alarm.

The next second, only a massive sound like metal colliding rang out. That iron rod struck the back of Chu Tianqiu’s head, as if striking an immovable iron pillar.

The tall man had never expected Chu Tianqiu’s body to be so hard. His arms were momentarily shaken sore, and the iron rod slipped from his hands.

He looked down to see that the iron rod had even bent a section.

“Damn… what kind of monster…” The man looked at Chu Tianqiu trembling with fear, but Chu Tianqiu showed no intention of attacking him.

“Monster…?” Chu Tianqiu raised his eyebrows, then smiled, “People who want to sneak attack and kill others aren’t monsters?”

“You’re even finding high-sounding excuses…” The tall man said through gritted teeth, “You maniacs want to destroy the giant bell and display screen… once these devices are destroyed, what will we ‘Participants’ do?! How can we escape?!”

After hearing this, Chu Tianqiu sighed and didn’t answer this question. He turned back indifferently to look at Wen Qiaoyun: “Let’s go rendezvous as well. If the people here today want to survive… I’m afraid it will truly take considerable effort.”

The two no longer paid attention to the tall man and walked away from the scene.

The tall man watched Chu Tianqiu’s departing figure, stunned in place, not knowing what to do for a moment.

He finally understood—these people called “Extreme Path” were completely different from the “Participants” here. They seemed to have some kind of faith supporting them, making them willing to sacrifice themselves for some goal.

But what exactly was that goal?

Did they really intend to destroy the bell and display screen, cutting off everyone’s escape route?

The tall man couldn’t understand, could only watch helplessly as Chu Tianqiu and Wen Qiaoyun’s figures gradually disappeared into the crowd.

At this moment, on the other side of the battlefield, Yan Zhichun was also facing tremendous pressure.

Although Zhoumo had picked up an iron rod and knocked down several attackers, more and more people were gathering around.

These people’s eyes were filled with hatred and killing intent, clearly having already determined that Yan Zhichun’s group were “Extreme Path” members who wanted to destroy the bell and display screen.

“Sister Zhichun… what should we do…” Jiang Ruoxue asked nervously.

Yan Zhichun didn’t answer, only stared at the giant bell in the distance, her eyes revealing complex emotions.

She knew that once this battle began, there would be no turning back.

Whether “Extreme Path” or these “Supporters,” everyone would pay a heavy price.

But she also knew that this was a necessary sacrifice.

Because only by destroying the bell and display screen could everyone truly escape from this place.

Even if it meant making enemies of all the “Participants” here, she had no choice.

“Don’t be afraid.” Yan Zhichun said softly, “We will succeed.”

As her words fell, several attackers had already rushed forward.

Zhoumo immediately raised the iron rod to meet them, but was kicked back several steps.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruoxue hurriedly supported her, while Zheng Yingxiong stood in front of the two, spreading his arms as if trying to use his body to block the attacks.

But at this moment, several figures suddenly appeared from the crowd.

They moved extremely fast, knocking down the attackers in the blink of an eye.

“Who…?” Yan Zhichun looked at these people in surprise.

“Sister Zhichun, we’re from ‘Heaven’s Mouth.'” One of them said, “Brother Chu asked us to come protect you.”

“Heaven’s Mouth…” Yan Zhichun froze slightly, then understood, “So he really came…”

“Yes.” That person nodded, “Brother Chu said he came to repay a debt of gratitude.”

Yan Zhichun smiled bitterly after hearing this, then shook her head: “Tell him there’s no need to repay. This matter has nothing to do with him. He should leave quickly.”

“Sorry, Sister Zhichun.” That person said, “Brother Chu’s orders, we must obey.”

Yan Zhichun wanted to say more, but discovered that more “Heaven’s Mouth” members were gathering around, forming a protective circle.

These people’s strength was clearly much stronger than ordinary “Participants,” quickly stabilizing the situation.

Yan Zhichun looked at this scene, her heart filled with complex emotions.

She had never thought that Chu Tianqiu would really come, and bring so many people.

This debt of gratitude… was truly too heavy.

“Sister Zhichun.” Jiang Ruoxue whispered beside her, “Should we continue?”

Yan Zhichun took a deep breath, then nodded: “Continue. We have no way back.”

As her words fell, her gaze once again looked toward the giant bell in the distance.

There, Baihu was still standing in place, staring coldly at everything before him.

He seemed to have anticipated everything, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

And that moment… was approaching.