"He's already caught up?"
Noah quickly turned his head, wiping away a drop of blood that had seeped onto his cheek.
About five hundred meters behind him, a grim-faced young man with a hairstyle similar to Benimaru Nikaido from King of Fighters was rapidly pursuing the two.
Between the fingers of the young man's hands, several gleaming short daggers were clutched.
Seeing Noah look back, a cold sneer appeared on the young man's face.
He flicked his arm, and another dagger shot towards Noah.
The dagger thrown by the young man was incredibly precise, aiming directly for Noah's back neck, forcing him to dodge.
Dodging an attack from behind while sprinting would inevitably slow him down.
After Noah evaded the attack, the young man behind him was already less than three hundred meters away.
"Damn it, he's going to catch up.
And I'm in second place, so he only needs to attack me.
The first-place runner won't have any burdens."
Thinking this, Noah looked at the tall, thin man running ahead and sighed inwardly.
Whoosh!
Another whooshing sound.
"I don't care anymore, if this continues, I'll either be killed or caught."
Gritting his teeth, Noah's forward momentum suddenly shifted as he leaped diagonally to the side, darting into the dense forest like a nimble monkey.
The young man behind him was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected Noah to choose to rush into the forest.
"This can indeed effectively avoid my attacks, but with the numerous obstacles in the forest, your speed will definitely slow down.
My goal will still be achieved."
Thinking this, the young man's lips curled into a smirk, and the remaining daggers in his fingers fluttered like butterflies.
One of them suddenly shot out, its target surprisingly being the tall, thin man in first place.
"You might as well fall behind too!"
Having learned from Noah's example, the young man didn't want to stay in second place, a position that would surely invite attacks from those behind him.
It was a wise move to rush to the front while others hadn't caught up yet.
Perhaps not expecting the young man to attack him, the tall, thin man in front was caught off guard by the sudden assault.
Facing the dagger that was about to pierce his neck, the man could only roll to the side to dodge.
"I'm going ahead."
Just as the man stopped to dodge, the young man's figure flashed past him like lightning.
With a grim face, the man reached out an arm, his hand, like an iron clamp, precisely grasping the young man's right elbow, pulling him back forcefully.
At the same time, he threw a punch at the young man.
Hofft was not a gentle person; it was likely that no one from Meteor City could be described as gentle.
Similarly, Hofft was not someone who liked to stir up trouble.
He had intended to avoid conflict and win this test, but who would have thought someone would actively attack him?
Hofft, who believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, naturally wouldn't swallow this insult.
He intended to teach this kid who dared to attack him a profound lesson.
The residents of Meteor City believed in strength and independence.
As an officially unpopulated area, its residents naturally wouldn't have any formal education.
The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, best described the situation in Meteor City.
Only with a certain level of strength could one survive in Meteor City.
When Ash was in Meteor City, he was an expert with daggers.
He always carried several sharp daggers on him, hidden in every part of his body.
To Ash, daggers were like an extension of his body, which he could use with incredible flexibility.
Anyone who dared to provoke Ash would inevitably pay a heavy price.
Although he was only twenty years old, the number of lives Ash had taken already exceeded his age.
To Ash, killing was just a normal occurrence, so he didn't overthink it.
Attacking Noah and Hofft, in Ash's view, was just an ordinary, unremarkable thing.
Someone was blocking his path, so he attacked them to make them move.
If they died, they died; it didn't matter.
That was Ash's mindset.
The moment he felt a tremendous force on his right elbow, Ash reacted instantly.
His uncontrolled left hand, gripping a dagger in a reverse hold, slashed without even looking.
Swoosh!
Blood spurted from Hofft's arm, and he quickly retreated two steps.
"Good reaction," Ash said, turning around and looking at Hofft with a grim expression.
"I was going to cut off your hand."
Just as Ash's dagger was about to cut Hofft's wrist, Hofft immediately released his grip on Ash and retreated.
Even so, a line of blood was left on Hofft's hand.
Although a wound was left on Hofft's hand, Ash was not unscathed.
His right elbow was already bruised and purple; Hofft's grip had directly injured Ash's elbow joint.
"My right arm is unusable."
Feeling the pain from his right arm, Ash assessed his situation.
As an expert with daggers, being unable to use his dominant right arm would inevitably significantly reduce his strength.
"Next, it's your left arm."
Hofft casually wiped the blood from his arm with his palm and looked at Ash.
"Then come and try."
The problem with his right arm didn't affect Ash.
Facing Hofft's declaration, Ash sneered and responded.
Just as the two were at loggerheads, a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes a few meters ahead.
Whoosh!
Then, a figure darted out of the bushes and quickly ran forward.
Looking at the retreating figure, it was Noah, who had been forced into the forest by Ash earlier.
As Ash had judged, after entering the forest, Noah's speed was inevitably affected by the large number of bushes.
However, Noah still followed closely behind the two.
The moment Noah saw Hofft attack Ash, he realized his opportunity had come.
He nimbly leaped onto a tree, and while the two were confronting each other, he used the elasticity of the tree trunk to leap out, returning to the path and directly overtaking both Ash and Hofft.
After sprinting forward for several tens of seconds, Noah saw the finish line.
A low wall and a small iron gate stood there, and beside the gate, Wutong was already waiting, though Noah didn't know when he had arrived.
"First, passed."
After Noah passed through the iron gate, Wutong's emotionless words reached his ears.
About ten seconds after Noah passed, Ash's figure appeared in Noah and Wutong's line of sight.
At this point, Ash was covered in blood, his entire right arm was twisted into an irregular shape, and his left wrist was also bruised and purple, looking very miserable.
Ash slowly walked to the iron gate, and Wutong's voice sounded.
"Second, passed."