Chapter 182: Hungry for Revenge
Sallya, Daraen, and Inigo’s expressions turned incredibly grim.
Meanwhile, Walhart watched everything with a broad smile on his face.
Not even the Branch Leader Elder could change the rules.
To him, that meant Priam was already finished.
Normally, only those recognized as Rare Geniuses or Super Geniuses were arrogant enough not to fear the sect’s rules.
They knew their own worth and were certain the sect had no desire to lose them under any circumstances.
Because of that, they acted almost however they pleased.
As a result, a large portion of the disciples sent into exile were precisely the most talented ones.
Yet not a single one had ever returned throughout the history of the outer sect.
"This isn’t fair!" Daraen said, unable to hold herself back. "There has to be a way to appeal to the main sect. This punishment has to be reconsidered, or I’ll also—"
"I appreciate everyone’s good intentions," Priam interrupted, looking at those supporting him with a calm expression. "But I didn’t act on impulse, and I always accept the consequences of my actions before I act. There’s no need for all of you to be so upset. It’s not like I’m dying. I’m just going away for some intense solo training. I’ll be back soon."
"Priam... you..." Daraen’s voice trembled, genuinely unable to accept the situation.
Priam sighed.
"Don’t let your emotions control you. Every one of you has your own dreams and goals within the sect. And I have my own path to follow... Don’t forget that I came from the mortal plane. I’ve already gone through countless hardships, and some ’dangerous’ exile isn’t going to defeat me."
Everyone behind Priam nodded with pained expressions.
They were convinced he was only downplaying the situation so they wouldn’t worry.
To them, it was obvious he was walking toward his own execution.
As for the Elders of Law, they naturally mocked the situation.
"Elders of Law, conclude the competition as usual and send everyone back," the Branch Leader Elder ordered with a slight wave of her hand. "As for Priam, make your preparations. In three days, you’ll be exiled."
After speaking, Mishnar vanished before everyone’s eyes.
Just like when she’d appeared, no one could tell how she’d left.
The Elder of Law in charge let out a cold snort before turning his gaze toward the stunned disciples below.
"First place: Walhart’s faction, with forty-one flags."
"Second place: Daraen’s faction, with thirty-five flags."
"Third place: Sallya’s faction, with twenty-two flags."
"Fourth place: Inigo’s faction, with one flag."
"Last place: Priam’s faction, with zero flags."
Only one flag had been destroyed by Shione.
Everyone took a deep breath as they heard the results, overcome with a bitter feeling.
"Now, here are the final standings after the first faction competition:"
1st: Walhart’s Faction — 135 points.
2nd: Priam’s Faction — 130 points.
3rd: Daraen’s Faction — 60 points.
4th: Sallya’s Faction — 50 points.
5th: Inigo’s Faction — 30 points.
The members of Priam’s faction sighed.
In the end, because Walhart’s faction had finished last in the entrance test and now placed first in this competition, Priam’s lead hadn’t fallen by much.
Second place was still an incredibly good result.
But...
No one was happy.
Walhart’s booming, mocking laughter echoed across the desert.
"Hahaha... Priam! Before you leave this world behind, don’t forget to officially appoint the new leader of your faction. That way I can keep profiting from all of you for a long time."
"You bastard! He’ll be fine! You’re the one who won’t have a good ending!" Sallya exploded, completely outraged.
"Hmph, what kind of joke is that? In all this time, not a single exile has ever returned alive. At this very moment, he’s practically already dead. I’m only telling the truth. After all, if he dies without officially appointing a new faction leader, all of his soldiers will lose their points and suddenly be left with nothing. That’s what’s really unfair, isn’t it?"
Everyone in Walhart’s faction burst into loud laughter.
The eyes of everyone on Priam’s side turned bloodshot with rage, as if they desperately wanted to charge in and kill them.
Watching the scene, the Elders let out helpless sighs.
The five factions had become a ticking time bomb immediately after the very first faction competition.
What was supposed to be a healthy contest had turned into something deeply personal—and extremely harmful to the sect.
After all, that competition existed only to divide resources and encourage everyone to train.
In the real battles they would face in the future, all of those factions would be allies, fighting side by side.
They were supposed to respect one another to some extent, not nurture such deep hatred that they wished each other dead.
"You know that even if I kill you right now, I won’t receive any additional punishment, right? I’ll just be sent to that place of exile."
Suddenly, Priam’s cold voice echoed out as he stared at Walhart with absolute indifference.
Walhart swallowed hard, instinctively feeling cold sweat run down his spine.
From the look in Priam’s eyes, he realized those weren’t empty threats.
Priam truly would dare to attack with the intent to kill right then and there.
Of course, with all the Elders present, accomplishing anything would be impossible, but...
Even so, Walhart felt a strange, instinctive fear.
"Enough wasting time," the Elder of Law said coldly in a loud voice.
"With the first faction competition concluded, all of you should use the resources you’ve earned to prepare yourselves properly. In three months, every faction will gather to face a real life-and-death battle. Don’t waste this time, because once it’s over, you’ll be killed without mercy and without a second chance."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone saw the space around them begin to distort.
Within seconds, every faction had returned to the center of its own residence.
At that moment, everyone in Priam’s faction turned anxious eyes toward him.
He simply made a small gesture with his hand before turning to face them.
"Why the long faces? You heard what he said. In three months, we’ll be facing a real life-or-death battle. Second place already guarantees us plenty of resources. In other words, you’ve finally obtained what you’ve always dreamed of."
Everyone sighed and clenched their fists.
At that moment, Priam took off the leader’s badge and handed it to Dandara.
Holding it in trembling hands, her eyes instantly filled with tears.
Priam let out a snort.
"Hey, you’re my vice leader, aren’t you? Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only giving this to you because I don’t know how long it’ll take me to come back. You’ll use this badge to claim the Super Genius resources I’ll receive and distribute them properly for everyone’s benefit."
"I don’t have much time, so I’m not going to waste it on a long speech."
Priam turned toward everyone.
"I hope you’ve all learned an important lesson from this competition. I won’t blame anyone for what happened. After all, this faction has only existed for a little over a month. Many of you had never even met each other before. Others didn’t have enough time to adjust to your new lives and completely different outlooks, so you made choices you now regret. But from now on, you’re the core foundation of this faction. You must unite and truly get to know one another. In the future, when new members arrive, you’ll be the ones evaluating them, training them, and taking responsibility for them. Never again will rotten fruit be able to infiltrate us so easily."
Everyone listened carefully and nodded.
People were complicated.
Even after Priam had saved their lives, taught them incredible things, and promised to give them far more than they’d ever dreamed of...
There were still fools who had chosen the path of betrayal.
As for those who had admitted their mistakes, Priam couldn’t afford to act too harshly.
He chose to believe those people would become even more loyal than most after being shown forgiveness.
As for the traitors who had chosen to remain hidden...
They wouldn’t last much longer.
Now everyone else was completely alert and hungry for revenge.
The slightest suspicious behavior would provoke a fierce reaction from the entire faction.
In the end, everything that had happened had served to unite and solidify the faction.
What had once been a massive group of random outcasts had now become a true army of Mages, united in life and death.
But the heavy price required to achieve that...
Would fall entirely on Priam’s shoulders.
He let out a quiet sigh.
’Well, I chose to be everyone’s leader, so I have to take full responsibility.’