Unlike the random teleportation of the first day, the third day’s teleportation was done in groups. This applied not only to those in master-servant relationships bound by Magic Power contracts, like Isaac and his companions, but also to ordinary Adventurer teams—even those who had only cooperated temporarily during the competition would be teleported together.

Conversely, if individuals had no relationship or were hostile toward each other, the teleportation would separate them, even if they were tied together with a rope.

It was a wondrous mechanism, which led many to suspect that a hidden manipulator was actually behind the island competition.

None of that mattered to Isaac, however. This mechanism was a huge advantage for him; at the very least, he wouldn’t have to worry about how to regroup with his companions.

At least, that was what Isaac had been thinking a second ago.

RRIP!

As Isaac watched in confusion, Harmon emerged from the back of his neck. His broad palm gently covered Isaac’s head, and Liu Li silently took a step closer, slipping into the shadow Harmon cast.

Before Isaac could even ask, he understood why.

As it turned out, the competition’s teleportation mechanism considered the rats summoned by Shushu’s Authority to also be its Servant Demons. A single Servant Demon had summoned a massive swarm of other Servant Demons!

According to the competition’s teleportation rules, teammates had to be teleported to the same place. But the destination point had limited space, and there were far too many rats—it was a veritable Rat Tide, after all!

Rats blotting out the sky!

So, the only option was to teleport them into the sky. And thus, upon the beautiful, scenic third island, it began to rain rats...

Watching the rats come splattering down, the corner of Isaac’s mouth twitched. He hadn’t known if there was someone pulling the strings behind the teleportation mechanism before, but now he was certain—there absolutely wasn’t!

Otherwise, anyone with even a shred of intelligence wouldn’t have done something so moronic.

But it was precisely this "rat rain" that sent the third day of the island competition careening in a direction completely different from years past...

In previous island competitions, the third day’s battles, while chaotic, had always followed a certain logic. Those with many Crystal Stones would hide, while those with few would hunt others down. The powerful contenders aiming for first place would also proactively engage in the Hunting of other Crystal Stone holders.

Overall, the dynamic remained one of Hunter and prey; the only difference was that the tracking function made targets much more explicit.

But this time was different. The moment the rat rain began, the participants from the forest island, recalling the nigh-infinite Rat Tide, paled instantly. Some even mistook it for a new feature of the competition. In contrast, those from the desert island had never seen the Rat Tide; they assumed some powerful Wizard was preparing to cast a terrible Curse.

After all, the rats had no Magic Power and weren’t physically durable. Falling from such a height, only a lucky few survived; the vast majority were killed on impact.

No matter how you looked at it, this seemed like the ritual for a Curse from an Evil Sorcerer!

Therefore, regardless of which island they’d come from, a faint panic began to surface in everyone’s hearts. This sense of dread grew as more and more rats splattered down. The corpses and bloodstains left on the rocks, trees, and even their own bodies all served to agitate their already frayed nerves.

And then...

It’s unclear whether it was out of nervousness or malicious intent, but someone launched the first attack. That single action was the spark that ignited the entire battlefield!

In an instant, the entire third island erupted into a massive, chaotic free-for-all!

Isaac’s eyes widened as he watched the absurd scene unfold. ’Wait, what’s going on? This isn’t how the intel said things would go!’

Despite his surprise and confusion, Isaac quickly realized this was his opportunity!

Immediately, the sand at his feet swirled into a vortex, swiftly swallowing him and Liu Li into the earth, leaving only Shushu’s Necromancer Tyrant outside to fight.

This served two purposes. First, the creature was an extra set of eyes, allowing Isaac to monitor the situation outside. Second, it was perfect for making the chaotic situation even muddier. The Necromancer Tyrant that Shushu had created wasn’t actually that powerful in a fight. While its stats were robust, that was all it had going for it; it was of little direct help to Isaac in battle.

But when it came to stirring up chaos, nothing was more suitable than the Necromancer Tyrant!

Shrouded in dense Death Magic Power, it attacked all living things indiscriminately. For melee-focused meatheads, it was the ultimate damage-reflection armor!

Though its combat power was only average, the Necromancer Tyrant’s standing was far from low. As a Necromancer Monarch, it naturally possessed an aura Skill: within a hundred-meter radius, all the dead would rise again as Undead, controlled by the Necromancer Tyrant!

While these were all the lowest-grade, Non-Rank Undead, the most terrifying aspect of such Magic was usually not its ability to rapidly create an army, but the unparalleled terror it inspired in the living!

Combine the two, and you had the ultimate shit-stirrer!

And events unfolded exactly as Isaac had anticipated. The moment the enormous Necromancer Tyrant, reeking of a terrifying undead aura, charged onto the battlefield, it drew everyone’s gaze. Creatures like Undead were simply far too rare a sight.

Furthermore, Necromancers themselves were nearly extinct due to the horrific side effects of their practice. Such beings were typically only found in the depths of the Wilderness, the farthest reaches of the sea, or within certain Evil God Churches.

As a result, the general populace knew very little about them, and what few descriptions existed were all colored by terror.

Thus, its very appearance planted a seed of fear in everyone’s hearts. And that fear blossomed when the first Adventurer to attack the Necromancer Tyrant lunged forward. His sword only managed to chip a crack in its thick bones, yet in return, nearly half his body was corroded by Death Magic Power, leaving him in a state worse than death...