'Now, what kind of strategy do they have? They must've seen a guide or something. Maybe they don't approach the trial because it's too dangerous, or they have no means to beat it. Which one is it? If it's the former, then I would like to kill them and try the trial. If it's the latter...'
If the trial required a special item to clear it, then he had to wait just like them to see the situation. Ambushing other players wasn't prohibited.
While Max was keeping an eye on that team, Lily noticed something else. She found another team walking toward the clearing where the lake was.
"There is someone else over there." She whispered at Max and pointed at where she saw the other team.
"They are approaching the trial." He said as he observed them for a while before turning to the ambushing team from earlier, "They seem to be happy with their appearance. As expected, the trial might be too hard for them to beat. They might prepare themselves to ambush the new team."
"So they want to steal the slate from the new team?"
"Most likely." Max nodded, "We will stay here and ambush them after they ambush the new team. At worst, if they fail, we will know how the trial works."
There was nothing to lose by waiting for a while. It might be boring to the viewers. Out of worry, he decided to check on them.
— What do you think?
— Yeah, the new team has 2 girls, and they wore skirts instead of pants like LilyPixel
— So, as expected? They are streamers, right?
— Confirmed. They are THAT KIND of streamer
— Good stuff. I will look forward to it.
Somehow, it was busy with something that he didn't want to get involved in. He definitely knew what they were thinking about when he read skirts.
'I swear I won't allow Lily to wear skirts when we're streaming together.'
He secretly closed the chat and saw the two girls step into the thin bridge. Only one way was open, so they had to go through that and clear the maze before reaching the slate.
They marched without hesitation and reached the first intersection with a symbol written on it. One of them pressed the symbol and a hidden mechanic was triggered. The maze-like bridge was moving. The movement was divided into three.
The inner section was where the pedestal was, and the middle section and the outer section were. The inner and outer moved clockwise while the middle section moved counter-clockwise, renewing the maze.
One girl pointed at the new path they could traverse and continued.
"So the symbol activated traps. I couldn't see the symbol clearly, but it looks like a number 3." Max muttered aloud so Lily and the chat could hear it. "And the symbol is present in every intersection.
Before long, they arrived at another intersection and passed by the symbol. This time, even without them touching it, the trap activated. The bridge was shaking greatly as the railing suddenly disappeared.
"Hyaaa!"
"Hold on!"
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They desperately tried to balance themselves, holding each other. Wind blew from somewhere and once again disturbed them. Their clothes fluttered, and Max suddenly could see nothing but darkness.
"Don't look." Lily's firm voice rang beside him.
Even if she said 'Don't look', he had an idea what happened from the chat that was still visible on the corner of his vision
"No way!" She gasped audibly, her eyes widened in surprise.
— The shock!
— Her reaction is so honest and fresh, lol. Did she never watch any female streamers? The cute ones like them?
— Cute streamers who sell face and entertainment instead of skills are usually like them, using cute words and gestures
— Protect her innocence no matter the cost!
— kekw. LilyPixel be like: Seriously? Are you serious? No kidding?
"That's how it is." Max nodded repeatedly as her reaction amused him.
Then, he turned serious and looked at the hiding team. They approached the two happy girls slowly.
"They begin to move. Lily, prepare your bow."
"Un. I am ready." She knocked an arrow to the bow and aimed at the approaching team.
The girls were still unaware even though the men had gotten so close. They were holding a large knife in their hands. Apparently, they also got an item from the forest.
With a fast movement in their hands, they stabbed the girls from behind.
"Ack!"
"Kyaa!"
The girls screamed just when they noticed it. Their bodies were covered in an eerie red light before turning into pieces. Just like that, they died. Their backpack disappeared, leaving two slates fallen onto the ground.
"Lucky, they have 2!"
"Yeah, we will be able to move to the next map in this game, hahah–"
Crash–!
Before the second guy could finish his sentence, an arrow was lodged in his head, and he disappeared into pieces. A second later, another arrow found its way toward the remaining guy's chest and killed him.
All belongings in his hand, except for the two slates, two large knives, and two arrows from earlier, disappeared into thin air.
Max and Lily appeared from the bushes and approached the loot. He picked up the slates and looked at them.
"Snake and eagle, lucky. We now just need the lion slate to finish this game."
He grinned widely and let out an evil chuckle. Because the atmosphere seemed to fit, Lily also joined and giggled evilly.
After getting satisfied with laughing, he put the slates inside his backpack and took the large knife with him, raising it to his face. He could see his reflection on the shiny blade. His smile looked like a villain's.
Just like before, the atmosphere seemed to fit the situation, so he said something cool, or cringe, depending on the person hearing it.
"All according to plan."
It was satisfying.