Chương 369: Chapter : 369

Julian watched the scoreboard. He fumed with absolute anger. He completely hated losing to a group of people he considered weak commoners.

Laxmi stood proudly next to the large stone lion statue. She held the glowing golden ring high in the air. The bright light shined from the metal. A massive, victorious grin covered her face. She pumped her free fist into the air.

"We did it!" Laxmi yelled happily.

"I found the last one! That makes seven rings for us!" The massive stadium erupted into absolute cheers. The noise bounced off the tall concrete walls. Thousands of citizens screamed with joy. They waved their colorful flags. They loved watching the underdog team make a huge comeback. High above the artificial botanical garden, the giant digital scoreboard flashed brightly. The blue number next to Princess Iris's name jumped to seven. The red number next to Prince Julian's name stayed at six.

The 13th Unit officially took the lead. Princess Iris let out a long, quiet breath of relief. She sheathed her silver rapier. She offered a warm, proud smile to her team. She felt incredibly happy. They had worked very hard to find the hidden artifacts.

"Excellent work, Laxmi," Princess Iris praised her.

"Put the ring in the bag with the others. We secured the majority." Ken Eliot stood near a large green bush. He did not cheer. He did not jump for joy. He just let out a massive, highly dramatic groan. He threw himself backward onto the soft grass. He lay flat on his back and stared straight up at the clear blue sky.

"Finally," Ken mumbled to himself. He wiped a fake bead of sweat from his forehead.

"The game is over. My legs are officially retired. I am never doing cardio again. I am going to buy a wheelchair." He reached into his pocket. He pulled out his crumpled bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. He grabbed a broken chip and popped it into his mouth. He chewed loudly. Crunch. Crunch. Naomi walked over to him. She did not look angry today. She did not yell at him to stand up. Her attitude toward him had changed a lot over the last few days. She smiled a friendly, warm smile.

She gently nudged his shoe with her combat boot.

"You did a good job today, Ken," Naomi said softly. She looked at his messy black hair.

"You actually helped us win the match. You found a lot of rings with your weird luck." Ken grinned lazily. He did not sit up.

"I am a master of finding things while doing absolutely nothing. It is a highly specialized skill. Now, I want my chocolate cake. You promised me a large slice."

"I will buy you the biggest cake in the entire city," Naomi chuckled. She crossed her arms.

"You earned it." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Zinia wiped sweat from her strong arms. She smiled at Laxmi.

"You reached right into that stone lion's mouth. That was very brave. I thought a bug was going to bite you."

"I am fearless," Laxmi laughed loudly. She placed the final golden ring into the small cloth bag on her belt. She pulled the string tight.

"The 7th Prince is probably crying right now. His perfect plan totally failed. We beat him." Sayma stood near the water fountain. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She opened her neat notebook. She clicked her pen. She looked very satisfied.

"We executed the scavenger hunt perfectly. We divided the search grid well. We secured the primary objective." Elma stood a few feet away from the group. The blonde girl from the 16th Unit wore her pristine white and gold uniform. She looked down at Ken lying on the grass. Her cheeks turned a very faint shade of pink. She quickly looked away. She tried to act cool and professional.

"Your unit is very messy," Elma stated defensively. Her voice pitched up just a tiny bit.

"But you got the job done. I suppose you are acceptable teammates for today." Luna rubbed her sleepy eyes. She leaned entirely against Zinia's back. She let out a huge yawn.

"Can we leave now? I want to go to my bed. The sun is too bright. My pillow is very lonely without me." Risa hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly against her chest. She smiled her sweet, innocent smile.

"We won! Everyone is safe! Nobody has to fight today!" The 13th Unit gathered in the center of the plaza. They relaxed their shoulders. They waited for the loud stadium buzzer. The buzzer always sounded when a match was officially over. They waited for the massive wooden doors to open. They waited for the head referee to announce their glorious victory over the stadium speakers. They waited. And they waited. Nothing happened. The stadium speakers stayed completely quiet.

The large wooden exit doors stayed firmly shut. Ken finished another potato chip. He looked around the plaza. He frowned slightly.

"Where is the buzzer?" Ken complained loudly. He stayed flat on his back.

"Is the sound system broken? Did they forget to pay the electric bill? Because I really want to go home. Lying on this grass is making my suit itchy." Naomi looked up at the sky. She noticed the giant digital clock hovering above the arena. Her confident smile slowly faded away. Her green eyes widened with sudden confusion. The bright red numbers on the clock were still ticking down. 45: 00. 44: 59. 44: 58.

"Why is the clock still running?" Naomi asked. She pointed a finger at the giant screen.

"We found all thirteen rings. There are no more rings left hidden on the map. The game should be over right now." Sayma stopped smiling entirely. She quickly flipped through the pages of her notebook. Her eyes darted across her neat handwriting. She aggressively read the notes she took during the pre-match briefing. Laxmi crossed her arms. She looked very annoyed.

"Maybe the referee fell asleep in his chair. Someone should wake him up. I want to go eat my lunch." Ira stared flatly at the ticking clock. Her pale face showed zero emotion. She stood perfectly still.

"Statistically speaking, official tournament matches do not experience technical delays. The Upper Council operates with perfect efficiency. The clock is running intentionally." Sayma gasped. The sound was very sharp. Her face turned completely pale. All the color drained from her cheeks. Her fingers started to shake. She dropped her pen. The pen hit the grass and rolled away.

"Sayma?" Princess Iris asked quickly. She stepped closer to her Vice-Captain. Her violet eyes filled with sudden concern.

"What is wrong? What did you read?" Sayma pushed her glasses up with a trembling hand. She looked at her Princess in pure horror.

"We made a massive mistake," Sayma whispered. Her polite voice shook.

"We did not read the exact wording of the victory condition carefully enough. We assumed the match ended when all the rings were found."

"What do you mean?" Zinia asked. She cracked her knuckles nervously.