'Where did this bastard go?' Felix frowned his eyebrows while activating his infra-ray vision. After another full sweep, he still didn't spot him.

'Don't tell me he is above me?!' 

Felix looked back immediately and was met with the sight of those five players going through the 1st teleportation circle...Still, no sight of Saltz Master.

'He can't just disappear into thin air.' Felix knew that Saltz Master must have used some sort of an ability to conceal himself. Hence, he kept inspecting everything thoroughly in his line of sight.

Yet, he ended up empty-handed again.

'This is a little bit worrisome.' Felix would be lying if he said that he wasn't spooked.

One of the most dangerous players in the game had gone completely invisible.

Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine as he felt like Saltz Master could pop out anytime behind him and stab him.

Most of the players didn't notice Saltz Master's disappearance since they were focused on the race, unlike Felix who had a bet to win.

Meanwhile, Kayn and the viewers were the only ones with knowledge about Saltz Master's current whereabouts.

"Unbelievable, Saltz Master actually took advantage of the previous chaotic situation to cast a shadow on the Orc, Heavy Punch!"

Kayn commentated in admiration while highlighting the hidden play that Saltz Master had pulled off when everyone's attention was on Krialder and Sensation.

It could be seen on the screen that he had cast a shadow on the Orc's back and somewhat teleported to that shadow!

When the Orc entered the teleportation circle, Saltz Master had been taken with him!

Since he ended up luckily being tens of kilometers away from the pack, Saltz Master had benefited from it the most!

The best part?

The f*cking Orc was still charmed, making Saltz Master continue staying connected to him like his own shadow without him noticing anything peculiar!

If it wasn't for Sensation's mental control, Saltz Master would be sensed instantly by the Orc!

"His plan is indeed quite wicked, but how long is he going to remain connected with Heavy Punch?" Kayn wondered while showing the viewers how the Orc kept spinning randomly due to his unbalanced state.

Since he was under a heavy dose of mental control, he couldn't fix his posture at all. This resulted in Saltz Master feeling everything in his shadow form! 

"Isn't it better to detach and nose-dive? He will be much faster this way." Sophia asked while tilting her head in confusion.

"True, and he wouldn't need to deal with the wild spinning." Kenny agreed, "He must be extremely dizzy now."

"I don't care about any of this!" Olivia booed at the stream and chanted with her tiny fist in the air, "Switch to Felix! Switch to Felix!..."

Alas, George and the rest ignored her chants and continued their discussion on Saltz Master's peculiar plans.

Yet, no matter how long they discuss, they could never find out Saltz Master's true aim!

...

Minutes went by in the race without anyone making sudden moves. Even when they reached the teleportation circles, they simply ignored them and continued diving normally.

No one was a moron to make such a risky move since any teleportation they take now has the possibility to send them back to the first teleportation circle.

Since they had already entered it before, they wouldn't be able to use it again.

Hence, they would be left at the far back with almost no chance of winning the game unless everyone died somewhat.

Felix and Wild's Breath were currently one of the 7 players at the back of the pack.

Due to the teleportation circle, the pack was actually split up into multiple groups. The biggest one was Felix's group.

Since the thermosphere layer's height ranges from 90km to 800km, the players had to actually drop for about 160km just in this layer alone!

Double the distance they require to travel through the other three layers!

Hence, the reason why the race had entered a prolonged peaceful period that lasted for 5 minutes before another speeding ring had appeared before all.

Because the pack had been split up, thinning the numbers of players, a silent agreement was made to simply go through them without starting needless trouble.

The only one who ended not entering the speeding ring was Saltz Master who still remained connected to the spinning Orc throughout the entire duration! 

In those 5 minutes, his absence was finally noticed by the rest of the players.

However, all of them assumed that he had been teleported to the very front previously and he was too far to be seen.

This conclusion had made them slightly antsy but still, no one made any rush moves.

Meanwhile, Sensation was getting closer and closer to the Orc since she had received that 20% speed boost unlike him.

She appeared quite desperate to recover her meatshield as she had been focusing all this time to bridge the gap between them.

When Kumiho saw this, her grip tightened on her armchair.

"Heh, finally starting to get nervous?" Erebus smirked while supporting his head with his palm.

"Can you blame her?" Lady Sphinx said casually, "Her champion is about to face the deadliest ambush in her life by your champion."

"I got to admit, your champion's patience and intelligence are truly praiseworthy." Jörmungandr complemented.

Saltz Master truly deserved to be praised as everything that he went through was to create this deadly ambush on Sensation!

It was to be expected that he would target her since this was a three-way champion's battle. When an opportunity like this showed itself, he didn't hesitate to grab it!

'Filthy Orc, causing me so much trouble.' Sensation cursed in disgust as she neared Heavy Punch.

There were only a few hundred meters separating them...

'At last...' 

Meanwhile, Saltz Master couldn't see anything due to being in a shadow form. However, he could sense the distortion in the air hundreds of meters above him.

He wasn't fully certain if the one causing it was Sensation but he knew that it was highly going to be her since no one would want to be this near to another player...Even to a seemingly harmless Orc.

100m...50m...30m..20m...

Immediately after Sensation crossed the last 20 meters and got on the same level as the Orc, she ordered in her mind, 'Wake up, you useless oxe.'

Just like a magic spell was cast on him, Heavy Punch's eyes started to open up, showing a tiny pink heart in the pupils.

'Now, try to regain your balance.' She ordered again while staying 5 meters to his side, not wanting to get close to him while his limbs were flailing everywhere.

Heavy Punch found it quite difficult to regain his balance due to his dizziness as everything appeared to be spinning in his eyes.

But after he adapted somewhat, he got it done eventually. However, a nasty headache soon assaulted him, making him clutch his head in pain.

'What's wrong with you?' Sensation asked while approaching him rapidly.

'Headache, dizzy, so dizzy.' Heavy Punch responded by single words like a toddler.

Sensation wasn't weirded out by this since it was her abilities doing. Dumbing down the men so they would be much easier to order around.

However, at this very moment, this ability was about to lead to her downfall as Heavy Punch hadn't realized that someone was on him!

'Stop whining, I will fix it now.' Sensation aimed her palm at Heavy Punch's head and released an invisible pink wave.

However, before the particles could reach Heavy Punch's forehead, Sensation was startled by the world suddenly turning completely dark!

'Oh NO!!'

Realizing what happened, Sensation immediately tried to transform into a spirit fox for extra defense!

Alas, no one matter how fast she was, it would never be faster than Saltz Master in his own body...

Slice! Slice! Slice!...

A split second later, Sensation's transformation was stopped on its own.

How could she transform when all of her body limbs and head had been severed from their places like they were made out of tufo?

Sensation's brain had already short-circuited, not allowing her to have a single thought about the situation.

As for her body? It was displaying all signs of fear and agitation. From her accelerated heartbeats to her body hair standing stiffly.

It was said that people with severed heads remain conscious for a few seconds. No one knew if that true.

But in the case of Sensation? She was able to see clearly a shadowy face appear in front of her and mouth off a short sentence.

'May you find peace in the Spiritual Realm.'

Sensation piecing out those words was the last thing that ever coursed in her mind before fountains of blood gushed out of her severed limbs and head!

She couldn't be any more dead!

A champion had fallen but not in the hands of Felix...This was the champion's games, no one was safe from anyone...