Chapter 1631: Who to send

"Are you sure?!"

Ye Zhongming lowered his head, staring intently at the child.

"I... I'm not sure!"

The King of Cloud Peak's facial muscles twitched. He was utterly speechless.

One second, the kid was adamant about choosing the Elite Duel. The next, he suddenly changed his mind. Even in the apocalypse, this was far too childish.

How could such an unreliable child lead a team that had survived three high-difficulty trials in the Mountain King Wheel space?

The people behind the child burst into laughter, as if witnessing something extraordinary.

Normally, if a supposed leader was mocked like this by his subordinates, it would mean he had lost control, not just his dignity, but his authority.

Yet, the child showed no embarrassment. Instead, he looked smug.

"Hah, you actually believed me?!" He grinned at Ye Zhongming. "This is the apocalypse! Who’s dumb enough to duel you one-on-one? TEAM, teamwork, got it? You look like some clueless Korean—how’d you even make it this far? Got some secret trick?"

The child’s mood shifted like ocean weather—one moment laughing, the next suspicious.

Ye Zhongming had never considered himself socially inept, but facing this brat, he found himself at a loss for words.

"Remaining selection time: three minutes."

The space’s prompt echoed again, urging a decision.

"Let’s choose the Arena Duel."

Ye Zhongming steadied himself and spoke solemnly to the child.

His reasoning was sound. Since neither side would willingly withdraw, Method Three was the most mutually beneficial option.

Method One was out of the question. Methods Two and Six—Selection Trial and Luck Trial—left the initiative to the Mountain King Wheel space. Choosing either risked unpredictable chaos. Only a mentally deficient evolved would pick them.

That left three: Elite Duel, Arena Duel, and Team Battle.

Elite Duel was Ye Zhongming’s preferred choice. Against another evolved, he was 100% confident. Whether it was this golden-armored brat or anyone else in their faction, he feared no one.

Victory in the Elite Duel would grant superior rewards—not the best, but it avoided the inevitable losses of other methods.

Every member of Cloud Peak here was elite. Ye Zhongming didn’t want a single casualty.

But the child had outright rejected the Elite Duel, leaving only Arena Duel and Team Battle.

Between these two, the Arena Duel meant fewer participants. Even if there were sacrifices, the numbers were controllable. Rewards weren’t Ye Zhongming’s priority.

Team Battle, however, was a full-scale clash. While confident in victory, casualties would be unavoidable.

He could dismiss these opponents as lunatics, mock the child’s fickleness—but one fact remained: if the first three trials were the same for everyone, this team’s strength couldn’t be underestimated.

Underestimating them wasn’t an option. Team Battle meant uncontrolled losses. He refused that.

"Arena Duel?" The child’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. "No! You’re setting a trap! I won’t agree. Let’s test our luck instead!"

If possible, Ye Zhongming would’ve reached through the energy shield and strangled the brat.

His way of thinking was worse than an actual seven-year-old.

Was he really the leader?

Ye Zhongming glanced behind the child, wondering if someone else was pulling the strings.

"Choosing Team Battle or other methods means heavy losses. Even if you win, your chances in the next trial plummet. The Luck Trial is too unpredictable. Is that what you want?"

Finding no hidden mastermind, Ye Zhongming tried reasoning with the child.

"Killing you all will be easy," the kid declared smugly, grating on Ye Zhongming’s nerves.

"Remaining selection time: one minute. If no agreement is reached, a random method will be chosen!"

The prompt worsened Ye Zhongming’s mood. He refused to leave fate to chance.

Locking eyes with the child, he growled, "Arena. Duel."

"No! Team Battle!"

The child dug in, refusing to yield.

"In Team Battle, you will die." Ye Zhongming inhaled, making one last effort.

"You’ll die!" The child shot back.

"Fine. Team Battle it is."

Rather than risk randomness, Ye Zhongming relented. Though not his preference, he had no choice.

But then—

"Then let’s do Arena Duel!"

The child flipped again, cutting off Ye Zhongming. In his shrill voice, he shouted at the sky:

"We choose Arena Duel!"

"Arena Duel selection confirmed!"

"Both sides, prepare. The matches begin in one minute. Format as follows—"

"First match: Singles."

"Second match: Singles."

"Third match: Doubles."

"Fourth match: Five-person team."

"Fifth match: Battle Beast battle."

"Preparation countdown begins. Confirm participants."

Ye Zhongming turned and walked away. Further conversation was pointless—this kid was impossible.

Still, getting the Arena Duel was a win.

"I’ll take the first match!"

Xia Bai, Red Hair, and Xiao Min spoke almost simultaneously. Aside from Ye Zhongming, they were Cloud Peak’s strongest individual fighters.

Xiao Min stepped back, knowing she couldn’t match her captain or Red Hair.

Ye Zhongming considered. With two singles matches, he would definitely fight one—but should it be first or second?

It depended on where the enemy placed their strongest fighter. Ideally, he’d face their best. But if he didn’t—between Xia Bai and Red Hair, who had better odds?

With the Undead Dragon-fish, Red Hair was stronger. But now, with it in metamorphosis, the two were evenly matched.

Just then, the enemy made their move.

They had already chosen their first fighter.