Stark looked down at the axe on the ground, then at Shiller. Shiller moved closer and said: "The rule description mentioned that only the Hunter can use the weapon."
"Since only the Hunter can attack others, the common strategy would be to have the Hunter carry the weapon, thus gaining an advantage in the fight, but I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"The game hasn't explicitly limited the abilities of the participants, which means we could potentially encounter various superheroes or mutants with all kinds of abilities. More importantly, a majority of them do not rely on handheld weapons, so what's the purpose of this weapon?"
Stark thought for a moment and felt that Shiller made sense. In a fight, there were many possible situations: if both parties were ordinary people, the one with the cold weapon would definitely have an advantage – the longer and heavier the weapon, the greater the advantage.
But if neither party was an ordinary person, wielding an unfamiliar weapon might even be less effective than using a familiar ability. In that case, the role of the axe would be very limited. Stark had a firm belief that Shiller wouldn't have to rely on this axe to kill.
If viewed from that perspective, the organizer's actions seemed contradictive – they could limit everyone's abilities to the level of an ordinary person, distribute cold weapons, and have everyone hack at each other.
If there were no restrictions on abilities, then an additional ordinary cold weapon wouldn't greatly affect the outcome of the game.
But if we reversed our thinking, while those with superpowers wouldn't need cold weapons, for a superhero like Stark, who didn't have external armor and wasn't too powerful himself, wouldn't holding a cold weapon give him a fighting chance? Yet only the Hunter could wield this weapon.
Could the correct strategy be for the weaker person to wield the weapon as the Hunter? But that would leave the team with almost no attacking capacity, especially since the more powerful person serving as the Priest couldn't attack anyone directly.
Stark voiced his doubts, and Shiller just smiled, saying, "Haven't you noticed something missing in the rules set by the organizers?"
Stark was momentarily taken aback. He had been studying the details of the rules and considering the tactics for the upcoming battle. It wasn't until Shiller's question that he recalled the overall content of the rules and tentatively said, "The victory conditions?"
Shiller nodded: "Two people form a team, one attacks, one explores. You can gather all the fragments to cast a killing curse. You can also steal others' maps. These rules seem to encourage confrontation as if only one team can win this deadly game and the method to win is to kill all others."
"But the organizer never stated that this is the condition for victory. Even though the rules encourage confrontation, it doesn't mean we have to confront."
"But you said earlier that unity might just refer to the unity within the Duelist's team."
"Because many people can think of this, they are more likely to believe that the organizers are encouraging confrontation between teams."
Shiller sighed lightly and explained, "The trouble is, it's doubtful that every team of the six has smart members who think this deeply."
"As long as a team is made up of brutes who believe that the rules mean they can win by killing everyone, they will certainly start killing at sight. This will make everyone feel at risk and they will have no choice but to fight back, thus turning it into a real bloodied game of survival."
Stark could easily follow his logic and thought it was highly likely for what Shiller described to happen. He was all too aware that the world held few people who could think deeply. Most were likely to misinterpret these confrontation-oriented rules and seize any opportunity to strike.
And when others struck at them, they wouldn't sit idly by. As soon as someone died, the situation would spiral out of control and inevitably turn into a bloody free-for-all.
However, the game rules didn't indicate that the last team standing would win. So it was also possible that everyone would end up fighting, and those who triumphed in such brawls couldn't claim victory but would just be waiting for their inevitable elimination in despair.
This was a mean-spirited arrangement, offering hope after despair and then despair after hope - the latter being all the more despairing for being alone at that point.
After some consideration, Stark said, "I suspect there's something wrong with this city. The organizers specifically warned us about dangers lurking in the thick mist. So what could these dangers be that hide such secrets?"
"That's the key." Shiller smiled: "The map that the Priest can get must be extremely important; otherwise, there'd be no need to make a rule that the Priest can't fight back. But maps can be lost - it's clear that they want people to fight over them."
"Only the Priest can see the map, and even if they relay its content, it won't be as accurate as seeing it firsthand. That's why the one who gets the map must have extraordinary map-reading skills and a good sense of direction."
"Looks like it's up to you, then." After sighing, Stark said, "I might be able to glean a lot of information from the map, but correlating it with reality won't be easy for me."
"Do you have a poor sense of direction?"
"It's average," Stark pointed to his head and explained, "I have a lot to think about and often get lost in my thoughts. I easily veer off the right path if I don't pay extra attention, but if I concentrate, I have no problem remembering the route."
"Alright, then. We take separate paths."
Stark looked at Shiller with widened eyes.
Shiller held up two fingers and said, "There are 12 people here in total, six Hunters and six Priests. If we go in different directions, the chances of encountering a Hunter or a Priest will be equal."
"And the interesting thing about this game is that one's identity as a Hunter or a Priest is hidden. You won't know if the other person is a Hunter or a Priest. And because the serial number is printed on the back, no one would know which team you belong to."
"So we can both pose as Hunters. You carry the axe and act as the real Hunter, while I carry something resembling a cold weapon to make others believe that I'm the Hunter."
"The advantage of doing this is that killing the priest can get you the map, but killing the hunter can only get you his weapon, and the weapon can only be used by the hunter. Aside from cold weapons not being significant, there's no benefit for a hunter to have two weapons."
"Therefore, when a hunter encounters another hunter, as long as the other hunter does not initiate the fight, they will certainly consider the potential loss. If they initiate an attack on another hunter, they may get injured, might not kill the opponent, and if they do, it's of no use since the other's priest is not nearby."
"If they leave their priest to pursue other hunters, the priest might get into danger because they cannot initiate an attack, even when they encounter a hunter, they can't fight back."
"Under such circumstances, the hunter near the priest is more likely to adopt a conservative defense strategy. If they encounter an unknown hunter who is alone, they would rarely attack."
"'Won't the other party be suspicious about the lone hunter?' Stark frowned and said, 'Each hunter has a priest to protect, and if a priest dies, the hunter would die too, so isn't it strange for a hunter to leave their priest?'"
"'But there's one more option, which is currently the most secure choice, that is to let the priest, who cannot attack others, hide in a safe place to study the map while the hunter patrols far away.'"
"'In this way, we can both read the map and encounter other priests and hunters. Maybe even find fragments of the Totem Pillar. This is the most efficient choice.'"
"'So, in our next steps, we are more likely to encounter many lone hunters. They will definitely think that we also hid our priest at home and then came out to patrol like they did.'"
"'I got it.' Stark nodded and said, 'Your plan was to go solo in the first place. As a hunter, it's safer to go solo. So, we are bound to have a real hunter and a fake hunter. You're better at deception, so you'll be the fake hunter.'"
"'Exactly,' Shiller revealed a smile and said."
"'What if you encounter a psychopath who attacks indiscriminately?'"
"'Then I'll run.' Shiller continued, 'The priest will get part of the map. I'll patrol around the areas I have a map of as much as possible. This way, I'll know the terrain better than anyone else. I should be able to escape.'"
"'But that would expose your identity.'"
"'But they still wouldn't dare to chase, because they might think it's our tactic. If the hunter I meet finds out that I'm unusually familiar with the terrain, they'll think I'm bait, and my hunter is lurking in some corner, waiting for them to fall into a trap and ambush them.'"
Stark suddenly realized, then shook his head and said, "You are still so good at applying psychology to places unrelated to psychology."
"'I don't think we're the only ones who would think of this tactic.' Stark frowned and said, 'I'm worried we'll run into other smart people.'"
But Shiller said, "'Instead of smart people, I'm more worried about familiar faces.'"
"'So, that's the plan.' Bruce picked up a steel pipe from the side and said, 'Now we are both hunters. On the map I can see, there's a building similar to a TV tower in the center. I'll go around there, and you need to go further away.'"
"'This won't work at all.' Lord Superman frowned and said, 'You have absolutely no combat ability, even if someone attacks you, you can't fight back. It's too dangerous.'"
Without responding, Bruce picked up a stone from the side, flattened the front end of the steel pipe to make it sharp, turned around, and walked towards the other end of the street.
Lord Superman was following him. After Bruce took a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Lord Superman, 'Don't follow me, or do you need me to explain the plan to you again?'
"'The plan is too dangerous, it won't work.'
Lord Superman had just spoken when he found Bruce putting the sharp end of the steel pipe against his own throat, '"I am the priest. If I died, you'd die too. If you keep following me, I'll kill myself right now, and we'll die together.'"
Lord Superman regretted not getting medication for Bruce.
"'This is my plan...'"
Before Batman had finished speaking, Clark had already gone to pick up the short sword on the ground, saying, "'I saw an antique store ahead, maybe we can go in and find some decorative daggers. But if you are confident, you can go without taking anything, and we can part ways.'"
Batman was stunned. He looked at Clark and asked, "'Did you understand the plan?'"
"'Of course.'
"'So you don't have any objections?'"
"'I trust you and time is pressing.' Clark looked at Batman and said, 'You may be surprised why I'm not worried about your safety, but I've realized that as long as you're mentally stable, nothing can defeat you.'"
Batman started to wonder what the young Bruce he had met before had experienced.