Chapter 613 - Group Tournament 2

1st Match: China vs India!

The Chinese team came up on the left with solemn expressions, facing off against the Indian team on the right who looked ready to brawl. However, two fellows from each team had different expressions.

Ao Potian, unlike his wary and fearful teammates, looked confident and arrogant. Kiran, easily the most powerful in the entire tournament after Essence in his Dragon Form, was rather grimacing.

When the match was about to begin, Ao Potian pointed at Kiran with a smug smile.

"Impudent member of an Advisor Lineage, how dare you to stand before me? Quickly quit the match and stand by the side, or your entire clan will suffer my wrath!"

Ao Potian did not lower his voice, but he did not mention any clan names, just the general rank of the Buddha Lineage. Since they were all under the Pangu Alliance, they were practically bound to obey.

This was one of the biggest regrets of the lower lineages, but it was impossible for them to break away lest there be dire consequences. Even their progenitors had sided with Pangu, so the hate between them and the dual Lucifer-Amaterasu Lineages was strong.

Kiran contemplated heavily about what to do, but he soon heard his Mother's voice in his ears. Juno spoke coldly and darkly, her tone revealing her true thoughts.

'What Pangu 'Alliance'? It was an enslavement deal forced upon us. The progenitors might have joined Pangu of their own will after being convinced by him, but back then we, their descendants, were given full respect and treatment by everyone, regardless of our rank and standing!'

'However, the moment the progenitors left, this slowly started to change as the Pangu Lineage felt like they were the rulers of the world and deserved to lord over us. They started giving us arbitrary orders and made demands that made no sense!'

'Out of respect for the ancient alliance, we mostly obeyed. Along with that was the worry that the Progenitors would return and be unhappy if we dared to disobey the Pangu Lineage.'

'Yet, this only got worse with time. They provide no assistance or anything of value to us, yet keep demanding tributes and the like. Does that make sense? They are banking on the fact that we could never reconcile with the other two Rulers!'

Juno suddenly smiled weirdly. 'But hehe, aren't the prodigies of the Lucifer Lineage and Amaterasu Lineage your current superiors? Not only that, they consider you a friend and an ally. You, who possesses the best bloodline of the Buddha and Merlin Lineage are destined to rule them both!'

'So why are you still listening to a member of an obsolete group? Without that Local Fool fellow, how can they ever rise up again?' Juno snorted coldly.

Kiran's mind felt like it had exploded. It was one thing to harbor resentment and rebellious thoughts within and another to have them confirmed by your parent/guardian as right.

He took a deep breath and smiled calmly, entering into a battle stance. He nodded to Slight Breeze who was not a lady of the Lineage and his other teammates, showing that he was no longer under duress.

Everyone had heard what Ao Potian had demanded and had started to worry that there was some foul play. After all, no one wanted to suffer in the real world because of a 'simple' game, so if Kiran had chosen to admit defeat, they would have accepted it.

To see him so calm refreshed them and cleared their worries, their battle intent flaring up.

As for Ao Potian, his face twisted with anger. He couldn't believe that a member of a lower Lineage would actually dare to refuse him, as this was the first time in his life that something like this had happened.

His teammates looked confused.

Do you have dirt on the fellow or not? Should we act like young masters or not? Please give us an answer, waiting online urgently!

The crowd booed out Ao Potian and the Chinese team heavily for their actions, as it left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

Threatening someone in real life because of a game? How despicable and shameless.

The Chinese crowd was surprised by the boos. They were led to believe that Young Masters deserved to do what they wanted since their clans and backings were powerful, and such things were a daily occurrence in the mainland.

Amber let the drama stew for a bit before calling the match to begin. She too had started to disdain the Pangu Lineage the more she and the AI had delved into the bloodline memories from Local Lord, realizing that while Pangu himself had been an antagonist, he hadn't been a 'bad guy' per se.

However, his Lineage was reproachable. They seemed to have inherited every negative trait of their progenitor and later generations had only worsened it, creating the current situation of today.

When the match began, Ao Potian channeled his great strength and charged at Kiran. The fellow first tried to fight in his normal state without the enhancement of any energy, but was almost broken into pieces by Potian.

If it wasn't for a quick heal from Slight Breeze's Wind Sprites, Kiran would be half gone. Potian simply chuckled and struck again, but the leader of the Five Generals entered his Base Warrior form, which was the merger of Internal Force and Noble Energy.

Like this, he clashed with Potian once more, but he was only sent back a few steps while Potian did not move. Potian's casual smirk was cleared by this as he became solemn.

He knew of Kiran's various forms, and for the fellow to be on par with him with just this base one, there was serious trouble abound.

Kiran himself was shocked that his Base Warrior form was enough to contend with a Pangu Lineage member who was known for their strength and regenerative power.

He then smiled widely as he began using an array of skills against Potian. The two clashed heavily in the center of the arena, their bouts causing shockwaves to occur and the poor arena to crack once more.

Potian had a slight advantage over Kiran in terms of techniques, but when Kiran used skills, he easily overwhelmed Potian due to the nature of his Legendary Class.

Potian only had an average class and he had never bothered to learn skills because, like any typical bloodline wielder, he regarded his bloodline as paramount. Why did he need anything else?

He naturally regretted this seeing as how Kiran was effectively beating him senseless, but his regenerative power kept him in the match with ease. It was a stalemate currently, but as for the other team members, it was pretty clear cut.

India had already eliminated two of China's members without losing a single one of their own thanks to Slight Breeze's supportive skills. The last two were struggling, yet were soon cleared out, being unable to resist the other team's numerical advantage.

The team then came to help Kiran, and soon Ao Potian was beaten out of the ring. They were unable to kill him with that bullshit regeneration, but knocking him out had proven managable.

India won the match without losing a single member, showcasing their immense skill and strength.

First match winner: India!

2nd Match: Central Country vs Poland!

The Central Country fighters came up on the left while the proud Polish came up on the right. Even though they knew they were outgunned, they didn't care.

Hadn't they been outgunned in every war? Yet here they were, still standing and still proud of their heritage!

Deployed and co saw their unflinching gaze and battle intent, feeling respect for their foes. As such when the battle began, they did not underestimate their enemies and fought with full strength.

The Polish fought hard and powerfully, but they were still eliminated without being able to take out even a single member from the Central Country's side.

Despite their loss, they still shook hands with the winners and swore to become stronger for the next battle. In response, Deployed released a rare soft smile as he promised to wait for them.

Second match winner: Central Country!

3rd Match: Japan vs Ghana!

The Japanese team came up on the left while the Ghanaian team on the right. Both sides greeted each other before entering solemn battle stances.

Japan had Keira, Hera, Panty King, and Loli King, a deadly combination. Ghana had the almighty Boyd and the budding talent, Shani. The tense air between the two sides almost choked the crowd until Amber called for the match to begin, wherein the tension exploded into battle intent!

Boyd and Keira clashed, their strikes filled with such power and brutality that they created a dead area around them. Shani and Hera did battle from a distance, both of them taking to the air in various ways, one firing charged bolts while the other unleashed spells from Mystra's weave with ease.

Loli King summoned his tiger beast and battled alongside it, while Panty King wielded a sword in his right and magic in his left.

They clashed with the other fighters from Ghana, easily overwhelming them with their Epic Classes while their opponents had Semi-Epic at best.

In a matter of seconds, Panty King and Loli King disposed of their foes and helped their last teammate deal with his, ending that minor stalemate. They then moved to assist Keira and Hera with their own tough foes.

Hera was utterly suppressed by Shani and on the verge of defeat. As one of the Three Pinnacles she was far more skilled than Shani as a player, but Shani's nonsensical ability to fire endless bolts of energy kept interrupting her casting, forcing Hera to either use level 0 spells to resist or dodge.

A caster like Hera either needed time or some form of shield to allow her to work efficiently. This didn't come until Loli King and his beat pounced at Shani, forcing her to split her attention between him and the other Japanese team member.

Shani only had two crossbows, so at best she could only attack two people at once. This left Hera alone to begin casting a powerful spell from the third level of the weave.

Shani saw what Hera was trying to do from the corner of her eye, and realized she couldn't let this happen. As such, she used a skill against the other Japanese team member, shocking the trio and eliminating the fellow with sheer power.

This left her open for a strike which Loli King capitalized on, knocking her away, while also buying Hera enough time to unleash her spell, Magma Ball!

A giant ball of magma that burned with orange flames formed in front of Hera, angling itself towards Shani. It was fired out with extreme haste, hurtling towards the Deadeye.

Shani yelped and used her active skill Overload Shot.

｢Overload Shot – Active skill

Effect: Overload your crossbows to contain bolts that are about to be fired within, eventually forcing them into one single overpowered and explosive bolt that fires out to hit anything within 1 kilometer. This does 1,000% arrow damage to a single target.

Note: Using this skill reduces the durability of your crossbow by 10%.

Cooldown: 1 hour.｣

This overpowered bolt collided with the magma ball and broke it apart by 70%, but 30% of it continued to hurtle at her. Before she could escape, Loli King held her down with his beast, forcing the three of them to be struck by the magma.

As one could expect, they were all reduced into charred husks the next second. Hera then took a deep breath and channeled all of her Arcane Energy into casting a spell from the 5th level of the weave.

As for Boyd, he was contending against the duo of Keira and Panty King, having long since entered his Berserker mode. The Mana Swordsman, although joining the fight later, was almost dead under the fast and furious strikes of Boyd which contained obscene power.

Keira was the only one able to match his power, and she even had to activate a few of her skills to keep him at bay. Neither one of them used their OP invincible/binding animation skills, as they knew it would start a troublesome trend.

They just fought normally aside from that. The Maverick was slowly gaining the upper hand thank to his passive Bide, which allowed him to become stronger the more damage he took.

Boyd delivered a blow toward Panty King that knocked the fellow down. The next moment, he brought his second axe down, nailing the fellow to the floor and crushing the arena beneath.

However, Boyd's attack left him open to the spell Hera had been preparing, and what a powerful one it was!

Summon Storm Lord!

The arena flashed with thunder and lightning, some drops of rain falling about. The clouds condensed into a humanoid body that wore the electricity as a robe, its features partially obscure, but noble.

It then struck out at Boyd with hundreds of thunderbolts, calling even more down. Boyd was able to deflect a few of these strikes, but was eventually hit. The power paralyzed him slowly as he was forced to his knees, but he roared and rose up on his feet again.

He tried to strike away the bolts, and succeeded a few times, but was drowned in them until he was turned into a charred corpse just like Shani. This inevitably left only a panting Keira and a completely spent Hera.

Japan may have won, but they certainly paid a price to eliminate a team with only a single member of the Five Generals.

Third match winner: Japan!

4th Match: Russia vs Mexico!

The Russian team sang their national anthem proudly as they rushed up the stage on the left, their hairy chest twitching and tingling in tune with the beat.

The Mexicans, led by Essence Stalker who was casually smirking, Tunder Power who was serious as always, and Uno who had a raised eyebrow, came up on the right and settled themselves.

Despite facing the strongest group team, the Russians were not cowed. Rather, they posed fabulously as Amber called for the match to begin, then roared:

"Otets Lenin! Otets Stalin! Otets Putin! DAYTE NAM SILU!"

The symbol of a hatchet and sickle crossed together appeared behind them in a red light, a heroic and valorous song playing the next moment. The Russians in the crowd rose to their feet in salute while weeping in pride.

They then roared and engaged the Mexicans.

Uno threw his shield.

Tunder fired two Epic Arrows.

Essence created a horizontal void slash.

The Russian team was one-shot immediately.

No one was shocked by this, as it was expected. Rather they respected the underdogs for valiantly fighting with all they had, despite not being able to do anything in the end.

Fourth match winner: Mexico!

5th Match: Canada vs Korea!

The Canadian team entered the stage from the left, led by Rambunctious Buttlover, Gentle Flower, Cold Summer, and Joker. They met the Korean team who were led by Kicked Bucket.

The Korean team looked solemn, but they did not back down. Once again, before the match had actually begun, the Canadian team rushed up to beat up and capture RamButt before he could open his mouth, gladly accepting to fight with this handicap.

When the match was called to begin, Joker and Cold Summer took the fore and they launched their powerful attacks. Gentle Flower easily supported the duo with her abilities, knocking out three of the Korean team members in mere minutes.

Kicked Bucket fought ferociously and defended his last teammate while managing to remove one of Canada's members. But his solo effort was not enough to rewrite the truth of reality.

He was unceremoniously knocked off the stage after being blasted by Joker's cards and Cold Summer's Water Dragons. Kicked Bucket sighed, but found that a warm set of hands helped him to his feet.

He noticed Maple Forest was lifting him up, her huge breasts heaving with effort due to her armor. He eventually shook off his sadness and rose up, gazing at her with confusion.

Maple Forest was tall, but Kicked Bucket still stood over her. She folded her arms and looked up at him saying: "Deja de deprimirte! Isn't there something to look forward to later?"

Kicked Bucket's mind shook as he remembered a certain offer. Suddenly, he felt much better, and his eyes began to display some bestial qualities.

Maple Forest smiled. "That's much better. Keep that fierceness until later. We'll see if you can meet my standards."

Fifth match winner: Canada!

6th Match: France vs Morocco!

The French team was led by Cobra, Bella, and Young Duel. They came up the stage on the left with pleasant smiles. The Moroccans climbed the stage with amiable expressions.

Cobra greeted the other team kindly. "Bonjour, mes amis. Faisons un bon match!"

The Moroccans also bowed and reciprocated the gesture. While the latter country was once a colony of the other, they had retained extreme good relations even up until now, the former often giving aid to the latter.

Both parties began the fight without fanfare. Even though they were good pals internationally, they still went all out on the stage. With Bella, Cobra, and Young Duel, the Moroccan team's defeat was unavoidable.

However, none of them were killed, only incapacitated and gently removed from the stage. After that, they bowed to the French team and left. The crowd was pleased by that wholesome match that embodied good sportsmanship.

Sixth match winner: France!

7th Match: Italy vs Brazil!

Loving Aunt led the trouble-making Lucifer Lineage lads onto the stage, the group looking like they couldn't wait to cause trouble. It was like a mother hen lading her four troublesome chicks around.

As for the Brazilian team, they were led by Dreary Traveler. The fellow gazed at Loving Aunt darkly, smirking as he was not too worried about her.

After all, toxins and poisons were only effective on the living. Against undead, it was a waste of time.. She was lucky he never met her in the tournament, otherwise, she would have been eliminated with ease.