Chapter 306 A Black Horse

(AN: Btw, don't worry, I am not going to drag this out for who knows how long by writing about every duel... I will just skip most of them, except for a few crucial ones. I will also keep them fast and short.)

POV The Long Forgotten Hero that promised that he would return:

People cheered from the tall black walls and towers built on top of the volcano, surrounding the pit of blazing hot, molten stone.

A player dressed in shiny, silvery armor, with a long white cape flowing down his back, stood on the black, wide bridge. He had no helmet, letting his shoulder-length, dark hair flow in the wind.

The searing hot magma flowed under the bridge, the hot air and toxic fumes rising up, making even the simple task such as breathing challenging.

He was covered in sweat, but he still stood firmly, the orange light of the lava reflecting on the polished surface of his armor.

Far on the opposite end of the bridge stood his foe. His tall stature reached at least two meters, his whole body covered in matte black plate armor, spikes, and glowing red runes covering every centimeter of it.

The two red, glowing eyes stared at him from a distance.

Both of them at once took a step forward, the cheering of crowds reaching all the way towards them from the tall black towers and walls built all around the caldera.

'Cheering at killing and slaughter... I must win and secure at least a small piece of land that I will protect from the evilness of this world.'

He would never forget his past humiliation, he wanted to fight for justice with a good and noble goal, to punish the evil players, but the sheer number of evil players still defeated him.

'Yet, now it looks like I was right. This isn't just a game, this is also a real world just like Earth, and we are causing mayhem and death here without any repercussions.'

"Start now! Fight for the glory!" His mind turned back to his foe.

The bridge slightly cracked under their feet, shockwaves bouncing between the volcano's walls as the two players shot against each other as if they were bullets fired out of sniper rifles.

The world turned into a blur, the hero's sword brightly shining in the white, pure light. The black mass of armor getting closer and closer, the huge, red-glowing axe whistling through the air, each of his steps loudly ringing against the stone.

'I will finally rise and become the hero that I was always supposed to be!'

In the blink of an eye, they crossed the bridge, the glowing white sword and the red glowing axe explosively colliding with each other.

Two energies exploded out, accompanied by a bright flash of light, a loud bang, and a shockwave that swept through the volcano and sent ripples through the lake of lava.

The next moment, the axe pushed forwards. Hero felt pain in his arms, the immense force of the player pressing against his sword, pushing his weapon away as if it was nothing but a twig held by a child.

'What?!'

The axe finally broke through his defense and descended straight toward his chest. Before he could even blink, it sliced through his armor, and his blood exploded out in a red geyser.

He was in shock; his dream and chance for redemption gone. He stumbled back, more and more blood flowing out, the world around him quickly darkening.

The sounds became muffled, but he still heard the cheers of the crowd grow louder than ever before.

"Fools! I came here to save you! Why are you cheering on my def..."

Before he could finish his words, the red-glowing axe swished again through the air, the black, armored giant laughing.

Ding!

//

You have been killed by the player: DarkRonon

//

POV Tanya:

The young woman sitting high on the tower nodded as she crossed a name out of the parchment in her hand with a single pen stroke.

'One potential troublemaker is gone...' The competition was supposed to be fair, but that was only for the naive and stupid. The rewards were a territory. And that carried lots of significance for national security.

'Hahaha, fools, do they really think that we would let any potential troublemaker win... They need to be eliminated first through manipulating the matchmaking, and then we can start worrying about letting those capable of territorial management while still having personal power to advance further.'

Tanya smiled while watching as a new duo of players entered the arena.

'Huh, this one is ours...'

POV Captain:

The captain stood on the bridge, with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of eyes looking at him from every direction. He enjoyed every second and moment of it. He wanted and loved the attention.

Still, he had no time to think about it for too long as he warily stared at his foe, already feeling like his plan was falling apart, 'To think that I would have to face one of them right in my first battle. That is not good, I will have to reveal more of my power sooner than I intended.'

"Just surrender, you have no chance! Hahaha," His foe laughed like a maniac, his black mantle waving in the air currents, keeping the smoke away and allowing the audience to see what was happening.

His bronze mask reflected the light of the lava burning underneath the bridge, giving him an eerie look.

'Damn, shit this! I will beat him into a pulp!'

"Start now! Fight for the glory!"

The captain remained standing on his spot, carefully holding his broad sword in a defensive stance, his muscles tense and his mind focused as he prepared to react to any attack.

"What? Are you too scared to fight me?"

He clenched his fist, his metallic gauntlet audible scratching against itself, 'No, I have to keep my mind clean.'

The cultist player moved forward, his black robes rustling with each of his steps, lightning sparkling and glowing around his body.

The next second, electricity flashed in the eyeholes of his dragon-shaped mask, and a pulsing arc of lightning shot out of the cultist's outstretched palm, forming a line across the whole bridge, the bright blue light reflecting within the polished surface of the bridge and the bloodstains left behind after the previous battles.

With a calm mind, Captain Kusari moved the blade of his sword forward, his aura seeping into the metal.

The next moment, the lightning smashed into it as if it were a lightning rod during a thunderstorm. The blade loudly rang as it vibrated under the electricity flowing and sparking along its short but wide blade.

Without any worry, he stepped forward, more and more of his life force moving into his sword, pushing back the surging current of electricity. The audience's cheers got louder and louder with each second, making his mood better and better.

POV Vesuvius:

The dragon stood on top of a far peak, his golden eyes looking towards the distant volcano, penetrating through the clouds and smoke as if it didn't even exist.

The next moment his eyes went wide with anger and surprise, 'What is this?'

He thought that everything was perfectly planned and that the winners of the matches were already expected.

On the bridge under him, two players faced each other, one in a black mantle and dragon-shaped mask. He was shooting one lightning arc after another, the loud crackling echoing through the volcano pit, accompanied by constant and bright light flashes.

Yet, the second player, armed to the teeth in a cheap-looking armor and plain metal sword, dashed forward with the speed of the wind, slashing the lightning bolts with his sword as if they were just straws of dry grass.

With each cut, the sword sparked with lightning that started to circle its shiny blade, getting brighter and wilder with each bolt of lightning it absorbed.

The dragon already saw the outcome, his mind already analyzing the result, 'Some kind of element absorption... the question is, is it the sword or the player himself? Also, what are the limits of this power? Can it absorb all elements or just lightning?'

In the meantime, the armored player reached the retreating player in black, the crowd of onlookers going wide with screams and cheers.

The next moment the sword cut through the air, its blade crackling with lightning. The blade moved with an immense speed, cutting through his minion, his two halves falling to the ground.

There was no blood, the lightning perfectly cauterizing the wound.

Vesuvius hated to see his minion lose, but what infuriated him most was the incompetence of his minion.

He wanted to flap his wings and smack away both the killer and his minion, yet he shook his head, 'No, finding powerful players willing to join my kingdom is the point of this tournament. There are bound to be some unexpected twists. Yet... I thought that we had identified all of the strong participants. So who is this one?'

He stared at the body of his slain minion with a still-present sense of annoyance, 'Who is this noob? This was pitiable... Like, is he an idiot? Why has he kept attacking in the same way while seeing that it had no effect?'

"You Majesty, I am ready, we can start." The melodic voice of the elf reached him from behind.

He wanted to watch more, but there was something that he wanted even more, 'I wonder how good will my runic armor look. There is no need to care about these first matches.'