Chapter 99 Vensalor

"Good morning, everyone!" Max opened the show with a clenched fist and a loud response filled with excitement.

"We are about to witness an epic battle between your favorite participants, Nathan, The Vensalor, and a party of one hundred hunters, The Void. Can you imagine it? This is sure to be a battle for the ages!"

Max showed the footage on the giant screen behind him. On a snowy plain, a small igloo stood in the center, with a hundred people surrounding it from a distance.

"They have come from all over the world, from many backgrounds, with their hopes! Each one of them is determined to prove that they are the strongest and that no one, not even Nathan and his friends, can stand up to them.

The Void have already made their presence felt by occupying the eleventh position. They are out to show just how far they can go!

Vensalor, there are only five members on the team. But they have been putting on an impressive show and garnering the attention of many."

Max spoke with a high tone, provoking the audience to feel the tension that was about to happen.

"It's time to decide the victor of this epic battle: the Vensalor or the Void with its hundreds of hunters? It's up to you to show your support! Cast your vote and let us know who you think will be the winner. Make some noise and let's make this battle the most epic one yet!"

Max ended the opening with thunderous applause.

***

Anonymous Horse: "This is going to be an epic battle."

Anonymous Mouse: "I'm sure it's going to be an exciting and thrilling battle between Nathan and his friends against 100 people. This is so crazy."

Anonymous Monkey: "Who should I support? I wanted to bet on Nathan, but 100 of them? That seems like an impossible fight to win!"

Anonymous Cat: "I still have faith in Nathan's team. Everyone in his party is really powerful, apart from that one Asian guy, haha!"

Judging from the statistics, this was an immense event, with around 3 million people watching the event live. Even a small thing that happened would become a part of history for most people on The New Earth. It is very rare for a live show to attract so many people.

CEHA has truly succeeded in capturing the world's attention. Whatever happens after this will be a turning point in the history of The New Earth.

***

The sound of light, slow clapping echoed in the room a few times before a cynical, low laugh escaped Pascal Rigal's lips. He was the center of world attention at that time.

Pascal was standing in front of a big screen in his room, watching Max, who was broadcasting the program he had created so proudly.

"So, what is the true purpose of this event, Mr. Rigal?" a person sitting on a black leather sofa asked.

He was Rang Hyonu, an esteemed instructor at CEHA. He was renowned for his formidable stature, towering at an impressive 2.2 meters (7.2 feet). His red curly hair tumbled down his back, and his mid-30s bearing was a picture of physical excellence. At such a young age, he was an exceptionally accomplished New Earth Hunter and had achieved Gold Level 220.

Rang Hyonu was the second most powerful individual in CEHA, after the Grand Master himself, with Pascal Rigal coming in third place.

Pascal turned to Hyonu. "Don't you see? The world's attention - this is what I seek," he said.

Rang Hyonu then stood up, making Pascal look quite small in size. "God's Apostle…" Hyonu muttered under his breath.

Pascal nodded softly, still with his sly smile. "The world will witness the birth of our hope."

Rang Hyonu stood silently with a cold and peaceful gaze.

"The God Apostle of the New Earth!" Pascal said quietly with a cynical smile, still clapping lightly.

***

"Healing Touch, Sanctuary," Muramoto muttered aloud as his grimoire floated nearby. "Banishment Aura, Mana Surge, Blessing of Protection, Renewed Strength!"

Muramoto cast all of his spells onto his party members, providing them with notifications of the effects. Nathan noticed various auras and energies that enveloped his body, and he smiled in appreciation. He was confident that this would give them the best chance of success.

Healing Touch increased healing by 10%, Sanctuary reduced damage taken, and also increased regeneration for a certain percentage. Banishment Aura decreased the cooldown of negative energy and debuffs by a certain percentage, Mana Surge increased mana regeneration by 20%, Blessing of Protection increased defense by a few percent, and Renewed Strength increased Strength by 10%.

"Blood Drain," Meriel's soft voice followed, "Blood Frenzy, Blood Link, Blood Ritual, Blood Curse, Vampiric Healing." she cast her skill. Red and black energy seemed to bind the party together, forming a transparent chain.

Blood Drain would drain health and mana from the target and convert it into the caster's own. Blood Frenzy would increase attack speed and physical damage. Blood Link creates a link between targets for them to share regenerative health and mana. The Blood Ritual amplifies dark magic spells by the amount of blood spilled in battle, and the Blood Curse increases the damage the target receives from dark magic the more blood spilled from their bodies. And some other spells.

After that, Yudan also held several potion bottles containing various vibrant colors. He then tossed them onto the ground, causing them to explode into smoke that enveloped all of his party members. The smoke gave off a series of loud pops, each one louder than the last.

The potion detonated by Yudan had an even more incredible effect, and the most impressive one was granted the whole party a 20-point Strength booster. Nathan smiled, seeing the potential of everyone in his party.

"Fang!" Nathan muttered under his breath, and a giant black wolf suddenly appeared near them.

"Berserker Form, Fire Blade Aura, Thunder Cloud, Dragon's Fury, Lightning Step!" Nathan uttered loudly. Instantly, a large, dark cloud descended low above everyone, and bolts of lightning rushed to the ground. Nathan had also cast the same skill with Night hidden in the Igloo, so there were actually two thunderclouds merged into one.

Nathan eyed the group of people running towards him, as if in slow motion, and smiled before dashing quickly to the dozens of people who were just a bit closer to hit him.

"Let's do it! Everyone, give it your all!" He shouted.

Shouts, rumblings, and footsteps echoed from all directions, accompanied by the sound of screams from everyone for being struck by lightning.

Nathan reacted quickly; a blast of lightning seemed to follow his movements and sent several people thrown away. However, before they were thrown too far, Nathan quickly raised his right foot and swiftly kicked each of their heads multiple times. Despite having spent the past ten years in a wheelchair, he moved as if he had practiced the kick a thousand times. They were instantly thrown to the ground with an almighty crash.

Nathan then darted at the others, throwing a sidekick to one person's face and sending them crashing to the icy ground. He smiled and jumped back, throwing a punch with both hilts of his sword at everyone he encountered, sending them spinning in the air. And then, he gave a kick, sending them swiftly crashing to the ground.

Nathan quickly dodged the attacks from the dozens of people trying to get him. A large figure swung a greatsword at him, but he was able to block it with his swords crossed. He smiled and struck a sideways blow, sending the greatsword flying out of the man's hands. Taking advantage of the situation, Nathan dashed to the side and thrust his blades into the man's calves, resulting in a gush of blood and causing him to collapse. Before his opponent could react, Nathan followed up with a powerful sidekick to the man's head, rendering him unconscious.

But Nathan was not done yet; as he felt a slash from behind, he quickly lowered his head. A bolt of lightning then struck the man, and he fell to the ground. Nathan smiled and ran to the other side.

Nathan was striking with both swords in a flurry of blows. His swords moved so fast that they seemed to blur, leaving a trail of sparks in the air. He fought with incredible speed, parrying and dodging their blows and easily cutting through their weapons and armor.

The enemy was caught off-guard, with many of them being taken out before they even had the chance to raise their swords. Nevertheless, the remaining ones quickly regrouped and continued their assault. Nathan kept fighting, using his blades to take them down one by one.

Nathan didn't take a single life; instead, he rendered his foes powerless by disarming them or leaving them incapable of continuing the battle.

When Nathan saw that most of his opponents had begun to back away and regroup, he withdrew and joined up with his comrades. He surveyed the others and was relieved to notice that they had not been seriously hurt; instead, Nathan could see the passionate determination glowing in their eyes.

"I should have killed more than this," Linda exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"I only got notification that five of them died, while the others strangely vanished while they were on the brink of death," Linda continued.

"What does that mean?" Nathan asked.

"This is exactly what I thought," Yudan replied. "There's a chance they can get out of here alive. It looks like the only way they can do that is if they're close to death."

"If they act too late," Nathan continued, "they must accept their fate of dying in this place. Maybe this is the choice I was talking about earlier. CEHA doesn't want them to die without giving them the chance to survive."

Nathan took a deep breath and surveyed his opponents from afar, who were preparing to cast a long-distance spell together.