r18novel Chapter 1261 Battle
Chapter 1261 Battle
When the announcement was made, Lin Yi was sitting in the audience, looking up at the huge light screen above him.
Eighty-six names scrolled slowly across the screen, the gold lettering standing out against the dark background.
He scrolled down the list and quickly found his place—number 66, towards the back of the list.
His opponent was number 38.
Lin Yi raised his head and scanned the contestants' seats, quickly spotting a figure walking towards him.
It was a young man, probably human, who looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a light, dark blue armor.
He walked quickly, taking two steps at a time, and stopped in front of Lin Yi.
The other person's eyes first glanced to Lin Yi's right, where Hill was sitting. She was leaning back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the center of the arena, seemingly unconcerned about everything happening around her.
To Lin Yi's left sat the old exterminator and Su Xiao.
The old perpetrator of the persecution of the law was hunched over, with his hands resting on his knees.
Su Xiao leaned back in the back seat, the Dragon Slayer Blade resting horizontally on his lap, his eyes half-closed, his face expressionless.
Moving the gaze backward, the elders of the Demon Clan sat in the third row, the elders of the Feather Clan sat a few seats next to them, several representatives of the Star Clan sat further back, and then came the people of the Witch Clan.
The young man's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.
With such a display, who wouldn't be confused?
In the sixth row behind Lin Yi, an old man in a dark robe frowned.
That was an elder of the young man's faction, a figure of considerable influence in the void.
The old man recognized the younger man he had mentored. He raised his hand, waved it gently in the direction of the young man, and then pressed it down.
The meaning of that gesture couldn't be clearer—don't cause trouble, and admit defeat when necessary.
The young man met the elder's gaze, his lips twitched slightly, then he took a deep breath and put on a smile.
He walked to Lin Yi's side, bent down slightly, and lowered his posture considerably.
"Doctor, is there anything I can do for you?" His voice was very low, so low that only Lin Yi could hear it. "If you have something to do here, I can withdraw in advance without affecting your schedule."
He spoke with such sincerity that even he himself felt it was a bit too much.
But there was nothing he could do. The elder's gaze was piercing his back. If he dared to put on a "I'll fight you to the death" attitude in front of Lin Yi, he would be in for a scolding when he got back.
The other contestants around him did not change their expressions when they heard this.
Some people were leaning back in their chairs with their eyes closed, some were talking in hushed tones, and some were checking their equipment.
No one was surprised, and no one thought it was inappropriate.
In this round of competition, apart from the contestants from the major amusement park factions, everyone else who encountered Lin Yi basically had to forfeit.
This is not a matter of strength, but a matter of stance.
The great figures in the void sat there.
Who would dare to fight Lin Yi in front of these people? Even if they won, they would still be skinned alive by their clan elders when they returned.
Losing would be even worse; not only would it be humiliating, but it would also leave one with the stigma of "offending the Abyss Doctors faction."
It's a losing proposition no matter how you look at it, so it's better to just admit defeat and at least gain a reputation for being sensible.
Lin Yi looked at the obsequious young man in front of him and shook his head.
"No need. I'd also like to see the power of the Void."
The young man paused for a moment, his smile froze for half a second, and then he resumed his standard fawning expression.
The contestants, though they didn't say it aloud, were all wondering in their hearts—just how capable was this disciple of the Abyss Doctor?
Is he just using Hill's name to intimidate others, or does he actually have real skills?
They wanted to know the answer, but dared not try it themselves.
Now that Lin Yi himself says he wants to go down and have some fun, that's perfect.
Lin Yi's matches are relatively late; he still has several matches ahead of him.
He leaned back in his chair and turned his gaze to the white sand in the center of the arena.
He had initially thought this round of competition would last quite a while—eighty-six people, forty-three matches, even if each match only lasted ten minutes, it would still take seven or eight hours in total. But as it turned out, he was overthinking it.
Even at this stage, the gap in strength between many people is still terrifying.
When the list of the first match appeared on the screen, Lin Yi saw a familiar name.
Mondstadt, a demon race, the lovable goofball who got beaten black and blue by Su Xiao in the Viking Sea but is still full of energy.
His opponent was a little girl with golden twin ponytails.
On the sandy ground of the arena, Mondl stretched his neck, the bones in his neck making a series of cracking sounds.
His size was enormous, standing at 2.5 meters tall with broad shoulders and a wide back; he looked like an iron tower.
His thick arms were thicker than an average person's thighs, and his fists, when clenched, looked like two small iron hammers.
The little girl with golden pigtails looked like an elementary school student standing in front of a basketball player when she stood opposite him.
She was only about as tall as Mondl's waist, and her slender arms looked like two matchsticks in front of Mondl, making her look very small.
thump—
A loud clanging sound came from above the arena.
A two-handed greatsword appeared out of thin air in mid-air. The sword was entirely silver-white, with fine patterns flowing across its surface, and the blade gleamed with a dazzling cold light.
Immediately afterwards, a huge shield appeared opposite the greatsword, its surface a deep gold color with intricate rune patterns carved along its edges.
The Sword of Barrow and the Shield of the Gods.
This is a unique feature of the Barrow Arena; before each duel begins, these two objects will clash once in mid-air.
That loud bang was both the signal to begin and a declaration to all the spectators—what you are about to witness is a battle to the death.
The greatsword and shield collided in mid-air and slowly dissipated, turning into specks of light that merged into the barrier above the arena.
The barrier's color changed from transparent to pale gold, signifying the official start of the battle.
The moment the countdown reached zero, the girl with pigtails moved.
Her hair was loose, and her originally clear blue eyes turned into an eerie crimson, her pupils contracting into vertical lines, like the eyes of some kind of reptile.
The most striking feature is her mouth.
The small mouth opened, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, uneven and protruding from deep within the gums, each one as sharp as a knife.
How could someone who makes it to the fourth round be weak, pitiful, and helpless?
whoosh-
The runaway girl disappeared from the spot.
When she reappeared, she had already rushed in front of Mond, less than a meter away.
Her right hand formed a knife shape, fingers together, the tips exceptionally sharp, and that small hand went straight for Mond's chest, aiming for his heart.
boom--
A burst of air exploded between the two of them.
The berserk girl's small hand pierced Mondstadt's chest, and the crimson light at her fingertips burst forth with a blinding brilliance the moment it collided with Mondstadt's skin.
The yellow sand around the two people seemed to be lifted up by an invisible giant hand, surging outwards like waves, with sand grains flying in the air and forming a ring of sand curtain.
The spectators in the stands stared wide-eyed; some stood up, some covered their mouths, and some held their breath.
Then they saw it.
Mond stood there, motionless.
The runaway girl's small hand rested on his chest, the crimson light at her fingertips had dimmed considerably.
Mond looked down at the tiny thing in front of him that only reached his waist, raised his hand, and scratched his face.
The stab wound to his chest didn't even break the skin.
There wasn't even a red mark, let alone a wound.
The runaway girl's mouth was slightly open, and her crimson eyes were filled with disbelief.
She had lost all feeling in her hands.
She used all her strength in that attack just now; that level of attack was enough to pierce the scales of an adult sea beast.
But when the stab landed on Mondl, it was like stabbing her into a steel plate; the recoil broke her fingers, and now she can't even bend them.
"This little thing is quite fierce."
Mond's voice came from above, with a hint of amusement, like an adult watching a child throwing a tantrum.
The berserk girl's pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints, and she instinctively wanted to retreat, leaping backward.
But before she could leap, her body froze. A black and red aura surged from Mond's body, instantly enveloping an area of several meters around her.
She was like an insect trapped in amber, too weak to even struggle.
thump—
A loud bang, like a cannonball exploding.
Mondl slammed his hand down on the berserk girl, shoving her into the sand.
The sand and soil on the ground were blasted open, creating a large crater with a diameter of more than three meters and a depth of half a meter.
Grains of sand fell softly from the edge of the pit, raising a cloud of golden dust.
The rampaging girl lay prone in the center of the sandpit, her body twitched twice, and then she stopped moving.
Blood spread from beneath her, staining the white sand with a glaring red.
The stands were silent for less than a second before erupting into deafening cheers.
Mond stepped into the sandpit, bent down, grabbed the runaway girl's hair with one hand, and lifted her out of the sandpit.
Her body hung in mid-air like a rabbit being lifted up, her limbs dangling limply, her long golden hair stained with sand and blood.
"Give up or not?" Mond's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet arena.
The runaway girl's lips moved a few times, emitting extremely faint sounds.
"Admit defeat."
"Then you can die."
Mond's voice was calm. He gently tossed the rampaging girl upwards, then grabbed her neck with one hand and her side with the other.
He snapped his hands apart.
Click—
The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed through the arena.
The rampaging girl's body was transformed into an inverted V shape, her spine snapped in half, making her resemble a folded piece of paper.
It's completely cooled down.
Mond released his grip, and the berserk girl's body fell onto the sand, raising a small cloud of dust.
He hates spineless people, or rather, he hates those who have stood up to fight but lack the backbone to admit defeat.
If you're standing in the arena, facing your opponent, then summon all your courage and strength to fight, to struggle, and to risk your life.
It's okay to lose if you can't win, but you have to finish the fight before you lose.
That berserk girl from earlier, if she doesn't admit defeat, Mondstadt will wait.
Wait for four minutes and forty-eight seconds, wait for the countdown to reach zero, wait for the opponent to be judged to have forfeited due to incapacitation.
He respects the strong and also those with backbone.
Even if you are not as strong as him, as long as you dare to stand in front of him and throw a punch, he will give you a dignified ending.
But admitting defeat is not an option.
Giving up means you're spineless, lack backbone, and are unworthy of standing in the arena.
There is only one way to deal with this kind of person—death.
Above the arena, a semi-transparent screen appeared, displaying the gladiator rankings to everyone. The rankings are as follows.
First place: Mondstadt (Demonic race), 13 Gladiator Points.
Second place: None available.
Third place: None available.
The demon commentator, Hak, was standing in the commentary box, holding a megaphone array in his hand, his mouth open, ready to unleash his power to stir up the emotions of the audience.
Then the battle ended, lasting a total of twelve seconds.
Before he could finish his opening remarks, the battle was over.
The audience was still waiting for his passionate commentary, but the arena was already empty.
There was only the large pit in the sand and the inverted V-shaped corpse beside it.
Huck took a deep breath, swallowed back his prepared opening remarks, and put on an even more exaggerated expression.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Did you see that?! Twelve seconds! Just twelve seconds! This fighter used his iron fists to prove to everyone what crushing combat power really means! That poor twin-tailed girl was like an ant in front of the Mondstadt fighter, without even a chance to fight back!"
He played the flute with great enthusiasm, his words were dazzling and captivating, and the audience was filled with excitement.
Although the battle is over, the atmosphere shouldn't be dulled.
This is his job, and it's also his skill.
Anyway, just keep bragging, that's what the audience loves to hear.
The following matches were increasingly bloody.
The second match was a duel between two Void races: a Rock Clan warrior and a Shadow Clan assassin.
The battle lasted for nearly three minutes. Finally, the Rock Clan warrior smashed the Shadow Clan assassin's sternum with a punch. The broken ribs pierced the heart, and blood gushed from the wound, splashing a blinding red stain on the white sand.
The Shadow Clan assassin collapsed onto the sand, his body twitched a few times, and then lay still.
The third match is between a contractor from the Paradise faction and a Void race.
Contractors' fighting style is unpredictable and ever-changing, with a variety of skills emerging one after another, causing their opponents to retreat in defeat.
However, the Void Race contestant used his innate abilities to withstand all the attacks, and seized the opportunity when the contractor's energy was exhausted, severing his head with a single strike.
The fourth, the fifth, and the sixth games.
In every game, someone falls; in every game, someone never gets up again.
Those once powerful figures who dominated their respective worlds fell one by one in the arena, like wheat being harvested.
In this kind of competition, usually one person dies and one is injured, or both are seriously injured. Very few people can finish the competition completely.
Every one of those who walked out of the arena alive was wounded.
Some had broken arms, some had broken legs, and some had multiple bloody holes in their bodies, the bleeding unstoppable.
Medical personnel stood by at the edge of the arena, ready to rush in and treat the wounded as soon as the fighting ended.
The cheers from the stands grew louder and louder, and the audience was so excited that they wished they could be on the arena themselves.
The gamblers were even more excited. Some waved their arms wildly after winning money, some cursed after losing money, and others calculated the odds and planned who to bet on next.
However, the representatives of these forces remained calm.
This is a battle for supremacy among the strongest; those who have made it this far have long been prepared for death.
Soon, it was Su Xiao's turn in the competition.
The roulette wheel on the light screen stopped, and two names appeared before everyone.
Su Xiao, number 16.
His opponent is a contractor from the Holy Light Paradise.
Su Xiao stood up from the rest area, the Dragon Slayer Sword hanging at his waist, the hem of his black trench coat reaching his knees.
His posture was no different from usual, and his pace was neither fast nor slow.
He walked to the sandy ground in the center of the arena and stood there, his gaze fixed on his opponent who was walking towards him.
He was a handsome man, who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was wearing a light silver-white armor and had a magnificent longsword hanging at his waist.
Su Xiao looked at the other person and gave him a mental assessment—he has some skill.
None of the Paradise Force contractors who made it to the fourth round were easy to deal with.
They had experienced countless life-or-death trials in their respective paradises, crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Their combat experience and adaptability were unmatched by the Void Forces.
Su Xiao showed great respect to his opponent. He gripped the hilt of the Dragon Slayer Sword tightly, lowered his body slightly, shifted his center of gravity forward, and prepared to unleash his full power.
But Su Xiao will soon realize that he was wrong.
thump—
The Sword of Barrow clashed with the Shield of the Gods in mid-air, producing a loud clanging sound.
A barrier rises.
The countdown starts.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1——
Beginning. (End of Chapter)