Chapter 146: A perfect Conclusion
Before Zyrus’s regression, he had chosen the Kyros continent’s fertile lands as his starting base. As a human, he was well aware of where his excellence lay. The start of the flag march had been rough, but eventually those with the crown and flag’s authority had overwhelmed the natives.
‘Throne wars’ was the main event of the third ring. As apparent by the name itself, it was focused on large scale wars unlike the first two rings. Spirits, orcs, elves, dwarves, humans and myriad of other races fought for dominance for 100 years.
Zyrus’s faction was strong, but in the grand scheme of things they were also part of numerous victories and defeats. It was a chaotic era where humans finally showed their true potential. By relying on their brains and brawn they were one of the last four races who dominated Kyros.
The other three were spirits, elves, and dwarves. It was no surprise since they each had their unique advantages. Spirits were inherently stronger in every aspect, not to mention the high-ranking members in their society were pretty much unkillable.
The elves were the undisputed lords of the forest. With their long lives and incredible talent for mana they too were a force to be reckoned with. Dwarves were in a similar situation since despite being individually weaker than the prior two. The weapons they forged more than made up for their lacking traits.
There seemed to be no end to this four-way clash. The limit for the throne wars was approaching without any clear victor. It was at this time when the Spirits and Elves cooperated with humans to launch an assault on the dwarves. Zyrus himself was part of that. The dwarves were dealt a severe blow and had lost all hopes for a comeback. All they were left with was their ancestral land, land that was left untouched due to a prior agreement.
The next to fight were elves and humans. Or to be more accurate, humans had backstabbed the elves as soon as the dwarves were finished. The spirits didn’t participate and allowed the other two to exhaust their forces. The final clash of the throne wars would be between the victor and the original rulers, spirits.
That should have been the case. Unfortunately for the spirits, there was a person whom they, and everyone else, had overlooked.
Xar-Tharoth.
The bastard child of the dwarven emperor. The last bloodline of Tharoth. He who had been ostracized from the dwarven capital became the dark horse of throne wars.
In all his life he was discriminated against due to his dark elf lineage. His mother, labelled as seductress who had deceived the king was hanged by the crown prince. At the age of thirteen Xar-Tharoth was exiled to the wasteland, a place where the dwarves dumped all their failed weapons.
It was a typical revenge story from then on. Xar-Tharoth awakened the power of necromancy, and by using the ‘trash’ weapons he built an undead army to launch an assault on everyone. It was amidst this unprecedented chaos where Zyrus shone as a commander.
Before the war, he wasn’t the sole representative of humanity. But after the war none other then him were left from the original kings who took part. He defeated the dwarven necromancer and took the throne of Kyros.
‘Haa…what unpleasant memories. Looks like we’ll have to leave earlier than planned.’
Zyrus stood up from his seat and exited the auction house. At the moment he had lost all interest in the treasures that were still being sold. He already knew why Xar-Tharoth was interested in the Yarn of Fateful Eve.
Necromancer was a powerful, unique class. There could be few options that matched it when it came to waging wars. Afterall, who didn’t want an army that never tired? An army that could replenish itself from war, an army that didn’t require logistical support…there were too many advantages.
But just like Zyrus’s Balaur summoner, the sanctuary had placed restrictions on the Necromancer class. The number of creatures they could summon weren’t infinite. Worse, the summons were unable to grow by using exp. And unlike Zyrus who had the assistance of the cube and aliens to fight against, Xar-Tharoth was limited to sanctuary.
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So what did he do to make up for those limitations?
He did what any dwarf would have done. He forged.
The entire wasteland was full of discarded or failed weapons. They, who had been abandoned resonated with Xar-Tharoth’s rage and awakened with his necrotic power.
‘An army of undying weapons. It was a sight hard to forget.’
Zyrus knew that army’s might better than anyone. That was why he was waiting at a nearby alley, looking out for a certain, sparkling shield warrior.
The wait was short as apparently the auction had ended. The players gave back their robes to the receptionists and moved out of the auction house. Even amidst the bustling crowd, it was easy to spot the one Zyrus was looking for.
Golden Armor, Golden Helmet, Golden pants, Golden shoes, and lastly, A golden tower shield. The sight of him was blazing enough to prevent others from getting closer.
“Looks like you’ve completed the full set.”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Hajin Choi, the next opponent of Kyle’s team, greeted Zyrus.
…
Midnight, at the colosseum.
Kyle and Strongfist stood at the forefront of the team. Opposing him was a group of three shield warriors, led by Hajin choi himself. The crowd was buzzing with murmurs as this was the second match for the blue group.
The team that won today would in a way reach the semi finals of the champions of Munera. Unlike them though, the ones participating had different thoughts in mind.
“What the…?”
The one who had the most scrunched up face was none other than Anansi. At this moment when the match between two sides was just about to start, Zyrus had come to him and made a bid.
It wasn’t anything unusual since he had done that for all of his team’s matches. The issue was the bid he made today.
“What’s there to be surprised about?”
“Hah. To think that the former Void monarch would bet on his team’s defeat. The times have changed huh.”
“Time….indeed it has,” Zyrus smiled and went to the spectator seat. Throwing away a match by colluding with enemies was something he hadn’t thought he’d do. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that it went against the core principle of the faction, or rather, the empire he was trying to build.
‘Still, being stubborn isn’t something you could afford when you’re weak.’
Indeed, Strongfist who was smashing through the shield warrior and Kyle who was slashing away at Hajin choi’s shield were weak. The same was true for Lauren who was sniping the enemy mage as well as Druv and Pouka who were tanking most of the damage.
All ten players were pathetically weak when compared to Xar-Tharoth. The destined to be dwarven emperor was someone only Zyrus could face at the moment.
‘And doing that would mean undoing every plan we’ve made thus far.’
Zyrus didn’t want to accept such an outcome. The existence of Xar-Tharoth was a variable, but that didn’t mean the plan he had in mind would change. The flames of war spared no one. It didn’t discriminate between a foot soldier and the emperor. If anything, Xar-Tharoth having ‘good’ relationship with dwarves was bound to accelerate the chaos on Kyroz.
As such it wouldn’t be bad to lose against him on this arena. Perhaps it could even be the ice breaking moment between two parties and they could even make a partnership.
‘Still, there’s no need for that.’
Deep down Zyrus didn’t want his team to lose against the dwarven emperor. More importantly, he didn’t want the full powers of Kyle and the rest to be known to the whole sanctuary. They had already revealed their equipment, and they were planning to use their newly gained skills during the final matches. Yet it was an unwise decision to reveal them if they were bound to lose regardless.
What Zyrus came up with was a method which solved all of these issues. The method that was unfolding on the arena.
*WHOOOOOO*
“ “ SHIELD! ” ”
The entire colosseum erupted into cheers. The tower shield held in Hajin choi’s hand was magnified to a hundredfold. Even though it was a mana projection, the weight behind it was nothing but real.
[Skrastreg]
[Berserk]
*ROOAR*
Kyle, Strongfist, Pouka, all tried their best to go past the tower shield and defeat the last man standing.
And yet, they failed. No matter what skill they used, no matter how hard they tried, the team of five couldn’t do anything to Hajin choi. On the contrary, it was them who were being suppressed bit by bit.
Except for those who had bid on Kyle’s victory the rest of the crowd was going wild in excitement. They were expecting a grueling 5v1 match, yet what happened next completely stupefied everyone.
“I sincerely admire the skill you’ve shown today. Continuing this unfair fight would be an insult to such an achievement. We concede,” Kyle sheathed his sword and walked towards Hajin choi.
The two shook hands and earned the applause of the crowd. Indeed, despite Hajin choi’s performance wasn’t the true divine shield yet. There was a limit to how long he could hold out. Kyle’s chivalrous display had earned the respect of warriors and scorn of the kings who ruled over them.
Zyrus grinned despite he had lost. He had earned gold, earned a favor from the man who was most likely to lead humanity in the future, and most importantly, their behavior in the champions of munera was bound to create a certain image in others' minds.
‘A perfect conclusion.’
Now, it was time to go back and explore the depths of the Ocean.