Chapter 135: A Greater Name
Hundreds of feet in the sky, Bzzrt was fighting a massive hawk!
It happened when Midas was distracted by the Magma boss of the bounty zone.
A seemingly wild hawk beast attacked the giant mosquito. And it was no ordinary foe.
Its stats were similar to Bzzrt’s, as far as Bzzrt could tell.
’This thing... not only is it just as fast and strong as me...’ Bzzrt thought as he clashed mandible against talon. ’But there’s also an aura of power leaking out of it. It seems to be a ruler of its species... one with a boon.’
The hawk suddenly dove up into the air, breaking through the sea of clouds above.
Bzzrt followed it, fighting through the sky, clouds, and even the atmosphere!
Lightning struck above the clouds as the two brawled for victory.
"Damn you! Stupid beast! Because of you... I’ve lost sight of Lord Midas!" Bzzrt roared with anger, despite knowing well that the wild animal couldn’t understand him.
"You are not half bad in caliber, king of mosquitoes!" The hawk suddenly screeched back with a gallant and confident tone, seemingly smirking at Bzzrt.
Bzzrt was taken aback, "Y-you can talk? Are you not a wild beast?"
The two had a temporary standstill.
"I am here on behalf of my master. However... my master is currently dealing with his own affairs in the tournament down below. During that time, I decided to see if I could fetch myself a good fight... and what do you know? I found just what I was looking for!" The hawk rushed forward like a torpedo, leaving behind a trail of flame.
"Tsk!" Bzzrt flew forward as well, spinning furiously like a drill.
The two clashed at the center with a reverberating boom that disappeared in the vastness of the sky.
They continued struggling against each other.
"Are you... not concerned for the safety of your master?" Bzzrt said in the midst of the clash.
"Don’t... worry... my master can not lose here. He is Aslov the Greater Born... a player who does not know defeat!" The hawk roared.
...
’Goblin Barrage, huh? Not the best name... but it’s damn powerful.’ Midas thought, turning to face the two corpses behind him as he allocated his stats.
[Vitality: 29/29-->31]
[Strength: 35-->37]
He then grabbed the bounty zone flag, thrusting it into the ground.
Midas stared at the open sky above.
’Leaderboard.’ He thought.
The leaderboard instantly appeared in the sky.
[Leaderboard]
1. Aslov Earnshighst - 500 Points
2. Midas Kyrios Stars - 300 Points
3. Similla Ju Nue - 300 Points
4. Michael Angelion - 200 Points
...
---
Midas’s eyes widened slightly with surprise.
His eyes narrowed onto his score of 300. Then, his eyes slowly drifted upwards to the 500 point score. Finally, his eyes landed on the name of the one who was in first place.
’Aslov Earnshighst... so he’s my main competition, huh? He’s already gathered up 500 points. Each zone is worth roughly 100 points. The bounty zones are usually 200 points, with a couple of exceptions being 100, and one exception being 300. He likely has conquered two bounty zones for 200 points each, along with his original main zone flag for a total of 500. Either he or his army must be phenomenal, since that Magma Maker boss was not by any means an easy opponent.’ Midas thought, impressed by this figure.
In his mind, Aslov stood at a higher pillar than him.
But while looking up at Aslov from the lower ground, Midas didn’t have a shred of envy or contempt. Instead, he bore a smile and eyes filled with eagerness.
’Don’t be weak, Aslov.’ Midas looked toward the south as he thought this.
’The most valuable bounty zone is the swamp bounty zone. It is the only one worth 300 points... with it, I can climb back to number 1 in a single move. That’s where I will go next.’ Midas said, looking up and calling for Bzzrt to appear.
’It’s odd...’ Midas thought as he waited for Bzzrt to summon before him. ’Surely, Bzzrt wouldn’t have been able to contain himself when he saw me on death’s door just moments ago... but I suppose there’s a possibility he composed himself after the comments I gave him last time... I did tell him that there isn’t any need for him to step in without my request.’
Before long, one too many seconds passed for Midas to not notice.
’He... isn’t here. Even with Eye Of Ace, I can’t detect him anywhere, even in a mile radius.’ He surmised.
Without a second of hesitation, Midas began sprinting south.
’I don’t know why Bzzrt isn’t here, but he wouldn’t leave me on purpose. I hope that whatever is happening, he comes back unscathed. It looks like I’ll get to the bounty zone much slower than anticipated. But that’s fine... if I have to fight someone off for the zone flag, I don’t mind.’ He smirked as he ran.
...
Many miles away, toward the south of the Meniras Peninsula, there existed a murky swamp that seemed to swallow life.
Its air was a dark, musky green. The floor was nothing but brown, mossy water, except for the thin patches of grass that connected each tree growing from the depths.
In this area, a certain young man made his way through the terrain.
He had golden hair and bright blue eyes, along with a terrible demeanor.
It was indeed Michael Angelion.
He was currently traveling alone. Having been spawned in a forest region, Michael challenged and defeated that zone’s bounty boss and claimed that bounty flag reward.
He defended it with a portion of his army before moving on to the swamp bounty zone’s flag. He decided that rather than going for the flag of his home zone, which was worth 100 points, he wouldn’t waste time and go straight for the most valuable zone.
And now, he had made it to the place he wanted to.
Slowly but surely, Michael made his way past a sudden storm of shrubbery and bushes and met a grand opening through the veil.
The swamp connected to land, and a massive cliff face revealed itself. Michael stood at the end of the swamp zone. Before a massive ocean that stretched into infinity, and before a vast beach filled with palm trees and tropical vegetation.
On either side of the beach, fortresses and dark, hardened rock grew out of the ground. The beach was surrounded by sharp, rocky cliffs that met the ocean’s harsh waves.
In the middle of this rough terrain, the beach seemed like a paradise.
"I was told by those old mages that this vantage point is the best one of the entire swamp bounty zone. Or should it be called... the beach bounty zone. This zone still falls under the swamp zone, as it is designated as the swamp zone’s bounty zone." Michael grinned.
His eyes suddenly narrowed onto a moving object several hundred feet down on the beach.
It looked to be a young woman wearing pink robes, accompanied by a tall young man with long hair and samurai armor.
’A player?’ Michael thought, his eyes widening with shock. Then, he grinned. ’So they came for this zone, eh? Little do they know... the bounty zone boss for this zone isn’t so easy to kill. To even have it come out of hiding, you have to sacrifice the blood of hundreds of humans...’
Michael wasn’t worried that someone had appeared before he did.
Taking a closer look, he surmised that he knew exactly who the player was.
’You must be the renowned player... Similia Jue. The evil witch whose ability has allowed her name to slightly ripple across Ygnahril. And you are also one place above me on the leaderboard. Tying with that bastard, Midas... you are in third place.’ Michael licked his lips.
He raised his hand, which had the Warlords Ring that contained his army.
’Come out... fifty of the high-ranking demons should be plenty, if not overkill for this player.’ Michael said in his head.