Chapter 196: Arrival of Competitors
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Behind the waterfall stream, in a hidden cave, Linus was swinging his staff vigorously. He was currently topless, revealing his muscular body. His abs, biceps, and triceps were clearly defined. Every swing he made was precise and deadly.
This was what he had been doing for the past few weeks. He woke up, trained, ate, trained again, and slept. He repeated the same routine every day without stopping. His objective was to become stronger, so he could help Alan and Bob, while also allowing them to grow further and, at the same time, support his homeland.
"Hah… hah… hah…" He bent forward, placing his hands on his knees. He had been training for hours already today. He walked to the cave entrance and drank from the waterfall. Then he washed his head and face.
"I think that's enough. The day after tomorrow is the opening of the tournament. I should be there to support them," he muttered. He took a seat and opened a black box beside him.
Inside it was a purple mask shaped like a wolf. His mind drifted back to his village, the faces of his parents and his friends. Then suddenly, an image of his nemesis appeared.
The one who took everything from him, his family, his land, and his honor.
"I promise I will defeat you, Bone Queen!" he swore.
He then placed the mask into his sleeve. He had promised never to use it outside his homeland, but it seemed that sooner or later, the group would face opponents so formidable that even Alan and Bob could not defeat them. If that moment came, he would have no choice but to swallow his pride.
He packed all his belongings and jumped out of the cave, making his way back to Rose City.
---
The preparation for the tournament was reaching its peak. The roads were decorated with countless flags symbolizing guilds and noble houses.
There were six competing guilds this year. The home guild, Dawnbloom.
The previous champion, Primal Beast.
The challenger, Red Eyes.
The elegant and charismatic, Gold Fang.
The enigmatic, Moonlight.
And the most active and unpredictable, Blue Sword.
Each of them was sending their best members to compete. Each one wanted to prove their strength in this competition.
In the colosseum, the organizers were busy making last-minute preparations. This would be the venue for the grand opening event, the Last Man Standing and Solo Duel. Shops and stalls were erected around the colosseum, numbering up to the thousands.
For small and medium-sized businesses, this was the perfect opportunity to earn as much profit as possible.
And today, the main attraction was along the main road. Many people were gathered there, as if waiting for someone to pass through.
Near a window on the second floor of a house, two men were looking down from above.
"So many people! What are they actually waiting for?" Bob leaned on the window while eating chicken wings.
"I also don't know." I was enjoying my own food as well.
"Kiyaaak!"
"Kiyaaak!"
Suddenly, the crowd began screaming as they turned toward the entrance. Bob and I immediately followed their gaze. At the entrance, a group of people was parading. A flag with a golden background and a fang symbol stood at the center of their formation.
"Kiyaak! Cerdic! I love you!"
"Please do your best, Prince Cerdic!"
"Cerdic! Cerdic!"
The crowd screamed hysterically as they saw a man with long black hair riding an armored horse, wearing shining white armor. He had a charming smile that could even steal the hearts of other men's wives.
I knew this guy.
He was the one we met during our Red Condor hunt.
And if I recalled correctly, he said he would be entering the Solo Duel.
Cerdic cast a spell, producing hundreds of flowers that fell toward the crowd. The shouting became even louder and more intense.
"Ahh, my ears! They're so loud! Alan! You need to promise me to beat that guy for me. I really hate him," Bob said.
Soon, the Gold Fang group marched past our rented room.
"Booo! Booo!" Bob booed at them, but his voice was drowned out by the overwhelming cheers. Suddenly, as if he had heard him, Cerdic stopped his horse and turned his head toward us.
"Wait?! Did he hear me?" Bob panicked.
I did too.
Wink!
Cerdic suddenly winked at us before continuing the parade.
"Did, did he just wink at us?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"I think that was a declaration of war. It must be directed at you," Bob said.
"Who the hell declares war by winking?"
Soon, more guilds arrived, and each of them looked incredibly strong. I instinctively swallowed every time I saw these powerful-looking individuals. Are these all the people we're going to face soon?
"Hey! Look, Alan! Look! A half-beast! There are actually half-beast races!" Bob said excitedly as he saw the members of the last guild, Primal Beast. Each of them looked like a hybrid of humans and beasts. Cat, fox, rabbit, boar and more.
The previous winners were them, so they must be very strong.
The crowd still hadn't scattered even after the parade. These days, it was very hard to move around with so many people. So we spent most of our time inside our room.
As Bob was still imagining perverted things about half-beast women, suddenly there was a knock on our door.
Knock! Knock!
"Coming!"
I opened the door and saw Kim. I let him enter the room.
"Fuuu! So many people just now. I barely managed to squeeze my way here. Wow! What a nice and cozy room," Kim said, amazed. For him, this was already considered luxurious compared to his dull room.
"Thank you. Oi, Bob. Snap out of it. Kim is already here," I said.
"What do you actually want me to do now? Don't tell me you're going to force me to use that skill again?" Kim said. He was still traumatized from using Hero Grace. Even though it was powerful, the recoil was too much for him to handle.
"No. It's different this time."
I then summoned a card from the system.
"This time… we're going to fight a boss together."
I smiled as I showed the card to Kim, the monster card from the challenge deck...
...[Colosseum of Might].