So that was an image Mrs Hamilton said wonderingly looking out at the arena All of the bodies had now been cleared and a team trooped out to inspect the arena and repair any flaws Very quickly the arena rippled and shifted to form a whole surface
So what did yÆall do to piss him off so much He seems a mite heavy handed Hank drawled
Alana laughed aloud at that glad that someone else shared her detached fascination with his attitude Ha Well I donÆt think it was us While Randidly was away he saw something Something dark Can you feel that heaviness around him
HankÆs eyes narrowed Everyone in the box looked out toward Randidly Ghosthound Helen was pacing in front of him clearly infuriated by something But Randidly himself was sitting quietly with his eyes closed He seemed to be resting gathering himself for the next fight
Hank clicked his tongue I donÆt suppose thereÆs any way I can join in this fight
Afraid not Mrs Hamilton said sardonically ItÆs against the rules
IsnÆt this a one person fight Hank said sourly He folded his arms Why does he get an assistant An sheÆs as lovely as the wide sky too
Mrs Hamilton shook her head but Alana privately agreed with Hank From what Randidly said HelenÆs presence on Earth was due to his Soulskill and Domain Therefore they had allowed him to bring her to the HoundÆs ladder But it was a little bit against the spirit of the challenge to have two people taking part
Still even if she spent the equivalent of a few months in the Dungeons can she really grow quickly enough to matter Alana wondered
She had seen Helen fight previously There was something extremely odd about her style of fighting Although Helen was quickly learning to cover for it it was clear that something strange had happened to Helen
Her body often jerked as it moved in an unpredictable manner It was as though she was used to being much more powerful and suddenly her body was restricted
Her mind and body were not in sync And as such she couldnÆt fight to her full strength Likely the extended time in the Dungeon was to address this But even if you recover your unity your strength shouldnÆt be enough to change the outcome of this contest
AlanaÆs hands clenched into fists It was one thing to teach the Cortez siblings what they should look for in regard to Randidly But the ugly truth was that Alana and Mrs Hamilton were doing the same thing
Because they were the final bosses waiting at the end of this series of challenges And they needed to be ready for anything
Chapter 920
Compared to the first challenge the second challenge took much much longer Yet Alana couldnÆt look way the entire time The fingers of her hand dug into the wood armrests of her chair What the hell is this
During the entire second rung Randidly didnÆt move Instead Helen was the only one who fought against the Squads of Donnyton While she didnÆt possess any of RandidlyÆs overwhelming power she was also able to fill the arena with a strange image of a sea of blood
Within that sea she moved like a sharp blade flitting back and forth and cutting into the surrounding Squads The surprising part was how often she seemed to be surrounded Yet she always moved at exactly the right time to escape certain death Even as Skills rained upon the ground where she was just standing Helen was already gone
At first Alana just rolled her eyes somewhat exasperated at how overexcited the Squads were allowing Helen to narrowly escape It seemed that although these were some of their more talented recruits they were still green
Yet as time went on and Helen continued to narrowly avoid disaster
The other strange detail was that there was always a too convenient hole in the SquadÆs lines that created the perfect opening for Helen to slip away One person was always a step to slow or too fast in moving into position
As the battle dragged onward the wounded in the Squads slowly growing AlanaÆs eyes narrowed So this is a controlling sort of Domain huh well if itÆs just to this level we shouldnÆt have a problem resisting it
But still Alana could tell that everything Helen was currently doing was just with an image If Alana wanted to fight against this she would need to rely on her actual Domain Which would require a serious amount of resources to activate and maintain
The power of image AlanaÆs eyes focused on the completely calm and still Randidly maybe we were thinking about it too shallowly
After thirty minutes Helen had been able to cut down enough of the weak links that the stragglers in the Squads were all removed Which left the group at three fourths their original numbers but they were now the best of the Squads from eighty to sixty one
Yet Helen only continued to accelerate Which made AlanaÆs expression even grimmer
She grows stronger the more wounds she inflicts Mrs Hamilton said quietly Alana nodded At this point the sea of blood had steadily darkened with the spilling blood of the Squads There was a crimson haze in the air continuing to restrict the Squads while allowing Helen to move increasingly quickly
As she moved more quickly the haze seemed to concentrate around her body Very soon she was less like a woman and more like a force of nature in the sea effortlessly piercing through the strange currents of that realm to harass the Squads
Hey Isabella said her expression blank as she stared at the blurred figure of Helen If the two of them work together donÆt you think
If both of them stick to what weÆve already seen for the later challenges heh wouldnÆt that be boring Nah someone like Rand will have something even more overwhelming prepared Hank said with a smirk The rest of the box stayed silent
Because they knew the bitter truth that lay at the heart of this challenge Randidly had more tricks up his sleeve But these initial tricks were more than enough to give Donnyton pause
So this was Image
Are they weak Xia asked studying the steadily growing pile of bodies dragged off the arena after the second challenge The wounded gritted their teeth and did their best to keep their voices from echoing through the wide arena
But after the second rung the crowd had fallen largely silent Every gasp and moan could likely be heard by the entirety of the spectating public
Han Yazhu shook his head in answer to her question But then he quickly returned to his constant scanning of the surrounding bodies in the crowd He had been extremely against the idea of Xia herself coming South to see Donnyton even in a disguise So much so that he was practically a mute his attention completely consumed with guarding Xia
Sighing Xia said Yazhu If it will make you feel better letÆs leave the crowd for now There will be another break soon This farce is almost done
That finally perked Yazhu up Yes of course your Greatn ah Madam Xia Let us get away from this rowdy bunch
They stood up and filed past the other spectators in their row squeezing through the press of bodies to make it out of the crowds Xia didnÆt know why Yazhu was so on edge most everyone was just looking grimly at the audience Even as the two of them pushed passed to get out the people of Donnyton didnÆt look away from the bloodsoaked stage
This was a battle they watched with a fanatical intensity
Xia understood the conflict in their hearts Donnyton had two great points of pride Randidly Ghosthound and their world renowned Squads To see the two at each otherÆs throats must be difficult
Even more so when one side appeared to be mopping the floor with the other
Very quickly Xia and Yazhu escaped the stands and were able to stand in a wide open avenue lined with food sellers who were busy preparing for the rush after this rung After all it would be noon and most everyone would likely take this opportunity to eat
Xia turned back to Yazhu I asked you a question Yazhu Are they strong They fell easily enough To a single woman no less
Immediately Xia regretted saying that The bitterness in her tone
But of course Yazhu answered without any change of expression As if her implicit statement was one hundred percent correct Well for a woman she is very capable In terms of her strength I must admit there are only a dozen in our service that would be able to handle her