All this while soaked to the skin with freezing sleet and forced to wade through two feet of snow
Which was why the calm expression on the two menÆs faces also put Tosam on his guard as their voices drifted up to them The chaos and difficulty of the surroundings didnÆt seem to affect them at all
We split up and see who can defeat more teams yea The first man said He was tall and slender with long knives strapped all across his waist and chest The thick snow seemed to be eviscerated by only his ambient image as it drifted closer leaving him completely untouched by the ceaseless precipitation I get the rules I just think betting money is too boring LetÆs get a bit more serious
Oh Hehehe what did you have in mind The other man wasnÆt wearing a shirt at all boldly standing the blizzard with his hands on his hips Yet as the snow swirled closer it immediately evaporated underneath the raw heat from his bronze colored skin His spirit seemed to have a physical presence dominating the area
The first man offered a small smile Just this whoever loses must fight the rest of the tournament with the otherÆs weapons Or lack thereof in your primitive case
Ha I like it The bronze man clapped his hands together and the noise echoed strangely in the valley For a brief moment all of the snow surrounding him was held suspended without moving Only when the noise passed did the snow continue to fall Heh I cannot wait to see you trying to throw a punch
KadirÆs eyes were wide It was clear he saw the effect of that clap too Tosam gestured sharply Both of them silently turned around and left never noticing that the two men spared them a glance while ironing out the rules of their bet Perhaps if they had remained there for a few more minutes they would not have been able to pass the preliminaries at all
In the third preliminary group the extreme environment chosen by the Order Ducis was a sweltering desert In the beginning there was almost crippling visibility on the relatively flat ground that led to some awkward standoffs Everybody basically held everybody else in check no one wanted to be the first group to get into a fight
But after only five minutes the heat had been turned up to the point that heatwaves completely distorted the surrounding vision Figures locked in combat were brown blurs the noises forced upward and away from ears by the constant rising air above the hot ground Even the sand beneath the participants’ feet seemed to warp and melt underneath that oppressive heat
Due to that heat Donny was starting to get quite uncomfortable in the dark robe he was wearing to hide his features Is this really alright Very few other political leaders are participating
His companion shrugged At least Warlord and Lucifer are participating There is no rule against it The Order Ducis wants the strongest images represented
Donny released a sigh and resisted the urge to adjust his pants There were dark smudges on the horizon that were probably other people approaching their location but it was difficult to tell through the shimmering heat waves True I just feel
His companion clapped DonnyÆs back with quite a bit of force Just admit to yourself that you want to fight And in this world wanting to fight isnÆt a problem After running Donnyton for so long I bet you have some stress to work out I certainly do
True The light in DonnyÆs eyes brightened His fingers tightened around the leather handles of his shield The smudges continued to become more detailed before his gaze resolving themselves into a pair of people fleeing from another pair Heh I really do need the exercise This group
Nope this group is mine His companion raised his hand There was a pulse of Mana and suddenly several spectral forms appeared around the two of them These captured souls of Raid Bosses spared glances laden with hatred for their owner but were quickly suppressed by the aura of the Sovereign of Ghosts
IÆve been scouting and maintaining communication for almost two years without a break I report trouble and watch someone else deal with it Glendel hissed After the first three Raid Boss Ghosts loped off toward the figures in front of them he instantly conjured a dozen more powerful Raid Bosses that radiated malevolence I think we need to remind these people why Donnyton was the most powerful Village on Earth
You brought a horse as your partner Alana asked in disbelief In front of her was the proof calmly munching at the verdant foliage underneath the heavy treeline They were in the seventh of the preliminary groups and Hank Howard was standing next to a completely ordinary brown horse that was enjoying its meal And he looked very pleased about the whole situation How did the Order Ducis let that happen
LetÆs defeat him now and take the points Wivanya suggested as she twined her neck around a nearby tree trunk For this preliminary the Order Ducis has created a thick jungle and Wivanya was having quite a lot of difficulty moving around As such her mood had turned sullen and spiteful To avoid attracting undue attention she kept her body still while her long neck slide between the trees
Hank just smiled and patted his horseÆs neck Well tehnic ally I have entered alone and they allowÆd me ta bring a horse But I found havinÆ this fella with me helped my image Feels more like a gunslinger with a horse yanno I might even set up a campfire
So now you are dragging around a liability with you Alana shook her head But at the same time she couldnÆt help but accept it That was just Hank for you He followed his own sort of tune even when it was the most illogical thing that most people had ever heard Can you be sure you will pass through the preliminaries with this guy
His nameÆs Ancho And havenÆt you noticed that the prior preliminaries all ended early Hank waved his hand People so itchinÆ to fight that as long as I survive and mind my own business IÆll pass Because the others will have been beaten
You are a certain sort of brave Hank Howard Wivanya hissed Then the Frost Dragon turned its reptilian gaze on the brown horse and blew a long breath out through its nose The horse straightened from the fern it was devouring seeming to sense the attention Frost Dragon and brown horse regarded each other seriously Then Ancho huffed out a breath unimpressed by Wivanya and returned to its meal
Alana immediately sensed Wivanya gathering her power in her throat to unleash a blast of frost to punish this horse and patted her partnerÆs side to calm her down there was no point in wasting energy against Hank right now anyway
Growling Wivanya followed AlanaÆs direction and began to stomp off simply smashing the tree trunks in her path to kindling It appeared they were done with the laying low strategy Alana spared Hank a small smile before she followed her dragon to save whoever was dumb enough to investigate the loud noises Be careful There are more powerful people here than I expected
Heh do you think I need to be reminded of that The world itÆs a wide place Hank replied placidly ThereÆs gonna be a good sky tonight I think
Lyra smiled sweetly at the two men in front of her They were in the ninth preliminary group and everything around them was covered in a seething mist that clung to their clothes ArenÆt you two members of the Order Ducis Hopefully no one gets the wrong idea about your participation in this tournament
Tykes tossed the heavy iron ball he carried from hand to hand spinning it lightly We are external contractors You on the other hand are a Village Spirit Donnyton is really throwing its whole weight behind this effort huh YÆall trying to name this world Donnydom
Lyra snickered She lifted a hand and a crimson orb appeared on her palm Ripples spread outward through the mist as she gathered her image When she concentrated the mist began to weaken and recede IÆm here strictly as an individual I even have a Class I donÆt think there is any problem with me entering this fun little tournament