"Who is that guy?" One of the observers asked with a visible frown. Usually, someone this strong would not fly so low under the radar.
While in their eyes he was not comparable to those who could potentially qualify for the top ten such as Lances, it was clear to them by this point that he was definitely capable of making it into the top 100. Maybe even the top 50! Therefore, how could he be some nameless nobody that they had never even heard whispers of before?
"We should eliminate this threat while we have the chance! Or, are any of you confident in facing him alone?" One of the participants stated.
"True, that movement skill would be annoying to deal with alone. Though, it's a bit shameless teaming up on some nameless guy. Lances is different since he already has a reputation, however, won't others laugh at us if they find out we teamed up to attack one person?"
"Who cares? Are you forgetting what Master Zushuatri said? There's no rule against teaming up to take someone down. Besides, if no one here says anything, I doubt Lances will go out of his way to talk about it."
"Well, to be fair, he did say that he wanted to fight against all of us together, right? So we'll just be granting him his wish. It's his own fault for making such a stupid wish to begin with!" One of the individuals said as they found a way to justify their actions.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Mm, he can't blame us if we take action."
Everyone went along with using that as the reason behind their actions. They all knew inside that if they allowed that person to roam freely around the selection and he held onto any enmity towards them, then they would regret not taking this prime opportunity to dispatch of him.
As for Izroth, he was having a much easier time as Vansouden started to visibly slow down. This was due to the effects of Izroth's Imprint: Concealed Heavy Wounds kicking in.
'His sense of perception is high. He's still able to protect most of his vitals well.'
One's sense of perception naturally increased as they leveled up. Since Vansouden was over level 50, Izroth estimated that his sense of perception was around 40% lower than his own or possibly even 30%. However, one had to remember that Izroth had the Heavenly Golden Body and had consumed a Five Cycles Pill. If not for those two things, then even if Izroth was faster than Vansouden, he would not be able to follow Vansouden's movements.
Vansouden's breathing increased as his body and equipment felt heavier than usual. Why was he so fatigued after such a short battle? He was used to fighting for hours without rest so there was no way that he should feel so exhausted! He knew that if things continued down this path, then without a doubt, he would be killed.
"If things keep up like this, I'll die. I'll die in this place! To some nobody! I'll die! No, I can't allow that to happen. I won't allow it to happen! If I have to die, then I'll take this bastard down with me!" Vansouden's mind kicked into overdrive.
"Nightmare Arts: Dread-!" Vansouden was just about to activate a double-edged sword final resort skill, however, he could not have ever prepared himself for what happened next.
"Half Mark Sword Wave!"
Woosh!
A sharp sword aura shot directly in between Vansouden and Izroth forcing both of them to break off their close-ranged combat to avoid the strike. However, it did not stop there. Just as Izroth jumped away from the Half Mark Sword Wave, three different colored lightning bolts rushed towards him.
"Tri-Lightning Assault!"
'Oh? So they've finally decided to act.'
Izroth's swung his Sword of The Storm outward to meet with the Tri-Lightning Assault, however, the person who launched the attack had a smirk on their face. That fool wanted to clash head-on with his Tri-Lightning Assault? Dream on!
Swoosh!
As soon as Izroth's blade made contact with the Tri-Lightning Assault, something unusual happened. Instead of latching onto the weapon in his hands and shocking him to death with lightning, the three different colored lightning swirled and rotated around his Sword of The Storm.
With one swift motion, Izroth slashed out with his sword as the Tri-Lightning Assault fired off in the direction of the individual who used Half Mark Sword Wave! They were unable to dodge it in time and was struck by all three bolts of lightning. As for the damage, it was not light since Tri-Lightning Assault became even stronger if the target was holding onto any kind of metal-based weapon.
Izroth used the Sword Return skill of the Second Sword Form: Returning Wave to redirect the Tri-Lightning towards another target. However, due to the position they were in, to the individual who launched the Half Mark Sword Wave, it appeared as if they had been intentionally targeted by the Tri-Lightning Assault from the start! They had no idea that Izroth was capable of redirecting attacks.
"You-! I thought we had a deal!" He was outraged and angered that a sneak attack had been launched against him. He knew that he should have never trusted that backstabbing person who was only there to look out for themselves at the end of the day! How could he have been such a fool?!
"I-I didn't do it! My attack was meant for-"
"Enough of your nonsense! Your life belongs to me! Three-Quarters Mark Sword Wave!"
"Ah! You dare?! Tri-Lightning…"
The two individuals had actually taken their focus off of Izroth and began to fight with each other instead!
Izroth understood that if all of them worked together without any discord then their chain of attacks would leave him with little opportunity to attack. Therefore, he decided to sow some discord between the group so that he could manage a larger window of attack.
"Those two idiots! Well, whatever, at least they're buying me some time." Vansouden gritted his teeth. However, he was relieved on the inside that the pressure had been taken off of him. If he had executed that skill of his then it was over for him in this selection. While he would not die, he would be vulnerable for the rest of the selection which may have eventually led to his death.
Vansouden never thought that he would be driven into a corner like this so early into the selection! He entered into stealth mode and disappeared from sight. Although, no one had any idea what was going on through his mind at that moment.
"That coward Vansouden actually ran away!" One of the participants scoffed.
"Hmph, what fearsome Nightmare Arts? Here I thought he was someone with real skill."
After Vansouden disappeared, the fight between Izroth and the other participants became increasingly intense. At the moment, it was Izroth versus six other participants who were all at or above level 50. Even for someone like Izroth, this was not a situation where he could remain completely unscathed. The level gap was already there, however, the level 49 to level 50 gap made it even worse.
Even though Izroth was much faster than everyone present, they could still follow his movements for the most part due to the increased sense of perception that came with naturally leveling up. If Izroth was level 50 or they were below level 50, then there would be no chance of them following his movements while Flickering Steps was active.
"Phoenix Feathers!" One of the participants yelled as ten sharp knives covered in yellow flames flew towards Izroth's direction.
Izroth avoided nine of the knives, however, just as he was about to avoid the final one he shifted his position to receive the attack as a strong sword aura flew right past him.
"He dodged it?!" The person who launched the attack was the user of the Half Mark Sword Wave. His fight with the other participant had come to a swift conclusion and ended with his victory. Although he suffered some injuries during the altercation, he was still able to fight.
Now that he had rejoined the fight, it was one versus seven!
Woosh!
Izroth did not hesitate to return an attack of his own as he activated the Tempest Strikes on his Sword of The Storm and sent off two swift blades of winds in the direction of the person whose attack had just struck him.
However, instead of being enraged, Izroth gave a genuine smile that was different from his usual carefree one. The attack that struck him just now removed around 25% of his total HP. While he could have used Shadow Movement or Instantaneous Movement to avoid it, he knew that this fight would not be his last.
Also, there were only a few minutes left until the first random teleportation took place. If he came across a strong individual and all of his high-ranking skills were on cooldown, then the end results would be unfavorable.
Not to mention, there was also another threat that was bigger than the current seven individuals he was fighting against.
Lances had long since finished his fight against Rinse. The results? A completely one-sided slaughter. Rinse was overwhelmed by Lances overbearing flames and inferno before being scorched into nothingness.
At the moment, Lances stood there and observed the fight. However, no one could tell what was going on through his mind. He could be simply waiting for the victor to be decided before claiming the points for himself. Or, he was just confident enough in his ability to collect points to not care about them. Either way, Izroth could not afford to freely waste any escape or movement skills.
'What is he up to?'
Izroth did not take Lances as the sit back and watch type. The fact that he lured people into ambushing him by hiding his true strength showed that he was not just some thoughtless person. But, in the end, Izroth could only focus on the fight before him, not the one that may await him after.
While the person who Izroth attacked was able to avoid his first blade of wind, he could not evade the second.
-2,319
+139
Izroth was not too worried about the damage he took since he possessed lifesteal.
'If their teamwork was a little better, I'm not sure I'd be able to launch a single attack without receiving some damage. However, they're still cautious of one another and the one who's watching us from a distance.'
Izroth inwardly shook his head in disappointment. They were so worried about who would try backstabbing them that they left him a handful of opportunities to launch a counter-assault.
'At this rate, I won't be able to take care of all of them before we're randomly teleported. Should I risk using that?'
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three more attacks flew towards Izroth as he successfully evaded them. However, instead of retreating back or to the side, he retreated into the sky! This left the other participants dumbfounded.
"He can fly?!" One of the individuals exclaimed in a voice filled with shock and disbelief. It was not due to the fact that Izroth could ascend into the air, but rather, he appeared to be flying without a magic item or special flying beast! How could they not be stunned?
Lances had a large grin on his face as he watched Izroth go further and further up into the air until he stopped at a height of 40 meters.
'This should be good enough.'
Izroth sheathed his Sword of The Storm. A few moments later, dark and gray clouds started to form in the sky above him.
'I didn't plan on using it this earlier, however, it's the most effective skill for this situation since time is running out.'
All of a sudden, the sound of clapping thunder could be heard roaring throughout the surroundings. It sounded as if the thunder was trying to call for something or someone. Or, that the thunder itself was being called out to!
'Call of the Thunder God. First State: Heavenly Descent.'
