Loving Aunt was in no way threatened by Dreary Traveler's presence. The fellow was a weird freak, but his undead army was legit.
However, if he thought poison was all Loving Aunt was good for, she would show him why Ruler class Lineage members stood above everyone but their Progenitors and Primordials.
When Amber called for the battle to begin, the juvenile Lucifer Lineage members adopted their various forms. Unlike Draco who had learned these things manually, they had been systematically trained from birth and could use the littlest Bloodline Energy for the maximum effect.
Dreary Traveler adopted his previous strategy of overwhelming his foes with his undead army. Loving Aunt did not stop them nor did she rush to join the fight, allowing the young ones to gain experience by fighting against hundreds of undead while strained and under pressure.
Dreary Traveler was grinning at first but soon began to frown when he realized that they were adapting far quicker than he would have liked, their finesse growing and their lethality rising sharply.
He then summoned his higher rank undead, and the process repeated itself. The Lineage members were initially suppressed, but were disgustingly difficult to take down.
Rather, they adapted pretty fast and turned the tables within seconds, forcing Dreary Traveler to exclaim and bring out even stronger forces.
Realizing that he was being used as a whetstone, Dreary Traveler laughed with amusement. He allowed it to go on, not minding since he already knew that those fellows must be like Draco.
After all, they had the same kind of aura and transformations, so they must be related to the Guildmaster. There was no need to offend his boss' Lineage over this, yet that didn't mean he would simply throw the fight either.
He let them face off against the tougher ones periodically up to the moment they adapted until they reached the penultimate tier. After that, Dreary Traveler simply sent back all his minions and brought forth his five strongest Dread Lords.
They circled around him as Dreary Traveler stepped forth and entered the battlefield himself. After all, he was able to use Ice and Death element skills, the former being usable for offense and defense while the latter mostly focused on summoning and curses.
The other Brazilian fighters also rushed forth to tackle the Italian team members. Seeing this, Loving Aunt's eyes gleamed as she activated her various passives and crated her death zone.
She then summoned her Blue Water Adder and Dark Swamp Serpent using the Advanced Manifestation technique and charged forward with them, assaulting Dreary Traveler and his troops head-on.
The battle was brutal but fair. The other Lucifer Lineage members easily dealt with the Brazilian team and came to help the Grand Teacher of the Serpent God Inheritance.
Dreary Traveler fought them all to a standstill, showing a great personal fighting skill that had been absent in his previous fights, which had made him seem useless without his army.
However, he proved everyone wrong as he was able to eliminate three members of the Italy team, two psychics of the Dark Angel Inheritance, and one summoner from the Serpent God Inheritance.
The only ones remaining were Loving Aunt and a fellow from the Horned Demon Inheritance who was still in the Horned Demon True Body state.
Italy won, but they certainly didn't take the win easily. True to Dreary Traveler's thoughts, Loving Aunt's death zone and toxins had done nothing, forcing her to use her own martial skills to secure the win.
Seventh match winner: Italy!
8th Match: Scotland vs England!
For the final match of the Round of 16, the Scots jumped up onto the stage from the left. They were still wearing their kilts which showed off the sexy and hairy legs of their manly blokes, who also wore berets that were red in color, as well as ties that were a light green.
When their legs touched the surface of the arena, there was an audible pause as the wind whistled beside everyone's ears for a split second. Then, the five of them roared as they lifted their bodies, intertwined them, and channeled their muscles… TO POSE!
The sheer force of their posing resulted in whiplash to all onlookers and many felt blood dribble down the side of their lips. However, they still marveled at the fabulous poses they had adopted.
Could it be these five were part of a Tokusentai?!
When the English team came on stage with their dazzling elite lineup of Silent Walker, Lucia, Sublime Notion, Happy Scholar, and Noble Soul, the arena tensed up.
The Scots disposed of their pose and got ready to fight. Since they were neighbors and both part of the United Kingdom, England's team had been warned by the Royal Family to give the Scots some face.
As such, when the battle began the England team didn't immediately remove them, but fought as if they were equal until they eliminated the Scots one by one.
However, instead of looking kind, they rather seemed arrogant because of how fake their performance had been.
Unlike France who had demonstrated true sportsmanship by holding nothing back but still being gentle, England had tried to hold back and had pretended to be struggling. This got the crowd booing, which made the five fellows on the stage shrug.
Tsk, tsk, it seemed like no matter what they did, England would always be hated on. Well, who asked them to have the biggest empire and then lose it all cause of some leaves in water?!
Eight match winner: England!
Amber clapped her hands, clearing up the arena and bringing the screens to the fore. "And that brings the Round of 16 to an end! Here are the teams that progressed forward and their matchups!"
1st Match: India vs Central Country
2nd Match: Japan vs Mexico
3rd Match: Canada vs France
4th Match: Italy vs England
Amber smiled. "Without further ado, let us get into our first match of the Quarterfinals! India vs the Central Country!
Kiran and his team climbed up the stage from the left while Deployed and Slim Fatty came up on the right. Both teams faced each other solemnly, knowing that this battle was not going to be easy.
If Deployed summoned his army, they would be overwhelmed, not to mention the crazy Slim Fatty who had such high offensive power and Warm Spring who could heal them of anything with ease.
The Indian team only had Kira and Slight Breeze as their more notable Umbra representatives, so it looked like they were severely underpowered. However, team India was extremely confident while the Central Country was anxious.
Even the calm Deployed Soldier had sweaty palms, for they knew they were about to face a primordial beast in battle.
The moment Amber called for the match to begin, Kiran stepped forward past his team with a grim smile. Immediately, he stomped his foot and crouched down.
"HAAAAAAAA…. HUANNNGG!!!" He roared as he transformed directly into his Super Warrior 2 state. The shockwave was not as intense this time as it only raised dust and made clothes flap, but his battle aura made the Central Country fighters blanch.
W-Was this what Essence had to face? How had he been able to remain so calm before this?!
Kiran was at his full power, his blood-red aura raging as electricity sparked all over his body, his spiky hair forming two bangs on the left and right side of his forehead as his dark purple eyes radiated intensity.
The Indian team members used this moment to strike. The Central Country team could only grit their teeth and fight back with all they had.
The battle was brutal, no doubt about that.
Deployed Soldier with his immense speed was able to maneuver around the battlefield and take out the weaker Indian team members while Slim Fatty tried to hold Kiran down.
She swung the heavy Swordblade down upon Kiran, who simply raised a hand and caught it with ease. Slim Fatty was stunned by this, as it was her first time seeing the raw weight of the Swordblade being countered so easily.
Kiran then ripped the sword from her hands and tossed it aside before throwing a punch at Slim Fatty. Her defensive sword, Forte, maneuvered to protect her while Slim Fatty herself called Swordblade back through their mental connection.
However, Forte was knocked flying, with deep cracks on its body, its durability lowering by 950k points, leaving only 50k. This stunned not only Slim Fatty but Kiran too.
Yo, that wasn't just any weapon, but a goddamn Legendary Sword!
What's more, this wasn't some random Legendary Sword, but one forged by none other than Draco! Anything made by him was far better than the average of its tier, so how…?
Kiran gazed at his palm which was covered with the blood-red aura that was still surging ferociously like waves on the sea during a catastrophic cyclone.
He realized that whatever tier his Noble Gate Force had reached, it was now on par with, and superior to, Legendary Weapons when in his Super Warrior 2 state.
Realizing this, he didn't hold back. He struck out at Slim Fatty repeatedly, knocking away the swords that tried to defend her and directly destroying Swordblade that had returned to her hand with two hits.
He then channeled a blow at her abdomen, punching through her body and letting her guts flow all over the stage. Slim Fatty fell back and clutched her stomach while crouching, her teeth quickly stained red as she spat out blood.
Despite that, her bloodshot eyes glared at Kiran fiercely as she rose up and summoned her remaining swords towards herself, trying to ignore her fatal wound in order to continue fighting.
Kiran sighed. He chose Slim Fatty first because every core member knew of her tenuous willpower. That was why Essence had been cruel to her by cutting her in half, while Kiran too punched her almost in half.
Unless you one-shot this woman properly, she would never go down. That was why none of them were delicate with her even though she was their buddy Fitter's girl and their Commander's sister.
Kiran then punched her head off, splattering it about the stage as her body eventually fell limp. Many in the crowd roared with anger.
What was this Umbra guild and why did the fellows always brutally beat this lass in particular to death?!
In fact, none of the males treated any of the females delicately at all! Was their entire Guild just filled with beasts and abusers?!
Kiran ignored the crowd and noticed that only he and Slight Breeze were left on their side, while the Central Country had Deployed Soldier, Warm Spring, and their two other blokes pressuring Slight Breeze.
If it wasn't for her ability to take to the air, she would have long been eliminated. Clearly, while Kiran had been dealing with their toughest foe in his mind, they were clearing out the support on Kiran's side so they could dedicate their all unto him.
Kiran smiled and charged at them. Deployed Soldier was currently swinging his sword, letting waves of the blade try and strike Slight Breeze in the air. With his enhanced speed though, he was able to turn around and see Kiran slamming the back of the two other teammates on his side.
Their hearts were blown out of their chests and they were sent flying from the stage, already dead before they even landed. Deployed Soldier grimaced, lamenting that his sister had been unable to hold down the leader of the Five Generals for a few seconds longer.
As he knew things were critical, he summoned his army. 40,000 Rank 3 troops appeared on the stage, pushing Kiran back to his side of the stage.
Slight Breeze flew over and hovered behind him, sweating profusely after surviving that intense barrage. Kiran gazed at the army who had Deployed and Warm Spring.
Deployed also activated his various buff on his army, making them even more OP. Warm Spring also summoned her 90 followers and cast every buff skill she had on her collective side.
This made Slight Breeze pale and the Indians sighed with despair. It was too hard to beat a team with multiple powerful core members with just one.
However, Kiran was unfazed. He just measured the army before him before releasing a deep breath.
"It's time to see whether I can finally use mom's strongest move." He muttered to him as he spread his legs out to each side, lowering his body.
His right arm and left arm were both contracted, then suddenly stretched forward with his palms curved in. He rotated his right arm counterclockwise while the left moved clockwise in the same motion.
It looked like he drew a circle with his two arms, then he suddenly pulled them back and behind his torso. Light flashed in between his plans, as an orange light formed and charged up within.
"Oor…! Ja…! Ta…! Rang…!" Kiran cried out as the energy in between his palms grew in power till it almost eclipsed his whole body, forming a strange oval orb.
Deployed Soldier and Warm, Spring detected death on the horizon, and knew that things were not looking good. Deployed hastily commanded his army to use the Unstoppable Charge, banking on the invincibility of the skill to survive whatever Kiran was doing.
Warm Spring was immune to all forms of damage below Divine, but her followers weren't and she could still be knocked off stage with ease. As such, she directly used one of her old Holymancer buff skills on the group.
At this time, Kiran unveiled the attack he had been charging all this while.
"…HAAAAA!!!!" With that bellow, he fired out a huge wave of orange energy that thundered across the stage. The faces of all onlookers changed as many rose to their feet in shock and horror.
Not because they could feel the threat of the skill, but because anyone who had spent even 1% of their childhood in society knew what that beam resembled and what it represented.
The beam collided with the charging army, disappearing their formation with ease and knocking them all out of the stage. Deployed's face became grim as the beam hurtled towards him, but he was waved by Warm Spring who carried him into the air.
Her own followers were swept up on the large beam, obliterated from existence as they shrieked in pain. Deployed's army was lucky, they were in an invincible state, so they didn't die, but they did not have enough power to charge through the beam, so they were simply blasted backward and out of the stage.
Amber had to hurriedly relocate millions of viewers to another side of the stadium, preventing them from being blasted apart as the beam rushed through.
When it came to an end, all the crowd could see was a panting Kiran still in the pose of firing out the beam, his upper garments once again ripped as he toned upper body smoked like he had been boiled alive.
His aura was significantly weaker as he was forced down to his Super Warrior 1 form, but he seemed to be struggling, forcing himself to return to his higher state as his hair fluctuated and so too did his aura.
In front of Kiran was a huge gully that had torn apart the arena, going from where he stood into the horizon of this competition realm. The parts of the stadium that he had aimed toward had been shredded into nothing leaving a gaping hole.
Those who had previously been there had bulging eyes, for once feeling grateful to Amber for saving them. Amber herself was gazing at Kiran solemnly.
'… Just what the hell is this guy? His potential is so great, no less than Essence Stalker and seemingly just one level below Draco and Eva. If the Evil Duo didn't exist, Kiran would undoubtedly be the protagonist of the world with this kind of power and these kinds of feats.' Amber asked herself with confusion.
Deployed's eyes gleamed as he took in Kiran's weakened state. "Warm Spring, lower me. Distract Slight Breeze while I take down Kiran."
Warm Spring was shocked, but complied. She lowered Deployed and rushed over at Slight Breeze with a ferocious expression, like she was going to claw her face. This spooked Slight Breeze as she fled, thinking that since Warm Spring was invincible, she might resort to catfighting to beat her.
Deployed landed near Kiran and began running, his steps gaining speed as he soon became a blur. He then activated his trump card one-hit KO skill, Condense!
｢Active 1 – Condense: Concentrate all sword movements into one strike, unleashing every single sword-related skill or technique you have on a single target. The power of this skill depends on the number of sword skills/ techniques known by the user. Cooldown: 1 day.｣
His sword glowed with a resplendent white light as all of Draco's 360 Sword Skills condensed into one ultimate strike that none could survive.
Kiran saw this and felt the threat of death. He roared and went berserk just as he had with Essence, his body ballooning slightly and his pupils disappearing. His hair became spiker and his aura returned to the Super Warrior 2 state and was slightly higher.
It could be described as being Super Warrior 2.5!
Like this, Kiran roared and used his Realm King Fist to clash with Deployed. He blasted forward in a red light, flying towards the tip of Deployed's Blade as the two of them clashed and bypassed each other.
Both sides paused at the other end of the arena, a spell of silence between them as the crowd, Slight Breeze and Warm Spring, watched with trepidation to see who would be the winner.
Kiran calmly gazed at his left and right hands which fell off, turning into ash from the very base. He then turned to face Deployed who also turned to face him.
It was then that the crowd noticed that there was a hole in Deployed's chest and his heart was missing. Blood dribbled down the side of his lips as he gazed at Kiran with respect.
"You are truly in a league of your own, just like Essence." Deployed murmured as he turned into pixels and disappeared.
First Match Winner: India!
