After the competition started, Azure Dragon, Ian, and the others continued to move between each arena, just like they did yesterday. After earning a certain number of points at one arena, they would retreat and move to another platform where no one dared to challenge them. Within half an hour of the competition starting, they had already directly slain around forty to fifty top-ranking contestants from Western countries.
On the other hand, Aquilandia’s performance today also attracted a lot of attention. The top ten contestants, except for one, abandoned their low-key approach from yesterday and appeared in full force. They were equally decisive in their actions, giving it their all as soon as they stepped onto the stage. The opponents who died at their hands numbered in the dozens, if not hundreds.
Around noon, a muffled sound rang out from Arena Ten. Following that, a woman from Northfortia was blasted off the stage by a contestant from Aquilandia with a palm strike. After tumbling several times in mid-air, she crashed to the ground and lay motionless.
“You damn bastard!” Witnessing this scene, a petite figure leaped onto the stage. It was none other than Princess Linda of Northfortia.
After a day of competition, the contestants had become accustomed to the phenomenon of some players jumping the queue and challenging others on the stage. As long as the contestants in the waiting area had no objections, the referees would not intervene.
“You people from Aquilandia are quite something! You dare to openly kill my people from Northfortia!” Linda looked at her Aquilandia opponent and spoke in a stern voice. “Come on, let me show you the strength of Northfortia. Don’t think we’re afraid of you!” As she spoke, her aura soared, revealing her strength at the Late Stage of the Second-Rank Sovereign.
“Referee, I surrender!”
However, the contestant from Aquilandia ignored her words. He looked in the direction of the referee and said something before turning and walking down the stage. His cultivation was at the Early Stage of the Second-Rank, half a level lower than Linda. He knew he had no chance of winning, so he took the initiative to surrender.
“Stop right there!” Filled with pent-up anger, Linda shouted at him and raised her hand to attack the contestant.
Just before her attack could land, the referee intervened, sweeping his hand to block her assault.
“Princess Linda, your opponent has already surrendered. You can’t make any more moves!” The referee looked at Linda and spoke.
This would never have happened before yesterday. But since Opal Fraley had slain a referee yesterday, all the referees had become more obedient and followed the rules of the competition. They didn’t want to accidentally lose their lives.
“You bastard!” Linda snorted in anger but did not make any more moves. Then, she looked towards the bottom of the stage and said, “Are there no contestants from Aquilandia who want to come up and challenge me?”
However, even though there were many Aquilandian people below the stage, none of them paid any attention to her.
“I’ll go!”
After a while, a male voice sounded, and then Bob casually walked up to the stage.
“It’s you?” Linda immediately recognized Bob at a glance.
A few months ago, Linda had been imprisoned in the capital for several days, and it was Bob who had given the order. Therefore, she remembered him.
“My boss advised you a long time ago not to participate in this championship. Why didn’t you listen?” Bob replied calmly.
“No more nonsense!” Linda furrowed her eyebrows. “You came up just in time. Today, I’m going to give you back ten times the humiliation you inflicted on me!”
“So, you’re not planning to surrender?” Bob coldly replied. “Do you believe that I could kill you?”
Linda snorted. “Full of empty words. If you have the guts, then give it a try!”
“Alright!” Bob shrugged his shoulders and drew his sword from his waist.
“Bring it on!” Linda shouted, brandishing her sword and charging at Bob. To her, this battle had nothing to do with the championship. She wanted to avenge the humiliation she had suffered months ago.
During those days of imprisonment, not only did she endure lousy food, but she was also locked in Zone One of the Central Sky Office. That zone was reserved for the most dangerous criminals. Although she had her own separate iron cell, being a high-born princess and being confined in the same area as those ruthless criminals made her feel sick just from the smell of the air inside. Those days were the most miserable she had ever experienced, and she didn’t want to think about it. Even now, she occasionally had nightmares that woke her up drenched in cold sweat. So now, having the opportunity to stand on the same stage as Bob, she wouldn’t miss the chance for revenge. She didn’t even consider whether she was a match for him. All she could think about was wiping away her past shame.
“With your mediocre skills, you dare to seek revenge? Aren’t you afraid of making a fool of yourself?” Bob spoke in a sarcastic voice. “Last time in the capital, I showed you mercy and spared your life. Yet, you still don’t know how to be grateful. If you really want to die, I’ll grant your wish!” As he spoke, he moved swiftly, flicking his wrist to unleash a hundred-meter-long blade aura toward Linda. With his cultivation now at the third rank, even if Linda was at the same level as him, it would be difficult for her to withstand his attack! To him, it didn’t matter if she was the princess of Northfortia or not. He only knew that Billy had ordered him to kill any contestants from the top ten countries he encountered.
“Princess Linda, you’re no match for him. Retreat quickly!”
A man’s voice sounded from the audience. In fact, Linda didn’t need the reminder. By now, she had snapped out of her initial anger. She knew her own abilities and realized she couldn’t handle this strike. She quickly withdrew and took a defensive stance. Bob’s blade aura directly sliced Linda’s sword in half and left a deep cut on her shoulder. Fortunately, she managed to dodge half of the strike at the last moment; otherwise, that cut would have ended up on her chest.
“Bastard!” Linda stabilized herself and cursed angrily.
“You’re quite nimble!” Bob narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn’t used his full strength earlier, which allowed her to escape unharmed.
As soon as he finished speaking, he attacked again, unleashing four blade auras just like the previous strike. But this time, Linda, whether due to anger or fear, didn’t surrender.
“Linda, surrender!” the man’s voice echoed once more.
“Ah…” Linda reacted too late and exclaimed, hastily shouting towards the referee’s direction, “I surrender…”
However, she was too slow. The four blade auras whizzed towards her and would tear her to pieces in an instant.
“Kid, if you dare to kill Linda, I’ll tear you into a thousand pieces!” the man roared.