Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“In the end, none of your people got through the first round,” the robe chuckled, watching the remaining participants assemble in the arena to draw lots. The bulky robe beside him stayed silent.

“Well, it doesn't matter. In the end, nothing can stop our plan as long as the old man does as he is told,” he said with a bright smile.

One figure in particular was greeted by the crowd with overwhelming boos and curses. Among the 21 remaining participants was Dumm Ting, who entered with a smug smile. He seemed to enjoy the venomous attention.

“Man, if I didn't know better, I could have sworn we have planted this guy...” the bulky robe mumbled. Seeing the glee on the villain's face, he would fit well among Bragmomal's commanders.

The first ten people drew their lots and robes smiles only grew brighter when it was the turn for the old man to pull his lot. Everything went as expected. Their candidates would meet the success of their plan was imminent!

The ten pairings of the second round were

1. Lyca, the Amazon vs Hankleberry Sawyer, the beastman Knight

2. The Maggot Priest vs Dumm Ting, the demonic cultivator,

3. Dowloon, the Shadow unter the Rosebushes vs April Vine, dubbed the Lady of Thorns,

4. Long Jian, the Puppet User vs Mathias Bartholomew, the Chosen of Balder,

5. Cultivator Nam vs Bregar, the Chosen of Bragi

6. The exorcist from the Continent, Fan Juan vs the blind man

7. Bercy the Beast vs Byron from the Boulder Guild

8. Caleb, the Dragon Knight vs the barbarian Simplicity

9. Perl Woul, the Assassin vs the Priest of Corruption

10. The Mud Wizard vs Choon Long, the Spear Cultivator,

...

“With the matches decided, I would like to ask everyone except the first pair to leave the arena,” Umi said happily. Since the fight was announced, they would directly begin. However, the audience was not quite in the mood for the first match, as Dumm Ting's mug had reminded him of the event that almost ruined the whole tournament.

Seeing how he would face the mysterious Maggot Priest, they were looking forward to seeing the massive cultivator suffer a cruel fate at his hands. The audience was not the only one lacking enthusiasm for this match. Hankleberry Sawyers's ears and tail visibly drooped the moment he knew who he would face.

Depressed, the dog-eared beastman knight stayed in the arena for the first match. The reason for his mood was quite simple. He had barely made it into the second round, but now he immediately had to go up against the favorite of the tournament, Lyca. he was clear about the fact that he didn't stand a chance. Still, he stood in the arena and faced the fight.

“Begin!” Umi Kaldrops announced.

The knight displayed heroic bravery, facing the Amazon in combat. His awe-inspiring figure would be remembered for the next three minutes after he was slapped out of the arena by a single move from the Amazon. Lyca's own, shocked expression made it more than obvious to the audience, that she had not expected that Sawyer would be unable to even react to her attack. This way the first fight of the second round ended in less than a minute, with Lyca's victory.

Seth would have to lie to say this was unexpected, but it was a shame that Sawyer didn't get more of a stage to display his abilities. it really was a little unfair for the Amazon to participate like this.

There were limited claps and cheers for this fight, but the best part in the eyes of the audience was that it ended quickly, making way for the second battle.

Once Lyca left and Sawyer was brought to the medical wing, Okrot Na, the Priest of an unknown god and Dumm Ting the martial warrior entered the arena. it was probably the only situation in which the dark being hiding under the robe and killing its enemies with vermin and insects, would have a greater amount of cheers than its opponent.

The blacksmith also looked forward to the outcome of this match. Remembering what Dumm Ting had done to Polter, he actually cheered for the Maggot Priest to kill the cultivator with excruciating pain. Although he had calmed down a lot after giving Dumm Ting a taste of the <Harrowing Light>, he had no reason to forgive any of his sins.

“Do you think the priest can take down the muscle mountain?” Fin asked beside him. She had taken human size and occupied the comfortable seat on his left.

“I sure hope so, but it's hard to tell. Dumm Ting is strong, but I think this Okrot Na has yet to show his full capabilities,” the blacksmith gave his opinion just before they turned back to the arena where the match finally began.

This time, Dumm Ting didn't even bother to hold back. His secret was already revealed to he unleashed the evil energy collected through the sacrifice of the innocent right from the start. It seemed that knowing he wouldn't die, had made him reckless.

The massive meat mountain rushed across the arena with incredible speed. Even Seth had to admit, that his rush was probably faster than his own movement speed when wearing the Scorpion Armor. The cultivator swung his fist and with a splat, Okrot Na was flattened and pieces of him splashed across the arena, leaving just the robe under the massive fist.

“Ha! Haha!” Dumm Ting laughed, surprised and in disbelief at first, but it quickly turned into a fit of laughter at the demise of his opponent. However, the stadium stayed silent. Some people, like Seth, doubted it was already over, others were too disgusted by the cultivator and refused to cheer.

Using <Theias Vision> Seth was able to quickly see the changes in the arena. The splattered parts and blood of the Maggot Priest seeped into the cracks in the arena floor, some of them looked like shadow worms, digging into the darkness.

The rest of the audience also noticed. Only the laughing bloke didn't. Was his perception already this blurred?

“Kukuku, I knew it. I knew I wasn't weak. There is nothing wrong with my strength! I have nothing to apologize for. Why would a predator apologize to his prey?! Yes!” he mumbled incoherent sentences before turning to Umi Kaldrops.

“Hey! Announce my victory already!” he barked at her. She gave him a disgusted glance before looking toward the private booth of Minas Mar, to see if there were any instructions. Seth stayed silent. Silence meant that she was not supposed to do anything. Umi ignored the cultivator and flew further up, taking some distance from the rabid gorilla.

As he angrily looked up at her, the whole arena grew dark. Crimson runes of light appeared across the battleground, glowing in an ominous twilight. They slowly started moving as an unnerving guttural choir permeated the stadium.

The choir was joined by cheers of people who were surprised by the sudden return of the Maggot priest and the people who expected that this was not the end of the fight. Angered by this, Dumm Ting let out a bestial roar and was enveloped by the sickening power, countering the dark runes encroaching on him.

Enraged he started punching the runes, shattering them left and right. Laughing as he felt superior. Yet, the shattered runes simply turned to specks of light and quickly reformed outside of Dumm Ting's field of vision. This went on for a while before the cultivator suddenly halted.

He grunted and his hands were shaking. Suddenly, he vomited a dark sludge onto the floor. It was a mix of rotten blood, waste, and..slugs? The skin on his hand began heaving and dozens tiny maggots began munching their way to freedom, turning his hand into a bloody mess. The look of shock and realization had the audience in elation when he finally realized that he was fighting windmills.

“It seems like all of it was just a ploy to whittle away at Dumm Ting's energy shield and invade his body with this sorcery,” Yu mumbled surprised.

“is it that surprising?” Seth asked him interested.

“Well, it needs some fundamental understanding of energy circulation to come up with such a strategy. I just wonder how they came up with this,” Master Mountain answered.

“hmm..” Seth was about to question the origins of Okrot Na when the situation in the arena changed once again.

“Don't think this little trick can save you! Stop hiding and come out!” Dumm Ting suddenly hollered. His fists were enveloped in a deep crimson-red color as he smashed them onto the arena floor.

The dark energy passed through the gaps in the special marble and lit up the whole square ground. The marble cracked, it crumbled and as Dumm Ting channeled his power, the crater he stood in grew bigger and deeper until finally a giant worm covered in wound was unearthed.

“There you are!”

With the whole arena doused in his QI, there was no escape for Okrot Na. To the disappointment of almost everyone watching, the maggot was ultimately crushed and burned under the power of the cultivator.

Unwilling, Umi had to announce him the winner, once Okrot Na reappeared in the medical wing.