Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Watching the replay, Dowloon had received a serious beating until she used her last resort. It was too fast for even the golems to record, but the outcome was that there was a tiny hole burned through the transformed April's chest, piercing her internals and killing the high druid in its bear state.

Seth squinted as Master Mountain, who didn't seem that surprised at the replay.

“Did you see what happened, Yu?” the blacksmith asked suspiciously. While they had been distracted by the news of Arget Nore's retreat, the cultivator had probably kept watching the fight. The person in question confirmed with a nod and a knowing smile.

“Stop holding it back, what did she do?!” Fin exclaimed exasperatedly. She was the most upset that she had missed the decisive moment.

“Okay, okay, I'm telling, I'm telling,” he said with a defeated chuckle. “ From what I could see, Fairy Dowloon threw a silver needle, which seemed like an expendable weapon comparable to a heaven-grade artifact,” he explained what he saw. Seth's thoughts sped up.

“Heaven-grade? That means it was comparable to a relic-rated or legendary weapon. An expendable legendary weapon...” Seth mumbled intrigued. Why would someone make a one-use legendary weapon, unless the materials didn't allow it to be used more often?

“They exist, though they are rare and usually a closely guarded secret of clans or sects. Even I didn't know that she had such a hidden background,” Yu added.

The blacksmith readily believed Yu's words. He guessed that the one-use nature came from non-legendary materials being used in a special manufacturing technique. If someone had a technique to create something comparable to a legendary item, with lesser materials, it was normal to keep it secret. he had to know, after all, he did the same with his ability to refine or . Except for the inner circle of Minas Mar, nobody knew.

“Hmm, this explains how she won against that bear, I guess,” Fin mumbled, still depressed that she didn't actually get to see that scene.

“On that note, maybe I should go and have a look at Lady Vine in the Medical Wing,” Luf suggested to go look for the chosen from Urth. She had proven incredible strength in this fight and had only lost because her opponent had a legendary trump card.

April Vine was one of the Chosen that had appeared at the beginning of the Age of Gods, like Elza and Marcel. Unlike those two, she didn't come to Minas Mar but stayed with her own, medium-sized guild at Delta. They had approached her previously and invited her to the banquet where they tried to recruit potential allies, but she had refused to attend back then.

“Maybe she will see things differently, after such an “unfair” loss,” Luf hinted at with a scheming smile. Seth nodded. The biggest draw Minas Mar had to recruit new people was items. Having lost because the opponent had better equipment, maybe April would now be more open to cooperating with them.

While Luf left, the event continued in the arena. The fourth match had the Puppet Master, Long Jian go up against Mathias Bartholomew, the chosen of Balder. The premise of the battle was almost like their roles were reversed.

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This time it was an Urthan that was going to fight with martial arts, while the person from the Voracious Cloud Continent was using the style of a tamer, using puppets made from powerful beasts to fight his opponent.

Long Jian had fared quite well against the Chosen of Freya, would he be able to add another win against a chosen of the Asgardian Pantheon to his resume?

“Are you ready? Then let this fight. BEGIN!” Umi announced at the center of the stadium and the fourth fight of the second round broke loose. Neither of the two held back. Instantly, the arena was filled with puppet beasts of varying size, but even the weakest were comparable to an elite mob above lv.90. He had lost a few in the fight with the Chosen of Freya, but with how many there were, it had barely put a dent in his vanguard.

The dent came with Mathias Bartholomew. From the very beginning, he had transformed into the silhouette of a human made of pure, white light. He dove into the ranks of the puppet beats like a shooting star, impacting like a meteor.

Light-elemental damage added to each of his attacks, he became a dervish in a storm of broken puppet pieces. A unique technique only he, as the chosen of Balder, was able to pull off thanks to his blessing.

The god of peace and light Balder was famously immune to damage from all things in existence. this didn't perfectly translate to his champion, but it meant that Mathias Bartholomew had a high immunity to all damages.

Neither could the puppets greatly harm him nor did he suffer the recoil from punching their sturdy bodies. Added on top of this, came the power of light, which was able to burn through the hard shells and explode from the inside.

The pain of seeing his puppets get destroyed one by one was clearly visible on Long Jian's face. Bartholomew was like a super cockroach that wouldn't die even when hit with a hammer. Furthermore, it would not just survive but steal said hammer from you and bash your skull in with it.

Facing the cockroach of light, the cultivator made an unprecedented, but sensible decision.

“I concede!” he called out and quickly stored the beast in his spatial ring. Long Jian had actually given up, making him the first participant who didn't decide to fight to the death. Taking into account, that the puppet beasts couldn't beat Mathias, and wouldn't be revived by the magic of the arena, he had no reason to go all the way. the price was too high.

The light around Bartholomew dispersed and the Chosen looked at the cultivator in surprise. Seeing the determination in Long Jian's eyes, the player gave him a respectful nod. It had taken Umi Kaldrops a moment to realize that a participant had actually conceded their match.

“I- I guess this means we have a winner! Give it up for Mathias Bartholomew! He moves on to the third round!” she called out when she finally came back to her senses. The audience was not as thrilled about this anticlimactic end, but they still applauded out of courtesy.

With the fourth match of round two and the 9th match of the day coming to an end, it was finally time for another break, before they held the last six matches of round two. Using the break, the team from Minas Mar was having a scrumptious meal.

The blacksmith and the fairy were locked in a battle for the meatballs when someone returned to their booth.

“Evan, where have you been this long?” Lydia asked him, causing Seth to also look over curiously. Using the distraction, Fin deviously stole the last meatballs from the table.

“I went to meet Hao Li, to ask about the beast pouches,” Evan answered with a happy smile. Seth remembered the beast cultivator. They had talked about the beast pouches he had used to store his tamed creatures. If they were able to get their hands on those it had a great potential, especially for Evan. However, the Chosen of Hermes shook his head at the questioning gazes.

“We can't use them. Their pouches seem to work because of their special cultivation technique. he didn't go into detail, but it's not actually the pouches that are special. He even let me appraise the pouches, but they are simple leather pouches,” Evan explained, however, he didn't seem overly sad that he didn't get additional pet space from the interaction.

“Then why are you so happy when you didn't get the beast pouches?” Mina questioned his mood in and took a sip from her glass.

“We exchanged some knowledge and he had some great tips about rearing beasts from the Clod Continent. He also gave me some beast eggs to try and raise. Once you get to know him, he is a really good guy,” Evan said happily.

Ah yes, he didn't get the space, but even more pets. It seemed like those two had hit it off, Seth noted positively. Although it was regrettable those beast pouches weren't for everyone

“The break is ending and the next fight is beginning soon. All viewers please get back to your seats.” Their talk was interrupted by Umi Kaldrops introduction at the end of the break.

“I hope all of you had time to grab a bite and visit the toilets because we still have an action-filled day of battle for you!”