Crimson Overlord

Chapter 438: Underground Tournament 2

The clerk handed her a smooth obsidian token engraved with the number 217.

"A waiting room is down the corridor."

"When your number is called, proceed to Gate Seven."

She accepted the token.

"Thank you."

The waiting chamber was filled with fighters.

Some sharpened their weapons.

Others meditated.

A few silently observed everyone entering the room.

Luna found an empty corner and quietly sat down.

She closed her eyes.

Slow breaths.

Steady heartbeat.

Orpheus’s lessons echoed inside her mind.

"Don’t rush."

"Observe."

"Information wins battles before swords are drawn."

Instead of staring at the competitors directly, she listened.

"...That giant has won twelve fights..."

"...The horned brute crushed someone’s ribs yesterday..."

"...A newcomer from the western wastelands..."

"...Odds are three to one..."

Every conversation became another piece of information.

One by one, names were called.

Fighters disappeared through the gates.

Some returned victorious.

Others returned badly injured.

A few never came back at all.

Hours passed.

Luna remained patient.

She wasn’t nervous.

She was waiting.

Exactly as Orpheus had taught her.

---

A booming voice suddenly echoed through the waiting hall.

"Contestant Number Two Hundred Seventeen!"

"BLACK RAVEN!"

Her eyes opened.

Finally.

She rose to her feet.

The room became strangely quiet.

Several experienced fighters watched her.

"So that’s the masked girl..."

"Looks too small."

"She’ll probably last one punch."

Luna ignored them.

She simply walked toward Gate Seven.

---

The iron doors slowly opened.

The noise struck her like a tidal wave.

Thousands of spectators erupted into cheers.

"OOOOOOOOOOH!!"

She stepped into the arena beneath the crimson lights.

The announcer’s magically amplified voice thundered across the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Our next challenger..."

"A mysterious newcomer!"

"No history!"

"No known clan!"

"No previous matches!"

"Fighting under the alias..."

"BLACK RAVEN!!"

Mixed reactions spread through the audience.

"Who’s that?"

"A human?"

"No..."

"Elf?"

"Vampire?"

"No clue."

Luna slowly walked toward the center of the arena.

Across from her, another gate began opening.

Heavy footsteps echoed.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

A massive figure emerged.

Nearly three meters tall.

Gray skin covered with countless scars.

One horn remained intact.

The other had broken off years ago, leaving behind only a jagged stump.

He carried an enormous iron club resting upon one shoulder.

His muscles looked like carved granite.

The announcer raised his voice again.

"And her opponent!"

"Winner of twelve consecutive matches!"

"The Gray Mountain!"

"GORMAK!!"

The audience exploded.

"GORMAK!"

"GORMAK!"

"GORMAK!"

The giant grinned, revealing rows of sharp yellow teeth.

"So..."

His deep voice rumbled like distant thunder.

"They’re sending children against me now?"

Luna remained silent.

She simply rested one hand upon her sword.

The giant laughed.

"I’ll make this quick."

---

The bell rang.

BOOOOOONG!!

Without hesitation, Gormak charged.

Each step shook the arena floor.

Dust exploded beneath his feet.

The massive iron club swung horizontally with enough force to flatten stone walls.

Luna moved.

Not backward.

Forward.

She slipped beneath the enormous swing by the narrowest margin, the wind from the attack whipping her cloak violently.

The audience gasped.

"So fast!"

She slashed.

CLANG!

Her blade struck Gormak’s forearm.

Sparks flew.

The giant barely reacted.

"Tch."

His skin was unbelievably tough.

He laughed.

"My turn."

The club descended like a falling tower.

BOOOOOOM!!

The arena floor shattered.

Fragments of stone erupted everywhere.

Luna had already vanished.

She reappeared behind him.

Another slash.

Another.

Another.

Steel flashed repeatedly.

Each strike targeted joints rather than muscles.

Shoulders.

Knees.

Elbows.

Neck.

The giant growled.

"You little insect!"

He spun with surprising speed, forcing Luna to leap away moments before the club swept across the battlefield.

The impact blasted apart several stone pillars.

The audience roared.

"What incredible power!"

"But she keeps dodging!"

---

High above, in the VIP seats, several veteran warriors leaned forward.

"Interesting."

"She’s reading his movements."

"No wasted energy."

"Who trained that girl?"

Another answered quietly.

"Someone dangerous."

---

Back below, Luna remembered Orpheus’s voice.

"Strength isn’t always met with greater strength."

"Sometimes the smallest opening defeats the largest opponent."

She slowed her breathing.

Observed.

Waited.

Gormak charged again.

This time she noticed it.

Every time he swung with his right arm...

His left knee locked for the briefest instant.

A flaw.

Tiny.

Almost invisible.

Enough.

She smiled beneath her mask.

"I found you."

---

The giant roared and lifted his club overhead.

Luna dashed directly toward him.

"What is she doing?!"

Spectators stood.

At the last instant she slid beneath the descending weapon.

The club struck the arena.

BOOOOOOOM!!

Before the giant could recover—

She struck.

Once.

Twice.

Three precise cuts across the tendons behind his left knee.

Blood splashed.

The massive leg buckled.

Gormak stumbled.

The crowd erupted.

"He dropped to one knee!"

"Incredible!"

The giant roared in pain.

"You...!"

He swung wildly.

Too wildly.

Luna had already disappeared again.

She climbed the shattered rubble using the broken stones like stepping platforms.

One leap.

Another.

She launched herself high into the air.

The entire arena watched.

Moonlight reflected along her blade.

For one breathtaking second...

Everything became silent.

She descended.

Like a falling raven.

Her sword struck the giant’s remaining horn.

CRAAAAACK!!

The horn shattered.

The impact disrupted Gormak’s balance completely.

He collapsed.

BOOOOOOOOOM!!

Dust engulfed the battlefield.

Silence followed.

The referee watched carefully.

Seconds passed.

No movement.

He raised his arm.

"WINNER!!"

"BLACK RAVEN!!"

The stadium exploded.

Thousands leapt to their feet.

"WHAT A FIGHT!!"

"WHO IS SHE?!"

"Amazing!"

"The newcomer defeated Gormak!"

"Impossible!"

Luna stood calmly amid the settling dust.

She cleaned her sword before returning it to its sheath.

Then she gave a respectful nod toward the fallen giant.

Gormak slowly regained consciousness.

Instead of anger...

He laughed.

A deep, hearty laugh.

"You fought well."

Luna inclined her head.

"So did you."

Medical staff rushed onto the battlefield to assist him.

As she walked toward the exit tunnel, the cheers only grew louder.

"BLACK RAVEN!"

"BLACK RAVEN!"

"BLACK RAVEN!"

Bookmakers frantically tore up betting slips.

Commentators shouted excitedly.

"The mysterious masked swordswoman has defeated one of the arena’s most feared veterans!"

"Remember that name!"

"Black Raven has arrived!"

Hidden beneath her hood, Luna allowed herself the faintest smile.

She wasn’t here for fame.

She wasn’t here for fortune.

This was only the beginning.

Somewhere else in the city, Orpheus was carrying out his own mission, unaware that his student had just become the arena’s newest sensation.

And with every victory, Luna intended to prove one thing above all else:

She would continue to grow stronger—one battle at a time.