Chapter 533: King of the Hill Begins!
This stage also favoured mid to long range combatants due to the offensive/defensive nature of the test. That said, close range combatants weren’t exactly ruled of it. The distance between the pillars wasn’t massive, and they could comfortably attack pillars and return to defend theirs.
To remain, the close combatants needed to play it smart, taking the least amount of damage, whilst eliminating the closest combatants to give them more freedom later on in the round.
’Who designed this examination knowing the tournament was a target? You couldn’t have created a better assist for the dark organization if you tried. Every elite young Evolver in the kingdom, stationed in fixed locations, separated from each other, forbidden from cooperating. If a strike force teleports into this arena right now, the bracket is sitting ducks. They will be attacked before they knew it.’
The thought sent a chill through his chest. The format wasn’t an accident. It couldn’t be.
Either the Association’s planners were grossly incompetent, which Moon doubted given how seriously Alaric was treating this threat, or someone with influence over the tournament’s design had deliberately engineered the second stage to maximize vulnerability.
’The traitor.’
The spy Alaric had warned him about.
’The spy might be actively shaping the conditions for the attack from the inside. This format was approved by people inside the Association.’
Moon’s eyes drifted upward, scanning the spectator stands.
Hundreds of thousands of people.
Since this was the second stage, many major group leaders were present, including family members of the competitors. All gathered in a single, packed venue with their attention completely focused on the arena floor.
’If they attack during this stage, the casualties won’t just be the competitors. The crowd will be a secondary target. Maybe even the primary one. Two hundred competitors are valuable as kills. Hundreds of thousands of civilians as collateral damage would cause massive chaos in the kingdom.’
Moon’s mind was growing restless.
Huff...puff!
Moon took a deep breath in to relax his growing worry.
’Stay focused. The countdown is almost over. Whatever happens, you have to be ready. Worry won’t change anything.’
The five-minute countdown was nearly up.
With thirty seconds left on the clock, Klein hovered back over the central platform to deliver his final words.
"Remember." His voice carried across the arena. "Your goal in this stage is not to attack other pillars. It’s to defend your own. Theoretically, the competitors who avoid taking any damage at all to their pillars will qualify for the next stage. Defense is your priority. Offense is mostly optional."
He paused.
"That said, unlike the first stage, the second stage rewards its top performers. The top ten rankers at the end of this round will receive personal rewards from the Association. These rewards range from D-Rank to B-Rank items, including equipment, consumables, and rare resources. Compete accordingly."
Moon’s brows rose slightly.
’Wait...’
His eyes widened.
Klein’s final words had changed Moon’s entire plan.
’Rewards for the top ten. D to B-Rank items. The Association doesn’t just hand out B-Rank equipment to placate participants. They give it out to incentivize specific behaviours. If they’re offering it as a top-ten reward, they want the strongest fighters in the bracket to push hard during this round.’
’Klein’s words are contradictory...something is off.’
He glanced around the grid.
He didn’t have time to chase the thought further--
"Begin!"
The countdown ended and chaos erupted moments later.
Across the grid, competitors moved in different directions simultaneously. Mages began casting defensive spells, layering shields and barriers around their pillars. Some erected concentric rings of elemental walls.
A few channelled rune circles directly into the pillars themselves, reinforcing the earth with powerful runes to absorb incoming damage more efficiently.
Other competitors took the opposite approach. They cast offensive spells, launching opening barrages at their neighbours. All manner of projectile spells streaked across the open spaces between pillars. Offence was the best defence was clearly their motto.
Moon stayed where he was on top of his pillar.
His eyes darted across the surrounding terrain, sorting movement from threat. He didn’t cast anything yet. He wanted to see who committed first, who showed their hand, who tried to take cheap shots at him.
It didn’t take long.
An arrow whistled through the air, arcing toward him from one of the Three-Star Evolvers he had identified earlier. The shot was clean, well-aimed, and would have hit his pillar squarely if it had landed.
Moon’s head snapped toward the incoming projectile.
He didn’t bother fully nullifying it.
A simple, small yet efficient, gust of wind erupted from his palm, just enough to push the arrow off its trajectory by a few degrees. The shaft veered to the side, its momentum unchanged, and continued through the air toward an entirely different target.
Across the grid, another competitor was busy laying down a wall of stone in front of his pillar. He had his back partially turned, his attention split between his casting and his immediate neighbour on the other side. He never saw the redirected arrow coming.
It struck the side of his pillar with a sharp crack.
The competitor flinched, spun toward the impact, and immediately began scanning for the source. He looked at the archer who had originally fired, mistaking him as the true source of the attack.
Moon’s lips curved into a faint smile.
’It’s better to save my energy. Make others spend theirs. Let the attacks fuel each other.’
He turned his eyes back to the archer who had targeted him.
The Three-Star Evolver had already drawn his next arrow. The bowstring was pulled taut, the projectile aimed squarely at Moon’s pillar, the man was committed to another shot despite his first one being so casually redirected.
Moon stared at him for a moment.
Then he sighed.
The archer clearly wasn’t going to let it go. He had picked Moon as a target, decided to commit, and didn’t seem inclined to readjust just because his first attempt had failed.
Some fighters needed a beating before they reconsidered their strategy. This one was apparently in that category.
’It’s better to dominate early on. Pests like him will keep firing if I let them. Better to remove him from the equation completely than to spend the entire round dodging arrows.’
Moon had been planning to play conservatively. To let the others tire themselves out while he conserved mana. But conservation only worked if no one was actively dying for his attention. The archer was about to become a constant low-grade drain, and a hundred small defensive spells like gust wind added up to the same exhaustion as a few big ones.
Moon raised his hand. Fire began to crackle menacingly. Moon took his time with charging the attack, he wanted everyone in the immediate area to see it forming.
The archer’s eyes widened slightly, clearly growing worried.
Whoosh!
He released his arrow, before drawing another arrow, hoping to disrupt the spell Moon was conjuring.
Moon didn’t care, he continued to form his spell with staff. Whilst using his left hand to cast spells small gusts of wind that re-directed the powerful arrows.
Once the blue fireball was read, Moon unleashed it towards his target.
The fireball streaked across the open space between their pillars in a flash of blue and red. It moved faster than the arrow ever could, the air splitting around its passage.
"Shit!"
The archer began to charge his mana into his strongest skill, in hopes of destroying the incoming fireball.
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