MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 265 - 22 The First Battle at the Core of the Earth

Chapter 265: Chapter 22 The First Battle at the Core of the Earth

Two hours later, all seven nations of Umbra had convened, with over ten minutes still remaining before the central teleportation gate in the arena was set to open. Lu Hong, along with the other contestants, quietly awaited at the preparatory seats.

Although the contest had not yet begun, the verbal sparring between the seven kings was already well underway.

"I’m telling you, Ji Hongtian, I advised your country to leave Umbra long ago, but you wouldn’t listen. Every time I see you all dressed in black, it’s just depressing," jeered the king of Horizontas, taking a jab at the ruler of the Black Nation.

It was no wonder the Horizontas ruler was so talkative. The Black Nation consisted of half-human, half-bat hybrids who naturally loathed sunlight. As such, their entire city area was kept out of light, concealed under a massive insulating black canopy. Moreover, everyone from the Black Nation wrapped themselves in black velvet cloaks and wore black hats, which was indeed hard to stomach.

"We agree, Dark Lord. Since you’re of royal blood from the Evernight Star Domain, why not take all of Black Nation back to where you belong? There’s no sunlight there, and you wouldn’t need to wrap yourselves up tightly every time you step out. You might not find it disgraceful, but we find it quite ominous," chimed in the king of Pingyao Country, following suit.

The king of Black Nation chuckled, "You say this every year, is there nothing new, my lads?"

At the king’s call, the seven Black Nation contestants knelt on one knee and said in a solemn voice, "We are here!"

"Listen well, once we enter the arena, drive Horizontas and Pingyao to extinction. I want to see them be the first to leave the battlefield."

"Your will shall be done!" The seven contestants were filled with murderous intent.

This time, it was different from the past; neither Horizontas nor Pingyao seemed to fear the other: "Well then, bring it on. Let’s see who’s getting eliminated!"

The Black Nation ruler sneered, "Don’t think just because you’ve hired a few mercenaries that you can turn the tides. Those you’ve spent a fortune on might just be garbage."

"Let’s find out!" The king of Pingyao Country said angrily. For three consecutive terms, his team had been eliminated first by the Black Nation, gaining nothing of value and often exploited by other countries to initiate wars, causing his nation’s power to wane.

Horizontas Country had suffered a similar fate and had become an unfortunate comrade to Pingyao, sharing a common misery.

"Enough," said Liang Chen, the ruler of another nation. "Ji Hongtian, we are all children of Umbra, why must there be such hostility?"

"Now I’m a child of Umbra? Weren’t you just telling me to roll back to the Evernight Star Domain?" The Black Nation ruler did not seem to buy into Liang Chen’s appeal.

"Is that so?" said Liang Chen, ruler, his eyelids drooping. "King Cang, I hope our two countries can set aside our grievances for now and focus on kicking out the Black Nation first, what do you say?"

"Oh?" King Cang laughed. "It’s rare for you, Lu Hong, to think this way. Weren’t you collaborating with Ji Hongtian before? What happened, did the partnership fall through?"

Lu Hong, the ruler, did not mince his words, "Ji Hongtian wants too much, and I cannot give it."

"What a pity," said King Cang. "And what do you think, King Pei?"

"Me?" King Pei, the ruler of Pei Country, maintained a stoic expression. "You all can fight your battles. I’m here as a customary formality. If anyone dares to lay a hand on my men, they had better weigh their chances."

"Indeed, Shate Kingdom has formed an alliance with Pei Country for generations. An attack on either nation will be met with our retribution," declared the King of Shate Kingdom, backing up King Pei.

In that brief dialogue, Lu Hong observed the relationship dynamics between the seven nations unfold. The kings’ verbal sparring continued, while just then, Magic Wind took a position to Lu Hong’s left, saying, "Kid, once we enter the arena, I advise you to stay put within the projection zone. If I catch you in the dark zone, watch your life!"

"I advise you the same. Don’t mess with me. I have my own matters to attend to," Lu Hong replied. "It’s best you don’t delay me, otherwise, I’ll make sure you die a miserable death."

He finished speaking and lightly patted Magic Wind on the shoulder. A tremendous surge of life force flashed, and in an instant, Magic Wind felt as though he was plummeting into a blood abyss, his cold sweat dripping uncontrollably.

Is it... an illusion? Panic filled Magic Wind’s heart. No, it couldn’t be. It must be an illusion created by his skills! Trying to scare me off? Just you wait!

With the sun’s flare moving over the dormant gate, a blistering heatwave violently exploded, the flames transforming into numerous mighty dragons soaring into the sky.

"All flame warriors, hurry to enter the arena!" With the Horizontas ruler’s loud command, forty-nine contestants leaped towards the center of the arena, heading straight for the teleportation gate.

"Mountain Wood! Shadow Drop!" A flame warrior from Horizontas unleashed an attack first, casting a large spell in the direction of the Black Nation. It seemed they had secretly prepared during their preparations, ready to block the Black Nation’s entry at this very moment.

Countless enormous stakes rained from the sky, smashing into the ground, blocking the way for the Black Nation’s flame warriors.

A flame warrior from the Black Nation leaped into the air, a black sickle forming in hand: "Ghost Slash!"

With a swing of the sickle, the entire arena fell within the attack’s range. Not only breaking through the blockade of the Horizontas warriors, but it also hindered everyone else’s progress, with Horizontas Country as a particular target.

Facing the incoming skill, Lu Hong summoned a holy sword, his sturdy martial spirit surging: "Fatal Strike!"

"Trash skill!" Seeing that Lu Hong was only defending himself, Magic Wind took a step forward, his punch resonating with force, unleashing a massive tide that resolved the crisis for Cang’s men.

Leng Yue sneered, "Show off all you like, I sure don’t need your help."

Lu Hong ignored Magic Wind’s contempt, his gaze fixed intently on Sangxi opposite him.

A large area attack inevitably lacked potency, and the remaining five nations easily countered the attack from the Black Nation.

In less than a minute, under mutual constraint, everyone had crossed the teleportation gate and arrived in the subterranean world of Ambra.

Lu Hong had just entered when he discovered the bodies of four individuals. One was from the Sangxi Kingdom, and the other three were from Pingyao Country.

As for the culprit, it was naturally the act of those long gone from the Black Kingdom.

Sangxi? Lu Hong surveyed the area. The woman had entered the heart of the world before him, just a few seconds ahead, and had already disappeared without a trace.

"What are you looking at?" Leng Yue said to Lu Hong in a stern voice, "Hurry up and look for the heart stone! Be careful not to get ambushed!"

"You go ahead, I have something to do." Lu Hong left the main group from Cang Kingdom, searching alone towards the right. In a very long open area to the left, if Sangxi had gone, there would at least be a trace. Therefore, Lu Hong deduced she must have gone through the chaotic stone area on the right.

"Hey! Do you have a death wish?" Leng Yue attempted to grab Lu Hong but was interrupted by a gust of demonic wind, "Let him go, I’m all for him going alone to meet his death."

"Get lost!" Leng Yue shouted lowly.

The demonic wind stood its ground, "You must prioritize the interests of Cang Kingdom!"

Ignoring the argument behind him, Lu Hong swiftly advanced deeper into the heart of the world.

Suddenly, a blade flashed, chopping down directly at him.

Lu Hong raised his holy sword to block the attack, both he and his assailant stepping back several paces.

"Andre!" Lu Hong recognized the attacker at a glance.

"You know me?" Andre steadied himself, surprised, "Are you from the Eagle Alliance?"

"Why ask so many questions? If he dared to come alone, he must have some purpose, let’s kill him first." Sangxi also appeared from the shadows, followed closely by the five fiery warriors of Liang Chen, trapping Lu Hong in the center.

"Miss Sangxi, is this the man you spoke of?" Feng Wenhua, the top expert of Liang Chen, said with a smile, "It seems hardly worth our time to set up an ambush."

Feng Wenhua continued, "How about this, Xiao Can you and Di Luoda take care of him, we will move ahead to search for the heart stone, and catch up quickly."

"At your command!"

Andre and Sangxi, after all, were outsiders and had no standing to object to Feng Wenhua’s decision. Besides, two against one, there shouldn’t be any mistakes. With a hint of doubt, they followed Liang Chen’s main force, leaving Lu Hong’s sight.

Not having left the projection area, Lu Hong held back from stimulating his vital energy, planning to kill these two first, then figure out a way to dispatch Sangxi.

"Young man, you’ve got guts. Didn’t Mo Feng warn you not to stray from the group and act alone?" As he spoke, Xiao Can lunged forward with his spear, targeting Lu Hong’s heart.

Lu Hong did not back down, meeting the charge with his sword.

Clashing with Xiao Can forced him several steps back, his grip on his weapon throbbing with pain, "What tremendous brute strength, Di Luoda stop observing, join in, he’s a handful!"

"Alright!" Di Luoda responded, then silently recited a spell, activating a skill.

While Lu Hong was undaunted, he did not care for mage spells to be thrown in his face, and let out a fierce shout.

Affected by the intimidating skill, Di Luoda’s magic power became disrupted. Although it was brief, it was enough to break his concentration.

Before the opponent could react, Lu Hong charged forward and with his holy sword, attempted to strike mid-body.

At the critical moment, Xiao Can’s spear burst forward, like a dragon leaving the water, clinging tightly to the holy sword, buying precious time for Di Luoda.

"Blink!" Di Luoda leaped back a hundred meters, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, having walked a narrow escape from death’s door, which left him subsequently terrified.

"Pity," Cang King sighed, "Now he won’t be easy to kill."

Having not left the projection area, Lu Hong’s fight with the two warriors from Liang Chen was fully observed by the representatives of the seven nations.

"Cang King, it looks like you’ll be the first to lose a warrior." Two against one couldn’t possibly lose. The King of Liang Chen said with a smile, "How did you choose this guy to participate in the martial meeting?"

"Lucio, don’t celebrate too early. I have my reasons for selecting him; just watch." Cang King said indifferently. He had already tested Lu Hong’s strength. With just a Second Transition, second-level, he far surpassed peak masters. Although Xiao Can and Di Luoda from Liang Chen weren’t weak, who would ultimately prevail remained to be seen.

"Alright, let’s see just how capable your foreign aid is."

Cang King and Lucio’s exchange remained relatively polite, whereas elsewhere, the Kings of Sangxi and Pingyao were spewing saliva in their heated arguments, provoking the entire Black Kingdom to such a degree they were close to rolling up their sleeves and diving into a brawl.

After beating you, I have to make sure you’re utterly disgusted. It was the only way Sangxi’s King and Pingyao’s King could regain some confidence in such a place.