Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 128: Blue Rose, Fluder

The news of the ancient family's demise spread throughout the Holy Kingdom in a very short time.

The news of the floating arena being built also echoed across the land with the wind.

And when the floating arena, which was washed by the protective barrier and emitted white glow all over, gradually arrived at Kalinxia under the support of nearly a hundred angels, the cheers of the people and the exclamations of the soldiers filled the entire Kalinxia.

"...You can even do that, Evileye?"

Beneath the radiant arena, the captain of the renowned adventurer team, Blue Rose, murmured. Six slender floating swords drifted behind her, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. As a heroic warrior, she had high hopes for this tournament open to the entire human world from the outset. The moment Aincrad appeared, she realized her anticipation had paid off.

"I can't do it." Blue Rose's trump card was a petite, masked girl. Her true identity was a vampire over two hundred years old, one of the Thirteen Heroes of the past, possessing mythical powers. In the distant past, she had single-handedly defeated the Pillar Worm Demon. At this moment, the divine aura emanating from the floating arena caused a slight tingling sensation on her skin, clad in a special, fully covered suit.

Not a big threat, but still a threat.

"I've seen those ancient great magicians of the dead, and have battled with those ancient demon gods... Even in the realm of demon gods, those who can accomplish such a feat are definitely not ordinary people... That regent is definitely not an ordinary abnormal person. He... He is either a reclusive demon god, or he possesses some powerful secret treasure."

"How difficult is the challenge?"

"Maybe there are 180... maybe even closer to 200." The locals use the challenge difficulty as a measure of powerful creatures, generally estimating it as life level multiplied by three. This translates to a ratio of about 1:10 compared to the Kingdom Sky Universe.

"Wow, wow, that's quite a formidable figure." The tall, heavily armored female warrior named Gagran was a royal guard of the Blue Rose. She had once battled the Kingdom's Warrior Captain and tragically lost in the semifinals. "Hey, Lakyus, you're not going to challenge that monster, are you? You might turn to stone."

"Let's talk about this once we're in front of him." The leader of the Blue Roses shook her head and looked around. She could clearly sense the auras of several powerful individuals surrounding her. "This battle is much more difficult than we expected."

She was right. This square already had enough "heroes" gathered. Even the kingdom's warrior-chief had become a mere trifle. And many powerful humans, who had been secluded... or had no interest in playing cricket fighting in the rural southwestern corner of the continent, had already appeared on the battlefield.

Lakyus saw two slender figures in cloaks and four faceless, burly strangers in full armor. It was said that these four faceless individuals had recently established an adventuring group called "Flying Tiles Behind the Skull" within the Holy Kingdom's nearly nonexistent Adventurer's Guild.

An art Lakyus couldn't comprehend. These people had strange titles like 'Left Bow' and 'Cancelled Sword'. Compared to them, at least the 'Dark Hero', a fellow Kingdom adventurer, though also wearing full-body armor that concealed his face, had a more or less normal style.

And now...

She raised her eyebrows.

At the edge of her field of vision, she saw another stranger. Clad in white armor covering her entire body—she felt as if she had seen a similar face in an old storybook. Turning her head, she saw Evileye's eyes glancing lightly across the white armor.

"Do you see anyone familiar, Evileye?"

She saw the little vampire who was once one of the thirteen heroes look serious, but then relaxed the next moment.

"No, only a little bit." The vampire girl shook her head. "But he is indeed a powerful opponent. I feel a sense of threat from him."

Threats meant there was still a fight to be had. And if it was really the person she knew, she would probably be killed in an instant.

"You're interested in the tournament, Evileye. Are you sure you can win?" Lakyus added, "In the tournament?"

She saw the little vampire's jaw rise slightly.

"We'll win," she said.

At the same moment, multiple light curtains—whether powered by magic or treasures, it was unclear—began to descend across the vast floating arena. In the center of the curtains, the black-haired, black-eyed young regent sat on his throne, surveying the entire Kalinxia from all directions.

"Nice to meet you, everyone. Warriors from the human world, I am Dust, Regent of the Holy Kingdom of Lobel," he said, his voice tinged with a certain immense solemnity. A nameless sense of oppression poured down from the sky, exerting an invisible pressure on all present through unknown means. "I wanted to know who could be called the 'World Champion,' so I created this arena. Come, solo or in a team. Reach this stage with your own strength. Only the truly powerful can compete at the pinnacle of competition."

He raised his hand, and pure light descended from the sky. No rules were stated, no rewards were announced, but everyone present knew it. Every word and action of the Regent would carry immense weight.

"I hereby declare. The martial arts tournament begins now!"

His voice echoed with his power. Amidst the crowd's cheers, the bottom of the floating arena slowly cracked, revealing a massive passage. That was undoubtedly the arena's entrance, at least a hundred meters above the ground.

This was the method of pre-selection—those who failed to cross the 100-meter height to reach the arena were not even eligible to participate. The moment the Regent's words fell, multiple magical radiances appeared on the surface of the earth.

"flight!"

The flying spell first enveloped the members of the Blue Rose. Lakyus was the first to lift off the ground. Many renowned and powerful warriors also shone with a magical aura. Some rode their tamed flying beasts swiftly upwards. Some even used dimensional teleportation spells to traverse vast distances and ascend directly to the floating arena.

No one could teleport directly to the top of the arena, as spells would be distorted and the landing point would be disrupted. All warriors who attempted to fly directly up felt the overwhelming pressure and the omen of impending death the moment they made the attempt.

The battle has not yet begun.

Everyone present realized the great power of the Regent.

Soon, the first level of the floating arena came into view for all the contestants—a vast, spacious plaza. Two gigantic stone griffins came to life before the contestants' eyes.

..............................

Aincrad's true conqueror once famously said, "Few things in the world are more boring than watching others play games." Wu Chen deeply agreed with this; he simply didn't have the patience to sit in the stands and watch everyone complete an entire arena.

So he created monsters.

Created a large number of guardians.

What the first Holy King was able to do, the last Regent was also able to do. Of course, among them were more ancient treasures he had unearthed from the ruins warehouse.

He could imbue his monster with his will at any moment. He could switch bodies and experience a game of proxy play. But before that, there was one minor matter he needed to take care of.

"The teleportation spell interference is a very clever move. However, your experience is still a little lacking, leaving some loopholes."

An old figure, staff-wielding, appeared at the top of the arena. His hair was white, but his entire being was imbued with the aura of mysticism. His dark eyes, like candlelight, stared intently at Wu Chen on the throne.

Wu Chen knew how he got here. He attached the teleportation mark to a trained bird. Before he could release his pressure downwards with his wide-area telekinesis, the feather with the mark had already landed on the top layer.

It was indeed a good technique. For magic casters who hadn't mastered the seventh-order advanced teleportation technique, it was a valuable reference.

Wu Chen then turned his head and slowly looked at him. His expression remained unchanged, his gaze as normal. It was as if the person before him was no different from an ordinary person.

The old wizard showed an angry look of disrespect at this moment.

"I am Fluder, the Archmage of the Baharus Empire," he said, tightening his grip on his staff. "I have come to offer my congratulations to the Regent of the Holy Kingdom of Lobel. And..."

"Ask me for some magic!"

(End of this chapter)