Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks erupted over the Arena, exploding at their zenith into a canopy of starlight. As the match began, the audience fell into a sudden hush, eyes wide as they tracked the eleven figures in the stadium.
Which way would this go? Would the Champions crush the newcomer, or would the mystery man pull off a miracle? The anticipation was electric.
Once the start signal rang out, the Champions didn't rush in. Instead, they stood back with mocking grins, discussing their plan loudly enough for everyone to hear. Jason didn't hurry to finish them either; he perked up his ears and listened.
"Like we said, this fucker deserves to die. But if we all swarm him at once, aren't we giving him too much credit?"
"True. Dying at the hands of ten Champions is an honor he hasn't earned."
"Maybe that was his plan all along—to die famous."
"Hmph. Let's not give him the satisfaction."
"I have an idea. We take turns teaching him a lesson. One minute each. Whoever takes his head gets the credit."
"Good idea."
"Agreed. What's the order?"
"By win count, lowest to highest. Otherwise, this game ends in a second."
The ten finished their deliberation. They were going to play a game of attrition. To them, tonight was just a sport. They couldn't fathom why the Grandmaster had summoned all ten for a fledgling rookie.
Nine men stepped back; one stepped forward.
"Kid, your opponent is me. Try and hold out for a full minute."
The man was tall and muscular, equipped with a classic gladiator set: a round shield in his left hand and a longsword in his right. Seeing his playful smirk, Jason let out a faint, weary chuckle. These fools were digging their own graves and didn't even know it. If ten had swarmed him, they might have landed a scratch. In a one-on-one gauntlet? They were just handing him their heads.
"Based on your talk, you're the weakest of the ten?"
The giant's expression stiffened, his eyes bulging with rage. "I have the fewest wins. I've been on Sakaar for less than five years, so I've only won 121 matches!"
"Oh..." Jason nodded slowly. "So, you're the weakest."
"You little shit! You've pissed me off! I'll have your head in under a minute!"
With a loud clang of sword against shield, the giant charged. Thirty meters vanished in a heartbeat. He closed in, raising his sword high, and brought it down toward Jason's skull with crushing force. "DIE!"
Jason remained cold and motionless.
Clang!
A crisp snap rang out. The longsword shattered!
"What?!" The giant's eyes nearly popped out of his head. This blade could cut through men like wheat, yet it had snapped against his skin. His brain stalled, unable to process the sight.
Jason raised his gaze slightly and whispered, "You overestimated yourself. A minute? No... one second is enough."
Swish!
His right arm blurred in a sudden thrust. His hand pierced the giant's throat. With a violent swipe, the head was severed from the shoulders.
Thud.
The massive body wobbled and collapsed. Hot blood geysered out, painting the arena floor crimson.
The entire stadium fell into a deathly silence. The audience sat like statues, frozen in shock. A moment later, reality set in. What just happened? A warrior with 121 wins was just... insta-killed?
In the palace, the Grandmaster snapped out of his daze. "Beautiful! It seems he's got more than just a big mouth."
Valkyrie stood nearby. "I told you, Jason is the strongest of our race."
The Grandmaster nodded, his face lighting up with excitement. "Keep watching. Let's see how many more surprises he has for me."
After the long silence, the stadium erupted in a deafening roar of cheers. That move... was too smooth! Too cool! A one-hit kill on a Champion was nearly unheard of in the Arena's long history. The fans were delirious. This kid might actually pull off a miracle.
The remaining nine Champions looked at each other, their expressions turning serious as they huddled again.
"We misjudged him. He's not to be trifled with."
"That idiot was mediocre, but I couldn't have pulled off a one-hit kill like that."
"And did you see? His head broke the iron sword!"
"What do we do? Do we all go?"
"Idiot! If we all swarm him now, the crowd will laugh at us."
"True. Even if we win, the Grandmaster won't be impressed."
"But in a fair fight, I'm not sure I can take him."
"I have a plan. The three 'Thousand-Win' veterans stay back. The rest of us six go in together. How about it?"
"That works! Leaving the veterans out is basically giving him a handicap. We can justify it to the Grandmaster."
With the plan set, six warriors stepped forward, leaving the three legends behind.
"WHOAAA!!!"
The crowd hissed and buzzed. Six Champions against one man? That was shameless! No matter how strong he was, he only had two hands. As the six surrounded him, Jason taunted, "I thought it was one-on-one for a minute?"
Knowing they were in the wrong, the six said nothing. They raised their weapons and charged. Jason gave a cold laugh. Against these lightweights, he didn't even need Full Energy mode.
Bang!
With a powerful kick, Jason launched the severed head of the first giant. Infused with energy, it struck a warrior's chest with the precision of a missile.
Snap!
The head shattered on impact, and the warrior's ribs and heart exploded. Another insta-kill!
The remaining five turned pale. They immediately poured every ounce of strength into their attack. This guy was a monster; they couldn't hold back!
Boom!
A rain of attacks fell upon him. Jason didn't strike back immediately; instead, he strolled through the chaos. Their strikes were fierce and fast, but to someone of his caliber, dodging them was as simple as breathing.
"OOOHHH!!!"
The crowd erupted again. Beautiful! To dodge such a dense barrage using only footwork—this man was invincible! The fans' loyalty began to shift. More and more spectators abandoned their old favorites for this new icon.
After playing with them for a few minutes, the five warriors were winded. Jason lost his patience and flipped to offense. He channeled energy into his limbs, waiting for the moment they overextended.
Thud, thud, thud!
After a series of dull impacts, four warriors were sent flying, their bodies slamming deep into the stone walls of the arena. Shattered bones, pulverized muscle, burst organs—they were dead before they hit the ground.
The only one left in the ring was the three-meter-tall giant who had called Jason a weakling earlier.
"AAAHHH!!!" He raised his battle-axe and brought it down in a massive vertical split.
Jason formed a claw with his fingers and caught the axe with one hand, holding it steady. "That's it? Come on, weakling, put some muscle into it."
The giant's face turned purple, the veins in his massive arms bulging like tree roots. But no matter how hard he pushed, the axe wouldn't budge an inch.
Crack!
Web-like fractures appeared on the surface of the axe. The giant was horrified. "Impossible! This axe is made of meteoric metal!"
"Hmph. You haven't seen much of the world, have you?"
Jason squeezed. The axe shattered into dust and metal shards. "Boring!"
Jason delivered a casual uppercut.
Bang!
The giant was launched a hundred meters into the air, eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness. His ton-plus body fell in a dead drop, slamming into the center of the ring and cracking the reinforced floor.
"JASON! JASON! JASON!"
The tide had completely turned. The entire audience was on its feet, screaming his name. It was magnificent. Regardless of the final result, the name Jason Walter was now etched into Sakaar's history.
"Hehehe... fascinating!" The Grandmaster clapped along with the crowd. Valkyrie let out a quiet sigh of relief. Everything was under his control.
"Keep watching," The Grandmaster said, his eyes gleaming. "This is where it gets good."
Valkyrie's heart tightened again. The last three were legends with over a thousand wins each. They were in a different league entirely from the hundred-win fodder Jason had just cleared. They had been on Sakaar longer than she had, and because they rarely fought anymore, their true power was a mystery.
It took five full minutes for the crowd to settle. The match resumed as the three legends walked forward. They weren't stupid enough to try a gauntlet now.
"Impressive. Very impressive. Of all the enemies I've met, you're in the top ten." The man in the formal suit clapped gently, his expression calm and natural.
"Only top ten? Guess I've still got a ways to go," Jason quipped.
The swordsman added, "Being in his top ten is a supreme compliment. You killed seven Champions; it was unexpected, but ultimately unremarkable."
"Do you always talk this much shit?" Jason asked. "If I'm so unremarkable, why don't you fight me one-on-one?"
"I certainly—"
"Silence!"
The swordsman was hot-headed and nearly took the bait, but a single glance from the suited man extinguished his fury. Jason's eyes narrowed. This plain-looking man was clearly the strongest of the three.
To bait them further, Jason said, "I'm not afraid of a three-on-one. Seven couldn't touch me; you think three can win?"
The swordsman looked at the leader and snapped at Jason, "You've got eyes but can't see. We aren't like those weaklings."
"Is that so? Forgive me, I don't see the difference."
As the swordsman went to speak, the suited man suddenly spread his arms. Jason instantly activated his energy shield, his eyes wary.
...
The arena remained quiet. Nothing happened. The swordsman and the rock monster slowly moved to the front, flanking Jason. The swordsman drew his blade with a cold smile. "You're about to find out exactly what the difference is."
The rock monster slammed his fists together. "Crush you! Crush you!"
The suited man looked solemn, his left hand pointing at the swordsman and his right at the rock monster, chanting under his breath. Suddenly, the swordsman erupted with a ghostly blue glow. He took an aggressive stance and laughed. "I've missed this feeling."
The rock monster began to glow with a dark red light, his eyes turning feral and crazed. Jason frowned. Is this... magic?
BOOM!
The ground shattered. The rock monster charged like a fleet of tanks. Despite his bulk, he was faster than all the previous nine combined. "CRUSH YOU!!!" He threw a stone fist at Jason's face.
He's a carbon copy of the Hulk, Jason thought. He clenched his right fist and met the blow head-on.
BOOM!
The collision sounded like a bomb going off. Spectators covered their ears in pain. One side was a massive stone fist; the other was a human fist. Yet they were locked in a stalemate. Jason gritted his teeth, genuinely shocked. This guy was stronger than the Hulk. And what kind of stone was he made of? Jason's knuckles actually stung.
Before he could recover from the surprise, a cold light flashed from his periphery. So fast!
Jason activated his pale blue energy shield. The light struck like a falling star.
Sizzle-sizzle!
A strange sound echoed. The iron sword pierced through the energy shield, lunging straight for Jason's throat!
An unspeakable sense of dread washed over him. Muscles stiffened, skin crawled, and his heart nearly skipped a beat. Was this the feeling of approaching death? Before Jason could react, the cold light passed. A faint chill touched his neck.
On the side of his fair neck, right over the artery, a thin red line appeared. It split open, and blood began to flow.
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
500 power stones.
Top 100. All time.