Chapter 49: The Madman in the Arena

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Madman in the Arena

Kesar did not foresee this frantic, desperate move from his opponent, hastily retracting his stance and withdrawing his sword to retreat into a defensive position.

Just as Kesar’s heel stepped back, preparing to sink into the black mist to hide once again, he abruptly froze. The corner of Leon’s lips happened to curl up into a faint smile.

Why was he smiling?

Kesar’s chest tightened, a dangerous sense of unease flashing past his eardrums.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the space behind his back was suddenly torn apart. A slender figure carrying an icy chill appeared, the razor-sharp ice sword in the young man’s hand already pressing against Kesar’s lethal throat.

At that exact moment, Leon’s Crescent Blades changed direction in mid-air, tracing a breathtaking yet deadly arc as they soared toward another direction.

That position behind the black mist happened to be exactly... the standing spot of the opposing team’s support mage!

Kesar’s pupils abruptly contracted. His survival instinct urged him to dash over to assist, but the moment he budged even a millimeter, the ice sword on his neck mercilessly sliced a line of skin, drawing blood.

As for Jeremy, who had always maintained his position in the rearguard all this time, he had closed in without anyone noticing. His pitch-black scythe and Leon’s ice sword crossed into a cross shape, completely sealing off all of the opponent’s escape routes.

"You can’t even take care of yourself, yet you want to save someone?"

A low voice carrying undisguised mockery rang out. Kesar glanced at the youth behind him, the smile on the other’s lips not reaching his eyes at all. That flawless face right now looked exactly like a nightmare disguised as an angel. Kesar gritted his teeth, remaining silent for two seconds before dropping his arms loosely: "...I surrender."

The moment Kesar was thrown out of the arena’s red line and the system announced his elimination, the opposing support mage was also simultaneously declared disqualified from the match.

Kesar was dumbfounded. How could this be? Wasn’t the support mage being strictly protected by Saiser!

When the black mist on the field completely dissipated, the audience finally saw the battle layout clearly. For some unknown reason, three Jeremys had appeared across the arena floor. Which one was the real body, none of the enemy team could see through.

Until... the clone standing where Kesar was just eliminated and the two clones deceiving Saiser in the middle of the arena merged into one, turning into floating magic particles.

Everyone then suddenly realized: Jeremy’s real body had been standing still inside Phoenix’s defensive magic circle right from the beginning!

And it was Phoenix who, taking advantage of the chaos and the captain’s illusion skills, used a stealth skill to close in on the opposing mage, directly using an absolute formation to forcibly eliminate the target.

With two teammates consecutively kicked out of the red line, Anona’s face darkened. Her fingers strumming the lute suddenly clenched tight, snapping the lute strings. The broken threads split into countless tiny fragments, transforming into razor-sharp thorns tearing through the wind straight toward Phoenix, who was closest to her.

As the sharp thorns were about to pierce through his body, Lucius, standing in the midlane, slightly leaned his body, his eyes cold and sharp. He decisively transformed the ice sword in his hand into the Fang of Abyss. The pitch-black chain shot forward, tightly wrapping around Phoenix’s waist. Lucius’s wrist forcefully swung, decisively yanking his teammate backward behind him, dodging the fatal blow by a hair’s breadth.

At the same time, Evelyn’s skill was activated. Arrows shot into the sky, raining down like a storm, turning into countless vibrant green vines mid-flight to tightly entangle Anona’s lute strings.

Seeing Anona restrained by Evelyn and Lucius, Phoenix did not hesitate, immediately casting his second skill - Hand of Phantoms.

Tens of thousands of pitch-black tentacles surged up from beneath the ground, aggressively binding the opponent’s vanguard member before this person could even react. The sharp thorns from the tentacles pierced through the protective layer, plunging the opponent into a state of full-body paralysis. Seizing that opportunity, Phoenix gently lifted a finger, and the tentacles, receiving the command, swung forcefully, violently tossing the person out of the red line.

Very quickly, only Anona and Saiser were left on the spacious arena.

Leon, Lucius, coordinated with Evelyn to continuously unleash corner-pressing skills, completely locking down all of Anona’s actions, forcing this captain to struggle just to defend without being able to counterattack or support her teammate.

Meanwhile, Phoenix’s swarm of tentacles continued to twist and surge. They extended, grabbing Saiser entirely, and roughly threw him straight in front of Jeremy. The tentacles did not dissipate but transformed into thorn-covered chains, tightly wrapping around his four limbs, piercing through the defense layer, entirely stripping Saiser of his power to resist.

Although they had been on the same team for over a month, upon meeting Jeremy’s gaze at this moment, Phoenix still felt a bit unnatural.

He pulled the brim of his hat down, slightly shifting his gaze elsewhere. His voice sounded, very deep and carrying a characteristic hoarseness from prolonged sleep deprivation: "...This filthy thing, I leave to the captain to handle."

"Thanks." Jeremy didn’t expect this taciturn teammate to be so thoughtful. He retracted his imposing aura, the corners of his lips blooming into a radiant smile, his tone carrying a bit of teasing: "It seems our Phoenix understands me the best."

"..." Facing this casual yet highly lethal remark, the tips of the ears hidden beneath Phoenix’s hat slightly reddened. He lowered his head, staying silent as if he didn’t hear it.

Jeremy didn’t tease him further. He turned around, focusing all his attention on the prey sprawling on the ground.

A cruel smile flowed in the depths of Jeremy’s pale gold eyes. Seeing that smile, Saiser suddenly recalled Amber’s miserable end that day, a chill instantly running down his spine.

"I sur..." He wanted to open his mouth to surrender, but before the word "surrender" could be fully uttered, a thorny tentacle tightly constricted his throat. His throat was choked to the point of being unable to breathe; the feeling of sharp thorns pressing against his arteries made Saiser nauseous.

But just when he thought he was about to suffocate to death, the tentacle suddenly loosened, exactly like a malicious cat-and-mouse game.

Jeremy stepped forward. He originally didn’t have the habit of bowing or looking up at others, so he lifted his leather boot, decisively delivering a heaven-shaking stomp straight to Saiser’s knee joint.

The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out. An agonizing, brain-piercing pain instantly spread through all four limbs. Saiser let out a miserable scream, forced by the kick’s force to kneel prostate at Jeremy’s feet.

Standing tall, Jeremy lowered his eyes to stare at the enemy’s face twisted in agony, the corners of his lips curling up once again. He carefully used magic particles to condense a pair of transparent gloves, solely for the purpose of isolating the filth. In the next second, a slap carrying immense magic power swung straight at Saiser’s face.

*Smack!*

The sharp sound of the slap echoed throughout the space, intertwined with Saiser’s choked sobs. His face was slapped completely to one side; besides indignation and unwillingness, now there was only sheer terror left.

Jeremy did not hold back at all, his arm swinging rhythmically, delivering a series of continuous slaps.

In terms of physical damage, these slaps couldn’t compare to using swords to slice flesh. However, the nature of its humiliation and trampling on dignity carried an incredibly terrifying spiritual destructive power.

*Smack! Smack... Smack!*

All the noisy sounds on the arena seemed to be drowned out by the slapping noises. Saiser’s cheeks swelled up, fresh blood mixed with bloody froth splattering onto the floor.

Jeremy frowned in disgust, secretly glad he had wrapped himself in magic gloves beforehand. His left hand reached out, tightly squeezing Saiser’s swollen chin, forcing him to look up: "Didn’t you like to bark so much? Can you still bark out loud now?"

Looking at the opponent’s terrified eyes, Jeremy’s voice was freezing cold: "You truly take after the master you follow. A brain full of bean curd to the point of losing your humanity, truly ridiculously stupid."

Jeremy never cared about how the people in the grandstand judged him. They had called him a villain, so he would play this demon role to perfection, turning that title into reality, considering it a good deed fulfilling the wishes of the gossiping crowd.

He forcefully threw Saiser’s face aside. The Sacred Weapon in his hand instantly transformed into a pair of razor-sharp twin blades. His wrists twisted; a decisive slash pierced through the opponent’s shoulder, pinning Saiser to the floor. The remaining blade mercilessly glided down from his cheek to his limbs, slashing open patches of blood-matted flesh.

Facing the bloody scene created by his own hands, Jeremy was exactly like an emotionless machine, harboring not half a point of hesitation or pity. In those pale gold eyes, only a cruelty so cold remained.