CHAPTER 57: ONE SHOT

"Drip, drip!"

Green slobber kept falling, mixing with the blood stains on the ground.

Carlos stayed completely cool as spiritual energy surged through him, and a Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard materialized in front of him.

"Clatter! Clatter!"

Talk about imposing! An incredible killing aura filled the entire arena, with fierce energy rolling forward like a tidal wave.

The purple-striped greatsword in its bony claws had serious presence, giving off a bone-chilling sense of razor-sharp danger.

The half-elf referee standing closest to them went wide-eyed, her heart hammering with shock.

She could actually sense a real threat coming from this freaky skeleton warrior!

The second the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard showed up, the crowd went even more bananas.

"Is that an upgraded skeleton soldier?!"

"No way—after just half a year of being awakened, Young Master Carlos has already pulled off sublimation!"

"Check out those purple patterns up there, like blooming purple thornblades!

Death and beauty all rolled into one!"

"You probably don’t know this, but that day outside the Valois family mansion, Young Master Carlos actually had four upgraded skeleton soldiers with him!"

"Holy smokes! Look, that upgraded skeleton’s making its move!"

"..."

On the arena floor, the 10-foot-long Corruption Wolf crouched low and crept forward, trying to sniff out its enemy’s weak spot.

Seeing the Corruption Wolf being all cautious and dragging its feet, Carlos got a little impatient:

"Number 1, put it out of its misery!"

"Clatter! Clatter!"

Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard #1 shot forward like a bullet, closing in fast as its terrifying killing aura washed over the Corruption Wolf.

The Corruption Wolf let out an alarmed howl, its jaws gaping wide with rows of gleaming fangs as it lunged for the rapidly approaching Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard’s skull.

Right then, the ear-splitting sound of steel cutting through air rang out.

The Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard suddenly swung its greatsword! Aiming straight for that wide-open wolf maw and bringing it down like the hammer of judgment!

"Slash! Crash!"

The Corruption Wolf’s 10-foot body was like butter before that Light Gold Quality greatsword, getting sliced clean in half from snout to tail!

Nasty-smelling blood sprayed everywhere, the wolf corpse hit the ground with two wet thuds, twitched a few times as the last bit of life leaked out, broken guts scattered all over, and its aura completely vanished!

The crowd absolutely erupted:

"One shot... one shot kill!!!"

"Absolutely unbelievable!

With just one swing, that Corruption Wolf got chopped clean in half without even a chance to fight back!!!"

"Total annihilation! This is straight-up domination!"

"Look at this!

From the moment he stepped into that arena, Young Master Carlos hasn’t budged an inch.

Just his upgraded skeleton mopped the floor with this round!

Pure class! Absolute class! Beyond imagination!!!"

"Oh man! No wonder he’s Commander Iris’s brother!

Mark my words, in a few years, he’ll be right there with Commander Iris!"

"..."

The Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard’s effortless one-hit kill of the Corruption Wolf immediately got the attention of all the contestants who’d been playing it cool.

"No way! Are upgraded skeleton soldiers really that strong?"

’Little Green Bone’ Atrice gasped in shock. Being from a Death Herald family, it’s not like she’d never seen upgraded skeleton soldiers before.

How could they pack such a punch in the hands of someone who wasn’t even ranked yet?

"It’s that purple-striped greatsword! The craftsmanship is off the charts!"

’Little Shadow’ Jerome had sharp eyes, spotting the Purple Thornblade Clan Sword’s exceptional quality right away.

Without such a wicked-sharp greatsword, that upgraded skeleton soldier definitely couldn’t have dealt with the Corruption Wolf so smoothly!

"Well, well. Too bad you haven’t been awakened long enough, otherwise you’d be a real pain in the neck!"

’Little Giant’ Leo stayed cocky as ever.

With his own sublimation skills under his belt, the massive gap in spirituality had already sealed the deal.

"..."

On Platform 1, everything happened so fast that the half-elf referee’s jaw dropped as she pointed at the two halves of wolf corpse on the ground, saying in complete disbelief:

"That’s it? It’s over just like that???"

She’d been ready to jump in and save someone at a moment’s notice, but her worry was completely pointless.

"It was a pushover."

Carlos figured this was making a mountain out of a molehill—what’s the big deal about one-shotting a Corruption Wolf?

Hearing Carlos’s casual tone, the half-elf referee couldn’t help remembering how tough it had been for her and her team when they first hunted a Corruption Wolf, and some unexplainable irritation bubbled up in her chest.

"Carlos Valois moves on! Next!"

Carlos dismissed his Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard, staying spotless as he casually strolled down from the arena.

Up on the fancy viewing platform, the big shots were drawn in by Carlos’s laid-back style.

"Outstanding, just outstanding. That clean efficiency takes me back to my glory days."

Garrison Commander-in-Chief Raskin stroked his big beard with hearty approval, his expression all nostalgic.

In Carlos, he caught glimpses of his younger self.

"Ha! Who was it that got chased up a tree by two Corruption Wolves back in the day?"

The bald old geezer next to him, Monster Research Institute Director Marcellus, ruthlessly called out Raskin’s tall tale.

Raskin’s face went stiff as he pretended not to hear, keep stroking that beard while lost in his ’memories.’

Marcellus’s right eye was a golden alchemical contraption with constantly spinning arrays analyzing and recording Carlos’s stats.

The results were actually flawless, just like his own!

"His looks rival mine in my youth."

He couldn’t help touching his bald dome—back in the day, he too had a magnificent head of hair!

Hearing these two old-timers bragging, Flame Exchange owner Sabina wasn’t having any of it.

"You two old coots, quit your fibbing!

Other folks might not know what you looked like before, but don’t I know?"

With that, Sabina whipped out an alchemical print and tossed it in the air.

The alchemical print slowly spun, showing several kids at play.

Among them... one looked like he’d aged before his time with a full beard, chomping on a green rock?

Another was completely bald, skinny as a scarecrow, and was lying in a pile of colorful mushrooms, twitching with pure delight?

"..."

Both leaders’ faces went white as sheets as spiritual energy burst from their bodies and they vanished in a flash.

"Rip!"

The alchemical print in mid-air got grabbed by both men at the same time. They locked eyes, put some muscle into it, and instantly tore it clean in half, each stuffing their piece into their storage space.

Sabina didn’t try to stop them, looking pretty amused—she hadn’t mentioned this was the only copy.

The whole thing lasted just a few seconds before both leaders popped back into their original seats.

Sitting up straight, they looked around. Everyone else’s expressions hadn’t changed a lick.

They shot each other a look and both let out relieved sighs, glad they’d moved fast.

On the surface, they acted like nothing had happened.

They just didn’t notice that when they turned their heads, the nearby leaders had the strangest looks on their faces...

The little drama among the leadership was naturally caught by the second-string leaders sitting closest to them.

Among them, Iris’s heart was crying out in alarm—this Sabina’s mystery... or rather, her age, she’d seriously underestimated...

Could she be some ancient relic from grandfather’s, no, great-grandfather’s time?

...

Down in the colosseum, after Carlos stepped down, the chatter about him went on and on...

The other contestants’ battles kept rolling...

...