Blue Phoenix

”Don’t sell us short just because we aren’t wearing stupid masks or mysterious cloaks,” Hui Yue looked at the man who spoke moments before, his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the third group with which they would do battle.

Looking at the man and his group, Hui Yue had to concede that he underestimated them so far. He paid too much attention towards the masked group, which, if he was not careful would lead to their demise.

Fighting against two teams at once made everything much more complicated. Hui Yue could not afford to underestimate the new arrivals, but at the same time he had to keep his eyes on the masked group. The threatening feeling Hui Yue perceived from them was in no way comfortable.

Sighing deeply, Hui Yue was suddenly tempted to forfeit. He was already approached by the Dragon Corps which was his goal to begin with, and although the prize money was tempting he still did not feel like risking the lives of his friends.

Thinking this, a sly smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face and he shook his head. He had been burning with excitement ever since the third group appeared, and he saw the exact same excitement shining from the eyes of his friends.

Although this was a battle to the death, it was certainly a battle which he wished to participate in. He wished to challenge his abilities in a life and death fight; he wanted to see just what his limits were.

Looking at the two groups, smiles appeared on the faces of all three groups and although two of the groups had their faces hidden completely beneath masks and cloaks, everyone within the arena knew that they were all smiling. They were all feeling the eagerness which preceded a life and death match.

Heading towards the stage, all three groups were now standing beside one another. They watched as the audience flooded through the doors. Smiles were evident on the visitor’s faces and their voices could be heard ringing through the stonewalls, laughter brightening up the atmosphere.

Were it not that Hui Yue knew better, otherwise he would have assumed that the audience arrived for the sake of viewing a theater play rather than a bloody deathmatch.

Hui Yue felt as though time was passing by slower than usual. Standing on the stage, constantly observing both sides he knew he had to plan for the worst case scenario, which would be that both teams ganged up against his.

The likelihood of that happening was quite slim, but as long as there was even a small chance he needed to watch out for it.

As they stood on the stage the audience filled up the arena and Zhou Long slowly appeared from the side. His was smiling as he looked right at Hui Yue, the smile dimming slightly as he looked at the rest of the cloaked group and eventually his eyes turned slightly icy as he looked at the masked group.

While the smile stayed on Zhou Long’s face, his eyes seemed icy cold. Hui Yue instantly noticed the change, his brows furrowing slightly.

“Ladies and gentlemen please find your seats,” Zhou Long spun around himself as he raised his arms, “Please find your seat so that the battle we have all been waiting for can commence.”

As always, Zhou Long’s voice was low and sounded very natural, yet it was still audible to every single person within the arena. Everyone heard his voice loud and clear and within a few moments the audience seated themselves. Everyone was so quiet that a heavy atmosphere descended upon the three teams on the stage.

They were being stared at by thousands of viewers all of them excited about the battle that was about to commence, the blood which was to be spilled.

“Today we will see three teams fight, some will falter and die while others will stand strong and conquer! Today we will see a winner, today we will crown the strongest group of mercenaries within the Demon Dwelling Cave!”

Having said that, a roaring sounded out as everyone cheered on Zhou Long, before he continued his speech, “There are three groups we have fighting today. The first group are the newcomers, the ones we all knew of moments after their arrival. The Cloaked Mercenaries. Although strong they have shown mercy to all groups so far killing none. Will they manage to continue this battle without killing, or will they finally have to sully their hands?”

“In the next group we have the Masked Murderers. Unlike our cloaked friends these merciless mercenaries have chopped the heads off of all their opponents. Will their killing streak end, or will they cover the stage in blood and emerge victorious?”

“Finally we have the famous Silver Edged Swords!” As soon as the name was mentioned cheering could be heard through the entire arena, “This group grew up within our very own city. Their hard work within the tunnel earned them a special spot and even now they have fought their way towards the final where they now face a pacifistic team and a murderous team. Will they manage to be victorious?”

Zhou Long paused slightly after having introduced the three teams and roaring cheers were still sounding out from within the arena, a satisfied smile was evident on the host’s face.

“The rules are simple, the last team standing on the stage will be the winner. There are no rules as to how you get rid of the opposition, neither does it matter if only one man survives. This is a battle royale, a fight to the death. Let the fighting begin!”

Hearing his final words, Hui Yue and his team backed up slightly, Black Blood summoned in one hand and a fire orb already flaring in the other. Hui Yue was astonished to see that the masked group did not even seem to notice Hui Yue and his friends, instead their focus was on the third group, the ones called Silver Edged Swords.

Standing back, Hui Yue narrowed his eyes. Were the Silver Edged Swords truly more dangerous than Hui Yue and his cloaked friends, or was there a specific reason as to why the masked group did not attack them?

Pausing Hui Yue decided not to attack either of the two groups, instead he gestured to his friends that they should prepare their attacks, and be ready to attack with their strongest spiritual arts as soon as the winner of the other brawl was decided.

Nodding, the others quickly stood down before they prepared themselves. Hui Yue allowed for his Fire Orb to absorb an increasing amount of spiritual energy and soon it became too large to fit within his palm. It ascended above his head, radiating an immense amount of heat as it slowly created smaller Fire Orbs that orbited around the growing ball of fire like small planets around a sun.

Feeling the increasing amount of heat and how more and more Fire Orbs were created, Hui Yue took some of the smaller orbs and casually tossed them towards the ten men who were fighting for their lives on the opposite side of the stage.

The entire fight was bizarre to watch. On one side ten men were fighting fiercely. Bones were broken, blood was flowing. Still no one had died, but the Masked Murderers clearly had an advantage. At the other side of the stage no blood had been spilled.

Instead five men were standing awkwardly staring at the other ten. In their hands were weapons which Hui Yue purchased earlier that day. A big flower was visible on the ground with its roots hiding underground, waiting for the first person to approach them.

Another was standing with four inscriptions floating around him, all infused with spiritual energy, ready to be activated at any second to annihilate an opponent as soon as they came within range.

Sha Yun’s tail was evident within her cloak, tapping the ground lightly clearly impatiently waiting for her turn to attack, because no one was coming into her range.

Finally their leader, Hui Yue, with fire raging above his head was clearly the most dangerous person and he was casually throwing the smaller orbs as one person after another was set on fire. Because one of the masked mercenaries had affinity with Water with tremendous effort he managed to keep the fire away from the masked men.

The Silver Edged Swords, however, were not nearly as lucky and the fire was eating away at their clothes, quickly burning their skin. Soon a nauseating scent of burnt flesh filled the arena.

Although the masked group of mercenaries were putting out the fires that Hui Yue randomly threw at them, none of them turned towards him or his friends. Their entire focus was on the other team giving Hui Yue a feeling that something was not quite right.

Zhou Long had previously spoken with the group, was matchmaking a part of the final? But if it was how could they do it this obviously?

Perhaps Xu Piao had something to do with it? Hui Yue quickly dismissed that notion remembering how he previously was warned about the final fight that he should expect people to die.

A stern expression appeared in Hui Yue’s eyes. No matter what, he had not heard anything about a fixed result and he did not wish to see any of his friends dead.

“Sha Yun, make a large barrier in front of us with the soil of the stage,” Hui Yue said, explaining nothing more.

Sha Yun, obedient as she was requested no explanation, all she did was lean down and with her hands on the ground she used her affinity with Earth to raise a tall wall, almost surrounding the entire group.

The audience was puzzled as they saw the wall rising. Although it would protect Hui Yue and his friends, it also made it impossible for the young man and his friends to attack the others, no one would benefit from the barrier in the long run.

Completely ignoring the audience, Hui Yue gestured for his friends to stay back and with but a thought, the large Fire Orb flew into the sky, soaring past the barrier towards the fighting men.

There were currently fifteen men on the stage and Hui Yue had no problem aiming at them all, deciding that survival depended on their individual skill.

As soon as the Fire Orb touched the first man, a large boom could be heard as an explosion unlike any before was felt. The flames exploded out and only as they were about to touch the audience did Zhou Long move his hands.

A golden light appeared on his hands and within less than a second the golden light created a net which contained the explosive power of the fire. Surprise was evident on his face, but beneath the surprise was an approving gleam.

Hidden behind the earthen barrier, Hui Yue and his friends waited until the heat was less intense before Hui Yue nodded towards Sha Yun, and the snake woman allowed for the barrier to once more return to the stage floor.

Looking around the stage, Hui Yue could not help but raise an eye in astonishment. Thirteen men were still standing and no one seemed to have died, although seven men were writhing around on the floor trying their best to get rid of the flames.. Even the groupmembers who were not on the stage but standing by the side had been affected.

The entire masked team was still standing, but their clothes and masks took quite a lot of damage. They showed shocked expressions and beneath one of the suits Hui Yue saw the Dragon Corps emblem.

Three were still standing from the Silver Edged Swords, and Hui Yue had to admit that they truly were not someone to underestimate.

Without missing a beat, Hui Yue clasped his hands together as he fell to his knees and touched the ground, calling forth his earthen flame within his spiritual energy sea and created a small earthquake shaking the entire stage. Trying to make the men lose their composure.

“It’s our turn now!” Hui Yue said with a serious voice, and behind him his friends each took a step forward their bodies shining brightly from the release of spiritual energy.