VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 2

VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 2

Inside a private room in the coliseum, a three meters large albino lion watched the warriors’ fight against the Three-tailed Iron Scorpion. His mane was silver, and numerous tattoos, which symbolized the number of powerful opponents he’d slain, filled his body.

He was Gaorux, ‘The White Lion.’

The longest reigning Beast King of the United Grakas Alliance who’d managed to retain his position, despite the numerous challenges, for nearly thirty years.

The beastman who’d slain the Black Salamander that ruled the vast Wasteland.

Unfortunately, despite his tremendous strength, the Beast King was born an albino and incapable of moving for prolonged periods of time under the sun. It was a condition that shackled his strength during the day by half.

Most beastmen believed that had it not been for the Beast King’s condition, he would have long conquered the entire continent by now.

Some advisors urged the Beast King to wear special armor to cover his entire body during battle in the day, but they were refused by the White Lion each and every time. The Beast King found it shameful to hide his weakness behind suits of armor. As the ruler of the Alliance, he proudly embraced his weakness and frequently went to war wearing nothing on his upper body.

“Vaungur,” said the Beast King.

“My King,” said Vaungur, another lion beastman.

“What do you think?” said the Beast King in a calm, deep voice. “That Black Rabbit. He’s the Protector of the Rabbit Tribe, isn’t he?

The Protector was a powerful rabbit who secured the safety of the weak Rabbit Tribe in the shadows. Although most beastman believed that the Protector was a myth, the high-ranking officials of the Alliance were aware that the rabbit existed.

“I believe so, My King,” said Vaungur.

Unlike the Beast King, who was an albino, Vaungur was a brown lion. A former Chief of the Lion Tribe who became the right-hand of the Beast King after he retired.

The Beast King scratched his belly. He grinned, showing his sharp set of teeth. “That rabbit is probably as strong as Hatch. The tournament this year is going to be quite interesting.”

“Hatch? From the Whale Tribe?” said Vaungur.

The Beast King didn’t take his eyes off the arena. “Yes.”

There were two favorites to win this year’s tournament. The first one was Hatch of the Whale Tribe. And the second one was Garkawi of the Gorilla Tribe.

Hatch was said to have been born with the perfect body, and even the current Chief of their tribe believed that he would go down as the strongest whale in their history. Garkawi, on the other hand, inherited the techniques of his father, the late General Urkawi.

These two were beastmen who’d surpassed their peers not only in strength, but also technique and battle experience.

“A beastman as strong as Hatch,” mumbled Vaungur as he gazed at the black rabbit in the arena below.

If what the Beast King said was true, then a wild card capable of tilting the balance of power had just appeared in this competition.

***

The next two days were dedicated for the preliminary matches. Similar to Group A, the other groups were also tasked to battle against a monster from the Wasteland.

And finally, after filtering out the contestants, the second round of the tournament started.

“Welcome!” said the Coliseum Master. “To another day of the Battle of the Three Gods!”

The crowd cheered. Several signages containing the names of their favorite fighters were raised.

“Two hundred and ten warriors have successfully entered the second round!”

The number of warriors who’d managed to reach the next round wasn’t surprising.

Although the monsters from the Wasteland were strong, the organizers of the tournament were lenient enough to give the preliminary round a time limit. This way, they were able to prevent the deaths of the majority of the participants. Moreover, after the incident with Group A, the Coliseum Master made sure that the next monsters they used were either shackled or injured.

“The second round is again a group battle!” said the Coliseum Master. “But this time, they will fight not against a monster, but their fellow warriors!”

The Coliseum Master continued, “A five-versus-five match! And the round will end only once the opponents surrendered, died, or fell out of the arena!”

“Now! Let us call the first batch of warriors participating in the second round!”

Two opposite steel gates, which led to the waiting rooms of the participants, opened. The warriors from each group started walking out of them.

The moment the crowd saw Van Bucky walking out of the first gate, deafening cheers resounded.

“Woah!”

“It’s the black rabbit!”

“He’s in the first match again, huh?”

“Hey, hey, look at the other team!”

The crowd turned their attention to the warriors coming out of the second gate. To everyone’s delight, a whale beastman was among the participants.

“It’s Hatch!”

“The Bloody Whale is here!”

“It’s only the first match, but the strongest participant is already fighting!”

Hatch was a whale beastman with a height of nearly six meters. Just his arms alone were already as large as Van Bucky. Just like the black rabbit, Hatch killed the Wasteland monster assigned to his group in the preliminary round.

The two groups walked toward the center of the arena. The first group, led by Van, cowered as the massive whale beastman towered over everyone.

The Whale Tribe was known not only for their large bodies, but also their tremendous strength and battle sense. They were among the most powerful tribes in the entire Alliance, probably next only to the Lion Tribe and the Elephant Tribe.

And even among the whales, Hatch was ranked among the strongest.

Although the spectators had already seen Van Bucky’s abilities, none of them believed that he could win against Hatch.

Hatch struck the shaft of his five meters large axe to the ground, sending dust and rocks flying about. He threateningly said to the members of the first group, “I have no plans of showing mercy to any of my opponents. Especially the unworthy ones.”

Under the fierce gaze of the massive whale, the members of the first group, save for Van Bucky, shrank their shoulders.

“This is your only chance at survival,” warned Hatch. “Those who don’t wish to die, turn back now.”

It was a threat telling them that he would indiscriminately kill all of his opponents in this round. To Hatch’s allies, such words brought forth great confidence. But to his enemies, it sounded like a death sentence.

Unlike the preliminary rounds, the second round did not have a time limit. It would only end if the opponent surrendered, was thrown out of the arena, or killed in battle. And just now, Hatch blatantly told them that he would slaughter all of them.

“Isn’t this unfair?” whispered one of the members of the first group.

“Why are we fighting against Hatch right away?” whispered another.

“He’s called the Bloody Whale for a reason.”

“What should we do?”

“My father told me that the number of enemies he’d slain had already reached several hundreds.”

The threat of the whale proved really effective. Those words were more than enough to instill fear to the members of the first group. They realized that their chance of survival would be nil if they didn’t forfeit this round. After all, Hatch was stronger than a monster from the Wasteland, and he was even more ruthless.

Although these beastmen joined this tournament for fame, riches, glory, and the chance to fight against the Beast King, none of them wished to die a pathetic death – especially this early in the tournament.

The whispers between the members of the first group continued.

“But you’ve seen how that rabbit fought, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about? It’s impossible for a mere rabbit to win against a whale beastman!”

“Damn luck. We’ve made it this far, only to get matched with the strongest participant.”

In the end, the members of the first group decided to forfeit this round. The Coliseum Master relayed their decision to everyone.

“Four out of five members of the first group has forfeited the match!”

The crowd was in an uproar.

It was a pathetic start for the second round of the competition. The audience feared they wouldn’t witness the famous whale fight against his fellow warriors.

But the next words of the Coliseum Master proved that their worries were all for naught.

“But a single member of the first group hadn’t forfeited yet!” said the Coliseum Master. “Van Bucky, the rabbit who killed the Three-tailed Iron Scorpion in the preliminary round, is going to proceed with the battle!”

“That rabbit is truly something!”

“This is my first time seeing a rabbit this daring!”

“He’s fighting against an entire group on his own?”

Cheers drowned out all sounds. The ground rumbled as the spectators stomped their feet in delight.

“Van Bucky!”

“Van Bucky!”

“Van Bucky!”

The members of the second group snickered.

“Look how popular you’ve become, grass muncher,” sneered one of them.

“Hey, rabbit,” said another one. “Are you sure about this?”

“You should have backed out when Hatch gave you the chance.”

“This stupid toothface.”

The members of the second group were brimming with confidence. It was only natural. After all, not only did the majority of their opponents forfeit the match, they also had Hatch on their side. Some of them even prayed to the Three Gods and thanked them for bringing them such luck.

The Coliseum Master said to Van, “I will ask one last time. Are you going to proceed with this battle despite losing all of your teammates?”

Van calmly said, “Yes.”

The Coliseum Master hissed happily. The black rabbit’s decision worked well to his advantage. “Very well!” He slithered away from the arena. “Let the match begin!”

The gong was struck, symbolizing that the second round of the tournament had officially started.

Without wasting time, the four members of the second group surrounded Van Bucky from all sides. Hatch rested his giant battle axe on his shoulder and simply stood at the same place. It was apparent that Hatch wanted his teammates to fight against Van Bucky first.

“Blame your damn luck, rabbit!”

“Don’t resent us for this!”

The four beastmen rushed toward Van Bucky from all directions. They immediately closed the distance, but Van Bucky wasn’t fazed in the slightest. He imbued mana into his swords and his eyes, and the world around him started slowing down.

Van Bucky swung his sword, and the hands of the four beastmen were cut off.

Time started flowing normally again.

“Agghh!”

“M-My arm!”

“Gaaah!”

Their weapons fell down with a loud clank, and they groaned and wailed from the pain of having their hands cut.

Van Bucky stepped forward, and they all instinctively took several steps back. Their faces quickly transitioned from arrogance, to disbelief, to terror.

“D-Don’t come near me!”

“H-Hatch, help us!”

Hatch snorted, “How pathetic.”

Hatch coldly gazed at Van Bucky. Unlike his teammates, he saw what transpired clearly. The black rabbit coated his twin curved swords with mana, and with tremendous speed, he cut down the hands of the four beastmen before they could even reach him.

“H-Hatch! Kill him!”

The whale beastman glared at his teammates. Using his muscular legs, he kicked one of them, sending them flying out of the arena in a single strike. The audience moved out of the way, and the beastman rolled through the audiences’ seats several times, before coming to a stop.

That single strike disfigured the beastman’s body, to the point of being unrecognizable.

The audience were stupefied by the strength displayed by Hatch.

“If anyone of you tries to order me around again,” said Hatch. “I’ll send you flying out of this arena like that damn dog beastman.”

His remaining teammates trembled in fear. They looked at the Coliseum Master for help. To their dismay, it seemed that the Coliseum Master did not have any intentions of penalizing Hatch for that brutal display.

“My pride as a warrior is the only thing preventing me from killing teammates as useless as you three,” said Hatch. “If you’re done fighting, get out.”

The three beastmen lowered their gazes and went down the arena. The Coliseum Master took this as a sign of their surrender.

“And it has turned into a one versus one fight!” said the Coliseum Master using a voice artifact. The snake beastman sure knew how to stir up the crowd. “A fight between the mysterious rabbit and the so-called most powerful whale from the Whale Tribe!”

The crowd went crazy. They started chanting the names of the participants.

“Van Bucky!”

“Hatch!”

“Van Bucky!”

“Hatch!”

Amidst the cheers and chants, Van Bucky warily approached Hatch. His twin curved swords remained unsheathed and coated with mana. This muscular whale was someone he was supposed to meet near the finals. But due to some stroke of luck, he was fighting him here on the very first match of the second round.

“How long are young going to circle around?” said Hatch. He raised his giant battle axe. “If you’re not coming—”

With speed disproportionate to his massive size, Hatch leapt toward Van.

“—Then I’ll come to you instead, rabbit!”

Hatch swung his battle axe. Van imbued his eyes with mana, and the world around him slowed down. Everything around him had come to a halt, while the battle axe of Hatch fell toward him slowly. Van leapt to the left and evaded the attack.

The battle axe struck the ground, and to everyone’s astonishment, it created a massive fissure that divided the entire arena by half.

Using this opening, Van leapt toward Hatch and stabbed his twin swords at his torso.

“That wouldn’t work,” said Hatch.

To Van’s surprise, the whale beastman’s body was tougher than iron. Even with mana, his twin swords hardly pierced through the Hatch’s skin and flesh.

Hatch lifted his right foot and kicked at the rabbit, but Van evaded the attack by ducking. Van swung his swords twice at the exposed leg, leaving behind nothing but shallow cuts on it.

For the first time, Van understood the reason why Hatch was heralded as the strongest whale beastman in the entire history. Not only was he fast, big, and strong, he was also born with a body even stronger than iron. His entire body itself was a living weapon.

Hatch raised his battle axe once again. This time, he imbued mana into his weapon.

Van felt shivers crawl down his spine when he saw this. He could see the intensity of the attack coming in. He knew that if that hit him, he would die instantly. Even blocking it with a sword wasn’t feasible, as the attack would simply shatter the weapon.

The battle axe was swung down, and Van evaded by sidestepping. The attack struck the arena, creating a fissure three times deeper and wider than the previous one. And this time, the attack nearly reached the audiences’ seats. The attack was so strong that it almost destroyed the coliseum.

The earth rumbled, and cracks started forming on the coliseum’s walls.

“Hahaha!” laughed Hatch. “This is fun! More! Fight more, rabbit!”

For the first time, a smile bloomed on Hatch’s face. Veins started forming on his muscular arms, and he gripped his battle axe even tighter.

Van channeled more mana into his twin swords. He also started imbuing more mana into his eyes and body.

Once again, the world froze. Van leapt toward Hatch and started releasing an onslaught of attacks. Pushing his body to its limit, he slashed and cut the whales’ body without stopping.

Hatch tried evading the attacks, especially those aimed at his vital parts. But to his dismay, Van moved at a speed that should have been impossible for a mere beastman. After Van pushed his body to its utmost limit, Hatch found himself having a hard time tracking the rabbit’s movements.

With a slash, a deep cut appeared on Hatch’s thigh.

With a stab, the sword penetrated his torso and tore his flesh.

Quickly, numerous wounds started forming on Hatch’s massive body. His tough flesh started giving away after receiving the rabbit’s onslaught. The so-called strongest whale was being pushed back by a mere rabbit less than a fourth of his size.

‘More,’ thought Van. ‘Faster. Stronger.’

Van could feel his entire body screaming from pain. His lungs felt like it was about to burst, and his heart pounded loudly. He wanted to defeat Hatch as fast as he could, but unfortunately, the whale proved tougher than he thought.

Van noticed that some of the lighter wounds on the whale beastman’s body had already closed. He couldn’t believe that this whale beastman had regenerative capabilities comparable to a Wasteland Troll.

Hatch would retaliate with his battle axe every now and then, and each of his strikes left deep fissures on the ground. His attacks were so fierce that the audiences seating nearest the arena started evacuating to the upper seats, afraid that the attacks of the whale beastman would reach them.

‘It’s not enough.’

Van knew that at this rate, he would run out of mana and stamina before he could defeat his opponent.

‘Just fall already.’

Van gritted his teeth and persevered with his onslaught of attacks. Hatch, on the other hand, didn’t back down and fearlessly received the black rabbit’s attacks.

The arena has long lost its original appearance by now. Slabs of stone and fissures filled the ground. The ground continued to rumble, and dust continued flying about. And standing there at the center of what used to be the arena were two beastmen.

The audience held their breaths.

It was amazing that a fight like this was happening in the first match of the second round. Without a doubt, these two were beastmen that should have met each other in the finals.

The match continued for several more minutes, with neither of the two warriors backing down.

But alas, Van’s stamina and mana finally reached its limit. With huffing breaths and trembling legs, Van stood there facing the whale beastman who was filled with numerous cuts on his body.

“That was a great fight, rabbit,” grinned Hatch. “Van Bucky, was it? I’ll be sure to remember your name.”

Although Hatch’s body was filled with innumerable wounds, his high regeneration rate made it possible for him to continue fighting. Even now, his absurdly strong body was healing itself at a speed comparable to a Wasteland Troll.

As an aftermath of their battle, the entire arena, together with the lower portion of the audience seats, had been destroyed.

Van huffed. He tried to remain standing, but his legs eventually gave out. Van fell down butt-first on the ground.

“It’s only the second round of the tournament,” murmured Hatch. “It feels a waste for someone as strong as you to be eliminated this early.”

Hatched deeply breathed. He roared, “Coliseum Master!”

The Coliseum Master, who’d fled to a safer location in the coliseum, flinched, “Y-Yes!”

“Since the arena had been destroyed, doesn’t this mean that both of us have been eliminated from this competition?” said Hatch.

“Haaa?” said the Coliseum Master. Hatch was clearly the winner. He couldn’t understand what the whale was talking about. “W-What are you talking about?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?” said Hatch. “Look around you. There is no longer an arena in this coliseum.”

The Coliseum Master finally realized what Hatch was trying to do. It seemed that this whale grew too fond of the black rabbit after their duel to the death. And now, he was trying to find a way to make sure that Van wasn’t eliminated this early in the tournament.

Following the rules of the Magna Coliseum, the two of them should be eliminated since technically, they’d both been moved out of the arena. But the Coliseum Master knew that if he did this, he would earn the ire of everyone who’d watched the battle. It would become a scandal that would haunt him his entire life.

“The match wouldn’t end unless one of us surrenders or is killed in battle,” said Hatch. “But as you can see, my body is riddled with wounds and I can hardly move. The same goes for the black rabbit. It’s impossible for this match to come to a conclusion. So, what are you going to do?”

Those words put the Coliseum Master in a difficult position.

Hatch was basically forcing him to either disqualify the two of them, or declare the match as a draw.

A full minute passed. The Coliseum Master knew that he had no other choice in this matter.

“What are you saying?” sighed the Coliseum Master. “Since the arena has been destroyed completely, this match should end as a draw.” He looked at the audience for approval, “Isn’t that right, everyone?”

The crowd cheered in agreement.

“That’s right!”

“It’s a draw!”

“We want to see the two of you in the next rounds!”

“Hey, Coliseum Master! You should use stronger stones for the arena next time!”

“This is great! I was worried that one of them is going to be eliminated this early in the tournament!”

The Coliseum Master hissed, “Then, I shall announce the result of this fight! This team battle that turned into a duel—” he paused then said, “—is a draw!”

The crowd cheered even louder.

Hatch and Van locked eyes. Soon, they grinned and laughed. There were no longer hostility and disdain within their gazes.

Although no further words were exchanged between them, they realized that they’d finally found a worthy rival.