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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: shyan
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“Keuheoeok…”
The human warrior, after being struck in the face by the gauntlet, let out a miserable groan and collapsed to the floor.
Looking down at him, Samuel tilted her head slightly without realizing it.
‘Why?… Why did the attack stop?’
The human warrior’s strike, which pierced through the gap in an instant.
As a result of the counterattack that Samuel had not expected, her helmet was blown off in an instant, and at the same time, the human warrior’s sword flew straight towards her head without hesitation.
But at the last moment.
He, who was about to thrust his attack, for some reason suddenly stopped and stopped his action.
It was an incomprehensible action for Samuel, who was trying to minimize the damage by giving up one ear in the worst case.
However, instead of seriously questioning something about this,
Samuel reached out her fist and punched the guy’s face with all her strength.
As a result, the human warrior, who had lost consciousness as it was, became a miserable figure rolling on the floor.
Immediately after, the voices of those who cheered for Samuel’s victory echoed inside the arena, but Samuel, without having time to feel the joy of victory, lightly picked up the body of the guy who had fallen down as it was and threw it to the auxiliary personnel who were waiting.
“Put him in restraints before treatment. This guy is human.”
Samuel spoke in her unique, dry tone.
In response, the auxiliary personnel who managed the situation inside the arena felt a deep embarrassment, but since it was the commander’s order, they immediately began to check the situation.
And after a while,
The facts that were revealed as a result of taking off his robe inside the arena and dismantling the magic items he was wearing.
The tournament managers and personnel were deeply embarrassed by the fact that another human being, other than the human Hero Elron, who was recognized by the Demon King, had secretly participated in the Narsil selection without permission.
“What on earth is his identity? Even if he was disguised, how did a human warrior get here?”
“We don’t know yet either. We’ll be able to find out the details after he wakes up.”
“Hmm… I see. Then, as the commander said, we’ll firmly bind the guy in question and imprison him in the temporary quarters, and as soon as he regains consciousness, we’ll proceed with the interrogation. We’ll thoroughly understand why he came here and whether he has any other companions.”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
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The organizers declared a suspension of the match for an unknown reason for a while.
In this regard, the demons complained of boredom and dissatisfaction that the atmosphere that had been heating up had been cut off, and began to spend their time with a feeling of ennui.
But at that time.
Apart from the demons who were showing a slightly sluggish attitude, those who were hiding in one side of the arena and watching the situation at this moment…
The three members of the new Hero’s party and Hector’s comrades began to panic as a group due to the unexpected situation.
“H-Hector lost. Even if the opponent was a legion commander, it’s really not okay if this happens, is it?”
A man in a black robe expressed his embarrassment in a urgent voice.
To Pompey, an archer from the Elf Church, the other comrades began to express their agreement with serious expressions.
“Of course not… If this happens, our plan to kill the Demon King by aiming for the moment when Hector attracts the most attention during the match has virtually failed.”
Bless, a beastwoman wearing a gray robe.
The feeling of clear despair that was felt in her voice at this moment made the already subdued atmosphere even heavier.
Then…
Compared to them, a person who seemed to be young and had not yet lost her girlishness while looking at those members.
The witch Dagon, wearing a blue robe,
Spoke in a calm voice while looking at her comrades who were deeply confused.
“Calm down, it’s definitely a big crisis that Hector has become like that, but it’s too early to despair yet. In this situation, let’s do what we can do right now first.”
“W-what can we do…?”
“Hector, the strongest among us, has been captured, no less. What can we do in this situation?”
Pompey, who showed a slight expectation in Dagon’s story, and Bless, who replied in a despondent voice.
In response, Dagon, despite her young age, maintained her composure and continued to speak while looking at her comrades.
“First of all, now that it has become like this, let’s save Hector first.”
“Is that possible? What can we do with someone who was just dragged away by the demons?”
“That’s why we have to move right now.”
“…What?”
Dagon answered in a clear voice to Bless, who replied in a dejected voice.
In response, Bless began to recognize that this young but intelligent comrade in front of her was not just saying empty words, but was saying these words because she had her own grounds.
And, while looking at her, Dagon continued to speak in a serious voice.
“Think about it, even though he’s a prisoner, this is the arena where the match is being held. As we said about the Demon King’s case, it’s much easier for us to move here than inside the Demon King’s castle, anyway.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Besides, those guys are definitely panicking because an unexpected emergency has occurred. If we take advantage of their confusion, we might just have a chance.”
“…I see. That makes sense.”
Bless, who showed a sign of agreeing with Dagon’s words, and her eyes started to regain their energy slightly.
Immediately after, the three began to put their heads together and think about how they could save Hector.
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“Hoo…”
Elisia let out a small sigh while looking at the opponent who was lying in front of her.
Unlike Samuel, who had had a fairly precarious match against the newcomer earlier, she had easily broken her opponent in front of her without much difficulty.
However, apart from the relatively bland match, she had no choice but to be wary of the newcomer in front of her before the match, considering that she had seen Samuel struggling quite a bit.
‘Well… but as a result, it was just a simple concern.’
With that thought, Elisia lightly retrieved her sword and turned around.
Next, her gaze turned to the person she would be facing next.
Towards her mother, Elias.
‘I will definitely win, Mama… I will definitely prove that I am better than Mama.’
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The first round of the main tournament, which felt a bit like a preliminary round, ended and those who were taking a break for a while.
Certainly, the number of people had been reduced by half, and since the top-class warriors such as the legion commander and the elite guards were in place, there were no longer any people who seemed like the riffraff among those who remained.
And among those people, I started looking for who I would be facing next.
‘Let’s see… I know he’s someone who came up from a match between newcomers…’
Since he’s a newcomer, there was a lack of information, but I looked around diligently with the intention of at least trying to talk to him.
And after a while.
The figure of the guy in question, wearing the red armor that I had seen in the arena earlier, began to come into my eyes.
‘He showed literally overwhelming power against the same newcomer. No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t seem like an easy opponent…’
A being who was exuding an unusual aura for just a newcomer.
Regarding this, I thought that I shouldn’t take it lightly just because he’s a newcomer, as in Samuel’s case earlier, and cautiously tried to approach the red armor that gave off a feeling of a hidden expert.
Then…
“Hero.”
“Ah… Elisia, what’s wrong?”
The next moment, Elisia suddenly called me.
In response, I temporarily stopped trying to talk to that red armor and first started talking to Elisia.
“What’s wrong? Is there something important?”
“…Yeah. It’s important. Really… it’s a really important thing.”
Elisia spoke to me in a voice filled with clear seriousness.
Something felt different than usual,
Through her appearance that felt like a resolution,
I automatically felt a strange tension.
“You know that Mama and I are going to have a match right after this, right?”
“Ah… yes, I know that.”
“Please watch that match closely with your eyes wide open. I’m asking you.”
“Yes?”
Elisia was simply requesting that I watch the match seriously.
However, I couldn’t help but feel a question about the unknown seriousness contained in it.
‘Why would you ask me to watch the match on purpose?… Hmm. Is this perhaps that kind of thing? She’s been honing her combat skills, so she wants me to pay attention to the results.’
Since we’re comrades and friends who have been fighting together, I thought it meant that she wanted me to see how much she had grown now.
In particular, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to think that I, who has more superior combat power than her, could see it more objectively.
In that way, I answered my friend’s request with pure goodwill.
“I understand. I’ll try to watch it as closely as possible. Good luck, I’ll cheer for you Elisia.”
“Ah!”
At those words of mine, Elisia showed a smile that was as bright as could be on her face.
I don’t know if it was because she thought I would reject her request, or if there was another reason, but
Anyway, while looking at her, who seemed to like it a little too much.
I felt like I was looking at a slightly cute cat and smiled slightly.