The Immortal Player

Pedro clapped twice—consequently making the temperature to suddenly rise.

This, in turn, made the ground dry. Cracks started to appear as if it was the hottest moment of summer, while the green grass starts to melt, before emitting a white smoke around them.

The 200,000 NPCs from the Defacto Kingdom and the remaining players from Team Fuji start to panic as their robes start to burn.

That said, everyone remained unaffected physically by the intense heat. That is why Pedro and his men were able to remain calm at this unusual and uncomfortable moment.

Pedro smirked and said, "It's time!"

He glanced to Lony and Talia, commanding, "Bulk, take the north! Shawarma, you go to the south! Make sure that none of them would be able to escape from our trap! I'll take the front and face them head-on!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Yes, Expert Cap!"

Lony and Talia said in unison before leaving in the next second.

Right after Lony and Talia left, their enemies hopelessly removed the cloths covering them while charging towards Pedro and the Eastern Gate of the Tradean Empire.

Unfortunately... 

The moment that the Ball of Fire shined through their skin, it became flakey and was starting to shed. 

Soon, the weak ones turned into ash like a burning paper.

While the strong ones were barely able to move, dropping into the ground like a thirsty horse.

That said, their eyes remained bloodshot red, while their jaws were wide open—revealing two fangs as if they were hungry wolves. 

"My hunch was right! Team Fuji won't give up easily without putting up a fight!" Pedro sighed heavily as he draws his black sword.

Then, he lowered the visor of his helm and said, "The Will of Japanese Players is truly admirable! They are willing to fight 'till the bitter end!"

"But sadly… Will, alone, is not enough to win this fight!"

Pedro charged forward—moving just slightly slower compared to Lony. That said, his lack of speed was compensated by his strength as multiple heads fell into the ground in just one of his swings.

He even threw his sword forward to pierce multiple necks at once while using his hand to grab more necks and break them apart.

Eventually, his sword got stuck to its "last target".

Fortunately, Pedro arrived in time to draw his sword before it fell into the ground with the body of its last victim.

Pedro gripped the handle tightly before swinging his sword 360 Degrees with full force.

In a blink of an eye, ten heads of Vampire NPCs fell into the ground, creating a small breathing space for Pedro before he charges to his next targets.

Obviously, there were several Vampires who were able to go past his defenses.

But that wasn't a problem, because there were only a few Vampires who were able to do so, for some terrifyingly unknown reason.

Add up the fact that Sabrina was patiently waiting for them outside the Empire's gates. 

It was to be expected that nothing but the smell of blood would be able to reach the walls of their base.

At some moments, the soldiers of the Tradean Empires needed to shoot arrows and wooden spears—to help slow the advance of their enemies.

With Lony and Talia suppressing the enemy force from their sides, the enemies were hopelessly trapped in the "hot area"—leading to their complete annihilation, and, eventually, Team Fuji's Defeat.

[Match 1, Complete!]

[Team ARES' Victory!]

The holographic projector displayed the results of the first match in the arena as the players from the two opposing teams were logged off from their accounts and exited their respective VR Boxes for the scheduled thirty minutes break between each match.

At this moment, everyone—the commentators, the audience in the arena, and the observers all over the world, could only remain silent as their minds were still trying to process how Team ARES was able to annihilate hundreds of thousands of Vampires in just a few hours.

Yes, it was a long match that they watched.

But the moment the clash between the 4 men and the 200,000+ men started, everyone was on the edge of their seats—waiting which side will fall first.

And as it ended… No matter which angle you look at it… Team ARES was able to achieve a feat that even a squad of soldiers with machine guns would not be able to easily accomplish!

There was undoubtedly only one word to describe such a feat…

Godly!

On the other hand, Talia and Lony were rejoicing in Team ARES's side.

Pedro and Sabrina were able to suppress their joy, out of respect to their opponents while also knowing that they need one more match to advance in this elimination round.

While Roval, Arvedar, Mathew, Aldo, and Loren did not actually get that much of a fight. They weren't as happy as Lony and Talia because they did not contribute that much in that battle.

Something that is contrary to what Pedro, Lony, and Talia did—fighting non-stop for several hours and were simply glad that their 'hard work' was not wasted.

"Good job, everyone!" Pedro's mom, Mrs. Caroline Armaz said as he approached everyone together with Mrs. Marisa Conception (Sabrina's Mom) and the other staff who is in charge of managing and providing the needs of the players of the Team ARES.

"Thanks, Mom!" Pedro said with a smile.

Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply nodded in response before glancing towards everyone else and saying, "Shall we proceed to the discussion room?"

Everyone simply nodded in agreement as they all started walking towards the exit of the VIP Area of the Arena.

At this moment, Team Fuji was also on their way to an exit located at the other side of the VIP Area—opposite to where Pedro and Team ARES were heading.

The audience in the arena clapped their hands and stood from their seats—applauding both Teams for giving them a long and intense first match.

Even Chairman Dong Li was not able to hide the smile on his face as he clapped his hands while glancing at the two teams exiting the arena for the break.

On the other hand, Commentator Bob could not help but exhale heavily in response and say, "I am sorry everyone... But… I am now, hereby, a fan of Team ARES! I mean… I got to give credit to Team Fuji for having such unconventional tactics... And for educating me that there are Vampires in Bearth Online! But… I am hands down to Team ARES, man! Using only four men against what??? Two hundred thousand plus men??? That's just insane! Just… Unbelievable!"

Commentator Rudy Mason could only force out a smile in response and say, "Did Team ARES just showed us—how we can kill thousands of monsters like the top ranking players in the Continental Quest on the Asian-Australian Server?"

Commentator Bob simply forced out a smile in response and said, "I don't think that there are other players on the Asian-Australian Server who are as strong as Captain Black, Player White, Player Shawarma, and Ace Bulk! So… If I am not wrong… They are most likely the top-ranking players, themselves, in the Continental Quest on the Asian-Australian Server!"

Commentator Bob paused for a second before saying, "Anyway… All the mystery lies on their armor and weapons! If their strength lies on their equipment… Then, it is safe to assume that their armors and weapons are A-Rated or B-Rated at the least!"

"But…" Commentator Bob glanced to Commentator Rudy Mason for a second. Then, Commentator Bob continued, saying, "If their strength was not dependent on their Armors and Weapons… Then, it only just means that they are some sort of 'terrifying' people that can even survive if you drop them in the middle of an alerted military camp!"

Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "You are exaggerating things too much, Mr. Bob! Obviously… Combat using guns is completely different from melee combats. So, even if the players from Team ARES could be as terrifying as you said in close combat… They might not perform well in Ranged Combats!"

Commentator Rudy Mason simply nodded in agreement with a smile on his face. Then, he said, "Chairman Li is right, Bob! Ranged Combat is completely different! Speaking of which… Didn't you notice the weapons of the players from Team ARES? They are all wielding swords—which are close-ranged weapons! I can't help but wonder—on how they would fight against teams that are rumored to be specialized in Ranged Combats."

"Like Team Oran Gutan! Their Team B, itself!" Commentator Bob said excitedly in response.

Commentator Rudy Mason simply nodded in response and said, "If I could remember correctly… Team Oran Gutan's Ace was wielding a bow, herself! I am quite interested in how would Team ARES win against a team like Team Oran Gutan!"

Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "We'll see… If Team Fuji would allow Team ARES to take the next match! And we'll find that out soon—after the break!"

Commentator Rudy Mason and Commentator Bob could only nod and force out a smile in response as the live coverage was temporarily cut and various ads were played during that break.

…

At this moment, in a conference room with a holographic projector that was displaying the live coverage of the Bearth Online Simulated Games… Weyron could only exhale heavily and scratch the back of his head.

Then, he grumbled, "Long Range Combat, Short-Range Combat my @ss! We can't beat them even if we are Ultra Giga Mega Terra Long Range Combat Specialized Players! My Cousin is not even allowing those freaks to use their skills in this competition—including their transformation skills! They were obviously being mocked in broad daylight and they were still not able to see through my cousin's schemes!"

Meen simply chuckled in response and said, "Calm Down, Captain! Even we are participating as an opposing team… We are still both under Armaz Electronics Inc.! Isn't it good enough that we are on the same side?"

"I know!" Weyron grumbled. Then, in the next second, he exhaled heavily and said, "I just got pissed with that fat @ss Bob—for involving us in their discussion on the live coverage! Thanks to him… The pressure towards us—to perform well, is now twice of the pressure that we get for being just Armaz Electronics Inc.'s second competitive team participating in this competition!"

Director Veronica Santiago—who was sitting beside Meen, simply smiled faintly and said, "Then why don't you guys show them what you've got on the match this afternoon?"

"We won't just show them what we can do, mother!" Weyron said with a frown on his face. "We'll let them know that we'd be the champions of this competition!"