The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 549 : Live commentary Tournament (6)

“NOW, LOOK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…. JASMIN FINALLY DID IT AND GRABBED A SPOT!” The commentator shouted at Jasmin for her third try, and she finally managed to win after challenging a boy from the Von Weise family. She wanted to try and castrate him just like her Young master did, but sadly, that guy had already learnt the lesson and surrendered before her sword could reach his little brother. “THAT POOR TIMMY VON WEISE, BARELY MANAGED TO ESCAPE WITH HIS BALLS INTACT… WHAT A SHOW OF ABSOLUTE COWARDICE!”

Hearing the commentator curse at her young master’s enemies, Jasmin smirked as she looked at the counter in the sky.

9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0!

The next moment she vanished and her name finally appeared on a pillar.

“AND IT’S DONE…. NOW, IT IS FINALLY HERE, FOR THE LAST SPOT… WHO IS GOING TO FIGHT FOR IT?” the commentator said. It has been 5 full hours of fighting, and it has finally come to the last spot. “AFTER THIS, YOU WILL HAVE TO AIM FOR ALREADY OCCUPIED SLOTS, SO THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO GET AN EASY WIN, PEOPLE…” it added.

“Easy win my ass…”

“That damn von Weise barely managed to escape with his balls… Damn it, what is wrong with this tournament…. It is already the 16th castration attempt…”

“The 17th…”

“It doesn’t matter… This is not natural!”

“It is… after that Alex incident, those old foggies from the aristocratic families probably found that it is a good way to settle old grudges and humiliate the other powers… The players at this stage are not the important ones in their clans after all, so making them lose their future chance of mating wouldn’t cause too much trouble!

“Not the important ones…. Damn it, who said that…. They were all stronger than all the players I met in my life! This is not fair!”

“Kid, you must learn: nothing in life is fair! The aristocratic families were always like this… That’s why we came here; if we get one of the top spots, we would be able to rise like them!”

“Shit, now look…. This was supposed to have been our clan’s opportunity to rise again!”

“Son, you go… It is for the clan!”

“No way… If my opponent ends up being another castration maniac. Mother would never forgive me if I didn’t get her a grandson! Will you be able to handle the consequences?”

“Ah….. No…”

“..... What a mess….”

“I bet some super strong guy would go down this time…”

“Yeah…”

“I will go…” A boy finally jumped from the Von Zwei balcony.

“GERMIN VON ZWEI INTERS THE ARENA, A LEVEL 55 BUG CONTROLER… RUMORS SAY, HE IS MARRIED TO HIS HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER; AFTER SUCH AN ACHIEVEMENT, WHO CAN BEAT HIM! WHO CAN BE HIS OPPONENT?” the commentator directly revealed everything and asked.

Germin smirked as he looked around the stage. He threatened that bitch with her daughter, who was his classmate. That’s how he did it!

“Let’s end this!” Another young man jumped from above, landing with a sword already brandished.

“IT IS THE ONE AND ONLY, YULIAN VON KRONE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FIGHTING FOR HIS NEW IN-LAWS, THE NEWLY RETURNING FROM BANISHMENT, THE VON TRIE FAMILY!”

***

“IN-LAWS?” Alice stood up and asked as she looked at the familiar Yulian downstage. She had just sent the acceptance letter of his marriage proposal before entering the Arena, and now is that commentator saying Yulian was already married? What kind of bulshit was this?

“Calm down and don’t make a scene; you will get a chance to ask him yourself in the second round!” Serina, who sat in front of her, said as she focused on the words ‘VON ZWEI’. So was that old tiger back, or was it another one?

“Yes, master…” Alice sat back next to Aerith, who kept her silent. It was not her business… her focus was on something else… she could feel it… Victor was nearby…. Why was he here? Where was he exactly? Her eyes wandered through the seats, but she couldn’t locate him.

***

“So old Zer escaped,” on the player’s councilʼs balcony, Midnight said with a frown, looking down.

“Master…”

“It doesn’t matter. Like those idiots von Richter, this is just an attempt to do one last fight, but it is already too late; the die has already been cast! The Seat of the Emperor can only be claimed by us!” he said, but from his exertion, everyone on the balcony could tell he was not amused. First Twilight, and then this… Damn it, Dawn, your plan better work! “Did you find anything about that commentator?” He changed the subject.

“Sadly, no. The sound is coming from inside the ‘Indestructible’ dungeon walls, so we can’t look… The other familyʼs agents also came to the same conclusion.”

“Oh… Then it is probably a card left by that bitch… How many of your kids managed to get slots?“

“2, adding the 3 keys you gave me, we have 5…” the man standing to the side said. “The two spots we got are not stable, though, now that those ‘Powers,’ as you call them, have realized that my boys came from another world thanks to that stupid commentator; they would definitely bring them down…” he said with annoyance.

“I know…” Midnight frowned. “Three should be enough, as they wouldn’t be able to target them in the second round…. Just make them keep their mouths shut!”

“I understand… We only want to complete the MISSION here,” he said, looking at the three guys behind him who stood in normal armor, appearing to be just like any other guy except for the furious, bloodthirsty look in their eyes.

***

“Damn it! Ninth brother…” a man in black sitting on a balcony that no one knew was occupied asked a guy to his side dressed in pink. “Wasn’t that dungeon supposed to be the ultimate prison?”

“No idea… “ the guy said quickly, searching around his storage ring to take a few talismans, then trying to activate them. They didn’t respond at all. “Something must have happened…” he said with a deep frown.

“OF COURSE SOMETHING HAPPENED! NOW LOOK, THE VON TRIE FAMILY IS OUT!” The man in black lost his nerve.

“It doesn’t matter…” a woman sitting on the other side said. “Those idiots wouldn’t be able to change a thing! The array is already deployed… And having some extra hands down below would not be bad! They have no idea about our plan after all!”

“True… I will be counting on you second!” the man in black said.

“Don’t worry, when this is all over, the true heir would return!” the woman said, looking not at the stage but up toward the player’s council’s balcony. Midnight… Zer being here wouldn’t be bad for her plan, but it can’t be entirely true for that sneaky demon hiding upstairs.

***

“What did your son do this time?” At the Von Krone Balcony, Aarak asked, looking at Aaron, Lily’s and Yulian’s father. He didn’t like uninspected variables!

“No idea… I will have to ask him when this is over!” Aaron said, hiding the smug smile. Aarak did his best to keep Yulian out of this using all kinds of excuses; even Perze, if not for the key he found himself, wouldn’t have been able to be here as a seeded player. Now, Yulian really did it! Having three of his children enter the tournament would sway the opinion of a lot of the family elders, especially if they manage to keep their spot until the end! Only if Lily could have also been here… It would have been perfect!

“...” Aaron, who could easily read his little brother’s mind, said nothing, just glancing at Perez, who was also looking at his brother, downstage without showing any expression.

He smirked. It didn’t matter. By old traditions, his position as the patriarch can not be challenged for the next 5 years, and by then not only would his son return from ‘there’ to help stabilize his position, but the hidden army he planned to build using that feather would be ready!

***

“Wow…. Is that the Yulian I know? When did your brother become such a stud…?” Malcolm said, looking toward Lily, then toward Anastasia with some jealousy. Ana was not his type, but still…

Hearing him, Anastasia gasped as she looked at Lily. She had long realized that the latter was a Von Krone, but she hadn’t realized that she was her sister-in-law!

“Yeah, in his past life he was a bit introverted…” She paused. It was her fault. She was even bitchier than Tulip in their past life when she was young; this led to her poor brother being put in his place very early. “Thankfully this time he managed to score not only 1 beauty, but two…” she said, winking at Ana, who was a bit nervous, making her relax a bit.

“Will that ʼsecond wifeʼ... Alice also be here?” Harper raised one eyebrow and asked as she looked between the two. If that girl was also here, it would be interesting!

“She is a seeded player…” Zoe replied. Looking toward the Von Weise balcony. Their situation was not good this time; only Roy managed to take a spot, all thanks to that Stinky Alex encouraging other powers to target them. Damn it! Thankfully Victor was not here to be humiliated!

Hearing her, Mona shook her head. What she wanted to know now was, what the hell was going to happen later...

***

“AND YULLIAN WINS! LOOK AT THAT, ONE MOVE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ONE MOVE! THAT’S HOW A MAN BRAGS IN FRONT OF HIS WIFE… OR WIVES… ACCORDING TO THE LATEST INFO, YULIAN IS NOT ONLY MARRIED TO ANASTASIA VON TRIE, BUT ALSO ENGAGED TO ALICE VON WEISE! WHAT A MAN! WHAT A STUDD!”

As others wondered, Yulian finished off his opponent with one move, then he turned to watch his name appear atop the last comment, as the commentator exploded, delivering all kinds of unnecessary information.

“NOW, I WONDER IF THAT WIN WOULD MAKE HIS WIVES FORGIVE HIM… STILL, WOULD NEVER DO THAT! WHO WILL GO DOWN AND TRY TO CASTRATE THIS TWO-TIMING BASTARD?” it spat again.

“...”

“What?”

“Engaged to that Alice?”

“And who is that Anastasia? Is she here?”

“Alice, is that your fiancé?”

“...”

“Better not mess with this guy…”

“Yeah… He is too much trouble….”

3.. 2.. 1.. 0..

BEEP!

“AND THEN THE LAST SLOT WAS TAKEN!” the commentator said as Yulian vanished from the arena, returning to the balcony. “NOW, LET THE REAL FIGHT BEGIN!”

As he spoke, the sky turned orange and a large countdown appeared in the sky. At the same time, a new system announcement was broadcast.

32 SLOTS WERE FILLED, PROCEEDING...

1- PLAYERS CAN CHALLENGE ANY SLOT. (ONLY ONE CHANCE)

2- EACH SLOT CAN ONLY BE CHALLENGED 3 TIMES MAX UNTIL IT IS CHANGED

3- EACH SLOT CAN ONLY CHANGE HANDS 3 TIMES

4- THOSE WHO LOSE A SLOT CAN CHALLENGE FOR ANOTHER ONE

5- KILLING IS PERMITTED

6- THOSE WHO KEEP THEIR SLOTS WILL ENTER THE SECOND ROUND

This time one of the rules was changed. Killing was permitted!

“NOW THE REAL FIGHT BEGINS, PEOPLE… WHO WILL RISE AND WHO WILL DIE, WOULD BE DECIDED TONIGHT!” the commentator shouted. “MANY WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE WITH THEIR HEADS HELD HIGH, OTHERS WOULD LEAVE WITH DISGRACE! NOW WHO WILL BE FIRST TO GET CUT?”

That was a question no one dared to answer.

***

It was dark when Lyra decided it was time to make her move.

Watching the guards go drowsy before their shift changed, she quickly moved when she found the first chance, using a Gust Talisman that she carried with her from Ismeralia to sneak right by them.

In a few seconds, she was inside, hiding behind a random wall to survey her surroundings.

The environment inside was not anything special. This area seemed to be used for storage, as it was composed of 3 long, low-profile hangars.

Frowning, she activated a TRACER Talisman that quickly revealed to her eyes lines on the ground that were not perceptible before, like the path that the wagon earlier in the day took, and the footprints of the two pushing it. A strong male and an older female… that wagon was about 130 pounds, fully loaded….

Frowning, she began to follow the path until she reached a door. Not one of the hangars, but a hidden one on a wall to the side, covered by foliage.

She quickly activated one of her old standard-issue SNEAKY WIND talismans to make her surroundings grow silent so that not even sound could be transmitted by the wind. Slowly, she opened the door, and thankfully it was not locked!

Behind it, there was, as expected, a spiraling staircase going downwards. Why did shady stuff have to be done in places like this? She had no idea, but still, she went down.

Thankfully, it was not deep, just 10 steps or so before she found herself in a narrow corridor with three doors.

According to her Tracer, two of them hadnʼt been opened for years. Only one had the traces of something getting dragged inside. Human bodies! Alive or dead? No idea….

Quickly, she moved to the door and….

PANG!

“Ahhh…………..!”

“Scream, bitch… This is just the start!”

The sound of a whip and the scream of the girl sounded as she stepped forward. Gathering her courage, she stepped forward and peeked from the side of the door that was left slightly ajar.

She saw it…. 5 girls were shackled naked to a wall, and a familiar blond young man was standing in front of them, a fair girl with blue hair, whipping her.

Caspian? Wasn’t he already at the tournament? Or was that one at the tournament a fake? Lyra frowned as she turned to eye the other shackled girls. Three of them were looking at Caspian with horror, wanting to scream, but couldn’t as their mouths were filled with some strange-looking gadgets.

Only the other girl seemed unresponsive. She was a middle-aged woman who was hanging limply, already collapsed, with blood trickling down her body. She clearly had already been severely tortured.

“BASTARD…. HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY MOTHER!” the girl who was getting whipped screamed, but the man- that bastard was clearly enjoying it.

“This is what you bitches do for causing this young prince to lose face!” he said. “I really wanted to scam you the nice way first, but after your mother used the double to scam me at that bastard;;;; Victor’s wedding, there will be no more Mr. Nice guy!” he sneered as he swung his whip at her again.

Victor? Was he the same Victor she knew? Lyra wondered,

“BASTARD… I SHOULD HAVE NEVER FALLEN FOR SUCH A SCUM BAG!” Nova defiantly glared at him, ignoring the pain.

Hearing her, Caspian, or the fake Caspian, smiled as if this was exactly the thing he wished to hear most. “Playing it tough, ha…. So watching your mother earlier was not enough… Then I will show you something better…” Caspian walked toward the nearby fireplace, grabbed a hot branding iron, then slowly headed not toward the first girl, but to the one hanging on the wall beside her. First, he eyed her from head to toe, clicking his tongue before grabbing her cheeks roughly, pulling the strange ball in her mouth before pushing a pill inside.

“Ah….Please no…. please….” The girl, finally able to talk, begged, but Caspian just smiled in a twisted way, watching her slowly go silent as if struggling with some thought, then….. “ AH! I REMEMBER! I…. HOW COULD I FORGET… I AM MORRIS,,,, MY NAME IS MORRIS VON WEISE....”

BANG

HSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Hearing the name, Caspian seemed to have gotten what he wanted, so he pushed the branding iron deep into the poor girl’s stomach, leaving a strange heart-shaped burn; then, as if not satisfied, he began to brand her again and again before throwing it to the side and taking a dagger…. Then began the cutting…

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............................. NOOOOOOOOO ... .SPARE ME…….AH.................. MY FATHER…. MY GRANDFATHER WILL…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…. WHERE ARE MY………..AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……………..”

Though clearly clumsy with his movement, Caspian really did his best there to make it as ugly as possible.

Lyra, who naturally personally tortured many criminals before, was not really scared as she watched, but she couldn’t help feeling sorry for that Morris-named girl.

She needed to move…. But the chance was not right! With Caspian that far away, he might be able to react before she reached him. She had already investigated this guy when first coming to the sect, and he was one of the strongest guys here! As a knight, she had long learnt to control her feelings… Haste makes waste…

It took 15 minutes for ‘Caspian’ to finally finish his handiwork with the girl called Morris before turning back toward the first girl. “How was that, my dear Nova?” he asked.

“SICK BASTARD!” Nova hissed after biting her lip. Poor Morrisia, she had long lost her mind!

“You dare curse at me… Then let me show you…” he said, walking toward the middle-aged woman, unchecking her and letting her collapse on the ground before pulling her by her hair, walking toward Nova.

“What…What are you planning to do?” Nova asked fearfully as ‘Caspian’ lifted her mother by her hair, putting her face to face with her daughter. “I will work on your whore of a mother right in front of you…. In no time you will start begging me to stop!”

“Bastard… How…” Nova, whose teary eyes were flushed red, was about to begin pleading when….

BANG!

The collapsed middle-aged woman came to life all of a sudden, using the chance when Caspian was reaching for the branding iron on the ground to deliver a strong kick to his stomach.

“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……… ” Caspian, who was pushed to the opposite wall, screamed in shock. “You…” he quickly came to his feet and jumped toward the mother-daughter couple, but before he could do it,

“Now, Quick!” The middle-aged woman took a strange talisman from her mouth and activated it while holding her daughter.

The next moment the two vanished.

“DAMN IT!” Caspian shouted. “How the hell…” he started, but before he could say anything.

BANG!

A spear came at him from the back, impaling him right in the heart! Well… It should have done that, but the golden light of a Supreme Protection Talisman managed to save his life. Still, the shock forced him into the ground.

“Die…” Lyra, who used the chance earlier to deliver that hit, howled, using her Dragon howl skill to freeze the target as she activated her signature Swift Strike Skill for a killing strike. With the Talisman gone, this was a sure hit.

Caspian didn’t even manage to register what happened when he felt death approaching from behind. He wanted to move, not only to defend but to see the face of his attacker, but his body couldn’t move as if paralyzed. He could only feel the heat of the strike earlier on his chest, right over that birthmark he had since youth…

BANG!

The spear hit nothing but stone as it slid against the floor.

Lyra, who lost lock on the target, quickly jumped back, preparing to parry, but the expected attack never happened.

Caspian, or whoever that guy was, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

***

“AND THE THIRD VON TRIE HEIR TAKES ANOTHER SPOT! WHERE WERE THEY BEFORE…. WHAT A SHOW OF INFINITE POWER…. NOW, WILL SOMEONE CHALLENGE THEM FOR THEIR SEAT, OR WOULD THEY TRY ALEX’S SPEAR AGAIN?” the commentator asked as the 29th fight ended. Only 10 spots got flipped, while the others still stood firm.

“...”

“Let’s give up…”

“Yeah….. It is no longer about castration; the Von Zwei kid got really killed… What was his name, Alven Von Richter? It is as if he did it on purpose…”

“I felt the same…”

“Better not risk it; we already have a seeded player in the family… One is enough…”

“Should we try again?”

“No… The current setup is enough! The others will have no chance!”

“Yeah…”

“NOW… LOOK, PEOPLE, IS THAT REALLY IT? ARE YOU GOING TO ENTER THE SECOND PHASE…?” The commentator asked as everyone eyed the countdown in the sky. “COME ON, PEOPLE, COUNT WITH ME! 10… 9…” It began counting, making many start doing the same.

“8…” “7…” “6…” “5…” “4…”

“Ready?”

“Yeah…”

“3…”

“So we will fight now?”

“....”

“2…”

“It’s show time…”

“Young master…. Be careful ....”

“1…”

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

The entire arena shook with a bright light. The next moment, all the seed players and those who got the spots vanished. This included not only Victor, but also Lily and the others at the VIP balcony.

The next moment they appeared in a large empty expanse, each standing alone on a long pillar with a brand new screen in front of them in addition to a jade key that was rotating in midair with all of its colors stripped away. It was no longer jade green, but pale gray as if it came from some monotone black-and-white movie. If one were to look closely, though, he would be able to tell that it had 7 distinct segments.

SECOND ROUND

BEFORE WE START, PLEASE ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS… YOUR FATE WILL BE SET NEXT

Victor frowned, looking at this. He heard about it in his past life… All going according to plan!

Sighing, he pressed the first question, which revealed to him a long list of 154 players, including not only the ones who won spots earlier, but also the ones who got the keys.

For the first question…. Fight most? He quickly pressed Lily as per their prearrangement. If two people put their names here, they would be binned against each other.

Next…. Fight Least? Naturally, it will be Caspian. If someone loses their first fight, they would get a second chance against that one. All those questions were about the pairing up in the next round!

Respect most? He had no idea what this was for, but he had a persona to keep, so he quickly found his name. VIC VOLT and pressed it after muttering… “Damn it, how dare they not include honorifics!” He was not sure if someone was secretly watching or this was being recorded after all….

Respect least?

He frowned…. Hovering over Roy’s name. He held a grudge against that guy, but he didn’t want to fight him yet, before confirming a few things. His next target was Levi Von Zewi, but that would be left to Rita… Then…. To hell with it… He chose a name at the very top of the list. MALCOLM!

Although the chance of fighting that guy was minimal, he wouldn’t mind it. Lily had already sentenced him, after all, and as her husband, he had a family reputation to keep!

Looking at the last three questions, he sighed before answering them one by one.