Season 2: Chapter 226: Chicken Game (3)
Simply put, entering the constricting zone system resulted in death. Not immediately, but one couldn’t stay within it indefinitely. Inside this zone were guards and combined forces with stats a player could not beat.
In essence, this system ensured players would inevitably die in this area. This type of system was typically present in battle royale games. Without such a system, a battle royale game would drag on indefinitely or never end.
Almond's action wasn't exactly outside the purpose of the constricting zone system. The game remained exciting and didn’t become dull.
Boom!
Almond quickly dashed toward the two remaining players being chased by the zone. Normally, Almond would have stayed put and the remaining two players would have approached him. However, since the constricting zone system existed to incite battles, it fulfilled its purpose either way.
"Almond!? He could have just waited, but he went straight in!"
The commentators were astounded that it wasn't the two other players being chased by the zone who sprang into action.
"Ah, Almond! What is he doing?!"
"… Is this some kind of trolling?"
"Did he suddenly decide that he didn't want to give away chicken to his viewers!?"
It was natural for others to think he was trolling or didn’t want to give chicken to his viewers. Such reckless behavior was unprecedented.
— D:
— BBQ~! Don't go~!
— The worst streamer, Nut Squad!
The viewers vented their frustrations.
Bang!
Almond jumped off the rooftop and soared up.
"He almost flew up there!"
"Isn't he making himself an even bigger target!?"
Almond could see the remaining two players. This meant that they could also see him.
"Isn't this declaring two versus one situation!?"
"Yes! But it's difficult for them to attack Almond right now! The constricting zone is still chasing them from behind!"
The commentators were correct. The two ninjas were too busy running forward to confront Almond and lacked time even though the reckless Almond made a bold move.
Upon spotting Almond, BubbleSniper stopped in his tracks and pulled something out.
"Ah! Bubble Sniper! It seems he spotted Almond! Even in this situation, he's drawing a weapon to attack!"
It was BubbleSniper.
"He immediately shot something!"
Surprisingly, he shot an arrow at Almond. It was unclear whether he thought it carried a symbolic meaning or because an arrow was the only thing he could launch from that distance at the moment.
Whoosh!
The arrow left his bow and flew through the air toward Almond.
"Even for Almond, dodging something while in the air is extremely difficult!"
It was a valid point. Almond had no intention of dodging. He planned to catch it.
[Illusion Clone Technique]
Boom!
In mid-air, Almond split into four.
Clang!
One of the Almonds drew a short sword and deflected the arrow.
"Ah?!"
"Did, did he hit it?!"
The commentators only had a moment to exclaim.
Not only did he deflect it, but another Almond also caught the flying arrow.
"Did, did he catch it?!"
Then, the real Almond took the arrow and formed a seal. He placed the arrow on his bow and naturally aimed for BubbleSniper's head.
"!?"
The commentators were left with their mouths open. Their jaws nearly hit the floor.
Almond released the arrow.
Whoosh!
And the arrow returned to its master. BubbleSniper's eyes bulged in astonishment.
'He caught the arrow and shot it back?'
Thwack!
BubbleSniper’s right ear was torn off. He reflexively turned his head and narrowly avoided the disaster of losing his eye.
All of this happened before Almond even landed after leaping into the air.
"It's hard to follow with your eyes!"
"BubbleSniper barely avoided a fatal blow!"
BubbleSniper, having narrowly escaped a fatal injury, immediately counterattacked. He kicked up the fallen leaves on the ground.
Rustle!
And formed a seal.
[Leaf Shuriken]
The leaves stood up stiffly, turning toward Almond, and transformed into shurikens.
Whizzzz!
Dozens of shurikens created from the leaves attacked Almond and his clones.
Boom!
The clones blew up in the air before they could even land. However—
"?"
The real Almond was nowhere to be seen. Like the clones, it seemed like he dispersed into white smoke and vanished.
'Could it be?!'
Swoosh—
Almond suddenly appeared behind BubbleSniper and slashed his throat.
— Wow
— The arrow and substitution technique are insane
— Wow
— Awesome substitution, geez
Anyone who had been following Almond's matches would immediately understand. He had set a substitution technique on the arrow that he fired earlier.
"He used the substitution technique on BubbleSniper's arrow and shot it back?!"
"All in that brief moment!? Truly amazing!"
"Utilizing clones to catch it while the main body used the substitution technique before shooting the arrow back seemed like the plan. What astonishing agility. This was all planned before he revealed himself!"
"Indeed, Almond is such an intelligent player!"
— An intelligent player LOL
— Ah, surely not...
— Are they doing this on purpose?
— But seriously, was this all planned after he ran out of arrows?
— Really…?
Overwhelmed by Almond's clever play, they momentarily forgot something.
"Wait, but! Can BubbleSniper be taken down so easily!?"
BubbleSniper had been sharpening his blade and vowed to kill Almond. Did he meet such an anticlimactic end?
"Ah. And he didn't even make it to second place... Wait!?"
In mid-sentence, one of the commentators' eyes widened in shock.
"Bu, BubbleSniper is alive!?"
Almond and BubbleSniper were locked in close combat. Only a broken log lay where BubbleSniper was presumed to have been.
"Ah! The substitution Technique!!"
BubbleSniper had also narrowly escaped death using the substitution technique.
"Right! That technique is originally a dodging technique!"
"He’s definitely not an easy opponent!"
"Of course! He has to avenge his parents!? He can't die that easily!"
— ??
— LOL
— Why bring up his parents…?
— RIP...
Although BubbleSniper didn’t die easily, things didn't always go as one wished.
Clang!
Clang!
As the exchange of sword strikes continued, BubbleSniper became increasingly disadvantaged.
'What the hell? Since when did this guy become so good with a sword?'
BubbleSniper, who had watched Almond's stream a few times, felt perplexed. He never thought Almond was this proficient with a sword.
"BubbleSniper! He’s being overpowered by Almond in close combat! It looks like he might die soon!?"
"What can he do now that he can't use the substitution technique for a while!?"
Then, another variable appeared.
[The perimeter will shrink in thirty seconds.]
[This will be the last time.]
[After this, areas outside the perimeter will disappear.]
As the perimeter closed for the last time, player thirty-one was also forced to join the battle. This meant Almond would likely fight both of them.
"Player thirty-one is charging in!"
Boom!
Player thirty-one charged recklessly and launched a sword strike at Almond.
Whoosh!
Almond stepped back to dodge.
'Missed.'
He had to let Bubble Sniper go when he almost caught him.
Chuck.
They had a brief standoff.
Almond quickly looked around. They were currently in a courtyard in front of a fancy tiled house.
'Completely open space.'
According to the shape of the perimeter, this place was the final stage. A narrow open area with nowhere to hide and a two versus one situation.
'They're both targeting me. In such a place, one against multiple enemies is a disadvantage.'
Almond, who was exceptionally observant in virtual reality, had long realized that the two of them were targeting him. They didn't seem to be hiding their intentions. It was natural to deal with the most formidable player first.
'Here they come.'
Flash!
Player thirty-one moved first. As if that was the signal, BubbleSniper also moved.
Boom!
True to their ninja nature, they charged at Almond with considerable speed.
"Ah! A charge! Are we going into close combat!?"
"Yes! With almost all expendable weapons like shurikens used up, close combat is highly likely!"
"Ah! I see!?"
Clang!
Almond blocked both attacks with a dagger in his left hand and a long sword in his right.
"Almond is really facing off against two enemies!"
Player thirty-one and BubbleSniper adjusted their sword grips and pressured him further. Almond's eyes swiftly moved left and right.
Clang!
He deflected BubbleSniper's sword to the right.
Clang!
And player thirty-one’s sword to the left.
"He's really putting up a fight after diving into a two versus one sword fight like this!?"
"This isn't some martial arts novel!"
— Really
— His physical prowess is insane
— Wow, it's dizzying just to watch
They weren’t exchanging just simple sword strikes.
Boom!
[Clone Technique]
With player thirty-one using the clone technique, the fight effectively turned into six versus one. Almond also formed the seal for his clone technique.
Boom!
Four Almonds emerged from the white smoke to confront the six adversaries. The duel suddenly turned into a ten person battle, leaving the commentators speechless.
"What, what is this!? I can't follow with my eyes!!!"
Boom!
Bang!
Boom!
One by one, the clones exploded. Interestingly, none of Almond's disappeared, but all of player thirty-one’s clones vanished one after another.
"How!? Only one side's clones are disappearing! I don't know what happened, but Almond is surprisingly dominating both of them!"
"Almond has the advantage in numbers now! His clones are still alive!"
Player thirty-one was bombarded with sword strikes and managed to block once or twice, but he was increasingly being overwhelmed.
Two of Almond’s clones closed in while slashing. Both of them adeptly wielded two swords each, leaving no gaps and their sword strikes never interrupted each other. They seemed to be born for such a coordinated assault and closed in relentlessly.
Finally, a long cut appeared across player thirty-one’s left shoulder.
"Ah! Insane! Almond has inflicted a wound!"
"Almond! Almond is actually overpowering them! Can you believe it!?"
Then, one of Almond's clones struck his neck.
Slash!
[1 → 31]
[Instant Death]
[2/60]
— So intense
— Insane
— 2 against 1 dribble, wow
As if celebrating the kill, BubbleSniper's jutsu flew out.
[Leaf Shuriken]
Whizz!
Falling leaves instantly turned into shurikens and targeted Almond's clones.
Boom! Boom!
All of Almond's clones exploded, but it was too late.
"Ah! BubbleSniper, you're too late! You should have used it earlier!"
"Well... if he had used it earlier, player thirty-one would have died too!"
"Oh, is that the issue? Cooperation isn't easy, huh?"
Then, thirty seconds passed.
[The perimeter will shrink soon.]
BubbleSniper charged at Almond.
Clang!
It seemed like Almond lightly deflected his attack with his sword, but...
"!?"
Bang!
Almond's sword shattered.
"Ah! The durability! Has the durability run out!?"
"Perhaps using the clone technique exhausted it much faster!"
His weapon’s durability ran out, causing it to shatter. The same happened to his other sword.
Boom!
He hastily pulled it out to block, but it immediately broke.
[ShyNapoleon has donated 10,000 won.]
[Die, you demon]
— Really lol
— No way, so sad ????
— Napoleon, lol
'Ah.'
Almond quickly glanced around.
'What to do?'
BubbleSniper opened his mouth and sneered as if he had already won.
"Finally, I'm going to kill you, Almond."
"You know me?"
Almond looked puzzled as if he didn’t recognize BubbleSniper.
"Do you not know who I...?"
BubbleSniper was about to take off his hood.
'I know, BubbleSniper.'
Almond released all his chakra in one burst and rapidly spun.
Boom!
His palm squarely struck BubbleSniper right in the jaw.
"Ugh...!"
Then, Almond held his collar and quickly formed a seal.
"What, what...?"
BubbleSniper frantically tried to push Almond away, but it was too late.
Almond smirked and bade him farewell.
"Chicken-cha!"
Suddenly, Almond delivered the death sentence.
The audience couldn't understand. Why did it end with just one strike to the jaw? What jutsu did he just use?
— ??
— What?
— Why?
— BubbleSniper can't get rid of his attention-seeking habits until the end lol
— Chikencha? lol
— Why chicken lol
The commentators felt equally puzzled and Almond's next action continued to surprise them.
"Almond!? Why are you running into the shrinking encirclement!?"
"Did he give up because he has no weapons!"
Almond ran directly into the danger zone.
Yenmazing's Thoughts
School semester just started for me (fun!)
Here's to all the readers who are going back to school! (we're cooked)