-God damn it... I don’t even know where such a shitty region is placed, but I thought they would at least take the Great Raid Campaign Qualifications seriously.-
-Ahhh... don’t tell me my Glorious King is going to commentate on a flop... I swear, if he somehow made it entertaining, he shall be reinstated immediately to Blue Tail privileges!-
-Well, they were daring enough to challenge a Shadow Nest on their first raid... they might be more than they seem... I know I am being delusional, but I ain’t having nothing ruin this one-time experience.-
-Wait... why is their captain wearing a black bandana over his eyes? Are his eyes so special that they need to be sealed?-
With over a hundred million viewers... the majority were outsiders, who had no clue about Earth or its regions.
Their source of information was mostly exclusive to the details about the teams, which weren’t a lot in the first place. But they did know one thing... Daywalkers weren’t supposed to be blind.
Thus, when everyone noticed Levi’s black cloth, no one was foolish enough to assume a disability... especially when he didn’t show any signs of being blind. Instead, they believed that he was using his black cloth to weaken his eyes’ potency... It wasn’t a strange occurrence, as many had done it before.
Seeing that Heliodor’s Raiders didn’t attract as much love as he had anticipated, Gamemaster Sparks swiftly gave up on them being a crowd favorite and hyped up the Drowned Court.
"And in the otha’ corner... slidin’ in drippin’ cold from the Duskbound Order! We got the mean, the lean, the soul-snatchin’ fiends, who won’t hesitate to drag it down to the deep blue just for a lil’ sip! Make some noise for... The Drowned Court Conquerors!"
The blue dome collapsed, showing Syc’closs and his teammates waiting in a line at the beach of the island... their expressions cold and murderous, making everyone pick up on their serious aura.
They meant business, and that’s what the viewers loved to see... most of them cheering for them right away, especially the nightcrawlers.
"Alright, alright, listen up, you beautiful bloodthirsty beasts! The stage is set, the stakes are high, and the scent of glory is so thick, I can sniff it like a line!" Gamemaster Sparks lifted his cane into the air and shouted, "Once that firework pops, two slick bridges gonna slide out from those beaches, linkin’ the islands to the heart of the stage! You can chill and wait... or hustle your way across with whatever tricks you got... don’t matter to me, that’s your problem!"
Hearing this, Levi and the others stopped messing around and went to the beach, their expressions steeled... only Jasmine was left behind near the altar.
"Ten!"
Gamemaster Sparks raised his jeweled cane high... The audience rumbled back, their voices harmonizing at once.
"Nine! Eight! Seven!"
Gamemaster Sparks grinned, gold tooth flashing under the lights... With a flick of his wrist, he launched a firework into the sky from his cane!
"Three!"
The rocket screeched under the crimson sky, and as the crowd chanted, "Two! One!"
BOOM!
A torrent of scarlet sparks bloomed across the heavens in the shape of Zero, which simultaneously erupted from millions of throats at once!
"Squabble!"
Syc’closs and his teammates immediately dove into the sea while extending their arms behind their backs, waiting for no bridge!
Whoosh!..
Forceful water jets screamed from their palms, propelling them with insane speed akin to speedboats in the direction of the central island.
At least three kilometers separated the islands, which was quite a decent distance, considering that the Rifters needed to go back and forth between the islands to store the Blood Rites.
’Kraev’Morr, Druv’Shaar, Orr’Vekth ... go terrorize them, but don’t commit too hard... we don’t have much on their powers.’ Syc’closs ordered coldly from under the water.
’With pleasure.’
Druv’Shaar and the other two swiftly split up from the team, planning to go around the central island and catch Heliodor’s Raiders around the blood-like waters.
Meanwhile, Levi and the others still hadn’t made their move, awaiting the bridge to be completed...
The scene was like two sister islands reaching out to hold hands, as the bridges stretched from their black sandy shores.
While Levi seemed to be staring at the bridge getting closer to the island, in reality, his echolocation was fully active.
It showed him the exact movements of every member of the Drowned Court... the three fast-approaching nightcrawlers and the other three, who had already arrived at the central island and begun their search for the first Blood Rites spawned.
The Blood Rites’ locations weren’t provided, but if one got too near, they would start hearing ancient mystic whispers... the closer they got, the louder they became.
’The plan stays the same... let’s go, they are about to arrive.’ Levi communicated dimensionally.
’Say less!’
Arthur, Shia, Nurah, and Jojo summoned their weapons and swiftly sprinted on the bridge that was about to be completed... Arthur was in the lead while the three girls backed him up from the sides.
Levi remained on the beach, standing with his arms crossed on his chest... his echolocation was keeping close track of every member of the Drowned Court and his allies.
’As anticipated... their strategy is to collect the first spawned Blood Rites while sending some members to stop our attempts at setting foot on the island.’
Levi’s mind was working through all the possibilities before committing to his plan... so far, everything was going on as predicted.
Over the past fifteen days, Levi had conducted extensive research on the Drowned Court and its members... from their powers, fighting style, their teamwork, and such.
Then, he formed strategies and trained with his teammates on them to ensure that their teamwork went smoothly.
It was finally time to show the world, no, the universe, the fruits of their labor.
Meanwhile, Kraev’Morr and his backers were a mere fifty meters away from the bridge... Arthur, Jojo, Nurah, and Shia were appearing on their radars through their heightened senses to any water source.
Since human bodies were 70% water, those four showed as humanoid liquid rippling forms sprinting on the bridge.
’I am going to murder them all... especially that foul-mouthed bitch!’
Once Kraev’Morr noticed Jojo’s form... his PTSD of their last meeting kicked in, recalling every nasty insult and curse thrown at him.
He was preparing, waiting patiently for this very day, and now... it was time to feast!
’Flood them!’ Kraev’Morr shouted.
The three nightcrawlers split up on both sides of the bridge and then activated their primary abilities... whatever that could produce a massive tsunami!
One summoned an elemental water Leviathan in the shape of an electric eel, its gigantic body bursting through the sea and smashing its tail on it!
One created a colossal underwater vortex that spun violently, then collapsed upward, throwing displaced water into a towering wave!
As for Kraev’Morr? He manifested a gigantic hammer and jumped into the sky with a furious expression, smashing it on the surface near the bridge!
Rumble!!
With all three abilities combined, two towering crimson tsunamis rushed from both sides of the bridge, threatening to devour it and Heliodor’s Raiders on it.
"Heavens Breaker Arts: The Last Bulwark!"
Seeing this sight, Arthur struck his shield on the ground and manifested a sealed fortress around him and the girls.
Kaboom!!
The tsunamis landed on the vermillion fortress and swallowed it whole, leaving the viewers with no sight of it anymore or the bridge... But the sea was an uncontrollable vixen, and although Kraev’Morr was a Tier 4 nightcrawler, he wasn’t blessed with the right to command her.
Only Trueborn Aquatic races or high-tiered nightcrawlers had high Solarity Access to manipulate nature externally, like Sandwitch.
The rest of the nightcrawlers were limited to their own mastered abilities, which utilized solar energy as fuel.
The tsunamis retracted as swiftly as they had arrived, leaving the bridge to spill with water akin to bloody waterfalls.
"Will ya look at that! The fortress held strong! Not a single crack on its surface!" Gamemaster Sparks’ eyes scanned the fortress.
A split second later, a flicker of astonishment took over after realizing that the vermillion material was actually Orry’s Gemheart!
’Will I be damned... that boy is contracted to a nightcrawler with bloodline relation to the extinct Orry’n royal family?’ He thought... his accent was exclusive to showmanship.
Before he could bring out such knowledge to the public, the battlezone had a new development.
When Kraev’Morr and his partners saw that their tsunamis did nothing to the fortress, they changed their plan.
’Bring down the entire bridge, and let them choose to suffocate inside or underwater!’ Kraev’Morr ordered hatefully; his shark-like eyes were redder than the water he was in.
No hesitation, all three went to the bridge’s pillars connecting the central side, where Arthur and the others were staying on... then, they extended their fingers or claws and used an ability that condensed immense hydraulic pressure into a razor-thin, hyper-compressed surge of water.
It was like a knife made out of water, but sharp enough it could slice through stone, steel, or bridge pillars by exploiting micro-fractures and blasting them apart from within!
With the bridges being made out of hardened sand, everyone could tell that Shia and her teammates had a limited time to leave the fortress.
’Levi should warn them, quickly!’ Velmira bit her nails, watching the game with her buddies from the Blood Hunters’ main squad, ’I know he can see what they are doing with his insane spiritual vision.’
Her idea was good, but Levi had a better one.
’Look alive, here they come...’
’Aethric Grasp...’
Levi extended three fingers and, with a soft flick, Kraev’Morr and the other two nightcrawlers were suddenly yanked from the depths of the sea, snatched against their will just before their razor-sharp water knives could touch the pillars!
Splash! Splash! Splash!...
Their bodies pierced the surface and were thrown into the sky uncontrollably above the bridge, leaving them stunned and a bit mortified, resembling three misbehaving children caught in the act.
-...-
-...-
-...-
Even the viewers found the words suddenly stuck in their throats... most of them were just about to cheer for them to collapse the bridge before those three’s asses were in full display on TV.