Translator: SumTLMan
The audience was awash in astonishment and confusion.
“What just happened? Why did the Sea Troll suddenly halt its attack?”
“Did the officials of Infinite Battle Tower intervene? Or, could it be that the match is over?”
However, upon glancing at the screen, there wasn’t any indication that the match had concluded. This implied that the competition was still ongoing. So, why did the Sea Troll abruptly stop in its tracks?
With no answers at hand, the spectators could only fixate their gaze on the arena, awaiting the outcome of this unexpected turn of events.
Within the Sea of Frenzied Trolls——
Trom stood frozen, intently focusing on a trident not too far away. Even though it was a significant distance from him, the cold, metallic sheen of the trident radiated an icy, bone-piercing pressure that sent chills down one’s spine, causing hearts to race.
After a brief moment of bewilderment, Trom sprang into action.
While he was curious about the reason behind the Troll’s sudden halt, now was not the time to seek answers. Escaping the watery bubble was of utmost priority.
Trom began to target the weakest points of the bubble.
Two seconds later, the bubble burst with an audible pop.
Trom heaved a sigh of relief, thinking it best to evacuate the area first, regardless of whatever had transpired with the Sea Troll.
However, just as Trom was about to retreat, a loud “BOOM” resonated from behind. Instinctively turning around to identify the source, his eyes widened in shock upon witnessing the scene before him.
Now, Trom finally understood why the Sea Troll had halted. It wasn’t out of any moral epiphany on the Troll’s part, but due to an external intervention.
In the vast expanse before him, the gargantuan Sea Troll’s right arm, starting from the elbow joint, had snapped with an audible crack.
That resonating “boom” just moments ago was not the Sea Troll’s intent to strike at Trom; it was the sound of its severed right hand splashing into the ocean depths.
The trident had been tightly gripped in the Sea Troll’s right hand.
It was precisely because its right hand was severed that the trident ended up hovering before Trom’s eyes.
Trom had entertained various speculations, but he never imagined the reality to be such. Upon unveiling the truth, another enigma loomed: why did the Sea Troll’s right hand suddenly break?
Could there be an unseen peril lurking in this arena?
On reflection, Trom dismissed that notion. The previous debacle in the Purification Garden had already tarnished the reputation of Sky Mechanical City. Organizing the Novastar Competition this time around was their bid at mending that tarnished image; surely they wouldn’t sabotage their own event.
If it wasn’t due to the arena itself, then an external force must be at play.
The only plausible external factor was the ongoing battle between Trom and Onassis here. Trom himself was ensnared, neither having the opportunity nor the strength to sever the Sea Troll’s arm. That left only one variable unaccounted for——
As Trom connected the dots, a familiar whisper drifted into his ears, “In every inconsequential darkness, lies hidden within the shadows of light. Even the most admirable character is highlighted by its contrasting flaws. Only by indulging in the depths of darkness and depravity can one truly savor the beauty of the light.”
It seemed Trom had an epiphany. He lifted his gaze, searching for the origin of the voice.
There, perched on the Sea Troll’s shoulder, was a humanoid silhouette shrouded in darkness. Almost his entire figure was enshrouded in a mysterious dark fog, except for his eyes… which glowed a fierce, blood-red.
Although the silhouette of the figure was indistinct, Trom recognized it immediately. It was none other than Onassis, who had previously been dragged into the depths of the sea by the whirpool!
Could it be, as he had surmised, that it was Onassis who severed the hand of the Sea Troll to save him?
But did Onassis truly possess the power to sever the arm of such a colossal sea creature?
Even Trom, with his unique lineage, couldn’t achieve such a feat. What was Onassis relying on?
Trom’s thoughts were in turmoil, torn between gratitude, skepticism, and self-doubt.
As Trom stood there, dumbfounded, the Sea Troll, now missing a hand, let out an enraged roar, causing waves to churn and ripple through the sea.
If someone were familiar with the behavioral expressions of trolls and interpreted the creature’s roar using a “linguistic understanding,” they would deduce that the troll was furiously bellowing, “Wretched vermin, you shall perish!”
With its hand severed, the fury of the Sea Troll had reached its zenith. It no longer focused its aggression on Trom but shifted its target to Onassis, perched on its shoulder.
Harnessing boundless water elemental energy, it launched an assault on Onassis.
Yet Onassis, seemingly unfazed, continued to mutter the same words under his breath. As the watery onslaught neared him, he whispered one final time, “Drown in the shadow of darkness…”
As the last syllable left his lips, Onassis’s Crimson Eyes flashed with a mad, frenetic light.
“Embrace… the beauty…” Onassis’s voice became ethereal as his figure vanished into thin air.
When the crowd once again pinpointed his location, they found that Onassis had already reached the left shoulder of the Sea Troll. Simultaneously, the Sea Troll’s right arm, from the elbow to the shoulder, had snapped off and fallen.
Witnessing this spectacle, whether it was Trom or the audience outside, a realization dawned upon them: was it indeed Onassis who severed the Sea Troll’s arm?
But how did he manage that feat? Onassis moved so swiftly that the majority of the spectators failed to discern how he accomplished it.
As the Sea Troll’s right arm broke off from its shoulder, it let out agonized screams, while simultaneously launching another assault on Onassis.
Yet again, Onassis, with his unhurried demeanor, murmured softly, and vanished before the Sea Troll’s attack could land.
With the emergence of his glowing crimson eyes, the crowd noticed Onassis hovering right in front of the Sea Troll.
A splashing sound echoed, and the Sea Troll’s left arm also plummeted.
Shock and puzzlement flashed in Trom’s eyes: awe for Onassis’s formidable combat power and confusion, as he, too, failed to ascertain just how Onassis managed to sever the Sea Troll’s limbs.
After losing both its arms, the Sea Troll seemed noticeably frightened. Though it continued its cries, they became much fainter, and its gaze upon Onassis was tinged with trepidation.
The Sea Troll refrained from further assaults, but now, it was Onassis’s turn to launch an attack.
Onassis slowly lifted his head; his form still enshrouded in a dark mist, obscuring specific details. However, those radiant crimson eyes were etched in the minds of everyone present, including the Sea Troll!
An eerie chuckle emanated from Onassis’s lips.
Then, in the next moment, Onassis’s silhouette vanished once more.
Trom was at a loss, only able to hear the incessant laughter. It began as a low rumble, but the laughter gradually grew more and more unhinged. At times, it was like the tender whispers of a lover by one’s ear, while at other moments, it was as if a madman was lamenting to the world, sounding near and then far, shifting up and then down.
This eerie laughter sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it, even the spectators outside.
When the laughter finally ceased, the figure of Onassis appeared once more. He floated above the head of the Sea Troll, his head slightly tilted, and madness gleamed in his crimson eyes.
It was pure, unadulterated madness.
From the beginning, his gaze had been undiluted. Even now, he looked like the very essence of a mad demon.
Initially, everyone’s attention was riveted on Onassis. But in the next second, everyone’s gaze shifted to the Sea Troll.
That’s because red lines suddenly appeared all over the Sea Troll’s body. With the appearance of every line, copious amounts of blood would burst forth.
As these red lines continued to spread, the Sea Troll’s body became misaligned.
Its skull slid halfway to its shoulder, the shoulder itself appeared sliced into several pieces, countless cuts crisscrossed its chest, revealing jagged cracks…
Following a thunderous explosion, the Sea Troll was reduced to countless chunks of flesh, which then fell into the sea.
All present were stunned by the scene before them. In the mere span of that haunting laughter, Onassis had managed to——
Dismember the entire Sea Troll.
Amidst the rain of blood and mangled flesh, Onassis slowly lifted his head, his gaze settling on Trom in the distance, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
It was as though he was saying: “Your turn.”
In that instant, Trom felt as if he was being targeted by the terrifying bishop of the Demon Monastery.
A chilling sensation enveloped his entire back.
Swallowing subconsciously, Trom tried his utmost to keep his voice from quivering, uttering, “I… concede.”