Chapter 252: The International Tournament (12)
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The three shamans slammed their palms, making praying signs. Their voices blended into one, echoing across the entire first floor.
"Echo Domain!"
Upon this call, all totems turned silver. It was as though their skill had given a form to the sound, for each totem reverberated with a silver aura. Each totem also produced a strange sound that Casual Clowns had never heard.
Though there was a connection between them, and the skill was called after a domain, Casual Clowns couldn't see walls or anything else, suggesting they were in a domain.
It was easy to distance from Ogun.
'Echo Domain? Is it what I think it is?' Jake thought. He didn't have time to talk with his teammates as Ogun wasn't stupid enough to give them this chance.
Their tank stepped forward, perching himself before his shamans. Behind him, his friends muttered various skill names, each harmonizing with the strange sound of silver totems.
After this process, the silver waves unrolled toward the tank.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
His presence heightened. His stats have been boosted so much that he appeared bigger in Casual Clown's eyes. He became a mini-boss whose duty was to protect his shamans until his life evaporated.
Jake put up a guard. 'It's what I think it is! Those silver totems and this entire Echo Domain double or triple the shamans' effects! This guy is beyond monster-level! He's—'
"COME AT ME, CLOWNS!" the tank screamed.
His voice bounced off all silver totems before becoming like the roar of a behemoth. It was so loud and powerful that Casual Clowns felt like a wave of ultrasonic sound washed over them.
They were stunned and petrified by this might.
Jake thought, 'Even this tank can use those totems to his advantage?!'
It wasn't a concept Ogun had shown in their Seventh Division Tournament! It was something new that they were forced to reveal so early because of Casual Clowns' strength!
While Jake could somewhat cop out of this scheme, his friends were at the taunt's wish. They kicked the ground and bolted toward the enemy's tank. They were literally flying toward him.
A simple thrust of a sword and a spear landed on the tank's shield.
Shaw and Arthur didn't do much damage to the tank. Worse, their hands momentarily went numb, meaning the enemy's defenses had greatly multiplied!
'We should have killed the tank while we could!'
'It was justified to go for shamans! We couldn't expect him to become such a perfect puppet for them! It wasn't like that in their Seventh Division Tournament!'
A shadow loomed over them.
The tank swung down his blade at Shaw. It cut through his armor and flesh, drawing blood.
Not only did it stun Shaw for a few seconds, but his stamina also dropped severely!
His health points losses were also huge, but not something to be troubled about now!
Arthur stared at the damage. "Jake! I know you have about two minutes left for Odin's Arrow, but you must keep Shaw out of this and ensure this tank hits me! You know how my skill works!"
BANG!
An arrow struck the tank's shield. It was so weak it plummeted straight to the ground.
Jake appeared between the tank and his friends.
He shoved his hand into Shaw and chucked him away from the scene.
"I know," Jake said before teleporting away.
Stranded, Arthur raised his eyes at the tank. The man glared at him. His sword was already in motion, falling onto him like a boulder! The scene would have been beyond horrific had it not been the game world. Fortunately, Arthur's high stats meant he only received high health points and stamina losses.
Ajed Black and his shamans cast their offensive magic at Arthur as well.
Red aura echoed across their silver domain, blending with the steel color. The combination of those two looked exquisite and perfect. Once the waves of this offensive magic connected with Arthur's skin, his body lit up in flames, and an explosion akin to a few C4s planted on him resounded across the first floor.
It went without saying that Arthur was now blanketed by black smoke.
Ajed Black gazed ahead. "We know what you're plotting, SWalker. Just like on the desert island, you will perform the last attack on us. The scene seems similar to that, doesn't it? It was two mages and a healer. It's now three shamans that you're aiming to take down or expose to Archer.
"If you are strong enough to hurt us through our tank's shield, I'll commend you."
Before the black mist subsided, Arthur made the first move.
He hopped off to the side and slid on the floor before picking up a pace and bolting toward the side! He was encased in his newest evolution of The Enemy—Blood Skin. It draped him from head to toe, and his seemingly white and emotionless mask was now crimson, with black lips curved up to laugh at the entire world.
Despite wearing something like heavy armor, Arthur was faster than a horse!
"He's… he's heading toward your statue!" Ajed Black screamed, losing his composure for the first time. He joined his hands, and so did his other shaman friends.
Meanwhile, the tank shouted, "COME BACK!"
His taunt glanced off the totems. It converged into a howl of a vast beast, yet SWalker treated it like a breeze!
The second obstacle protruded from the ground before him.
It was a green, defensive barrier meant to confine him in a single place.
SWalker, however, tore through it with his blade. It was like a butter to him.
"CASUAL CLOWNS AREN'T JUST JOKER! EACH OF US HOLDS NUMEROUS CARDS!" Arthur shouted as he took a thrusting pose during his run. He barreled into the statue and sank his sword into its leg. His power caused cracks to climb up from the leg toward the head.
From those cracks, a bright crimson light flared up!
Shifting his grip and putting his second hand onto his dominant hand, SWalker grabbed the blade as hard as he could. He exerted all his muscles to swing it upward.
"ASTA… MANA… SWORD!"
A red laser sliced the statue into pieces.
Staring at this scene from afar, Ogun's tank couldn't believe his eyes. Experience new tales on m v|l e'm,p| y- r
When his vision blurred and his connection with the gaming world was cut, a heavy realization struck his heart.
He died.
The capsule's lid opened on its own, revealing the real world to him. He could see the entire theater and people at the scene gazing at the massive screen with bated breath.
Ajed Black's voice resounded from the speakers. "Should we call you… A Jester?"
"Do as you please," SWalker replied.
The crowd burst out with an additional surge of excitement.
"JESTER! JESTER! JESTER!"
"It suits him!"
"Yeah!"
"Look, the tank woke up!"
Everyone's eyes momentarily fell on the tank's confused and shocked face. They stared at him as though he were a toy on the store's shelf.
A few of them told him he did well. A few laughed at him. A few pitied him… and some even cursed him for not giving them enough entertainment.
The reactions varied, but those didn't matter to him at all.
He lost.
Only that mattered.
Chewing on his lips, the tank slipped out of the scene, with his head hanging low.