Chapter 214: First round 4

The audience was already growing restless... and he had no intention of letting the first round become that dull.

With no better option left, he decided to make things interesting himself.

His gaze swept across the remaining contestants. After a brief assessment, he confirmed that every single one of them was below level 1600. Among them, he quickly identified the strongest twenty.

Those twenty would be allowed to advance.

The rest... would be eliminated.

If too many weaker contestants somehow managed to crawl into the next round, the quality of the tournament would only decline.

Nova would have preferred to be placed on one of the other platforms — the ones that actually contained the true powerhouses — but there was nothing he could do about that now.

He sighed once more. Then, without another word, he began walking forward.

"Look! One of them is moving!"

"Let’s see what he’s going to do..."

The audience began murmuring as attention shifted toward Platform 4. Even Maria leaned forward slightly, curious about what Nova intended.

Nova walked calmly to the center of the platform and spoke in a clear, casual voice.

"You... you... and you."

He pointed toward nineteen of the strongest contestants one after another.

Those nineteen looked confused. All of them had already secured more than enough kills to pass the round. Nova, on the other hand, still had zero.

"I’ve decided to let you nineteen advance," Nova continued lightly. "If you don’t want to die by my hands, stay away from the center. You already know what will happen otherwise."

Before they could reply, he turned toward the remaining contestants and smiled politely.

"As for the rest of you... why don’t we play a little game? There’s still one last spot among the twenty. Let’s decide who gets it."

The platform immediately erupted.

"Who the hell do you think you are, bastard?!"

"Why should we listen to you?!"

"You think you’re hot shit just because you’re a little handsome? Fuck you!"

Curses poured toward him from all directions. Nova simply kept smiling politely, which only made the audience murmur louder.

"Is that guy crazy or something?"

"Why would he do something like that?"

"He’s basically asking to be eliminated..."

High above, Leonis, who was still standing near Vaorak, muttered, "I think that boy has given up and simply wants someone to kill him."

Vaorak, however, kept his eyes fixed on Nova and spoke with mild interest.

"Far from it. The nineteen he selected truly are the strongest among them — including himself. As a Sovereign, I can sense that clearly... yet this boy was able to discern it as well. He is not someone to be taken lightly."

The others nearby also grew more curious about what he would do next. Seeing that words alone wouldn’t be enough, Nova’s polite smile finally faded.

In the next instant, his figure vanished.

A second later, fifty heads dropped almost simultaneously.

And in the blink of an eye, Nova was standing calmly in the center of the platform once again.

The realization hit like a wave.

Everyone on the platform stared at him in pure horror, as if they were looking at a monster.

In less than two second, he had eliminated fifty people — and he had deliberately chosen the ones who had been cursing him the loudest.

Even the audience fell into stunned silence. Those who had just called him crazy now felt like complete idiots.

How had he moved that fast? No one had even been able to track him.

In truth, Nova had only used a fraction of his speed, carefully matching the level of an ordinary King Realm warrior without activating any movement skill.

"That speed and precision..." Lyra muttered, her eyes narrowing with genuine interest. "He’s the strongest I’ve seen so far."

Even Aurora found herself watching him more closely. Vaorak burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha! Now that’s what I call a true talent!!"

In the VIP section, Velena and Nyxara both looked visibly excited. Edward smiled with quiet pride, while Jenna — though also smiling — couldn’t hide her surprise. This was the first time she had seen this side of her son.

Nova’s polite smile returned as he spoke again.

"You nineteen... do you still want those spots? I can always replace you with these people instead."

The moment the words left his mouth, the nineteen strongest contestants immediately moved away from the center. They were not fools.

Anyone capable of eliminating fifty people within seconds second was not someone they wanted to challenge.

Nova then turned back toward the remaining contestants. A little over a hundred were still standing.

"The game is simple," he said calmly. "I want you to kill each other until only fifty of you remain. Those fifty strongest will then fight me together."

He raised the sword in his hand slightly.

"If you refuse... I’ll kill all of you right now with this peak king realm sword. But once only fifty of you are left, you can fight me — and I won’t use any weapon. It’s a fair trade.

With peak king realm weapons in my hand, none of you stand a chance against me. Without one... your odds improve."

His smile widened slightly.

"And if any of you think you can kill me right now while I’m still holding this sword... you’re welcome to try. I’ll simply eliminate all of you in a few seconds."

Ofocuse, many of them also possessed Peak King Realm weapons, but they were still afraid of Nova, who wielded a sword of the same level.

The contestants exchanged glances.

As much as they hated to admit it, he was right. Someone who could erase fifty people in an instant was far beyond them.

But if he discarded his weapon and allowed fifty of them to attack from every direction at once... then the situation might change.

Many of them also told themselves that earlier they had simply been caught off guard. Now that they were prepared, things would be different.

Nova watched their expressions shift and felt a faint sense of amusement.

{Hehehe... this is new. Are you becoming a sadist or something?}

Nah. I was just getting bored. I didn’t plan on attracting attention... but since I was already bored, and I have ways to keep my family safe now, I might as well show off a little.

{That’s true...}

"Have you decided?" Nova called out.

One of the contestants hesitantly spoke up.

"W-What if we accidentally kill more than fifty?" Nova glanced at him and replied lightly,

"Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen."

Then his voice suddenly sharpened.

"NOW START!!"

Chaos erupted.

The platform instantly turned into a slaughterhouse. Contestants who had been standing still moments ago now lunged at one another without hesitation.

Swords flashed. Spears thrust forward. Different types of skills, Some aimed for the neck, cleanly removing heads in a single swing. Others drove blades straight through chests or abdomens.

Limbs were severed mid-attack as people desperately tried to defend themselves while striking at the nearest opponent.

Screams of pain filled the air.

Even though the formations prevented actual death, the agony was completely real. Some collapsed after losing an arm, only to be finished off moments later.

Others fought with wild desperation, eyes bloodshot as they cut down anyone who came too close.

It was a brutal, chaotic free-for-all.

From the stands, the audience watched in stunned silence at first. Even knowing no one would truly die, the scene was still cruel to witness. Painful screams continued to rise from the platform.

By now, the other platforms had already finished their battles. Contestants and spectators alike turned their attention toward Platform 4, staring at the madness unfolding there as if trying to understand what could have caused such a sudden bloodbath.

"I think that black-haired guy is a psycho..."

"True... I’ve heard handsome guys are often psychos."

"Look at him. He’s not even the slightest bit affected after causing all of that."

"What are you bastards complaining about? It’s finally getting interesting. Weren’t you all cursing earlier when no one was moving?"

"Yeah... we should actually thank him. He just accelerated what was already going to happen."

The audience was divided. Some called Nova cruel, while others praised him for forcing the battle to move forward — after all, they had paid for tickets to see real action.

**

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