Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Blockhead, come up here quickly!” The beautiful magical girl hissed and threw a look at the black-armored knight.
“Hey! Lin Mo! Snap out of it and get on stage!” The professional makeup artist Chen Ying saw how he was rooted there like a brick wall and pushed him from behind desperately. However, that three to four hundred pound Dark Steel Mystic Armor plus the weight of a man was not something a weak woman could move.
“S-so many people!” The overwhelming crowd below the stage scared the black-armored knight. Since when had he been watched by such a massive crowd?
The crowd was like waves with edges that he could not see and seemed as though it could wash over him at any time.
The emcee realized that something was wrong and adapted immediately by saying enthusiastically into the microphone, “Please welcome the Master Knight of the God of War Group onto the stage!”
Master Knight!
The familiar word in the emcee’s speech jolted the black-armored knight to his senses. He felt someone pushing him hard, so he took a few steps involuntarily onto the stage.
“I’d like to ask our Master Knight, where is your mount?!” The emcee did not even forget to ridicule the newly-arrived warrior. Of course, it was impossible to bring horses onto the stage, or else it would be too crazy.
The black-armored knight ignored the emcee and brushed past him.
Cling clang cling clang. The nearly one-inch-thick tempered glass stage groaned under his weight, but it was all covered up by the background music. The only person who could hear it clearly was the emcee on stage. He was shocked speechless. The designers of the stage would not have thought that someone would actually wear such heavy armor on their stage.
Bang bang bang bang!
A row of four sparkler machines sprayed in front of the stage, driving the atmosphere again.
The black-armored knight seemed to be taken aback by these sparkler machines. He quickly backed a few steps away and looked around his surroundings carefully. Everything around him made him feel strange and uneasy, full of things that he had never seen before. This crystal platform could actually withstand the weight of so many people. And those lights, what were they? There were so many colors, swaying, dazzling, and hurting his eyes. He was at a loss, and his movements became even more confused.
The audience under the stage watched the mighty black-armored knight panic as though he had never seen the world before and reach out to block the strong beam from the spotlight.
“Boy, I invested heavily in this. We even used cold smoke in advance, so please don’t stumble at this critical time!” The emcee was secretly breaking out in cold sweat. To have something go wrong on stage would be akin to losing his face, not the organizer’s. He relied on such events for a living and secretly signaled to the staff below the stage to ignite the cold smoke.
“What’s wrong with Lin Mo? Is he still experiencing stage fright for these events even after we’ve participated dozens of times?” The tauren Ding Tuo heaved a sigh of relief. “Hurry and follow the script. No more mistakes!”
Their group had participated in cosplay competitions of all sizes and were also often invited to participate in some commercial activities for some extra cash. Their props and makeup cost quite a large sum. The tauren shook the double-edged battle-ax in his hand and charged forward with a synthesized tauren warcry prepared in advance.
On the other side of the stage, the blue-robed magical girl chanted an incomprehensible spell. She waved her hand and threw out a very tiny fireball. It was not real but a special effect prop. It might look ordinary, but it had taken the brains of everyone in the God of War Group to brainstorm and come up with it, inventing it at a great cost.
Laymen watched the commotion while experts looked at methods. The other cosplay groups were not as refined. Envy, jealousy, and loathing appeared on the faces of the other groups backstage.
The judges were amazed. The cosplayers this time were of an unprecedented level. Black fog, musket launches, and small fireball might be inconspicuous, but they were special props conceived and realized with ingenuity.
Is this an arena?! The knight recalled a scene he saw previously as the tauren sprinted toward him with its ax while the crowd screamed excitedly. Coliseum?! His nerves tensed up immediately.
Damn! This is a trap.
Squeak! The steel boots produced friction as it rubbed against the surface of the tempered glass stage, making a slight screech. He reached for the huge sword behind him. In his memory, he could not let down his guard no matter who the opponent was. Every martial arts teacher taught this in the training camp. Too many great men were killed by being off guard. Even when dealing with a rabbit, he had to use all his might.
“Ha! Lin Mo! You’re finally following the script!” The tauren Ding Tuo showed his domineering imposing manner, just like how they practiced countless times.
The tauren kicked the stage with his bare, thick thighs and then roared as he leaped high up into the air with his double-edged battle-ax heading for the black-armored knight. Professional cosplayers tried to imitate such an imposing manner as close to reality as possible, and it was also rather physically demanding. The judges would not be satisfied with just a few pretty poses.
Clang! The lights on the stage eclipsed collectively like the cold crescent moon in that instant. The black-armored knight popped out the huge sword from the scabbard behind him, and a dazzling radiance from the sword faced the approaching tauren. Dragon Knights were responsible for handling the more powerful characters. They possessed top-notch strategic combat power focusing on maximum lethality, and they were far more ferocious than ordinary knights.
The knights realized something was wrong halfway through the swing of the heavy human-sized sword weighing two hundred pounds. The other party might have the imposing manner, but he lacked the murderous intent. It was not the best distance to attack from, and his power and speed were only on the surface. It seemed like he could easily resolve the other party’s offensive by merely taking one or two steps forward or backward.
Since when did the straightforward taurens begin to play tactics? Aren’t they a muscle-brained race that only uses brute force?
The black-armored knight’s brain seemed to be experiencing a flash of light as countless thoughts ran through his mind. His wrist shook, and the sword beam slashing vertically immediately decelerated into a horizontal shot. He stepped back as well.
Woo! A sharp roar immediately broke out on the stage. A wave of air turned the momentum of the tauren into nothing. The ax did not even have the time to come down before its head was broken by the dissipated sword beam.
The tauren widened his bell-like eyes as he was knocked back by this invisible airwave. He gave a strange cry and flew off stage with the evil mage, breaking the props on stage, leaving the dwarf with his musket completely frightened with wobbly legs.
Qian Jie, the cosplayer playing the dwarf, was shivering in his heart. “T-the script isn’t written like this. Shouldn’t we fight three or four rounds first?”
Huhu! The huge sword danced, its blade so sharp that looking at it directly was difficult. The black-armored knight dragged his sword behind him, exploding its entire potential energy. The tip of the blade scratched the tempered glass surface, making harsh screeching sounds. An icy cold aura spread. Most of the people had never experienced such terrible murderous intent, and they only felt as though their hearts were frozen and their legs were soft, giving rise to the desire to turn around and flee.
The vocal cords of the people on the scene seemed to pause. It was dead silent below the stage except for the background music still playing. It seemed as though all sounds were cut off the moment the scorching sword beam exploded. The only exception was the strange screams of the evil mage, who was being crushed by fainted tauren, Ding Tuo. This was too much.
“Who are these people?” The black-armored knight dragged the huge sword that could double as a shield and went into a standard defensive stance, raising his vigilance. If he had not lightened his attack, the tauren might have been cut in half. The dragons themselves did not dare to underestimate the might of the Dragon Slaying Sword, much less a tauren that only appeared strong on the surface. He could not even withstand this bit of dissipated sword wind.
Mastery of their own strength was a compulsory course for every high-level knight. This was what saved the tauren’s life. The dwarf was the only one remaining. The clattering of his teeth was clearly audible, and he could not even steadily hold the prop gun in his hand. The strong wind that bit his face just now almost drew his soul out.
The tauren’s fragile double-edged ax had raised suspicion in the black-armored knight’s heart. What an inferior weapon. It was light and flimsy and didn’t appear to be made of metal. He wouldn’t be able to hurt me even if I was naked. Is this still a tauren?!
Hua!~~~~
It was as though a huge downpour rang out loudly as countless raindrops hit the ground. The audience was thrilled. The black-armored knight never thought that so many people could make such a loud noise at the same time after a long period of silence.