Child of Destiny

...…

The battlefield that the Empyrean Talons had chosen was a 'regular' gladiator's arena with a much larger size. This battle arena was comparable to ten football fields in the real world.

There were some props scattered around the area to make it a little complicated just like some stone pillars, broken walls, huge boulders, and collapsed buildings that made the place somewhat complicated.

But despite all the props, this place was still not as complicated as most of the teams used for their home advantage. It was just a basic ruined place that the players could access in the battle arenas, making it easier to memorize.

Given this, it was clear that the Empyrean Talons were planning to have a head-on battle against the Hien Workshop from the very beginning.

Fully understanding the Empyrean Talons' intentions, the live audience and online viewers could not help but feel more excited as they knew that there would be a frontal confrontation right at the beginning of the match.

"Hooo!"

"Whoo!"

"Let's go!"

…

As everyone was in an uproar, both sides quickly made their move right after the start of the battle.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

They immediately went into a formation and charged straight to he center of the battlefield, not wasting too much time for strategic planning.

It did not take that long before the two sides could spot one another from a distance, as both were charging straight to the center of the battle arena.

The first to spot the opposing sides were naturally the marksmen of each team, who were using their respective means to scout their opponents.

The Spirit Hawk in the sky was looking at the incoming members of the Empyrean Talons while a bunch of shadow bats scattered in every corner of the battlefield, watching every move of the opposing team.

Cielo was the first to make a greeting.

Nocking a Mana-Enchanted Arrow on the string of this bow, he aimed upwards, planning to send an arcing shot toward the incoming rivals in the distance.

Jade Light surrounded his arms, the arrow, and the bow. It then turned into a blazing energy that violently danced along the wind.

Twang!

Right after releasing the arrow, it flew straight in the air and headed toward the opposite side, drawing a beautiful arc in the air before transforming into an energy beam that was charging straight to the ranks of the Empyrean Talons.

'Heavenly Archery: First Arrow – Wrath of Nature'

Shriek!

The beam of light turned into a giant bird made of pure wind elemental mana. It strongly descended from the sky and sharply dived toward members of the Empyrean Talons.

Boom!

But before it could even reach a hundred meters from the group, a powerful shot could be heard from the opposite direction.

Alucard, who was lying on his stomach on top of a somewhat intact building in the distance, pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle and fired a shot that carried a huge amount of blood energy.

The crimson bullet flew straight to the giant bird, leaving a sanguine trail in the air.

'Sanguine Inheritance: (Application) Gunfighting – Blood Shadow'

Boom!

The powerful shot accurately hit the head of the giant eagle before proceeding to pierce through the rest of its body.

This shot had scattered the violent wind energy that the giant bird carried, making it dissipate in the air.

Bang! Bang!

Swoosh! Swoosh!

It was at this moment that Leonard and Owen charged straight to their opponents, transforming into a series of blurs while moving forward.

Meanwhile, Shin and Diablo suddenly disappeared under stealth. They used the ruined structures of the surroundings to further hide their tracks and avoid being marked by the opposing side.

Alice, on the other hand, floated in the air while casting a series of spells that formed an array of magic circles around her.

With a wave of her hand, fierce elemental dragons appeared and danced around her, creating a stunning sight.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The five elemental dragons then opened their mouths wide before charging at he incoming rivals from the opposing side.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

They had covered the tracks of Leonard and Owen, who were only slightly behind and using the dragons as a form of cover to hide their figures.

Bang!

'Grinding King' Heavenly Shield was the first to break free from the formation on his side, raising his towering shield before slamming it on the ground immediately after.

Boom!

Stacking a series of skills one after another, he summoned a towering wall of energy that erected a fortress-like defense.

'Class Fighting Style: Great Wall of Heavens'

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wall was immediately bombarded by the attacks of the elemental dragons, making it shake violently. But despite all the elemental storms that the dragons had created, the sturdy wall remained intact and stood strong to withstand everything.

Swoosh!

It was at that moment when Owen, who was covering his entire body with his unique mana manipulation technique – the Divine Avatar Form, charged through the elemental storm and rammed his shield at the tower wall of the opposing side.

Boom!

The collision created a strong shockwave that forced both sides to retreat alongside the huge negative numbers appearing over their heads, which signified the damage from the clash.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Warm lights immediately shone on the bodies of the two knights, restoring their respective health bars to full.

With a slight pause, Owen and Heavenly Shield stomped their foot on the ground to launch themselves at one another and initiated a series of intense clashes against one another.

They even used their respective unique combat techniques to further enhance their powers.

'Class Fighting Style: Divine Combo'

'Class Fighting Style: Heavenly Destruction'

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the two were clashing against one another repeatedly, Leonard suddenly broke through the cloud of smoke and descended from the sky, crushing straight to the ranks of the opposing side.

'Supreme Blood Sutra: Sanguine Meteor'

Swoosh!

Seeing him, 'Strong Lord' Griff immediately raised his shield as he took a defensive stance, summoning a huge barrier that enveloped the people behind and protecting them with it.

'Class Fighting Style: The Lord's Order'

Boom!

The clash produced yet another storm of shockwaves that swept through everything.

The two maintained their postures for a couple of seconds before separating from one another.

Bang! Bang!

They respectively tried to regain their footing while relieving the force that they had gotten from the impact before launching themselves toward one another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yet another intense clash was initiated as their weapons repeatedly collided against each other.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shin and Diablo suddenly appeared at the backline of the Hien Workshop, launching a coordinated attack from flanking directions.

Swoosh!

But before they could even reach the Faith and Grace, a snowstorm suddenly manifested, halting them from going further.

Wizard King Julius finished casting his spell and summoned a series of magical formations that protected him and the twin sisters from any threat.

He stood on a tall platform along with the Twin Heavens, who were standing behind him and casting a series of buffs, debuffs, and healing spells under his protection.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Amid the violent storm of ice and snow, the figure of' Young God' Thirteenth Massacre slowly emerged as he wielded his spear with one hand and pointed it diagonally toward the ground.

His wind powers complemented the snowstorm as he manipulated it at will.

Julius had even summoned a pair of ice golems with decent combat prowess to help this young Godlike Player.

He knew that it would be difficult for Thirteenth Massacre to ward off the combined forces of Shin and Diablo, who were among the most powerful gods within the game. But with his help and the twin sisters to assist them, their side had a slight advantage in this faceoff.

Taking a deep breath, Thirteenth Massacre calmed himself before suddenly charging forward to face Diablo, leaving Shin to Julius and his ice golems.

Swoosh!

Shin and Diablo exchanged glances with one another before suddenly sprinting ahead, welcoming the challenge with open arms.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Then, there was another intense clash between the two sides, further throwing the battlefield into an even more chaotic state.

Diablo did not dare to underestimate his opponent, despite knowing that he had the slight advantage in terms of overall battle prowess. After all, the opposing side could match his speed with the use of wind element, which was further augmented by the snowstorm summoned by the Wizard King.

Shin, on the other hand, knew that he could not lower his guard since he was fully aware of what Julius was capable of. He knew that he could not hold his strength back as the latter would try to use it against him.

…

The initial clashes between the two sides were too strong to be called an opening act since they were too intense and destructive. Regardless, everyone welcomed it as this was the main reason why they had tuned in to this match.

They were either shouting crazily or flooding the chat with emotes and a variety of reactions, showing how they loved this battle.

They all felt that it was worth it to skip the other matches and focus on this matchup, as it lived up to their expectations.

For them, this was the true charm of the United Cup.

...…