Chapter 483: Dangerous Ravine

Julius and Lyra were riding the disk, but it would seem that he was the only one of them who was having fun. She was on her knees, desperately trying to hold on.

“Can you please stop?” She pleaded with him, her face almost pressed against the disk.

He sighed and acquiesced to her request. He stopped feeding the disk mana, and the item slowed down. It didn’t even come to a full stop when she jumped off it; she was bent over and looked like she was going to throw up.

“Do you know how to control this thing?” She asked him with a gasp.

“Sorry, I haven’t gotten used to it yet. I will get better, I promise,” he said, holding back his laugh.

“We are walking,” she stated, looking at him as if daring him to argue with her.

***

A big explosion rocked in front of them. They glanced at each other before they headed off in the same direction.

They were still in the plains, but there was a lot more vegetation all around them. Weird-looking trees and plants were all around him. It didn’t even look natural in some respects. But it was beautiful nonetheless.

When they arrived at the scene of the explosion, he was somewhat interested in seeing the chaos before him. Dozens of figures were fighting; more than half of these figures were monsters, but others were people.

They didn’t seem to be having the best of times either. It didn’t help that they weren’t working together. They appeared more concerned with interfering with one another rather than taking on the monsters together.

The monsters weren’t unusual either, at least at first glance. Despite being far away, Julius thought these monsters looked a lot like goblins. They had the same stature and features, but they didn’t have the vibrant green skin he was accustomed to seeing.

Rather than the green skin, they had a very gray complexion. It made him wonder if these were actually goblins or not.

Julius and Lyra got closer to them, staying far enough behind to see what was happening. What made Julius believe that these weren’t goblins was the fact that they were strong. Nothing like the weak monsters he had come across in the past.

He saw these little monsters react with incredible speed. They only bore these ugly-looking weapons, but each strike was dangerous. They were flashing all over the place, and their strength wasn’t anything to mock either.

He saw one of these gray goblins knock down a spearman despite the substantial size difference. The spearman desperately tried to fend off the goblin, but another goblin decided to take the opportunity to attack the vulnerable opponent.

A shortsword made of warped metal drove into the shoulder blade of the spearman. They were so busy fighting the other goblin that they were caught off guard and shouted out in pain as the goblin removed the shortsword.

There was so much blood that spurted out of the wound, and as the spearman tried to staunch the bleeding, the goblins were like sharks. The moment they smelled blood, two more goblins stopped their fights with the other competitors and ran over to the spearman.

Their weapons tore huge hunks of the spearman, and despite the guy’s cries, they didn’t relent. The guy’s shrieks turned into breathless gasps, and his eyes dulled as he died from a final dagger shoved under his chin and into his brain.

The monsters cackled as they stood over the dead body, staring at the other humans with bloodthirsty looks. The ruthless demonstration and brutal death seemed to have had a profound impact on the rest of the humans. Their faces went pale at the bloody sight, and he could see their hands shake. One of them had even dropped their staff onto the ground in their fear.

Julius couldn’t help but wonder if these geniuses ever fought in a real-life or death battle.

It was likely that these kids had been trained by their wealthy families and schools. It was also important to remember that they were truly just kids. The odds were high that they were kids who hadn’t experienced some of the crueler parts of the world. Their terrified auras spoke as much. Even from all the way where he was hiding, he could literally smell the fear rolling off them.

The idea of death was foreign to them. They had been trained in simulated training areas and regulated sessions, but seeing one of their own peers get taken out in such a way must have been shocking.

He wasn’t even sure if they remembered that they wouldn’t actually die here. Although, to be fair, seeing anyone go through that would be a deterrent to most rational people.

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Julius stood there quietly as he watched the standoff between the remaining humans and these weird goblins. That standoff was swiftly shattered when a horror-struck girl panicked and broke out in a run.

When she ran off, the boy who had dropped his staff quickly followed. This seemed to be enough for the rest of the humans, because they all took off right behind them. The goblins all cackled as they watched the humans run off frantically.

They didn’t just let them run off, either; they quickly gave chase to the retreating humans. Julius didn’t make a move to help them. After all, this was still a competition, so he didn’t feel bad. Plus, they wouldn’t actually die. If that weren’t the case, then perhaps he would have stepped in.