Chapter 383
The Final Carnival
Chapter 383 The Final Carnival
As soon as the competition began, several competitors launched a coordinated attack on Peter, aiming to eliminate this biggest threat.
Various abilities and items attacked him, but Peter was prepared. He rubbed his hands together, and a circular barrier crackling with electricity appeared around his body to resist the attacks.
"Increase the intensity! He can't defend against so many attacks!"
Some people made a loud call, and some competitors responded by increasing their mental effort, while others reduced it, and some pretended to attack while their eyes were on others.
This is a competition where only one person can survive. Everyone is a competitor, and there is no possibility of working together to kill Peter and then living in peace.
Many people were holding back their strength, which meant that their combined power was insufficient to destroy Peter's lightning barrier in a short time, allowing the latter to take advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack.
With a flick of his right hand, several bolts of lightning erupted. The lightning was fast and powerful. The two contestants closest to him were struck and groaned. Although they were saved from death by their defensive items, they were still injured.
"Damn it, you guys hold on, I'm going to eat... uh!!"
One of the injured men tried to take out a healing tool, but unexpectedly a steel gun pierced his heart from behind.
The contestant wielding the steel gun looked at the dead man on the ground and sneered. Someone saw this and cursed, "Kill Peter first! He's the strongest, why fight amongst ourselves!"
"Let's eliminate one competitor first."
"you!"
"Well done!"
A cheer erupted from the audience, with some clenching their fists and standing up to applaud, while others grumbled and slammed their food to the ground.
"Only one competitor died, is it really necessary to make such a fuss..." A spectator asked in confusion, and a kind person in the next seat explained, "Do you even need to ask? It's obvious that they placed a bet."
"Place a bet? You can even place bets on this?"
"Since it's a competition, of course you can. There are several online platforms that have it, like who will be the champion, who will be the first to be eliminated, how long the competition will last... you can bet on anything."
"I see!"
The puzzled audience suddenly realized that those who were excitedly shouting must have won the bet, while those who were throwing things and cursing were obviously the losers.
"Speaking of which, I also placed a bet on Peter to win the championship," said a spectator next to me while watching the ring. "There are just too many people who think he'll win, so the odds are low... but if I win, I should be able to earn a few dozen coins."
Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Twin Stars Bar, two to three hundred Ascendants gathered to watch the live broadcast of the match on the giant screen.
Aside from Somali citizens, it's not so easy for people from abroad to attend the matches in person; most watch them live on stream. And these live streams are much more fun when watched by a group of people.
Black Star, acting as a middleman, followed the principle of seizing any opportunity to make money. Taking advantage of his extensive network, he also started his own small operation, which was held in a bar.
Inside the bar, an Ascended being stood with his eyes closed, holding a crystal of psychic power in his hand. After a moment, the crystal glowed slightly.
The Ascended One opened its eyes: "It can't be instilled anymore."
“That means it’s full,” Black Star said from the side. “Let’s make a trade.”
"it is good!"
The Ascended happily gave the crystal to Black Star through the transaction, while also receiving the Ascended Coins he had earned from selling his mental power.
"Brother Black Star, if there's nothing else, I'm going outside to watch the game?"
"This is none of your business, go ahead."
As soon as the Ascended left, Shirahoshi entered from outside.
"Did you collect all today?"
"It's full, just waiting for him to come and get it."
"There are quite a few people watching the game today, so we can make a small profit again."
Black Star nodded: "The money we accumulated from previous commissions, plus what we earned from that person... we're almost done saving up."
Bai Xing was silent for a moment: "Brother, are you really going to use all your savings to get an uncertain outcome? What if... what if they lie to us?"
Black Star, who always had a smile on his face and a baby face, seemed very optimistic and cheerful, but at this moment his expression was unusually gloomy.
"I don't know. Even if they're scammers, we have to try... We have no other way to save Allen; he doesn't have much time left."
Upon hearing the name "Alan," Bai Xing's face darkened. After a moment of silence, she looked up and said, "Perhaps... what if we ask him for help?"
“Him?” Black Star frowned. “You mean ‘Shadow’?” White Star nodded. “He’s so strong, and he has close ties with the Governor. He must have connections in North Star. Maybe he can find a way to save Allen.”
“…Let’s wait and see.” Bai Xing hesitated. “Although this person seems easy to talk to, I’ve heard from several sources these past few days that a huge bloodbath has taken place in the capital, and it’s very likely that it’s related to him.”
"You mean the downfall of Valery and the others? Judging from the large amount of evidence of their crimes released by the consul, they certainly deserved to die."
"In short, as intermediaries, we must avoid speaking too much to those we don't know well. Don't tell anyone about Allen's matter for now."
"I see."
As soon as Bai Xing finished speaking, a chorus of exclamations suddenly came from the front hall.
"what!!!!"
what happened? !
Black Star and White Star exchanged a glance, then quickly went out of the inner room and ran to the front hall.
They thought there was a fight going on in the front of the bar, but when they came out, they saw that everyone was staring wide-eyed at the TV screen, as if some amazing scene was about to unfold.
The two looked at the big screen at the same time. They saw thick smoke rising from the final match venue, which was being broadcast live by Soma. Large flames were burning in the audience seats, and many audience members were lying on the ground, their fates unknown.
Black Star grabbed one of his henchmen and asked, "What happened?"
"Brother Black Star, you didn't see it from inside!" the underling said, swallowing hard. "The fight was going really hard in the ring, but suddenly there was an explosion! Someone detonated a bomb in the audience, and a lot of people died!"
A bomb was detonated in the audience seats...
Black Star and White Star exchanged a glance and exclaimed in unison, "Terrorist attack!"
……
The final match was a scene of chaos.
The sounds of people crying and screaming filled the air, accompanied by the blaring of sirens and the sirens of medical vehicles.
Security personnel at the scene tried their best to maintain order, but with little success.
Such a large venue, capable of holding tens of thousands of people, experiencing such massive chaos when all seats were filled, was far beyond what a few dozen or a hundred security guards could control.
The match was immediately suspended after this unexpected incident occurred.
The privileged young people in the VIP rooms left the scene immediately under the protection of bodyguards, while the other audience members scrambled to run towards the exit, fearing that those left behind would be attacked.
The remaining competitors on the stage were also interrupted by this sudden turn of events.
One of them said, "Let's go first!"
"Wait, it's not over yet!"
"Who knows how many bombs are buried here? Still want to fight? I'm not going to play with a madman like you!"
Several competitors hurriedly left, and Peter was the last to leave the stage. He glanced at the audience without saying a word, a faint smile disappearing from the corner of his mouth.
Because the competition was broadcast live globally, the incident immediately became world headline news.
Everyone wanted to know why there was a bomb at the scene, why the security personnel hadn't detected it, and who had done it.
Two hours later, the Solomon Empire held an emergency briefing, which was broadcast live worldwide.
The spokesperson stated solemnly at the meeting: "Currently, all personnel at the scene have been evacuated. The preliminary estimate of the number of casualties exceeds two thousand. The specific figures will be released after the detailed statistics are completed."
The preliminary investigation into the explosive device at the scene is as follows: A hazardous materials check had been conducted before the start of the match. Investigators determined that the explosive device was transported to the stands using some form of teleportation after the match had begun.
Regarding the bombing attack at the competition venue, our government has classified it as a terrorist attack. We will definitely find anyone involved, whoever they are, and make them pay a heavy price.
Even before Solmar's emergency briefing had ended, a video appeared on various platforms, quickly rising to the top of the trending charts.
The video content is related to this explosion.
In the footage, a group of people dressed in black robes with flame symbols stand in front of the camera; they are the attire of the Fire Stealers.
One of the men, a middle-aged man with his left eye covered by a black cloth, had a conspicuous red belt around his waist, suggesting he was a high-ranking member of the church.
The man spoke solemnly: “I am Bishop Hiss of the Church of the Fire Thieves, and I declare myself responsible for the explosion at the Soromagna Grand Contest. This was not a terrorist attack, but a purification of heretics who do not take God’s will seriously and instead treat it as a game of entertainment… Ignorant and arrogant Soromagna people, your final revelry will be ended by us devout believers.”
(End of this chapter)