“Have you heard? Deria was defeated yesterday, and now it’s on the brink of collapse.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either, but it was confirmed not too long ago. What was the name of the civilization that defeated Deria?”

  “It’s called Earth. I’ve never heard of it, but it’s been on everyone’s lips ever since yesterday.”

  “Sigh. It’s truly the time before the auction starts. I wonder how many other civilizations will face destruction this month.”

  Earth’s reputation couldn’t help but increase drastically after the fight with Deria.

  Prior to fighting Deria, despite Earth being ranked in the top 100,000s and having defeated two other top 100,000 civilizations, it was still unknown to the majority.

  Now, however, with a single fight, its reputation skyrocketed, and deservedly so, as Deria was a hegemon among the millions of civilizations in the portal.

  But with so many civilizations fighting each other in a rush for wealth, it didn’t take more than a day for everyone’s attention to shift from one civilization to the next.

  It was then that Earth’s name surfaced once again, this time with even greater fervor.

  /////

  Arena #503

  Nova stood quietly at the spot where he had been teleported, his head slightly lowered, a thoughtful look plastered on his face.

  ‘We got a total of four and a half billion Gold coins from Deria, which, after splitting, is slightly more than a billion each. That’s barely a tenth of what I need to buy even the cheapest item auctioned by the system, and there’s no telling how good it would even be. We need to speed up the process, or if things continue like this, we won’t make more than a few tens of billions before the auction starts.’

  He lifted his head to look at the two men in front of him, one dressed in green and the other in red, and murmured, “Being in the top 7,000s, you should have a lot of Gold coins, right?”

  Indeed.

  Nova had picked one of the civilizations ranked in the top 7,000s for his fight, and as soon as the match was announced, tens of billions, if not more, of warriors flooded the spectators’ stands.

  Despite the stands not being as packed as the first fight Nova had spectated, the one where he’d seen Astrah fight, there were still so many people that, had he been in the stands, he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.

  It was then that a notification rang in his mind, announcing the start of the fight, and the barrier quickly faded away.

  Nova calmly stepped forward, walking toward the middle of the arena as if he were out for a stroll.

  On the other hand, unlike what had happened the day before with Deria, the two men wore solemn expressions and without a trace of mockery nor belittlement as they approached.

  It would’ve been different if this had happened before Earth’s victory over Deria, but now… even they, belonging to a civilization ranked higher than the latter, had seen what happened to it and knew they had to take this fight seriously.

  This was also why, after being chosen as the leading civilization for this fight, they had limited the number of warriors to two.

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  Once the two parties were only mere meters apart, one of the men, the one dressed in green, said, “Before we start, I’d like to request something from you.”

  Nova wasn’t surprised in the least. It was all too normal for leaders of civilizations to come to certain agreements before a fight started, obviously, this was only possible if both parties stood on equal ground.

  “Go on.” He motioned with his head for him to continue.

  The green-robed man said, “If you win, leave us a path to life, and we’ll do the same if we do. Additionally, after today it won’t matter who wins or loses, we won’t bear a grudge against you. Is my request acceptable?”

  “It sounds good, but…” Nova’s lips arched up slightly. “You’re only saying that because you have no certainty of winning. Once you truly win, there’s no telling what you’ll do. You might very well go back on your word and eliminate my civilization without any effort at all.”

  Grudges would always be present after two civilizations fought, whether because warriors died, wealth was lost, or simply because of the honor and pride sacrificed in battle. There were too many reasons for one civilization to bear a grudge against another, and it couldn’t be helped.

  Who would willingly lower their head and let matters go after an entire civilization cried out for revenge?

  Even the smartest of leaders wouldn’t be able to keep their seat when the whole population turned against them for not waging war against their enemy.

  Only the strongest would.

  But being strong enough to go against billions was a feat easier said than done.

  Hearing Nova’s words, the green-robed man didn’t bat an eye. He had expected this. In fact, it would’ve been strange if Nova had agreed immediately. He quickly fished a contract out of nowhere, threw it toward Nova, and said, “With this, neither of us has to fear retaliation from the other, no matter the result of today’s fight.”

  Nova grabbed the contract and gave it a quick look.

  ‘Whoever acts against the other civilization over matters related to this fight will be stripped of their system and expelled from the portal… This contract can do that?’

  He had just reached that thought when he inwardly shook his head. ‘Of course it can. It’s a contract made by the system itself, if even it couldn’t do it then nobody would be able to.’

  ‘Anyway, it’s good this exists. I can’t let just any random Tom, Dick, or Harry interrupt my training.’

  After confirming there was nothing wrong with it, he looked back at the two men and said, “I’m okay with this.”

  When they heard Nova’s answer, the two men instinctively released a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.

  Since the person in front of them wasn’t the same as the one who had easily defeated Deria, they didn’t know whether they could win or not. But just to be safe, they wanted to sign the contract before the worst happened.

  “Very well. Let’s quickly sign it, then we can fight,” the green-robed man eagerly said.

  The red-robed man had remained silent the entire time, letting his companion speak while being present only to fight.

  A few moments later, both parties signed the contract. After a quick check to ensure it was properly completed, the green-robed man stored it back in his Inventory and nodded, his expression noticeably more relaxed.

  “Whenever you’re ready.” He said, extending his hand as wind started swirling around his entire body, causing his clothes to flutter back and forth.

  Next to him, the red-robed man’s hands were enveloped in flames, so hot that they slightly distorted the air around them.

  ‘Mid first stage Wind Force and mid first stage Fire Force. These two could probably wipe out any civilization ranked below the 10,000s together,’ Nova thought. Having seen many stages and types of Spear Force, he could immediately gauge their strength from up close.

  Even though their Forces weren’t of the same type, they all followed a similar pattern and were clearly visible, unlike body-related Forces, which were more obscure and required deeper familiarity to discern.

  ‘I think my body should be strong enough to withstand a mid first stage Force like that. Even if I can’t… I guess I’ll find out soon.’

  Nodding, Nova didn’t draw Dreadscape. Instead, he clenched his fists and said, “I’m coming.”

  BOOM!

  With a stomp of his foot, the ground beneath him cracked, sending splinters flying in every direction as he launched himself at the two, who had yet to react.

  Stopping in front of the red-robed man, Nova swung his fist, the air around it cracking like thunder from the force behind it.

  What an incredible speed… The two men absent mindedly thought in unison before snapping back to reality and finally reacted.

  “I’ll cover for you!”

  Seeing the fist hurtling closer and closer like a meteor toward his comrade, the green-robed man shouted and waved his hand, forming a protective wind screen in front of his friend.

  In his mind, although the fist looked menacing, it wouldn’t be able to pierce the screen he had created with his Wind Force.

  Trusting his friend completely, the red-robed man didn’t hesitate. Instead of defending himself, the flames covering his fists erupted violently.

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