On either side of the giant arena, two flags were planted.
The flag on the left read, "Defend the Arena."
The flag on the right read, "Death Match!"
Even though the Death Match Mode had not yet begun, a heavy and solemn atmosphere had already spread throughout the arena.
"Ben!!"
Seeing the words "Death Match," Song Leo's pretty face could no longer maintain its composure.
Even though she had been eliminated and did not see the prompt from the Spirit Realm, her hearing was sharp. She overheard the nearby discussions and quickly understood what Death Match Mode meant.
"They said there's no retreat in Death Match Mode? Why did you choose this?"
The girl was deeply worried.
Joe Root and the others also looked at Ben in disbelief.
"Because I promised President Song that I would take care of you!"
Ben smiled and said, "I definitely have to make the guy who dares to hurt you pay the price, and I can't let him run away."
"Ben..."
Leo was touched, yet also slightly regretful.
When she was bandaging herself in the lounge earlier, since Ben wanted to see, she should have just let him see more…
"Don't worry! If this were a gathering of top experts, I definitely wouldn't dare to risk my life like this. But we're all freshmen, and I believe there's no one here who can actually kill me."
"Choosing a Death Match is also to intimidate the players in our human camp. I don't want to eliminate them all..."
As he spoke, Ben stood up and told the others, "I'm going on stage. Wait for me to come back safely."
The moment his words fell—
His figure vanished from the audience seats and appeared in the Death Match Arena!
Shock in the Human Area
When Ben appeared, all eyes in the audience locked onto him.
Human Camp:
"Is it really him? Is this pretty boy crazy? There's no need to go this far just to die."
"I'm not surprised. He even gave away the Flare-Flare Fruit—his brain must be broken. What I don't understand is, how could Song Leo allow him to do this?"
"Yeah! Doesn't defending the arena require the entire team's approval?"
"Heh… Maybe Song Leo is tired of him and wants a new pet, so she sent this idiot to his death."
"Can you use your brain for once? All the points of their team are on him. Would Leo just throw those away?"
"Captain, should we take him out first? I estimate that Song Leo's team has at least twenty or thirty points. If we defeat him, our ranking in the human camp will rise to first place!"
"...Hold on. If he's confident enough to enter the Death Match, he must have something up his sleeve. Let's observe first!"
Similar discussions broke out among various teams.
Many of the top human freshman powerhouses were eager to make a move.
After all, Ben had reached this stage, meaning his team should have a massive number of points.
If they could defeat him, they might be able to surpass the current leader, Victor!
Even Victor himself was considering whether he should take down Ben first to secure his ranking.
However—
Most human participants chose to wait and see.
Better safe than sorry.
What if Ben was hiding some unfathomable strength? Challenging him prematurely could be dangerous.
But not everyone thought that way.
Some impatient underdogs with low points couldn't hold back anymore.
For them, Ben's appearance was their only chance to catch up to the championship…
Sandford University's Discussion
In the Sandford University team area, two players were still eligible to compete.
One of them nudged Conrad, the team captain.
"Brother Conrad, look! People are already entering the stage—there's quite a few of them..."
"That green light… Is that the Federation's top seed? Even he's getting involved so quickly?"
"I know the guy in the kimono on the left. He's a well-known freshman from Dwarf Country—a tricky opponent!"
"Brother Conrad, they're clearly trying to take out Ben and go for the championship. Should we join in?"
Conrad hesitated for a moment but then shook his head.
"They're all from the human camp. We may have internal disputes, but if we start killing each other in front of the demons and monsters, wouldn't that be a joke?"
"Besides, I have a feeling that Song Leo's pretty boy isn't that simple. Let's observe first."
Since Conrad made the decision, his team chose to hold back for now.
The Arena Erupts
Ben stepped onto the stage, intending to bait out the demons and monsters first.
Yet, instead of waiting for monsters, he was greeted by humans rushing forward, eager to take his head.
Ben's expression darkened.
"Unbelievable."
Right now, their true enemies were the foreign races.
Yet, these humans were fighting amongst themselves?
His gaze turned cold as he scanned the approaching fighters—
Around twenty opponents, mostly foreigners from the human camp.
Among them:A thin man from the Philippines (Ben vaguely recognized him).A green-glowing warrior—the Federation's powerhouse seed "Green Lantern".The most aggressive of them: a man in a kimono—a Dwarf Country warrior."Good."
Ben's eyes grew even colder.
Since they wanted to die, he would grant their wish.
The only relief was that none of the challengers were from America.
As the enemies rushed forward—
BOOM!!
A loud explosion echoed as Ben stomped the ground!
The entire arena trembled!
Cracks spidered out from his feet, spreading across the battlefield!
The sudden shockwave startled the twenty opponents, making them freeze mid-charge.
Exactly what Ben wanted.
He didn't plan to fight them yet.
He needed to lure out more monsters first—
Especially that Three-Eyed One.
Once all the monsters had entered, he would wipe them out in one go and secure the championship.
He smirked, looking at the demons and monsters.
Raising both hands—
Left hand pointing to the demon area.
Right hand pointing to the monster area.
At first, everyone thought he was about to salute the demons and monsters.
Then—
His thumbs suddenly flipped down.
A universal gesture of provocation.
The entire arena exploded into an uproar!
Demons and monsters roared in fury—
Under so many witnesses, they couldn't ignore this insult!
The Final Battle Begins!
As expected, the Three-Eyed One laughed—
It understood Ben's intentions.
It stepped onto the stage.
Ben's feral grin widened.
"You're on the battlefield now. There's no escape."
With his fists turning black with Armament Haki, he launched himself into the sky.
As he began to fall, his right fist glowed crimson—
Fist Bone Impact was charging.
A terrifying aura filled the arena.
Everyone realized—
A catastrophic strike was about to descend.
To be continued…
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