Ethan unfortunately lost in the trash-talking session, but he insisted it wasn't his fault. He believed the Lindong contestant broke the rules and adopted an unexpected attack strategy. As a representative of the bloodthirsty audience, he's watched countless pre-match trash-talking sessions, from physical brawls to eSports, and he'd never seen anyone actually hit each other during trash talk.

This...

This is preposterous!

He glared at Lindong, feeling that the teacher had become increasingly bold lately, daring to act like this in public.

"What? Isn't this trash talk?"

Lindong licked his lips with relish, and this gesture incited another wave of cheers from the audience.

Clearly, in their eyes, the Lindong contestant had completely dominated this mysterious consortium candidate, and the audience wanted to see more.

After all, this was the Abyss, a gathering place for followers of the Old Gods.

Lindong's behavior perfectly aligned with their belief in Bazatous' followers—that these zealous followers would always act beyond everyone's imagination, and this passionate kiss was the best testament to a Bazatous follower.

The only one not blending into the heated atmosphere was Nightmare, who came to this feast with Lindong; her body first tensed up, then turned cold.

The cheers of the crowd became ethereal and distant, as if isolating her from the world.

As the trash-talking battle was about to enter the next round, Nightmare finally snapped back to reality, forcing a smile and reminded them both, "Time to go inside, everyone is waiting for you."

Nightmare adjusted her mentality.

If their 'battle' escalated after going inside and progressed to the second, third, or fourth rounds, or even moved to the bedroom for a final showdown, she'd hide in the bathroom to take refuge.

Exactly.

As long as she didn't see it herself, it didn't happen.

This is the secret to everyone's happy mindset.

Seeing the two turn and head inside, the bloodthirsty audience let out a collective groan, not having seen enough of such an exciting duel. However, more disappointed than the audience was Lindong, who had already braced herself for Ethan to roughly pull her into his arms and launch a stormy counterattack.

Thinking of this, she cast a cold glance at Nightmare.

That woman ruined her good thing again, just like at the royal banquet last time! She had long warned Nightmare to mind her own business!

However, Ethan seemed like a newbie in the realm of trash talking, looking utterly stunned by her earlier.

This won't do; it seems more practice is needed in the future.

While Lindong's thoughts were racing, Ethan was immersed in his defeat in battle, until a familiar figure came into his view. Kane first saw Lindong, then looked thoughtfully at the masked Ethan, finally reaching an epiphany.

Isn't this his brother?

His brother and sister-in-law were both here.

"That's the last candidate."

Whip Tail quietly reminded from behind Ethan, "His name is Kane, maybe you've met him."

The consortium had already received news, and the War Council's public declaration of being 'the strongest in history' was valid because, theoretically, Kane and their master are of the same kind, just his situation is special, more like a shadow projected from another dimension.

Due to the existence of the seal, their original entities couldn't interfere with this world. The master is seeking a way to break the seal, while Kane is pursuing a different path. It was taking advantage of Kane's weakest moment that the consortium managed to trap him with the magic left by the master.

However, for the Old Gods, the same trick can only be used once.

This time, Kane came to the underground city and even became a candidate for the War Council. No matter how you look at it, he's coming for them. The consortium higher-ups were in turmoil, fearing Kane's revenge. If Kane were to become the festival's winner, their future would be nothing but darkness.

The followers of the Father of War are a bunch of uncivilized barbarians, meaning they won't indulge in chit-chat with you; they settle grievances directly.

When Lindong became a candidate, the dire situation finally took a turn for the better.

"You have to be careful of him, the consortium has had a falling out with him before."

Yet, at the next moment, something that left Whip Tail stunned happened.

She clearly saw Kane walking straight toward them, holding a wineglass in one hand and extending his other arm enthusiastically in a warm embrace, and Ethan stepped forward too, hugging Kane in greeting.

???

She rubbed her eyes.

Kane should already hate the Lofic Consortium now, and Ethan, as a candidate of the Sincaro followers, should be the object of his redirected anger. Yet, the way the two greeted each other was like long-lost good brothers.

Could it be that Kane is grateful to Ethan for indirectly helping him with the Ophira incident?

Whip Tail observed for another moment and felt it didn't quite seem that way. The two appeared to know each other from much earlier.

She sneaked another glance at Lindong.

"You, move aside."

Lindong was staring at Kane with dissatisfaction, admonishing him, "Don't touch me."

Kane seemed not at all surprised, merely laughing softly.

This scene seemed to have happened many times before, and their interaction exuded a strong sense of familiarity. There were others at the banquet hall who noticed the commotion over here, all scratching their heads in confusion.

This was the underground city, a world created through the chaos of the Old Gods!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.