Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 81: King of the White Tower (Part 3)
Did these people eat rat poison or something?!
Looking at the scene inside the White Tower, Fu Qian let out a sigh of emotion.
In the suddenly expansive space, rolling waves of sound washed over each other.
There were men and women, young and old, their cheers and screams mixing together.
Some were simply letting out meaningless roars, sounding like demonic braying donkeys.
All of this echoed together, inexplicably bringing to mind a certain piece of music called "Flight of the Bumblebee," making one's ear canals itch uncontrollably.
The building looked even more magnificent on the inside than the outside, but the architectural style left much to be desired.
The massive space and the towering, spiraling white pillars made one feel as if they were standing in some incredibly tall, unimaginable cathedral.
However, the bottom of the space was an arena like the Colosseum of ancient Rome, surrounded by densely packed stands resembling a honeycomb.
At the same time, the bizarre and colorful display screens above the platform, and the chaotic strips of light further up, clearly told everyone that they were in the information age.
This was the legendary, universally invincible White Tower Arena?
It could only be said that it fully reflected the builder's deep pockets and terrible taste.
That heavy sense of incongruity, if one had to describe it, was like Yama (the King of Hell) wearing a Bluetooth headset while fiddling with a boomerang in his hands.
"Hello, please step this way."
A young woman with brown hair and a white robe, dressed like an ancient Greek priestess, walked up, interrupting Fu Qian's musings at just the right time. With an impeccable smile, she reminded him to enter the interior through the side passage.
Fu Qian looked around and, sure enough, there was one standing next to every participating "gladiator."
According to the data from previous years, the number of participants in the competition was quite exaggerated. It must have been hard for them to find so many Underworld Guides.
It was imaginable that the work of a large portion of these priestesses would soon be over.
Passing through a long corridor, the two soon arrived at a place that looked like a preparation room.
"You may choose any weapon that feels handy!"
The priestess led Fu Qian to a weapon rack near the wall and pointed at it.
"Can I use anything?"
Fu Qian took a look. The variety of weapons was quite rich, with everything from the most common swords and spears to all sorts of unimaginably shaped ones.
The most important thing was that the workmanship was excellent, and the quality looked quite good.
Of course, they also shared one common characteristic—he didn't know how to use them.
That's right, ever since he incarnated as a Thug, he hadn't had the time to learn how to use any type of weapon, always adhering to the philosophy of "having no moves is better than having moves" while throwing wild haymakers.
The key was that the results seemed pretty good so far, and Fu Qian wasn't prepared to change that for the time being.
"As long as it's up there, you can use it."
The priestess answered.
"In addition, you can use your own equipment as long as it passes the inspection."
"Understood."
It could be said to be quite accommodating.
Fu Qian looked around. Given the large number of people, it was impossible for this kind of preparation room to be so luxurious as to have one per person. Currently, besides himself, there were three other people in this preparation room—
A young man who was clearly a bit nervous, a young blonde woman, and—a dark iron can?
Fu Qian looked at the last contestant, clad in a full set of flashy black plate armor with exquisite etched patterns on it.
With two pointed horns on the full-face helmet, it momentarily made one think they were looking at a Black Knight.
"This is allowed too?"
Fu Qian pointed.
"Yes."
The priestess nodded with noble coolness, casually pointing to the rack on the other side of the room.
"In fact, there is also some defensive gear here; you can choose as you see fit."
Fu Qian took a look. Various forms of protective gear and shields were lined up all the way to the other end.
She was being modest. Although not as flashy as the Black Knight, basically all standard types were available.
Unfortunately, it was still useless to him. Any attack that could actually hurt him couldn't be mitigated by a few pieces of iron.
Fu Qian looked around and finally picked a white mask to put on his face.
"Done."
The mask was very light; it wasn't even made of metal, and he could barely feel its weight.
Last time at the Huang Family's mid-mountain manor, he had worn a mask just like this one.
Since everything else was useless, he might as well use this to maintain the mysterious aura of an expert.
Fu Qian's choice clearly exceeded the priestess's expectations. She froze for a moment before adjusting her goddess-like smile again and thoughtfully introduced the current situation.
"Because of the large number of participants, three arenas will be running simultaneously each time. You just need to wait here for now."
Fu Qian nodded. Listening to the tidal wave of sound outside, just as he was wondering how the King of the White Tower would make his appearance, the shouting outside suddenly stopped.
The next moment, all the lights instantly focused on a single spot, and an open elevator slowly descended from the air.
Uh!
Fu Qian's eyesight was no longer what it used to be. He instantly confirmed that the person standing in the elevator was the target of his trip, the King of the White Tower, Bai Jinting.
Compared to the monsters and demons in the stands, this guy had a fairly normal appearance; he didn't have a few extra heads.
The problem was, old man, you're over 70, right?
Setting aside safety and all that, are you serious about this iron cage-style elevator?
Under the tracking lights, Bai Jinting's elevator slowly descended into place, eventually stopping at a location independent of the other stands.
"Welcome to the Ring Archipelago!"
Bai Jinting, already over seventy, looked much younger than his actual age and began his speech with a booming voice.
Whoa!
The howling instantly doubled in volume.
"Welcome to the White Tower Arena..."
Fu Qian narrowed his eyes, observing his surroundings.
Inside this nondescript behemoth of a building, there was outrageously tight security.
Besides the various defense measures, the biggest anchor here was none other than the legendary Demigod, known as the Spirit Of The Storm, Ibrahimovic.
It was said that five years ago, at the advanced age of 68, he successfully ascended to the Third Tier. Later, because he liked the maritime climate, he accepted the White Tower Group's invitation and became a special consultant, rarely leaving this place since.
According to the data, Bai Jinting rarely showed his face normally, always hiding under such tight protection.
Only during the annual "King of the White Tower" arena would he participate the entire time, and in the end, he would even personally present the award to the final victor.
Theoretically speaking, this was a rather good opportunity.
The data clearly stated that this guy was not some Beyonder. Fighting all the way to become the champion, and then taking the opportunity during the award ceremony to insta-kill him with one kick to complete the mission, was a very reasonable plan.
By then, even if the Demigod intervened, it would be too late.
Moreover, there was no time limit for this mission, so he could indeed spend some effort to finish fighting through this arena first.
Incidentally, he could also learn a bit more about his target.
Even as a ruthless Tasker, he had his principles.
Gathering a list of his crimes would make eliminating him fully justified.
Finally, Fu Qian inexplicably had a feeling that the person in front of him might not be that easy to kill.
Bai Jinting's speech was exceedingly lengthy; in the end, he even stole the host's job and slowly read through the competition rules.
This shameful waste of time successfully added a trace of murderous intent to Fu Qian's heart.
Finally, as Bai Jinting sat down in satisfaction, the host snatched his microphone back and announced the start of the competition.
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