At the Emperor's command, the finals officially began. The colossal arena erupted in sheer frenzy as over a hundred thousand spectators let loose their deafening cheers.
Cassius lounged casually on his throne, resting his chin on his right hand as he looked down at the impassioned crowd.
"Now that history has been rewritten, who will emerge as the champion of this first tournament?"
"I'm actually looking forward to this."
In truth, Cassius was genuinely curious about who would claim the championship.
In the original timeline, Elezerg hadn't had nearly this many players. By throwing immense amounts of real-world wealth around, Bazhe, the guild master of Wangquan, had seized the championship without any suspense.
Yet the Empire's emergence had brought earth-shattering changes to the Northland Winds version.
The advent of faction subclasses, the alteration of questlines, the boom of magical industry...
The current state of the Great Anzetta Waste bore little resemblance to the history stored in Cassius's memories.
This was an entirely new journey.
Cassius disliked preordained fate; it felt far too heavy and made him feel powerless.
He relished this feeling of reshaping destiny—of seizing history with his own hands.
Looking toward the competitor benches below, the players who had fought their way to the top were already preparing for the battles ahead, each brimming with fighting spirit.
Cassius turned his head and looked with a smile at the white-haired girl attending beside him, asking casually, "Tinia, who do you think will win the championship?"
Tinia cast a disdainful glance at the players and muttered under her breath, "Master, why wouldn't you let me participate? I could easily take the championship too."
She held out her hand and clenched it aggressively. "With weaklings like that, I could flatten them into meat pies with a single claw!"
As she spoke, Tinia's expression turned infatuated, lost in her own fantasy.
"Then I could take the championship gold coins and win your favor, hehehe..."
"..."
Cassius turned back in speechlessness, returning his focus to the tournament.
Expecting pearls of wisdom from the dragon mouth of this white beast was nothing short of wishful thinking.
He was better off just watching the matches.
"The flesh is weak; ascend with machinery! Brother Kuangchao for the win!"
"God S is invincible!"
"Glory belongs to Tiansheng Zhankuang!"
"Glory to Wangquan, eternal heroes! The championship belongs to Wangquan and Wangquan alone!"
Cheers from the fan clubs of various star players rose and fell, trading fiery barbs over who deserved the championship crown.
Under the imperial officials' guidance, the one hundred and twenty-eight finalists began drawing lots to decide their opponents and the match order.
The tournament would run for seven rounds under the most brutal single-elimination rules; a single loss meant the end of a player's tournament run.
As a result, the luck of the draw was of paramount importance.
An unlucky player might draw consecutive powerhouse opponents, forced to reveal their trump cards far too early.
—Such as Charlotte, the legendary king of bad luck.
Surrounded by members of Magic Coin, Charlotte looked at the copper token in his hand bearing the name "Dawei Tianlong" and couldn't help letting out a wry chuckle.
"*Sigh*, I'm used to it."
Charlotte let out a long breath.
This cruel world was always so unkind to the luckless.
Dawei Tianlong was the guild master of Shaolin Temple. Renowned for his formidable physical might, he was universally recognized as the strongest monk player at this stage.
Drawing such an opponent in the very first round certainly matched Charlotte's expectations of his own luck.
Monks boasted exceptional agility, and high-level monks like Dawei Tianlong were even more terrifying—a terrible match for a wizard who hated being approached in close combat.
Fortunately, his opponent lacked counter-magic measures.
It was still winnable.
Charlotte took a deep breath and looked down at his match number—first match, just as he had feared.
"What a headache. If I face strong foes round after round, having my spell list figured out will be bad news."
"Still... no one defeats a fully prepared wizard!"
The wand in his hand was lustrous bright silver, its tip carved with intricate fretwork patterns that radiated an azure light.
—It was a rare-tier item, the Wand of the War Mage.
Its effect was straightforward yet practical: it granted the wielder's spells tracking capabilities and allowed them to pierce cover, locating targets across complex battlefields.
Charlotte gripped his wand tight, his expression growing solemn.
"Fighting first, and against a fierce opponent. The reputation of Magic Coin rests on my shoulders!"
"Good luck, Boss!"
"Crowd-control that monk into the ground!"
"Restore the glory of wizards—it is our bounden duty!"
The members of Magic Coin cheered in unison, rallying behind their guild master.
As the leader of one of the Four Powerhouses, Charlotte possessed formidable strength.
Moreover, for a wizard, financial backing was an essential part of one's combat power—and Magic Coin's coffers were exceptionally deep.
Meanwhile, across the arena at the competitor benches, the Shaolin Temple players were equally fired up, their blood boiling with enthusiasm.
"Brother Tianlong, you're the strongest!"
"Abbot, how could a mere wizard compete with our tempered flesh?!"
"Frail! That wizard named Charlotte is far too frail! Smash him to pieces with your fists!"
Dawei Tianlong rubbed his gleaming bald head and cupped his fists toward his supporters. "I'll do my best!"
He grinned, revealing a row of neat, brilliant white teeth. "Let's show them—the true power of an Open Hand monk!"
The commentator's passionate voice resonated throughout the arena.
"With His Majesty Cassius in attendance today, we are confident all contestants will give one hundred percent of their strength to fight for this glorious championship!"
"In this tournament, our competitors can unleash their abilities to the absolute limit without any reservations—because His Majesty personally placed an enchantment over the colosseum, eradicating any attack that spills beyond the battlefield!"
"Is that for real?"
A skeptical player decided to test it out for himself.
He hurled a Fireball toward the arena, but an invisible barrier seemed to manifest midair, obliterating the Fireball instantly.
And that meddlesome player was promptly dragged away by tiefling guards.
"Holy crap, that advanced?!"
"It's real!"
"An Antimagic Field of that scale is utterly insane!"
"Awesome! Let's see some crazy bombardments!"
On the throne above, Cassius smiled without a word. This was merely a trivial trick granted by his Imperial Domain—just a spell ban, nothing more.
*I could silence the lot of you if I wanted to!*
The commentator continued:
"Our first match is about to begin!"
"Now, introducing our two competitors! In the blue corner—Contestant Number 00023, Dawei Tianlong!"
"Dawei Tianlong!"
"The god of monks! One Punch Man!"
A tidal wave of cheers immediately surged through the stands.
As a famous pro monk player, Dawei Tianlong had attracted legions of fans with his crisp, powerful fighting style.
A highlight reel of his matches on a certain video platform—titled *One Punch Calms the Storm, No Gods Across the Four Seas*—had garnered millions of views.
The two-meter-tall bald monk stepped out from the player tunnel, waving to the audience with a beaming, confident smile.
His muscle-bound physique was sculpted to perfection, and the glare reflecting off his teeth and bald head was almost blinding.
"Who turned on the floodlights?!"
"Holy crap, what a massive lightbulb!"
"This guy looks ridiculously strong. I kind of pity his opponent—which unlucky bastard drew Dawei Tianlong in round one?"
"Yeah, word is he one-punched every single opponent in the qualifiers without showing any mercy."
"And in the red corner—"
The commentator drew out his voice, heightening the suspense until every eye was fixed on the opposite player tunnel before revealing the name.
"Contestant Number 00005, Charlotte!"
The moment the announcement landed, a wizard clad in lavender robes and holding a bright silver wand emerged at the end of the tunnel, wearing an entirely calm and breezy expression.
"Holy shit?!"
"It really is the unluckiest bastard!"
"Isn't that the guy who whiffed twenty consecutive pulls?"
Hearing the crowd's murmurs, Charlotte's smile stiffened slightly, but he still bowed politely, greeting the audience in the stands.
"Wait, that's the guild master of Magic Coin, one of the Four Powerhouses!"
"Now this will be good! A clash of titans!"
"Good lord, look at his gear!"
"One, two, three, four... nine rare-tier items! Even his rings are glowing blue! He's a true whale!"
"As expected of a powerhouse guild master. Selling myself wouldn't even buy me half that god-tier kit!"
"Restore the glory of wizards—it is our bounden duty!"
Hearing the waves of admiration from the stands, Charlotte finally nodded in satisfaction.
Now this was the prestige a powerhouse guild master deserved!
The commentator kept hyping the crowd: "It looks like everyone's excitement is at a fever pitch!"
"Fitting for the finals, both contenders are top-tier players in their respective fields! In the blue corner, we have the 'One-Punch Monk' Dawei Tianlong, and in the red corner, the guild master of the top powerhouse Magic Coin, Charlotte!"
"So—who will claim victory in this match? Let us wait and see!"
On the spacious battlefield, Charlotte and Dawei Tianlong faced each other across the distance.
Whether it was the magical auras enveloping the wizard or the towering, burly frame of the monk, both exerted considerable psychological pressure on the other.
Facing such a formidable adversary, both contestants wore serious expressions, neither daring to let their guard down in the slightest.
"Three, two, one...
"Match start!"
The referee's shout signaled the start of the battle.
*Thump!*
With a dull thud, the ground beneath Dawei Tianlong's feet cracked, dust swirling into the air as he leaped forward, leaving afterimages across the sky.
This was the monk's Step of the Wind ability, expending internal ki to achieve extreme bursts of speed.
*Whoosh—*
The wind howled fiercely.
The two-meter-tall monk tore through the air with such velocity that the audience in the stands could barely track his trajectory with the naked eye.
"Take this!"
Dawei Tianlong roared.
The commentator's voice turned feverish: "We can see Contestant Dawei Tianlong taking an extremely aggressive approach! He's closing the distance with Step of the Wind, looking for a one-hit kill! Incredibly fast!"
"Yet as a wizard, Charlotte is far from helpless!"
Watching Dawei Tianlong hurtling through midair, Charlotte lightly rubbed a ring on his finger.
*Misty Step!*
*Boom!*
The bald monk crashed down, blasting a huge crater into the ground, but where the wizard had stood just moments before, only a faint wisp of silver-white mist remained.
Charlotte had already materialized dozens of meters away. Raising his wand, he unleashed a blinding burst of thunderous light from its tip.
*Crash—*
A beam of Lightning Bolt ripped through the air, streaking toward the nearby monk.
The speed of lightning far exceeded human physical reflexes; even Dawei Tianlong couldn't dodge it.
The monk's muscular body was pierced through by the bolt, charred black marks searing across his skin, yet he only grinned, flashing his white teeth.
Spells, however, required preparation.
Casting had recovery lag!
"A beautiful counterattack! Contestant Charlotte used Misty Step to widen the gap and dealt direct damage with Lightning Bolt!"
"Yet Dawei Tianlong's constitution is simply too monstrous! He took the full brunt of that strike head-on!"
The instant Charlotte fired the Lightning Bolt, Dawei Tianlong tanked the blow and immediately kicked off the ground again, closing in at blistering speed.
*So fast!*
Charlotte was startled. Before he could cast his next spell, the monk was already upon him, swinging a fist larger than a clay pot.
A fierce gust of wind slammed forward.
"Child's play! How dare you show off before me?! Dawei Tianlong!"
*Clang—*
A crisp chime rang out. Charlotte remained completely motionless as a translucent magical sphere formed around him, blocking the devastating punch.
It was Otiluke's Resilient Sphere!
Instead of smashing through, the bald monk was blasted backward by the spell's force.
Charlotte grinned, raising his Wand of the War Mage as it began to glow with a faint crimson light.
Now was his chance!
A moment when the monk was midair and unable to dodge!
*Hold Person!*
A reddish beam of light shot out, darting straight for the monk.
Yet Dawei Tianlong let out a roar, and through sheer mastery over his own physical body, he forcefully twisted midair, dodging the beam.
Charlotte, however, rubbed another ring on his left hand, conjuring an invisible force field that enveloped the monk.
*Slow!*
Dawei Tianlong's speed plummeted drastically, his midair movements grinding almost to a halt.
The commentator's voice climbed higher: "It's Slow! An area-of-effect spell! Contestant Dawei Tianlong can't dodge this with sheer mobility!"
"His reckless charge has cost him! Can Contestant Charlotte close out the match right here?!"
Charlotte triggered Misty Step once more, materializing behind the monk and raising his staff to deliver the finishing blow.
Right at that moment, the prayer beads around the immobilized monk's neck flared with energy.
It was spell negation!
What appeared to be an ornamental necklace of prayer beads was actually housing an antimagic sphere!
Even this thick-browed, big-eyed bald monk knew how to play dirty!
The commentator shouted, "It's spell negation! Contestant Dawei Tianlong hid an antimagic countermeasure, waiting for an opening to strike in close quarters!"
Freed instantly from the binding effect, Dawei Tianlong flexed every muscle in his body.
He spun around and charged at Charlotte, who appeared frozen in shock a short distance away, bursting into boisterous laughter.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you?! I've got you now!"
"Dawei Tianlong! Honored Ksitigarbha, prajna paramita!"
Accompanied by a howling gale, he threw a devastating punch, his massive fist driving straight for the wizard's face!
*Boom!*
"What the—?!"
The bald monk's eyes widened in bewilderment. He felt no solid impact of flesh against knuckle; his strike hit nothing but empty air.
And the "Charlotte" standing before him abruptly burst into pieces.
Chains bristling with razor-sharp teeth materialized from thin air, wrapping tightly around his muscular frame and locking him firmly in place.
The commentator spoke at breakneck speed, his tone brimming with excitement: "Heavens! In the blink of an eye, the tables have turned yet again!"
"For those who missed it, Contestant Charlotte repositioned into Dawei Tianlong's blind spot earlier, casting Major Image and concealing a Spike Trap within the illusion!"
"Then he turned invisible, tricking Contestant Dawei Tianlong into thinking the illusion was his true body!"
"Evidently, Contestant Charlotte's setup succeeded! Contestant Dawei Tianlong is pinned to the spot and unable to move!"
"Will the match end here?!"
Charlotte finally dropped his invisibility, a relaxed smile spreading across his face.
He had smelled something fishy long ago. How could the leader of a major guild not possess a single antimagic countermeasure?
The guy had clearly been trying to bait him!
Still, the bald monk's constitution was ridiculously high; ordinary spells wouldn't take him down in one hit.
Once the immobilization from the Spike Trap wore off, the situation might flip right back on its head.
Without magical protection, with his squishy Constitution score of 11, Charlotte wouldn't survive a single punch from that monk.
That was how high-level duels worked: conditions shifted rapidly, and opportunities vanished in an instant.
To avoid complications, he couldn't afford to hold back!
With that in mind, Charlotte touched the mithril necklace glowing with an icy blue light on his chest—a treasure his guild had salvaged from frost giant ruins.
Cold spells dealt bonus damage against players with red dragon bloodlines. Although Dawei Tianlong lacked draconic features, those superhuman muscles were inherently sustained by dragon blood.
*Cone of Cold!*
*Whoosh—*
A colossal cone of ice materialized, thrusting violently into the trapped monk and piercing straight through his sturdy body.
Blood splattered, accompanied by dazzling shards of frost.
Bits of shattered ice rained down.
His chest impaled by the cone of ice, Dawei Tianlong could endure no longer. The freezing chill spread outward, turning half of his body into solid ice.
Immediately after, the hulking frame collapsed to the ground with a resounding crash, devoid of life.
Dawei Tianlong had fallen.
The commentator passionately proclaimed the match's conclusion: "Let us congratulate Contestant Charlotte on claiming victory in this match!"
"Restore the glory of wizards—it is our bounden duty!"
"Boss!"
"You wizard players fight so dirty!"
In the stands, thunderous cheers rolled like ocean waves.
High upon his golden throne, Cassius stroked his chin, giving a slight nod.
"Not bad. It seems these players have developed some real skill."
"At least... they're much stronger than the players were at this stage in the original history."
Chapter 482